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Key: Flip the Script
At the media session that began the Finals last week in Oakland, the first question asked to LeBron James was the major difference between this year’s Warriors team and last year’s. “KD,” was LeBron’s simple answer.
It took the Wine & Gold seven grueling games to dethrone the Dubs one year ago, and that was without the eight-time All-Star forward. Right now, the Cavaliers are seeking answers after dropping two games decisively at Oracle Arena.
They were down, 2-0, last June – but this Warriors squad is a different animal than the one they faced then. By the same token, the Cavaliers haven’t played anywhere close to their best game and were still well within striking distance in the third quarters of both contests.
On Sunday night, Cleveland got big games from LeBron and Kevin Love, but Kyrie Irving struggled well into the second half and the remaining two starters – Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith – combined for eight points in Game 2 and just 11 so far in the series.
The Warriors mitigated their 20 turnovers by canning 18 three-pointers and going 22-of-24 from the stripe – winning their 14th straight Playoff contest, including 29 of their last 30 games overall.
The Cavaliers need to get Wednesday’s win – playing at home for the first time since May 23. They made history coming back from a 3-1 deficit one year ago; they’d rather win it without overcoming even greater odds this season.
Key: Guarded Optimism
Through the road portion of the 2017 Finals, Kyrie Irving’s stats look pretty solid – 21.5 points per, 40 percent from the floor, 50 percent from long-range. But through the first two games of the series, Kyrie hasn’t quite looked like himself, especially around the rim, where he’s one of the best finishers in the NBA.
In Game 2, Irving struggled to find his stroke – going 8-of-23 from the floor. But what might be even more troubling about the first two games of the series is that Irving only made three combined trips to the stripe in Oakland.
Last year, Kyrie finished with just 10 points in Game 2 before going off for the rest of the series – averaging 30.8 points per over the final five games of the Finals, including his 41-point outburst in Game 5 at Oracle Arena.
Kyrie will also benefit from some home cookin’ this week. In six home contests this postseason, Irving is averaging 29.5 points on .512 shooting – going 32-for-36 from the line and adding 6.7 assists and 1.3 steals.
Steph Curry has been outstanding through the first two games – tallying the first triple-double of his Playoff career in Game 2 – finishing with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 boards.
Unlike Irving, Curry had no trouble finding the stripe on Sunday night – hitting all 14 free throws he attempted. The Cavaliers did force the two-time MVP into eight turnovers – a trend they’d like to continue on Wednesday night at The Q.
Key: Seeking Swish
When reminiscing about last year’s epic Game 7 victory, the basketball world focused on the Block, the Stop and the Shot – courtesy of each member of Cleveland’s Big Three.
And while those plays were all enormous in their own right, it might have been the unsung heroics of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert who put Cleveland in that position – with J.R. Smith’s three-point outburst early in the second stanza and Shump’s first-half four-point play and his defense against Steph Curry on Golden State’s final possession.
In the two previous Finals matchups against the Warriors, J.R. Smith hadn’t shot the ball well, but still averaged 11.0 points per in those 13 meetings, including a much-needed 20-point outburst in last year’s Game 3 at The Q.
Through the first two games of this year’s matchup, Swish has struggled mightily – combining for just three points on just six field goal attempts. His offensive struggles finally affected him on the defensive end on Sunday night when foul trouble limited him to just two minutes of action in the second half.
Though he’s not exactly tearing it up either, Shumpert has been the steadier of the two so far in the series – averaging 4.5 boards and leading all reserves with three steals in Game 2. Shump started all six games against Golden State back in 2015, but he’ll remain a reserve on Wednesday night, with Tyronn Lue insisting that he won’t make any lineup changes for Game 3.
On the other end, Klay Thompson bounced back from a cold-shooting Game 1 in which he went just 3-for-16 from the floor to finish with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from long-range in Sunday’s Game 2.
Key: Homecoming King
The Warriors were nearly impossible to guard in the previous two Finals matchups, and the addition of Kevin Durant has made them a defensive nightmare.
He’s been the best player in the series so far – averaging 35.5 points on 56 percent shooting, including an even 50 percent (7-of-14) from beyond the arc, adding 11.0 boards and 7.0 assists. In Game 2, Durant was bear on both ends, frustrating LeBron James and finishing with three steals and a game-high five blocks.
LeBron came into the Finals having notched at least 30 points in 11 of Cleveland’s 13 Playoff contests, but he has yet to reach that plateau against Golden State – averaging 28.5 points on 55 percent shooting to go with 13.0 boards and 11.0 assists per.
On Sunday night, the King notched his eighth career Finals triple-double – tying him with Magic Johnson for the most in NBA history. He’s also scored at least 25 points in 27 NBA Finals games – good for third-best in NBA history.
Those numbers are all impressive, but if the Cavaliers hope to rally past Durant and the high-flying Warriors this year, they might need James to revert to the nuclear version that dominated the previous two Finals matchups.
Key: Middle Man
While most of the star-power comes from the wing positions in this year’s Finals matchup – the dirty work being done in the trenches is just as vital to the outcome.
Like many of his teammates, Tristan Thompson has yet to get untracked in the Finals – combining for just eight points and eight boards through the first two games. The Cavaliers have found themselves down double-digits far too often in this year’s matchup, mitigating Thompson’s effectiveness as Tyronn Lue looks for more scoring punch.
The Cavaliers don’t need Thompson to light up the scoreboard, but they do need him to crash the boards – especially on the offensive end, where he leads the NBA Playoffs.
The sixth-year big man has had great success against the Warriors in the past – grabbing double-digit boards in all six contests back in 2015, averaging 13.0 boards per and doubling up in each of the final four games. Last year, Tristan averaged a double-double – 10.3 points and 10.1 rebounds in the seven-game series.
The Wine & Gold will feed off his energy and intensity on Wednesday night as they did in the pivotal Game 3 meeting at The Q last June.
Zaza Pachulia has been a tough cover for Thompson through the first two games of this year’s Finals and JeVale McGee has been impressive off the bench. But Tristan has the experience and the edge in this matchup. He’ll need to assert himself in Game 3 if the Cavaliers are going to rally from a series deficit for the second straight season.