Golden State Torches Cavs in Fourth Quarter; Take 2-0 Finals Lead

OK, so Cleveland's been here before.

But to quote Lou Reed, those were different times.

Return with us now to another key faux pas in another sport, when Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll lost his team after calling one of the Super Bowl's most notorious plays.

And in the moment, everybody knew it:

 

The Seahawks haven't been the same since.

Disillusioned team leaders Michael Bennett and Richard Sherman were ultimately sent packing, and only now is Seattle making noise about returning to a run-oriented offense.

 

JR Smith's untimely foray into another dimension in Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs may not be on that level yet, but it was clear in Game 2 his fellow Cleveland Cavaliers were still shell-shocked.

Talk about being there but not really ...

 

The 122-103 final score didn't exactly show the Cavs had made a game of it, but in mechanical terms only.

Stephen Curry went splash-o-matic in the final 12 especially, elevating the Dubs to total championship form.

 

Stats are one thing, but chemistry's another.

Golden State's version is rooted in the confidence of having been there and done that. Cleveland can make a similar claim, but with the exception of James, it just feels like they're punching a time clock.

 

Who knows if Cleveland would've won Game 1 if Smith had tried a putback, passed to LeBron, or anything other than dribbling out?

Hell, who knows if Marshawn Lynch woulda punched it in from a yard out? The Patriots stopped him on a similar play to end the first half.

 

What we do know is if Cleveland doesn't snap out of it at home, history indicates it'll be a while before they're ever the same again.

With or without. Almost definitely without.