Down 2-0, Cavs seek to rekindle last year’s magic
2016 champions have little room for error
The tracks between last season’s NBA Finals and this season’s between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cava- liers run parallel. But only to a certain point. Yes, the Warriors won the first two games at home and by significant margins. Golden State is +41 on the scoreboard compared to +48 last season and takes a 2-0 series lead to Cleveland for Game 3 on Wednesday.
But if you’ve watched this series closely, the idea has emerged that no matter what the Cavaliers do it won’t be enough, even with LeBron James generating triple-doubles.
Beating the Warriors four times in the next five games seems all but impossible.
It felt that way a year ago, too, but this season’s Warriors
are not last season’s. They have Kevin Durant, who is performing at a Finals MVP level.
“You guys asked me what was the difference, and I told you,” James said. “They’re a different team.”
That’s not to say the Cavs can’t win a game or two at home and turn this into a series.
But the Cavs’ margin for error is slim, and they need a near-perfect game to beat Golden State. The Warriors don’t have that same margin of error. They committed 20 turnovers in Game 2 and still generated the most points against Cleveland in the 2017 postseason, prevailing 132-113.
“I don’t want to get into ‘ what we need to do better’ right now. The game is too fresh,” James said. “We’re going to go home and watch the film to see ways we can be better. Do things — I don’t want to say differently, because you work so hard to get to this point — but make a couple of changes to see if we can be a lot better defensively and offensively.”
The Cavs could start with a lineup change, and ESPN reported the coaching staff might consider starting Iman Shumpert instead of J.R. Smith, who is struggling offensively and defensively against the Warriors.
That would put more defense on the floor, and the Cavs need to play much better defensively.
But a move like that comes with a risk. How does Smith handle that? Does it send a message to the locker room that the coaching staff doesn’t have faith in Smith after relying on him throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs? The right player and right team can handle that kind of switch, too.
“Having awareness, can’t relax, can’t fall asleep,” Cavs coach Ty Lue said of Cleveland’s defense. “Their offense is constant movement, so you got to be locked in. You can’t take a peek somewhere and lose your man so they make you pay. And they have a lot of guys who can shoot the basketball, have a lot of guys who are great passers, so you got to be alert at all times.”
Finding better scoring opportunities for Kyrie Irving and getting more production outside of Cleveland’s Big Three (James, Irving and Kevin Love) are necessary.
There is room for improve- ment, and the Cavs think they can make the adjustments that lead to that improvement.
But this doesn’t all come down to what Cleveland isn’t doing. Golden State is responsible for plenty of the Cavs’ struggles because of the Warriors’ offensive weapons and defensive pressure.
There is a psychological component, too. The Cavs have watched the video. They know they’ve been in the game, trailing 86-82 midway through the third quarter of Game 2. They see what happens.
Golden State turns a four-point lead into a 12-point lead in a few possessions and a 12-point lead into a 22-point lead before you know what hit you. You can see the frustration in the body language.
The elite athlete’s mind also blocks out or ignores what seems logical to critics.
It’s why the New England Patriots didn’t give up when they trailed the Atlanta Falcons 28-3 in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI. It’s why the Chicago Cubs didn’t quit when they trailed the Cleveland Indians 3-1 in the 2016 World Series, and it’s why the Cavs kept believing when they were down 3-1 to the Warriors in last year’s Finals.
“They took care of home court,” Irving said. “We understand that. Down 0-2, going back home, you have to live with those odds. You have to remain non-wavering. As I say, never waver in terms of whatever the outlook looks like. We understand who we are, and we stay the course.”