2018 NBA Finals - Game 2: Cleveland Cavaliers 103-122 Golden State Warriors - 5 Talking Points

#2 Warriors' increased ball pressure on LeBron James

Kevin Durant and LeBron James

The 51 points that LeBron James dropped on the Warriors in Game 1, was the most the franchise had allowed since 1994 when Charles Barkley erupted for 56. Given how great this Golden State team is as compared to that one, they weren't going to allow such a performance again and to their credit, they didn't.

They trapped LeBron on pick-and-rolls, forcing him to give up the ball and make the "others" on the Cavaliers make plays. They didn't switch on the screens involving Curry's man, something they did in Game 1 which meant Kevin Durant would remain on LeBron even after the screen.

From an eye test, they constantly had either KD or Draymond Green guarding James. Even when some other player was taking the duty to guard the King, they were in his face and making him uncomfortable, something Steve Kerr repeatedly mentioned he wanted the team to do.

Give the Warriors a lot of credit for making LeBron work harder and forcing the "others" on the Cavaliers to step-up, something that hasn't happened all Playoffs this year.