On the night of the game, Oracle Arena was packed to the brim.
Warriors fans had unstoppable smiles on their faces.
The Cavaliers were their defeated rivals, and the Warriors were significantly stronger than when they last won the championship. They were determined to claim the title.
Even head coach Cole was full of confidence.
Although the Warriors were still the league’s top team this season, they didn’t exhaust themselves in the regular season like last year. This was the key reason their core players could perform even better in the playoffs.
Moreover, Cole had preemptively done mindset work with Green this time; the kind of loss of control in the regular season wouldn’t happen again.
The shame of last season’s 73 wins and second place in the West was something he was determined to erase this season.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both teams were gradually announced.
Cavaliers: Hansen, JR, Covington, Tucker, Jokic
Warriors: Curry, Thompson, James, Green, Pachulia
When seeing the Cavaliers’ starting lineup, Cole was slightly surprised but quickly calmed down, with a smile he couldn’t suppress.
Malone revealing his hand at the start of the finals seemed brave, but in Cole’s view, it was a desperate move, showing a lack of confidence.
As long as the Warriors held strong at the start, once they used their small-ball lineup, it would be a reverse sweep.
The game began as Jokic and Pachulia jumped for the ball in the center circle.
However, there was a small detail: after reaching his position, Jokic instinctively rubbed his hands together.
For others, this was normal behavior, but for Jokic, it was unusual.
After all, this wasn’t his first time in the NBA Finals, and he typically didn’t show this kind of eager energy.
As the referee’s whistle blew, Jokic jumped first.
Although his vertical leap was limited, his wingspan was there, and Pachulia matched him, allowing him to steal the advantage. He tapped the ball back to half-court, giving the Cavaliers the first offensive chance.
Hansen dribbled past half-court, with Thompson marking him from there, while James and Green both positioned themselves facing Hansen’s side, ready to double team at any moment.
Cole, of course, didn’t come unprepared. After the Celtics played such a classic example in the Eastern Conference Finals Game 6, he had naturally studied the game tapes.
Forcing the ball out of Hansen’s hands and then doing everything to prevent him from receiving it again was the best solution, even if it couldn’t fully contain Hansen.
However, when Hansen reached the frontcourt, he didn’t rush to attack. Instead, Jokic got into position, turned, pressed his weight against Pachulia, and signaled for the ball.
As the Warriors attempted to double-team Hansen, he didn’t pass to an open teammate but instead lobbed the ball to Jokic.
After a brief chaos of "you do your thing, I’ll do mine," the game returned to a man-to-man defense mode, with Jokic in possession and beginning a back-to-the-basket play.
Pachulia lacked dynamic talent but had strong power and excellent low-post defense skills, which was why he could start for a team like the Warriors.
However, Jokic quickly used a series of post-move spins to create space after contact, then effortlessly put the ball into the basket with a hook shot.
In the matchup, Jokic didn’t have a significant strength advantage, but he knew how to exploit his strengths and played with confidence.
On the Warriors’ offensive side, James started with the ball, and Pachulia stepped up to screen, creating a mismatch for James to exploit, while Curry and Green ran an off-ball screen play, with Thompson cutting along the baseline from the strong-side corner to the basket.
It was evident that after a season of adjustments, the Warriors had found a system that suited them best.
The Cavaliers countered each move, with Hansen using little dog steps to quickly trail Curry, and Covington providing help defense early without switching, giving James a bit of a three-point shooting opportunity.
James attacked with the ball, then swung it to the weak-side corner.
It turned out that Thompson’s cut to the basket wasn’t the end of the play. After screening for Curry, Green quickly moved to the baseline to provide another screen for Thompson.
Green spread his arms wide, and both JR and Tucker were blocked by him alone.
Thompson had an open shot opportunity, but his adjusted shot bounced off the rim.
In the past, Thompson wouldn’t have missed such a chance. However, having had enough rest wasn’t entirely advantageous; too long without official games required time to regain the feel.
However, the Warriors retreated quickly and didn’t allow the Cavaliers a chance to run fast breaks.
In the last three-minute pre-game briefing, Cole emphasized transition defense, instructing everyone except Pachulia to avoid chasing offensive rebounds. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍
Cole gained fame with the small-ball strategy, so he knew exactly what the key to limiting it was.
Jokic secured the defensive rebound and passed to Hansen. Hansen didn’t rush, dribbling to the frontcourt and waiting for Jokic to post up before threading a bounce pass inside.
It was at this moment that Cole finally realized the intention.
The true goal of the Cavaliers’ lineup wasn’t to reveal their hand but simply to avoid double-teaming when Jokic went one-on-one.
Because if TT started, without shooting ability, Green could constantly provide help defense from the baseline.
However, with Tucker or Covington in the corner, Green couldn’t get over in time.