No Excuse, Cavs’ Injuries to Love, Irving Are Fact

We are sure that LeBron James will get criticized for speaking the truth after the deciding game of the NBA Finals, mostly because he gets picked on for pretty much everything he does.

James pointed out that the Cavs didn’t have good luck in the health department on their side, losing Kevin Love in the fourth game of the first round series vs. Boston, and Kyrie Irving also missed the bulk of the post-season, including the last five games of The Finals.

In a series where the Cavs struggled to find anyone who could shoot from outside consistently, the absence of Love and Irving, both players who can most definitely shoot, sticks out like a sore thumb. Or shoulder and knee if you will.

For the regular season, Cleveland shot 36.7% from behind the three-point line, and in The Finals, they shot 29%. Now, we agree that there would be some decrease in that percentage in the playoffs due to the stepped up defense.

As a comparison, Golden State’s percentage on long distance shots dropped from 39.8% in the regular season to 36% in The Finals, a drop of almost four percent. The Cavaliers drop was double what the Warriors’ was.

There can’t be a question that having Irving and Love on the floor would have made a major difference.

Love’s replacement, Tristan Thompson, played marvelously in the playoffs, but he’s not an offensive threat outside of the paint. There is no need to guard him away from the basket.

In terms of shooting, some of the shots Love would have had were taken by James Jones, and he hit only 4 of 13 from long distance in the series. There is no question, Love would have helped Cleveland both in spacing the floor and in making shots.

As for Irving, his shooting from outside and his creativity around the basket would have added a different dynamic to the Cavalier offense. His replacement, Matthew Dellavedova, a gritty defender who did a good job on Stephen Curry (so good that the league MVP in the regular season didn’t receive a single vote as MVP of The Finals), made only 6 of 26 three-point shots (23%) and doesn’t drive to the hoop nearly as well as Irving.

It’s not an excuse, it’s a fact.

And it’s a fact ignored by several national media people who were exposed as trolls for constantly saying that LeBron James was a one man team during these finals.

He was, but only because two of the Cavaliers’ starters, and not just starters, but current and former all-stars were unable to play due to injury.

The insinuation is that the Cavs’ management can’t put a decent team around the best player in the sport. The reality is they did, but a couple of freak injuries took their toll on the roster and forced David Blatt to shorten his rotation.

Which leads to another point. Blatt is portrayed as a coach that doesn’t use his bench because he played really just seven players in The Finals. However, with Irving and Love in the mix, he would have played nine guys.

The Cavaliers played the way they played at the end because it was the only way they could compete. And they got within two games of an NBA title.

It’s too bad the national media came late to the party and didn’t see how they played when James had Love and Irving at his side. In the last 35 games they played together, Cleveland was 32-3.

That’s why you should be optimistic heading into the off-season.

James will get criticized, because that’s what these guys do. He is in the middle of the cycle where he has been around so long, people pick on him.

In a few years, he’ll be the elder statesman, and will go back to being loved.

After the game, he was honest. That’s the best policy.

Cavs Determination is Off the Charts

Last night was one of Cleveland’s best sports nights in a long time.

In front of 21,000 delirious fans at Quicken Loans Arena, LeBron James and his gritty, gutsy teammates took a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals with a 96-91 win over Golden State.

It wasn’t without heart palpitations though.

The wine and gold held a 20 point lead late in the third quarter, but the Warriors, who can score points more quickly than any team in the NBA, came roaring back and closed to within one point in the 4th quarter.

We remember Joe Tait saying as long as you never give up the lead it kind of stops the opponents momentum, and David Blatt’s group never did. Matthew Dellavedova hit a miracle shot while being fouled, and his subsequent free throw put the Cavs up four, and they held on from there.

Of course, there was another virtuoso performance by LeBron James, who is reminding everyone involved with the sport that even though Stephen Curry and James Harden finished one-two in the MVP voting this year, the best player in the sport wears #23 and plays in Cleveland.

James scored 40 points (he is averaging 41 per game in The Finals), grabbing 12 rebounds, and had 8 assists and controlled the tempo and pace of the game. But he received support from his teammates, as everyone who got in the game made a big contribution.

Little used Mike Miller played five minutes, and made a great play diving on the floor after a loose ball saving it to Dellavedova at the end of the first quarter.

Delly added another performance to his growing legend, scoring 20 points, with 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and pestered Curry all night long.

