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[rambis]

Curry is a better player this year than last. He isn't going to stay cold. Not to mention he really was only cold game 1-3 last year. After that he was himself.

Cavs lost 4-2 last year. Warriors are inarguabley better this year than last. And Cavs are clearly a weaker matchup with this lineup vs last year. It's not even a fair fight.

I'm not even going to bother dude.

They've played better defenses in the playoffs? You must be talking about the Hawks I'm guessing? The playoffs are about matchups and everyone knows this. OKC took it to GS because they could switch every position with long athletic players.

The Cavs destroyed Kyle Korver that entire series. Switched into him and beat him off the dribble to the rim or kicked out to the open shooter. With Barnes, Green, Iggy, Klay all being very good to great defenders, that makes it a lot harder to utilize that same strategy. Maybe the Cavs have played a better defense in the playoffs. But they haven't played one that can defend the way GS does.

Also, their biggest issue isn't offense. It's defense. They've given up 105ppg in these playoffs (GS came up 1 point shy of that without Curry and Klay showing up). That is bad. Really bad.

Side note, I'm not one that assumes this series is over. Long way to go. I do believe Cleveland has a lot of ground to cover defensively though. They need adjustments big time going forward.

Cavs got caught sleeping way too often and turned the ball over a lot leading to easy transition points. Their set defense was decent up until the bench units went in. I still say offense along with turnovers were their top problems, considering how they've won up until now.

The Steph and Klay stuff is moot until they actually show up. I think Steph will eventually round to form but Klay doesn't get that pass until he proves it. Again this same shit happend last year. And again I don't trust the offense of Livingston, Barnes, Igudola and Barbosa to carry them anywhere.

 

[PadWarrior]

Warriors have now won two straight in blow out fashion over a healthy Cavs team both times.

 

[FeenixRising]

Warriors have now won two straight in blow out fashion over a healthy Cavs team both times.

Warriors are just that good, it's a horrible matchup for the Cavs. I still think the Cavs can win at home considering how lopsided these playoffs have been. I'm hoping they can pull one out on the road, but I doubt it. OKC was the perfect foil for GS but they fucked it up.

 

[Jag]

I'm not acting that way at all, I'm saying they should have lost and they got bailed out. That game plays out 100 times, they win 1 of them. They didn't deserve it, but they won because Ray Allen is a god damn legend.

You know the Heat won the next game as well. I guess that was a fluke too.

 

[Misterhbk]

I'm not even going to bother dude.


Cavs got caught sleeping way too often and turned the ball over a lot leading to easy transition points. Their set defense was decent up until the bench units went in. I still say offense along with turnovers were their top problems, considering how they've won up until now.

The Steph and Klay stuff is moot until they actually show up. I think Steph will eventually round to form but Klay doesn't get that pass until he proves it. Again this same shit happend last year. And again I don't trust the offense of Livingston, Barnes, Igudola and Barbosa to carry them anywhere.

In Klays defense he was absent throughout the entire playoffs last year for the most part. This year he's been the best player on the team hands down. As far as Curry, we all know it's only a matter of time before he explodes. He did so against a superior OKC defense. I don't think he was patient with the switches. He looked to be rushing a bit. He'll settle in and do work. I also don't think the Cavs have a counter for Shaun. Even with Kyrie or Delly in his face at 6'7 he's shooting wide open jumpers over their outstretched hands. This series will boil down to how legendary can Lebron go.

 

[bigmit3737]

I'm not even going to bother dude.


Cavs got caught sleeping way too often and turned the ball over a lot leading to easy transition points. Their set defense was decent up until the bench units went in. I still say offense along with turnovers were their top problems, considering how they've won up until now.

The Steph and Klay stuff is moot until they actually show up. I think Steph will eventually round to form but Klay doesn't get that pass until he proves it. Again this same shit happend last year. And again I don't trust the offense of Livingston, Barnes, Igudola and Barbosa to carry them anywhere.

