The Rodney Hood Game

While the Cleveland Cavaliers loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals gut-wrenching, there was a silver lining in the Cavaliers eight-point defeat: the Rodney Hood Game.

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 110-102 to the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals and now trail the Warriors 0-3 as they try to edge away from the brink of elimination. In the midst of a game that was simply taken over by Warriors forward Kevin Durant (43 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists), the Cavaliers got their first glimpse of a trio that was likely supposed to be their new ‘Big Three’ following the trade deadline: LeBron James, Kevin Love and Rodney Hood.

James (33 points), Love (20 points) and Hood (15 points) combined for 68 points in Game 3, 66.7 percent of the team’s total points, while shooting a combined 26-52 (50.0 percent) from the field.

While all three played impressively, James’ production was expected given the level that he’s played at throughout his career and this postseason in particular and Love has broken the 20-point barrier in every game of the series (Game 3 was far and away his best performance though).

Hood’s play, especially given that he had been out of the core rotation since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, was the most surprising.

Tasked with coming in and being aggressive on both ends, he came into the game and promptly missed from beyond the arc, where he’s lost his rhythm this postseason.

However, he was battling on the defensive end and making sure to get into the body of his man, no matter who it was. He was usually matched up against Warriors point guard Shaun Livingston, who hadn’t missed a shot in the series until Hood got a block on one of his midrange attempts in Game 3.

Where it all changed for Hood was early in the second quarter, as he played strong defense against two-time MVP Stephen Curry, using his length to disrupt a layup around the rim early in the second quarter with the Cavs only up 3 (31-28). He got the rebound, rushed down the court, and though initially looking to pass, he nailed a midrange jumper.

He never looked back. He started putting the ball on the floor with confidence, attacking the rim like it was nobody business and even pulling out a Eurostep that I’m not sure even he’s seen from himself to put the Cavs up 54-42 with just over two minutes left in the first half.

He nailed a shot over Jordan Bell inside the lane after taking him off-the-dribble. Bell is a highly touted defender. With the Cavaliers down three early in the third quarter, he attacked a closeout by Kevin Durant and nailed a pull-up jumper over the outstretched arms of Livingston.

With the shot clock winding down, he took Draymond Green (!) off-the-dribble, moving with confidence and using his unorthodox post-ups to feel up on Green’s body and get a shot up over him. This shot tied the game 83-83. He came right back down a couple of minutes later and attacked Durant, the Slim Reaper’s body bouncing right off of him as he barreled towards the rim.

He made another beautiful spin move to tie the game 90-90 with just over minutes to go.

Hood was scoring at will and played so well he was placed in the lineup during the clutch minutes, along with the Cavaliers championship core of James, Love, J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson.

To think, Hood was in basketball purgatory.

At 6-foot-8 and as the possessor of a smooth jump shot and enough ball-handling ability to consistently get into the paint, it’s been maddening to watch Hood rot on the bench. Though his apprehensive approach at the start of the postseason was certainly worthy of an eventual benching, his removal from the rotation itself seemed to be more of Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue being bullied by the media.

So many players struggled against the Indiana Pacers in the opening round, it seems curious that Hood was made the scapegoat. Hood was certainly one of the only players who struggled against the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals but even still, other players were given a leash that was obviously much longer than his.

Honestly, had Cleveland Cavaliers combo guard Jordan Clarkson not played so poorly throughout the postseason and brought back memories of Deron Williams with his 3-13 start from the field through the first two games of the NBA Finals, it’s unlikely that Hood would have been seen again in the postseason.

It didn’t matter if Smith struggled, Jeff Green struggled, Kyle Korver struggled. It just seemed like Hood wasn’t just out of the rotation but out of Cleveland’s plans, in general.

Though it was just one game, Hood may have saved his future in Cleveland by showing up and answering the call to deliver in a high-pressure game. While his talent hasn’t necessarily been questioned, his ability to perform in the postseason has been. A stat line of 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks is impressive but even more impressive given the opponent, the tape and the fact that he hadn’t been in the rotation for ten games.

Related Story: Ty Lue says Rodney Hood is a big part of Cavs' future

*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com