DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum NBA Finals: Cavs vs Warriors & Zebras

For the Army of Ignorance and Oversimplification: Looks like refs didn't have the call, blew it, and tried to explain away how badly they screwed the Cavs (who helped them). Looks to some fans like they went shopping for some reason to deliver the GS win. What is a defense posture? Different than block or not.

No GS taunting? Unsportsmanlike? Quite a show allowed for the fortunate. NBA owns part of this. JMHO.

So, this next game tomorrow night, do the Cavs get to hire the refs, officiating?

GS has already hired them.

they have them on retainer for the year

Note that I didn't read the entire article so they may have mentioned this but fun fact on this tidbit. NBA rules dictate that when two referees make opposing calls like this, the correct call should be a double foul and a jump ball at center court with no free throws. This is what should have been called because there is no way that you can convince me 100% definitive that it was one call or the other, certainly not enough info to overturn the call they eventually made on the court. They should have called the double foul and jump ball.

well thats entertaining

Oh who cares about the rules.

No truth to the rumor at all that GS has a Bad Officiating Hall of Fame with spots reserved for this crew. How more blatantly generous and accommodating can you be? This group overlooked fouls aplenty, refused to call the game consistently, and want the NBA standard of bodies flying regularly.

Do not leave this to chance. Take it all to them. Start TT.

Is it too late to sign Stipe Miocic to a 10 day contract?

"I freaking hate GS"
==============================

That is where I am at.

They are a good team and well coached but I hate them. I get sick of Curry and his mouth piece hanging out.

Green is a dirty player. He went after LeBron's eyes. It sure looked clear to me on replay.

Klay is a good player but it is just the competitor in me hate him as well.

KD is just good period. I mean he can score from anywhere. It seems at times like the guy can't miss.

But no doubt I want to wipe the floor with them and watch them cry. Plus I live in Reno and it has a bunch of Bay Area people wearing their Warrior crap. So I walk proud with my Cavs hat.

If Kendrick Perkins wasn’t signed to fight Draymond Green, why is he on the team?

J.R. Smith owns monumental Game 1 gaffe: 'Can't say I was sure of anything'

Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports Published 7:06 p.m. ET June 2, 2018

OAKLAND – J.R. Smith owned his gargantuan Game 1 gaffe in J.R. Smith fashion.

“I told somebody right after the game that I’m glad it happened to me as opposed to anybody else on my team,” Smith said Saturday. “To be in that situation is tough, and it’s not a situation everybody can handle.”

What situation? With the score tied at 107 and 4.7 seconds remaining in regulation of Game 1 between Golden State and Cleveland, Smith grabbed a rebound following George Hill’s missed free throw. Instead of looking to score, Smith dribbled away from the basket, trying to run out the clock.

He thought the Cavs were ahead. The game went to overtime and the Cavaliers lost 124-114 in a game they thought they should have won.

Smith acknowledged on Saturday he lost track of time and score in the finals seconds of Game 1. Asked if he remembered telling teammate LeBron James at the end of fourth quarter, ‘I thought we were ahead’ – which is what it looked like he told James – Smith said, “I might have said that. I’m not sure, but I might’ve.”


The follow-up question: Can you say that you weren’t sure exactly what the score was when that happened?

Smith thought about the question for a long five seconds before answering.

“After thinking it about a lot obviously the last 24 hours or however many since the game was over, I can’t say I was sure of anything at that point,” Smith said.

Imagine making one of the biggest mistakes of your professional life on the biggest stage with millions around the world watching, then being required to answer for it two days later. Yes, it comes with the territory. It doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Smith has been through a lot, some of it his doing, some of it not, and Smith usually comes out of it on the other side just fine.

If there’s a player equipped to deal with a disastrous brain freeze with an NBA Finals game on the line, it’s Smith.

James has known Smith since their teen years on the AAU circuit, and he has confidence Smith can bounce back from the mistake.

