Hardwood Paroxysm: What does the future hold for the Cavaliers and Warriors?
What does the future hold for super small ball and one man teams?
by Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) Hardwood Paroxysm
The NBA finals were a revolution in experimental styles of basketball. The Warriors pushed “small-ball” to new heights (pun intended) while the Cavaliers demonstrated how far a team can go when their roster gets picked off one-by-one like bratty kids at the Wonka factory. But where do we go from here?
Many are saying that the Warriors have perfected the small-ball style of basketball but I don’t think they’ve discovered the end-game. Small-ball has merely been detected, the Warriors can, and should, go even smaller. David Lee is a former all-star but his height and low post game is wasted on this roster. Why not trade him for players that will excel in the smallest possible lineup? I’m thinking David Lee for JJ Barea and former fan favorite Monta Ellis. Bogut is another player that is wasted on this roster, as demonstrated by his DNP in game 6. I think he should be dealt to open up cap space to sign Mo Williams.
A starting lineup of Mo Williams, Monta, Barea, Klay Thompson and point-center Steph Curry would be the ultimate version of small-ball. Sure, they’ll likely give up a few rebounds here and there, but there is no sense in half-way committing to small-ball with giants like Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. It’s like they say, go small or go home. With the departure of Alvin Gentry to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Warriors can also look to bolster their coaching staff by adding small-ball pioneers Mike D’Antoni and Don Nelson, both of whom are very much available.
As for the Cavs, they, too, took a half measure, when they should’ve gone all the way. Why stick with a struggling J.R. Smith for 6 games when you can replace him with a bottle of Hennessey on top of a segway? The bottle of Hennessey might struggle to space the court like JR does, but I am certain that the bottle of Hennessey won’t commit three shooting fouls in the final two minutes and overtime of a close game. Matthew Dellavedova had some inspirational moments in the finals but is he more gritty and inspirational than Air Bud? Air Bud is much less predictable when driving to the basket than Dellavedova is and he’s certain to be even more popular than the Aussie.
Or perhaps the Cavs can experiment with a lineup that just features Lebron James. It sounds a bit outside the box but is it really that much worse than playing James Jones? With a lineup that features no teammates, LeBron will finally be free to attack the basket without worrying about getting teammates involved. His assist numbers might fall a bit but my gut tells me that he will play much more freely knowing that he doesn’t have to waste possessions trying to get JR going. Fewer possessions will end with Dellavedova telegraphing alley-oops to Draymond Green.
Both teams have a bright future if they play their cards right. The NBA game is constantly evolving and both teams would be wise to continue their evolutions and continue down the path that they have started. If they follow my advice and commit to going all-in on their revolutionary styles, I think we will see a rematch of the Finals next season.