Last year they said they has a lot of nerves.
Curry is also a much better player this year.
He showed up in game 5,6,7 in the OkC series when facing elimination.

However, game 1 , Curry was getting manhandled by the defense of the ball.
I think it was Lebron / Tristan Thompson that were seen been phyisical and even holding him (looked like it). They drained him out.

Curry was also playing a lot harder defense on Kyrie. Maybe the no- defense comment got to his head , but was exerting a lot of energy guarding kyrie early in the game. In addition he ended on Lebron who was posting him up hard which was also draining.

These two factors collectively physically drained him out .

He needs to just focus on offense IMO.

 

[rambis]

Warriors have now won two straight in blow out fashion over a healthy Cavs team both times.

Last time they played was in January??

In Klays defense he was absent throughout the entire playoffs last year for the most part. This year he's been the best player on the team hands down. As far as Curry, we all know it's only a matter of time before he explodes. He did so against a superior OKC defense. I don't think he was patient with the switches. He looked to be rushing a bit. He'll settle in and do work. I also don't think the Cavs have a counter for Shaun. Even with Kyrie or Delly in his face at 6'7 he's shooting wide open jumpers over their outstretched hands. This series will boil down to how legendary can Lebron go.

We'll see if they show up. Nothing is a given in the Finals and nobody gets passes.

Im also not sold on Livingston yet.

 

[PadWarrior]

Warriors are just that good, it's a horrible matchup for the Cavs. I still think the Cavs can win at home considering how lopsided these playoffs have been. I'm hoping they can pull one out on the road, but I doubt it. OKC was the perfect foil for GS but they fucked it up.

Cavs probably get game 3. I still feel Warriors win in 5.

 

[Iadien]

Why is it a bailout?

Ray Allen made a three point shot - it's kinda what he's good at?

Also, LeBron made a three point shot just before Ray to get the game within 3.

You're arguing with a Lebron hater. It doesn't matter that Lebron scored 16 points in that 4th quarter and hit a 3 right before Ray did. It doesn't matter that Lebron had 37 in game 7. "The others" have been saving all time greats for decades with late shots, but they feel the need to only point it out for Lebron.

 

[PadWarrior]

Looks like this isn't the first time Delly went after Iggy
https://twitter.com/diamond83/status/738564266391805952

 

[psynergylover]

I think the warriors gonna win with the same number of games 4-2

 

[otapnam]

Im also not sold on Livingston yet.

Livingston is going to feast on the cavs pgs. Probably will average 12 pts a game off the bench easy this series

 

[Ninja Scooter]

woah, is that true? The winner of game 1 has always won the NBA finals? :O

Off the top of my head Philly/Lakers in 01 so no.

 

[PadWarrior]

Too good not to share again
ESPN Stats & Info
ESPN Stats & Info – Verified account ‏@ESPNStatsInfo

LeBron James was 1-2 for 2 points against Andre Iguodala.

Iguodala was his final defender on 22 plays (most of any player)
8:57 PM - 2 Jun 2016
292 RETWEETS297 LIKES
https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/738580247633788928

 

[pgtl_10]

Looks like this isn't the first time Delly went after Iggy
https://twitter.com/diamond83/status/738564266391805952

Dell is such a dirty player.

 

[airjoca]

Other than the Laker players that lost a lot of championships against Bill Russel and the Celtics, is there another (star) player that lost as many finals as LeBron?

 

[phanphare]

how about curry on defense tho? got matched up against kevin love early in the first half, fronted him hard on the post and denied him an entry pass. got matched up against lebron multiple times and just put his chest out and absorbed the contact when james tried to back him down.

 

[FeenixRising]

Other than the Laker players that lost a lot of championships against Bill Russel and the Celtics, is there another (star) player that lost as many finals as LeBron?

I don't think so, I mean like you said... Jerry West is the damn NBA logo and he's 1-8. LeBron has one more loss to go before he becomes the new logo confirmed!!

