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.

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.

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?

Frustration, Secondary Options Killing The Cavs

The good news is the Cleveland Cavaliers have done an outstanding job defending Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, holding them to a total of 55 points combined in the first two games of the NBA Finals.

The bad news is everyone else wearing a Golden State uniform seems to be scoring at will.

Shaun Livingston has made all but three of the 14 shots he has taken. Leandro Barbosa? He has hit 10 of 12 shots from the floor.

Draymond Green, a career 34% shooter from three point range, although he did hit 39% this season, has made exactly half of his 14 attempts from beyond the arc in this series.

Despite the “Splash Brothers” hitting just 21 of their 51 field goal attempts (41.2%), the Warriors have knocked down 52% of their shots from the field.

That means everyone else is incredibly hot.

It probably won’t continue, but then again, neither will the struggles of the Western Conference champions top two scorers.

To compound Cleveland’s issues containing Golden State’s offense, the red hot shooting the Cavs showed throughout the playoffs has disappeared, with the wine and gold hitting just 37% from the floor.

That’s a good recipe for being down 0-2 in a seven game series.

On the other hand, it’s a seven game series, not three, so it’s not over yet, and if Tyronn Lue’s bunch can somehow defend their home court, it would be a best of three affair.

The lack of fouls called on the Warriors seems to have frustrated Cleveland, which sounds ridiculous because the Cavs have out shot their opponents in this series at the line, getting 44 attempts vs. 20 for Steve Kerr’s crew.

There are two issues with this.

First, Cleveland isn’t playing close enough defense on anyone to draw a foul.

Second, we believe that the Warriors are taking a page out of history, drawing on the mid-90’s New York Knicks, coached by Pat Riley, for their defensive philosophy.

Our observation is that if you bring the ball into the paint against Golden State, you will get fouled. The philosophy is the officials will not call every foul, or the games will last four hours, so if you hit someone every time, it simply won’t be called.

We have been watching basketball for a long time, and there is no way that every time the ball comes free inside that it is a clean play.

There was a picture that appeared on social media from Sports Illustrated’s web site showing Kevin Love being defended by Green, whose hand is clearly on Love’s wrist.

We don’t care how “tough” you are, it is virtually impossible to make an offensive move with the ball in your hand and your wrist in someone else’s.

Why the NBA is overlooking this? We have no answer. But that is why we don’t believe the Cavs “quit” on Sunday, it was simply frustration.

Think about playing a game where you are constantly fouled. You get mad and it’s tough to play.

This isn’t to say the Warriors aren’t a good defensive team. Their quickness at pretty much every position allows them to protect the paint and recover to cover shooters.

They are given some liberties in terms of reaching, grabbing, and slapping, particularly inside and near the basket.

There is no question the Cavs need to play better and shoot better. And they have to overcome the frustration with the lack of calls they are getting when they attack the basket.

A loss tomorrow night virtually ends the season. Lue and James will make sure everyone else knows that.

Lue’s Plan Worked, But Others Got Hot

It is always funny to read social media postings during a sporting event in Cleveland, most notably because the default in this area for many is that when the team loses, the coach or manager did a bad job.

Going into last night’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Cavs’ coach Tyronn Lue obviously wanted to limit the open looks of the Golden State Warriors’ two best offensive players: Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Sounds like a good plan, right? To be sure, Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr probably wants to make it difficult for LeBron James and Kyrie Irving too.

Well, Lue’s blueprint worked out. Curry and Thompson were held to just 20 points, on a combined 8 for 27 shooting night. For the most part, there weren’t a lot of open looks for these two.

However, we are sure that the Cavs’ coaching staff did not figure on the trio of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, and Leandro Barbosa going a combined 18 for 24 from the field, scoring a combined total of 43 points.

Those three averaged 19.7 points per game together in the regular season, and in the playoffs they were averaging 22 points per night.

So, they basically doubled what they did in the post-season last night.

While, Lue’s plan was sound, but the results don’t show it because those three players off the Golden State bench had extraordinary nights.

And while Curry can come to the post-game press conference and talk about the difference their bench makes, the numbers show they don’t usually make that kind of impact on a game.

On the other hand, Iguodala seems to see a Cleveland uniform and turns into a combination of J.J. Redick and Kyle Korver. He is a career 33% shooter from three point range, but in the seven playoff games vs. the Cavs, he has made 16 out of 39%, more than 40%.

It didn’t help that Cleveland shot poorly either, making just 38% of their field goal attempts, with a lot of misses right at the rim. Is that great defense? In some cases, yes, but the wine and gold shooters missed some clean looks around the basket as well.

The Warriors seemed to play a lot of attention to JR Smith and Channing Frye, two of the hottest Cavs from behind the three point line. The two combined to take just four shots and score five points.

Lue and his staff have to figure out a way to get them some open looks, although both players appeared to be a little passive as well.

Cleveland also got away from the ball movement they have displayed throughout the playoffs, totaling just 17 assists last night, nine by James.

Lue attributed the isolation style of play to the Warriors’ switching defense, but there can be a happy medium with good ball movement with some one-on-one play mixed in.

Let’s not forget that the Cavaliers had a one point lead late in the third quarter, before Livingston started the fourth quarter with a flurry. So, it wasn’t exactly domination by Golden State since the tipoff.

There is no doubt Curry and Thompson will shoot better going forward, but it is also likely the Warriors will not get this kind of production from their subs.

The Cavs will also shoot better.

We have always felt that until the seventh game, the even numbered contests are most important, and this is no different.

