Peak LeBron and Kyrie win Game 5 for the Cavs

The NBA playoffs are here. The games are tighter, the lights are brighter, and the narratives are getting thick. It can be a lot to keep up with but don’t worry we’re here to help. Throughout the NBA postseason, FanSided will be gathering together some of the most talented writers from our network for a daily recap of our favorite stories from the night before.

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The Symbiosis of Kyrie and the Cavs

Cody Williams | @TheSizzle20 | Lake Show Life, FanSided

While LeBron James was the central figure in the Cavaliers Game 5 victory, making his presence known across the box score, it was Kyrie Irving that thrust himself into the spotlight in some of the most crucial moments of the fourth quarter, capping off a terrific night of his own. Uncle Drew crossed up defender after defender and hit one difficult shot after the other to pull the Cavs comfortably ahead late in the game.

And really, there’s no more perfect microcosm of what Kyrie Irving is to this Cavaliers team.

You don’t have to possess the greatest memory to recall earlier in the series when the media and fans were all on the back of Kyrie Irving for how poorly he was playing and how detrimental his performance was to Cleveland. “Kyrie can’t try to win this by himself,” “Irving shouldn’t be the one trying to play hero-ball,” and other phrases echoing that sentiment could be found at ease.

When you really break it down, Kyrie Irving is simply an amplifier for whatever is going on with the Cavs as a whole. He’s essentially that friend that is always cracking jokes non-stop (every group has one). That guy is fantastic to have around and tons of fun when things are going well, but he’s a bit harder to swallow and sometimes just abhorrent when things aren’t shaking out quite as well for you.

That’s because Irving is a player that seemingly feeds off of the momentum of the Cavs as a whole. Rather than being one of the leaders, Kyrie has a bit of a symbiotic relationship with Cleveland in regards to his performance. When the chips are down, Irving is going to press and try to do too much and the suffering will only increase. When things are up, performances like the one in Game 5 and moments like from the fourth quarter happen for him.

This obviously isn’t to disparage what Irving did late in Game 5 as it was a pleasure to watch. However, it’s the sort of unquantifiable observation that you notice after moments like that. No matter how talented or how capable he is of doing this or that, right now he’s a player on a level where he’s simply going to feed off how his team is playing and rarely will he deviate from that.

Kevin gets no Love

Nathan Heck | @NathanHeck22 | Pelican Debrief

The Cleveland Cavaliers dismantled the Golden State Warriors en route to a 112-97 victory on the Warriors’ home floor. Lebron and his handpicked followers put the spurs to the steed in the second half, and there was seemingly nothing Golden State could do to stop the Cavaliers from scoring in either the third or fourth quarter.

Without Draymond Green terrorizing the Cleveland scorers each and every time they neared the basket, it seemed as if (nearly) everyone was tallying career performances for the Cavaliers. Kyrie Irving finished with a scorching 41 points and six assists, while Lebron turned in a 41 point, 16 rebound and seven assist performance that reminded everyone why “The King” is in the running to be considered the greatest of all time.

Fun was had all around by the Cavaliers unless, of course, you happened to be named Kevin Love. While the other two components of Cleveland’s version of the tired “Big Three” trope had themselves a ball (pun intended), Love finished the game with a meager two points and attempted just five shots. His compadres hoisted up 30 and 24 attempts, respectively, and they seemed more than happy to simply ignore the flawed, but talented, floor-distorting big man for awfully long stretches of the game.

Not only would Lebron not pass Love the ball, but he wouldn’t even give him a high five. That’s just cold.

Instead of kicking the ball to the waiting Love, Irving was content threading the proverbial needle on his way to the basket to attempt a hysterically well-contested layup that everyone was certain was not going in. Luckily for the Cavaliers and their fans, nearly every one of those ridiculous attempts found the bottom of the net in Game Five.

Arguing with results is always hard, but processes matter. With Draymond Green returning to the lineup in Game Six, it is entirely possible that all of Irving’s aforementioned ludicrous layup attempts result in zero points. While it was not necessary against the depleted interior of the Warriors (RIP Bogut’s knee), slinging the ball to Love on the perimeter may be the more intelligent choice as the Golden State defense is, once again, made whole on Thursday night.

Instead of sharpening their spear against the lax, but still frenetic, incarnation of the Warriors’ defense in Oakland, the Cavaliers settled comfortably into an isolation heavy attack that relied conspicuously on great players making excruciatingly tough shots with regularity. While that strategy may win a game or two against the Warriors (or three, if you are the Oklahoma City Thunder), it likely is not the way to defy history and come back from a three to one series deficit.

Getting Kevin Love involved and keeping him in the fold will be paramount if the the Cavaliers truly want to do the impossible. Even with Steph Curry playing a below-par game and Draymond Green missing the action, it still took 41 points apiece from James and Irving to come away with the victory. Allowing Love to help drag some of that weight could make the impossible, well, possible.

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Please just let
Love shoot, too

Without Draymond Green

Ian Levy | @HickoryHigh | FanSided

Draymond Green is really important to the Golden State Warriors. And, as Christopher Wallace once said, “If you don’t know, now you know.”

With Green watching from outside the arena, the Cleveland Cavaliers broke through the Warriors running roughshod. Yes, it was almost all LeBron and Kyrie. Yes, it was almost all absurd efficiency on contested jumpers and iso attacks. But those things aren’t really as flukey as they might appear — absurd efficiency on contested jumpers and iso attacks is what LeBron and Kyrie do. This was a peak performance for both players but without Green they were, really for the first time in this series, able to be themselves for the full 48 minutes.

The important of Draymond Green is not just about what he does, it’s about the space he holds allowing everyone else to retreat into roles tailored to what they do best. Without Green, Harrison Barnes has so slide up and defend a little bit bigger than he really should be. Andrew Bogut has to run more pick-and-roll, making plays in the middle of the floor. Andre Iguodala becomes the weak side rim protector. Marreese Speights, James Michael McAdoo, and Anderson Varejao play minutes, more minutes against starters.

Green’s adaptability is his calling card but it is not just the ability to change roles with different lineups, it is the ability to change roles from second to second as an offensive or defensive possession evolves. With him out of the lineup every one else has to pick up just a little bit of slack — slack they are either marginally uncomfortable with or slightly ill-suited for. Cracks begin to show.

None of this would have mattered if Curry had been on his game. Or if Andrew Bogut’s hadn’t been injured. Or if Kyrie and LeBron had been just very good instead of historically great. But a loss is a loss. Draymond Green will be back for Game 6 and the Warriors will be dramatically better for it.

If you don’t know, now you know.

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