 

[MushroomSamba]

Actually surprised that Kyrie and Love weren't ripped to shreds on D. They came out pretty feisty and at least put in the effort to stick to their guys. And as expected TT and the Cavs dominating on the offensive glass. That recipe could get them a couple games.

The GS bench is good, but probably shouldn't be relying on them for similar performance when they go on the road. Steph and Klay really need to get their act together soon. Part of it was the aggressive defense, but they should adjust by taking them to the basket. On the few times they tried, Cavs had decent rim protection. They just gotta keep forcing the issue and take some free throws. They barely had any.

 

[Cheebo]

Jerry West 1-9 finals record, nickname "Mr. Clutch".

Jerry West is VERY key to the current Warriors success to those who do not know. He is a consultant for the Warriors front office and Warriors were on the verge of trading Klay Thompson for Kevin Love before the start of the 14-15 season. Jerry West threatened to quit if they did that and insisted it would be a disaster.

 

[bionic77]

That was a bad loss for the Cavs.

They came out flat and could not match the Warriors intensity in the first half. Even with that the game was in reach in the 3rd quarter when the Warriors bench blew it wide open. That was a perfect opportunity for Lebron or someone on the Cavs to step up and steal it.

The thing that most surprised me other than the stars all pretty much have off nights (and garbage nights for Klay and Curry) was how the Cavs offense was almost totally unable to create mismatches. Even when they got the switch it didn't seem that Love or the secondary players were ever able to take advantage of it. And their spacing was horrible for a team that shoots so many threes, which was also not something I expected. Other then Curry who the Cavs overplayed and I thought it was a mistake to keep Lebron on him, the rest of the Warriors got to their spots way too easily. The Cavs better lock in and play for 48 minutes the rest of the series. You can't let the Warriors breathe and get what they want that easily.

I knew the Warriors would outplay the Cavs on defense but I thought the Cavs were going to be able to create some real mismatches with Frye and Love and some of their other players and tax the Warriors defense, but it was all a dud last night.

That said you can't say the series is over after one game, but man it definitely hurts the Cavs that they had a chance to steal a game they were outplayed in and their stars did not come through. They just needed a f ew minutes of brilliance from Lebron and co. and they could have had the Warriors on the ropes, instead Livingston came out and buried them.

If the Cavs lose I think they need to trade Love and try to get a legitimate rim protector who can move his feet and finish with dunks on pick and rolls. Frye is a good Love facsimile so you don't really need Kevin, what they need is defense and a rim protector. They also need a legit perimeter defender who can known down threes. These are obviously tough players to come by. I was thinking that Dwight might be able to handle the job of rim protector but I am not sure he is worth the risk and to me he will always be a loser.

 

[Diprosalic]

woah, is that true? The winner of game 1 has always won the NBA finals? :O

no. not even close

2013 Spurs won game 1 and lost the series
2012 OKC won game 1 and lost the series
2011 Miami won game 1 and lost the series
...
goes on and on.

 

[rambis]

Too good not to share again
ESPN Stats & Info
ESPN Stats & Info – Verified account ‏@ESPNStatsInfo

LeBron James was 1-2 for 2 points against Andre Iguodala.

Iguodala was his final defender on 22 plays (most of any player)
8:57 PM - 2 Jun 2016
292 RETWEETS297 LIKES
https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/738580247633788928

This is so cherry picked. After LeBron had that hot start they instantly started doubling him every time in the post. He will always pass out of that to an open shooter. This goes hand in hand with why they've been so hot from 3.

 

[offtopic]

There are some amazing mental gymnastics going on with Cavs fans to spin that game as a positive. Curry and Thompson missing wide-open looks (virtual lay-ups for them) somehow becomes a testament to them being 'solved' while getting steamrolled by the bench and supporting players. If Curry and Thompson are even just shooting normally we are looking at a blowout on the order of what happened in Cleveland earlier this year. If they were both hot, the margin of victory would probably have been historic.

