Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Cavaliers

3. Curry too hesitant to assert himself early

From the opening minutes, it was clear that Curry had it going. He opened Golden State’s scoring with a 29-footer, followed by an and-1, a 30-footer and a ridiculous bank shot from 13 feet out. When Steve Kerr sat him late in the first quarter, Curry had 11 points and three assists on 4-of-5 shooting.

When he starts like this, there is no number of shots that is excessive. Yet, upon returning in second, there was clear hesitation in Curry’s game. He made a conscious effort to get his teammates involved (adding three more dimes), but that consciousness seemed all too present in his scoring approach.

The only time he let one fly with no hesitation was on the final shot of the half — a 38-footer that he buried to tie the game at 56.

With Curry cooking and the building starting to buzz, a third quarter explosion was almost bankable. Only Curry did not attempt a shot until there was just 4:03 remaining in the period. That 27-footer tied the game at 73-73 following a 33-footer from LeBron, and one has to wonder if the score would have been different had Curry came out firing.

Even without his aggressiveness, Golden State showed signs of an avalanche. JaVale McGee injected life into the team, Green’s defense ratcheted up, and the Warriors went up by as many as seven twice. But every time they seemed ready to drop the hammer, their hammer-dropper deferred.

Meanwhile, the literal Thor scored 12 of his 51 points during a 2:31 stretch, starting with Cleveland down seven and culminating with that deep triple to put them up three.

Curry cooled off late. He still delivered a game-saving 3-point play to put the Warriors up 107-106 with 23.5 seconds left, but he went just 3-for-10 to close out the game.

Had he played with less regard for humanity early, his late struggles would not have mattered. Curry’s best trait is his ability to turn his hot streaks into solar flares, combusting all defenders within a 94-foot vicinity.

The Warriors win not with consistent goodness, but inconsistent greatness. The less they capitalize on their moments of transcendence, the more vulnerable they become. Curry and his team are lucky it did not cost them Game 1.