NBA Finals: No Excuse in Game 5 for Cavs

NBA Finals Game 5 is tonight. A must win for the Cavs with no room for excuses since Draymond Green is out.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a must-win, no-excuse situation heading into Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. With Draymond Green suspended for hitting LeBron James in the groin (again) by the league office, the Cavs are in a position to take advantage of the loss of one of the Warriors’ top players.

More than that, they have absolutely no reason to lose against a short-handed Warriors team missing its key defensive cog and playmaker. A loss will mean the end of their season and a possible blow up of the team in the offseason. A win means they live to fight another day with a trip home to play in a Game 6.

This time last year, the Cavaliers were tied with the Warriors 2-2 in the Finals. The Dubs had just tied the series after the Cavs took a 2-1 lead heading into their Game 4 encounter which Golden State won along with the next two games.

Back then, the Eastern Conference champs had lost two of their stars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to injuries, leaving James with the herculean task of carrying the rest of the team. Despite one of the greatest NBA Finals performances of all time, the team still succumbed to the healthier team.

It’s win or go home for James as he seeks to lead the Cavs to an improbable upset of the history-seeking Warriors.

Many believed that if Cleveland had Irving and Love, the Finals would have had a different result. After all, the Cavaliers had given the Dubs more fight than any other opponent in the 2015 NBA Playoffs with a one-man team. A complete team, it was suspected, could have taken down the Bay Area squad handily.

This time, however, in spite of a healthy lineup, the Cavs are going into hostile territory for Game 5 with their championship hopes on the line and down 1-3. It’s win or go home for James as he seeks to lead the Cavs to an improbable upset of the history-seeking Warriors.

For his part, LeBron has proven that he can be counted on in elimination games in which he is averaging 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists per game. In order to win Game 5, James may need to raise those stats to the otherworldly numbers he displayed in last year’s Finals. He cannot afford to play anything other than mythical with the Land’s hopes of a championship once again hanging by a thread.

Just as important, he needs to raise the level of play of his teammates, guiding, prodding, and keeping them accountable throughout the game. He cannot show any hint of doubt with a team whose psyche has been battered with questions of its ability to overcome a superior team.

Green’s absence opens up opportunities for the Cavs’ shooters to have more wide open looks aside from their big men dealing with less obstruction.

Now that the NBA has finally taken notice of Green’s groin-hitting tactics, something he’s been doing throughout these playoffs, the Cavs should have an easier time pounding the ball inside. That should be especially true for James whose primary defender will now be Andre Iguodala. Last year’s Finals MVP isn’t a pushover defensively but he doesn’t have someone as good as Green to relieve him of his duties in guarding LeBron.

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It also means one less defender for the Warriors who’s capable of double-teaming a player and getting back to cover his man quickly. Green’s absence opens up opportunities for the Cavs’ shooters to have more wide open looks aside from their big men dealing with less obstruction.

If Coach Tyronn Lue plays his troops right and if he matches the Warriors’ Steve Kerr’s own adjustments without Green, we should be looking at a Game 6 in Cleveland.

There’s more room for error without Green but no room for excuses if they lose. It’s that simple.

Win or go home? The Cavs have no other choice but to win.