NBA Finals 2018: Warriors vs. Cavaliers Game 2 live blog

[live_blog_entry id=”LBE36″ title=”Which LeBron will we see in Game 3?” author=”28954″]We’ve seen two completely different games from LeBron James to open the 2018 NBA Finals. Game 1 was a “put the team on my back” performance and Game 2 was a “get everyone else involved” effort. Both times James was spectacular and stuck firmly to his own gameplan. However, neither was good enough to get over the hump that is the Golden State Warriors. Going into Game 3 it’ll be interesting to see if LeBron switches up bid playing style once more.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE35″ title=”It’s about over” author=”34159″]All throughout Game 2, the Cavaliers have managed to keep things relatively close, staying within striking distance, but after a barrage of improbably shots by Stephen Curry, the Warriors’ lead has increased to 18 and it looks about time to call it a night. Curry, breaking an NBA Finals record with nine 3-pointers tonight, again shows his unique ability to fire up both his team and hometown crowd in a more electric way than almost anyone else alive. There is something ineffably emphatic about Curry’s shooting displays, something that deflates the opposition due to the improbability of the shots he makes and the Cavaliers, for the first time tonight, look absolutely deflated.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE34″ title=”Truth” author=”24060″]So, like, this one is probably over. If Steph is going to make falling backwards 3s a few feet behind the 3-point line with one second on the shot clock and Kevin Love trying his hardest to not let that exact thing happen, there isn’t much that Cleveland (or any other team, ever) can do to stop Golden State.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE33″ title=”Nothing like Steph” author=”30695″]Those patented 3’s by Steph are just backbreaking. The Cavs keep fighting and clawing for every bucket, then the Warriors come down and bury a 3 like it’s nothing. Then the crowd gets behind them and all the momentum’s theirs. That’s gotta be like running in quicksand if you’re Cleveland.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE32″ title=”Not a spectator” author=”24492″]Andre Iguodala is definitely not “absent.”

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE31″ title=”Steph doing Steph stuff” author=”28120″]The Steph Curry pass then sprint to the corner for a somehow wide open three is the most bafflingly good (HOW IS HE ALWAYS SO OPEN) yet incredibly fun to watch play in the league.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE30″ title=”Good George Hill” author=”24060″]The Cavaliers have gotten the good version of George Hill tonight. Hill has 15 points, good enough for third on the team behind LeBron and Love, and he’s added three assists, two steals and a rebound as well. They need him to play that well to have a real chance in this series. They might even need him to play better.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE29″ title=”Westworld” author=”30695″]Jeff Green misses an open 3 on one end, then David West hits one on the other. That six-point swing is huge. Also, when David West is nailing corner-3’s, it’s probably not gonna be your night.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE28″ title=”Klay” author=”28120″]It feels like every single time the Cavs get close and need a stop to give themselves a shot to get the game to a single possession Klay Thompson comes up with some points. It has to be nice to have that guy as a third option that takes advantage of ball movement instead of George Hill or Jeff Green.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE27″ image=”1458738″ title=”The rest of the Cavs are here!” author=”34159″]LeBron is getting a good amount of help from his teammates this game, at least relative to Game 1. While Kevin Love is heading up the Cavs’ supporting cast with 20 points, George Hill and Tristan Thompson also have 15 and 11 respectively. Love, especially, has looked great, and is moving off the ball, getting himself open better than I’m accustomed to seeing. Obviously, expecting LeBron to score 40 plus every game is not a sustainable strategy so this is a major boon to the Cavs. Though it may not prove enough to completely close the gap, the Cavs have reduced the deficit from 13 to 8 and hope is alive for Cleveland.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE26″ title=”LeBron is being LeBron” author=”24060″]LeBron’s greatness is in his ability to do literally anything he wants to. Right now, he’s passing the hell out of the ball to the tune of 12 assists in 32 minutes. He’s scoring the ball as well, with 20 points on just 15 attempted shots in this one so far. It goes without saying, but without him the Cavaliers are down by a lot more than nine points.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE25″ title=”It’s still the JaVale game” author=”28120″]

