Well…That was Embarrassing

CLEVELAND – It wasn’t final exam time at Quicken Loans Arena…more like a mid-term test.
It was a big test, one the Cavaliers failed miserably.
Golden State jumped on the Cavs early, using sizzling shooting and finding seemingly endless holes in the Cleveland defense in a 132-98 Warriors victory that wasn’t that close.
Golden State shot 65 percent in the first half and led by as many as 29 points. Stephen Curry showed why he is the reigning league MVP while Kevin Love, the player brought to Cleveland to complete the Cavaliers’ version of the “Big Three” was invisible in the game’s first 24 minutes and ended the game with just three points.
At one point in the first half the Cavaliers were shooting 46 percent from the floor and were down by 26, 61-35.
In the second half a team LeBron James plays on trailed by 43 points for the first time. Ever.
Simply put, Golden State blew the Cavaliers out of their own building. The Warriors are an elite NBA team, Cleveland is not.
Golden State played championship-level defense, executed on offense and took any suspense out of the game early.
The Cavaliers played some of the worst defense the NBA has seen this season. It wasn’t a matter of the Warriors hitting tough shots, there were times when it looked like they were out there by themselves.
In a game of this magnitude, against a team that has a very good chance to come out of the Western Conference, Cleveland proved, on national television, that it is not a great basketball team.
Sure, they can handle the Philadelphias and Denvers of the world…but put them on the floor against San Antonio or Golden State and they play with fear. Golden State is a team of men. The Cavaliers are little boys who have a lot of growing up to do.
Yes, there were times when the whistles did not go their way. In fact, there was a stretch during the second quarter where the officials were brutal…calling phantom calls on Cleveland while letting the Warriors get away with murder whenever a Cavalier had the ball in his hands.
That is not why the Cavaliers lost. They were humiliated because they ran into a team that is not only much better but also is exponentially more unselfish. Golden State plays aggressive team defense. Cleveland stands around and waits for someone else to make plays.
In the first half Curry scored 21 points on 8 of 10 shooting (4 of 5 from 3-point range). The Cavs gave up 70 first-half points in front of a sellout crowd that was welcoming them home from a two-week road trip. It was a stomach-turning display.
After the game, Cavaliers coach David Blatt took the blame for his team not being ready to play. He said all the right things a coach should say in the wake of an emasculating loss.
Here’s the problem. For a coach to have his team prepared and ready to play, that coach has to have all the variables at his disposal.
Prior to the game this writer walked behind Cavaliers’ shooting guard J.R. Smith as he walked from the player’s entrance to the locker room. It was 52 minutes before tip-off.
When asked Smith’s tardiness after the game Blatt had no idea.
Smith ended up starting and getting so frustrated he committed a level two flagrant foul.
So what did we learn? First, it is clear the Cavaliers, as currently constructed, cannot win the NBA title. Not only do they not play enough defense they do not have that “edge” championship teams need. They don’t have a chip on their collective shoulders and are far too passive to beat Golden State or San Antonio in a seven-game series.
In fact, it’s questionable if this team can make it out of the Eastern Conference right now. This loss will stick with them for a long time…and not in a good way.
The Warriors put the Cavaliers over their knees and gave them a spanking. They sent them to their room without any dinner and waltzed out of town with their manhood. Now we’ll see how the Cavaliers respond.