Cavaliers have no excuse in Game 5
The Cleveland Cavaliers are not going to win the NBA Finals, but they better win Game 5. Cleveland lost both games at ORACLE Arena against the Golden State Warriors before splitting at home at Quicken Loans Arena, and now face elimination back in ORACLE.
However, the NBA dropped a bombshell on the teams on Sunday afternoon, announcing that Warriors forward Draymond Green would be suspended for Monday’s potential series-clincher due to his personal foul being upgraded to a flagrant foul. Green was originally given a personal foul for hitting LeBron James low, following James stepping over him. The league since determined that Green hit James in the groin area with intent.
On Sunday, the Warriors took some verbal shots at James after Green’s suspension came down, with many feeling James whined publicly to get the ban. Klay Thompson talked about the NBA being a league for men, insinuating that perhaps James was not acting his age. To that, James had a response, per ESPN.
“My goodness. I’m not going to comment on what Klay said, because I know where it can go from this sit-in,” James said. “It’s so hard to take the high road. I’ve been doing it for 13 years. It’s so hard to continue to do it, and I’m going to do it again.”
James is wise to take the high road, considering his team is about to lose to the Warriors for the second straight season. In addition, James has been seen brooding on the court when things have been going poorly, only bolstering his reputation as someone who shrinks under the brightest lights.
Thompson was not the only Golden State player who had some issues with the actions of James. In fact, another Warriors’ player took it a bit further than the lesser of the Splash Bros. Per ESPN:
“It just shows as a basketball player, as an athlete, a guy does something like that, you kind of lose respect for him,” Warriors forward Marreese Speights said. “I had a lot of respect for LeBron over his career, since he was in high school. But do things like that to get a guy suspended? That’s kind of disrespectful, a little bit.”
If the Cavaliers lose in Game 5 and watch the Larry O’Brien Trophy get hoisted up, it’s a total failure. Cleveland will be playing an undermanned Warriors team while it is fully loaded with James and Kyrie Irving leading the charge. Should the Cavaliers lose despite Green’s suspension, it would be one more indignity for Cleveland to sustain.
Of course, the Warriors will still be looking to finish the deal at home in front of a rabid fan base. Cleveland has to suspend the party until further notice.
