The NBA Finals have become a referendum on Rihanna

On the one hand, Game 1’s final result was discouraging for all but Golden State partisans. While the game carried a certain vim and vigor, it didn’t look like Cleveland could win at any point after halftime.

On the other hand, we saw the Cavaliers lose the first two games in Oakland last year, only to win the series in seven. The entire season was an exercise in patiently waiting for this series to start. Do we now have to wait patiently for this series to really start in Cleveland?

It is in that view that Paul Flannery brings us Sunday Shootaround live from Oakland, where the concern is whether the Warriors are too good. Check it out.

Stephen Curry has escalated the Warriors vs. Rihanna feud, which I honestly did not anticipate as an NBA Finals X factor. Curry said that Rihanna has never been on a Golden State locker room playlist. To this I say: Your loss, Warriors.

On Friday, I wrote that if the NBA is ready to rethink the age minimum, the G League is ready to step in and fix the player development problem.

Two Mike Prada Made It productions for you: how the Cavaliers’ defensive solution is to fix their offense and how Draymond Green does so damn much on defense.

Uh oh! Marc Stein reports that Chris Paul plans to give serious consideration to the Spurs if he decides to leave the Clippers.

Explaining the decision to declare Chris Bosh’s medical condition as career-ending.

Tom Haberstroh on the pandemic of three-point fouls.

Welp. Jerry Colangelo, a Sixers adviser and father of decision-maker Bryan Colangelo, acknowledges that LaVar Ball would pose a challenge for the team that drafts Lonzo.

Enes Kanter says his father has been arrested in Turkey. Kanter had been reportedly estranged from his family over his political support of exiled opposition leader Fethullah Gulen.

Jerry Stackhouse has been recording hours of video of his daily life for 20 years and has a film crew following him these days. But why?

July will be Dion Waiters Season, as the dynamo has opted out of his contract.

LeBron says he stopped caring about media criticism a long time ago, which is frankly probably quite healthy.

Shout out to Hassan Whiteside for buying his mom a great house.

Ayesha Curry is the Steph Curry of food-related entrepreneurship.

And finally: Someone already found Adam Silver’s secret Twitter account.