Murray within touching distance
As gifted as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving are with the ball in their hands and one defender to beat, that is not what got the Cleveland Cavaliers to a second straight NBA Finals.
The Cavs are at their best when the ball is humming around the perimeter, forcing defences to scramble and creating open looks from 3-point range.
The ball movement and 3-point shooting ground to a halt in Game 1 of the rematch against Golden State, with the Warriors swallowing the Cavaliers up with a switch-everything defence.
A day after the dispiriting 104-89 defeat, the Cavaliers spoke about the need for injecting that movement and energy back into their offence.
The Warriors’ versatility allows them to switch pick-and-rolls and rotate on defence better than any team in the league. And even though James and Irving are potent off the dribble and attacking the basket, they would much rather see the Cavaliers isolate the two stars on one side of the floor rather than have them swing the ball from side to side to spread the defence and get open looks for all their 3-point shooters.
‘‘There is a fine line,’’ James said. ‘‘I’m OK with us having some isolation basketball if we’re going quick. But we’re holding the ball and we’re just staring down the defence and we’re staring down the ball, then it can become a problem for us.’’
That’s exactly how the Warriors managed to claw their way back from a 3-1 deficit in the Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City. They found a way to force Thunder stars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant into a take-yourturn Warriors v Cavaliers approach on offence, and you could see the physical toll it took on them down the stretch.
As bad as things went for the Cavaliers in Game 1, there was a sense of calm at practice yesterday. They had a lead late in the third quarter before things got out of hand, contained the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, as well as any defence has this year, won the rebounding battle and shot twice as many free throws as the Warriors.
Cleveland also lost Game 1 in Oakland last year before rallying to win the next two and James’ teams have won nine straight Game 2s after losing the series opener dating back to 2008.
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said he is trying to get his team to play faster in Game 2 tomorrow. That approach could have pitfalls because that’s what the Warriors love to do most.
But Lue wants James and Irving to push the ball to create more energy and open looks in transition and take advantage of mismatches that come in the ensuing scramble.
The Cavaliers were the secondbest 3-point shooting team in the NBA this season, behind Golden State. They made just 7 of 21 in Game 1, with J.R. Smith a quiet 1 for 3 and Channing Frye only getting one field goal attempt.
Irving was 7 for 22 from the field and Lue said the Cavaliers missed nine open lay-ups on their way to shooting 38 per cent. Impossible dreams do come true as Andy Murray can now proudly attest. Just a few years ago he believed that the thought of winning the French Open title was nothing more than fantasy. Now he stands one win away from arguably the most laudable achievement of his career.
British male tennis players are not trained to win on clay; or not since Fred Perry became the champion of Roland Garros 81 years ago. But after producing quite possibly the performance of his life to dethrone Stan Wawrinka, the champion, Murray is within touching distance of commissioning another chapter of the nation’s tennis history.
Murray stuck to his game plan almost to the letter to beat Wawrinka 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, the first two sets as impressive as any he has played in his career.
It was quite frankly spellbinding to witness, Murray exerting pressure from almost the outset and only letting his standard slip momentarily in the third set before reclaiming dominance to ensure he becomes the first British player to contest the French final since Henry ‘‘Bunny’’ Austin in 1937. In beating Wawrinka, the 29-year-old became the tenth player in the Open era to have reached the final of all four grand-slam events.
‘‘To reach the final of the French for the first time, that’s a big moment for me,’’ said Murray. ‘‘It’s not an easy thing to do and to play the way I did today after a tough start to the tournament.
‘‘I’m just really, really happy with that.’’
Laying in wait again will be Novak Djokovic, the world No 1 who had become Murray’s longtime nemesis until the Scot showed that he too could slip and slide over the crushed brick to magnificent effect and beat the Serb to win the Italian Open title at Rome’s Foro Italico just three weeks ago.
The French Open is the title Djokovic craves like no other. He needs it to complete his full set of majors and join his illustrious peers, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, as well as Andre Agassi, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Don Budge and and Fred Perry.
JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Men’s French Open final