There are NBA first-day flops, there are horrendous mismatches, there are rotten superstar duels, then there was yesterday’s NBA Finals Game 1 Nightmare.
The Golden State Warriors, favored and playing at their home court in the Bay Area, downed the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers to start a championship series initially predicted to go all the way to Game 7.
There was great enthusiasm that saw demands and viewership records being broken.
The popular ring announcer Michael Buffer, a fixture in monumental world boxing championships in Las Vegas, barked “Let’s get ready to rumbleeee” from midcourt and action exploded at the overfilled Oracle Center.
Sorry, there was neither a fight nor a rumble.
Golden State started its bid to grab back the NBA crown from Cleveland by celebrating with a massacre.
Stephen Curry had a tentative start, missing two 3-pointers, Cleveland went ahead by couple of points. There was a brief exchange and the gymnasium often hushed during the tight first quarter.
This was not easy to believe. But after the Warriors dropped a thunderous 13-0 bomb, before going on to post an 18-point lead and take the first half, doubts were raised on the true worth and competitiveness of LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
If in boxing, the first-half humbling dealt to the fight-less Cavaliers could be equal to a shattering knockdown.
There was some semblance of a comeback on the Cleveland side as the game resumed, but the situation slipped from bad to worse as James played mindlessly and tried to carry his team alone. He was an eyesore. He finished with 28 points and 15 rebounds.
But, playing blind and refusing to distribute, his whole team got scattered on both ends of the court. The Cavs had a total of 20 turnovers.
Golden State finished ahead, 113-91, but the game was wider than the final score indicated.
Mighty and sharp Kevin Durant, often unopposed, scored 38 slamming points, while Curry had 28 for Golden State.
“Breaks?” wondered NBA diehard Tony Bulatao from the Bliss Homes in Pasig.
No, James broke his own team.
“How can the Cavs hope [for a] come back?”
They must be able to wake up from the Game 1 nightmare.
(FAREWELL AUNT ANGEL: Felisa T. Matubang, beloved church worker and top Catholic Women’s League Awardee from Barangay Vergara in Mandaluyong City, passed away on Wednesday at age 88. She lies in state at their residence on J. Catacutan St. She’ll be interred at the nearby Garden of Life after the 3 p.m. mass at Holy Cross Chapel on Sunday. Salamat po sa lahat, mahal naming Ate Feling.)