The Larry O’Brien trophy is in the YAY AREA!
It seemed like the tide had changed after Steve Kerr made the changes to the Golden State Warriors starting lineup and went for small ball. Inserting Andre Iguoadala changed the outcome of the series and it paid off when the team held up the NBA Championship trophy live from Cleveland. For a quick second during the NBA Finals, it felt like LeBron James had the will to pull off the unthinkable. With no Kevin Love, no Kyrie Irving, no bench and completely swimming upstream, the Cavs put up a fight. It was just a losing battle.
The Warriors had too much firepower for the Cavaliers. At any given moment, any one of the players from Golden State could snap and take their team on a run.
King James finally realized this with 10 seconds left in Game 6 when he was taken out of the game and he shook Steph Curry‘s hand and congratulated him on the win. The look on his face as he walked off the court was that of exhaustion and disappointment. It was heartbreak.
No matter how much he tried (LeBron had 32 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists), his team wasn’t fast enough. They didn’t capitalize when it counted. They didn’t have enough gas to carry them through the quick Warriors pace. Not even at home with the crowd behind them.
The Warriors got off to a hot start tonight, but the Cavs erased a 13 point lead right in time for Halftime. By the second half, Cleveland managed to take the lead. But once the 4th quarter hit, the Warriors were firing on all cylinders.
Cury was hitting threes. NBA Finals MVP Iguodala was dunking in transition. Draymond Green had a triple-double.
J.R. Smith finally started making three-pointers, but it was too little too late. Even for the split second when people thought the Cavs had enough fire power to make a comeback, they felt short. Even when LBJ took the shots. They just weren’t falling.
When the final horn sounded, the Warriors were jumping up and down in celebration and holding up the Larry O’Brien trophy. It’s the first time that’s happened for the Warriors since 1975. The 40-year drought was finally over. Coach Kerr became the first rookie coach since Pat Riley to win the championship. The Splash Brothers proved that a jump-shooting team could win the title. A player that hadn’t started a single regular season game won the NBA Finals MVP.
After the game, LeBron said it hurts more to lose in the Finals than not make the playoffs, but he’ll be back to work when he finally gets over it. But what will come of the Cavs this offseason? Is David Blatt out the door? Will Love re-sign for less cash and a spot off the bench? Will Cleveland give Tristan Thompson a max contract? Who will they sign for the bench? Will Kyrie come back the same player he was prior to the knee injury? These are all questions that will be brewing in Cleveland for the rest of the season.
It’s going to be a crazy off-season. We can’t wait for it.
FINAL: GS 105 | CLE 97