Finals Recap, Game Two: Warriors 132, Cavs 113 (Or, Hopefully History Repeats Itself)
2017-06-05
Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer
The Warriors outplayed the Cavs delivering another huge loss that leaves little hope for Cleveland fans. The Wine & Gold kept the game close in the first half, but it required LeBron James to be machine like.
The King opened the night attacking the rim, and only attacking the rim. In the first 24 minutes, he scored 18 points and went 7-11. All of his shots came at the rim, as he looked to run full force every single time he brought the ball up the floor. He dished the ball 10 times and had six boards.
LeBron’s first half shots.
During the second half, the King was visibly tired and became very passive trying to shoot instead of driving. He ended the night with 29 points, 14 assists, and 11 rebounds for his 8th triple-double in the Finals. Unfortunately, no other Cavalier player was able to step up enough to make use of his perfomance.
In the third, Kyrie Irving over dribbled the ball and allowed the Warriors to lock in their half-court defense, while LeBron took a more hands off approach, which led to Cleveland having just four assists. Golden State outscored the Cavs 16-6 the final 5:42 of the quarter. Curry scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and tossed out five assists. He finished the evening with 32 points, ten rebounds, and 11 assists for a triple-double.
Kevin Durant also showed up again. He put up 33, went 4-8 from deep, had 13 boards, and handed out six assists. He also had an astonishing five blocks and three steals. Kevin Love deserves mention too. He had 27 points and seven rebounds, while fighting to keep post position all night.
The Warriors finished the evening shooting 51.7% from the floor and dropped 18 3s. They played even better than game one. At this point in the series, the Cavs need to truly believe in the idea that history repeats itself. They now need to win four of their next five games. It’s the same situation they were in last year. Let’s hope there’s a reason to drink that isn’t to drown our sorrows in the coming week.
First Quarter
LeBron opened up the game forcing Durant into a missed jumper. The King rebounded the ball and was off. He jogged the length of the floor and spun in to get the opening points. Cleveland scored on their first five possessions to go up 11-6. Love had an And-1 on Durant from a post-up and had a nice roll to the hoop courtesy of the King. LeBron just lowered his head three times for the other six points.
MY GOODNESS, @KINGJAMES. https://t.co/uxaUJdUO5n
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) June 5, 2017
The Warriors had an answer and went on a 20-5 run to go up 26-16 with 4:53 to go. Cleveland just lost shooters and gave up three 3s. The King kept the Cavs close though getting a huge dunk on Andre Iguodala after a steal, dishing out two 3s, and getting an And-1 after using a Richard Jefferson screen. He finished the quarter with ten points and five assists. The Warriors, nonetheless, still ended the quarter ahead 40-34. Curry went 10-10 on free throws getting a call anytime a player dared breath on him to score 15, and Durant closed out the quarter with a last second 3 to have eight. Love had nine points.
Second Quarter
Kyrie started the quarter drawing Draymond Green‘s 3rd foul on a layup attempt. However, he couldn’t keep the bench chugging with the King taking a breather. He turned the ball over once, which led to KD hitting a jumper. Then Channing Frye had his dunk attempt blocked at the rim by Iggy. The Warriors didn’t score after that though. Shumpert then drove the ball down and was blocked by David West. That led to a Klay Thompson 3 to put the Warriors up 12 with 9:57 to go.
LeBron checked back in after the ensuing rage timeout and destroyed the Warriors going 4-5 at the rim for eight points, and dishing the ball out five times. The King accounted for 19 of Cleveland’s 30 points, including a filthy alley oop to Kevin Love from mid-court.
Hi Kevin. 😍 https://t.co/5zFGMN69Qm
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) June 5, 2017
Much of LeBron’s success came because Shumpert covered KD admirably, which allowed LeBron to take Iggy and Sean Livingston. This let him play safety and hunt rebounds. As soon as he grabbed a board, he would jet up the floor and go as hard as possible to the rim, or find a cutter very early in the clock. A last second Kyrie floater let the Cavs head into the locker room down 67-64.
Kyrie the Closer.#DefendTheLand https://t.co/W2SPG2DVuk
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) June 5, 2017
Third Quarter
The quarter started out with the King finding Love cutting to the rim. That was about the only positive thing that happened in the early goings. The Warriors seemed to score five straight and the Cavs could only counter with two at a time. As LeBron laid back, Irving was unable to do anything productive. He dribbled too much and the Warriors locked their defense in; Irving went 1-5 and missed three shots at the rim.
