Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love is questionable for Game 3
For most of the Cavs it’s that way. Smith, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Richard Jefferson and Iman Shumpert shot better.
The first two games of the 2016 NBA Finals have been less than exciting with the dominance of the Golden State Warriors being in full effect.
James hasn’t been faultless in this.
With the Cavs mired in an 0-2 deficit in these NBA Finals, LeBron James called Wednesday a must-win game.
But these Cavaliers have lived in a pressure cooker ever since James chose to return to Cleveland two summers ago. While he’s dealt with injuries throughout the playoffs, his presence alone changes games. The Warriors, Spurs and Thunder are far, far better than any other teams in the league, and it isn’t particularly close. The Nationals nearly always held their opponents to fewer than 20 points per game (pay no mind to how many points they scored), and they played with a chain-link cage surrounding their court, which would make for a unique home-court advantage. Livingston scored 20 points on 80 percent shooting in Game 1 and added four rebounds and three assists, and he had seven points and five assists in Game 2.
So, what, go small?
That starts with LeBron, who has not put his imprint on this series yet. Or, rather, it’s tied for the series worst.
Pluto says Cavs coach Tyronn Lue’s post-game press conference was telling. We have to play faster. It gave us some problems. LeBron James isn’t going to curl up into the fetal position (even if he may want to do so).
The reason there are no easily available answers is that there are really no answers at all. As the best basketball player in the league, he knows when he needs to step up and take over. “But we’ve got to play well”.
The 27-year-old forward was diagnosed with a concussion Sunday night after he was accidentally elbowed in the back of the head by Warriors forward Harrison Barnes as they battled for a rebound in the second quarter. And the Cavs need it. James is averaging 5.5 turnovers in the series as his team is getting embarrassed. It was because Tristan Thompson, who signed an $82 million deal a year ago to stay in Cleveland - that you can bet your last dollar didn’t happen without James (sorry I don’t know “LeBron” well enough to call him “LeBron” folks) OKing the deal - wasn’t helping out. He briefly returned to the game before showing signs and symptoms of a concussion. And through 14 playoff games, that proved true for a Cleveland team that looked as balanced as it looked potent. Golden State simply doesn’t give up wide open threes with the volume that Cleveland’s Eastern Conference foes did due to their switching. That’s why they won 73 games this year, and they play well at home. Teams that takes a 2-0 series lead are 28-3 in the NBA Finals.
The Peoria High grad and 2004 News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year backs up NBA MVP Stephen Curry, giving teams a completely different look at point guard. They’ve been doing that, but they’ve also been doing a great job of closing us out and running us off the three-point line.
In reality, the Cavaliers have been tested like few others. “It’s not easy, but it’s very possible for a team to even up the series”. It has to do with a supporting cast ill-equipped for the job. It has everything to do with a historically dominant team fulfilling its destiny. The Cavs trail the series 2-0, and no team in National Basketball Association history has successfully overcome a 3-0 series deficit.
James is shooting 42 percent in the series which is over 10 percent less than his season average of 52.9 percent. The one exception there was Seattle, which pushed Michael Jordan and Chicago to six games in 1996 before succumbing. James Harden, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant and now LeBron James have all eventually succumbed.