What the Cavs did wrong and how to fix it

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors in an NBA Finals rematch of last year. They were outscored 104-89, and statistics show that teams that have won Game 1 by more than 15 points have gone on to win the series 100 percent of the time. For the Cavs, Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 26 points, but he shot a horrible 9 of 22 from the field. Kevin Love had 17 points and 13 rebounds, but he was a liability on defense and did not shoot well, missing easy layups and open threes. LeBron James was by far the best player on the court for the Cavs, being one assist away from a triple double. On the other hand, the Warriors played through their bench, as Shaun Livingston was the highest score with 20 points. Leandro Barbosa also added a spark to the game, and Draymond Green finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, widely acknowledged as the best shooters in the league and maybe, of all time, only had 20 points combined, a low for them since 2012. At first look at the box score of Game 1, it may seem that the Cavs played well, but their bench was their downfall, as the Warriors bench outscored the Cavs by a humongous 45-10. JR Smith, who is known to chuck up many threes, only took three shots, making one of them. Channing Frye, who had been the Cavs’ spark throughout the playoffs, shooting the three ball at the highest percentage in the league, had only two points. So what did the Cavaliers do wrong?

The Cavaliers’ offensive gameplan needed work. Although they only scored 89 points, they missed several shots that are easy makes for a team like them. Open jumpers, easy layups, floaters, were all off the mark, but you can count on them to not miss those shots again. If they can start playing like how they played in that Hawks series, where they hit a record 77 threes in one series, then they still have a chance in this series. Still, the Cavs offense went back to what they were doing under the David Blatt era: Iso-ball. Kyrie Irving turned back to iso-Kyrie, where he played one on one with his defender. To put this into perspective, this stat shows it all: the Cavs had 25 possessions where they did not pass the ball, even once! This needs to be fixed, as you cannot win a championship through one-on-one basketball. The ball needs to move around the court, as that was how the Cavaliers ran through the rest of the Eastern Conference.

The bigger problem was still on the defensive end. Too often were there miscommunications. JR Smith was caught many times not following his man, and on one possession, he got confused and ended up double teaming Andre Iguodala, leaving Harrison Barnes wide open. The Warriors also played extremely smart, and knowing that Kevin Love’s defense is his weakness, they attacked him. They put Love’s man in pick and roll situations, and this is where Tyronn Lue, the Cavs coach, should have stepped in. Kevin Love was extremely slow, stepping too late to contest shots, or leaving opponents wide open under the basket. Lue should have talked to Love during a timeout or halftime, but there was no change in Love’s defense throughout the game. Kyrie Irving, after missing layups at the bucket, lagged behind everyone, not getting back on defense, leading to a 3 on 2 fastbreak, which the Warriors will win every time.  Tristan Thompson and LeBron James played good on defense, but you cannot win a championship when 3 of the 5 starters are not pulling their weight on defense.

So what can the Cavaliers do to stop the Warriors and still score on the other end?

First, the ball needs to move around, and there should be limited possessions with isolation. Even though the Cavs need to pass the ball more, this should also mean less turnovers, as the Warriors had an outstanding 25 points off turnovers. Next, Channing Frye played on 7 minutes, but during his little time, his defense was superb. He contested shots and the Cavaliers had a 50% better defensive rating with him on the court. This means that when Love is costing his team on the defensive end, Lue should insert Frye into the game for him. Lastly, they just need to make their shots.

This series will not be a close one unless the Cavaliers lock down on defense, pass the basketball, and hope and pray that Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson continue their horrid shooting performances.

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