DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum NBA Finals Discussion II

We all hope he doesn't shoot as well. But, the other side is, I doubt Curry shoots as bad as he did last night. Even with great D against him.

When he went off early Delly was covering him, right? Thought that was an odd matchup. I'd rather have Shumpert on him.

Going forward, have this-

Della vs Curry
Shump vs Klay
Lebron vs whoever is the weakest offensive player
TT vs Green
Moz vs Bogut


If Lebron is up against their weakest offensive player, it will help him tremendously on offense. We badly need JR to get his head straight, he's the ONLY other guy on the team that can create his own shot.

My prediction: Smith and Shump (and maybe Tristan) are going to LIGHT IT UP at the Q. Friendly confines are just what they need, I just hope they can do enough to get Lebron some rest. Even if it's not a whole lot more minutues on the bench, they just need to reduce what Lebron will have to do so he can play game 5, 6 as much as they will need him.

JMO.

Here's a real eye opening stat- Cavs are 13-0 in the playoffs when they out rebound their opponent.

not surprising. We need TT to get back to crashing the boards all game long. hopefully playing back in The Land the next two games will fix that.

This post deserves to be read again. Great Post Rishuz.

Great post rishuz but I would argue that last year the spurs destroyed the heat a few different times. Granted lebron had very little help

Yeah I was gonna say. However his point still rings true, there was no panic with the Cavs after that first game.

LeBron doesn't have Irving and Love, but I think he has enough to finally bring a championship to the people and fans of Cleveland.
The reason?
We have the D.

lol.....

The D has been marginal IMO. But the Game Deuce officiating was terrible. I am OK with letting them play to a degree. But some of the uncalled garbage went on in the 4th qtr. was almost criminal. I expect some homerism, but our Cavs overcame about eight opponents. Wail on them at home. Q it up!

I just think we are the tougher team. Especially on D.
JMHO.

There was a lot of negativity on the previous thread and most thought the series was over. A few of us thought we still had a chance and we do have a chance. Guys like Super, Ted, and myself. I posted this on the previous thread in response to so many exclaiming the series was "over."



I still feel the same way. We have a chance. I don't think we are in the driver's seat, but I don't think the series is over. We have a chance and that is something to embrace.

After witnessing last night's game, factoring no Irving/Love/etc... then you factor in both games were results of overtime. Yeah, if you're a fan of either team - you know you have a chance.

The one thing we have going for us is we beat them at their house, which is difficult and in which they have a great track record of success there. Will they be able to do the same? LeBron has probably started a war in his challenge to us to be loud, so it'll suck to be a road team under those circumstances.

It's been a great and extremely intense series.

Damn Straight!!!!!!!!!!

After tooting my horn in the previous post, I have to mention this and add some observations:

--YTown was pimping Delly after I said I wanted to see more of Shumpert and Smith playing together and less of Delly. I said that I didn't think Delly could cover Curry. YTown said he could. I was wrong and YTown was right. Man, Delly was a freaking beast on defense.

Some observations/thoughts:

--I remember preaching that LBJ should have drove the ball to the hole on the last possession of the first game. I said put the pressure on the refs. LOL....he does exactly that at the end of regulation in game 2, gets fouled 2 or 3 times, and no call. Guess I was wrong again. But, I still would rather have him drive it.

--Mozgov was a beast. People were saying we should match Golden State's small lineup, but give Blatt credit, he kept Moz in there and he punished that smaller lineup.

--That game was full of ups and downs. We came out playing 1 on 5. I was so angry. Then, we down by 8 and we started passing the ball and we got points. Amazing how that works.

--I get the feeling JR Smith is really ignorant. I like the guy on our team, but are you kidding me?

--James Jones stepped up and contributed just about as much as we can possibly hope for.

--LBJ's will to win and emotion at the end of the game was something that I was glad to witness.

--TT is a bit off, but he stepped up big at the end of the game and man, that cat can guard. I remember reading on here on how terrible he is on defense. That's completely false. He is an excellent defender. He has to work on his footwork on the offensive end to help him finish.

--Shumpert needs to stop hesitating. He has skills. Confidence is his next step.

--I rarely complain about the refs. I hate the cry baby mentality, but man.........there were quite a few questionable calls late against us.

--I think this team has great resolve. It's impressive and heart-warming to watch, even though I broke a lamp when I threw my shoe across the room after the non-call on LeBron's drive at the end of regulation. LOL

--This is fun--and gut-wrenching--to watch. I am just happy that we finally have a Cleveland team that we can be proud of.

I'm upset that I won't be able to watch game three live because of work. The atmosphere leading up to the tip is going to be beyond electric. It would be just purely magical if they could find a way to be back in The Land for a closeout opportunity in game six.

We only have two guys off the bench playing meaningful minutes. Miller logged six minutes and looked like a chubby 45 year old at the YMCA. Is there really no one else who can give us closer to ten minutes to get guys some rest? How much slower is Marion now than he used to be? The fact that he hasn't played but five playoff minutes sort of answers that, but there's got to be a way to give guys just a few more breathers. His calling card was always defense and even guarding Barnes, Iggy, or Green, would be providing a service you'd think?

