Smith says the Cavs’ control their fate, not the Warriors.
Coming off a disappointing Game 1 loss, the Cleveland Cavaliers head into a Game 2 Sunday where the pressure is on them to perform. According to J.R. Smith, if the Cavs just do what they’re supposed to do, they’ll be fine.
“If we take care of what we have to take care of, it doesn't matter if they're the '96 Bulls,” Smith said Saturday, per Sports Illustrated. “... We would win. We just got to worry about us, understand that no matter what we do, if we do what we're supposed to do, they can't beat us.”
On one hand, Smith is right. The Cavs were not at their best on Thursday and not a single Cavaliers played that well for the entire game. From LeBron James on down, no one was perfect. Against a team the quality of the Warriors, that’s not going to cut it. Smith, and the Cavs, having confidence that playing more like themselves will help is a sign Game 1 didn’t break the Cavs’ confidence.
On the other hand, Cleveland will need to make adjustments in Game 2 and over the course of the rest of the series. And, at some point, we’ll find out if the Cavs have good answers for the problems the Warriors present. That starts Sunday in Game 2.