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.
Welcome to The Rotation.
All out of adjustments
Ian Levy | @HickoryHigh | FanSided
With just over eight minutes left in the second quarter, LeBron James made the second of a pair of free throws, shaving the Golden State Warriors’ lead down to one point. They would get no closer.
Draymond Green hit a three-pointer to push the lead back to four. The next Cavs possession took six seconds to get the ball over half-court. Some off-ball screening forced a switch, and with 10 seconds left of the shot clock, Kevin Love was matched up with Stephen Curry on the low block. LeBron forced an entry pass over the top that was picked off and led to a second Green three-pointer.
With the lead now up to seven, the Cavaliers responded with more methodical grinding — 14 seconds to get the ball over half-court and then clear the wing for LeBron to isolate on Klay Thompson in the mid-post. LeBron drove baseline and, as the help closed in, lost the ball out of bounds.
As Golden State pushed back against Cleveland’s run, asserting control, this was all the Cavs had up their sleeves. Walking the ball up court, making a single pass, and attempting to take advantage of a mismatch in the post. Both ended badly and this little two-minute stretch seemed liked a microcosm for the series to this point. The Warriors are versatile and adaptable, the Cavaliers do what they do. It might work for a few minutes, long enough to get them close but not nearly effective enough to hold up for 48 minutes.
The Cavaliers have lost the first two games of the NBA Finals by double-digits. With an enormous hill to climb, and their wheels already spinning in what appears to be their highest gear, I’m not sure there’s any way they’re getting to the top.
Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala combine to thwart LeBron James
John Buhler | @buhler118 | FanSided
The Golden State Warriors were able to take a convincing two games to one series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals on Sunday night in their dominating rout of Cleveland, 110-77. Though Cleveland wasn’t expected to win either of these first two games on the road, the Cavaliers’ championship dreams are fading fast after two tough losses in Oakland.
While Shaun Livingston’s performance Thursday night was a pleasant surprise in Game 1, Golden State was able to channel what made them NBA Champions over Cleveland last year in Game 2 Sunday night: dominating performances from forwards Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala.
Green and Iguodala combined to take down LeBron James’ frustrated efforts in Game 2. Kyrie Irving’s poor play and Kevin Love having to enter the concussion protocol after an accidental blow to the head from Harrison Barnes were big enough distractions to keep James off his much-needed A-game in Game 2.
Green took advantage of Cleveland’s poor perimeter defense on Sunday night with a game-high 28 points. No other player in the game broke the 20-point threshold, as Green was marvelous from three (5-8) and solid from the field (11-20). He would finish in a three-way tie for a team-high five assists and second on Golden State with seven rebounds.
Iguodala would finish with seven points, five rebounds, and three assists in 28 minutes and 22 seconds of court time, but that doesn’t tell half of what he did on the floor in Game 2.
He anchored Golden State’s defense on Sunday night by guarding James, who finished with 19 points on 7-17 shooting, including 1-5 from beyond the arc. Only three Cavaliers finished with double figures in scoring, as Cleveland shot 35.4 percent from the field and 21.7 percent from distance.
The Green/Iguodala combination was the deciding factor that put Golden State on top of Cleveland in the 2015 NBA Finals. However, what made this display of frontcourt dominance over Cleveland more intriguing this time around was that Love and Irving were healthy to theoretically alleviate the burden on James.
Iguodala would start on just about every other team in the league and did win 2015 NBA Finals MVP a year ago. Green has asserted as a top-15 caliber player in the NBA with his strong all-around game in 2015-16. On a team, that features arguably two of the greatest pure shooters of all-time in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, both were largely overshadowed by the impressive play of Green and Iguodala on Sunday night.
It’s been strange to see Golden State go up 2-0 in this best-of-seven series without either Curry or Thompson being the best player on the floor. Livingston was in Game 1, Green and Iguodala were in Game 2, and what will James have to do if the Splash Brothers take charge in Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland?
The Green/Iguodala combination is again Cleveland’s kryptonite that will make the city’s title drought continue for at least another year.
Unfortunately, familiar territory
Daniel Rowell | @DanielJRowell | Hardwood Paroxysm
With 10 minutes remaining in Game 2 in Oakland, and the Cavaliers trailing 89-62, Coach Tyronn Lue pulled Kyrie Irving from the game, the last of the starting unit. The Cavaliers folded a 27-point deficit and the Warriors took a 2-0 series lead. LeBron James didn’t play in the fourth quarter for the fourth time in the 2016 NBA Playoffs, this time on the wrong side of a blowout. It was the Cavaliers seventh straight loss to the Warriors. And yes, it’s also the first time that James has fallen 0-2 in a series since 2008.
Sunday’s Game 2 was as lopsided of a loss as they come for Cavaliers fans. It saw the second half exit of Kevin Love into a concussion protocol. It saw Kyrie Irving, a player that led his team in scoring for much of the playoffs, go 5-of-14 from the field. It saw James, the leader of this Cavaliers team, turn the ball over seven times, and complete just one of seven shots from outside the restricted area. And that’s just on the offensive side of the court. It was an all around defeat, one that leaves many questions for a Cavaliers team that now has three days and a long plane ride home to find answers before Game 3 on Wednesday.
But for the fan base in Cleveland, this isn’t new territory, it’s just unpleasant and unfortunately, familiar. Cleveland is a city that ran up against John Elway’s Drive and Michael Jordan’s Shot. It’s a city that fell short of game-winning drives on an interception and fumble. It’s a city that was swept by the Spurs in its first Finals in 2007 and has just two wins in Finals games since then. And now, it is a city that has come up against the winningest regular season team in the history of the NBA, for the second year in a row.
A lot has to happen before Golden State can hoist up a Finals trophy in 2016, but beating a team that has lost only 14 times this season in four of the five next games are long odds. Fivethirtyeight currently places their title hopes at 11 percent. If there was ever a city ready for those odds and the likely let down on the other side of it, it’s Cleveland. Losing isn’t fun, and it doesn’t really build character, but when a fan base loses as often as Cleveland does, it sometimes gets easier to cope with. For one, a loss as lopsided as this isn’t as soul-crushing as a fumble a yard short of a touchdown or a blown save in the bottom of the 9th inning or a Jordan 18-footer at the buzzer. Or, in another way, losing is all the same, it’s a “damn” and an “oh well” and a “next year” and a “thanks for a great season”. Taking the L’s that Cleveland has, they’re ready to take two more (if that is how this Finals series goes). I know, I’ve been around for most of them.
And as for that other 11 percent? Well, I won’t speak for the players or the adjustments needed. But if there was a fan base up to the task, you won’t find many as hungry for a title as Cleveland. One stat still holds some slight favor for the Cavaliers in these next two games, they are undefeated at home in these playoffs, with an average 20-point margin of victory. They also haven’t found a way to win against this Warriors team since Game 3 of the 2015 Finals. We’ll have to see what happens on Wednesday. But win or lose, I think Cleveland’s fans will be ready.
For more NBA Finals coverage, check out our NBA Finals hub page.
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