Excellent points.

If we can find a way to win the whole thing, I think Cleveland sports in general won't be so gut-wrenching for all of us. Even the Browns.

When I say that, I mean for the true Clevelanders. The people who support all 3 teams and have suffered for however long, young or old.

That's how I feel when I watched Ohio State this year. I was in to it, but if they had lost, I don't think you get so down ya know.

I agree.

I want to add this and I am not sure if many will understand.

Win or lose this series, I am really proud of the Cavs. We shouldn't win because we lost 2 of our big 3. I never agreed that the series was "over" like so many said it was, but realistically, we were in a precarious position.

I think the grit and resolve this team has displayed makes them winners. I am proud of them. I love how they have fought. I love how they have overcome adversity time and time again. They might not win it all, but I feel they have the heart of champions and I am good w/that.

Totally, but man it would be so fitting if this team were able to pull it off.

my problem with our Bigs, specifically the first half and game !, is it seems like they had mittens on their hands.

in the first half, Lebron delivered a perfect pass to TT, and it just bobbled out of his hands for a TO. I was pissed. Same thing with Mosgov. He ended up having a good game, but man the 1st QTR was brutal.

It wasn't until the 4th QTR that TT started clearly up the glass like he normally does.

I was pissed they had Delly guarding Klay. Klay was torching everybody, but it was a clinic out there when Delly was on him. I was soooo glad Blatt made the switch and put him on Curry, because they are the same size, and Delly absolutely destroyed Curry defensively.

But man...Delly is a liability on offense. that's the only thing i can complain about the guy. Some of those TO's were of the "wtf" variety. We need to just let lebron play at the point.

Smith.....god i'm so torn on him. on one hand, he has these JR Smith Fouls that are also of the "wtf" variety, but on the other, nobody on this board can tell me he doesn't deliver a shot when we need it the most. nobody. it seems like when we are about to lose a bit of momentum, JR Swish for 3!!

I really wanna see better play from our big's overall in Game 3. finishing dunks, cleaning up the boards better(all game), and better offensive awareness.

The one thing I'm hoping for is that our role guys play a little better. Hopefully they can get a burst off energy from the crowd.

I am worried about a slow start though, as we have been very consistent playing well of the bat on the road, but at home, they have gotten too comfortable. We cannot afford a bad start tomorrow night.

I don't really disagree with anything you wrote. Thompson's defended admirably on those switches against the smaller, quicker players. It's not ideal, but we could do worse.

We seemed able to punish their small lineup early, but towards the end, I think we were just too gassed. Mozgov should have probably got more minutes down the stretch. Even if that means TT is off the floor, I don't think I worry as much about Mozgov guarding someone like Green. I'd tell him just go ahead and camp on the block just outside the paint. If Green cans a three, we live with it.

The Question is, when it's a lineup like Curry/Thompson/Iguodala/Barnes/Green, how comfortable are we with Thompson and Mozgov on the floor? Do you put TT on Iggy, Mozzy on Green, and just let the chips land where they may? I'm leaning towards it. Mozgov has way too much length on Green down low offensively and TT will have a mismatch on Barnes- or if he draws Iguodala you have LBJ with a mismatch on Barnes probably (if not the smaller Curry or Thompson- who will at least be spending precious energy guarding him).

I'm kind of hoping that's the wrinkle they employ down the stretch next. That and finding someone they're comfortable with off the bench enough to give close to ten minutes of quality rest.

not only do we have a chance, but we are now 1-1 if we go 2-1 or 3-1 i do not think the warriors are mentally tough enough to respond

j/c:

Man, the conversations in this forum seem to be a lot more intelligent than in the Pure Football forum. That seems kinda weird. LOL

I think you guys all make good points. I agree w/a lot of what you said, Swish, but I just didn't get to type it all out. I was hundreds of posts behind. LOL

Yeah, Delly on KT was a disaster. However, his defense on Curry was a thing of beauty. I can admit when I am wrong and YTown was right about Delly on Curry. I was wrong.

Delly is a liability on offense, but at this point, defending Curry is more important. Additionally, he came through in the clutch. That is huge in my book. I didn't really want to see him much in that game. I was wrong. I'm good w/that.

Captain.......I get what you are saying about the two bigs, but think about this......when GS went small, Blatt stayed w/the bigs and that is when we made up a lot of ground. We dared those smaller role players to beat us from the outside, which effectively took the ball out of the hands of their top two scorers, and then we punished them w/Moz time after time after time. We even had LBJ sealing a guy about a foot from the basket because of match-up issues. I actually think that we exploited them when they went small. I wonder if GS fans are bemoaning the fact that our big lineup tore up their small lineup.

I am not saying you guys are wrong about anything. It's an interesting conversation and things might play out differently next game. I do enjoy intelligent conversation, though.

Go Cavs!

I said it before game 2, I would like to see Joe Harris get some court time. Nice outside shot, played tough D at Virginia, fresh legs.

While losing an 11-point lead inside 3 minutes is a concern, it was 83-72 then. That low of a score is very unusual for the Warriors and I guess they woke up. Good on JR though for owning up.

