Game 2 of the NBA Finals didn’t go well for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Looking back on what we can learn.
The Golden State Warriors ran the Cavs off of the court in game 2. Coach Lue and the Cavs weren’t able to fix the problems that haunted them in game 1, and it came back to bite them once again.
Here’s what we learned.
1. We still have no idea where Channing Frye is.
Going into this series many were saying that Frye could be the x-factor. We’ve seen the type of mismatches that Frye causes on opposing defenses because of his size and 3-point shooting.
After only playing 5 meaningful minutes in game 1, many were expecting him to get a big increase in minutes. However, that wasn’t the case as he wound up playing less in game 2.
Frye was brought over at the deadline specifically to match the Warriors when they play small. But he can’t do that if he’s not playing.
There have been many perplexing coaching decisions during the first two games of the series, but this is by far the most perplexing. It’s inexcusable to put Frye in the game for under 4 minutes. Especially when the offensive is struggling as badly as it is.
2. The Cavs can’t do anything right when Andre Iguodala is on the court.
Iguodala has led all players in plus/minus for the second straight game. He was plus 28 in game two and is now a plus 50 during the series.
His plus/minus being so high shows two things. The first being the Cavs can’t play with the Warriors when they go small. Iguodala is often brought in when they take Andrew Bogut out and chose to go with the death lineup. The second is that LeBron is struggling to score when Iguodala is on the floor.
Many people are saying that the Warriors are just too skilled for the Cavs to play with them. That statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Iguodala proves that point.
There are many bench players that are more skilled than Iguodala in the league. You could even argue that the Cavs have two or three more skilled players coming off of the bench. Iguodala isn’t killing the Cavs because he is such a great individual player. He’s doing it because he is on a team that fits his skill set perfectly. They use him to fulfill a specific role. They don’t need him to do more than he’s capable of doing.
3. The Cavs can’t win the one on one battles.
The biggest difference with the Cavs and the Thunder offensively is that the Thunder could win the one on one matchups. The Cavs can’t.
The Warriors are switching on defense, but no matter who the Warriors put on the ball handler, the Cavs aren’t winning that matchup. LeBron James hasn’t been able to beat the Warriors in isolation with any consistency even if he gets the matchup he wants. It appears now more than ever that he is losing the dominance he once had.
Kyrie Irving isn’t able to beat his man either, and they aren’t even putting their best defender on him. Many speculated that the Warriors would guard Kyrie with Klay Thompson, who is their best perimeter defender. Instead they’re using Steph Curry. Last series Russell Westbrook torched Golden State when he was guarded by Curry. So far Kyrie hasn’t been able to do the same.
The Cavs will continue to struggle if Kyrie and LeBron can’t beat their man one on one. Especially if they continue to play isolation basketball.
4. LeBron hasn’t been the best player on the floor for any point this series.
The biggest advantage the Cavs had over the Warriors was LeBron James. We’ve seen LeBron dominate series and carry his team to victory time and time again.
While it’s unreasonable to expect LeBron to do that at this point in his career, the Cavs needed him to be the best player on the floor for stretches of time. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to do that.
James hasn’t been able to win his one on one matchups as I pointed out above. He simply isn’t scoring in isolation like he was last year during the Finals. Even worse he’s hurting his team defensively.
LeBron likes to play safety in the Cavs’ defense, and the Warriors are exploiting it repeatedly. He often tries to wait back and jump passing lanes. This resulted in LeBron forcing four steals in game 2, but those steals came at a price. He has given up far too many open shots by trying to play this type of defense.
Here’s proof.
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There is also no explanation for his behavior when deciding whether to switch or not. It could be a lack of trust in his teammates. This lack of trust is leading to open shots.
James isn’t the only one that is playing bad defense, but most of the blame goes on him. The Cavs overall look confused as to what they’re supposed to do on defense. They don’t know whether they should switch on the pick or simply stay with their man. As a result, they’ve given up wide open layups and shots time and time again.
The Cavs have looked overmatched the first two games. Hopefully going back to Cleveland gives them a boost. Unfortunately, they will probably have to do this without Kevin Love who left the game 2 with concussion symptoms.
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