Can Cavs-Warriors Be Analyzed Accurately?

It seems like a constant debate in Cleveland, Ohio every spring. Can the Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors?

Last year, there was a great deal of hand-wringing over this, but as we said then, in reality, the wine and gold doesn’t have to worry about Steve Kerr’s team until the Warriors win the Western Conference and the Cavs are the Eastern Conference champs.

Look, we understand Golden State is a great team. They won the title in 2014-15 in six games over Cleveland, and lost in seven games to the Cavs last year. You don’t get to the NBA Finals two years in a row unless you are an excellent squad.

And yes, the same can be said for Tyronn Lue’s club.

The question has gained traction again after the NBA trading deadline came and went, and Cleveland added Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut, who were waived and traded/bought out of their current situations and joined the Cavaliers.

When JR Smith and Kevin Love get healthy, Lue can legitimately go 12 deep with a solid core of talent.

Point guard? He can use Kyrie Irving and Williams.

#2 guard? He has Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Kyle Korver at his disposal.

Small forward? James is still the best player in the sport, and another recent acquisition, Derrick Williams provides incredible athleticism in reserve, and Richard Jefferson doesn’t seem like he is 36 years old.

The Cavs have Love and Channing Frye to play the four, and Tristan Thompson and Bogut who can handle the middle.

Does all the depth added by GM David Griffin translate into being better than a Golden State team that added one of the premier players in the sport in Kevin Durant.

To do that, the Warriors lost some of their famous depth, including Bogut, who is now wearing the wine and gold.

Can the Cavs repeat as champs if they play Golden State again?

First, the Warriors will probably have a tougher time getting through the West than Cleveland will, because of the presence of San Antonio, Houston, and the LA Clippers.

All three teams are better than the Cavs chief challengers, the Celtics, Wizards, and Raptors.

The other factor is it is difficult to evaluate the Warriors because of two things, one of which is the LeBron factor.

James is still the preeminent player in the game, and it is difficult to bet against him in a seven game series. When he is making a decent number of shots from outside, he is impossible to guard.

You also have to figure in the rest of the league’s fear of the Warriors.

We believe one of the reason’s the Warriors are 50-11 this season is most of the team’s in the NBA don’t play the style needed to beat them.

They try to play the Warriors’ style, which is not effective because they are better at it than everyone else, so you will probably lose.

You don’t see many opponents getting physical with Golden State, bumping them on picks, challenging Steph Curry defensively, etc.

Some of that is most team don’t have the personnel to do that like the Cavs do, but we feel some of that is the intimidation factor. Other teams are afraid of the Warriors embarrassing them.

The Cavaliers do not have that fear. They know they can beat Golden State. They lost in six games without Irving and Love two years ago, and overcame a 3-1 deficit to win last year.

We understand that on paper, the Warriors still look like the better team, but as we learned last June, the game is not played on paper.

That’s why it is tough to analyze a third title matchup.

Cavs’ Injuries Adding To Difficult March Slate

Since the beginning of the calendar year, the Cleveland Cavaliers seem to have been beset by injuries, which makes people nervous about the prospect to repeating as NBA champions.

It started with JR Smith’s thumb, which has him out until what looks like the middle of March. The question with this malady is will Smith have enough time to round back into shape, more of that meaning will his outside shooting be up to standard come playoff time in the middle of April.

Smith’s shooting and defense were of tremendous importance in the run to the title a year ago, so the seriousness of this injuries cannot be understated.

Then came the Kevin Love situation. First it was his back, which caused him to miss a few games, and now comes the revelation that the all-star forward has some knee problems, and it would not be surprising if he needs to miss about 3-4 weeks of action, which would put him out until the middle of March too.

And we haven’t even mentioned Iman Shumpert’s sprained ankle, which has put him out for a week, and at this point, it would be in the Cavs’ best interest to keep the guard out of action until after the All Star break.

With these injuries to key players, it is kind of amazing the wine and gold are still sitting at 37-16 and with the best record in the Eastern Conference by two games over Boston.

While no injuries are timely, these comes at a particularly bad time because the schedule is very heavy with road games in March.

