NBA Finals 2015: Cavs vs Warriors

[Obawan12]

Beating the Warriors comes down to being able to handle and match the runs they are going to go on. I think we can match those runs much like Houston has done, that combined with our much better defense ( the rockets) I like our chances.

I'm not really sure what qualifies us as a better defensive team than the Rockets... The Rockets have had to play the 1st, 2nd, and 5th best offensive teams in the league in the playoffs so far... We have had to play the 6th, 10th, and 20th.

So it's kinda unfair to compare our defensive efforts in the playoffs thus far to Houston's. Context matters. I'm not necessarily trying to imply that our defense isn't better than Houston's (even though they ranked 14 spots ahead of us during the season). Certainly we have done a good job on defense up to this point. I just want people to realize that we have played the worst combination of opponents (offensively speaking) of any team still left in the playoffs.

Maybe I'm just hard to please, but I won't be sold on our defense until I see it work against one of the West's best.

 

[Pavlovic3Ball]

GS has absolutely no one to guard LeBron, and would get slaughtered on the boards. I think Houston is worse matchup, personally.

 

[Pavlovic3Ball]

You guys are getting ahead of yourselves

pelicans were complete trash, memphis is a weak offensive team and overrated overall and tony allen was injured at the worst time he was the best perimeter defender they had.

you guys are sleeping on Hou or Lac those teams will present match up nightmares for the warriors esp with their big's and 3pt shooting combination (Jordan,Blake/Howard) I'm willing to bet my money that who ever comes out from that series will beat the GSW.

This. I still can't believe people thought beating Memphis was impressive. Who were far and away the most overrated team in the NBA this season. Cavs would have swept Pelicans and Grizzlies. GS hasn't beat anyone worth a shit yet.

 

[secund2nun]

I like how we put down jumpers here as if we're some dominant post team. Guess who shot the second most 3 pointers in the league this season? This team. And Golden State wasn't 1st.

We're a jump shooting team, guys.

No... Unlike gs we have a dominant slasher and dominant post player in lebron. If Irving gets healthier you can add another good slasher.

Gs has not one big men or perimeter player that can score well on post ups or slashing. They literally are a jump shooting team and I think we match up well with them. Jump shooting without slashing and post scoring isn't a championship recipe no matter how dominant their 3 point shooting is.

 

[Pavlovic3Ball]

The Warriors are going to beat the Rockets so soundly that afterwards everyone will act like the Rockets weren't all that good anyway, kind of like Memphis.

Memphis wasn't that good. People fell in love with the team basketball narrative and pimped them all year as a contender. They are a great defensive team that can't score and has no go-to guy in crunch time. They peaked in 2013 when they only made it to the WCF because of injury. And proceeded to get swept into oblivion by San Antonio. It's the same thing every year with these superstar-less teams. The media and casual fan jumps on their bandwagon becuase thats how they feel the game is supposed to be played.

 

[Pavlovic3Ball]

Of All the teams LeBron James has lost to in the postseason, they all had some combo of dominant post play/and elite shooting. GS has elite shooting. But no one even close to slowing LeBron down. And I am not scared of their frontcourt at all. I will take Dwight over Bogut 12 times out of 10 no matter how hard the advanced stats love Bogut

I like how we put down jumpers here as if we're some dominant post team. Guess who shot the second most 3 pointers in the league this season? This team. And Golden State wasn't 1st.

We're a jump shooting team, guys.

Yea, no we aren't. Not with the injuries.

SIAP, way more afraid of Houston.

This. Houston has players that can actually make LeBron work on defense, Dwight Howard, No one can guard Harden aside from LeBron, and I have a feeling guys like Terry would be a problem, age or not. LeBron would buttf.uck Barnes into another dimension, and Im not scared of Klay Thompson at all. Same with Green who got his ass handed to him last time we played.

 

[RonG]

I'm not really sure what qualifies us as a better defensive team than the Rockets... The Rockets have had to play the 1st, 2nd, and 5th best offensive teams in the league in the playoffs so far... We have had to play the 6th, 10th, and 20th.

So it's kinda unfair to compare our defensive efforts in the playoffs thus far to Houston's. Context matters. I'm not necessarily trying to imply that our defense isn't better than Houston's (even though they ranked 14 spots ahead of us during the season). Certainly we have done a good job on defense up to this point. I just want people to realize that we have played the worst combination of opponents (offensively speaking) of any team still left in the playoffs.

Maybe I'm just hard to please, but I won't be sold on our defense until I see it work against one of the West's best.

I am not arguing against your point on context, but giving up 92 pts per game versus 110 is a huge swing. You can't just white wash that part. Not to mention I honestly have watched most of the Rockets and GS games along with all of the Cavs. I just think I see a better defense. Opponents against us only averaging 41.2% from the field and the rockets are giving up almost 8 fga more per game. GS has some solid defensive numbers, I am not taking anything away from them there.

 

[I'mWithDan]

Biggest thing with us thus far has been our ability to just slow the game to a screeching hault WHILE maintaining offensive efficiency.

We're #1 in the playoffs at 107.6 point per 100, which is incredibly strong for a banged up team. Plus, imagine if LeBron breaks out of his shooting slump what our offensive numbers would be. They'll be through the roof.

