Warriors wrote a check they couldn't cash and Cavs penalized them for it in Game 5
OAKLAND, Calif. – Without Draymond @Money23Green, the Golden State Warriors wrote a check they couldn’t cash on Monday. The receipt came back and read insufficient funds.
Golden State tried to check LeBron James with subtle jabs, questioning his sensitivity and labeling him a whiner on social media, but their checks bounced when it was time to produce on the court. Green, who served his one-game suspension, could only watch from a hotel suite next door as his squad fall 112-97 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The Warriors head to Cleveland with a 3-2 series lead.
The Cavaliers weren’t going out like that. James and Kyrie Irving scored 41 points each, the first time teammates have gone for 40 or more points in the same game during The Finals.
The Warriors thought they were fired up with a little extra motivation to close the series out. They accused the Cavaliers of squealing, which they claim contributed to Green being suspended.
After the Cavaliers received word of Green’s penalty, certain players talked about avoiding a memorable loop that would run forever: Green kicking open the Oracle Arena doors, racing through the corridors screaming while trying to locate his teammates on the court for a championship celebration.
That scene would have become an instant classic, an Internet meme and another lowlight attached to the gloominess of Cleveland’s sports narrative. The Cavaliers had to win that game. Irving and James had to go off.
“It was very necessary to come in and set the tone in a hostile environment and we rolled with those two guys,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “. . . I thought we just scrapped and competed all night.”
James was responsible for the Cavaliers breaking out their black-sleeved jerseys, cleveland.com learned. It was the first time those uniforms were used this postseason. The jersey represents Cleveland pride, and the Warriors certainly saw a prideful team Monday evening.
“It was just time,” James told cleveland.com. “We had something we wanted to accomplish.” The four-time MVP hasn’t been a fan of the sleeved jerseys, but said, “Since I had my alterations [around the shoulder area], I’m good.”
Most of his teammates had no idea a change was forthcoming.
“I was actually wondering what color jerseys we were wearing. I was tired of wearing those navy ones,” J.R. Smith said. “I wanted to wear the red ones to match my shoes.”
James has been operating in the dark theme the last few days. On the day before the game, he wore a T-shirt with WWE wrestler Undertaker on the front. Black was back in a big way.
“We roll with whatever he says. It worked,” Kevin Love said to cleveland.com. “We’ll probably wear our whites at home, defend our home and hopefully be back here and wear those blacks again.”
When James walked off the court after the game, fans began chanting, “LeBron’s a [expletive], LeBron’s a [expletive].” The team they were rooting for, however, exited quietly. That’s probably the way they should have handled themselves leading up to the game.
They came in yapping, but left sapping.
Lue said Green’s absence was “very noticeable.” After all, he shoulders such a load for the Warriors on the offensive end and the defensive end. Everything goes through him, and the Warriors should have remembered that before the game.
Because when you overdraft, there’s usually a penalty attached. And Monday, the price tag for a trash-talking by an overly confident group was a 15-point penalty.
“I’m just very excited and proud of the way we scrapped and continued to play hard,” Lue said, “and that’s how we’ve got to play.”
Warriors wrote a check they couldn"t cash and Cavs penalized them for it in Game 5
Post a Comment