The Golden State Warriors entered The NBA Finals as heavy favorites over the Cleveland Cavaliers and that belief became more pronounced with the season-ending injury to Kyrie Irving.

"[I] understand that we were the underdog coming into the series, and with Kyrie being out, people are writing us off," said LeBron James. "So, I mean, that's fine. That's fine. I'm motivated to get our guys ready to go tomorrow [for Game 2], and we will be ready.''

The Cavaliers trail 1-0 and will need to win four of six without Irving.

"It's a tough pill to swallow," James said. "Obviously, we've been in this situation, but we always knew at some point he'll come back. Now that he's out for the rest of the Finals and out for a period of a long time, first of all, it sucks for him personally. It's a huge blow for our team, especially at this stage.

"You want to try to be as close to full strength as possible throughout these games, especially when you're going against a worthy opponent like we're facing. So it's a tough situation for our team, and guys have to pick up in his absence."