 

[rambis]

There are some amazing mental gymnastics going on with Cavs fans to spin that game as a positive. Curry and Thompson missing wide-open looks (virtual lay-ups for them) somehow becomes a testament to them being 'solved' while getting steamrolled by the bench and supporting players. If Curry and Thompson are even just shooting normally we are looking at a blowout on the order of what happened in Cleveland earlier this year. If they were both hot, the margin of victory would probably have been historic.

Its not mental gymnastics. If Cavs shot half as well as they have earlier in the playoffs and not turn the ball over they win this one. Anybody can play this little tit for tat hot take game, its not how basketball actually works.

 

[bionic77]

Its just one game.

Typical for NBA fans to overreact as much as possible.

Pressure is definitely on Lue and the Cavs. I don't think they can win 4 games with the lineups they had in game 1, but hopefully they can find some things that worked and get Lebron and co. into some better spots on offense.

 

[i3allistic]

Its not mental gymnastics. If Cavs shot half as well as they have earlier in the playoffs and not turn the ball over they win this one. Anybody can play this little tit for tat hot take game, its not how basketball actually works.

If this if that, shit....if Klay and Steph shots drops and the bench playing the way they played last night, no way Cav will win....love, were defensive liability...


Also Tyronn didn't even freaking make adjustments on defense all game, ISO ISO ISO ...LOL

 

[bionic77]

If this if that, shit....if Klay and Steph shots drops and the bench playing the way they played last night, no way Cav will win....love, were defensive liability...


Also Tyronn didn't even freaking make adjustments on defense all game, ISO ISO ISO ...LOL

The Cavs looked bad but a series is not lost in one game unless the losing team is comprised of chumps.

Remember that the Warriors had no answers for the Thunder in the first 4 games of their series. The Cavs will react and have a better gameplay and lineups for game 2. At least they better...

 

[i3allistic]

The Cavs looked bad but a series is not lost in one game unless the losing team is comprised of chumps.

Remember that the Warriors had no answers for the Warriors in the first 4 games of their series. The Cavs will react and have a better gameplay and lineups for game 2. At least they better...

I know bro, I was just pointing out excuses ...and how cavs coach looked confused all game...can't wait til Sunday and see adjustments

 

[XiaNaphryz]

But...they won? Who cares about hypothetical situations?

Hypothetical discussion happen all the time in sports discussions. Quit being dense. Contribute to the discussion or move on.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Even though I am still om the GS will crush Cleveland side of things i 100% do not give Curry a pass on playing shit. You are he best player on your team. The dude.has been carried multiple times in post season games. I'm not at all impressed with his post season performances thr last 2 years.

 

[SlackAdjuster]

The Cavs looked bad but a series is not lost in one game unless the losing team is comprised of chumps.

Remember that the Warriors had no answers for the Warriors in the first 4 games of their series. The Cavs will react and have a better gameplay and lineups for game 2. At least they better...

I wont hit panic mode unless they lose game 3 or 4 at home.

 

[Ripenen]

Question is not how to adjust to the warrior's offense. It's how to adjust to their defense. Cavs scored 89 last night. They averaged 104 during the season and 105 during the playoffs.

What defensive liabilities do the Warriors have that the Cavs can exploit?

 

[rambis]

I know bro, I was just pointing out excuses ...and how cavs coach looked confused all game...can't wait til Sunday and see adjustments

What excuses? Im literally doing the same hot take bullshit as the other guy to show how easy it is. The game isn't played in a vacuum.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Even though I am still om the GS will crush Cleveland side of things i 100% do not give Curry a pass on playing shit. You are he best player on your team. The dude.has been carried multiple times in post season games. I'm not at all impressed with his post season performances thr last 2 years.

Aside from maybe the Finals last year, what was wrong with his postseason performances last season against the Pels, Grizz, or Rockets?