The King brought the Cavs back a little when he answered a Klay Thompson 3 that put the Warriors up 86-75, with 7:04 left, with a walk up “dribble a bit” 3 on the left side over Iggy. He then rebounded a miss and ran it all the way down for a layup, before getting a board and launching the ball down court to Irving for a layup to bring the Cavs with in four. Ultimately, the Warriors ran them out the rest of the quarter. The Cavs got soft and started taking jumpers. And, when they did get to the rim they would miss and then miss any of the offensive boards they got. The Warriors just took reasonable shots, and were fouled to head into the fourth up big, 102-88.
Fourth Quarter
Kyrie started the fourth with LBJ on the bench and was immediately back cut by Ian Clark. However, Irving made his first two shots of the quarter and I felt a little Mr. Fourth Quarter action might happen. It didn’t, and when Durant hit his first shot over LBJ playing perfect defense, the night seemed over. It was officially over with 7:27 to go after Durant blocked Love in the post, grabbed the ball, and ran down to score over LBJ putting the Warriors up 18. Both teams kept their starters in way longer than necessary. Cleveland’s stars checked out with 3:47 left in the game.
Gripes
- Kyrie Irving just didn’t have it tonight. He dribbled entirely too much and let the Warriors load up their defense for whatever action the Cavs would run when he had the ball. He was 8-23 from the floor.
- J.R. Smith had four fouls. He had more fouls than points (0). He hit Curry twice, once on a 3-pointer, and once on a random jumper. That can’t happen.
- Curry went 14-14 from the line. The refs were calling everything for him including one where Richard Jefferson touched him near half-court and he just whipped the ball up. The refs need to realize that a shooting foul should only occur when a guy has gathered his feet and started to rise for a shot. If a player is touched, then takes his steps and shoots, that is not a shooting foul. If a player isn’t taking his gather before the call, he shouldn’t be allowed to take it. The whistle blows and guys stop where they are at or can continue their two steps if said steps were going on while the whistle was blown.
- Cleveland needs to stop trapping Curry. Draymond Green is going to make the right read most of the time when the ball is tossed to him. He had six assists. It’s about time the Cavs only switch or hedge hard and recover on Curry. Curry got a lot of foul calls, but he was just 7-17 from the floor.
- Klay Thompson got loose tonight for 22 and went 4-7 from deep. Cleveland needs to hug up on him a little more. He can have a monster game if he feels himself.
- The Cavs need to stick to what works. In the first quarter, the King pushed the ball. Most of Cleveland’s points came in semi-transition. Why did they feel the need to let Irving completely alter the pace of the game in the third?
- Tristan Thompson was ineffective yet again. He had eight points and four rebounds.
- Cleveland needs to hit the 3-ball at some point. They went 8-29.
- The bench was awful again. Outside of garbage time they were 5-12 for 17 points.
Hypes
- LeBron’s first half was flawless. If the Cavs want to win this series, they need to enable how the King played in the second quarter.
- In the second and parts of the first, Richard Jefferson and Iman Shumpert covered Kevin Durant, which left LeBron on Livingston, Iggy, or Green. Other guys picked up KD sporadically using switches at times too. This allowed LeBron to sag off and patrol the paint.
- That opened up the game for Cleveland for a few reasons.
- LeBron deterred Golden State from driving. It also allowed him to rebound more. When he doesn’t have to close out on a guy because he’s a crappy shooter, he can go after boards much more aggressively. His 11 rebounds were magical. When he got the ball after a miss he charged up the floor and attacked an unset Warrior’s defense with astounding success. After six of his 11 boards (55%), the Cavs scored points.
- Even when the King didn’t rebound the ball, he still acted quickly instead of over dribbling.
- The other nice thing about slotting other guys on KD is that it takes the Warriors out of their offense. They love to pass. They had 34 assists on 46 makes. However, they’ll hand Durant the ball to ISO if a small guy like Shump is one him. It’s easy to help out when that happens.
- Cleveland’s focus was much better tonight. Yes, the Warriors got some open shots, but they were held to only 40 points in the paint. The Cavs also had 15 steals after having zero in game one.
- Cleveland has a blueprint to win. The team needs to attack after every single miss with simple drive and kick action. And, they need to do it consistently. If the King hadn’t gotten tired in the third, and had been given an opportunity to rebound a little more down the stretch, the Cavs might have pulled this game off.