After a road game tonight and a game vs. Indiana at The Q tomorrow, the Cavaliers start the post break slate with three home games.

Then, starting on March 1st, seven of the next eight games are on the road, and included in that span are games against Boston, Atlanta, Houston, and a home/road back to back against Miami.

It doesn’t get any easier after that. Following two home games against Detroit and Utah, Tyronn Lue’s squad goes back out west for games with the Clippers, Lakers, and Nuggets, then stopping in Charlotte before heading home.

At the very least, that portion of the trip could be concerned with getting Love and Smith back in the groove for the playoffs.

Besides all of the schedule and injury problems, remember that the trading deadline takes place next week, and it wouldn’t be a shock if GM David Griffin makes some sort of a move at the deadline to bolster the Cavs for the stretch run.

That puts Lue squarely in the middle as the guy who has to bring this all together, and he needs to do it while still winning games.

Over the past three years, and we include the year David Blatt was in charge, the Cavs have done a great job integrating new players into their culture, a tribute to both the coaching staff and the team’s leader, LeBron James.

Look at how quickly Derrick Williams has seemed to fit in being here not even a week.

Tristan Thompson summed it up the other night when he said the Cavaliers bring in guys who do one thing really well, and allow them to do what they do best.

The biggest thing is getting everyone in full gear when the playoffs start in the middle of April.

There isn’t any evidence to suggest this organization can’t do just that.

Defense Is Cavs’ Biggest Issue

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a funk.

Perhaps it’s an annual thing, because they seem to go through this each of the last two Januarys, or maybe they are simply bored as the season has just passed the halfway point.

Maybe it’s a hangover from the franchise’s first title last summer, and they will be able to turn the switch after the All Star game at the end of February.

Whatever, it’s not very pretty to watch.

Monday’s loss to Dallas was embarrassing. Yes, they are missing two starters due to injury in JR Smith and Kevin Love, but so were the Mavericks, who were without Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut.

Dallas is the third worst team in the Western Conference at 18-30 and have a below .500 record at home. And they played the night before and picked up a huge road win, perhaps their biggest of the year, at San Antonio.

Still, the Cavs couldn’t take advantage. They continue to struggle away from Quicken Loans Arena, dropping to 11-10 on the road for the season.

And while LeBron James continues to say the team needs a backup point guard, the biggest need for the wine and gold is to improve their defense.

Yes, if you play an up tempo game, you are going to give up points in the NBA, but the Cavs have allowed 100 or more points in 13 of the last 14 games. In the first 33 games this season, Cleveland held their opponents under 100 points 13 times.

That’s why in today’s “tryout camp” for veterans that the Cavs are having today, we would look for defense first.

Now, that being said, we don’t want players who don’t have any ability to put the ball in the basket, like say DeAndre Liggins. Those players become liabilities when you have the ball and allow teams to double on James and Kyrie Irving.

However, we would look to sign players who can defend, but also have the ability to score. We understand that sounds like an oxymoron, but Tyronn Lue has players who can shoot at his disposal, guys like Smith, Channing Frye, and Kyle Korver.

But outside of Smith, they are not strong on defense.

What is really needed though is an accountability from the current players on the defensive end. We have seen too many opposing players getting by their defender, which causes someone to help, and that leaves someone wide open on the perimeter.

If the help doesn’t arrive, then it’s a lay up. That is happening far too often, and it isn’t just elite players causing problems. Heck, Dallas had Yogi Farrell, currently on a 10 day contract, and Seth Curry, not Steph Curry, parading to the basket.

That just comes down to personal responsibility. Keep your man in front of you. We know they are capable of doing that, which plays into our boredom argument.

We understand there probably isn’t a real threat to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, but that doesn’t mean if these bad habits aren’t curtailed soon, other teams might feel like they have a shot.

Part of the Cavs’ mystique is many other teams are defeated before they take the floor. That’s something they don’t want to lose, and stepping it up on the defensive end is a step in that direction.

Cavs Loss Last Night? Not A Huge Deal.

