Can The Cavs Beat Golden State This Year?
By Tony Pesta
Can the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Golden State Warriors?
The Golden State Warriors seem poised to win the NBA Finals in this upcoming season. After a dominating 16-1 record last year in the playoffs, the Warriors look like an unbeatable powerhouse, but could the Cleveland Cavaliers topple the now-reigning champs?
The Cleveland Cavaliers were the only team that managed to steal a game off the Warriors last season. The series wasn’t very close, but they still managed to avoid the sweep. Assuming that Kyrie Irving and LeBron James can resolve their off-court issues, what can Cleveland do to beat the Warriors?
Role Players
For starters, the Cavs will need their role players to show up. Last year in the NBA Finals, Cavs players not named LeBron James or Kyrie Irving shot an ugly 34% from the field. You just can’t win games with your bench/other starters shooting so poorly.
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One play that really stands out from last year is when Kyle Korver missed an open shot during the fourth quarter of game three. That shot would have put Cleveland up by 5 with less than a minute to go in the game. Instead, Kevin Durant stormed down the court and nailed the game-winning three. If Korver hits that shot, Cleveland could have had a chance next game to tie the series at 2-2 in their home. The Cavs will not be able to win if they can’t rely on their role players to hit timely shots.
Turnovers
Second, the Cavs need to learn how to take care of the ball. The Cavs averaged 13 turnovers a game last year. Those possessions are crucial in a game, especially against a team like the Warriors. Golden State thrives when they get a chance to run on the fast break, and that’s exactly what Cleveland allowed them to do. Coach Tyronn Lue has to teach his team to be more disciplined, and get back in transition if someone makes a mistake.
The Good Things
Now let’s look at some of the things Cleveland did right last year. The best thing the Cavs did all series was put the ball in LeBron James and Kyrie Irving’s hands. James and Irving ran the offense and gave their team a fighting chance in each game.
The Cavs have also shown that when they get hot, they can run with anybody. The Cavaliers torched Golden State during game 4, breaking an NBA Finals record for points. It isn’t reasonable to assume they can shoot like that every game, but knowing an explosion on offense by Cleveland is possible will help their chances.
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Conclusion
If you want to defeat a team like Golden State, you have to play a perfect game.
Cleveland last season didn’t have enough firepower off the bench to compete. However, with the addition of Derrick Rose, and possibly Dwyane Wade, the Cavs should have a chance. If all else fails, they can still rely on LeBron to carry as much of the load as possible. If anyone can beat this “unbeatable” team, it would be LeBron James.