Series Thread: Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals Thread

[Black Adam]

Yes we've already established that with the Bulls, Hawks, and now Warriors... anytime they struggle offensively it is 100% their own doing and a very lucky thing for the Cavs.

not saying that at all. just agreed that the Warriors imo DID start out slow. now did i say the Cavs defense didn't have anything to do with it? no. but if you watch these guys more often you might've caught what i'm talking about...

 

[GNG]

I was surprised to see Golden State struggle last evening.

 

[Robotech]

Last night I was feeling the pain of the loss. This morning I was feeling rah-rah, go cavs go.

I'm coming down from that now and starting to see the reality of the two teams in front of me.

I'm sure by Sunday I'll be back to full believe-land mode.

That's how it should be because that's how a true fan should feel. On paper, the Warriors should win this series handily, but the great thing about sports is that anything can happen.

 

[GNG]

Yes we've already established that with the Bulls, Hawks, and now Warriors... anytime they struggle offensively it is 100% their own doing and a very lucky thing for the Cavs.

Actually the Cleveland defense was more responsible for their offensive woes.

 

[Black Adam]

Last night I was feeling the pain of the loss. This morning I was feeling rah-rah, go cavs go.

I'm coming down from that now and starting to see the reality of the two teams in front of me.

I'm sure by Sunday I'll be back to full believe-land mode.

keep on believing, man. i've done it since 1967 with my Chiefs every NFL season...

 

[gordontrue]

Actually the Cleveland defense was more responsible for their offensive woes.

yeah that was my (sarcastic) point

 

[GNG]

yeah that was my (sarcastic) point

 

[LAD]

Great stat: this is where LBJ needs to learn. This is from ESPN.

LeBron James had 37 isolation plays in Game 1. He shot 11-for-28 on those plays (39%), compared to 7-for-10 on shots off a pass (70%).

This is the down fall of having the best player in the league on your team. I remember as a Laker fan experiencing the same thing when Kobe was in his prime and had Smush Parker and freakin Kwame Brown as his 'help'. Kobe did everything except what we wanted the most...to win a series. I understand the thought process and argued he was right for doing what he did. They figure they're their teams' best option so why not do as much as they physically can? But, looking at this Warriors team and seeing how much better they are as a TEAM helps understand that thought process was wrong.

 

[Across The Field]

You said it in the first sentence of your post....here try again.

Look up the phrase "speaking in generalities". Maybe then you will understand.

 

[gordontrue]

I'm either confusing you or myself or both, lol.

I - like you - believe that the Cleveland defense has a lot to do with the droughts the Bulls, Hawks, and - to a lesser degree in game 1- the Warriors went through.

There's been a common sentiment on here throughout the playoffs that the bulls and hawks just didn't play well, didn't hit shots, and self imploded.

Now, some are saying the same thing about the Warriors in Game 1 "Cavs are lucky they didn't play like they normally do" - seemingly dismissing any possibility of the Cavs defense (#1 in the playoffs) taking part in that.

So... I was sarcastically referring to all of that.

 

[LAD]

Look up the phrase "speaking in generalities". Maybe then you will understand.

Haha whatever. I understand what is in black and white print. This isn't 'read between the lines or assume what you're trying to say'.

 

[Across The Field]

He may not be certified as injury prone just yet. But folks have been saying that it may be the case with him for at least a couple of seasons. So the concern had been raised.

Oh yeah, the concern has definitely been raised. I guess when I think of "injury prone", I think of guys like Kyrie who have serious injuries that continue to nag throughout his career. The biggest injury of Love's career in terms of time off was his hand, and that appears to have been an isolated incident and it's now totally healed. His back is a concern but it didn't seem to hamper him much this year or last year.

Now, the shoulder, that could be a concern. Since that involved both a tearing of the tendon and a dislocation, that could possibly be a career-long injury.

 

[Robotech]

not saying that at all. just agreed that the Warriors imo DID start out slow. now did i say the Cavs defense didn't have anything to do with it? no. but if you watch these guys more often you might've caught what i'm talking about...

I didn't watch the first quarter, but you're right that the Warriors have made a habit of starting slow. It's very annoying! It is also true that the Cavs are playing very good team defense this post season.

The biggest adjustments that the Warriors need to make is how they are going to defend LeBron. Do they double more? Do they give Iguodala more minutes? I thought Iguodala did the best job. Also, how are they going to stop the Cavs from getting so many offensive rebounds.

On the Cavs side, they need to look at how they can slow the pace of the game down to the point that they can keep LeBron and other key guys fresh. I think that's part of the reason they ran so much iso with LeBron (apart from him being the best player on the court), but at the same this probably also wore LeBron down at the end. The Cavs also need to see if they can make Curry more one-dimensional (either a scorer or a passer). Curry was pretty much doing anything he wanted last night. He shot when he wanted to shoot and got assists when he wanted to pass.

