For the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kevin Love could be the key to everything in their NBA Finals matchup with the Golden State Warriors.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will need Kevin Love's best against the Golden State Warriors. We saw how the Warriors closed the Thunder out in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals by hitting three-pointers and limiting their opponents'. It will be essential for the Cavaliers to avoid this, and Love will be a major factor in that. In 12 postseason wins, Love is averaging 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. Additionally, Love has shot 46.9 percent on 6.8 three-point attempts in such games. However, in losses Love has averaged just 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Love's shooting also plummed to 27.3 percent on three-pointers in both Cavalier losses. His shooting overall in losses is a dreadful 21.7 percent. This is something the Cavaliers cannot afford to have happen... Read more.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are back in the NBA Finals and Kyrie Irving gets a second chance to make a first impression.
The basketball world remembers how Kyrie Irving's 2015 Finals ended. In a clip that will probably be played this week, Irving cracked knees with Warriors guard Klay Thompson, hobbled as the game moved on without him, before exiting with a grimace on his face and going back to the locker room. His collision with Thompson ultimately resulted in a knee fracture that ended his Finals just as they were getting started. The Cavs went on to lose the series in six games. Prior to getting hurt, Irving was great against the Warriors. He finished his one Finals game with 23 points on 10-22 shooting, six assists and just one turnover. Perhaps most notably, Irving played effortful defense that limited his inherent flaws on that end. He even blocked Steph Curry after Curry beat him off the dribble... Read more.
The box score will never truly capture the importance of Tristan Thompson to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Remember that infamous flop by LeBron James midway through the Eastern Conference finals? The guilty elbow belonged to his teammate, Tristan Thompson. If LeBron's fainting spell carried the weight of consciousness, Tristan's flailing floated on reflex. He left the scene in a fear of salt pillars. No looking back, he marched on to collect eight rebounds and zero points in addition to that one elbow. However, if the Cavs are to upend the Warriors, maybe that line needs to curve upward just a little, if not all the way to the rafters. Tristan Thompson is a hard man to figure. After all, that left elbow was his right elbow, until his right elbow turned good. Think of him like you would a mercurial old man on the Disney channel. “Damn kids!” he yells, while shaking a fist. Then again, while he is one of the most tenured Cavaliers on the roster, he's also just 25 years old...Read more.
LeBron James is back in the NBA Finals, looking to bring a championship to Cleveland and add another chapter to his playoff legacy.
LeBron James is 2-4 in the NBA Finals, 0-2 as a Cavalier, and yet here we are again. Six straight NBA Finals appearances, seven in the past ten years. It's hard to write a unique thought about a player that has defined the NBA's championship series for a majority of the past decade, but that's LeBron James for you. Heading into his seventh NBA Finals, 11 years of playoff basketball, a 13-year career, it's time to start wondering if everything we know about James has been written, or if there's another story to be told. And that's the question for 2016: What more can LeBron James say? Read more.
J.R. Smith has always brought shooting and a chaotic game that toes the line between positive and negative. In these playoffs, he's found a balance.
J.R. Smith's career has been a story of phenomenal, explosive talent undermined by flaws in the execution. Years spent trying to find the right fit, the right home, has led him to the here and now. The 2016 NBA Finals should be his grand stage. It should be an improvement over his performance from last year's Finals, where injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving magnified his role, perhaps stretching it too far. Since then, Smith has taken another step forward in embracing his player identity this year, particularly under Tyronn Lue's guidance. Smith has improved on defense, as an occasional ball-handler, and remains as committed as ever to being the three-point specialist that the Cavaliers need spotting up around Irving, Love and LeBron James; only now, he feels like an even more willing participant in the free-flowing, pass-happy offense of the surging playoff Cavs. He's still a fiery player, still free-wheeling with his shot selection at times and always looking to ignite the hot hand, but that fire is now bottled within the framework of a player who has learned how to better pick his spots, to deal maximum damage. Read more.
Shooting is the key to the Cleveland Cavaliers chances in the NBA Finals, and no one has been shooting better than Channing Frye.