JaVale McGee is doing exactly what the Warriors need him to do and it just makes them even harder to defend. After all how can you do anything when a team has three of the best shooters of all-time plus a big athletic 7-footer who can just run and jump and dunk in wide open spaces. WIth the Cavaliers switching so often that size and length is making a big impact.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE24″ title=”The JaVale game” author=”24060″]This game is kind of sad, in a way. The Cavaliers are fighting SO HARD to stay in the game, knowing if they make more than minimal mistakes they have no chance. The Warriors, on the other hand, are busy seeing how many buckets they can get JaVale McGee in an NBA Finals game.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE23″ image=”1458721″ title=”Reset” author=”34159″]Entering the second half, the Cavaliers will need to replicate the Warriors with their penchant for explosive third quarters if they want to put themselves into position to steal Game 2 from the Dubs at Oracle. After a close first quarter, the Warriors caught fire near the end of the first half earning a 13-point lead going into the half, accelerated by a few 3-pointers by Steph and another easy dunk from Javale McGee, who has offered eight points in his 12 minutes so far. Durant is also picking his spots more carefully so far, shooting only six times, but earning 13 points in the process. Apart from Livingston and McGee, the Warriors aren’t getting many offensive contributions from their non All-Stars, but Durant and Curry are playing so well that it would be silly to be too concerned about that at the moment.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE22″ title=”Here we go” author=”28120″]At halftime this game feels destined for only one outcome, a patented Warriors third quarter run that makes the rest of this game into garbage time. The Cavaliers outside of LeBron James are bad and LeBron seems like he is tired and doesn’t quite have it tonight.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE21″ title=”Loving Kevin Love” author=”21865″]I like Kevin Love. I think he’s been given a bad rap throughout his time in Cleveland. But these playoffs, and really this series, has shown that he has to be the third guy on a championship team. If he’s your second best player, your first best better be LeBron.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE20″ title=”Danger time” author=”24060″]The Cavs need to go on a run right now, or this one might get out of hand. Golden State just turned a close game into an 11-point Warriors lead, and being down by more than 10 heading into a third quarter against the Warriors does not seem ideal for Cleveland. Especially with LeBron operating with 1.5 eyes at the moment.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE19″ title=”Seeing a trend” author=”28120″]At some point Ty Lue has to give Jordan Clarkson’s minutes to someone not named Jordan Clarkson. He hijacks the offense for contested mid-range 2s, misses the open shots he gets and just generally is bad at basketball. You can live with it as the terrible tanking Lakers but not in the NBA Finals as a major underdog.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE18″ title=”Bricks or wingspan?” author=”30695″]I am in no way advocating for Rodney Hood, but wouldn’t his length be more helpful than Jordan Clarkson’s continued clanging off the front iron?

