Drederick Irving slammed the door to the trainer’s room and quickly walked out of the locker room into the hallway. A few minutes later Jeff Wechsler, the agent for Kyrie Irving, entered and reopened the training room door and went in. Family members or agents being in a locker room is unheard of and the training room is one of the most guarded places in professional sports.
This was an extreme situation. Irving had collapsed during overtime of Game 1 of the Finals and limped off the floor. It was his left knee again. This time it was different and Irving knew it. The pain was acute. He’d been trying to drive on the Warriors’ Klay Thompson when they banged knees, and he’d dropped to the court as the pain seared around his knee. As he rounded the corner, exiting the tunnel from the court with help from trainer Steve Spiro, he slammed his jersey to the concrete floor in pain and frustration. The left knee, the one he’d been rehabbing and treating with every therapy known to medicine for weeks, was on fire.
The Cavs had gone step for step with the Warriors all night. Coach David Blatt believed his team’s best chance was to slow the Warriors and their offensive talents down, and they had done so, with LeBron James controlling the ball and the team’s defenders desperately attempting to stay with the Warriors’ shooters.
Neither team led by more than three during the fourth quarter, with James and Irving scoring or assisting on every basket. With 30 seconds left and the game tied, Irving leapt to make a fantastic block on Curry from behind. It was probably the finest defensive play of his career. He had looked healthy throughout the game, which was a huge development, as he scored 23 points and moved well.
Regardless of how the game turned out, that portended well for the Cavs’ hopes in the series. If James could exert his will and Irving was close to his normal self, the underdogs believed they had a chance. The Cavs ended up getting two chances to win the game at the end of the fourth quarter, with Iman Shumpert’s shot at the buzzer just missing as it skidded off the rim.
Then Irving went down and the Cavs fell apart. Curry scored four quick points and Harrison Barnes made a three-pointer, blowing the game open. The Warriors won by eight, Curry finishing with 26. James had 44 points but took 38 shots to get there, missing 20. James had sworn off that type of volume scoring earlier in his career, and playing that way—dominating the ball and finding ways to shoot even if the shots weren’t quality—made him sick. But the once deep Cavs had gotten thin and he agreed this was the best chance.
In the training room Dr. Richard Parker manipulated Irving’s knee. One of the finest surgeons in the country, Parker didn’t find any damage to the ligaments. Just like the MRIs showed, everything was still connected. So why was Irving in so much pain? His father pulled general manager David Griffin aside. Irving had played 44 minutes as he was recovering from knee issues. The Cavs had sent him to the best to be examined and thrown all their resources at caring for him. But Blatt had played him heavy minutes.
In the Cavs’ previous six games, Irving had been unable to finish three because of the left knee. Two other games he didn’t play at all. He was mystified and, once again, concerned.
“I don’t know what I felt but it didn’t feel right. I’m in some pain. It was different than what I had been experiencing,” he said as he looked down at the throbbing joint. “Your body works in mysterious ways. When something gives out. I don’t know. Obviously you can hear in the tone of my voice I’m a little worried.”
The next morning Irving went again to get imaging. The scan showed something stunning: He had fractured his left kneecap. He was done for the rest of the series and probably for some of the following season. A flight was arranged and he returned to Cleveland with Parker, who was to perform surgery immediately to repair it.
The team believed it was a direct result of the blow from Thompson and nothing to do with the previous inflammation or the heavy minutes. But there was some question about whether Irving had been overworked, weakening the knee and opening himself up to the injury.
“There were no minute restrictions coming into Game 1. There were no minute restrictions in Game 4 against Atlanta,” Blatt said, trying to defend himself. “My take on the injury was that he got kneed in the side of his knee. It was a contact injury, and the result was a fracture of the kneecap.”
Either way, the Cavs were now without two of their three best players (Love was still in the early stages of recovery from shoulder surgery), plus down 1–0 in the series. It had been a long, hard season of body blows and recoveries. This had the feeling of a knockout punch.
“It’s a huge blow for our team, especially at this stage,” James said. “You want to try to be as close to full strength as possible throughout these games, especially when you’re going against a worthy opponent like we’re facing. So it’s a tough situation.”
