Big Three Needed By Cavaliers

So what the Cleveland Cavaliers won by 30 in Game 3? Seriously. I’m ecstatic about it too, but what about Game 4? That’s also a do-or-die game. The Cleveland Cavaliers will have to come out tough, inspired, execute and follow LeBron James’ lead on both ends of the floor. The Golden State Warriors, too, must be treating this like it’s a do-or-die game. My question simply is, how can the Big Three put the Golden State Warriors on the ropes?

LeBron James is unilaterally the most physically gifted, cerebral, and multifaceted athlete we’ve ever seen. Despite his greatness, however, one skill where he has been only average for a majority of his career is shooting jump shots. In Game 3, LeBron didn’t need to shoot jump shots in every quarter. When situations arise and the defense dares him to shoot the jumper, he needs to have confidence in his shot. James, an all-time great, has to be held accountable for the upkeep of his craft. The other skill where I would dare say James is average is ball handling. For the Cleveland Cavaliers to win in Game 4, a major key is lessening the amount of turnovers. James, in particular, is prone to getting ahead of himself while trying to cross a defender and bulldoze towards the basket. He tends to make a pass that is sniffed out and telegraphed unbeknownst to the small forward, who recently passed Jason Kidd for most playoff assists in all-time NBA history.

Wooooooooh! Give a Nature Boy Ric Flair whoop in honor of Kyrie Irving‘s performance in Game 3. The best part was him constantly putting Stephen Curry on skates. Once he’s through the defender, the Cavaliers can capitalize off of the discombulation of the defense. This means either a Kyrie Irving score, assist, or just moving the ball around to get best shot. Irving chose to shoot at the rim and from the three. His bread and butter areas, more than the traditionally difficult midrange area. This led to better efficiency for both him, the team, and well-needed production from three.

Lastly, his defense on Curry was again fantastic. He’s really challenging Curry to the point where he’s seemingly getting into his head and aggravated and out of the game. He’s giving him no air space, and following him around everywhere he goes. Kyrie Irving hooked up with LeBron for quite a few assists with the 1-4 pick and roll and of course, in transition. Focusing on passing is a plus, but especially to James. Making it easier for the King to handle the burden of bringing a championship to Cleveland.

There’s no love lost for Kevin Love but his role has changed this series. He must be effective by not seeming dejected or distant because of the changed to role. He must be effective by being the primary scoring option for a bench that can’t score.

A possible solution could be to get the ball inside to Love. I’m sure he’ll shoot his share of threes and limit the amount of minutes Channing Frye plays. He’ll virtually be the backup center, as he’ll be better defensively against Festus Ezeli or Marreese Speights. He may be in and out next game, due to matchups, but when he’s in he has to use his quickness to his advantage and try to be a playmaker for other Cavaliers. Oh, and rebound his ay-es-es off.

Yes, there’s still a Big Three in Cleveland. Though they hit their opposition with a haymaker, there’s still plenty of room for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It starts with LeBron’s turnovers and ends with finding a way to make Love a weapon off of the bench, instead of being a liability as a starter.

I would be ready for a bigger and better Cleveland. The Cavs are Muhammed Ali rope-a-doping George Forman in a heavyweight title fight. We all know how that one ends, right?

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