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE17″ image=”1458693″ title=”Hanging in there” author=”24060″]Again, despite how the game has looked at times, the score is pretty close after a quarter with the Warriors up by four. Many (this author included) feared a blowout after how deflating the ending of Game 1 was for Cleveland, but this is still a game that could go either way. Well, until the third quarter, at least.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE16″ title=”Slipping the switch” author=”28120″]The Warriors have found something in slipping ball screens. It seems like the Cavaliers want to switch screens again tonight but unsurprisingly, they don’t do a great job of communicating. That has lead to the Warriors running up like they are going to set a screen so two Cavaliers focus on the ball and then diving back to the rim. It keeps leading to layups and dunks. I think the Cavaliers are going to have to stop switching if they can’t figure this out soon.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE15″ title=”Curry is cooking” author=”21865″]The first thing every new Warriors player is taught is that if you catch the ball on the baseline, don’t shoot. Wait until Steph Curry runs behind you, give up the ball, and wipe out everyone by any means necessary.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE14″ title=”Warriors need to tighten on defense” author=”34159″]Despite the Warriors starting the game shooting 10-11, they still only have a four-point lead with five minutes left in the first quarter, which is a bit odd. The Warriors had the number one defense in the postseason entering the Finals, yet in the Finals so far, their defense has looked pretty weak. Of course part of this is due to the gravity and unbelievable talent of LeBron James, as well as the absence of Andre Iguodala, a superb wing defender, for the Warriors, but it is still inexcusable and worrisome — especially when your team still features the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. The Warriors need to tighten up their defensive rotations, ensuring that help is available while also eliminating the amount of open 3s for the Cavaliers. While this is certainly difficult, they’ve been doing it throughout the Playoffs so far and need to start doing it again very quickly.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE13″ image=”1457484″ title=”Offensive glass” author=”24492″]The Cavaliers were able to keep themselves in Game 1, in large part because offensive rebounding gave them far more shooting possessions than the Warriors (visualization courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats). Both teams have three turnovers in the early going but the Cavaliers have four offensive rebounds which have helped keep the margin manageable despite the Warriors hitting literally every shot.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE12″ title=”Not great, Bob” author=”28120″]Every Cavaliers possession that ends with J.R. Smith or George Hill shooting floaters just feels wasted. They aren’t going to really stop the Warriors often enough to have possessions end on those shots especially before the end of the shot clock or when they are contested.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE11″ title=”Bringing the double” author=”32707″]The Warriors are doubling LeBron pretty much every time he puts the ball on the floor, including trapping the pick-and-roll, and forcing the other Cavs to make decisions. I don’t think they’re quite good enough to do that, which means they’ll have to hit a high percentage of the catch-and-shoot looks they get. The Warriors have already forced a couple of turnovers.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE10″ title=”The real MVP” author=”24492″]No chill, Warriors fans. No chill.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE9″ image=”1458677″ title=”Inevitability” author=”34159″]When we in the NBA community talk about the seeming inevitability of the Warriors, this is what we’re referring to. Sure, the Cavaliers are very weak defensively, but the Warriors have yet to miss a shot, running out to an early 15-6 lead. The Cavaliers did a great job in Game 1 of weathering every run the Warriors went on, always staying close, and they will need to do the same thing here or else this game may very well be over by the end of the first quarter.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE8″ title=”When the first quarter is the third quarter” author=”28954″]Steve Kerr has made an amazing Game 2 adjustment. He’s somehow managed to convince the Warriors that he first quarter is actually the third quarter (maybe he had them scrimmage for two quarters instead of a shoot around this morning). Golden State hasn’t missed a shot and there really isn’t anything that Cleveland can do about it.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE7″ title=”Poor Kevin” author=”28120″]I feel really bad for Kevin Love right now. He is doing everything he can but it feels like the entire Warriors game plan right now is to get Love involved so they can attack him. And well, it is working really well.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE6″ title=”Pushing on the Cavs weak spots” author=”34159″]While the Warriors feature three of the greatest shooters in NBA history, it is encouraging to see the Warriors attacking early, as all five of their baskets thus far have been on lay-ups or dunks. The Cavaliers have been notoriously bad at defense all year, and it is wise of the Warriors to try to exploit their lack of good interior defense immediately.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE5″ title=”The JaVale McGee effect” author=”28120″]He isn’t actually good but JaVale McGee is making an early impact here by just being big and being able to dunk. Has slipped a few ball screens and been wide open for two dunks and a bobbled catch.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE4″ title=”THIS IS HOW YOU TROLL” author=”24492″]Kudos to the Warriors crowd for going all in.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry image=”1457594″ title=”LeBrawn” author=”24492″ id=”LBE3″]If you’re been thinking to yourself, “That LeBron guy has been playing pretty well,” congrats on being smart. This has been, statistically, his best playoff run ever and could end up being the best individual playoff run of any player going back to 1973-74.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE2″ title=”It’s not about Jordan” author=”30695″]Guys, I just want to say I’m still mad about how Game 1 ended. Mostly because I made the contrarian pick of Cavs in six. I’m also preemptively mad because if Cleveland does end up losing, people are gonna use it toward their argument for MJ over LeBron, and that’s asinine.

[/live_blog_entry][live_blog_entry id=”LBE1″ title=”Game 2 prep” author=”24492″]Game 1 was exciting right down to the final moments, despite a crushing outcome for the Cavaliers. Regardless, it’s nice to know that these Finals should actually be filled with competitive basketball (which did not seem to be a given). Here’s a few things to help get you prepped for Game 2:

• Warriors spoil an epic LeBron performance with Game 1 win
• The 2011 Mavericks are the answer to beating the Warriors
• Steph Curry is on his way to finally being Finals MVP

[/live_blog_entry]