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J.R. Smith claims Cavaliers would beat the 1996 Bulls

J. R. Smith

The Cleveland Cavaliers were absolutely humiliated in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. The final score of 113-91 doesn’t do justice. Golden State was on a completely different level as it looks to revenge last season’s meltdown against Cleveland in the Finals.

This hasn’t stopped the always confident J.R. Smith from claiming his Cavaliers would defeat the 1996 Chicago Bulls if they take care of what they need to on the court.

Some will take a look at Smith’s comments and conclude that he’s completely lost his mind. Maybe he’s drinking a bottle or 10 in preparation for Game 2.

Though, it must be noted that Cleveland did overcome a 3-1 series deficit against the Warriors in the Finals last year. That’s the very same Warriors squad that put up a 73-9 regular season mark, besting the 1996 Bulls previous record of 72 wins.

Also important to point out, Cleveland wasn’t at its best in Game 1 on Thursday night. The team turned the ball over a total of 20 times, including eight from LeBron James himself.

It will be interesting to see how the Cavaliers come out Sunday. They have to feel the pressure after Kevin Durant absolutely dominated in his first Finals game as a member of the Warriors.

As of right now, Golden State looks to be an absolute juggernaut. But the same was said last year when the team won the first two games of the Finals against Cleveland by a combined 48 points.

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