I read where you said that earlier, Jest.

I see what you are saying, but I have some doubts.

He played against ATL and I saw his shot making ability. I thought he looked a little out of place defensively and I wonder how confident he would be in a pressure situation when he has very little pro experience.

He might shine, but I believe that if he has a time, it will be down the line..........as in next year. It would be kinda hard to insert him now w/so little viable NBA experience. I could be wrong.........just thinking out loud.

yea, i agree.

i just doesn't feel smart putting those kinda guys in at this moment. that should've happened with MEANINGFUL minutes in round 1,2, and 3. not 4 minutes before the game is over with a massive blow out lead in the ECF.

if we want actual rotation, then Kendrick and Marion needs to be those guys if we go deeper. Miller as well. but only for minimum minutes.

Harris certainly would be a question mark but if we say Marion and Miller are known then ta bad answer to the Harris question can't be much worse.

I listened to the Atlanta game he played in on the radio. I didn't get to watch it so I can't comment on his defense in that game. I am only going off of what I have seen and that was him at UVA.

I am just thinking that with the fresh legs and his size that he would be a good matchup vs Klay Thompson. And that he might be able to provide some energy like Delly does. Maybe not but if we give hime a couple minutes to prove his worth, worst thing is that he plays 2 minutes and gives somebody some rest.

Blatt doesn't seem like a coach that would try this so I certainly don't expect to see it. And that makes it all the easier for me to mention because if Harris doesn't get a shot then I can't be proven wrong

I agree w/that. I actually wouldn't mind seeing Perkins come in and swat Bogut around once or twice. LOL

LOL........good answer.

Hey......you may be right. I don't know, just making conversation. Like I said, the conversations on this forum are pretty darn good.

I agree about minimum minutes. I just disagree about Perkins. His foot speed is comically slow now. Only if Bogut is in the game do I feel somewhat okay (while drinking a shot of tequila and doing the sign of the cross) about him just defending. He doesn't help space the floor on offense at all.

I'd like to maybe see Marion and Miller get just a few more minutes. Miller can get six or seven minutes and- if healthy- maybe Marion can handle closer to ten. I know back in March he'd just returned from a hip injury and that he intends to retire at the end of the year. I'd ask him for everything he's got if he can move close to 90% his 37-year-old best can. He's the only guy who could guard multiple positions and has played quality playoff basketball on the defensive end before.

I said before that the only way they will be able to beat the curse is likely through a long odds situation ala Red Sox being down 0-3 to their archenemy of all teams. It's going to take something unexpected to do it and this is setting up for just that.

LeBron wants this too bad. If GS pulls this off, they will have done so getting LeBron's best every single time on the court. If he's going down, there won't be any bullets left in his guns. I'm not going to doubt LeBron. This is a star driven league, and I don't know if Curry is ready to be that type of star yet. He's too busy chewing on his mouth guard and looking at the floor when he walks. I wonder if he runs into a lot of things. I love watching Curry play but he's becoming so annoying. If he wasn't playing the Cavs, I probably wouldn't care. LOL.

re: Perkins

I would only put Perkins in if we really, really needed him. In the post-game video where he got into the game (game 6 against Chicago) his knees were wrapped and bloody. The guy is seriously broken and he is grinding the gears big time at this point.

I agree with this 100%.

Ohm, and I still think that we're going to win this darn thing. The 1st Cleveland Championship in decades and decades was never going to be easy. It was going to take fighting tooth and nail. It was going to take overcoming impossible odds.

It sure looks like it is going to be even more impossible that I thought .... but I still think we're going to win.

I think that Delly is a streaky shooter. If he's on, he can hit buckets like crazy. When he's off, it's horrible.

One thing I have to say though .... he was absolutely clutch getting that rebound, in between all of those much bigger players, and he then became Mr Clutch and knocked down both free throws in a huge pressure situation.

Delly is awful on offense. He can't throw an oop on the pick and roll to save his life. I can't tell if his floating shots are oops or shots. Hell, I don't even think he knows. He's just kind of flinging them up there.

But bless his heart, man, the guy doesn't lose confidence and doesn't stop coming. He's mentally strong. He's the type of guy that will hit the biggest shot that you least expect because he lives by the rule to play hard every single minute. He's the unlikely hero.

Vers, I agree with you. Win or lose, Cleveland fans need to hold their heads high and be proud of this team. I've never seen a team play harder. There will be nothing to blame anything on if we lose. These guys are giving it their all and that's all we can ask. If the Cavs lose on their home floor I want to see a standing ovation. If the Cavs lose in GS, I want to see fans waiting at the airport for them. They deserve it and they'll carry that feeling into next season.

One other observation. Blatt has really grown up. He's going from sounding very unsure about himself as a coach to one that speaks with a lot of confidence. His track record of success has transitioned from euro league to the U.S. He had been a head guy for a long time so there was some evidence there that he could do it. I think he got off to a rocky start, but ...gulp...and he's leaned and grown into the role.

Time, people, time. Everyone can't be perfect right out of the gate.