 

[MushroomSamba]

The positives Cavs can take away from this:
- They played them tough for 3 quarters on the Warriors' own home court.
- Their aggressive perimeter D worked out more often than not against Curry and Klay.
- It's clear the Warriors still don't have an answer or even really care about competing against them on the glass. Seems Warriors are willing to concede offensive boards to the Cavs at the benefit of staying small. They'll probably continue to get a ton of second/third shot opportunities throughout the series.

The negatives for Cavs:
- Overplaying Curry and Klay on the perimeter gave their role players a lot of space to beat their man one-on-one, which they routinely did.
- The Warriors perimeter D is in turn shutting down their 3-point opportunities and taking away the abundant open looks they were getting all playoffs long.
- Dray continues to protect the paint pretty damn well, especially since the Cavs tend to go small now.
- Iggy giving LeBron fits again.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Aside from maybe the Finals last year, what was wrong with his postseason performances last season against the Pels, Grizz, or Rockets?

Pelicans are scrubs biut point taken on that. He looked like shit against Memphis when they were down 2-1. Conley was owning his soul. Bounced back after. Rockets he was fine. Finals he was crap. So mixed bag? Mixed bag for the MVP is not acceptable.

 

[bionic77]

I know bro, I was just pointing out excuses ...and how cavs coach looked confused all game...can't wait til Sunday and see adjustments

Honestly Lue has his work cut out for him. It was not evident to most people what Clevelands best lineup is, mostly because their team has a lot of weird pieces, but to his credit he made it work these past few months.

I have to give Donovan a ton of credit. He picked the right lineups and his team was fired up and ready to go from the jump. I thought it was important for Cleveland to do the same thing but they definitely did not.

I was a little surprised how low Cleveland's energy was considering they lost last year and had so much rest before the game. I thought they were going to come out with a ton of energy and honestly I never saw that from them almost all game.

But it is not insurmountable. Champions find a way to respond.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

But it is not insurmountable. Champions find a way to respond.

 

[Stat Flow]

So I wonder if LeBron needing help will even become a narrative if Cleveland gets beaten handily. I mean, there's really no excuse - he pretty much has all the parts he's wanted and also, up to this point shown extreme confidence in the guys surrounding him.

 

[bionic77]

It all depends on how you define champion.

If having unprotected sex and impregnating women over the country makes you a champion then no one can say that he is wrong.

 

[Siegcram]

That's cold Xia.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

The positives Cavs can take away from this:
- They played them tough for 3 quarters on the Warriors' own home court.
- Their aggressive perimeter D worked out more often than not against Curry and Klay.
- It's clear the Warriors still don't have an answer or even really care about competing against them on the glass. Seems Warriors are willing to concede offensive boards to the Cavs at the benefit of staying small. They'll probably continue to get a ton of second/third shot opportunities throughout the series.

The negatives for Cavs:
- Overplaying Curry and Klay on the perimeter gave their role players a lot of space to beat their man one-on-one, which they routinely did.
- The Warriors perimeter D is in turn shutting down their 3-point opportunities and taking away the abundant open looks they were getting all playoffs long.
- Dray continues to protect the paint pretty damn well, especially since the Cavs tend to go small now.
- Iggy giving LeBron fits again.

I disagree about warriors perimeter D. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about it. Cavs just kept defaulting to shitty ball and not moving. There were tons of times the outside 3 was open but no one shifted so they could get a pass from James for the open 3. The difference in movement between the two teams is insane, Cleveland just stand there thinking things will open if they don't move.

 

[phanphare]

- Their aggressive perimeter D worked out more often than not against Curry and Klay.

see the thing with this is that both curry and klay were missing wide open looks

not a good sign for the defense

here's all of curry's shot attempts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AU1WVBbGbo

the miss at 50 seconds is a good look

the miss at 1m2s wasn't a great look, curry got too focused on clowning lebron whenever he was matched up against him. those were the only shots that curry took that I didn't particularly like.

the miss at 1m11s is a good look

the miss at 1m21s is another where he got tunnel vision with lebron on him but it's actually a decent look. he gets just enough space to let that one fly.

the miss at 1m31s is a good drive, just didn't finish

the miss at 1m37s is a good look

the miss at 1m47s is a good drive, just didn't finish

the miss at 1m57s is a good look

the miss at 2m20s is just an end of quarter chuck

so really curry's 3 just wasn't falling and he wasn't finishing in the paint like he usually does. that's on him more so than the defense when you actually watch what kinds of shots he was getting. I'm sure the same was true for klay but I haven't looked.