 

[GNG]

I'm either confusing you or myself or both, lol.

I - like you - believe that the Cleveland defense has a lot to do with the droughts the Bulls, Hawks, and - to a lesser degree in game 1- the Warriors went through.

There's been a common sentiment on here throughout the playoffs that the bulls and hawks just didn't play well, didn't hit shots, and self imploded.

Now, some are saying the same thing about the Warriors in Game 1 "Cavs are lucky they didn't play like they normally do" - seemingly dismissing any possibility of the Cavs defense (#1 in the playoffs) taking part in that.

So... I was sarcastically referring to all of that.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[gordontrue]

This is the down fall of having the best player in the league on your team. I remember as a Laker fan experiencing the same thing when Kobe was in his prime and had Smush Parker and freakin Kwame Brown as his 'help'. Kobe did everything except what we wanted the most...to win a series. I understand the thought process and argued he was right for doing what he did. They figure they're their teams' best option so why not do as much as they physically can? But, looking at this Warriors team and seeing how much better they are as a TEAM helps understand that thought process was wrong.

Yeah, I think we will see some adjustment from LeBron on this in Game 2. I just worry he'll adjust too much. We still need him to be aggressive and very present in the offense.


I also think Kerr deserves a lot of credit for this with his strategy. LeBron has always been good at taking what the defense gives him. The defense gave him 1-on-1 all night long... and he took it... and took it pretty well. But that took away the involvement of everyone else.

LeBron needs to find a way to take what they give him while involving the rest of the unit as much as possible. I think the answer is LeBron moving without the ball.

 

[Across The Field]

Haha whatever. I understand what is in black and white print. This isn't 'read between the lines or assume what you're trying to say'.

Seriously? Because you've been doing that all day long.

It's simple. Dude was trying to say the reason GS got in the early drought was simply because they were missing open shots. I said that wasn't the case. Sure, they missed a few open shots. News flash - so did the Cavs. That, however, wasn't the reason why they dug themselves into that early hole.

I really hope you get it now. I couldn't have possibly made it easier to understand.

 

[LAD]

I'm either confusing you or myself or both, lol.

I - like you - believe that the Cleveland defense has a lot to do with the droughts the Bulls, Hawks, and - to a lesser degree in game 1- the Warriors went through.

There's been a common sentiment on here throughout the playoffs that the bulls and hawks just didn't play well, didn't hit shots, and self imploded.

Now, some are saying the same thing about the Warriors in Game 1 "Cavs are lucky they didn't play like they normally do" - seemingly dismissing any possibility of the Cavs defense (#1 in the playoffs) taking part in that.

So... I was sarcastically referring to all of that.

Got it...i also think the Hawks just didn't have the offensive shooters to make the Cavs pay on missed defensive assignments or expose any of their weaknesses.

 

[Across The Field]

That was the problem with Divac. He never really played man ball, so to speak. He relied too much on flopping and finesse. Just be a man and grab the damn ball instead of batting it! LOL

I love Divac. He's the voice of my GPS.

 

[LAD]

I didn't watch the first quarter, but you're right that the Warriors have made a habit of starting slow. It's very annoying! It is also true that the Cavs are playing very good team defense this post season.

The biggest adjustments that the Warriors need to make is how they are going to defend LeBron. Do they double more? Do they give Iguodala more minutes? I thought Iguodala did the best job. Also, how are they going to stop the Cavs from getting so many offensive rebounds.

On the Cavs side, they need to look at how they can slow the pace of the game down to the point that they can keep LeBron and other key guys fresh. I think that's part of the reason they ran so much iso with LeBron (apart from him being the best player on the court), but at the same this probably also wore LeBron down at the end. The Cavs also need to see if they can make Curry more one-dimensional (either a scorer or a passer). Curry was pretty much doing anything he wanted last night. He shot when he wanted to shoot and got assists when he wanted to pass.

Yes totally agree and to add to your point I think with LBJ doing so much iso it played into the hands of GS. The plan obviously was to let LBJ do what he does but not let too many of the others get involved. LBJ actually helped with this because when your team is standing around watching you do everything they're not involved enought to make an impact.

 

[Sgt Brutus]

Last night I was feeling the pain of the loss. This morning I was feeling rah-rah, go cavs go.

I'm coming down from that now and starting to see the reality of the two teams in front of me.

I'm sure by Sunday I'll be back to full believe-land mode.

Without Kyrie (cause let's be honest he's done) I've abandoned all hopes. Go tribe