Cavs strategy for game I, cover 3 pt shooters giving room inside. This almost worked, warriors shot only 42% for game, except that Cavs forced only 4 TOs and shot poorly. Cavs strategy for game 2, crowd the lanes, more space for 3 pt shooters. Cavs actually scored well this game but couldn’t match warriors in shoot out match. But, both games, Cavs tried to match Warriors pace, a pace they are not used to play. My guess, in game 3, Cavs will try to slow down the game. You can’t have your best and perhaps only two way player… Read more »
Irving is struggling because Durant is really bothering him at the rim. He’s shown he can easily score over Klay and Bray, but the addition of Durant has totally remade their defense.
Adding Durant took them from a team that thought they were better than they were, to the team they actually thought they were.
AGREE WITH YOU COLS — BOTH CAVS SUPER TEAMS —-PRESENT AND THE CAVS OF PRICE / NANCE / DAUGHERTY ETC . WERE VICTIMS OF PLAYING AGAINST SOME OF THE ALL TIME GREAT TEAMS —-PRESENT -DUBS——PAST JORDANS BULLS
AGREE WITH YOU ON CAVS LACK OF YOUTH ( SOMETHING THEY NEED TO ADDRESS—WHICH I WOULD HOPE THEY TRY TO RESIGN ENCHILADA ) DISAGREE WITH YOU ON LEBRON —HAS HE LOST A STEP–HELL YES —MAKES UP ON THAT WITH EXPERIENCE —–NEEDS MORE COLLECTIVE SUPPORT ON DEFENSE —YES J.R / SWISH NEEDS TO START TO BE J.R. SWISH AND SCORE AND PUT ADDED PRESSURE ON THE DUBS—-STILL BELIEVING IN BELIEVELAND
Game 3 Boston, and now in Finals- Lebron just looks old. He can attack the rim like a madman on offense, but he doesn’t have enough left for defense. Cavs don’t have the energy, youth, athleticism to defend the Warriors.
He didn’t look old in the first two finals games. He looked great.
Looked great in the first half, his numbers have been down in the second halves — number of drives, shooting %, etc. I’m sure it’s because he’s been worn down in the 2nd halves. Call it ‘old’, call it whatever you like…
What are you talking about? LeBron does not look old on defense. I swear anytime the guy isn’t playing DPOY-caliber defense in the playoffs, people say he’s old.
Just had a sad thought. It’s possible that this Cavs team is a top 5 team of all-time. They are that freaking good. Yet they could be going up against the best team of all time. Even Jordan’s Bulls would struggle against this Durant led Warriors team.
Jordan’s Bulls would lose to this Warriors team. And this Cavs team is not a top 5 all time team. Seriously…
They are though. They went 12-1 in the playoffs with an average margin of victory that was obscene. Cavs are great.
Agree with Nate’s comment about playing at the Warriors’ pace, below. I told a buddy of mine before the series started that we could very easily see the LeBron circa 2015 Finals offense, where we slow everything waaay down and run the offense through him from the inside out. This needs to be a strategy at least for portions of games moving forward. LeBron with his back to the basket demanding double teams and kicking out from there. GS is very long and athletic, so the perimeter passing hasn’t been as effective. We need to slow things down and stop… Read more »
In the Cavs four wins last year; JR scored 20, 10, 14 and 12 pts. He made the Warriors pay attention to him, and now he can be almost left alone like Thompson. SMH
He’s a total confidence player and seems to have none right now. It really is unfortunate. He’s a guy that should be shooting even when guarded, because that’s when he hits the most. He’s hesitant now and doesn’t look to score at all.
It’s like Love and JR switched from last year. Love is now trigger happy (and has been all playoffs, and it suits him well), and JR is hesitant.
GOOD LUCK THAD / HAD A BEER WITH THAD AT A COACHING CLINIC ( AFTER THE BASKETBALL SESSION WAS OVER ) GREAT GUY —VERY FUNNY—-YES THEY MISSED THE BOAT ON MILLER —-BELIEVE IT WILL BE A BIG NAME COACH FOR RECRUITING SAKE
Thad motta out at OSU. Maybe we’ll see someone from the Cavs in there.
If they were going to get rid of Thad, they missed their shot at Miller from Dayton, who I like. I wish the best for Thad, I have met him in casual settings, super nice guy. He was great for Ohio State hoops.
What really grabs my goat is that they played well enough last night to beat last year’s warriors team and this year’s Cavs team is better than last year’s and is most likely the best Cavs team ever.
Sigh.
yep – this blows.
No they didn’t play well enough to beat last year’s team.
Kyrie barely showed up. Cols is smokin his own memories now. We haven’t approached how crazy good we played last year yet.