Matthew Dellavedova, who had played nine empty minutes in Game 1, was promoted to starting point guard. Blatt believed the only way to compete was to turn the game ugly and to try to play physical. The Warriors had some guys who didn’t mind physical play, talented forward Draymond Green and rugged center Andrew Bogut among them. But the Cavs believed they could be tougher than the Warriors’ sweet-shooting guards, Thompson and Curry. Golden State played a free-flowing style under coach Steve Kerr. They wanted to move quickly and be able to create space to do so. It was pleasant to watch and hard to stop when they got going—Curry and Thompson had the ability to go on numbing shooting streaks against which there was really nothing that could be done. So the Cavs would try to take that away by force.
Blatt put together a game plan where he’d ride big men Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson and continue letting James dictate the offense with methodical possessions. In losing Kevin Love and Irving, the Cavs were down two great offensive players. But one upside was their replacements, Dellavedova and Thompson, were strong defensive players and Blatt could leverage that.
It showed up immediately in Game 2, where Dellavedova’s dogged defense seemed to ruffle Curry. The Cavs pounded the Warriors on the boards and Thompson got seven offensive rebounds just himself, getting the team invaluable extra chances. The Cavs were abysmal on offense, shooting just 33 percent. James played a grueling style of bully ball, going a horrific 11-of-35 shooting. James went whole seasons without taking 30 shots in a game; now he was averaging nearly 40 in the series. But he drew nine shooting fouls and made 14 free throws, assembling 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists in one of the most prolific Finals games of his career. The Cavs won, 95–93, in overtime.
Thompson lit the Cavs up with 34 points, but Curry went just 5-of-23 shooting. When Dellavedova was guarding him, Curry was 0-for-8. Blatt used only seven players. When it was over, James slammed the ball to the floor in fatigue and triumph. It was one of the most improbable wins of his career. The series was 1–1.
Dellavedova’s improbable rise continued. Several months earlier, Griffin searched the market for a trade for another backup point guard because he wasn’t sure Dellavedova could handle the position in a playoff setting. Now he wasn’t just surviving, he’d made himself into a vital piece of the Cavs’ upset hopes. It had caused him to be a breakout celebrity. As for his demeanor, Dellavedova said he wasn’t nervous, he was more concerned about staying hydrated because of all the energy it took to guard Curry.
“Obviously he’s a guy that’s been counted out his whole life,” James said about his Australian teammate. “Probably people have been telling him he’s too small, he’s not fast enough, can’t shoot it enough, can’t handle it good enough, and he’s beat the odds so many times.”
Blatt joked the drama was part of the plan to help wake up fans in Israel where the games were broadcast in the middle of the night. Blatt’s success had inspired national pride there. Though he was from Massachusetts, Blatt had lived in Israel for most of his adult life and considered it home. Numerous Israeli media outlets had come to cover the series, and Blatt was giving some interviews in Hebrew. It led to a different dynamic in press conferences, as some of the Israelis were upset Cavs players weren’t giving Blatt enough credit for his game plan.
“The funny thing for us in Israel—and LeBron just sat here—we haven’t heard the name David Blatt mentioned even one time. And now after becoming the first coach in Cavaliers history to win a game in NBA Finals, how much credit do you think he deserves for this win?” a reporter asked Dellavedova.
“Coach Blatt deserves a lot of credit,” Dellavedova said. “We’ve got a good game plan going into the game. I think he’s done a really good job all year. I enjoy playing for him.”
Game 3 was a quick turnaround. After having two days between Games 1 and 2, there was just one day before Game 3 and the teams had to travel. For the Cavs, who were depleted, it hit them harder. The game plan was the same: Grind it out and let James shoulder the massive load. Again, amazingly, it worked and the Cavs won another ugly game, 96–91.
James again missed 20 shots but made 10 free throws as he finished with 40 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. He had 123 points in the first three games, the most ever in that span in Finals history. Dellavedova did it again, playing the game of his life and scoring a career-high 20 points. In the fourth quarter, he tripped as he was fouled and he flung a shot toward the rim. The ball banked in as he watched, lying on his stomach, setting up a three-point play. If the crowd could have, they’d have stormed the court and carried him out into the streets.
Up 2–1, James held the stat sheet and looked at all his missed shots with a furrowed brow. “I’m not okay with it but I’m so outside the box right now,” he said. “This is a totally different challenge. I’ve never played where two All-Stars were out.”
The Cavs being ahead in the series was just a stunning development. Their bruising style seemed to have taken the Warriors, who specialized in speed, flow, and shooting, out of their comfort zone. They’d been rattled and were down 17 points at one point in Game 3.
