NBA Finals: The Cleveland Cavaliers, yet again, sleep on Kyle Korver’s impact
The Cleveland Cavaliers dropped Game 2 of the NBA Finals, putting them in a 0-2 hole. Now, at home, they must put their trust back in Kyle Korver.
They tell you in high school that history is necessary because you don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. Well, the Cleveland Cavaliers have failed to take a note out of their own history. That note revolves around the usage of Kyle Korver in the 2018 NBA Finals.
Down 3-2 and facing elimination, Tyronn Lue played Kyle Korver 20+ minutes in Game 6, and it turned into a ten-point victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Korver scored just six points but sank two critical threes.
Along with getting more minutes in the Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 then the first two Finals games, Korver’s value has been severely underrated.
For Cleveland to have a fighting chance in Games 3 and 4, they must go back to what has worked for them, playing Kyle Korver.
While a team-based stat, Korver’s impact can be shown through his offensive, defensive, and net rating.
Of the rotational players, Korver ranks No. 3, No. 1, and No. 1 in those three categories respectively.
Korver, an underrated defender, shut down and blocked Jaylen Brown twice in the same game, helping Cleveland secure the victory. Offensively, his shooting, which creates a major distraction and forces attention to shift off King James, is essential to helping the Cavs run a fluid offense.
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When James plays as a mere mortal, the Cavaliers are the flawed team we’ve seen several times throughout this postseason. That team needs Korver.
Obviously, his value wasn’t peaking when James dropped 51 points in Game 1. But, when James is under 40 points, he needs that third weapon to depend on.
That said, the Cavaliers need to stop sleeping on what Korver can do for the offense. On top of that, he’s not a defensive liability when he can guard a spot-up shooter such as Klay Thompson.
Thompson has been much more lethal against the Cavaliers this postseason, averaging 22 points per game. That’s almost six more than he averaged the entire 2017 Finals.
Thompson has mainly guarded JR Smith this postseason. Smith, one of the streakiest sharpshooters in the league, doesn’t command the respect that a player like Korver does. Thompson, who guarded Kyrie Irving in the 2017 Finals, hasn’t been forced to use as much energy on the defensive end.
While not quantifiable, that energy seems to be used in turn to run screen and patrol the arc on offense.
For Korver, he’s not only the Cavs most consistent sharpshooter, but unlike Smith, he’s an excellent off-the-ball player. Korver and the plays used to get him open could exhaust Klay’s legs, especially with an already injured ankle.
Down 0-2, Lue has to figure out something to do differently. And, maybe playing Korver more than 18 minutes a game is a good start.
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However, if Lue doesn’t learn from the past and continues to sit Korver due to his lack of speed and agility, he may let the Cavs fall for the second straight season.