They absolutely would have beaten last year’s Warriors in Game 2. While Kyrie didn’t show up on offense, Kevin Love sure did.
And by “absolutely would have” I really mean I have no idea.
Take Lebron off the Cavs- they’re one of the worst teams in the league.
Take Curry off the Warriors- they’re still the favorite to win it all.
It’s a joke, It’s all such a joke. The Curry love-fest is such a freaking joke.
yep
Yep. Why is why Durant’s and Curry’s individual legacies will never be what they could be even if they do win the next 5 championships. Durant will never have proven he could win a ship without the most dominant lineup of all time and Curry will never have beaten a healthy cavs as the the number one player. That basically cheapens their accomplishments in the context of NBA history. They may win, but they should win. The warriors simply shouldn’t lose a game this playoffs and shouldn’t lose the next 5 ships with this incarnation of this team. Anything less… Read more »
Agree 100%. This will be the most hollow championship of all time. And I’m not bitter at all ;)
I am actually not bitter considering what I said. We got ours against a team that dominated like no their team had before. We still beat them. A team that was already one of the greatest rosters of all time. The cavs took the warriors to six without k love and Irving against that roster and we won last year. It means nothing if we don’t win this year or next year or the year after. Whole different context.
Yeah. I’m not bitter either. Just mad that Durant signed with them.
Agree. This is a new narrative.
I think their legacy will only be tarnished in the eyes of Cavs fans. Nobody looks back at the Bulls and says, ‘Well they had prime Jordan. Of COURSE they won, so those six rings are meaningless.’ When people look back at great teams, all they see is greatness.
Maybe for a team. Individual player legacies are treated differently. Look at Kobe and shaq. Kobe was the man for only two ships. His first three, shaq was by far the best player on that team. Same thing with mj. He is the man for many people because he was always by far the best player on his finals teams and those teams didn’t have more than 2 perrenial all stars/hall of famers (mj and pippen) unlike the 60s and 80s Celtics, 90s lakers, etc. Count rodman if u like, but is he a top 50 all time, meh.
Also the bulls we’re not far and away more talented during their championship runs. Talent was not as concentrated back then. And they’re has never been a team with anywhere near GS top end talent all smack dab in the middle of their primes at once plus a monster bench.
there has never… I need to figure out how to turn off auto fill
I couldn’t disagree with you more.
I hate the Warriors so much. I can’t stand Curry. Everything he is able to do is because he is mooching off the greatest surrounding cast of all-time, yet everyone gives him the credit. I hate them.
I don’t see us beating this warriors team, but funny thing is I was saying same thing last year at this point in the finals. They have way too much fire power is all I know.
Ridiculous.
NBA favoritism. At this point hard to argue that the league office isn’t involved with missing blatantly obvious plays like that. And yes, that play was clear last night on watching the game live. Ridiculous.
That makes for a very effective pump-fake.
He does that a fair bit, usually goes uncalled…just like most of the ‘insane handles!’ ‘sick moves!’ travel/ double dribble/ palming stuff that goes on all over the NBA. That one was very obvious, though, even in real time.
AGREE JASON– MENTIONED EARLIER THE SAME —–CURRY / THOMPSON / EVEN DURANT —OH WELL —–NEED TO LIVE IN THE PRESENT —–” STILL BELIEVING IN BELIEVELAND ” —GO CAVS !!!
Sure could use us some Liggins on D.
IS BIG EDDY TAVARES ABLE TO PLAY —THOUGHT HE WAS INJURED— IF HEALTHY I WOULD GIVE HIM A RUN AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS
I’m a little irritated that Lue hasn’t put much new in. It’s the same stuff they’ve been running all year, and he’s getting killed on timeout plays this series. You’d think they’d have scouted some stuff. Also, he left LeBron in to close out quarters to give them a quarter closeout boost, but it killed their beginning of second and fourth lineups.
As for all the three point line Curry freebies, the first one on JR was just a horrid call. The one on RJ was a good call. He saw the foul coming and got into his shot before RJ actually fouled him. The problem is, the NBA rarely calls that and they did give Curry that for some reason. Then they didn’t call it consistently. The Warriors a floppy bunch of whiners, though.
‘He saw the foul coming and got into his shot before RJ actually fouled him.’
I didn’t like that call either, good it didn’t go in resulting just one extra free throw since Cavs were already in bonus.