Channing Frye really just does one thing on the basketball court -- make jumpshots. What makes him so special is that he does it with a center's body. Only one player in NBA history, 6-11 or taller, has made more three-pointers than Frye (hint: he's German and his name rhymes with Nirk Dowitzki). Being able to play center and admirably do the things that entails -- defend the post, grab some rebounds, protect the rim -- while spacing the floor like a wing unlocks all sorts of possibilities. Read more.
Matthew Dellavedova has a game that isn't always pretty but it is incredibly important to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Is Matthew Dellavedova good? That question was hotly debated around this time last year when Delly made a name for himself in the public eye, mostly by happening to be in the same place as the limbs of various other players as they were being, ah, injured. From then on, folks began to pay more attention to the scruffy-haired Aussie with the fidgety jumper and scattershot floaters. Was he gritty or dirty? Decent or trash? This season should have put at least the latter question to rest. For the second season in a row, Dellavedova has eclipsed 40 percent from three while increasing his total attempts. Fidgety jumper or not, it's consistently going in. His floater has improved, and similarly, so has his lob pass. When Delly turns the corner on the pick-and-roll and lofts something up there, there's a split second where you can't tell if it's a shot or a pass to a rolling Tristan Thompson. Though not oustanding in any one way or another, Delly just fits, whether he's running the two-man game, playing off-guard to Kyrie Irving, or spacing the floor as part of the Cavs' wildly successful LeBron-and-bench lineup (also including Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye). Read more.
For the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kevin Love could be the key to everything in their NBA Finals matchup with the Golden State Warriors.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will need Kevin Love's best against the Golden State Warriors. We saw how the Warriors closed the Thunder out in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals by hitting three-pointers and limiting their opponents'. It will be essential for the Cavaliers to avoid this, and Love will be a major factor in that. In 12 postseason wins, Love is averaging 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. Additionally, Love has shot 46.9 percent on 6.8 three-point attempts in such games. However, in losses Love has averaged just 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Love's shooting also plummed to 27.3 percent on three-pointers in both Cavalier losses. His shooting overall in losses is a dreadful 21.7 percent. This is something the Cavaliers cannot afford to have happen... Read more.The Cleveland Cavaliers are back in the NBA Finals and Kyrie Irving gets a second chance to make a first impression.
The basketball world remembers how Kyrie Irving's 2015 Finals ended. In a clip that will probably be played this week, Irving cracked knees with Warriors guard Klay Thompson, hobbled as the game moved on without him, before exiting with a grimace on his face and going back to the locker room. His collision with Thompson ultimately resulted in a knee fracture that ended his Finals just as they were getting started. The Cavs went on to lose the series in six games. Prior to getting hurt, Irving was great against the Warriors. He finished his one Finals game with 23 points on 10-22 shooting, six assists and just one turnover. Perhaps most notably, Irving played effortful defense that limited his inherent flaws on that end. He even blocked Steph Curry after Curry beat him off the dribble... Read more.The box score will never truly capture the importance of Tristan Thompson to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Remember that infamous flop by LeBron James midway through the Eastern Conference finals? The guilty elbow belonged to his teammate, Tristan Thompson. If LeBron's fainting spell carried the weight of consciousness, Tristan's flailing floated on reflex. He left the scene in a fear of salt pillars. No looking back, he marched on to collect eight rebounds and zero points in addition to that one elbow. However, if the Cavs are to upend the Warriors, maybe that line needs to curve upward just a little, if not all the way to the rafters. Tristan Thompson is a hard man to figure. After all, that left elbow was his right elbow, until his right elbow turned good. Think of him like you would a mercurial old man on the Disney channel. “Damn kids!” he yells, while shaking a fist. Then again, while he is one of the most tenured Cavaliers on the roster, he's also just 25 years old...Read more.LeBron James is back in the NBA Finals, looking to bring a championship to Cleveland and add another chapter to his playoff legacy.
LeBron James is 2-4 in the NBA Finals, 0-2 as a Cavalier, and yet here we are again. Six straight NBA Finals appearances, seven in the past ten years. It's hard to write a unique thought about a player that has defined the NBA's championship series for a majority of the past decade, but that's LeBron James for you. Heading into his seventh NBA Finals, 11 years of playoff basketball, a 13-year career, it's time to start wondering if everything we know about James has been written, or if there's another story to be told. And that's the question for 2016: What more can LeBron James say? Read more.J.R. Smith has always brought shooting and a chaotic game that toes the line between positive and negative. In these playoffs, he's found a balance.
