2018 NBA Finals Game 1: Cleveland Cavaliers 114-124 Golden State Warriors - 5 Talking Points

#4 Offensive struggles for both teams

2018 NBA Finals - Game One

The Cavaliers started the game off well, primarily on the strength of LeBron's 12-point first quarter. But their field goal percentages per quarter dwindled from 55% in the first quarter to 44.4% by the end. This was because they kept getting the same kind of looks throughout the game, and the Warriors came into their own defensively to hold them to lower point totals in each period.

The clutch time offense for the Cavaliers was reduced to finding a mismatch for LeBron and getting him isolation plays on those defenders. He started off 11-for-13 in the game, but he went on to finish 19-of-32 as coach Lue was unable to scheme him good looks later on in the game.

The Warriors, for their part, relied too much on Kevin Durant's isolation plays early in the game. Durant took a long while to get hot, and he shot an inefficient 8-of-22 for the night.