The Warriors can take a commanding lead with a win on Sunday, while the Cavs can get right back in it, and steal home court from Kerr’s team.

Cleveland didn’t lose the series last night. There is a long way to go. But it will the route will get shorter with another loss on Sunday.

The Ultimate Challenge For Cavs

Earlier in the year, when both the national media and local scribes and broadcasters seemed obsessed with the Golden State Warriors, we told people to stop comparing the Cleveland Cavaliers with the defending champs, because they were doing something off the charts.

Our opinion was that the only time Cavs’ fans needed to think about the Warriors was if and when the wine and gold meet Golden State in the NBA Finals.

That day is now here. The Cavaliers will be in Oakland Thursday night to begin The Finals after the Warriors eliminated Oklahoma City in a hard fought seven game series.

As you would imagine for a team that won a league record 73 regular season games, the Warriors don’t have any glaring weaknesses.

They are the top three point shooting team in the NBA, the top shooting team regardless of distance, and are in the top five (4th) in rebounding.

Defensively, they rank 1st in defensive field goal percentage against the three point shot, and third in all shots.

Perhaps a reason for that is many teams trying to play the Warriors game, something we don’t believe will work in the long run. We understand Tyronn Lue wants the Cavs to play with pace, but we think the wine and gold will play faster than last year, but they will want to control the tempo.

One thing the Cavaliers have to do defensively is not leave Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson alone. The players defending those two can absolutely not leave them to play help defense.

That duo take 19.3 three point shots per game. And for all the hype about Golden State’s reliance on the long range shot, those two are the only players who average more than 3.5 threes per game.

Cleveland has five such players (JR Smith, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, Channing Frye, and LeBron James), meaning Golden State has to honor the long range shooting of many, not just a few.

When the Cavs defeated the Warriors last season in the regular season at The Q, then coach David Blatt said they knew Golden State was going to take three point shots, but they wanted them to be taken by players other than Curry and Thompson.

It didn’t work in The Finals because Andre Iguodala shot the long ball like he never has in his life.

However, we would still try to chase Golden State shooters off of the line and force them to come inside and take two point shots.

As for the “Splash Brothers”, you have to pick them up as soon as they cross half-court, and hope either Draymond Green and/or Andrew Bogut don’t set one of their famed moving screens to get either player free.

We believe Lue may have to forsake his mantra about not complaining about officials to draw attention to this tactic that was used last year in the championship round, and now most coaches see the same thing.

Golden State’s defensive rankings are very good, but it helps if you can put pressure defensively on Curry, and Kyrie Irving can do that.

However, in saying that, we don’t want to see the one-on-one play that comes when Irving is play iso-ball.

Cleveland needs to move the ball, and when Irving gets it with Curry guarding him, he has to attack.

The Cavs also have to exploit the Warriors lack of size when they go to their small lineup. None of those players can handle LeBron James in the post, so Cleveland needs to go to him to force Steve Kerr’s hand.

There is no question this is the toughest test yet for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have to go through the defending champs, and they will have to win at least one game on the road to bring home a title.

Let the series begin on Thursday!

Defense Keys Game 5 Win For Cavs

Our first thought at the beginning of last night’s game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals was why can’t the Cleveland Cavaliers play defense like this all the time?

It was that stifling approach on that end of the floor that led to a 116-78 blowout victory by the wine and gold at Quicken Loans Arena, and gives Cleveland an opportunity to earn a trip to the NBA Finals Friday night in Toronto.

Tyronn Lue did some different things defensively, mainly having his guards come over screens instead of behind them, and blitzing the pick and roll more often. The latter strategy was used in the comeback that fell short in game four.

Obviously, the success then showed the coaching staff it would work.

And while many are attributing the victory to Kevin Love’s aggressiveness on the offensive end of the floor, make no mistake, it was the defensive effort by the Cavs that put them one game away from a second consecutive appearance in The Finals.

Lue will have to have the team prepared to counter the adjustments Dwayne Casey will make to free up his all-star backcourt duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, because he knows if they aren’t scoring, the Raptors don’t have much of a chance.

Part of the defensive improvement was the activity of Tristan Thompson, who looked like he was tired of being chewed up by Bismack Biyombo. Thompson had two offensive rebounds in the first couple of minutes, and Cleveland scored both times off the extra possession.

Offensively, Love’s effectiveness was a big help, and it was interesting to note that he started his night making a post move to score his first hoop, and worked his way out. That’s his preferred mode of getting going with his shot.

LeBron James played facilitator last night, setting up all of his teammates for easy looks.

Everyone is looking for that game when James takes total control in terms of the scoring, and tomorrow night could be the night. We can see him coming out and taking the ball to the basket early and often, and coming up with a 35 point night to take pressure off his teammates.

Toronto is going to be playing with desperation, if they lose, their season is over. But James is preaching the same thing all post-season for the Cavaliers. He has stated over and over that nine wins, ten wins, etc. isn’t the goal. It’s 16 wins, and they aren’t there yet.

So, don’t expect another blowout win and don’t be surprised if both teams are back here Sunday night for a seventh and deciding game.

Still, it would be better for the blood pressure of the entire wine and gold fandom if the Cavaliers finished the series in six games.

As well as Cleveland has played at “The Q”, when you play one game for all the marbles, anything can happen. Something like D’Marre Carroll getting hot from behind the three point line or Biyombo making 15 foot jump shots.

Let’s not forget what a huge win it was last night, though. It was really the first time in this post-season that Lue’s crew faced a must win situation.

They passed the test with flying colors.