J.R. Smith's career has been a story of phenomenal, explosive talent undermined by flaws in the execution. Years spent trying to find the right fit, the right home, has led him to the here and now. The 2016 NBA Finals should be his grand stage. It should be an improvement over his performance from last year's Finals, where injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving magnified his role, perhaps stretching it too far. Since then, Smith has taken another step forward in embracing his player identity this year, particularly under Tyronn Lue's guidance. Smith has improved on defense, as an occasional ball-handler, and remains as committed as ever to being the three-point specialist that the Cavaliers need spotting up around Irving, Love and LeBron James; only now, he feels like an even more willing participant in the free-flowing, pass-happy offense of the surging playoff Cavs. He's still a fiery player, still free-wheeling with his shot selection at times and always looking to ignite the hot hand, but that fire is now bottled within the framework of a player who has learned how to better pick his spots, to deal maximum damage. Read more.Shooting is the key to the Cleveland Cavaliers chances in the NBA Finals, and no one has been shooting better than Channing Frye.
Channing Frye really just does one thing on the basketball court -- make jumpshots. What makes him so special is that he does it with a center's body. Only one player in NBA history, 6-11 or taller, has made more three-pointers than Frye (hint: he's German and his name rhymes with Nirk Dowitzki). Being able to play center and admirably do the things that entails -- defend the post, grab some rebounds, protect the rim -- while spacing the floor like a wing unlocks all sorts of possibilities. Read more.Matthew Dellavedova has a game that isn't always pretty but it is incredibly important to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Is Matthew Dellavedova good? That question was hotly debated around this time last year when Delly made a name for himself in the public eye, mostly by happening to be in the same place as the limbs of various other players as they were being, ah, injured. From then on, folks began to pay more attention to the scruffy-haired Aussie with the fidgety jumper and scattershot floaters. Was he gritty or dirty? Decent or trash? This season should have put at least the latter question to rest. For the second season in a row, Dellavedova has eclipsed 40 percent from three while increasing his total attempts. Fidgety jumper or not, it's consistently going in. His floater has improved, and similarly, so has his lob pass. When Delly turns the corner on the pick-and-roll and lofts something up there, there's a split second where you can't tell if it's a shot or a pass to a rolling Tristan Thompson. Though not oustanding in any one way or another, Delly just fits, whether he's running the two-man game, playing off-guard to Kyrie Irving, or spacing the floor as part of the Cavs' wildly successful LeBron-and-bench lineup (also including Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye). Read more.The Death Lineup is one of Golden State's biggest weapons. That group doesn't work without Harrison Barnes.
There's a reason why Harrison Barnes is a piece of Golden State's vaunted “Death Lineup.” He's not a roaming puzzle piece existing to merely allow the spinning wheels of this explosive concoction. Barnes by himself possesses the above-average tools to shoot from distance, penetrate, attack, or kick to shooters in a way that seamlessly meshes in the Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Green lineup. The Cleveland Cavaliers are facing a dilemma no NBA team has been able to resolve consistently enough to win a playoff series -- stop this lineup. A major reason for the prevailing success of the Death Lineup is the massive improvement in Barnes' individual game since Steve Kerr's arrival. Read more.
Draymond Green pushed the Golden State Warriors to new heights, but his aggressiveness and physical plays means he's always walking a fine line.
Draymond Green is always on the edge in some way. His personality and style of play means that he's always up to something, battling for a rebound or jawing at an opponent, for better or worse. More often than not, it's for the better. His defensive versatility, his playmaking from the four and five spots, and his demeanor fuel the Warriors in a variety of ways. Without him, Golden State doesn't win 73 games, doesn't come back from a 3-1 deficit and isn't in a position to win a second straight NBA title. Read more.
Cleveland's three-point shooting may push Andrew Bogut towards irrelevancy in the NBA Finals, but he can still contribute in several key ways.