We're also playing at the slowest pace in the playoffs, which is a testament to us being such a grinding team now on defense.

We lead the playoffs in differential, are #1 on offense and #4 on defense. While it will be tough, I like this team, playing this style, against anyone.

 

[Pioneer10]

Memphis wasn't that good. People fell in love with the team basketball narrative and pimped them all year as a contender. They are a great defensive team that can't score and has no go-to guy in crunch time. They peaked in 2013 when they only made it to the WCF because of injury. And proceeded to get swept into oblivion by San Antonio. It's the same thing every year with these superstar-less teams. The media and casual fan jumps on their bandwagon becuase thats how they feel the game is supposed to be played.

This isn't fair to Memphis. Memphis' defense collapsed when Allen got hurt. Before they had a very sound game plan that was definitely causing GS problems. Pound inside on both offense and defense and have Allen do his Junkyard Dog. Allen is going to go down as one of the great perimeter defenders and losing him blew up their game plan

 

[fujikuro]

What it sounds like is being said in here is "GS isn't built for the playoffs." I can see why it's being said to a certain extent, but I then still can't explain the 67 wins. You win that many in the regular season and you're going to be a favorite for a title 9/10 times.

 

[cavsfever]

I just can't see how we beat GS with Kyrie playing like he is. We just don't have the players without Kyrie. I mean, Lebron, great, but Lebron + Shumpert/Love/TT/Mozgov/Delly are going to beat a totally healthy team that won almost 70 games this season? Unless somebody from the bench gets miraculously rejuvenated we have only those 6 real NBA players.

It would be an incredible achievement, that's for sure.

 

[ibLurkin]

I just can't see how we beat GS with Kyrie playing like he is. We just don't have the players without Kyrie. I mean, Lebron, great, but Lebron + Shumpert/Love/TT/Mozgov/Delly are going to beat a totally healthy team that won almost 70 games this season? Unless somebody from the bench gets miraculously rejuvenated we have only those 6 real NBA players.

It would be an incredible achievement, that's for sure.

Totally agree. The ONLY thing I can think of in our support is that a team doesn't need to win 70 games - regular season means nothing. So on the off-chance that GS gave it their all and we were gearing up from 25% to 75% effort, I could be persuaded to calm down a bit.
But that's a stretch, and I know it.

 

[fujikuro]

Well, teams playing really well at a given moment have beaten others they shouldn't have. Coaching is a huge element in these. The 66 win Cavs had no business losing to Orlando, but they were handily out-coached and Orlando's role players played out of their mind, while everyone but LeBron sucked badly. Could you have a situation where we have matchup advantages that yield positive results? Yeah, sure. Do I think that maybe Steve Kerr has faced very little adversity in his rookie year and has had to do very little game management? Possibly, but that doesn't mean he won't make the right decisions when the time comes. I think at the very least there's no way to deny that the Cavs will have a major uphill climb to beat GS. They've got what it takes, but endings to games like we saw on Weds won't get it done for sure.

 

[I'mWithDan]

I just can't see how we beat GS with Kyrie playing like he is. We just don't have the players without Kyrie. I mean, Lebron, great, but Lebron + Shumpert/Love/TT/Mozgov/Delly are going to beat a totally healthy team that won almost 70 games this season? Unless somebody from the bench gets miraculously rejuvenated we have only those 6 real NBA players.

It would be an incredible achievement, that's for sure.

Atlanta won 60 games and went 35-6 at home. They also beat us 3 out of 4 times. In game 1, we broke home court and did it without Kyrie. Regular season only matters so much.

While Golden State is certainly a better team, I also think we can play a lot better. LeBron is shooting WAY below his regular season average right now and we're still the most efficient offense. If he plays near or at his regular season production in a 7 game series, we are still a crazy good team, even with a bunch of role players around him.

It will take everyone playing well but I do think we can beat the Warriors in a series, simply because they lack elite wing defenders. I suppose they could try to put Green on LBJ but pulling him away from the basket would open up the boards, which TT and Moz would just feast on. Their other options are Thompson, who will likely get worn out and suffer on offense or Barnes, who is a pretty average defender.

Really the only reason we can beat GSW is they're the best matchup for LeBron, from a size and personnel matchup. They certainly have advantages at other positions but they lack a wing stopper and aren't an elite rebounding team. Those are the types of teams we can beat right now, even short handed.

 

[gourimoko]

GS has absolutely no one to guard LeBron, and would get slaughtered on the boards. I think Houston is worse matchup, personally.

Huh?

Who does Houston have to guard LeBron?

Golden State has Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Harrison Barnes; all plus defenders with Green, Thompson, and AI2 being top-tier to elite perimeter defenders. Thompson and Green are both DPOY-level players.

I think a lot of folks here just aren't hip to the Golden State Warriors. These guys are stacked on both sides of the floor. They are the team to beat; period.

If we are going to beat them, it will be because we've defended the 3-pt line. I am very encouraged by Blatt's use of Shump consistently on Korver. This makes me understand that Blatt is watching these playoffs and literally assimilating other coach's strategies on-the-fly.

Blatt has to outcoach Steve Kerr, James has to be at his best, and one of JR Smith or Iman Shumpert needs to be an All-Star for 4 games.