The Golden State Warriors defeated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 Tuesday night to win the NBA title. After being down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, the Warriors won three straight to capture their first title since 1975. The result prevented the Cavs from ending Cleveland’s title drought that dates to the Browns’ 1964 NFL championship.
A look at what media figures are Just Sayin’:
Scott Cacciola, The New York Times — The Golden State Warriors launched some 8,900 shots this season. They attempted layups and 3-pointers, runners and elbow jumpers. They dazzled fans and overwhelmed opponents. But every time the ball left their fingertips, the Warriors seemed to be building toward something bigger and better, toward the brightest stage and the grandest prize.
Tim Kawakami, San Jose Mercury News — The 40-year drought ended with so many splashes that the Warriors just about flooded Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday. Turned it into a mighty river, renewing and elevating everything about this franchise. Stephen Curry and his teammates overflowed with pent-up energy in Game 6. … They were a geyser of revelation, relief and utter elation.
It was a biblical torrent — a deep blue downpour of joy and perfect jump shots — to conclude the Warriors’ long championship journey, from their last title in 1975 through years of horrors to this night.
Bud Shaw, Northeast Ohio Media Group — What’s a 51-year wait among family and friends? Other than excruciating. And ongoing. And in this case no great fault of the Cavaliers. That’s the odd dynamic at work here. There is no trap door ending to bestow a title upon. Nobody really to blame.
Rodger Sherman, SB Nation — The Warriors were a historically great team. Only one team with a higher per-game point differential than the Warriors (the 1971-72 Bucks) and only one team with more wins than the Warriors (the 1972-73 Celtics) failed to win the NBA Finals. It makes sense that the Warriors won, too. The Warriors were better on offense than the Cavs, better on defense than the Cavs, had a deeper bench than the Cavs, were less injured than the Cavs, and had strategies that attacked the Cavs’ weaknesses. This was a mismatch.
Chris Chase, USA Today — No one doubts LeBron is the greatest player of his generation. But, at this point, he’s the only player to ever earn that honor who hasn’t dominated the NBA Finals while in his prime — a prime that’s ending sooner rather than later. Is it his fault for not making his teammates better? Is it his team’s fault for not getting him better teammates? These questions are irrelevant and will stay irrelevant if LeBron ends up with a pedestrian amount of NBA championships. There’s no nuance involved in questions about legacy. It’s about numbers, pure and simple.
Zach Harper, CBSSports.com — Nobody came out early for (the Warriors) and tried to be a hero. They moved the ball with purpose in the opening minutes of the game as they took control of the game, exploited the advantages they created, and made their decisions count. They assisted on their first 10 made baskets, and ended up with 28 assists on 37 made baskets for the entire game. This was one of the best passing teams in the league, and they continued to show just how spectacular their execution can be.
Mitch Lawrence, Forbes — James had an epic Finals in terms of the staggering numbers he posted and how he was able to get a vastly inferior team to win two games against a deeper and more talented team. For those reasons, he deserved to get the Finals MVP. What James did was never seen before in a Finals, and you might never see one player dominate to this degree ever again.
Kelly Dwyer, Yahoo — It’s hard to believe, but just five days ago James’ Cavaliers were heading into Game 4 with all the momentum on (their) side. The team was dragging and only playing seven rotation players double-figure minutes, but James’ all-around brilliance and spot play from helpers like Matthew Dellavedova, J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov had given Cleveland a 2-1 series lead with yet another contest to play at home. The W’s responded by winning three consecutive games, as James’ teammates offered inconsistent and spotty play on both ends.
Josh Hill, Fansided.com — Rather than having history on their side, the Cavaliers were torched by the Splash Brothers and their supporting cast of Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green.
Terry Pluto, Cleveland Plain Dealer — For the Cavaliers, the NBA season ended not with tears but with hope. … It ended with the Warriors winning their first NBA title since 1975, and it ended with the Cavs still looking for the first NBA title in the 45-year history of the franchise. But it also ended with the Cavs being closer to the title — than ever.