When you have attended more NBA Finals games than you have watched on TV, you take a special appreciation in spending time with and family friends, watching the games in HD and observing those folks’ reactions — especially if you are in the company of people who almost never, ever watch basketball. It is good to break out of the bubble every once in a while, and sportswriters operate in a bubble when they cover the NBA Finals. Yes, they have
If you’re wondering why the offense of the Cleveland Cavaliers has come to a grinding halt down the stretch of the first two games of the NBA Finals, coach David Blatt has a perfectly logical explanation. Blatt may be an NBA rookie but is somewhat of an icon in Israel, where he won five league titles, four Coach of the Year awards and the 2014 Euroleague Championship with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He is on a first name basis with Prime Minister
“Obviously you can see in the tone of my voice I’m a little bit worried.” That’s what Kyrie Irving said about his knee injury to a group of reporters just after Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and his suspicion became a worst-case scenario on Friday when the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that the point guard would miss the remainder of the games after an MRI revealed a fractured left kneecap. More from NBA.com: [Read more…]
No Kyrie Irving? No problem. Yes, that is the optimist’s outlook in Cleveland heading into Game 2. If Irving is done for the year, no worries — as they would say in Australia. I was not expecting to find much optimism among Clevelanders following the Cavs’ Game 1 loss in which Irving aggravated his knee injury, but then I went on 92.3 The Fan radio in Cleveland with Adam “The Bull” and was hit with a dose of non-negativity that seemed so
The sun came up the East today in Cleveland, but the gloom did not burn off like the morning fog. No Friday has ever felt like the one the poor folks in Cleveland had to endure. After being one shot away from a Game 1 victory, after watching Kyrie Irving do a little of everything — nothing bigger than his block of Stephen Curry’s layup attempt with 25 seconds left in regulation — after getting almost nothing from their bench yet
You don’t need to look at the MRI on Kyrie Irving’s knee to know the Cleveland Cavaliers are in trouble. Just look at the boxscore. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Irving was better than anyone could have imagined. Bothered by a nagging sore left knee since Cleveland’s first-round series win over Boston, Irving clearly benefited from the eight-day layoff following the conference finals and rediscovered his All-Star form. Irving collected 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists in nearly 44 minutes,
OAKLAND — It was all right there for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Fourth quarter. Tie score. Twenty-four seconds on the clock. The Cavaliers had the ball and a gift-wrapped chance to steal Game 1 of the NBA Finals on the road. And they had James, of course, the greatest force in the game, one who already had went off for 42 points, the most he had ever scored in a Finals game. The consensus was that James and the underdog
Four-time MVP LeBron James going up against this year’s MVP Stephen Curry. That’s what everyone has been waiting to see for the past week or so, and the two superstars did not disappoint as Game 1 of the NBA Finals between Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday more than lived up to the hype. James looked invincible at times, scoring 44 points on 18-of-38 shooting from the field to go with eight rebounds and six assists. Curry went on an