If you are a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers, you have to be disappointed in last night’s 126-91 defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors.

There were some things to be concerned about for GM David Griffin and coach Tyronn Lue, but not to be simplistic, but when you shoot 34% and your opponent shoots 53%, you will probably lose.

As LeBron James says, it’s a shot making league, and last night Golden State made theirs, and the Cavaliers did not.

The schedule also didn’t do the wine and gold any favors. The home team was really the home team as Steve Kerr’s team hasn’t left the state of California since they lost in Cleveland on Christmas Day.

On the other hand, the Cavs were on the last game of a six game trip that started in Brooklyn. They didn’t have their legs and it showed.

That doesn’t mean the Cavaliers should be happy this morning, but they shouldn’t be overreaction either.

One of the ways the wine and gold have played well against the Warriors is they have been able to control the tempo, and they have done this by making shots and not letting Golden State get out and run.

When the Warriors fast break, they take a lot of three point shots in transition, and they did that with a few minutes remaining in the first quarter, when Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant started draining threes in transition.

So, not only did the poor shooting kill the Cavs offensively, which is obvious, but it also hurt them defensively, which was a hidden problem.

And though it will sound like sour grapes, the Warriors continued their habit of fouling virtually every time down the floor, hoping the referees will not call them all, and that influenced the misses of many shots, particularly those near the basket.

The other thing in Cleveland’s favor is they did not have JR Smith, and we know that Griffin is not done tinkering with the wine and gold’s roster. He understands his team needs another big man and another playmaker, and we have all the faith in the world that the GM will solve both of those needs.

To be fair, we are sure the Warriors will make a move to add to their roster as well.

Remember, the Cavaliers got blown out at home on Martin Luther King Day a year ago. What happened at the end of the season? A championship. That’s why no one should overreact to what happened yesterday.

If you feel the need to be concerned, worry about the injury to Smith, and getting Kyle Korver up to speed both offensively, but also in the team’s defensive concepts.

Be concerned that DeAndre Liggins’s usefulness is becoming lessened by the game. He cannot shoot, and the opposition knows it. They aren’t guarding him. He also struggles defending players without the ball.

On the other hand, the season is far from over. The playoffs don’t start for three months, and there is plenty of time to improve.

Last year, the Cavs found out after game two of The Finals that they needed to make some adjustments. They did and they won the title.

So, excuse us if we aren’t worried about a game in January against a team the Cavs defeated four consecutive games before yesterday.

Is LeBron Getting Enough Rest?

The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to be conducting an experiment with LeBron James this season.

With James turning 32 years old at the end of December, one of the favorite things for fans and media alike to debate is rest for The King.

LeBron is currently third in the NBA in average minutes per game, behind only Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and Minnesota’s Zach LeVine, playing slightly over 37 minutes per night, an increase of about a minute and a half more than a year ago.

On the other hand, James doesn’t rank in the top 20 in the league in minutes played for the season, as a result of sitting out three games already this season, and we are sure there are more to follow.

The experiment is this…what is better for the athlete, reducing minutes on a nightly basis, or having the player just not play on certain nights. That way, he doesn’t warm up, doesn’t get mentally prepared to play. It’s just a complete day off.

We understand that Tyronn Lue has said all along that a reduction in James’ minutes would occur in January and February when the schedule got a little contracted, but on this current trip, the least minutes in a game for #23 was the 35 he played in Brooklyn on the first game on the roadie.

Right now, James doesn’t show any signs of fatigue and the guy is obviously a physical freak. He doesn’t seem to get tired, even at the end of games.

While San Antonio is famous for starting the concept of giving players game days off, sitting Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili when the schedule got heavy, Gregg Popovich also cut the players minutes per game.

At age 32, Duncan played 32.7 minutes per night, while at the same ages, Parker played 28.7 and Ginobili also spent 28.7 minutes on the floor per game.

Obviously, the goal is to have James fresh through the middle of June as the wine and gold defend their championship. The concern is with The King getting older, can he take on the heavier minutes per night, and still be his dominant self throughout the playoffs.

