Gearing Up for Game 4
After a Heartbreaking Loss in Game 3, the Cavs Know It's Do-or-Die on Friday
by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
6/8/17 | Cavs.com
The day after a stinging defeat in Game 3 at The Q, the Cavaliers know that their margin of error is now nil and have to be wondering if their best is going to be good enough.
What the Cavaliers had done to Eastern Conference foes through the first three rounds of the 2017 Playoffs is being done to them by Golden State.
In Game 1, Cleveland held the Warriors to 43 percent shooting and lost by 22. In Game 2, they forced 20 turnovers and Golden State scored 132 points. In Wednesday night’s loss, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith combined for 93 points and the Cavaliers led by six points with three minutes to play.
LeBron James said pointedly before the series began that the biggest difference between the back-to-back Finals meetings of the past and this year’s matchup is Kevin Durant. That looks like the understatement of the NBA season – with K.D. averaging 34.0 points on 56 percent shooting through the series’ first three games.
On Thursday, James was asked if it was “fair” that the Warriors – who won 73 games one season ago – were able to add a former NBA MVP to their already-stocked roster.
”I'm not one to judge and say if it's fair or not if guys are adding players to their team,” said James. “Is it fair that the New York Yankees in the '90s were adding piece after piece after piece after piece? Is it fair that the Cowboys added Deion Sanders? It happens. It's sports. You have an opportunity to sign one of the best players, and you can do it, go ahead and do it. Why not? If I become an owner, I'm going to try to sign everybody.”
LeBron posted another herculean Finals performance on Wednesday night – finishing with 39 points, his 12th 30-point game of the postseason, going 15-for-27 from the floor, including 4-of-9 from long-range, adding 11 boards and a game-high nine assists.
As impressive as LeBron’s numbers were on the floor, it was the two minutes that the four-time MVP didn’t play that might’ve been the most telling.
Coach Lue talks to J.R. Smith during the game against the Golden State Warriors in Game Three of the 2017 NBA Finals on June 7, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Put simply, in the 46 minutes that LeBron was on the floor, the Cavaliers were a +7, and they lost by five.
Kevin Love was outstanding through the first two games of the series – snagging 21 boards in Game 1 and notching 27 points in Game 2. Kyrie Irving was good in Game 1 and excellent in Game 3 on Wednesday night – netting 16 of his 38 points in the third quarter, finishing 16-for-29 from the floor overall.
As great as Irving was in the last-second loss, the step-back three-point miss with 26 ticks to play – following the Kevin Durant bomb that gave Golden State back the lead – was obviously still weighing on him.
”When it's a do-or-die game like Game 3, you want to make that play – not only for your team, but just for your confidence,” said the four-time All-Star. “I'm always constantly unwavering with my confidence, but that's the type of shot you want to nail. After the game, it hurt. You feel like you let your teammates down because you didn't necessarily make the right decision. It didn't go in, so yeah.”
J.R. Smith had his best game of the 2017 postseason on Wednesday – finishing with 16 points, going 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, that’s been the biggest contribution anyone outside the Big Three has made through the first three games of the series.
And that’s been one of the major reasons Cleveland finds itself down, 0-3, in the series. It takes a perfect game with contributions across the board to beat a loaded squad like the Warriors. And the Big Three hasn’t gotten much help so far.
The Warriors have essentially taken Tristan Thompson – who’d been a thorn in their side throughout the previous two Finals – out of the third act of the trilogy. He’s 4-of-11 from the floor in the series with 11 combined rebounds.
”We're not going to give in, we're going to keep competing.”
Head Coach Tyronn Lue
Meanwhile, Warriors players who struggled early in the series are on an upward trajectory – most noteworthy Klay Thompson, who bounced back from a 3-for-16 shooting performance in Game 1 to go a combined 19-for-30 over the past two contests. On Wednesday night, he finished with 30 points, canning six triples in the process.
As dire as things look at the moment – with NBA teams going 0-126 in a Playoff series after trailing, 3-0 – the Wine & Gold aren’t out of it yet. One win on Friday night puts them in the same position they were heading back to Oakland a year ago. And they did something no other team had done up until that point.
But it all starts with one win on Friday night.
”We're not going to give in, we're going to keep competing,” said Coach Tyronn Lue. “We had a chance to win last night, and if we come out with the fight and intensity that we played with last game, clean up a few mistakes, then we have a chance to win on Friday. So by no means are we giving in. We're going to be ready to play on Friday.”
After falling in Game 4 last year at The Q to fall behind, 1-3, in the series, Lue famously told his squad: “If you don’t think we can win it, don’t get on the plane.”
If they’re able to get a victory in Game 4, his troops will know better this time.