Cleveland Cavaliers: A guide to coming back from a 3-1 deficit

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Jun 9, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after a play during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors in game four of the Finals for the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Keep LeBron off of KD

James already carries a greater workload than anyone in the game of basketball, which is part of the territory for an elite small forward.

Now, imagine playing 40 minutes in an NBA finals game with a weighted vest on. That is sort of what it is like for James when he’s tasked to guard Kevin Durant, whenever Durant is in the game who has the luxury to take more rests for his team. Take that vest off, and all of a sudden everything feels light and easy to James. Also, James is given the freedom to bolster the team defense.

The problem is that Durant is a huge mismatch for anyone else the Cavaliers can put on him, leaving that to be a high-risk strategy. That’s the magic of being down 0-3, may as well go with the high risk, higher reward?

In Game 4, it seemed feasible to put a fresh Richard Jefferson on Durant, and to many’s surprise, it worked. KD shot just 1-for-7 when guarded by Jefferson. This should be a strategy that Lue looks to again in Game 5.