We are sure there are constant conversations with Lue, James, and the training staff about how the player feels, and the organization has done studies on what is the proper way to keep a high caliber NBA athlete fresh after they have reached the age of 30.

We also know that LeBron James doesn’t care about chasing a regular season win record. He understands the ultimate prize is winning another title, and he knows the most important thing is to be healthy and strong in April, May, and June.

We should have learned by now that comparing LeBron James to other athletes doesn’t make sense. He is a freak of nature. As someone once said about guarding him, “if you are big enough, you aren’t quick enough, and if you are quick enough, you aren’t big enough”.

We also believe the Cavs will have the first overall seed in the East wrapped up sooner than they did this year, which should mean a lesser load for James toward the end of the year.

That should get James some fresher legs heading into the post-season.

If James appears tired in the playoffs, then the Cavaliers will have to adjust their plan going into next season. However, if he is dominant through the last game of the season, then it will be even more evidence that The King is incomparable.

Griffin Is Cavs’ Not So Secret Weapon

Cavaliers’ GM David Griffin must be a magician. There isn’t any other explanation for the moves he makes to improve his basketball team.

Over the summer, when the Chicago Bulls signed Dwyane Wade as a free agent, Griffin slid in and took Mike Dunleavy off their hands to add to the wine and gold’s array of shooters.

Dunleavy, now 36 years old, saw his three point shooting numbers (the main reason the Cavs wanted him) decline from around 40% over the last five years, to 35% this year.

Tyronn Lue lost confidence in the veteran and over the last couple of weeks, he barely saw any time on the court, partially because he was battling an ankle injury.

Add in JR Smith being lost to the team until March with a broken thumb, and you needed to add another outside shooter to back up point guard and a serviceable big man to the list of needs for the defending champions.

So, what does Griffin do? He deals for one of the best three point shooters in history in Kyle Korver, and moves Dunleavy in the deal along with Mo Williams, who isn’t even playing right now.

He swapped his first round pick in 2017 to Portland to get back the Cavs’ first rounder in ’18 to get around the rule you can’t trade first rounders in consecutive years, so he could deal his first pick in 2019 to the Hawks as part of the deal.

The Cavs payroll and luxury tax bill actually goes down with this trade, and it allow Cleveland to add a player, probably a point guard, because they now have an open roster spot.

Talk about a win-win scenario.

As for Korver, yes he has declined since he was an all-star in 2015, when he averaged 12.1 points per night and shot a league high 49.2% from behind the arc. He’s averaging 9.5 points and shooting 41% from three point range this year.

But remember this. When the Cavs played Atlanta in the playoffs each of the last two seasons, David Blatt and Lue made it a priority to keep Korver under control. They felt he was the Hawks’ game changer.

And now he plays for the Cavaliers.

Korver will turn 36 in March, thus joining the veteran bench club with Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye, and he was averaging 28 minutes per night with Atlanta.

We would expect those minutes will be reduced here, and perhaps with less of a workload, Korver’s shooting efficiency will return to the levels he attained from 2011-12 through 2014-15, when the lowest he shot from distance was 43.5%.

He is hitting almost 50% of his shots from 16 feet to the three point line, and knocking down 52% of his threes from the corner.

The guy can flat out shoot the rock. And with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving’s ability to breakdown defenses and get to the hole, well, we all saw the results last May and June.

With the open roster spot, we would anticipate a complimentary move from Griffin to add a veteran back up point guard soon.

Kay Felder has shown flashes, but we will repeat, when you a competing for a title, you can’t expect a rookie to be a major contributor. Felder looks like he can play, and will see more time next year and years to come, but Lue doesn’t want to have to rely on him in a playoff situation.

The Cavs are sailing right now at 27-8, the top record in the Eastern Conference. But David Griffin sees the bigger picture. He saw a way to improve this team and went out and got it done.

That’s what the great GMs in sports do. They are proactive, not reactive. Because if you are the latter, when you make a move, it might be too late.

Cavs’ Injuries Open Up Opportunity For McRae

The Cleveland Cavaliers are having players dropping like flies in the past week, and the best thing about that is that it is happening now, instead of March or April, right before the playoffs start.

