LeBron James threw an underappreciated, all-world pass and it sums up the Cavs' bleak outlook in the Finals

Cork Gaines

Jun 4, 2018, 08:40 IST

LeBron James threw an underappreciated, all-world pass and it sums up the Cavs' bleak outlook in the Finals

ABC

The Golden State Warriors won Game 2 of the NBA Finals, 122-103, to take a 2-0 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
LeBron James had his second-straight big game in a losing effort, scoring 29 points, and just missing a triple-double with 9 rebounds and 13 assists.
One play in particular perfectly sums up the Cavs' hopes in the Finals as James made an unbelievable cross-court pass that went mostly unnoticed because his teammates couldn't convert the play into points.
Despite the mind-boggling pass, the play ended up in a badly missed three-point shot, followed by two missed free throws.

LeBron James had another tremendous performance in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, but once again it was all for naught as the Golden State Warriors won easily, 122-103, to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

One play, in particular, seems to perfectly sum up the Finals, especially LeBron's lack of help, and the Cavs' little chance of pulling off an upset.

Late in the third quarter, James drove the lane and then threw a no-look, cross-court pass to Jeff Green that hit him perfectly in the middle of the chest. Green then quickly fed J.R. Smith for a wide-open three-pointer. Not only was LeBron's pass perfectly aimed through a crowd while falling out of bounds, but he also did with a ton of zip.

But like the rest of the NBA Finals, the Cavs couldn't convert on LeBron's incredible play. Smith's three wasn't even close, and then Larry Nance Jr. subsequently missed both free throws when he grabbed the rebound and was fouled.

Because the Cavs ended up not scoring on the possession, the pass went mostly unnoticed, with announcer Jeff Van Gundy mentioning it briefly long after the play had ended.

Here is the replay where you can see just how perfect the pass was. It is a pass that few would even dare try and maybe a handful of players in NBA history who could have pulled it off.

Of course, this came after James had 51 points in the gut-punch Game 1 loss when George Hill missed a potential game-winning free throw and Smith forgot what the score was.

In other words, LeBron can't do it all himself and the Warriors are probably going to win this series easily simply because James has little help.