NBA Finals: Comparing These Cavs to the ’07 Version

May 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) shoots the ball against Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll (5) during the second quarter in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Starting Shooting Guard

In ’07 Sasha Pavlovic, Mr. “My Offense is my Defense”, took the starting SG role in between Hughes and James. His job was to be the shooting for the team to spread the floor. During the season Sasha averaged 9 points a game on 41% from 3 point territory. He took a little over 2 a night. In the playoffs he still averaged 9.2 points but only shot 35% from deep on almost 3 attempts a game. His production, in the category he was needed most for, fell off.

Iman Shumpert is the Cavs starting shooting guard, since taking over the role when J.R. Smith got suspended for 2 games. Shumpert missed a lot of time during the season, and took awhile getting going. He is a defensive specialist whose shooting has improved greatly as the season went on. In the season he averaged 7.2 PPG and only 34% from deep on 3.4 attempts a game. In the Playoffs, Shump is up to 10.1 PPG and is shooting 37% on almost 5 attempts from 3 point range a game. An improvement to go along with his stellar defense.

Advantage: Shumpert. Not only has Shump been shooting better and producing more, he actually plays defense. Pavlovic was not a big fan of that side of the court. Not only does Shumpert play defense, he plays it extremely well. He will be needed against Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and would have been helpful against Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli in ’07.

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