If the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to avoid a sweep in the 2018 NBA Finals, these few things must happen.
After a discouraging Game 1 loss, the Cleveland Cavaliers dropped their next two games. With seemingly all hope lost and in a historically unrecoverable 0-3 hole, winning Game 4 would at least be a start in the right direction.
That said, let’s get into just a few things Cleveland must do in order to win Game 4.
Limit Curry/Thompson
If the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to have a remote chance at winning Game 4, they must limit Curry and Thompson.
If the last few previous Finals weren’t enough, Game 2 taught Cleveland that Curry isn’t someone to mess with. He put up an NBA Finals all-time high of nine three-pointers in a game. The Warriors won that game by 19, their largest margin of victory in the Finals. Just like in Game 3, they must limit him, or just defend him as closely as possible and pray he doesn’t rain threes.
For Thompson, he showcased his excellent in Game 6 against Houston. In that game, he made nine threes, one less than his three Finals games combined. However, if he gets going, Golden State is absolutely unguardable.
Shutting these two does should be a top priority for Cleveland; however, it probably has been all series.
A three-point montage
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have failed from behind the arc. In their three Finals game, as a team, they’ve combined shot less than 30%. In the modern-day NBA, it’s virtually impossible to win and not shoot well from deep.
The team’s difficulties can mainly be put on their two notorious three-point threats, Kyle Korver and JR Smith. Korver has shot just 1-for-10 from deep this series while JR Smith has yet to shoot over 35% from deep in a single game.
In the team’s two regular-season matchups, Korver combined to make just two threes. Regardless of the stage, he just doesn’t have the same value against a defensive juggernaut like Golden State.
The Warriors have shot better from downtown than Cleveland in every single Finals game. That’s one fact that’s difficult to overlook. The Cavs have won just three games this postseason in which their opponent shot better from behind the arc.
Three-point shooting is a huge key for Game 4.
A superhuman effort from LeBron James
It’s as simple as that. If James puts up 51 again and the refs are even close to competent, then the Cavaliers will win this game. However, I have a feeling that Golden State will continue to hold James to under 40.
At this point, it’s pretty absurd that we’re even mentioning the fact that Cleveland needs more than 40 points from LeBron to win. He needed the help, and he thought they had it.
Obviously not.
Without a superhuman effort from the King, Cleveland will stand little chance against the Warriors.
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Inevitable, Golden State will win this series, but Cleveland will at least command some respect if they can win Game 4.
There is what they must do. But, will that happen?