James hinted at the possibility of schematic and lineup changes, but said the common denominator for success was effort.
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“If we can score a little bit more, which I believe we will do in Game 3, that will help our defense out a lot, too”, James said via ESPN. “I’m not a pure scorer. I do everything. I said that after Game 2 that I’ve got to play better, but as far as my numbers, I don’t worry about that”.
Although Love didn’t play all that well in Game 1 or in the 21 minutes he played before exiting with his injury in Game 2, the Cavs will surely miss his outside shooting, size and rebounding ability. We need to make it happen. He’s a scorer, he’s a special player.
From there, Cleveland’s role players might be able to get back to making an impact – especially at home. The Cavaliers were outscored by 11 with James at center in Game 2. It’s reasonable to count them out given that only three teams in league history have rallied from down 2-0.
During the open portion of practice, James was laughing with teammates and tossed up the occasional underhanded 60-footer – reacting with mock disbelief when the low-percentage shot didn’t fall. He has since been under the NBA’s concussion protocol, which stipulates that, after 24 hours of regular monitoring of symptoms, he take several steps before returning to the court. If Kevin Love is healthy, he can produce. The Golden State Warriors clearly have the better team.
“History”, Lue said, “is something that’s made to be broken”. If the Cavaliers claw back and force the series back to Oakland, a potential Game 5 now sits just under the $1,800 average. The Bulls ran off four straight victories to send Patrick Ewing’s team packing before they rolled through the Phoenix Suns in the subsequent NBA Finals. Golden State will try to take a 3-0 lead in this finals rematch when the series resumes in Cleveland on Wednesday night.
“I don’t think there’s anything we can point to in terms of why we’re struggling in game threes”, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “All the pin-down actions are switching out to deny J.R., so it’s been tough”.
If the Cavaliers can find offense from any of the aforementioned options, Cleveland’s defensive issues might be solved, at least in part. Most recently, they were crushed, 110-77. “Anything you do in basketball, you want to try to get two guys on the ball, whether it’s pick and roll, whether it’s taking advantage of a mismatch in the post (where) they have to double team”.
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For Cleveland to have any chance, they’ll have to cut back on isolation plays on offense.
