Right Now? No Complaints

The month of June was certainly a wonderful month for the city of Cleveland.

The Cleveland Cavaliers broke the 52 year drought for the city without a major league sports championship. The whole area partied like never before, and citizens still have a collective smile on their face that may not be wiped off for a long time.

Or at least until the Browns start playing.

And the Indians have gone 21-6 during the month, and currently are riding a 12 game winning streak, one game away from tying the franchise record.

They have stamped themselves as one of the best teams in the American League.

So, right now, there is nothing to complain about with the Cleveland sports scene, and if you can come up with something, you are probably nit-picking.

Sure, some people continue to bring up the Cavaliers possibly trading Kevin Love, but that seems to be more about those people not understanding that Love has sacrificed his scoring for the good of the team.

Also, if you are going to move Love, don’t you have to get somebody better than him? We understand the usual mentality here is a bunch of average players is greater than one all-star player, but for the most part, the players who are better than Kevin Love in the NBA, aren’t being traded by their teams.

There isn’t even any angst about LeBron James leaving the Cavs after opting out of his contract this week. James has publicly stated he is returning to defend the championship, and his agent told people a year ago that he would be opting out of his contracts in 2015 and 2016 to maximize his earning capabilities.

We feel confident also, that the front office will do everything it can do to keep JR Smith on the roster, and Matthew Dellavedova too, unless another team breaks the bank for him.

Do we have concerns about the Indians’ bullpen? Yes, but we’ve discussed this before and with the starting pitchers giving Terry Francona at least seven innings on most nights recently, it’s become less of a factor.

Dead roster spots for the Tribe? Outside of Tito’s obsession with having eight relievers, many of whom sit around in the bullpen eating sunflower seeds, getting paid to watch games, you really can’t complain about someone being on the roster who shouldn’t be.

The club’s 25th man, Michael Martinez, has proved very useful and has actually mixed in some key hits and supplied good defense at several positions. He’s a lifetime .200 hitter, but is hitting .290 with the Indians in limited at bats.

The Browns are a month away from opening training camp and OTA’s are over, so there isn’t anything to worry about there for the time being. Hue Jackson seems to be giving young players, who Mike Pettine seemed to ignore, a new life.

There actually seems like the new front office has a plan in place to get better using young guys, instead of mixing in fading veterans in an attempt to win a few games to stay relevant into November.

It’s good to be a Cleveland sports fan right now. Today.

We are sure something will irritate us soon. That’s the nature of sports.

If Tribe Makes A Deal, They Have Depth in System

The hottest team in baseball resides right here in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians have rolled off 10 straight wins, and currently sit atop the American League Central Division by five games over the Kansas City Royals.

There shouldn’t be any doubt that president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff should be sellers when the major league trade deadline hits at the end of July.

What should the Indians be focusing on?

Many people want Cleveland to get a bat, believing the offensive surge that has occurred over the last month is not sustainable.

We believe the focus should be on the bullpen, because Terry Francona seems to trust only Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen when he has a lead late in games, and both of those guys have some warts that are troublesome.

Shaw has been prone to the long ball, and Allen goes through periods where he struggles to throw strikes.

As a result, Francona is letting his starters go longer into games than normal, something may not be a big deal one or two times through the rotation, but if the Indians are going to make a run in the post season, they need to monitor the workload of the starting pitchers.

We have already seen Tito and Mickey Callaway push back Danny Salazar earlier in the month, and Corey Kluber got an extra day as well.

Most of the speculation regarding getting help either in the bullpen and/or in the lineup centers on giving up prospects, as that is what most teams are looking for.

If you are going to push to go deep into the playoffs, you can’t deal people currently on the roster. You need to add to the squad, not move people around.

So, eliminate the speculation on dealing Trevor Bauer and Lonnie Chisenhall. Tyler Naquin may be expendable, because he could still get sent back to minors when Abraham Almonte is activated.

We wouldn’t do that, but the Indians might.

So, what prospects are expendable?

