King James Gospel
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3 Takeaways from the Cleveland Cavaliers Narrow Victory over the Warriors on Christmas

By Nathan Beighle

Dec 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland defeats Golden State 109-108. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland defeats Golden State 109-108. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) argue with referee Zach Zarba (15) during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) argue with referee Zach Zarba (15) during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Moving Forward: The Cavalies May NEED a Bench

Jefferson and Shumpert were a combined 3-of-20 from the court and were 1-of-10 from three-point range. They also played 29 minutes each. Channing Frye had 3 (of the worst) turnovers in 17 minutes. Yet, they were only so bad because they tried to make a myriad of plays off-the-dribble. That’s not what the Cleveland Cavaliers want Shumpert and Jefferson to be doing.

It was clear early on that the Cavs need help on the bench. Namely, they need a player who can be a playmaker from the perimeter.

With Irving and James playing a combined 84 minutes, there’s a chance that if this game went to overtime the Cavs wouldn’t have had the gas to pull out a win. With Mike Dunleavy Jr. playing cheerleader and not basketball this game, he could be the odd man out as the Cavs look to trade for perimeter help.