Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) drives between Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and guard Stephen Curry during the first half of an Game 1 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Oakland, California, Thursday, June 4, 2015. AP
OAKLAND, California, United States — The NBA Finals hyped as LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry now seems like James against the Golden State Warriors.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are down another important player, with Kyrie Irving having surgery on Saturday back in Cleveland to repair his broken left kneecap.
And with what was an already short-handed Cavaliers team down 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Sunday, a series that just started has the feel of one that could end quickly.
“(I) understand that we were the underdog coming into the series and with Kyrie being out people are writing us off,” James said. “So, I mean, that’s fine. That’s fine. I’m motivated to get our guys ready to go tomorrow, and we will be ready.”
James seemed more downcast as he spoke then a day earlier, before the Cavaliers revealed the severity of Irving’s injury following an exam. Irving had been hurt previously in the postseason and Cleveland had won without him, but this time was different.
“Obviously, we’ve been in this situation, but we always knew at some point he’ll come back,” James said. “Knowing that he’s out for the rest of the finals and out for a period of a long time, first of all, it sucks for him personally. It’s a huge blow for our team, especially at this stage.”
The Warriors were already the favorites to win the championship after leading the NBA with 67 victories during the regular season. Now, with Irving joining Kevin Love on the sideline, the Warriors were trying to brush away the suggestions that not only should they win, but do it easily.
“No series is unlosable,” center Andrew Bogut said. “Stranger things have happened and they’re still a great team with arguably the best player in the world. They’re going to have other guys that have to step up to help him get wins, but we can’t take this team lightly.”
Curry said the mood in the Warriors’ locker room was no different than it was going into the series.
“There is no pressure or added pressure, I don’t think, because our goal stays the same,” Curry said. “We’re not really listening to any outside noise or predictions, or who is favored to do what, because we control what we control. When we go out there and play, we’ve got to play better than we did in Game 1, and that is really our only focus.”
Both teams noted how closely the Cavaliers were to winning Game 1, and in fact the series nearly had a decidedly different feel.
Coach David Blatt acknowledged the difficulty of overtime losses like Game 1, saying “they cost you some hours of sleep.” But he said the Cavaliers moved forward from it.
“Request no quarter and no sympathy,” he said. “We’ve got to come out and play, and play to win. That’s it.”