If the Indians are going to make a big splash, they would like have to give up one of their two prime outfield prospects, Bradley Zimmer or Clint Frazier. Right now, Frazier is the brighter star, having a better season in Akron.

The other guy people talk about is Bobby Bradley, the slugging first baseman at Class A Lynchburg. Bradley has contact issues, but when he connects, the ball goes a long, long way. The talent evaluators with the Tribe have to decide whether or not Bradley will ever be more than the next Russell Branyan.

If they don’t think so, he could be a very popular piece in making a major move.

The Tribe also has some starting pitching in reserve, guys who could contribute to a major league team as early as next year.

We’ve already seen Mike Clevinger, but there is also Adam Plutko, Ryan Merritt, Shawn Morimando, and in the lower levels of the minors, you have Julian Merryweather and Justus Sheffield.

And don’t forget C Francisco Mejia, just promoted to Lynchburg and the Tribe’s representative in The Futures’ Game.

If the Indians receive a player they would control for 2017 and perhaps 2018, they may be willing to move a top line prospect. However, it would be very difficult to move Zimmer and Frazier, two guys who could be starters as early as next year, for a two month rental.

The farm system is finally producing, and if the Indians play it right, they could be the team to beat in the Central Division for the next 4-5 seasons.

Besides the prospects, they have Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez, both under 23-years-old playing everyday.

Antonetti and Chernoff have plenty of ammunition to go out and get an impact player without giving up on the future.

They can deal from organization depth. It’s been a long time since the Indians could say that.

Champion Cavs Can’t Stand Pat This Summer

There is no question the city of Cleveland and northeast Ohio is having a love affair with their newly crowned NBA champions.

We think that by now, every person in the area has at least one shirt proclaiming the Cavaliers as champs based on seeing people walk around malls and other public venues.

We think if folks around here bumped into a member of the team, they would respond by giving them a huge hug, and that includes a shirtless JR Smith.

However, it’s now the off-season, and the worst thing a defending champion should do is stand pat, there has to be a couple of tweaks to the roster, as upsetting as that will be to the average fan, who now has an emotional attachment to everyone on the squad.

Now, there won’t be changes to the team’s core. LeBron James said he will be back to defend the title, and it is doubtful that the starting five will be altered, even though Smith is a free agent.

Our guess is that the team and Smith will work out a deal this summer to keep the sniper in wine and gold.

It also means that Kevin Love will be back too. We said it during The Finals and will say it again. Love may be a bad match up vs. Golden State (although Cleveland played better with him on the floor in Games 5 and 7), but he is a very good player against the 28 other NBA teams.

Remember, he did average 16 points and 10 rebounds a game in the regular season, and he’s not as bad a defender as people think.

The changes should come in the second five.

Matthew Dellavedova has been valuable and a crowd favorite in his time here, but if another organization is going to offer him $8-10 million per year to play, we can’t see the Cavs matching that.

We feel the organization thinks Jordan McRae can be a contributor next season with his length and scoring ability, and he can play point guard too. And he’s long at 6’6″.

The way the NBA plays these days, the guys who are 6’6″ – 6’8″ and can defend around the perimeter as gold. Teams can switch defensively with those guys without penalty.

And don’t forget that Delly seemed to lost confidence in his shot as the playoffs progressed.

Also, the one player GM David Griffin drafted Thursday night was a point guard, Kay Felder.

He will always have a special place here because of his role on the championship team, but the Cavs’ front office might be willing to move on.

Also, Timofey Mozgov is a free agent and depending on what he is offered around the league, he probably won’t be back. At his size, someone will make him a big offer.

The Cavaliers will have to replace him as well, as they will need a rim protector at times, and you need five big men to get through the regular season.

If the Cavs were to make a deal, perhaps Iman Shumpert may be the player they are willing to trade. He’s a very good defender, but his offensive game regressed this season, and he was very prone to turnovers in the playoffs.

His salary could be a trade chip if Griffin and Tyronn Lue want to get a little more length on the perimeter, one of those 6’6″-6’8″ guys.

