This is over, the ending all but inevitable and creeping forward unimpeded. Such a level of support should still be the case, but he deserves the criticism. The emotional view was daunting too. Fortunately for Golden State, their third, fourth, and fifth options have been knocking down shots.
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Game Preview: It has been total domination for the first two games of the series. A record-setting regular season? Those distant and eyebrow-raising jump shots?
The Warriors have turned off the Cavaliers’ once-gushing three-point faucet.
In this, Cavaliers star LeBron James is stating the obvious – that Wednesday’s outing is a must win for his squad.
The Warriors center has been much more active this time around and is one of the many reasons the team has a 2-0 lead on the Cavaliers.
From Jonathan Abrams’s oral history of the Shaq-Penny Magic: “In their four Finals games, the Magic attempted 118 3-pointers, almost 30 per game”.
In this series, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have not played to their standards and, quite frankly, they haven’t needed to.
The question now becomes, how can you possibly back this team the rest of the way?
Last year, former Cavaliers head coach David Blatt implemented intelligent adjustments with Love and Irving hurt.
We’re home now. It’s our net. “It will be more adversity if we got to that point, which I don’t believe we will”.
He was kidding, of course. Jefferson used the same phrase, “We’re fine”, when the Eastern Conference Finals, against the Toronto Raptors, turned into an unexpected tussle. A lot will have to change for him to be right now. We need to make it happen. We’re down 0-2. But, are we down 0-2, or did they protect home court and now we have to protect home court? A supposed tough guy covered in tattoos, Smith took a hit to the mouth in Game 2 and quit rather than fight back.
“So, one of those situations”. No team trailing 3-0 has ever fought back to win an National Basketball Association playoff series. Everyone’s questioning them. Steph [Curry] hurt his knee and they were banged up in the second round, so they’ve had questions throughout. “You just have to handle adversity and keep moving forward”.
The Cavaliers are optionless in that regard.
While the 2015 Finals featured a Love- or Kyrie Irving-less lineup and two Cavs wins, the Warriors’ defense has stonewalled the East champs for large stretches in both games.
What worked for Oklahoma City against the Warriors was an exploitation of length and power. LeBron James and company have to move quickly past a Game 2 blowout, a contest that saw Golden State dictate the style of play from the opening tip. “Now we use these rules these days, we’d still win, because you wouldn’t be allowed to touch me, you wouldn’t be allowed to touch Kobe (Bryant)”, O’Neal said. This offensive strategy forced the Warriors to double LeBron on the block.
James is not just the Cavs’ best player. They could try to do all those things and perhaps they should, but really they need to start by playing better, as simplistic as that sounds. “If they want to do that, we have no problem with it”.
Per usual, the focus remains on James. That is the opportunity in front of us.
The Cavs had to build belief in one another on Sunday. He took the blame afterward, then again on Tuesday, and will not pass responsibility. He’s also sure of one thing.
“We can’t afford to look and say, ‘Wow, Kev’s not playing”.
The Warriors do remain wary. Can they snatch a win at home in Game 3? He is the best player of his generation and arguably one of the top players in National Basketball Association history. Those opposite results let them know how tenuous a series lead is.
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“So, if there’s anything we know, [it’s] that it’s possible”, Curry said.
