Cavaliers simply a tough matchup for Warriors in calamitous loss

Cavaliers simply a tough matchup for Warriors in calamitous loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

History has shown us that success in the NBA is, above all, about talent and health and chemistry and, yes, the connection between coaches and players. Yet the truth shows us much of that can be offset by one factor.

Matchups.

That was evident Friday night in Cleveland, where the Warriors learned quite the lesson in a 136-117 loss to the Cavaliers. The score was much closer than the destruction that took place on the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse floor.

The Warriors (7-2) fell behind early by scores of 20-2, 60-30 and 78-38 – all well before halftime. A second-half rally, mostly by the second unit, could not overcome their calamitous performance in the first half against the 10-0 Cavaliers – the league’s only undefeated team.

Though Golden State’s downfall can be attributed to shoddy work at both ends, much of it was due to the problems posed by a Cavaliers defense with two players, center Jarrett Allen and forward Evan Mobley, standing a shade under 7 feet and possessing pterodactyl-like wingspans.

“You have two great rim protectors in Mobley and Allen,” Brandin Podziemski told reporters in Cleveland. “We didn’t make them work at all. We just were content with, ‘Oh, we see them, let’s pass it.’ Sometimes, you’ve got to take it at them and see what they got.”

The Warriors indeed seemed uninterested in testing Allen and Mobley in the halfcourt. So, they tried outrunning the big men in hopes of getting to their offense before Cleveland could set its defense. That resulted in a succession of risky and wayward passes, most of which became turnovers (13) that gave the Cavs 15 first-half points.

It looked familiar. Insofar as the Cavs swept the Warriors last season, winning by a combined 19 points, this was the third consecutive time Golden State was stymied, mostly by the imposing Allen and the even more imposing Mobley.

“We saw them the last couple years, and it’s the same group,” Kerr said. “They’re playing at a high level right now. They’re young and they’re on the rise. They…

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Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-11-09 05:38:00

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