There will definitely be some tweaks to the roster before training camp opens this fall. That’s the way it has to be.

Coaches and GM’s can’t fall in love with a roster the way that fans do after a title.

Does Tribe Have MLB’s Best Pitching?

Lost in the championship fever that has stuck Cleveland and northeast Ohio is the possibility that another of our major league teams can make a post-season appearance.

That would be the Cleveland Indians, who have won six straight overall, 11 consecutive games at Progressive Field, and currently sit three games ahead of the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central Division.

The Tribe is led by their pitching staff, which leads the American League in ERA at 3.57.

Do the Indians have the best pitching in baseball? You can make a case they do.

Cleveland’s ERA would rank 6th in the National League, but you have to take into account that AL teams score more than their Senior Circuit counterparts by an average of .15 runs per contest.

However, you also have to figure in the ball parks that each of the five NL teams play in.

This season, Progressive Field is the second best hitters park in the major leagues, behind only the thin air in Colorado at Coors Field.

So, the Tribe hurlers are compiling that low ERA playing half of their games in the best hitters yard in baseball that rests close to sea level.

The five NL teams with lower team ERA’s are the Cubs, Mets, Dodgers, Nationals, and Giants.

The best offensive yard of those teams is AT & T Park in San Francisco, and it ranks 17th in favoring offense. Remember, there are 30 major league teams, so they are in the bottom half of that category.

Wrigley Field has a reputation as a great hitters’ yard, but the wind must be blowing in so far this season, because it ranks 26th.

Citi Field (Mets) is 18th, Nationals Park is 22nd, and Dodger Stadium is ahead of only Tropicana Field in Tampa in promoting offense.

What would the Indians ERA be if they didn’t play in a hitter’s park? Their ERA on the road this season is 3.47.

That figure is better than San Francisco (3.56) and Los Angeles’ (3.80) figure on the road, and virtually the same as Washington’s (3.46).

This means the Cubs and Mets aren’t just pitching great at home in pitcher friendly stadiums, they are doing it on the road too.

The factor that favors the Indians is that 10 of the parks favoring batters are in the American League, the only “pitchers’ parks” in the Junior Circuit are Tampa, Oakland, Seattle, Houston, and Chicago.

By the way, the only surprise there in US Cellular in the Windy City. The NL shocker is Cincinnati, which we call “Great American Bandbox”.

So, perhaps the Indians don’t have the best pitching staff in the majors, but it’s pretty fair to say they are definitely in the top three.

And that’s with some bullpen issues that raise their heads occasionally. Remember, the Tribe has lost eight games that they were tied or led after six innings, and dropped three others where they tied it up after trailing after six.

If they had won half of those games, the Indians would be 47-24 today, and have a commanding lead in the division.

That’s why we feel the biggest need for this team at the deadline is another arm in the bullpen that Terry Francona trusts.

As Tito often says, when you think you have enough pitching, you go out and get a little more.

Champions At Last. Ain’t It Sweet?

It still hasn’t sunk in that the Cleveland Cavaliers are NBA Champions. Just the words, “World Champion Cavaliers” are enough to bring a tear to our collective eyes.

But it’s true. The 52 years of sports suffering are over. The city will have a parade Wednesday to celebrate our champions. Yep, the best team in basketball resides right here in Cleveland, Ohio.

The game itself was funny because there was no opportunity to celebrate early because of the closeness of the game.

The game was tied with just over a minute ago, then Kyrie Irving hit the shot heard ’round northeast Ohio, drilling a three over Stephen Curry to put the good guys in the lead with less than a minute to go.

The defense had to take control, and when the Warriors missed and the Cavs got the rebound, we thought maybe, just maybe, the wine and gold were going to pull this off.

And after LeBron split his free throws after his hellacious dunk attempt giving Cleveland a four point lead with ten seconds remaining and a foul to give? It was in the bag and we could start to celebrate as a city.

June 19, 2016 will be a date northeast Ohio will remember forever.

Now “The Shot” will have a different meaning here. It will refer to Irving’s huge three to give the Cavs the lead they would never relinquish.

