Warriors: plan B, shooting and miracle

Not long ago this was the big game of the NBA season. The Cavaliers-Warriors was the NBA Final for four consecutive years (2015-18)something that had not happened, and that it will be difficult for it to happen again, in the big four American professional sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL). Not long ago, this was a fierce, high-voltage rivalry. But one that moved, surely, to Los Angeles with LeBron in 2018. Of course, those who remember in Ohio what all those visits from the Warriors were like during that electrified stretch, the temperature of the environment and the drums of war on the track, do not They were able to find many parallels in this game that, however, ended up attracting many eyes for one of the simplest questions possible, pure curiosity: the Warriors are doing what?

The Warriors won in Cleveland (114-120) in a game that pointed to one of the milestones of Friday night but to which many put the cross, before the initial jump, when it was announced that the champion, in negative (22 -23) before playing and after losing a tough duel with extra time in Boston, where they sealed the title in June, they had decided skip over the game in Cleveland (where they sealed their titles in 2015 and 2018) because it was the end of a tour of five and it was a back to back hairy. Steve Kerr left out Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins. Without big four and without Andre Iguodala or James Wiseman, the Warriors seemed to clear up a game that, in any case, was a priori mortally wounded in terms of media attention. And as a product for those who were thinking of seeing Curry (one of the great spectacles of world sports, after all) and company on their only visit of the year to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, the old Quicken Loans where they ended up seven and a half years ago a streak of forty without titles for the Warriors. Kerr apologized and elaborated on what is actually a much broader issue for the NBA product: “I feel very bad for the fans who have bought a ticket to see other players, it is a brutal thing in this business. That is why I am going to continue defending that the regular season becomes 72 games”.

Kerr made it clear that he has to protect his players and that he looks to the long target, some playoffs where they will have to defend their title and be the first team in history, if they want to, to win a ring after being negative in game 45 of the season. Now it’s a 23-23 after this unlikely miracle on a small scalea victory that is only the sixth at home, one of the worst marks in the League, and against some Cavs who had not played a game in Cleveland since December 26 and who had only four losses in their pavilion before playing, which it was the best number in the East. They did not have Donovan Mitchell, with groin problems, or Ricky Rubio, who is managing his return after his very long absence. and take care of your minutes. But they had Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley… Enough, whichever way you look at it, to control this one on his track. version C of the Warriors. But…

But JB Bickerstaff, the coach of the Cavs, assured that they had not “respected” the party and that deserved without any doubt the corrective they took, a bombardment from the line of three that reached moments that were beyond surprising. The Warriors had never made 23 triples without Stephen Curry and they stayed, with a huge 23/43 (53%), close to the 27 that are the all-time high for the franchise. They scored nine of their first 12 shots, and have 14 at halftime. In rhythm to challenge the historical top of the NBA. And they came out of the break (59-64) with five more in four minutes, a stretch that took the advantage to +20 (69-89) with which you had to rub your eyes. The subsequent bad student reaction could have had a happy ending for the Cavs, but at 110-114 he hit an impossible 3-pointer, of coursea Ty Jerome who later, already at the last minute, killed the game with a wonderful assist on the side kick to Kevon Looney (112-119).

This is how it happened: Eight Warriors players hit at least one 3-pointer. Kevon Looney, who saved it because it’s not his thing, only added 4 points but was essential with the presence of his big body and 17 rebounds, 6 of them in attack. Jordan Poole added 32 points, although he almost went down the drain as he was about to swallow his team in a stretch of losses, lack of concentration and too many looks at the favorable marker. When the +20 ended in +4. But Jerome, who hadn’t played in Boston, kept his cool (22 points, 8 assists) in a good matchup from DiVincenzo, Lamb and two returning guys who did a lot of work, a youngster (Jonathan Kuminga) and a veteran (JaMychal Green).

So the Warriors won… and the Cavs lost. And tonight they play, third game in four days, against the Bucks, no less. If they don’t improve their image and lose again, many will remember this horrible skid against these warriors. Product of starting loose (until it was too late) due to rival casualties. It seemed very obvious. Garland finished with 31 points and 10 assists, LeVert with 22 points and Mobley with 17 and 7 rebounds. But the collective image was very bad, very bad. In the trap that ended up being, without intending it, that Kerr plan to take care of legs and efforts. The one that left us without seeing Curry, Klay and Green on a track that is, so far from the Bay, inevitably linked to its history and its legacy.