The Cleveland Cavaliers got trucked by the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Cleveland hung with Golden State for a while, but eventually the Dubs just turned on the jets and decided they were not going to lose. In seemingly the blink of an eye the Warriors ran away the game ended in a 113-91 blowout.
It really was a crazy performance by the Warriors – they had 31 assists and four turnovers and won by 22 despite Klay Thompson only having six points. Kevin Durant was magnificent (38 points, eight rebounds, eight assists), as was Steph Curry (28 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, three steals). It was a reminder that Golden State’s roster is built to bombard opponents even if one or two of their All-NBA caliber players have a bad night.
For Cavs coach Tyronn Lue, this game confirmed to him that this is the best team that he’s ever seen.
Tyronn Lue says #Warriors are the best he's ever seen. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/sBbOn2u2NK
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) June 2, 2017
Here is the full exchange on the subject between Lue and the media, via the NBA News transcript of his press conference.
Q. Obviously there’s no team that’s unbeatable, at the same time you know their record right now in the post-season. They have not lost a game. How well is this team playing? I know it’s tough to answer that when you’ve just been beaten by them somewhat soundly. How well is this team playing right now and does that record reflect how good this team is right now?
COACH LUE: Yeah, they’re the best I ever seen.
Q. Can you elaborate on that?
COACH LUE: They’re the best I ever seen.
Q. Okay. Okay.
COACH LUE: I mean, no other team has done this, right? So 13-0, and they constantly break records every year, last year being 73-9, this year starting the Playoffs 13-0. So they’re playing good basketball. But we can play better.
Lue did make it a point to say that Cleveland can play better, which is true – the team had an abysmal 20 turnovers and got killed on fast break points (Golden State 27, Cleveland 9) and points in the paint (Golden State 56, Cleveland 30). It’s hard to imagine that the Cavs won’t tighten some of their issues up as we head into Game 2 on Sunday.
Still, while there’s a chance the Cavaliers still win this series it’ll require taking down the best team their head coach has ever seen. It’s a tall task, and they may be up for it, but it’s going to be an uphill battle from here.
