The Golden State Warriors dropped Game 2 of the 2015 NBA Finals in overtime, outlasting a brutal new Game of Thrones episode as the most devastating viewer experience to befall the Bay Area Sunday night. Now that the Dubs have surrendered home-court advantage and the series heads to Cleveland for Game 3, the 67-win Warriors are left with some questions to answer.
First thing’s first: the credit for that Game 3 victory goes to LeBron James. He was absolutely sensational, dominating every facet of the game with a monster 39-16-11 triple-double. He may not have been efficient from the floor, but last night’s performance, from willing his team to victory to controlling the game itself on basketball’s biggest stage, was Jordan-esque.
But here are the facts the Warriors need to focus on moving forward: 1) Game 2 was an embarrassing abnormality, even if we can expect LeBron to go off for the rest of the series, 2) Cleveland’s defense is a lot better without Kyrie Irving and 3) There is no reason to panic yet after a fluke-ish game didn’t go their way.
Wow. RT @BreakTheHuddle: Cavs shot 32.6% and won. During regular season, tms that made fewer than a third of their FGAs won a total of 4 gms
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) June 8, 2015
Don’t forget, the Dubs surrendered home-court advantage against the Memphis Grizzlies in the semifinal round too. Hell, they were down 2-1 to the Grizzlies and still closed out the series in six games with three straight wins. This Cavs team presents a much tougher challenge (even without Irving), but the Finals are still there for the taking.
One made dunk in transition, or one correct call on that Shaun Livingston put-back and the Dubs win Game 2.
Coming off that 95-93 defeat, it’s time to take a look at what went wrong for the Dubs in Game 2 and the adjustments they need to make for Game 3 on the road.
Honorable Mention: Something About Maybe Not Missing Wide-Freaking-Open Dunks In Transition
Next: No. 5