NBA Finals: 3 questions for Game 2
By Ian Levy
The Golden State Warriors have a 1-0 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers but this series still features plenty of unanswered questions.
The Warriors ran away with things in the fourth quarter of Game 1, winning by a decisive 15-point margin. However, this was not your typical Warriors victory. They defended well and forced turnovers, but both Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry struggled shooting the ball and an offensive burst from the bench was what carried them through.
The Cleveland Cavaliers also appeared off-balance, with an offensive attack that frequently gummed up around LeBron posting-up a Golden State wing or Kyrie Irving pounding the ball and attacking off the dribble. After burning down the Eastern Conference with scorching hot three-point shooting, Cleveland made just seven three-pointers, tying their lowest output from these playoffs.
Both teams will be looking to play better when the NBA Finals resume tonight. The Warriors would likely prefer not to rely so heavily on bench scoring and Cleveland will be looking to recapture the high-powered offense that helped carry them to the Finals. If the Warriors were to win tonight, their odds of winning the series would jump to 90 percent, according to ESPN’s BPI predictions. By the numbers, Cleveland is already a long shot. If they were to lose Game 2, those odds would only get longer.
Before Game 2 tips off, here are three big questions will be watching for answers to tonight.
Next: 3. What do the Warriors get from Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry?