King James Gospel
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The Cleveland Cavaliers will defeat Warriors in game 2 of the Finals if…

By Miles Jamieson

Jun 1, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala (9) in the first half of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 1, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala (9) in the first half of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 23, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) falls near the bench in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in game four of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) falls near the bench in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in game four of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Cavaliers get bench production

Cleveland didn’t get any production from their bench. The big three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love combined for 67 of the Cavaliers’ 91 points.

Cleveland’s other two starters combined for three points. Their highest scorer off the bench was Richard Jefferson, who put up nine points in fifteen minutes.

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Kyle Korver and Deron Williams combined for zero points in their Finals debuts. The Warriors are an extremely deep team, so it’s up to the Cavaliers’ second unit to match their level of production. They did a terrible job in game one helping out the starters.

Korver was traded for during the season as a three-point specialist that can help the second unit put up points. In his twenty minutes of play, he missed all three of his three-point attempts and struggled on the defensive end of the floor.

Korver has never been a lockdown defender, but has made up for his defensive inefficiencies with his ability to shoot the basketball. With the second unit struggling to score, he’ll need to be a focal point of their offense when James and Irving are out of the game.

Iman Shumpert is the Cavaliers’ best lockdown defender. He’ll need to do a better job of defending the Splash Brothers when he’s in the game. If Cleveland’s second unit doesn’t improve, they’ll get dominated again in game two.