Even without Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson playing their best, the Warriors have defeated the Cavs by an average of 24 points. For a series that was expected to go the distance, this doesn’t bode well for the Cavs. Oh, and to make matters worse for Cleveland, star power forward Kevin Love has a concussion and might miss Game 3.
As bleak as it might look for the Cavs, they play the games for a reason. A LeBron James-led comeback certainly looks improbable, but it’s not impossible. So with that said, here is the blueprint for the Cavaliers to make this NBA Finals a competitive series once again.
1. Go small
It might sound counterintuitive, but going small from the get-go would be a wise move for Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue to make. Yes, the Warriors can do exactly the same, and often do it better, but for the Cavs, a frontcourt that starts both Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson doesn’t have the length or speed to keep up with the Warriors' up-tempo scheme.
Instead, moving Love to the bench (or if he misses Game 3 due to injury), sliding LeBron over to the four spot, and inserting another guard like Matthew Dellavedova or Iman Shumpert into lineup would potentially help them in several ways.
To start, it would give them more speed along the perimeter, allowing their defense to successfully switch more often and be less susceptible to dribble penetration and that deadly Warriors' three-point shot. Secondly, on offense, it would give James and Kyrie Irving more space to operate.
In addition to having another spot-up shooter for the Golden State defense to account for, more opportunities on offense should naturally arise for Kyrie Irving to take advantage of. And if the Cavs are going to make this a series, Irving has to play like the All-Star he is.
0 comments:
Post a Comment