NBA Rumors: It's Warriors Defense That Toppled Cavs
When the Golden State Warriors brought home the bacon when they sent the Cleveland Cavs home to win the NBA championship last year, they bragged about having a top rated defense in the league. This year is even better after proving a much stronger defense that toppled Cavs to their knees.
LeBron James had a pretty much legitimate excuse of having to carry on the fighting all by himself following injuries that kept Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving off the NBA finals last season. This time, though, the Warriors' defensive stride has made the team's success bigger than the phenomenal Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson who brought in a basketful of three-pointers in the previous games.
Game 1 was already a bad loss for James-led Cavs, Game 2, however, was pure humiliation that put Warriors in a 2-0 series lead after their 110-77 victory last Sunday. The Cavs would have to get their act together and nab four of the next five games to break Warriors' dominance- the team that broke Michael Jordan-led '95-96 Chicago Bull's record with 73 regular-season wins.
"Defensively we've been good at times and then at times we just looked like OK," Cavs star LeBron James said in a postgame conference as quoted by USA Today. "We're a step slow. We messed up on the coverage. We don't get back or we're just one step behind where we should be. We should be closer to our man. When you're behind these guys, they make you pay every single time."
As the Warriors gear up for the hardest part of the series on Cleveland's turf, the Cavs should be quick at unlocking Golden State's defensive gameplay. Otherwise, LeBron James and Co. may no longer have to return to Oakland for Game 5 if they get swept off in a humiliating four-game finish.
With center Andrew Bogut, the Warriors successfully blocked nine shots in Game 2. Even more miserable was a series of defenders sent to neutralize James' bulldozing power. Specializing in anti-James defense is Andre Iguodala who earned the distinct recognition of bothering four-time MVP since last year, ESPN reported.
"We've got a lot of great defenders on this team," Draymond Green said as quoted by East Bay Times. "So if we come out focused and locked in we're able to do something like this."