Already playing one man short because of the Mo Williams situation, the wine and gold played the last two games without Kevin Love, who will be back (hopefully) on Friday, and then Chris Andersen blew out his ACL in practice.

Then they lost JR Smith to a broken thumb during Tuesday overtime victory in Milwaukee, and Smith will be out about 4-6 weeks, so he should be back around the beginning of February.

We have maintained since the beginning of training camp that the opening night roster would not be the same as the players who will take the floor for the first playoff game in April.

Mostly because we couldn’t see Tyronn Lue going into the post-season with a rookie back up point guard or using Iman Shumpert as Kyrie Irving’s replacement for about 12 minutes per night.

Teams trying to repeat as champions can’t use rookies in key roles.

The bright side of these injuries is it will give some players who haven’t been getting a lot of time on the floor an opportunity to either contribute or show Lue and GM David Griffin they can’t be counted on for the playoffs.

Mike Dunleavy has had a slow start to the regular season, perhaps trying to fit in to his new teammates. With the injuries, he has started to get more playing time, and is starting to knock down shots. He’s hit 46% of his three point shots over the last five games.

Dunleavy’s spot on the roster probably wasn’t in question, but it is good to see him getting more comfortable in the wine and gold.

The biggest opportunity with the players being out is in front of Jordan McRae, who seems to have played his way into Lue’s doghouse.

We had high hopes for McRae coming into training camp as a possible replacement in the rotation for Matthew Dellavedova. Our bet is that Lue wants McRae to play like the rest of the team, that is to say move the ball on offense and play solid defense.

McRae came into a close game against Memphis (Cavs were down by five) last week. He immediately shot the first three times he touched the ball, and within a couple of minutes, the Grizzlies’ lead shot up to 12.

Not the impression you want to make when you finally get some playing time.

McRae shoots the ball the same number of times as Dunleavy per game, and with a lot less minutes.

The young man would be better off putting a little more DeAndre Liggins into his game. Liggins has gained time and passed McRae in Lue’s eyes because of his ability to defend.

We understand that McRae is a scorer, that’s how he got to the NBA from the D-League. But in the NBA, playing time is distributed based on being able to defend. And that’s what McRae needs to show the coaching staff.

If McRae doesn’t impress the staff, he could be released with contracts become guaranteed or moved with either Andersen’s or Williams’ contract for a piece the Cavs need.

The opportunity is there for Jordan McRae, it’s up to him what he does with it.

Cavs Soaring Quietly To Start Season

Amazingly enough, the defending World Champion Cleveland Cavaliers seem to be flying under the radar just a bit.

Yes, the banner raising and ring ceremony, which basically put a cap on the 2015-16 season received a lot of attention and emotion from the northeast Ohio faithful, but as for the games, it doesn’t seem like the wine and gold are under a lot of scrutiny.

That’s probably due to the faith that winning a title gives the fans. Our bet is if there is anything troubling basketball fans here, they are very confident that GM David Griffin, coach Tyronn Lue, and resident best player in the sport LeBron James will get it fixed.

To date, it appears the 2016-17 version of the Cavs is resembling what basketball fans thought they would be when James returned to the franchise and the wine and gold traded for Kevin Love to go with Kyrie Irving.

The North Coast edition of the “Big Three” is currently all averaging over 20.0 point per game: Irving at 24.5, James at 23.4, and Love at 21.0.

The Cavaliers are also showing everyone the benefit of having Lue in charge during training camp too. Lue talked about playing at a faster tempo when he took over in mid-season last year, and this year, he is putting that in place from day one.

Cleveland is the second highest scoring team in the NBA right now, and despite playing faster, they still rank right in the middle of the league in terms of allowing the opponents to score.

The wine and gold also continue to shoot a lot of three point shots (second in the league to Houston) and have the 5th best shooting percentage from distance.

This of course is due to the ability of both James and Irving being able to get to the hoop at will, which creates wide open opportunities for the like of JR Smith, Love, Channing Frye, and Mike Dunleavy, who to date has not converted as many as most have thought.

