When something everyone expects to happen does, the memes don’t get too creative, although J.R. Smith being just as good as LeBron James in the Cleveland Cavaliers game 1 win over the Atlanta Hawks was a bit surprising.
James led the team in scoring, but it was Smith who made the difference and built up the big lead the Cavaliers managed to hang on to while the Hawks slithered their way back. He made 8 three-pointers and continues to prove that in the right situation he’s one of the more dangerous and streaky scorers in the NBA.
Now everyone is talking about how the Hawks don’t belong this far in the playoffs. But that’s just being silly. They might not be the best team out there, but they did well enough in the regular season, in fact the best season in franchise history, to earn their spot in the conference finals. That fact that they’re inferior to the Cavaliers? That’s life, but doesn’t make them undeserving or something.
This is just game 1, and the Cavaliers are banged up quite badly (Love is out, Irving is questionable all the time), but the Hawks aren’t much better (DeMarre Carroll picked up an injury), which means it’s going to be quite the task trying to comeback from the opening loss.