“The Block” will mean James’ incredible chase down rejection of Andre Iguodala’s lay up attempt to keep the contest even. James said after the game that he had it covered no matter if Iguodala used his left or right hand to shoot.

“The Change” will refer to GM David Griffin’s gutsy and second guessed decision (even by us) to replace David Blatt with Tyronn Lue. Lue had the right voice to lead this team to a title.

We said at the time the move put a huge amount of pressure on Griffin and James, but they were up to the challenge.

We also feel good for Kevin Love, the whipping boy by media and fans alike whenever anything went wrong for this team. Love only scored 9 points, but grabbed 14 rebounds, had the highest +/- on the squad last night, and played remarkable defense on Curry, no less, forcing him into a bad shot down the stretch.

Love is a starter on championship team. Doesn’t that alone mean that he fits in with this squad? Shouldn’t that put to rest talk that the Cavs are looking to trade him?

The guy is an all-star who sacrificed his scoring because that’s what the team needed him to do. And he’s a decent defender. Yes, he has problems with quicker players when isolated, but so does everyone else.

He gets the last laugh though, because he’s getting a ring.

Lastly, what a performance by James. Does anyone doubt who the best player in the league and the world is now? Basketball isn’t all about shooting, and James contributes in every part of the game, that’s why he’s the premier player.

It is telling that Curry had more turnovers than assists in the series, and his ill-fated behind the back pass late in the fourth quarter was huge.

James fulfilled the promise made upon his return, and he showed to all doubters that he was a true leader. Once again, thank you for coming back to the Cavaliers.

The celebration will likely go on all summer, culminating with a banner being raised to the rafters on Opening Night, and the players getting their rings.

Moreover, these players will always, always, own a special place in the hearts of every fan in the area. They brought home a title and ended the so called curse.

A Life With The Cleveland Curse

We grew up in the 60’s, but weren’t aware of sports until 1965, meaning we missed the last major league championship in this city by a year.

At that time, the Browns were the hallmark franchise, not just in the city, but in the NFL. They had best overall record in league history since entering the NFL in 1950.

They pretty much were a contender every year. They played and lost the NFL title to Green Bay in 1965, but were in the playoffs in 1968 and 1969 when they lost a chance to go to the Super Bowl in both years, losing to Baltimore and Minnesota respectively.

There was no “Cleveland Curse” then, it was only five years since the Browns ruled the football world when they lost to the Vikings in’69.

At that time, there was no professional basketball in town, as the Cavaliers just entered the NBA in 1970. They slowly built the franchise into a winner drafting Austin Carr, Jim Brewer, and Campy Russell, trading for Jimmy Cleamons, Jim Chones, and Nate Thurmond, and soon they were in the playoffs.

The “Miracle of Richfield” was the first taste of playoff basketball here and we loved it, selling out the old Coliseum, with crowd so loud, those players still talk about it today.

The Cavs won their first round series against the Bullets, and lost the Eastern Conference finals in six games to Boston, despite not having Chones, who broke his foot in practice.

We were thrilled the wine and gold made it that far, and heck, it was just 12 years since the Browns won a title. Surely, a championship would come soon.

The Kardiac Kids gave us all a thrill in 1980, 16 years since a professional sports championship, but it was the Browns of the late 80’s, 1985-1990, that felt like our best chance to bring a title to Cleveland.

John Elway got in their way all three times, but it had still been just a little over 20 years since a championship in Cleveland. Still, the most heart breaking loss was “The Drive”, an AFC Championship on our home field.

There was no doubt in our mind when Brian Brennan caught the touchdown pass from Bernie Kosar late in the fourth quarter that the Cleveland Browns were going to their first Super Bowl. But you know what happened.

In the 90’s, the Cavaliers were good again, but the best player in the sport, Michael Jordan, got in their way.

By the mid-90’s, the Indians were finally one of baseball’s best teams, and in 1995, they reached their first World Series since 1954. We were just happy to have that streak end, so it wasn’t too disappointing when they didn’t win.

