The Rotation: The Warriors are writing their own ending
Welcome to The Rotation, our daily playoff wrap-up of our favorite stories, large and small, from last night’s NBA action.
This is how it ends
by Ian Levy (@HickoryHigh)
It ends with a buzzer. An audio marker that 48 minutes of basketball have been played and it’s time to take stock of the score, the universe, and everything.
It ends with a whimper, the collective energy of tens of thousands of fans leaking out through seams in the arena ceiling. Players in white jerseys, not sure what to do with their bodies, or their hands, or themselves.
It ends with a five-point deficit, a numeric separation that had been pointing the other way just a few minutes before, a reminder that the score of a basketball game is always fluid until the moment that buzzer sounds.
It ends with a made 3-pointer that felt both miraculous and utterly expected. A great shooter devoured space and opportunity, let muscle memory be his guide, and cast everything in shiny white marble. It ends with two missed 3-pointers, both familiar and utterly mundane, except for the stakes. Sometimes the best shooters in the world drill game-winners. Sometimes they miss.
It ends with the story of one of the greatest to ever play this game, folded into the narrative of another one of the greatest to ever play this game, with that player’s own story being folded into the saga of perhaps the greatest basketball team we’ve ever seen. This one gets defeat and a yet another wrong to try and make right. This other one gets redemption and relief. And you guys over there all get to crow in the well-earned confidence of historic deeds.
It ends with disappointment. Not for all, but certainly for those whose primary investment was entertainment. It ends with the piercing of self-perpetuating illusions, competitiveness rudely snatched away by greatness.
It ends with a buzzer.
Kevin Love has gotten a lot better, and Kyrie Irving stays amazing. Oh well.
By Brendon Kleen (@BrendonKleen14)
A lot of the things that had to happen did happen, and the Cavaliers still lost to the Warriors. One of those things was Kevin Love playing one of the better basketball games of his career, even in the midst of a terrible shooting night. It’s rare to see a player, especially with one an offensive reputation like Love, to impact the game so dramatically without scoring.
Going into the series, Love’s defense was supposed to be a tactical nightmare for coach Ty Lue. There were to be chess moves on chess moves to properly cover up Love’s defensive weaknesses and maximize the Cavs’ two-way success. Not so.
Last night, Love finally started to impose the physical style Cleveland has tried to play with for three straight Finals. He grabbed four rebounds, capped off by a sequence late in the third quarter in which he drew two fouls under the board in the span of one possession, with an offensive rebound sandwiched between. It seemed his physicality might bring the Cavs back into the series.
But Love dominating the glass is nothing new — what was remarkable last night was his defense. He notched six steals and contested every shot within reach — a truly prolific night. In an unexpected turn of events, Love has played so well defensively through three games that the Cavs almost haven’t missed Tristan Thompson, who has struggled mightily. Lue has ridden Love-at-center lineups far past their normal expiration date, and soaked in the added spacing and quickness that they squeeze out of Cleveland’s limited roster.
The Step Back’s own Chris Manning said on Locked On Cavs (of which he is the host) after Game 2 that while Kyrie Irving is the team’s second-most valuable player, Kevin Love is it’s second-best player. That dichotomy was illustrated perfectly tonight, and it perhaps highlights the reason the Cavs are down 3-0. Even behind all the hustle Love could muster and him putting on a out-of-body defensive clinic, the Cavaliers didn’t have enough to take a game from Golden State at home.
Irving was dazzling himself, scoring 38 points and building a lead in the second half that would not fall until the waning moments of the game. But due to the limitations of the Cavs’ roster, it was for naught. Even at his best, Irving isn’t the type of player who can carry a team full of one-way veteran role players.
With about two minutes left, Love was injured and Irving’s magic wore off. As he came down from his millionth bully-ball rebound attempt of the game, Love landed on Kevin Durant’s heel at an odd angle. He grabbed it immediately. He would not return to the game. The next time down the floor, Irving dribbled the clock out before winding up for a contested 3-pointer that would have given Cleveland the lead. Clang.
Last night, Cleveland’s second-best and second-most important players played some of the best basketball of their lives. They did so against a team whose overwhelming skill level rendered those performances moot. Such are things, now.
The real problem for Cleveland is their bench
By Brandon Jefferson (@Jefferson_Hoops)
After two games of the 2017 NBA Finals a lot of the finger pointing in Cleveland landed on their best players not named LeBron James. Kyrie Irving needed to give them more on offense. Kevin Love couldn’t find a way to stay on the floor for extended stretches. Tristan Thompson had been MIA in Oakland.
However, there was hope. The Cavaliers were returning home, the site that helped spark their eventual historical comeback after trailing 3-1 last season.
Through the first 46 minutes it looked as if the Cavs had found a home remedy. James was as excellent as he’s been all series with a game-high 39 points along with 11 rebounds and nine assists. Irving was HUGE, finally breaking free from the bind Klay Thompson had him in and pouring in 38 points with his finishes around the rim. Love didn’t have the same night statistically, but he wasn’t a negative in his 37 minutes. He even assisted on a block at the rim of Andre Iguodala in the closing minutes of the game.
Tristan Thompson still remains missing, but J.R. Smith stepped up in his spot chipping in 16 points and hitting five 3-pointers.
Yet, through three games there’s been one constant from Cleveland, the bench hasn’t done enough.
The Cavaliers’ bench scored a series-low 11 points on 14 shots — Kyle Korver was the only player to make a field goal. In Game 1 they scored 21 points and they even upped that to 30 points in Game 2, but they lost those games by a combined 41 points.
The couch general managers out there (guilty as charged) have been quick to suggest that Cleveland needs to move Love or Thompson for a star wing to combat what the Golden State Warriors compiled. Those two aren’t the problem; it’s players 6-15 that Cleveland needs to improve upon.
The Warriors can trust Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, David West and even JaVale McGee and Ian Clark have the trust of their teammates and coaches to give them valuable minutes.
For Cleveland, there hasn’t been that same trust earned yet from their reserves. Korver finally was hitting from deep, but he isn’t going to impact the game defensively. Iman Shumpert does give them a versatile defender, but Golden State gives him the “Tony Allen” treatment on offense. Deron Williams and Richard Jefferson have showed their age and might not be in the league after this season. Channing Frye hasn’t been able to play against the Warriors the last two years. The remainder of the roster are there as either a victory cigar or a figurative throwing in of the towel.
It’s not going to be easy to fix this bench, David Griffin has made magic with the Cavaliers roster during his tenure in the front office (and oddly enough this may be his final season calling the shots in Cleveland).
Next: Over and Back: The Warriors' chase for perfection and other nearly perfect playoff runs
Whoever is in charge going forward needs to find the right two-way players if the Cavaliers want to have a realistic shot of bringing home another Larry O’Brien trophy while LeBron is on the team. What moves those are aren’t staring them in the face, but that’s why the GM’s get the big bucks and the rest of us get to tinker with the Trade Machine.