In the afterglow, however, there was a toll. The effort had completely zapped Dellavedova. He limped into the cold tub inside the locker room after the game to get treatment and virtually his entire body cramped. He couldn’t move, calling to teammates and staff for help. They carried him to a training table and trainers started rubbing his muscles, trying to stop the seizing. Doctors started an IV to get him fluids. There was enough concern that he was sent to the hospital to be observed overnight.
Meanwhile Shumpert, whose defensive activity had been important, was in pain in his left shoulder. He’d gotten it jammed reaching for a loose ball, the same shoulder he’d dislocated earlier in the season. He was scheduled for an MRI the following day.
Something else happened too. The Warriors had used the second half to find momentum. Curry was 1-of-6 shooting in the first half against Dellavedova, his slump deepening. But with Dellavedova weakening and Curry finding some sets that could free him, the MVP had an explosive second half as he scored 24 points. The Warriors had scored 36 in the fourth, looking much more like themselves.
As the outside world began to wonder if the Cavs could really pull this upset off, the Israeli media were rallying to credit Blatt for his game plan that was making it possible. They peppered James and Blatt with questions about it. They asked why James didn’t always include Blatt in the decision making when Blatt was proving to be a tactician. James, as he’d been for most of the season, was tepid in his replies as he made it clear he was still going to be working independently of Blatt when he saw fit.
“I think our relationship continues to grow every day,” he said. “My mind is always working throughout the game. Sometimes I’m able to say it verbally, sometimes I’m just thinking the game and hoping the coaching staff and players and the guys and Coach Blatt know whatever I’m doing, it’s for the best of the team. And he’s allowing me to do that, and I respect that a lot.”
Blatt, as he’d learned to do throughout the season, said he would keep giving James space. “I can’t honestly tell you that in every case I know exactly what he’s going to do,” he said. “I do have a very high level of confidence that he’s going to recognize the situation and make the right decision.”
In Game 4, Kerr made a lineup change, removing Bogut and inserting forward Andre Iguodala. The smaller, faster lineup was aimed at breaking the Cavs’ stranglehold on the pace. It worked nearly instantly as the Cavs’ slower big men weren’t able to cover the quicker Warriors. Iguodala especially played well, scoring 22 points. Mozgov took advantage of the smaller defenders and scored 28 points with 10 rebounds, but it was a trade-off the Warriors were willing to live with.
Playing their third game in five days while essentially only using their core six players, the Cavs were physically spent. Dellavedova was not himself, clearly feeling the effects of the previous games. Shumpert was going with one good arm because of a sprained shoulder. Even James slowed down, scoring just 22 points.
Perhaps it was also because in the second quarter James went flying into the first row of photographers after being fouled by Bogut. He banged his head against a camera, opening up a gash, and landed at the feet of Nike executives Lynn Merritt and Ted Curvy. As James bled, Mike Mancias rushing to him with a towel, his close friend Merritt was on national television lambasting the photographer for not moving fast enough. In a metaphor for the night, James ended up needing stitches and the Warriors won, 103–82.
After the game, some of the team’s veterans were grumbling in the locker room that they weren’t getting a chance, namely Mike Miller and Shawn Marion. With Irving, Love, and Anderson Varejão all done for the season, and veteran centers Brendan Haywood and Kendrick Perkins unusable against the Warriors’ small lineups, Blatt didn’t have many options on his roster. He was in survival mode.
The Warriors had the edge going home with the series tied. Then their advantage expanded early in Game 5 when Blatt yanked Mozgov from the game. Unable to keep up with the Warriors’ speed, Blatt relented and went small to match the Warriors. With a limited choice, he didn’t have much of a choice. He’d been checkmated by a deeper team. As soon as Blatt made the substitution five minutes in, Kerr smiled to himself on the sideline and thought, “This is Steph’s night.”
He was right. With the floor spread with smaller players and Dellavedova and Shumpert limited, the MVP finally broke free. He nailed seven three-pointers and piled up 37 points, the crowd rejoicing in seeing their favorite player return to form.
Frustration with the situation seemed to spill over on the Cavs bench. Marc Stein, who was covering the series for ESPN Radio and was positioned behind the bench, described James’s harsh treatment of Blatt during the game.
“I witnessed from right behind the bench, [James] shaking his head vociferously in protest after one play Blatt drew up in the third quarter of Game 5, amounting to the loudest nonverbal scolding you could imagine—which forced Blatt, in front of his whole team, to wipe the board clean and draw up something else,” Stein wrote. “James essentially called timeouts and made substitutions. He openly barked at Blatt after decisions he didn’t like. He huddled frequently with [assistant coach Ty] Lue, often looking at anyone other than Blatt.”