They got back in 1997, and were leading game seven going into the 9th inning before Jose Mesa couldn’t slam the door. It was now 33 years at that time, and that night, we were angry at the gods for taking that chance away. It had become a curse.

It seemed like a long time until 2007 for our next chance. The Cavs drafted LeBron James, one of us, a northeast Ohioan, and he single handedly won the wine and gold their first Eastern Conference title, their first trip to The NBA Finals.

They were swept, but we were sure there would be more trip to come.

That same year, the Tribe had a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series, only to drop the final three to Boston, who won the World Series piloted by Terry Francona.

The curse was now at 43 years and counting. This morning, it is now 52 years since a Cleveland major league team has won a title.

By tonight, it may be over. Or it might not be. But this is the closest any of our teams have been in 19 years, and we have the best player in the sport.

We will be on the edge of our chairs tonight, hoping, imploring, and maybe begging that this curse ends.

We won’t know how to act if it does, although we are sure plenty of tears of joy will be shed.

That’s how much we love our sports teams in northeast Ohio.

Tito: Loyal Or Stubborn?

Terry Francona’s resume is outstanding to say the least. He has won two World Series titles as a manager with the Boston Red Sox, and heck, he was at the helm when the Sox broke the “Curse of the Bambino”.

He’s won 1322 games in the major leagues, and has produced an above .500 record for 11 consecutive seasons.

He is also the most successful manager of the Cleveland Indians since the Tribe’s halcyon days from 1994-2001.

There is one thing he isn’t, however. He’s not infallible.

Look, we like Tito. He does a tremendous job doing the most difficult thing a big league manager has to do, handling a bunch of successful athletes’ personalities, and making sure the ballclub plays hard everyday.

However, the thing that endears the players to Francona may also be his biggest weakness as a manager: Loyalty.

If you have performed well at the big league level at one time, and better yet, if you done a good job for Francona at one time, you are like a made man.

You have earned Tito’s trust, and he will defend you to the hilt.

Bryan Shaw is the latest case study of Francona’s support system.

Shaw has been a very good set up man for the Indians since arriving in 2013, the same year Tito was hired as manager. He appeared in over 70 games in each of those seasons, including a league leading 80 appearances in 2014.

Unfortunately, last August, all those games pitched started to take it’s toll on the right-hander. During the last two months of the ’15 season, Shaw gave up a run for every two innings he threw, and started giving up homers, four in that time span.

That was the same number he allowed the rest of the season.

This year, Shaw’s ERA is north of 5.00 and he’s allowed seven homers to this point in the season. That’s one shy of his career high, set last year.

It’s time to find someone else to pitch the eighth inning.

Now, privately, Francona may have told Shaw the same thing, and Tito will never speak to the media about something like this, nor should he.

However, the next time the Indians play a close game and it gets to the 8th inning, who will Francona turn to? If he goes to Shaw, his loyalty is getting in the way of winning ball games.

The same is true at third base, although this might be an organizational decision.

Juan Uribe is 37-years-old and his OPS is 575. He simply isn’t producing at the plate, and his WAR is the lowest on the team among position players.

To be fair, some of this may not be Uribe’s fault. He should be a part-time player and he is being forced to play regularly. But Francona keeps writing his name in the lineup.

Some of that may be Tito’s obsession with having eight relief pitchers, which limits the number of position players he has on the roster. The Tribe usually carries just three extra players on their bench.

The problem is the skipper only uses certain pitchers when he has a lead, and for most of the year those guys have been Zack McAllister, Shaw, and closer Cody Allen.

So, some of those guys in the bullpen can go several days without being used. Allen pitched the eighth yesterday because he hasn’t pitched in awhile.

Since the Tribe starters have been pretty good about giving the team some length, do the Indians really need eight relievers at the expense of an extra position player?

Again, Francona is a very successful major league manager without a doubt, and no one here is advocating for a change.

However, he’s not perfect. There is a thin line between patience and stubbornness. Terry Francona skirts that line a lot.

