The Madness that was Game 1 of the NBA Finals

All the talk will be about J.R. Smith’s blunder, despite an incredible game

By Ian Laird

Last night delivered one of the more thrilling games of this years playoffs as up until now most games were decided by the time the fourth quarter started, leading to an average margin of victory of 11.84 points per game.  This game though came down to the wire with several lead changes and ties within the last minute alone.  Then when the game went to overtime the Cavaliers were clearly sapped of their energy by the way the game finished resulting in a 124-114 Golden State victory.

The Reversed Call

A lot has been said about the refereeing in this game notably at the end.  Most of the scrutiny has been focused on the decision to change what was originally an offensive foul on Kevin Durant to a blocking foul on LeBron James which gave KD two free throws which he hit to tie the game with just over 30 seconds left.  On the play Durant drives around Jeff Green and LeBron who was on Draymond Green on the left block slid over as the help defender, in a bang bang play LeBron slid in and appeared to stop moving and set his feet momentarily before Kevin Durant made contact with him as he went into a shooting motion.  The referees called a charging foul which would’ve turned the ball over to the Cavaliers and given them a chance to add to their two point lead late in the game.  Instead the refs used a seldom used rule to review the play.  Officially the play can only be reviewed if there is a question over whether or not the foul occurred within or outside the restricted area.  Once it goes to review though the referees are allowed to overturn the call they initially made no matter where the foul happened.  After some time conferring the refs made the decision to overturn the call and send Durant to the free throw line.

The fact that there is debate within the NBA community from people who are unaffiliated with either team shows that the decision should not have been overturned.  To overturn the call in that moment the referees need to be 100% sure of their decision, if there is any doubt at all about the call you should just defer to the call on the court which was a charge.  Also as Tyronn Lue said post-game in real time it was clear that LeBron wasn’t in the restricted area so the call shouldn’t have been reviewed in the first place.  As a viewer it looked like the referees were exploiting a rule to try and get a call right when they really had no reason to do so.

The Two And-1 Layups

As Marcus Morris in game 7 of the ECF and now Kevon Looney in game 1 of the finals found out slowing LeBron is hard even at the end of games

There were two big three point plays at the end of the fourth quarter, one for each team.  The first came for LeBron who was fouled by Kevon Looney with 50 seconds left allowing the Cavaliers to take a two point lead.  Then after the LeBron block-charge call and another LeBron layup on the other end Curry came down to make a layup and while he was shooting he got clipped on the head by Kevin Love.  For both fouls while it was excellent one on one offense from James and Curry the defenders cannot foul there. They either have to let them take the shot or foul them hard so they can’t even get the shot off.  On Curry that is much easier, for LeBron, as Marcus Morris found out, that is much harder, but this is the finals it’s not meant to be easy.

George Hill and J.R. Smith

J.R. had what many called a boneheaded play to end regulation

The last incident of regulation and easily the most important was the George Hill missed free throw and the unbelievable decision by J.R. Smith.  Hill was sent to the free throw line by Klay Thompson who grabbed him right as he was about to pop open under the basket and receive a pass from LeBron.  With 4.7 seconds left if Hill had received the pass and put up the shot the Cavaliers would have certainly taken a one point lead and the time would have ticked down even further, possibly under four seconds.  The foul was a calculated decision, and the right decision, putting a struggling Hill on the line for his first free throws of the night in a high pressure situation.  Hill sank the first and after substitutions were made and the Warriors switched up their positioning Durant was left alone to box out Smith.  The second free throw was well short and Durant was unable to corral the rebound which ended up going over his head right to Smith who then inexplicably ran out to and beyond the three point line.  LeBron gestured towards the hoop and J.R. turned, but with so little time James tried to call a timeout to allow the Cavs to set up a play.  The referees didn’t see him though and the buzzer sounded as J.R. passed to Hill in the corner who was unable to get a shot off in time.

There is a lot to dissect from this sequence, but first lets start with Hill.  Yes you expect him to make the free throw, yes he is an 80% shooter and a seasoned veteran who shouldn’t let the pressure get to him, but missed free throws happen the same way Curry could miss an open three or LeBron could blow a layup that is part of the game.  What you can’t account for though is a player completely short-circuiting and forgetting what the situation is within the game.  Smith had several options that would’ve given the Cavs a decent shot at winning, he could have put the ball straight back up as soon as he rebounded it.  He could have turned and hit a jumper at almost any point during his dribble out to the three point line as the Warriors defenders seemed as confused by his actions as everyone else and they weren’t as close to him as they ideally would’ve wanted to be.  Third he could have passed the ball to LeBron James who was wide open at the top of the three point line.  Lastly he could have called a timeout and allow LeBron to draw up a play and take the last shot.  Ultimately though he screwed directly after he seemed appeared to say to LeBron that he thought they were ahead, a sentiment that was echoed by Tyronn Lue who said Smith told him he thought they were up by one.  Then in an interview after the game Smith seemed to go back on it though saying he new the game was tied and was trying to bring the ball out to get it to James or to call a timeout.  If one of those things happens rather than ripping Smith apart we are destroying Durant for not properly boxing him out, but neither of those things happened and the sequence that did play out was indefensible by J.R. and in all likelihood cost the Cavaliers the game.

This Might’ve Been the Cavaliers Big Chance

The Cavs weathered Golden States third quarter onslaught and were one play away from winning the game.  I personally thought this would be a sweep going in and that the real NBA finals just took place between the Rockets and the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.  As this game continued to progress though and the Cavs hung around and even led in the closing moments I began to have my doubts.  Then the spirits of the Cleveland players was crushed in those final moments of regulation, and watching them play in overtime you couldn’t help, but think that they knew this series was now likely over.  This was Cleveland’s chance to deal a major blow and stun the Warriors, they swung for the fences and came up just short.

LeBron

Oh yeah and by the LeBron dropped a stat line of 51-8-8 and we are’t even really talking about it, he played great and it seems normal to us, take that however you want.

 

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