Stephen Curry is a magician on and off the ball. When off-ball in particular, he has a plethora of big men who can set screens and help initiate the ball movement their offense is predicated on. Andrew Bogut, starting center for the Golden State Warriors, sets the screens, provides toughness, and helps establish a defensive and rebounding identity. He's also a great passer from the pinch, initiating the dribble handoffs and supporting the Warriors' player movement philosophy. However, don't expect the big man to play a pivotal role in the NBA Finals. During the Golden State Warriors Game 7 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Bogut was taken out of the game early in the third quarter. The Warriors would then take over the game with their small-ball lineup, inserting Andre Iguodala. They reverted to their "Death Lineup" identity, forcing turnovers, switching on every screen, funneling ball-handlers and shooters away from the middle, and attacking in transition. The versatility displayed, combined with marvelous shooting, propelled the Warriors to a 3-1 series comeback and rewarded them an opportunity to defeat the Cavaliers for a second straight season. Read more.
As Stephen Curry has struggled through injury, Klay Thompson has stepped forward as the Golden State Warriors' best player.
One of the many, many themes of this Finals rematch is sidekicks. If it were a movie, it would be called “Warriors vs Cavaliers 2: Dudes are Healthy.” (Yadda yadda over Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving being good to go) … But what gets lost in the narrative is that only one Splash Brother showed up in the NBA Finals last season. Klay Thompson wasn't good in last year's Finals, scoring a measly 14, 9, 12 and 5 points in the last four games. After shooting 42.7 percent on three-pointers in the first three rounds, he made just 30 percent of his threes against the Cavs. In other words: fart noise. Fortunate for them, the Warriors were bailed out by Andre Iguodala's Finals MVP performance. But this time the Warriors can't afford another Thompson dud. And I wouldn't expect it, given how he's played.Read more.
If Stephen Curry gets cooking, the Golden State Warriors are nearly unstoppable.
No one can break an opponent's spirit quite like Stephen Curry. It doesn't matter how well you defend him; he's always a threat to pull up from 28 feet and hit nothing but net. Those jaw-dropping triples have the added benefit of demoralizing an opponent, as they give off the impression of inevitability. When forcing him into an off-balance, off-the-dribble three-point attempt isn't enough to stop him, what is? Curry enters the Finals on a three-game streak with 30-plus points, vaporizing any lingering questions about his health. In Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference Finals against Oklahoma City, he went an eye-popping 13-of-26 from three-point range, including two backbreaking treys in the final four minutes of Game 6 that helped Golden State pull off the comeback and stave off elimination. Read more.
Andre Iguodala does a little bit of everything, which is exactly what the Golden State Warriors need from him.
Andre Iguodala is being overlooked again. As one of the best bench players in league history and the Most Valuable Player of the 2015 Finals, that seems a little unlikely and yet, as the Warriors prepare to meet the Cavaliers for the second-straight year, he seems reduced to a mere afterthought. Perhaps it's understandable, given the star power surrounding him. LeBron James is the world's most famous athlete. Steph Curry is the best player on the historically best team. Other players on either roster are stars in their own right. Iguodala isn't usually even a starter, although he'll likely take on that role against Cleveland. Read me.
The Golden State Warriors like to go small but Shaun Livingston gives them one position where they don't have to sacrifice size.
Overall, the Golden State Warriors are fairly small. Weighted by minutes played, the Warriors shooting guards are about an inch taller than average. In the frontcourt, they are an inch or more shorter than average at center and both forward positions, a product of their small ball lineups and the positional ubiquity of Draymond Green. At point guard, the Warriors are an inch and a half taller than average, thanks in large part to the back up point guard minutes played by the 6-7 Shaun Livingston. Read more.
The Death Lineup is one of Golden State's biggest weapons. That group doesn't work without Harrison Barnes.
There's a reason why Harrison Barnes is a piece of Golden State's vaunted “Death Lineup.” He's not a roaming puzzle piece existing to merely allow the spinning wheels of this explosive concoction. Barnes by himself possesses the above-average tools to shoot from distance, penetrate, attack, or kick to shooters in a way that seamlessly meshes in the Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Green lineup. The Cleveland Cavaliers are facing a dilemma no NBA team has been able to resolve consistently enough to win a playoff series -- stop this lineup. A major reason for the prevailing success of the Death Lineup is the massive improvement in Barnes' individual game since Steve Kerr's arrival. Read more.Draymond Green pushed the Golden State Warriors to new heights, but his aggressiveness and physical plays means he's always walking a fine line.
