Even Warriors in awe of LeBron James

OAKLAND - The Warriors seem as impressed as everyone else. The focus of their admiration is, of course, LeBron James.

They understand what a challenge he is, but also appreciate his place in history. He’s working to become the undisputed greatest player ever in the NBA. When he scored 51 points and had eight rebounds and eight assists in Game 1, the Warriors seemed in awe.

James is the first player in league history to score more than 50 points in a Finals game and lose. The Warriors got lucky. It will be tough for them to win again if they continue to watch with wonder as James plays like he did in Game 1.

“We can’t just sit back and let him pick us apart,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Saturday at Oracle Arena. “Everything was smooth sailing for him. It’s one thing to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to make this guy beat us and shut everybody else down.’ Lots of teams have done it with superstars in the past, but it only works if you actually make the guy use a lot of energy. I thought our defense was subpar the other night.”

James made nine of his first 11 shots against the Warriors in Game 1. Made scoring look easy.

“We didn’t really start with much force defensively, and he was able to get into rhythm,” Draymond Green said.

Green brought the force late in the second quarter when he gouged James’s left eye as James tried to dunk. From that point on, James played with one good eye, one blurry eye, and still put up 27 points, six rebounds and four assists after halftime.

“Whatever the defense will allow him to have, that’s what he’s going to take,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “It could be mid-range; it could be to the basket; it could be 3s.”

James’s jump shot wasn’t always as good as it now. Teams used to leave it open for him, dared him to shoot it. Wouldn’t defend it. That was a good strategy. Now, it’s not. In these playoffs, he’s shooting 49.2 percent on midrange 2s and 35 percent on 3s. He is a superstar with no weaknesses.

“There were parts of my game that you could disrespect early in my career,” James said. “You can’t do that now.”

To describe James’ greatness, Kerr compared him to Houston Rockets guard James Harden, who most likely will win the MVP award over James this season. For Kerr, there’s no comparison. Harden can’t even begin to approach what James does. “The last series was about one-on-one isolation defense and then containing the dribble, step-back 3s. Or contain the dribble and defend without fouling. It was repetitive. Our guys got used to that. This is different.

“When you get switched onto LeBron, he’s different from Harden. He’s going to look to pass early in a possession. They’re running a lot of sets, really good sets where they isolate him. But then you’ve got (Kyle) Korver on a pin-down or you’ve got (Kevin) Love off of a curl. So, there’s more going on around that isolated player, for the most part, with Cleveland. And LeBron obviously is such a great passer, he’s going to try to pick you apart.”

Here’s how James described the way he plays: “It’s all about angles. Seeing things before they happen. Being able to beat a defender that’s in front of me, but understanding there are going to be multiple guys either stabbing at the ball, rotating, poking at the ball, putting bodies and hands in front of me. So, you have to be strong with the ball, first of all. Especially against the Golden State Warriors team that is so great with their hands, either from Steph, Draymond, obviously. Iggy didn’t play in Game 1, but in the past.”

Iggy is Andre Iguodala. He missed Game 1 with a bone bruise in his left knee and is doubtful for Game 2. He was the Warriors’ primary defender against James during the past three Finals appearances between these teams, and won the Finals MVP award during the first Finals in 2015. Iguodala has defended James as well as any player in history. The Warriors don’t have Iguodala right now.

They may not have Klay Thompson, either. He has a high left ankle sprain, and the team lists him as questionable for Game 2. Thompson and Iguodala are the Warriors’ best perimeter defenders. When both are off the court, the Warriors defense gives up 111 points per 100 possessions, which would rank 21st in the NBA, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

All of this means James may play even better in Game 2. After a loss in this postseason, he is averaging 39.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists. He becomes even greater.

“That means he has to score 60 now, right?” Lue asked with a sarcastic laugh.

Maybe not 60, but James probably could. The Warriors wouldn’t count him out.