However, he would up in the hospital following the game getting treatment for cramping. And in other bad news, Iman Shumpert reinjured his shoulder in the first quarter, but returned to the game basically playing with one arm, and still made a contribution defensively with his ability to get his hands in passing lanes and on the ball when the Warriors went to the basket.

Hopefully, both will be able to play tomorrow night because Cleveland can ill afford to lose anyone else.

The will and determination of this team is unreal. LeBron James keeps mentioning it because it seems like the national media have forgotten, but the Cavs are playing without two all-star players in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

They are also missing the guy who started at center on opening night in Anderson Varejao.

But they keep persevering, keep grinding.

Which only makes us as a fan base even more proud of them. They have adopted the “hard-working town, hard-working team” that Michael Stanley sang about twenty years ago.

The job is only halfway done, though.

Because we grew up here, we cannot think positively about this just yet.

The Warriors’ fourth quarter, scoring 36 points, scares us. We do have confidence though, that the coaching staff will figure out what Golden State was doing and will have something to counteract it.

Why? Because they’ve done it all during the playoffs.

The Cavs still need to control the pace of the game if they want to continue having success in this series. And they have to continue “making it tough” for the Warriors on the offensive end.

No matter what the outcome is, these Cavs should be praised for their grit, which is difficult when you have the best player in the world.

When that guy plays that way, it’s easy for everyone else to fall in line.

A Look at The Numbers–Cavs and Warriors.

Thursday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers start the last leg on the road to a possible NBA championship when they take on the Golden State Warriors in The Finals.

The Warriors, led by league MVP Stephen Curry, had the league’s best record at 67-15. They led the league in scoring at 110 points per contest, and also were the league’s best in terms of the most meaningful defensive statistic, opponents field goal percentage, holding teams to a 42.8% figure.

As a comparison, the Cavs ranked 8th in scoring at 103.1 each time they took the floor, but they were eighth worst in the NBA in defensive field goal percent, allowing their opponents to hit 45.6% from the floor.

Based on this, you would think David Blatt’s team doesn’t have a shot.

However, in the playoffs, the Warriors have dropped to 104.3 points offensively, a drop of over five points per game. Their opponents have shot relatively the same, making 43.1% of their attempts.

The Cavs’ offensive output is about the same, scoring 101.4 points, a decline of less than two points. The big difference is on defense, where Cleveland has held the Celtics, Bulls, and Hawks to 41.2% shooting, more than four points better than in the regular season.

As a matter of comparison, the wine and gold’s three opponents ranked 10th (Hawks), 13th (Celtics) and 15th (Bulls) in scoring during the 82 game schedule. In terms of field goal percentage only Atlanta (4th) was in the top 20.

But it isn’t like the Warriors stopped the Showtime Lakers in the playoffs either, as only Houston (6th) was in the top ten in scoring. New Orleans was 16th and Memphis was 20th. However, the Grizzlies and Pelicans were in the top ten in field goal percentage, while the Rockets were 20th.

The Warriors can shoot, make no mistake about that. Curry and his Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, are likely to pull up and shoot long-range three-point shots from anywhere and in any situation.

Cleveland shoots the three ball well too, but it is more likely to occur from penetration and then a kick out to a shooter spotting up.

Can the Cavs bring home a title?

It will no doubt be difficult. The Warriors seem like a finesse team, but they are solid defensively, and in Andrew Bogut, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala, they have some grit.

Golden State has the home court, so really, if the Cavaliers lose the first two games, it is no reason to panic. They have to come back to Cleveland for a chance to make it a best of three series.

Remember in 2007, the Cavs lost the first two games in the Eastern Conference finals on the road in Detroit, before roaring back to win the last four games.

The pressure is on the Warriors for at least those games. They are the favorite, and they need to keep the home court advantage as the series heads back to Cleveland.

If the Cavs can stop Curry and Thompson from going crazy, they can win the series. Yes, the Warriors have some depth, but if you can keep the Splash Brothers under 50 points for the night, you have a pretty good chance for victory.

Steve Kerr will have to figure out a way to contain LeBron James, if he double teams him, LBJ will find one of his cast of shooters from the perimeter. If Golden State plays him one on one, he might score over 40 points.

The difference for LeBron is these playoffs is his constant attacking of the basket. He is posting up more than ever in a Cavs’ uniform, making himself close to unstoppable.

It will be a great series. That’s the only prediction we are willing to make.