The Cleveland Cavaliers were defeated by the Golden State Warriors 104-89 in Game 1 of the 2016 NBA Finals. Here are the main takeaways from their disappointing loss.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had waited a year to get back to this stage. Following last year’s 4-2 loss to the Warriors, the narrative from that matchup was that the series could have gone differently if Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love weren’t sidelined with injuries.
With a healthy roster, along with the fact that Cleveland hadn’t played a game in five days — while Golden State was just a few days removed from a tough seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder — the Cavaliers were hoping to land the first punch in this highly anticipated rematch.
Unfortunately for the Cavs, even with Irving and Love in the lineup, the Warriors cruised to a comfortable 104-89 in the series opener. So what exactly went wrong for the well-rested Cavaliers?
Here are the main takeaways from their Game 1 defeat.
Next: No. 5