The highly anticipated Christmas rematch between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena featured several different looks from what the basketball world saw in June's NBA Finals, including an absent starter for the title-winning hosts and the return of two stars for the defending East champs. Funny, then, that the now 28-1 Warriors' 89-83 win had a lot in common with the six games that transpired when we last saw these two teams on the same court.
The Cavaliers held the Warriors to a season-low scoring output, allowed 5-of-18 shooting from beyond the arc, and slowed down the tempo as hoped. Yet they did not produce enough offense themselves to capture the win, shooting a paltry 31.6 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from deep (5 of 30) with no player making more than half of his field-goal attempts. Despite starting both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving (admittedly still rounding into shape in his third game of the season) after the duo managed one game combined in the finals, LeBron James was left to produce the bulk of the offense with 25 points on 10-of-26 shooting. As in that series, the Warriors' superior depth won out.
A glance at the box score immediately shows that the Cavs did many things right. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for a respectable 37 points but needed to shoot 12 of 31 from the field to get there and managed only eight attempts from 3-point range (making two of them). It's also possible that Curry felt the ill effects of a right calf issue that sent him to the locker room for several minutes in the second quarter, although interim head coach Luke Walton said postgame that he would've sat for the duration if he'd had discomfort. Whatever the reasons, moments like this pretty lay-in were few and far between for the reigning and frontrunning MVP.
But the Warriors boast more depth than virtually any other team in the league and proved it with a surprisingly strong performance from reserve Shaun Livingston, who shot 8 of 9 for 16 points. Livingston also closed out the game in Golden State's small lineup in place of injured starter Harrison Barnes, out for the 12th consecutive game because of a sprained ankle. Livingston is no one's idea of a stellar shooter, but his lanky 6-foot-7 frame allowed him to create space for turnaround jumpers over smaller defenders. Add in another stellar game from near-certain All-Star Draymond Green (22 points on 8-of-17 FG), 15 rebounds, seven assists) and the Warriors created enough scoring to grind out possessions and stretch the Cavs to their limits.
That's not to say that Cleveland was clearly outplayed — in fact, a few more lucky bounces on a horrific shooting night could easily have handed the Cavs the win. The numbers are very ugly — 10 points on 16 attempts for Love, 13 on 15 for Irving, a goose-egg on six for Iman Shumpert, nothing for center Timofey Mozgov, and a few others that don't require listing. The stats are bad enough to inspire confidence that the Cavs' fortune could change when the Warriors visit Quicken Loans Arena on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
On the other hand, Cleveland also had trouble scoring while playing a similar grinding style in the finals, to the point where it's worth considering if their approach is to blame. While it's true that the Cavs succeeded in disrupting the Warriors' flow, that same syncopated rhythm forced their own offense into uncomfortable possessions. Maybe head coach David Blatt will mix things up when Irving (26 minutes) is able to play more often than the limited Matthew Dellavedova (31), but for now the Cavs look locked into a war of attrition.
At the same time, we would do well not to read too much into this late-December game. The Warriors and Cavaliers remain the favorites to represent their respective conferences in June, and neither side is likely to give up all its secret weapons just yet. Perhaps this game looked a lot like last season's series because it behooves both teams to maintain the status quo until absolutely necessary.
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