Spurs roll in Game 1

What did I say about Tony Parker? As I predicted, the Cavs had no answer for him and he scored 27 points. I had said before the Daniel Gibson was the only hope to stop Parker, but now I'm wondering if LeBron wouldn't be the best option. He might be the only Cav with the quickness to stay on Parker, and with his reach, James would be able to stay back a bit, playing for the drive, and still get a hand in his face. LeBron did guard him on a few possessions, but he may need to for the majority of the game. If nothing else, they could force Parker to beat them with deep jumpers.

The Cavs should also be concerned with their rebounding. The Spurs beat them on that front, and that is supposed to be Cleveland's strength. Gooden and Varejao had 8 rebounds between them and that won't cut it. To his credit, 3 of Varejao's 4 rebounds were on the offensive glass, but the Cavs have to do their jobs on the defensive boards as well, as the Spurs had 13 offensive rebounds.

The obvious concern for Cavs fans is LeBron's poor performance. It is true that LeBron struggled mightily early in the Detroit series, but after Games 5 and 6, one would think he'd be coming in with a ton of confidence and it was a little surprising that he played so poorly. Credit Bruce Bowen, but also the Spurs help defense. They play team defense better than anyone in the league and the Pistons should be taking notes. James found no easy route to the hoop and Tim Duncan made up for ESPN and ABC showing that dunk every 3 seconds by recording 5 blocks and helping the Spurs force LeBron into an uncharacteristic 6 turnovers. The Spurs team defense totally flustered James by not only intercepting his passes, but tipping them away, throwing the Cavs out of their offensive rhythm.

The only hope for Cleveland is that LeBron shows another major learning curve, the way he did against the Pistons (though Game 1 and 2 in that series were down to the wire). Maybe by Game 3 he'll have figured out the Spurs and how to beat them, but after one game it's looking an awful lot like the Spurs are going to roll. Then again, it's only one game.