The Cavs played much better last night than in Game 1 (score notwithstanding). They made some adjustments and improvements. Kyrie/the team needs to figure out how to counter the Warriors’ defense on him. The Cavs’ three point shooters need to make some shots and put pressure on the Warriors to play from behind. The combination of Lebron driving to the hoop AND perimeter shooters making shots will open things up for the Cavs. Both games were close in the first half (but always teetering on the edge). Keep watching film, guys! Let’s go Cavs!
Sheesh. Ye of little faith. The series doesn’t start until a team wins a game on the other team’s floor. The Cavs are actually better than last year when it comes to point differential so far (41 to 48). I haven’t seen anything from GS to make me think they’re some magical unbeatable team. The problem is that the Cavs’ aren’t running an offense, are playing at GS’s pace, and that Kyrie, JR, Deron, and Channing have STUNK. Channing was unbelievably bad last night. It was sad. That block from behind by Iguodala was on one of the laziest finishes… Read more »
Those are three huge problems. A bigger problem is they cannot stop the warriors without Lebron on the floor and devoting energy to d. Even then Durant is difficult with how much space they have to give him with Curry, Thompson, etc. They put up 113 points last night, but they gave up 132 and lost the rebounding battle 53 to 41. If they can’t stop them and can’t get rebounds it won’t matter how their offense does. I mean love had 7 bounds and TT had 4. Those are our two best rebounders besides LBJ. You know that won’t… Read more »
I don’t think the Dubs are ‘unbeatable’, clearly they are not, but I do think they are unbeatable in a seven game series this season. I didn’t come to that conclusion after game one, or game two, or at some point in the playoffs — I have believed that for months. The Cavs need to play at a super high level just to keep pace with them, and they can’t keep pace unless Lebron is out there all the time. This is not last year’s GS team. I picked Warriors in 6 before the series, and I was afraid that… Read more »
Stop calling him ‘The King.’ It’s ridiculous, and detracts from your analysis. Oh, and we love to complain about Curry’s gift free throw attempts on a phony shot when RJ3 touched him, but that’s exactly what Kyrie did on that ridiculous four point play in Game 1. He literally jumped, and in a backward motion, to draw contact and shoot in a motion he had no intention of shooting in, not making. It goes both ways whether we complain about palming, double dribbling, phantom foul calls or traveling. The collection of talent on the floor between us and the Warriors… Read more »
What do you think the real reasons are exactly? Lay them out, or maybe don’t be so quick to criticize others without providing any analysis whatsoever as to why you think they actually lost. You didn’t state a single reason. You just criticized what you thought were the wrong reasons without providing any insight of your own. What are the real reasons? Interesting. Officiating wasn’t the only cause, or the largest obviously, but it certainly is a factor. If one team is allowed to consistently hack and another isn’t… and also the double dribble, seriously, what the hell was that?… Read more »
For those asking where is Kyrie? Thompson is an amazing defender, backed up by a DPOY candidate, with KD’s long ass arms closing behind him. That’s a hard task when you are his size. Impressed he made any buckets. He needs to lay Curry the f out every play on defense though.
Kyrie has to adjust how he finishes when he beats his man.
Last year, once Bogut was out, the big-man help was only Draymond or Ezeli (and usually not both at once).
This year, there’s Green, Durant and Zaza starting and West and McGee coming off the bench.
So, instead of forcing it all the way to the basket, he needs to mix in some floaters and short jumpers before he gets to the bigs.
AFTER THE HUGE VIEWING AUDIENCE FROM LAST YEAR THE NBA HAS TO BE WORRIED OF A WARRIORS SWEEP
2nd game in a row i haven’t watched 4th quarter. For all the hype, not a fun series to watch. No Drama. Lets hope that changes!
I just checked this cuz I was interesting, Nomad:
“But more people are watching, according to ESPN. Game 2 of the Finals broadcast on ABC drew a 12.7 rating in metered markets, a 7% improvement from the same game a year ago. The broadcast peaked at a 14.6 rating from 10-10:15 pm.
The first two games have averaged a 12.6 rating, up from a 12.5 in 2016.”
THEY HAD THEIR “DELLY ” IN LIGGINS —–WONDER WHAT HE COULD HAVE DONE WITH CURRY AND ALSO POSSIBLY DURANT —-JUST SAYING
Agree — not that Liggins would guarantee anything for the past two games but consider swapping him out for JR Smith or Korver for 10 minutes etc.
The biggest problem I see–and God knows, many were mentioned above and below–is Wood’s crux: LeBron needs to attack in the second half, yet LeBron was tired in the second half. No one (maybe outside of Russell Westbrook) can attack the rim AND be ball-dominant AND play lockdown defense on the opponent’s best player for 40+ minutes (which he would have, had the game been closer) AND be effective in all areas. Yet, how can the Cavs have him well-rested when they cannot trust Kyrie to the ball-dominant attacker on the second unit? Unlike their opponent, who can rest any… Read more »
The Cavs had figured out the Warriors. Then they added Kevin Durant.
