Bitter champagne: Warriors prove Cavaliers can't hang with the elite

When it comes to the best in the NBA, there's the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, and then there's everyone else.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, by the grace of playing in the diluted Eastern Conference, are often mentioned in the same breath as the teams who've claimed the last two championships. But they're not at that level, and the Warriors made that very clear on Monday.

Stephen Curry scored 35, Draymond Green came three rebounds shy of extending his league lead in triple-doubles, and the Warriors thoroughly silenced the Cavaliers 132-98 at Quicken Loans Arena on Monday.

There were no excuses for this one. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were fully healthy and they combined for 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting. The two missing principles from last year's Finals made absolutely no difference. If anything, their abysmal and downright shambolic defensive efforts only hurt the Cavaliers.

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The Warriors, smarting from their worst loss of the season at the hands of the Detroit Pistons, came roaring out of the gate with purpose. Curry found Andrew Bogut for an alley-oop off a pick-and-roll to start, then Curry drained a 28-footer to spark a 12-2 run in the opening two minutes.

The Cavaliers, conversely, came out with a post-up for James, before Irving and Love combined for three misses and a turnover. A frustrated David Blatt quickly whistled for a timeout.

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The quick reset didn't improve matters. Curry would score 16 points - including a three from the Cavaliers' logo - before the quarter was over. A 13-point lead after the first doubled to 26 by halftime.

The second half brought about no changes. The Warriors, like hungry sharks, smelled blood against a shellshocked Cavaliers squad and pounced. They pressured the Cavaliers for turnovers, threw down nasty dunks in transition, and rained threes in quick succession until fans at the Q were chilled to the bone.

A silent dejection dawned on Cleveland fans and players alike.

Not only were the Cavaliers out-played, they also lost their composure.

James shoved Curry to the ground in the first quarter. Anderson Varejao committed an egregious flop in the second quarter. And J.R. Smith, who was the only Cavalier outside of James to find any kind of success on offense, got himself ejected for hitting Harrison Barnes with a cheap foul.

On a tactical level, the Warriors proved yet again that the Cavaliers have no answer to their smallball lineups. Love's defensive shortcomings made him a huge liability, and Irving wasn't able to score effectively against Thompson. James did his usual damage in the post, but the Finals and the Christmas Day matchup have proved that using James as a battering ram won't work against a set defense.

The bottom line is that the Cavaliers' best offensive lineups can't score enough, and their best defensive units can't make enough stops to hang with Golden State, which is why the Warriors were the ones tasting champagne last summer.

Monday's game was more than a loss for the Cavaliers, who fell to 0-3 against the Spurs and Warriors on the season. It was a rude awakening. They have a long way to go before being considered among the league's elite.