Cavs Live To Fight Another Day

The Cleveland Cavaliers live to fight another day.

It took two virtuoso performances, one from LeBron James, the other from Kyrie Irving to get it done, but there will be a Game 6 of The NBA Finals on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Some people will pooh-pooh the win, because of the absence of Draymond Green due to suspension, but the wine and gold got it done, basically because two of their stars carried them to this point.

And one last comment on Green. He was not suspended for the altercation with James on Friday night, he was out last night because of repeated incidents throughout the playoffs. Whether it is fair or not, those were the rules set forth by the NBA.

Now, back to the game.

The Cavs played a lot of isolation basketball last night, and it worked because they were making shots. When Irving makes 17 out of 24 attempts, then playing that way works. The problem is, when he shoots 8 for 20, it doesn’t look good.

Tyronn Lue’s squad was tied at halftime at 61, but we had a good feeling because they survived an onslaught of three point shots by Klay Thompson, who scored 25 points in the first half.

Even though Thompson was on fire, Cleveland didn’t allow any of the 12-1 or 16-2 runs that Golden State is famous for putting on its opponents. For every Thompson make, either Irving or James answered.

As for the officiating, Golden State still shot more free throws for the game, hitting 19 of 26 compared to the Cavaliers’ 14 of 23, and when you consider six of those attempts came from the deliberate fouling of Tristan Thompson in the third quarter, you can see the Warriors still received the benefit of the doubt from the refs.

As hot as the home team was in the first half from behind the arc, they were cold after halftime, winding up making 14 of 42 for 33%. Green’s absence could be a reason for that because he is such a good passer, and can also make threes. Our guess is the Warriors will shoot better on Thursday.

With Green returning for Game 6, the Cavs are going to need contributions from others. JR Smith was the only other Cleveland player to reach double digits last night, with 10 points.

Lue will need one of these three players, Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, and/or Channing Frye to step up and make some shots on Friday.

Frye didn’t play last night, and the other two combined for just six points. There is no doubt Steve Kerr is going to attempt to stop the two guys who hurt his team last night, so someone needs to step up.

Although Love will be hammered today in the media (because that’s what they do, he’s the whipping boy), he was plus 18 last night, so even though he didn’t have a big game, he didn’t screw anything up either.

We understand that’s setting the bar low, but the fact is Love isn’t a good match up against the defending champs. However, he is a major contributor against everyone else.

This is redundant, but the Cavs will need to lift their game to an even higher level to win Thursday and force a game seven in Oakland. Fortunately, they will have two full days of rest before the next game.

No team has ever come back from down 3-1 in The Finals. That doesn’t mean it is never going to happen. That’s what the Cavaliers have to hold on to.

Thoughts On Cavs’ Game 4 Loss And Officiating.

There are so many thoughts that go through your head after the loss of a key game, and we aren’t involved as players and/or coaches.

However, it is more than 24 hours after the Cavaliers’ 108-97 loss in Game 4 of The NBA Finals, and we still can’t get the horrible officiating out of our heads.

Yes, there are other reasons for the loss. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson got their long distance shooting going, making 50% (11 of 22) of their three point shots.

From the Cavs’ standpoint, there was an over reliance on LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, who took 49 of the team’s 81 shots, and the percentage was almost 95% in the last 18 minutes of the game.

A week or so ago, we talked about the Warriors playing like the mid 1990’s New York Knicks, coached by Pat Riley.

Those teams were uber aggressive defensively, appearing to foul on each and every possession, daring the referees to call every infraction.

Of course, they didn’t, or else the games would last close to four hours and would never develop any sort of rhythm.

Golden State shot more free throws than Cleveland (31-26) but many of those came late in the contest, when the wine and gold were trying to get the ball back, so for most of the game, the Cavs had an edge.

This would mean the officiating was in favor of Cleveland, and our theory is blown, correct?

First of all, the Warriors took 44% of their shots from behind the three point line, making it unlikely that Cleveland is going to foul someone on those shots.

The Cavaliers took 31% of their shots from behind the arc.