And Lue’s squad has defended the three point ball well this year, ranking 11th in defensive field goal percentage, despite opponents taking the third most shots.

Dunleavy has been one of the few disappointments to date, which there shouldn’t be many on a team that has started out the year 7-1. He’s making just slightly over 30% of his long range shots, down from his career mark of 38%.

It may be a slump, it may be his teammates getting used to where he wants the ball, but when a player is 36 years old, and something in his game has declined, you have to wonder. However, any decision shouldn’t be made after eight games.

Tristan Thompson isn’t on the floor for his offensive ability, but he is down to 5.1 points per game, his career average is 9.6.

You have to wonder if the lob pass he received regularly from Matthew Dellavedova is missed in his offensive arsenal.

The Cavs have had an easy schedule early on, with a lot of days off in between games. This has allowed James to play 36.6 minutes per night without stress. That average will drop as the season goes, so the bench will have to give Lue more production.

This means quality minutes from rookie Kay Felder and perhaps Jordan McRae, who we thought might be in the rotation after Dellavedova’s departure.

Both players will have to provide defense if they want to get on the floor.

The Indians’ march to the World Series and the Browns’ march to perhaps an 0-16 campaign have put the wine and gold a bit on the back burner. That’s probably the biggest result of winning the NBA title.

No one is worried if the Cavs can do it. We know they can.

Adding Experience To Bench Should Help Cavs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are still the NBA World Champions, but they didn’t stand pat this off-season.

Nor should they have. GM David Griffin made some subtle changes to the roster, and all of them look to be solid moves, except for the lack of a backup point guard, and our guess by the time the playoffs roll around, that will be addressed as well.

Obviously, the starting five was untouched (assuming JR Smith is signed soon), so once again the wine and gold will be led by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, with Tristan Thompson providing defense and rebounding, and Smith stretching the floor and also providing better defense than you would think.

Griffin added two veterans to the bench in G/F Mike Dunleavy (36) and C Chris Andersen (38). While many people always think get younger, adding these two vets to the bench to go with Richard Jefferson (36), who was a major contributor last year, is a great move.

Think about it. The problem for older players is maintaining production over 25-30 minutes per game and over an 82 game season.

These players don’t need to do this for the Cavs.

All Tyronn Lue needs from any of this trio is to provide no more than 10 minutes per game of solid basketball, and based on their past, it should be no problem for them to do just that.

You can add another older player, Channing Frye (33), to that mix as well. And we all saw the impact he made in the post-season a year ago.

Older players are great coming off the bench because a coach has a reasonable idea what he is going to get from those guys. Inexperienced players can be up or down. They could give the team a big lift or be down right awful.

Which is why Lue probably doesn’t want to rely on rookie Kay Felder as Irving’s back up.

And all of the veterans, outside of Andersen, can shoot the rock, and the Cavs management loves to surround James with guys that can knock down shots from behind the three point line and Dunleavy is certainly capable of that, making 38% for his career.

The only thing we would like to see if another big man make the regular season roster.

Right now, you have Thompson and Love as the starting center and power forward, with Frye and Andersen backing up. Frye is better than you think defensively, and “Birdman” is definitely a banger.

There would seem to be an opening for another C/PF, and the candidates would be 6’10” Eric Moreland, 6’9″ Cory Jefferson, both third year pros, and 6’9″ Jonathan Holmes, a first year player out of Texas.

One of those guys could take over the Sasha Kaun role of last year.

We are also anxious to see how G Jordan McRae will perform in the exhibition games. McRae can definitely score, as he showed in the regular season finale last season, but can he do the other things, like move the ball and play defense.

He will need to do those things to get minutes once the games start for real. It is our contention that it was McRae’s presence that convinced the team to part with Matthew Dellavedova this summer.

And we are also curious to see how winning a title enhances the games of Irving and Love. Our bet is their confidence will be out of this world because they are champions and their games will take a quantum leap.

For the first time in 52 years, a Cleveland team will be defending a title. We think this group is up to the task.

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?