Despite reading a dozen stories on Game 1 of the NBA Finals, I am still not quite clear on why the Cleveland Cavaliers lost by 15 points — even while limiting Golden State stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to 20 points. Combined.

I didn’t see the game because 1) it started at 3 a.m. here in France and 2) the guys at beIN Sports have the European rights to the Finals, and we are moving around too much to subscribe to that.

Anyway, has it occurred to anyone that Tyronn Lue, Cleveland’s unusually young (39) coach, might be a big part of the problem?

Lue might be a fine coach someday. Thing is, we don’t know yet because his body of work, as the head coach of an NBA team, is exactly 65 games. Not enough time to make an informed assessment … but probably also not enough for Lue to know all the nuances of running a team under the bright lights of the NBA Finals.

It seems as if the main reason Lue is coaching the Eastern Conference champions is because the Cavs (read: LeBron James) were not fond of David Blatt, the Israeli veteran of European basketball, who was 30-11 this season when he was fired. All Blatt had done for the Cavs was get them to the NBA Finals in his first season and leave them with the best record in the Eastern Conference, when he was dismissed.

Lue, a behind-the-scenes presence since his 11-season NBA career — played mostly as a backup guard — ended in 2009, and he was the highest-ranking surviving Cavs assistant when Blatt was booted.

The Cavs did not erupt, once free of Blatt. They were 27-14 over the second half of the season, with Lue in charge, three victories fewer than Blatt’s Cavs managed in the first half.

So. Game 1.

Lue said the Cavaliers would run, but it seems apparent that he was mistaken, because the Cavs have too many plodding players to keep up with the Warriors. So, not quite the opener the new coach envisioned.

The Cavaliers also may have paid too much attention to Curry and Thompson. Keeping them under control is a fine achievement, but it apparently came at the expense of keeping track of everyone else.

Harrison Barnes scored 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter. Draymond Green was solid in the middle, and finished with 16. Andrew Bogut, the veteran center, was an impediment to the Cavs under the basket.

Plus, the Cavaliers apparently had no idea the Warriors have guys on the bench who can score. Shaun Livingston, former Clipper, had 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Leandro Barbosa scored 11 in as many minutes, making all five of his field-goal attempts.

And sixth man extraordinaire Andre Iguodala gave James trouble when Cleveland had the ball and also scored 12 points, with seven rebounds and six assists, and had the best “plus-minus” rating in the game, at plus-21. (James was a minus-9; Curry was at 0.)

Afterward, Lue bemoaned the Cavaliers’ poor shooting in the paint, which he seemed to suggest was perversely bad luck, soon to be rectified. When the Warriors are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, and having Green, Bogut, Barnes and Festus Ezeli to contest shots around the rim is probably the main reason the Cavs missed so many short shots.

Lue also gave 36 minutes of playing time to J.R. Smith, who was close to invisible (to Lue, too) on the court: The Cavs’ “shooting” guard had three shots, making one.

Steve Kerr, 50, the Warriors’ coach, is not among the longest-tenured of bench presences, either, but this is his second season and he has a championship on his resume. Which puts him safely ahead of Lue.

Anyway, when all other avenues of explanation have been examined and found to be unsatisfactory explanations of what went on in a sports event, we perhaps should look at the coaches — and focus on the one who seemed to be surprised by what happened in the game he just saw.