2017 NBA Finals: 4 things the Cavs must change to win Game 2
The Cleveland Cavaliers must chance these 4 things to have a shot at beating the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the 2017 NBA Finals.
The 2017 NBA Finals are finally here, and the Cleveland Cavaliers already find themselves down 1-0.
But fear not Cavs’ fans, last season’s Finals started in a similar way and LeBron James is 1-7 in Game 1s of the NBA Finals.
Here’s what Cleveland can change to even the series on Sunday night when Game 2 tips off at 8 p.m.
Change the pace
The Cavs were trying to keep up with the Warriors insanely quick pace all night, and it wasn’t pretty, and Cleveland’s miscues on offense actually ended up helping set up the Warriors offense in transition.
How come there’s no in-between with Kyrie? He’s either going all out to score, or he takes the mindset of a passer. It’s never both. Irving had some amazing finishes, as he usually does, but too often he was holding the ball a lot and taking extended foul line jumpers and 3-pointers.
Remember Game 7 from last season? Of course you do. That’s how the Cavs have got to play the Warriors at Oracle. The final score of that contest was 93-89.
Additionally, Kevin Love can’t be the forgotten man. He came ready to play last night and manned up on the boards, grabbing 21 rebounds. He was 4-of-13 from the field, but 3-of-6 from downtown.
Adjust quicker
Game 1 wasn’t Ty Lue’s best coaching job, the Cavs were just too slow to adjust.
Most notably, LeBron’s seven turnovers. Now how is that Lue’s fault?
The Cavs love running that strong-side pick-and-roll because it usually frees up shooters on the weak side.
It didn’t work. The Warrios were prepared and laying in wait for James. Golden State flooded the weak side and got in James’ passing angles.
Later in the game, they abounded the pick-and-roll, opting to play isolation and moving the guy who usually rolls in the pick-and-role to the corner. The adjustment worked, but too little, too late.
Limit the lesser Warriors
Much is made of Kevin Durant‘s 38 points and eight assists, but it shouldn’t be THAT concerning. Durant’s going to get his, just like Curry.
What is cause for a major red flag was the play of Javale McGee and Zaza Pachulia. The two played a combined 19 minutes, scoring 12 points, 11 points and a block. You can’t that center duo combine for a double-double, especially when Tristan Thompson goes missing.
Thompson has zero points and just four rebounds (3 offensive). Obviously, he’s got to play better for the Cavs to have any real shot.
Get J.R. Smith going
J.R. Smith had 3-points and he seemed to be passing up open 3-point attempts. That’s not going to cut it.
The Cavs need players other than the Big 3 to make shots.
If Smith isn’t going to play like he wants to be out there, Lue should look at Ty Lue. Frankly, I don’t know why we didn’t see Williams in Game 1.
AmicoHoops.net’s Sam Amico wrote:
He’s young, athletic, plays with tons of energy and has the best basketball build on the team outside of LeBron. Williams can’t help you for 10-12 minutes? I’ll never understand.
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This series is far from over, and the Cavs will surely bounce back. As we saw during last season’s Finals, the series will be filled with ebbs and flows. Let’s hope Lue and company can figure things out before it’s too late.