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Key: Hungry for Home Cookin'
The Cavaliers’ backs aren’t against the wall, but they’ll be treating Game 3 in Cleveland like they are, having dropped both contests in Oakland – including Sunday night’s Game 2 blowout.
Cleveland tore through the Eastern Conference bracket, dropping just two contests en route to the Finals, but they’ve lost their rhythm since arriving – dropping the first two games of the series by 24 points per, shooting 37 percent from the floor and 27 percent from long-range.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have struggled from the floor, with Love missing almost the entire second half of Sunday night’s loss after taking an elbow to the head from Harrison Barnes and having to undergo the league’s concussion protocol. Love is listed as OUT for Game 3.
The good news is that the Wine and Gold return home – where they’ve won seven straight to start the postseason – for Games 3 and 4. In the 2016 Playoffs, the Cavs are beating teams by an average of almost 21 points in those seven wins, shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor, including 46 percent from deep, and averaging over 24 assists. Defensively, they’ve held foes under the century mark six times and have held opponents to 42 percent shooting.
Key: Dealing with Draymond
The Warriors switch almost everything on the defensive end, so everyone from Anderson Varejao to Harrison Barnes has checked Cleveland's bigs, but the player doing the most damage has been Draymond Green, who’s averaging 22.0 points, 9.0 boards and 6.0 assists through the first two games.
The two-time All-Defensive First Teamer has made life miserable for the Cavaliers and is Golden State’s emotional leader.
If the Cavaliers can quiet him down, they can regain a foothold in the Finals.
Key: Fuel Reserves
As good as the Cavaliers Big Three was in their run-up to the NBA Finals, they still leaned heavily on their second unit for a lift on both ends. But they’ve been seriously outdone through the first two games against Golden State.
For Cleveland, Channing Frye – who came into the series leading the 2016 Playoffs with a .578 mark from long-range – has been a non-factor, combining for two points on two shot attempts and logging only 11 total minutes. Richard Jefferson had shot 53 percent in the lead-up to his return to the Finals and he was very good in Game 2 – finishing with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting, adding five boards in 26 minutes off the bench.
The Cavs have gotten modest contributions on the offensive end from Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert, although both have been good defensively. Timofey Mozgov got one of his longest runs of the postseason, playing the entire fourth quarter – finishing with five points and three boards.
The Warriors bench was good again on Sunday night. Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa and Festus Ezeli were a combined 13-for-20 from the floor, outscoring Cleveland’s reserves, 40-30. Through the first two games, Barbosa is 10-of-12 from the field; Livingston, 11-of-15.
It’s an unwritten NBA rule that role players perform better at home during the postseason. The Cavaliers need that theory to play out on Wednesday night.
Key: Seeking Swish
J.R. Smith came into this year’s Finals having drilled 49 triples – tops in the Eastern Conference, but like most of his teammates, has struggled to get his game going in this year’s matchup with Golden State.
In Game 1, Smith didn’t attempt his first shot until late in the first half and squeezed off just three tries on the night. Game 2 wasn’t much better for the 11-year vet, going just 2-for-6 from the floor for five boards, two boards, two assists and a pair of steals.
Swish struggled last June against the Warriors – shooting 31 percent from the floor, including 29 percent from long-range. His numbers aren’t that different through the first two games this season – 33 percent and 29 percent.
He’s been good against Klay Thompson on the defensive end – holding Klay Thompson to 13.0 points per over the first two games, shooting 40 percent from the floor, 39 percent from long-range. Smith has been one of the Cavaliers most consistent two-way players this season, but he’s been quiet since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
If the Wine and Gold hope to get back into the series, they need Smith to find his midseason form.
Key: Guard Duty
One of the most eagerly-anticipated matchups of the 2016 Finals was the All-Star point guard matchup between Kyrie Irving and the two-time reigning MVP, Steph Curry. But through two games, neither player has shown his true colors.
In Game 1, the league’s leading scorer was limited to just 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting. On Sunday night, he shot the ball much better – going 7-for-11 for 18 points, but battled foul trouble all night and was limited to just 24 minutes.
That foul trouble was in part due to the Cavaliers catching him on switches against LeBron James. Game 2 got away from the Cavs, but odds are the coaching staff will try to exploit that matchup whenever they can as the series moves forward.
Kyrie led both squads with 26 points in Game 1 – going 7-for-22 from the floor and 11-of-22 from the stripe. On Sunday, Irving had difficulty finding his range once again, going 5-of-14 from the field, finishing with just 10 points and as many turnovers (3) as assists in the loss. In only one Finals contest last year, Kyrie was outstanding, netting 23 points, seven boards, six assists, four steals and two blocks.
This year, the Cavs are hoping that his first-ever Finals game at Quicken Loans Arena gets him going in Game 3 and beyond.