“J.R. is one of the most resilient guys I've ever been around,” James said. “I think it just comes from not only him personally but his household – his mom, his dad, his brothers and sisters. And his family now as well.

“He probably took that loss as hard as anybody on the team. But one thing about J.R., he has an uncanny ability to bounce back. I think people have seen that throughout our postseason runs, where he hasn't played well or played to his ability that he thinks he should have played, and then the next game he comes on and shoots the ball extremely well. It's just very locked in.”

Smith’s quirky personality and introspection make it possible for him leave behind what happened in Game 1 – all the criticism and mocking, too – and focus on Game 2 Sunday.

“I’ve always been the one guy who’s been the butt of the jokes or that one guy who does something crazy that everybody has to look at it, whatever the case may be,” Smith said. “I just come back and be myself and play the next day. I don’t really dwell on things too much. It’s been like that my whole life, and that’s the way it looks like it’s going to continue to be. I just got to go out there and be me.”

Over the course of Smith’s career, he has been:

Suspended for throwing soup at a Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach.
Fined $50,000 for untying an opponent’s shoe laces during a game and fined $25,000 for posting inappropriate photos of a woman on his social media account.
Suspended for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.
Smith also is a Sixth Man of the Year winner, a starter on a championship team and shooting guard who has made five or more three-pointers in a playoff game 12 times, including four times in an NBA Finals game.

He dealt with the premature birth and five-month hospital stay for his and his wife’s baby daughter a year ago. There’s a human being behind all the tomfoolery.

Now, he needs to find a way to contribute in Game 2.

“We know what he's capable of. He knows what he's capable of,” Cleveland’s Kevin Love said. “He's been in pretty good spirits.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nb...hing/666689002/

After Game 1 gaffe, J.R. Smith seeking a bounce-back effort

https://apnews.com/1c9220fa9d31483ab6d3d5bf5525b722/After-Game-1-gaffe,-J.R.-Smith-seeking-a-bounce-back-effort?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP_Sports


OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Two days later, there is still no clarity on what J.R. Smith knew when he grabbed that offensive rebound in the final seconds of regulation of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Not even in Smith’s own mind.

“I can’t say I was sure of anything at that point,” Smith said.

All he and the Cleveland Cavaliers are sure of now is this: They’re down 1-0 to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, with Game 2 on Sunday night and Smith knowing that he’s going to be booed, made fun of, mocked and probably worse by the crowd at Oracle Arena.

Smith became one of the big Game 1 stories for all the wrong reasons . He grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw in the final seconds of regulation with the game tied, then ran toward midcourt as if he was running out the clock and thinking Cleveland had a one-point lead. The Cavaliers wound up losing in overtime.

“He probably took that loss as hard as anybody on the team,” Cavs star LeBron James said Saturday. “But one thing about J.R., he has an uncanny ability to bounce back. I think people have seen that throughout our postseason runs, where he hasn’t played well or played to his ability that he thinks he should have played, and then the next game he comes on and shoots the ball extremely well.”

That bounce-back tendency for Smith will be tested now like perhaps never before. This wasn’t just a gaffe. This was a huge gaffe, in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals with the game on the line. And in the immediate aftermath, it appeared Smith said to James on the court that he thought the Cavs were leading — something he denied afterward.

“I might have said that,” Smith said. “Not sure, but I might have.”

To say Smith was the reason Cleveland lost Thursday night isn’t right, or fair. There’s no guarantee that Cleveland would have scored to win the game in those final seconds if Smith had done anything differently.

Still, he was blamed.

“I’m glad it happened to me as opposed to anybody else on my team,” Smith said. “To be in that situation is tough and it’s not a situation everybody can handle, so I’m glad it happened to me.”

Smith spent Friday in his hotel room for the most part, watching the Memorial (“Tiger played really well,” Smith said), talking with Kyle Korver and visiting with his kids over FaceTime.

He knows he’s a punch line. He’s been there before.