Agree with a lot of this. But your very last sentence applies regardless of how tired we are or are not. Kyrie and Love have to be huge for us to win. Love was big in Game 2, but Kyrie was 8-23. That’s just bad!
The things that carried the Cavs through the first three rounds (three point shooting, rebounding, locking down at least one star) have been largely absent in the first two games… Granted, the Warrior D is great at closing out on shooters, but the Cavs have also missed a lot of open threes as well. With TT struggling, the Cavs are often limited to one shot per possession, and the Warriors seem to be getting the majority of the 50/50 balls…
Our defense and rebounding are the largest problems for us I think.
The Warriors just posted the 4th largest winning margin in the first two games of the finals. The largest – last year. Hope is not lost yet. Green can implode at any moment. One turned ankle can turn a series (ask the Spurs). Some thoughts: -Durant has been a great addition defensively. -The Warriors are the only team quick enough to double and recover back. That is hurting the Cavs shooters. As Kyrie said – you can’t simulate playing against them, so the Cavs (besides LBJ) aren’t making quick enough decisions when they double. -Wasn’t quite sure why LBJ was… Read more »
You have to be someone who was competitive in sports to understand the difference between what LeBron did and what KD did. LeBron didn’t get beat by a 73 win team and say “Oh, well I can’t beat them, I’ll join them!” LeBron gave Cleveland almost a decade and never had a semblance of a real running mate. He left to join the 5th/6th seed in the East Miami Heat. Yeah, Bosh also joined him, giving him 2 all-stars. But they had to build that team together and work to get to a championship level together. They had no semblance… Read more »
+1, Durant is the weakest player in NBA history in my mind. He ruined an amazing trilogy. Warriors weren’t mentally tough enough for a rubber match, need overwhelming dominance to replace their fragile psyches.
Maybe I am wrong and Cavs will make it competitive. But this feels different from last year.
I’m not counting the Cavs out, but we basically need to be perfect for 4 of the next 5 games to win this thing. And only because KD ruined the NBA with the biggest pansy chump move in the history of professional sports. Nothing has ever come close to the embarrassment that he pulled. It’s worse yet because the screaming Warriors “fans” are a bunch of 13 year old kids and a bunch of bandwagoners who didn’t follow the team until 2 years ago.
It’s the pace that’s killing us. The warriors actually aren’t doing that well in the half court to my eyes but seem to get good shots in broken play.
+1 on the difference between the Miami scenario (which I also disliked, for obvious reasons) and this one — at this point watching the KD thing I am feeling slightly blind with rage as a lifelong Cavs fan but, I think, rationally looking at it as well it is hard not to lose respect for Kevin Durant and feel inclined to believe that his move will turn out to be historically bad for the league. Sad also that Kawhi (sp?) Leonard got hurt in the previous round, respect for how Spurs have done things has grown in the process anyway.
+1
Warriorsfan, get out. Were the 2010 Heat one win away from a championship? Did the 2010 Heat win 73 games? Did the 2010 Heat have the back to back MVP? Did the 2010 Heat come back from 3-1 deficit in the conference finals to beat the Cavs? No one on here is happy Leb went to the Heat in 2010, but it isn’t the same as what Durant did. Leb teamed up with 2 other all stars. Durant choked away game 6, then went to an established team that had won more games over 2 years than any other team… Read more »
quite some response for +1.
Anyway, you are focusing too much on warriors and what Durant did and doing, instead of what Cavs not doing and as if warriors already beat Cavs, on a Cavs blog.
Get out. No one wants your trolling right now.
I could say the same to you.
I am guessing the warriors fan “imposter” who s&$! talked last year after the cavs going down 3-1 will make another appearance sometime this series. Easy to create another email address or use a proxy server to disguise an ip.
Because you can’t join the team that just beat you unless you’re a turncoat. Durant and Ray Allen are turncoats.
The stupid thing about this is that if Durant doesn’t choke last year the Cavs are probably playing OKC for the 2nd year in a row in the Finals. The frauds were that close to being wiped out.