This had been happening off and on for months and everyone around the team knew it. In a way, Blatt had become a sympathetic figure. His team was depleted and his star still fought and undermined him at times. But Blatt’s attitude of endless confidence during the season, especially touting his experience level, didn’t always inspire understanding. Then again, James was the reason the Cavs were in this position. It was a cruel bargain Blatt had to manage, and do so mostly alone. It was not what he thought he’d signed up for.
As for James’s play, he missed 19 more shots, his inefficient scoring continuing to pester him, but he racked up 40 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. In total, it was a tour de force, but it was looking like it wasn’t going to be enough.
By this point it had become clear the Warriors had figured out a game plan and the Cavs were probably going to lose in a war of attrition. James had worked so hard and assembled enough numbers that some were suggesting he might win the MVP of the Finals on a losing team, something that hadn’t happened for nearly fifty years since Jerry West did it with the Los Angeles Lakers. James didn’t entertain such questions, but he did send a message about what he thought the series was proving.
“I still feel confident because I’m the best player in the world,” he said, a jab at Curry, who’d finally had an impactful game.
After the game, Blatt was hammered by some for only playing Mozgov five minutes and giving up a size advantage. “Did I make a mistake?” he said. “Listen, when you’re coaching a game, you’ve got to make decisions. I felt that the best chance for us to stay in the game and to have a chance to win was to play it the way we played it.”
He was probably correct. With the Warriors’ lineup change, playing Mozgov was just as dangerous as trying to match up small. After everything he’d gone through during the season, Blatt was doing some of his finest coaching in the Finals. The outmanned Cavs should’ve been done, but Blatt’s moves had helped them stay alive.
Mozgov was back for Game 6 in Cleveland and he scored 17 points with 12 rebounds. James missed 20 shots again—he missed a record 118 shots over the six games. But once again his efforts were at an all-time elite level, with 32 points, 18 rebounds, and nine assists. Yet the Warriors led by as much as 15 in the second half and finished off winning their first championship since 1975.
James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists in the series, the first player ever to lead both teams in all three categories in Finals history. It was better than anything Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, or Kobe Bryant had ever done. He didn’t get the MVP—it went to Iguodala, who scored 25 points in the clinching game. Iguodala had battled James on defense for much of the series and forced many of those missed shots.
For more than an hour after the game, James sat at his locker with a towel over his head. This was his fourth Finals loss and second in a row. He lamented his team didn’t have a chance because of injuries, while the Warriors were 100 percent healthy. He was bitter about the circumstances. Outside, Warriors players soaking in champagne stomped down the hall past the Cavs locker room to a room that was set up to have photographs taken with the trophy. In the silence, their howls were audible.
“You question it, especially when you get to this point,” James said. “I always look at it, would I rather not make the playoffs or lose in the Finals? I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m almost starting to be like, I’d rather not even make the playoffs than to lose in the Finals.”
James was speaking from a dark place and didn’t really mean it. He’d been to five consecutive Finals and now three times had left without the trophy. In these moments he’d forgotten what it was like to win, wallowing in the loss. He’d also forgotten what he’d written eleven months earlier.
“I’m not promising a championship. I know how hard that is to deliver. We’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I’m realistic,” he had written in his letter when returning to Cleveland. “It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010. My patience will get tested. I know that. I’m going into a situation with a young team and a new coach.”
It was hard for James now to have the same perspective as when he spoke those words the previous July. Of everything he had been through in his career, the journey of this season had been the hardest. In some ways, it was rewarding. He felt he’d carried the largest burden of his career, having to provide more leadership than ever. Sometimes it had been misplaced and done damage. Even in his twelfth season, he was still learning. This was one of the grandest learning experiences of his life.
He also realized there was a new challenge. After his battles with the Spurs and Thunder, this Warriors team was a new beast to deal with. They were young, the core of the team was signed to contracts, and they had a coach who had reached them. James had dealt with young stars arriving to challenge him, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard among them. He’d found ways to manage them. But Curry, well, Curry was a different sort of challenge. There was a special edge growing there already.
Sitting alone in that chair, fatigued and emotionally gutted, James didn’t want to consider the future. If he had been told what would happen the following year, he wouldn’t have believed it anyway.