“That’s pretty much who I’ve been my whole life,” said Smith, who bonded with a therapy dog earlier this season during a rough stretch. “I’ve always been the one guy who’s the butt of the jokes, or that one guy who does something crazy and everybody’s got to look at or whatever the case may be. And then I come back and be myself and play the next day. I don’t really dwell on things too much. It’s been like that my whole life. That’s what it looks like it’s going to continue to be.”

The Cavs have made clear that they’re not quitting on Smith.

They need him.

“He’s going to start. And no, I haven’t lost confidence,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “J.R. can shake off anything, and when everybody tends to count J.R. out, that’s when he comes through. So he’s definitely going to start again. He’s a big part of what we do. That last play is over, it’s behind us and now we’ve got to move on.”

A bounce-back game would be more than welcomed by Cleveland. When Smith is good, the Cavs are really good.

Cleveland is 10-1 this season, including playoffs, when Smith scores more than 15 points. The Cavaliers are 19-5 when he makes more than half his shot attempts. They’re 20-9 when he makes at least three 3-pointers. Those are some of the many reasons why Lue still has confidence in him, and Smith clearly appreciates that.

“I’ve been playing like dogcrap all year and he’s stuck with me,” Smith said. “So he’s one of the people who gives me the most confidence.”

And he’s due, too.

Smith has missed more than half his shots in eight straight games — his longest such cold streak since November. The Warriors expect that Smith and the rest of the Cavaliers will be more than ready for Game 2. And Smith said his teammates still believing in him is helping.

“Everybody says it’s not just the one play or the reason why we lost,” Smith said. “Take it however you want it. My teammates have been great. Very supportive.”

I honestly would love to see JR go berserk and throw up one of those 10 three-pointer games that he's capable of putting up.

The media in general and social media in particular is being way too hard on JR. I actually feel sorry for him. It was a boneheaded play, but it is being overblown.

I truly hope the guy has some moments that can be directly correlated to us winning a game or two.

I desperately want the Cavs to win, but I want JR to shut up all those idiots who are trashing him. It's not cool kicking a man when he is down.

Yeah, completely agree with you. JR's a good dude. He doesn't deserve this.

ESPN can't blame the officiating like they should be, because they have too many contracts with the league. So they've pinned everything on JR.

I agree about JR. He's been getting destroyed from all angles.

I hope he bounces back ... we need him to as well

Just want the showboating to stop, the taunting and such. Give Green a dose of his own. Drive and get fouls, seat these idiots. This worship of the Three helped to kill us. Love's misses helped give back a lead. Stop helping this. Play hard D.
Go Cavs.
Just win, baby!

I'd like us to mix in Lebron in the post/elbow a little more this game. Isolate him there, have some weakside action for shooters.

WERE GONNA FREAKING WIN TODAY DAMNIT

LFG

GO CAVS

Cavs 111
Warriors 98.

LeBron goes for 33 11 and 9. Gets help from Love, Hill, Korver and JR.

Durant shows up and catches fire early but cools off late. Klay Thompson plays but has an off night. Curry only shoots 40% from the field.

And JR dunks on Curry's face.

Then it will be a complete game.

and Perk cracks Greens head open

Warriors 112
Cavs 96

We'll see!

I'm really nervous about tonight's game. I wanna win this one so bad. Not only for my own satisfaction, but for all the crap JR has taken and to shut up some of the negative "fans" of this team.

Go Cavs! Whatever it takes, baby.

i really, really dislike Curry and Green

Well, kinda cool they got Santana to do it...

He should have played it on a Stratocaster, but that wasn't bad.

pretty sweet anthem

Good recovery Hill.

Well, not good

well, that was quick

looking pretty soft on both ends...guess game 1 didn't [censored] them off enough

Refs helping out early...

Way to go up for the block Kevin...

we simply aren't able to play with these guys for 4 games. Game 1 was the best chance to win

yeah, it looks like they're more crisp now and our balloon is deflated

This feels like game 2 two years ago.