Through the first three games, the Warriors played some of their worst basketball of the season. Outside of a Curry's three-spree at the end of Game 3 that resulted in a failed comeback, the Warriors shot god-awful. Even through these rough games on offense, Golden State still had a chance to beat the Cavs at the end of each game. Now that Curry (37 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists in Game 5) and the Warriors have found a rhythm, I don't see what more the Cavs can do to counteract it.
Last night's game displayed an excellent chess match between Steve Kerr and David Blatt that I think has dictated the rest of the series. Kerr put a small lineup on the floor, forcing Blatt to do the same to keep up with the Warrior's speed and athleticism. As a result, Timofey Mozgov, who has been a huge factor for the Cavs during these playoffs (2 Finals triple-doubles), only saw 9 minutes in the game. He has averaged almost 32 minutes per game in the Finals. When Mozgov is in the game, he adds another dimension to the Cavaliers offense with his slashing ability. LeBron normally finds him in the paint and the defense is forced to collapse on him resulting in a lot of open opportunities for the rest of the team. Mozgov is also a good rim protector on defense and not having him on the opposite end of the floor opens up opportunities for for Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes to take it to the basket instead of settling for outside shots where they have struggled throughout the series.
If the Cavs want to win another game in this series, JR Smith and Iman Shumpert have to step up and play better. It seemed like Smith was going to have a good game when he went unconscious from behind the arc in the first half, scoring 14 points, but he did nothing for the Cavs in the second half. Shumpert is one of the leagues best defenders when he is on and needs to step up in that department along with hitting his outside shots when he gets the chance. LeBron is averaging 36.6 points in this series, accounting for almost 38% of Clevelands points. He needs help to keep up with the league's highest scoring team in the Warriors.
Curry and his crew are now comfortable in the Finals spotlight. They are taking Dellavedova seriously and, with their small lineup, keeping Mozgov on the bench. For the first few games the Cavaliers dictated the pace of the game by slowing it down and limiting opportunities for the Warriors, but it now seems that that has shifted. With the small-ball that is being played, the Warriors are playing their run and gun style that has gotten them this far and it is wearing on the undermanned Cavaliers.
In order for Cleveland to force the game 7 that every sports fan in the world outside of the state of California wants, they need at least three things to happen. First, they need a big game (like 25/30+ points big) from a player not named Lebron. They don't just need the random points though, this player needs to hit big shots down the stretch or make a few big plays on 50-50 opportunities late. Second, they need to dominate the boards. If they can somehow get Mozgov back to his regular playing time, it will be a big help but Tristan Thompson MUST step up and be the beast we know he's capable of being. Extra opportunities on offense will help ease the offensive struggles for the Cavs. Third, the most important and most difficult by far, they have to limit the Warriors offense like they did for most of the first three games. They have to keep Barnes and Green out of the paint and force them to make tough outside shots and, of course, they have to keep the Splash Brothers uncomfortable.
I don't see these three things happening so I believe that this series is over. That being said, this is one of the biggest games in LeBron's career. If he can bring the Cavaliers back from this deficit, against this team, it will further validate his legacy as one of the greatest to ever do it.
@RenegadeSports_
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