Draymond Green is always on the edge in some way. His personality and style of play means that he's always up to something, battling for a rebound or jawing at an opponent, for better or worse. More often than not, it's for the better. His defensive versatility, his playmaking from the four and five spots, and his demeanor fuel the Warriors in a variety of ways. Without him, Golden State doesn't win 73 games, doesn't come back from a 3-1 deficit and isn't in a position to win a second straight NBA title. Read more.Cleveland's three-point shooting may push Andrew Bogut towards irrelevancy in the NBA Finals, but he can still contribute in several key ways.
Stephen Curry is a magician on and off the ball. When off-ball in particular, he has a plethora of big men who can set screens and help initiate the ball movement their offense is predicated on. Andrew Bogut, starting center for the Golden State Warriors, sets the screens, provides toughness, and helps establish a defensive and rebounding identity. He's also a great passer from the pinch, initiating the dribble handoffs and supporting the Warriors' player movement philosophy. However, don't expect the big man to play a pivotal role in the NBA Finals. During the Golden State Warriors Game 7 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Bogut was taken out of the game early in the third quarter. The Warriors would then take over the game with their small-ball lineup, inserting Andre Iguodala. They reverted to their "Death Lineup" identity, forcing turnovers, switching on every screen, funneling ball-handlers and shooters away from the middle, and attacking in transition. The versatility displayed, combined with marvelous shooting, propelled the Warriors to a 3-1 series comeback and rewarded them an opportunity to defeat the Cavaliers for a second straight season. Read more.As Stephen Curry has struggled through injury, Klay Thompson has stepped forward as the Golden State Warriors' best player.
One of the many, many themes of this Finals rematch is sidekicks. If it were a movie, it would be called “Warriors vs Cavaliers 2: Dudes are Healthy.” (Yadda yadda over Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving being good to go) … But what gets lost in the narrative is that only one Splash Brother showed up in the NBA Finals last season. Klay Thompson wasn't good in last year's Finals, scoring a measly 14, 9, 12 and 5 points in the last four games. After shooting 42.7 percent on three-pointers in the first three rounds, he made just 30 percent of his threes against the Cavs. In other words: fart noise. Fortunate for them, the Warriors were bailed out by Andre Iguodala's Finals MVP performance. But this time the Warriors can't afford another Thompson dud. And I wouldn't expect it, given how he's played.Read more.If Stephen Curry gets cooking, the Golden State Warriors are nearly unstoppable.
No one can break an opponent's spirit quite like Stephen Curry. It doesn't matter how well you defend him; he's always a threat to pull up from 28 feet and hit nothing but net. Those jaw-dropping triples have the added benefit of demoralizing an opponent, as they give off the impression of inevitability. When forcing him into an off-balance, off-the-dribble three-point attempt isn't enough to stop him, what is? Curry enters the Finals on a three-game streak with 30-plus points, vaporizing any lingering questions about his health. In Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference Finals against Oklahoma City, he went an eye-popping 13-of-26 from three-point range, including two backbreaking treys in the final four minutes of Game 6 that helped Golden State pull off the comeback and stave off elimination. Read more.Andre Iguodala does a little bit of everything, which is exactly what the Golden State Warriors need from him.
Andre Iguodala is being overlooked again. As one of the best bench players in league history and the Most Valuable Player of the 2015 Finals, that seems a little unlikely and yet, as the Warriors prepare to meet the Cavaliers for the second-straight year, he seems reduced to a mere afterthought. Perhaps it's understandable, given the star power surrounding him. LeBron James is the world's most famous athlete. Steph Curry is the best player on the historically best team. Other players on either roster are stars in their own right. Iguodala isn't usually even a starter, although he'll likely take on that role against Cleveland. Read me.The Golden State Warriors like to go small but Shaun Livingston gives them one position where they don't have to sacrifice size.
Overall, the Golden State Warriors are fairly small. Weighted by minutes played, the Warriors shooting guards are about an inch taller than average. In the frontcourt, they are an inch or more shorter than average at center and both forward positions, a product of their small ball lineups and the positional ubiquity of Draymond Green. At point guard, the Warriors are an inch and a half taller than average, thanks in large part to the back up point guard minutes played by the 6-7 Shaun Livingston. Read more.