Cavs' Game 1 notes: J.R. rues shot selection, team bus left without Dellavedova
For a team that came awfully close to winning, a whole lot went wrong for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
The Cavs lost in overtime to the Golden State Warriors, despite holding an early 14-point lead and having their noses ahead for the majority of the fourth quarter.
Part of the reason Cleveland's offense started to tail off after a hot start is that freewheeling shooting guard J.R. Smith went ice cold, shooting 1-of-11 from the field over the final three quarters and overtime.
Smith's shot selection was questionable, but then, it usually is. The Cavs have had to learn to live with it, and relish those times when those reckless attempts go down. They're shots that few in the league outside Smith can knock down with any kind of consistency.
At least he's self-aware. In his media availability on Friday, Smith owned up to his costly Game 1 gunning.
JR says took couple of bad shots in second half he regrets. pic.twitter.com/bV2FylDS46
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) June 5, 2015
Whether he actually makes any adjustments to his game now - after years of glorious, shameless chucking - remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Cavs backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova didn't make out much better. Dellavedova went scoreless in Game 1, and somehow managed to post a game-worst minus-13 rating in just nine minutes of play.
Maybe that's why the team bus wasn't in any mood to wait on him after the game.
Matthew Dellavedova told me he missed last call for the #Cavaliers bus last night & they left without him. Took an Uber back to the hotel.
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 5, 2015
These two had better get their acts together if the Cavs want to have any shot of even making this a series. Especially now that Kyrie Irving has been ruled out for the remainder of the Finals.
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