READING ALOT OF THE LATE POSTS LAST NIGHT / LISTEN TO JIM CHONES ON THE RADIO—–CAN”T PLAY AT THEIR PACE —WILL KILL US ALL THE TIME —–SLOW THE GAME DOWN —-FOR GOSH SAKES GET PHYSICAL ( NOT DIRTY ) BUT STAND YOUR FRIGGIN GROUND AND LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE THERE —-WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF ” ENCHILADA ” AND MAYBE EVEN DAHNTAY ( DWILL / JR OTHERS ) AREN’T GETTING IT DONE AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD —HOW MANY YEARS HAS T.T. BEEN PLAYING– BY NOW HE SHOULD HAVE DEVELOPED SOME GO TO POST MOVES AND A… Read more »
I have found it difficult to connect with this team all year. The way they treated the regular season demonstrated that they were not concerned with developing what it takes to win a championship. Maybe they thought they already had it developed; maybe they gave up caring when KD signed. All I know is what I see in front of me, and that’s a whole lot of guys who are shrinking in the big moment.
Dude. They are easily at the very least the 2nd best team in the NBA. It’s not their fault that a 73 win team added a top 3 player.
If anything, they are vindicated by the way they played in the regular season. They showed it didn’t matter and they would blow through the playoffs no matter what. That they then have to play maybe the largest collection of talent every assembled in the NBA has nothing to do with the regular season.
Being the second best team and being prepared to defeat the best team are two completely different concepts. The way they played in the regular season was, We’ll put forth effort when we need to and isolate to score buckets in the playoffs. That approach worked against everyone but the best team. Therefore, use the regular season to devise an approach to beat the best team. It just smacks of laziness.
It’s not the approach. It’s the fact that a 73 win team added Prime Kevin Durant.
So everyone is supposed to give up now? Nothing that can be done to beat them? Sounds like a great league.
Not give up. But don’t turn it into a circular firing squad where it’s something the Cavs are doing wrong. They blitzed through the league and have met a team that added Kevin Durant. It’s not the Cavs fault this happened.
I would like to see at CtB or elsewhere a more extended analysis of the J.R. Smith/Korver dynamic — why is it that these two have not been effective in the finals thus far? Obviously 2 games is a small sample size, but you don’t get many of these games in your career, unless you’re LeBron… Is part of the problem that there was constant movement in the roster all year? But looking at the Warriors it is hard to believe that another full season and playoffs with the same unit, healthy, would make a huge difference. But good gracious… Read more »
If you think the Cavs are shrinking in the moment, then you must be watching something else. The Cavs played great in the first half in Game 2 despite getting jobbed by the refs time and time again. We came out poor in the 3Q because JR absolutely killed us and GS broke it open. LeBron can’t play 48 mpg at 100%. Kyrie had a miserable offensive game, but do you really think he’s shrinking from the moment? We’ve been 100% hosed by the refs in the first two games. Things should swing in our favor in Games 3 and… Read more »
Totally agree about the refs. Maybe I’m a homer or extremely biased but the Cavaliers were playing exceptionally well first quarter and perhaps had chance to actually build a lead and confidence as it’s much easier to play from ahead than the constant uphill slog we’ve been forced into these first two games. Then that phantom JR foul gives Stephanie Curry three free throws and Klay Thompson draws that blocking foul on Love which was totally a charge and those two crucial early calls zapped any chance we had for momentum or to build a lead. I knew then we… Read more »
First of all, I am going to make sure my grandchildren know what a total pansy Kevin Durant is. The fact that this turd had to sign with a 73 win team to win a ring is pathetic. He’s a pathetic excuse for a competitor and I hope every parent whose kid wants to play basketball tells their kid not to emulate the absolute clown that is Kevin Durant. He decided to play Madden on rookie when things got hard. What a freakin’ clown. Secondly, we have to be better and I think we can beat this team. LeBron is… Read more »
IT is weird. It used to be you could draw a foul by going to the rim. Now it seems like the refs call fouls on jump shooters all the time and let things go at the rim.
I just do not understand. Obviously LeBron gets disrespected by the refs, but good lord have you seen the other guys? Love gets manhandled anytime he goes inside. Zaza either pushes TT in the back toward the basket or pulls him away from the basket every time they’re on the court together. Durant slams both of LeBron’s arms on a “block” and they don’t whistle him.
KD should have had 4 fouls in the first half.
It’s just comical. But those calls will swing in our favor at home.
Not to mention Curry’s clear double dribble when he “toasted” LeBron for the layup. He picked the ball up with both hands and then put it back on the floor. Of course the ref wasn’t about to call it, though. Just like anytime KD backs down an opponent and basically doesn’t dribble.
