Cavs need everyone to take their games up a notch on offense
The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t as far from victory as many would have you believe. They don’t need adjustments, they just need everyone to take their game up a single notch.
The Cleveland Cavaliers don’t lack for confidence and they shouldn’t.
They’ve had two players named to the All-Star game this season in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love; two former All-Stars in Deron Williams and Kyle Korver; two snipers outside of Love and Korver in J.R. Smith and Channing Frye.; a lockdown on-ball defender on the perimeter in Iman Shumpert and the best big man in the NBA when it comes to gathering offensive rebounds in Tristan Thompson; they have two versatile forwards in Richard Jefferson and Derrick Williams. Most importantly, they have the best player in the world in Mr. “1-5” LeBron James.
The same James who, at just 32-years-old, has passed Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and Michael Jordan in the record books at various times. The player who is the Jordan, Shaq and Kareem of this era. A player who is legitimately in the conversation as the best player of all-time as his consistent and what’s been unparalleled greatness opens the minds of longtime NBA fans who are beginning to see NBA championships as indicator’s of team success rather than individual ability.
The same James who has mastered the art of being a floor general, scoring off-ball, scoring in isolation, defending on-ball and off-ball and, as the unquestioned leader of his team, mastered the art of recognizing his importance to the team’s success.
The Cleveland Cavaliers other players need to step up and play at least an even-keel game.
Rather than shrinking in the moment, like Thompson has, players need to step up.
Thompson has averages of 4.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in the 2017 NBA Finals, down from his averaged of 9.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game throughout the 2017 NBA playoffs prior to the Finals. His ineffectiveness on the glass or around the rim, as he’s shooting 40.0 percent from the field in the Finals compared to 60.0 percent in the playoffs prior to the Finals, has led to him playing 21.8 minutes per game in the Finals compared to 33.0 minutes per game in the playoffs prior to the Finals.
Korver, Smith and Frye, the Cavs’ three best three-point specialists (not named Love), have been a combined 4-18 from the field (2-11 from three-point range). Shumpert, whose defense has been solid in the series, has went 3-12 from the field (1-5 from three-point range) in the first two games of the series. Williams, who came into the Finals scorching hot, is 0-9 from the field (0-4 from three-point range) and only had 4 total assists.
If these five Cavs, who combined to shoot 7-39 from the field (3-20 from three-point range) even make 40.0 percent of their shots, they’d have made an additional 7.6 shots from the field and 2 shots from three-point range, good for a 17.2 point swing in the series. The Cavs have lost by 42 points combined and there is still a 24.8 point difference to account for but in-game, player’s shot selection is often predicated on the score. Had the Cavs had those 4.3 points at halftime at either game, they would have only been down by three or four points in Game 1 if Durant makes the buzzer-beater at halftime. They’d have only be down one or two points at halftime in Game 2.
If Thompson plays more in-line with what he’s capable of the Cavs could be going into the locker room tied or up at halftime, no matter how well the Warriors are playing on offense.
A player like Irving will try to play hero-ball but because he’s struggled making plays out of double-teams and in the midrange due to the length of the Warriors defense, he’s 18-45 (40.0 percent) from the field. Irving, who has shot only three total free throws in the Finals, has been so focused on shooting making plays period, so that the Cavs can stay in the game, he’s not making thinking about making the right plays. As a result, his free-throw attempts are down from 4.5 free-throw attempts per game in the playoffs to 1.5 free-throw attempts per game in the Finals and his turnovers are up to 3.5 per game in the Finals after hovering at 2.6 turnovers per game in the playoffs.
Irving will get his act together on offense by playing a more controlled game, making more timely passes and having better decisions with his shot selection. He’s averaging 21.5 points and 4.5 assists per game in the Finals. However, he can be better if he plays a more controlled game.
Love, who has been better than expected, will help provide a scoring punch and crash the glass while playing solid team defense. In the Finals, he’s averaging 21.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from three-point range. As one of the Cavs better free-throw shooters and post-players, when the Cavs get him involved in the post and control the pace they’ll be able to maintain an efficient offense.
James, who has averaged 28.5 points on 55.3 percent shooting from the field, 13.0 rebounds, 11.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game throughout the 2017 NBA Finals, has played stellar but because of the cohesiveness of the Warriors group, he at times looks like the third-best player in the series.
While James says “it’s just basketball” he also acknowledges that he’s addicted to be the greatest player to ever play the game; he wants it so much, he apologized to his wife for how much attention and time he gives to be that player.
With that said, fans shouldn’t expect Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry to outshine the King for much longer. That’s not to say there won’t be stretches of dominance by either player but that James, the king-of-all-trades, will excel while playing 1-5 on both ends.
As the Cleveland Cavaliers downsize to get James space to attack the rim and place more shooters on the floor, James will be able to dissect the Warriors’ defense as he’s done throughout the playoffs. Imagine that Irving, Smith, Korver and Love are on the perimeter while James drives. If you bring timely help he’ll make you pay for leaving your man but if you’re late to help, he’s throwing a tomahawk down at the rim.
With the space lineups that have him at the 4 or 5 provide, the Cavs can feature James on both the low-block and high-post, where he’ll make the correct passes out of the double-team or set plays that get players shots at the rim.
Even with Thompson in the lineup, and thus less space, James is dangerous from the post because of his vision, passing ability, strength and cognizance.
Because Thompson’s presence in the paint deserves so much attention, defenders have two choices when James beats a teammate to the rim: help or box-out Thompson. No matter what decision they make, the Cavs have a good chance at converting a layup or put-back around the rim.
Irving has a similar type of success with Thompson in the pick-and-roll, as his drives cause enough attention for him to lob it high or throw a pocket pass to Thompson, who must convert around the rim or quickly pass it back out to the perimeter to an open shooter.
The Warriors have a lot of firepower but the Cavs can’t keep up if everyone doesn’t step up. While James has played well, head coach Tyronn Lue needs to use more lineups that allow James to be a big man.
So long as the Cavs rebound as a group, make timely rotations and get their hands into passing lanes to cause deflections and turnovers, they have a great chance to win the series, not just Game 3.
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Do you think there are any particular players that need to step up for the Cleveland Cavaliers or do they need to step up as a whole? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.