LeBron James, the best player in the league, took 21 shots, including five three pointers. That means he took 16 shots inside the three point line.

Without the play-by-play sheet, let’s say half of those 16 shots came from 10 feet and out. We say this knowing that this is probably not true, it’s more likely around six of those shots were long twos.

So, James went to the basket eight times, and was fouled only twice? It’s more likely you will see a unicorn than that is the case if you watched the game.

And we aren’t even counting Irving’s frays to the basket, and the number of times Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love got hit inside.

One of the reasons the Warriors can use their “small” lineup is they are allowed to bump and grind inside without a call.

We know this sounds like sour grapes, but we’ve seen this all season from Golden State, not just in The Finals.

We haven’t mentioned the questionable screens they set offensively, most notable by pulling guards Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut.

Why are they allowed to play this way? That’s a question no one asks the league office.

This style of play is frustrating to opponents, because players know when they get hit, and what does or does not constitute a foul.

When they don’t get the call they received all season and all through the playoffs, you can imagine the frustration level grows higher and higher.

By the way, it is difficult to be James as a player.

When he is a distributor, then people want to know why he’s not assertive, why he doesn’t try to take control of the game.

When he takes a lot of shots or dominates the ball, then he needs to play more of a team game. He can’t win.

It is likely the Cavs’ season will end Monday night in Oakland watching the Warriors celebrate once again. Our guess is that the wine and gold’s players will be seething.

Because the Warriors are getting over on the NBA.

Physical Play A Key For Cavs

The most telling thing about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ victory in game three of The NBA Finals was the reaction of their players.

There were no smiles. The Cavs knew they had to win that game to keep their chances alive in the series, so it was a very business-like attitude.

Even the usual bench reactions were subdued, meaning the players realized they didn’t accomplish anything. They know if they don’t win tonight, then it is likely the series won’t go further than Monday night in Oakland, and they would have to watch the Warriors celebrate again.

When asked about tonight’s contest, LeBron James reiterated what he said before Wednesday night’s game, that it is a must win game once again for the wine and gold.

Look, the Cavaliers aren’t going to win again by 33 points. This game will be a grinder, and the home team is going to need to keep playing aggressive and physical, matching the way the Warriors play, especially defensively.

We will continue to say that Golden State is going to foul you every time you take the ball into the paint. They slap arms, hit wrists, and bump and grind the lower part of the body whenever the ball goes inside.

Cleveland has to play through this. And they will also have to be prepared for the Warriors to ramp up the questionable screens they set offensively, because they need Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to start making shots.

That will be something to watch for early in the game tonight, because if they get going, it could be a long night for the wine and gold.

A big question for Cavs’ coach Tyronn Lue is what to do with Kevin Love, who should be able to play tonight after missing game three in the concussion protocol.

Our feeling is Lue should keep Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup and bring Love in off the bench. Despite what you read, Love is a quality player, and the Cavaliers need him.

For 28 NBA teams, Lue should start Love, without a doubt. But Golden State is unique, and Love gets exposed defensively against the Warriors’ starters. That’s no slight against Love, but Cleveland is probably better served being used off the bench tonight.

Lue could also use some offense from his bench, another reason using Love in that role makes sense.

JR Smith started finding the range once the series returned to The Q, and it would help greatly if tonight, Channing Frye was able to get it going and make some shots.

Frye has contributed because the Warriors have stayed close to him, which has opened up the paint for James and Kyrie Irving, but if he could hit a couple of shots, it would ease the burden on the starting five.

The bottom line for the Cavaliers is this. This is the biggest challenge yet for this basketball team. The Warriors are going to bring it tonight, hoping to be able to win the title Monday night on their home floor.

If the Cavs can pull it off, then perhaps the momentum shifts, and a little doubt is created in the Warrior locker room.

And they would have to think after two straight losses, that maybe Cleveland has figured something out to slow down the Golden State attack.

Tonight is the biggest game of the season, and probably the biggest game in franchise history.

Will the Cavs be able to pull it off?