That double dribble was egregious and OBVIOUS. I don’t think the announcing crew even mentioned it. Curry actually does that (picks the ball up with both hands in the middle of some ‘sick move’) fairly frequently, but hardly ever gets whistled.
Calling that would have given the Cavs the win. The Cavs collapse is much bigger than one or two bad calls.
Let’s also ignore Lebron bulling his way into every defender, TT moving on every high screen and pushing and pulling under the boards, and multiple 3 second violations on Love. Refs may suck but they suck all around.
Yup — not interested in all this whining about calls, unless the games are rigged, which I don’t think they are. I would be interested in a statistical or video compilation of all the times *in the playoffs* when LeBron (praise him in every other facet, but that famous switch of his isn’t always to ‘on’) has failed to get back on defense for the purpose of whining to the refs, a la Chris Paul. Richard Jefferson was doing a lot of complaining yesterday, not sure it’s really the sign of a composed team.
Tell me again how the Cavs ended up with Lebron and Love? And who has the highest salary in the league? What’s pathetic is blaming the refs for a team that has no center, possibly 3-4 good defenders, goes iso on every play,can’t keep pace with the W’s, and has no offensive strategy. When Lebron is out of the game,this Cavs team would be sniffing the lottery.
LeBron and Love came to an annual lottery bound team and had to build from ground up. Durant came to a team that may well have won back to back if not for Green’s suspension. Salary means nothing in this argument. If you took what players are truly worth in salary, W’s probably ahead of Cavs. They created a new rule because of Durant.
Totally baffled by JR’s play. WTF is wrong with him. Have to believe Shump starts on Wed. I think we will win game three
JR cannot be allowed to start again.
They need JR if they are going to win it all. Benching JR is a Panic!!! move.
dude JR has been having absolutely insane stress at home and probably getting very little sleep — I think everyone is pulling for him but if people think that hasn’t effected his performance they’re dreaming. hope he has a breakout game 3, and plays headier defense. But I am more baffled by Korver’s being neutralized.
Simmo, I just saw on the other thread your generous offer to send me some marathon training notes. That’s very kind and I’ll take all the help I can get. Please let me know what I may owe you for the coaching advice. Thanks much
Sure Mike – have sent you a msg on FB.
I’m now resigned; no shame for us to lose to this team. When we’re at our best the optimal result is a tie game, like in the first half. There is no way to slow them down. I believe this ’17 Warriors team is the best team of all time. The past two years it was a fair fight, now it’s not. It’s as if the 1986 Lakers added young Michael Jordan; they wouldn’t have needed him to win a title (’85 champs, ’86 lost in WCF, ’87-’88 champs) but getting him is total overkill. I hate that the narrative… Read more »
Agreed.
Cavs need to play physical, foul out. But make them hurt after every play. Turn this shit into a bloodbath. Fight them, idc.
Exactly. Durant decided to play Madden on rookie when things got hard.
We’re playing the best team in the history of the NBA right now. We absolutely must win Games 3 and 4, obviously, and I think that if we can do that and GS has to sweat a little bit, things might go sour for them.
Yeah, agree with this. I was speechless when I saw a tweet after the first game from some LA sportsfan laughing about how a relaxed GSW wiped out the best “JV team” the East could offer. So much BS to unpack in that one tweet, I couldn’t even.
Please. Curry couldn’t even have played in the 90s. He’d have lasted all of three weeks.
This is 2017, not the 1990s. Since you get more foul calls by jacking up threes than by driving to the rim someone like Curry doesn’t even need to go inside. I would prefer if we would hammer someone every now and then, and yes, the Warriors wouldn’t be as good if Curry was hurt.
Also, they are pretty clearly trying to double/ limit Kyrie, and challenge him to make the right play. He may not be able to make them pay for that, and maybe he never will be able to. But if the Cavs are to have any chance, he needs to make them pay.
He is not getting back in transition either. I suspect he’s not quite 100%.
We should make this the narrative when Warriors win like the media who talk about steph not 100% last yr
Cavs played better, but still were blown out. I think this game was a better indicator of the relative states of both teams. Cavs can compete and maybe win if they play at their highest level, but not much margin for error. If Kyrie doesn’t bring it, they have almost no chance. Love played well, I’d say.
Don’t see the Cavs winning when they give up a 40 point quarter. I think Cavs may win game 3, and Warriors in 5.
I think Kev played one of the best contested games I’ve seen him play. If it’s left up to LBJ to do most of the attacking from the get-go, we’ll see the same results the remainder of the series – noone can play at that pace the whole game. KYRIE WHERE ARE YOU??