 

[Kickz]

 

[MushroomSamba]

Honestly Lue has his work cut out for him. It was not evident to most people what Clevelands best lineup is, mostly because their team has a lot of weird pieces, but to his credit he made it work these past few months.

I think they're at their best when they go small, but with TT at the 5 instead of Love. He owns the boards and leverages their biggest advantage they have over the Warriors so far. It's just that he's practically unplayable if GS go to their death lineup. Tricky puzzle to solve...but it'll been fun watching all the adjustments by both sides.

I have to give Donovan a ton of credit. He picked the right lineups and his team was fired up and ready to go from the jump. I thought it was important for Cleveland to do the same thing but they definitely did not.

I was a little surprised how low Cleveland's energy was considering they lost last year and had so much rest before the game. I thought they were going to come out with a ton of energy and honestly I never saw that from them almost all game.

But it is not insurmountable. Champions find a way to respond.

I thought they played pretty well early on actually. They gave a lot of energy on the defensive end. And to be fair, Kyrie and Love are basically playing their first finals this year, so it'd make sense if there were a bit of nerves at play.

I feel like they'll respond and take a couple games, give the Warriors a good fight for the most part, but GS still looking too strong.

 

[rambis]

see the thing with this is that both curry and klay were missing wide open looks

not a good sign for the defense

here's all of curry's shot attempts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AU1WVBbGbo

the miss at 50 seconds is a good look

the miss at 1m2s wasn't a great look, curry got too focused on clowning lebron whenever he was matched up against him. those were the only shots that curry took that I didn't particularly like.

the miss at 1m11s is a good look

the miss at 1m21s is another where he got tunnel vision with lebron on him but it's actually a decent look. he gets just enough space to let that one fly.

the miss at 1m31s is a good drive, just didn't finish

the miss at 1m37s is a good look

the miss at 1m47s is a good drive, just didn't finish

the miss at 1m57s is a good look

the miss at 2m20s is just an end of quarter chuck

so really curry's 3 just wasn't falling and he wasn't finishing in the paint like he usually does. that's on him more so than the defense when you actually watch what kinds of shots he was getting. I'm sure the same was true for klay but I haven't looked.

You have to look at more than just the shot attempts. Go watch Lebron when he is shadowing Curry off the ball or Kyrie. He's being straight bullied and its sapping his energy which is in turn effecting his offense. I didn't watch Klay much off the ball but Steph for sure was going through it with LeBron.

 

[Sephzilla]

lol

 

[PadWarrior]

Lol

 

[MushroomSamba]

see the thing with this is that both curry and klay were missing wide open looks

not a good sign for the defense

here's all of curry's shot attempts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AU1WVBbGbo

Oh I have no doubt that Curry and Klay were having an off-shooting night on top of it all. The Cavs just displayed much better D on them than I was expecting though. The clip shows shot attempts, but it doesn't show the times Curry and Klay had to pick up their dribble and pass out of shots, get checked off their screens and picks, etc. because their defender was up in their grill. And it also disrupted their crisp passing, too.

They're always going to get open looks in a game, especially with all that motion and movement. The key is trying to limit that below their usual baseline, which I felt the Cavs kinda did (although at the expense of freeing up space and opportunity for the role players). It'll help their chances if they can keep that up, but realistically, yes, you do expect Curry and Klay to start hitting shots too. I don't expect their shooting percentages to be as bad, but I do think that type of play can keep it lower than their season average. Or who knows, maybe they'll just turn on god mode and go nuts. You'd expect they'd be good for that at least one time this series.