• Changing RCF's index page, please click on "Forums" to access the forums.

NBA Finals | Game 5 | Cavs @ Cowards| June 12, 2017 | 9:00pm EST | ABC

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

The Wizard of Moz

Punishing This Air
Joined
Jan 19, 2015
Messages
20,575
Reaction score
33,932
Points
148
Looking to top last year's magical run, introducing your defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers!

160620002308-lebron-james-nba-finals-cleveland-cavaliers-at-golden-state-warriors.1280x720.jpeg


Your Coach: The only coach in the NBA to have won a championship in every season he has been head coach. Give it up for Ty Lue!

gettyimages-522835478_594_screen.jpg



At PG: A man that needs no introduction. The owner of the single most history altering shot in the history of the NBA: give it up for Kyrie!
giphy.gif


At SG: one of the keys to bringing this back to Cleveland: JR Smith

9bb132f96fef735ec3f71e7880b31ff2.jpg


At SF: Forever the gatekeeper to Durant's nonexistent title. The greatest basketball player of all time. Give it up for LeBron James!

lebronblock2.gif


At PF: The leading rebounder in the 2017 NBA playoffs (by quite a margin). The man with the 2nd most 3 point FGs in the playoffs only behind stick boy #1 (50 3's in 17 games). A man who they said would get run off the floor against the Warriors. The guy who the opponent openly called soft. Give it up for the Draymond destroyer himself: Kevin Love!



Kevin-Love-Draymond.jpg


Also refer to the expert for a look at just how good Love's defense has been in the Finals:​
They've been attacking Love and he's risen to the challenge.

He's contesting 16.8 shot per game so they're targeting him (he's also been the last line of defense and winds up contesting easy layups and dunks at the rim after other players get blown by).

Overall DFG%: 47.8%, -1.9% compared to what opponents usually shoot.

Three pointers: 35.3%, -3%

Two pointers: 52%, -3.8%

<6ft: 62.4, -4.4%

>15 ft: 32%, -9.2%

Last night's game was the first one in which the Warriors scored well against him as they were 9/15 against him although that number is inflated because of the easy layups and dunks he contested. Here were his numbers before last night:

Overall DFG%: 44.2%, -6.2%

Three pointers: 33.3%, -5%

Two pointers: 47.5%, -8.5%

<6ft: 56.5%, -10.1%

>15 ft: 23.5%, -18.8%

He has been very good defensively.

At C: The NBA's Ironman, TT!

920x920.jpg


The Contenders for 6th Man of the Year:

kyle-korver.jpg


maxresdefault.jpg


cleveland-oh-december-25-richard-jefferson-24-of-the-cleveland-cavaliers-dunks-over-klay-thompson-11_791910_.jpg

trnnmaosw4dcuazvsmdx.jpg


Shrimp_21.jpg


Also starring

Kay Felder
Champ
(D-Will)^2
Dahnte Jones


Featuring the back to back to back regular season paper weight champs

ClXO-4MUgAESLR3.jpg


Streak: Lost 1 straight to the actual champs
Streak: Lost 1 straight game 5 at home in the NBA Finals

funniest-golden-state-warriors-memes-04.jpg


At the most meaningless position in all of sports. A job that even Mike Brown can't mess up. a job that an actual octopus could probably do at around the same level: Give it up for head coach Steve Kerr!

1024x1024.jpg



Starting at PG: Front runner tough guy of the century. Never count this guy out for showboating before the end of a game/series to hurt his team. Give it up for twig boy #1
gty_540881200.jpg

ClJrrWGWMAAbgHG.jpg



At SG: Richard Jefferson's biological son: Klay Thompson

hqdefault.jpg



At SF: the most pathetic excuse for a competitor in NBA history. Doesn't even deserve an introduction.

Fun-Giant-Cupcake.jpg

749x396.jpeg.jpg

meme_20-_20durant_20glad.0.jpg



At PF: the game's dirtiest player. A complete non factor in the NBA Finals due to the same guy he called soft. A real piece of shit, let's hear it for Draymond!

Green-arrested.jpg



At center: Who cares we run them off the floor after a few minutes anyway



Bench


The guy that's allowed to endlessly hack at LeBron to make it more even

The tall guy that posts up a lot who can also dribble

The only player who might be as much of a front runner as Durant

The tall idiot who literally couldn't guard James Jones on the switch

The rest of them fucking blow


Friendly Reminder

3CTncLo.png


This article was written exactly a year ago to date. I printed it out and keep it at my desk at work and at home for whenever I think I can't do something or something is too big. Most of us got pretty down after game 3, but we have been here before where everyone said it was just a matter of when we lose not if. Let's go out there and let's punch em in the fucking mouth. We won every single quarter of game 4. Kyrie is kicking it into elite gear. Love is playing out of his mind, and the bench finally contributed.

We will rally around LeBron James, and we will play good basketball.

Bring us back home boys and LETS GO CAVS
 
Still World Champs for a few more day! I can wear my championship gear, without feeling like I'm living in the past!

Except:

I read through the Game 7 thread again yesterday... just to lift my spirits...
 
Just the fact that this thread can exist makes me so happy.

Mark my words: If Golden State don't win Game 5, we'll win in 7. Book it.
 
Attacking Curry on offense was working well, basically running him through as many screens as possible in different ways. I'm not sure why we go away from it. Game 3 we opened with like 4 plays where Curry is trying to chase JR through an entries teams worth of back screens. It usually leads to a good shot and then lets us set up the D on the other end etc. Pick and roll using whoever Curry is on haven't worked as well as he's jumping way ahead of the screens in anticipation after getting killed on that last year.

I think the guys are in tune to the level of detail you need. They got to run back, every time. No early clock lazy threes (you see Curry hit one on one end then we try one and it just magnifies the problem). Box out - every single time. Avoid techs, between Zaza and Draymond, they are way more apt to explode, yes looking at Dahntay Jones. How pissed would you be if a bench tech happened in a close game? No stupid fouls, and if you're intentionally fouling, use the JR smith bear hug technique. He's practically tackled Curry a couple times but since he lets him down gently, it okay.

Durant is a scoring machine, it's not worth attacking him on D, but if you do the other things right, he's a non factor despite scoring a bunch.

Winning this game instills doubt and sends this back to Cleveland and then anything is possible from there, but this is the hard one. Most media folks were predicting Warriors in five with the one win happening in Cleveland so this win will be the first real wrench in the series.
 
My head says that the Dubs were a little lackadaisical last game, thought it was all over and were caught off guard...and they will come out swinging in Game 5.

My heart says that we can ride Kyrie/Love/Bron to take Game 5 and put fear, uncertainty and doubt into the Dubs coming back to the Q.

Head/heart, head/heart?? Ah fuck it...Lets go Cavs
 
I hope I am wrong, but this feels like the talent difference in our Boston series. Boston needed so much to go right for them to finally win one. And then in game 5 reality set in..and that was with LBJ still being "off" for the first half of that game 5.

Even if 2 of their All-Stars are off, since they have some many, most likely their 2 other All-Stars are on. If 2 of our All-Stars are off, we are done. Thats why KD going over there was complete shit...It gave them way too many chances.

I know that the Cavs are a great road team in the Playoffs, but I cannot forget that benches and role players usually play way better at home.

So, a combination of great bench play, and a combination of 2/4 All-Stars playing really well and we are screwed.

I HOPE I AM WRONG.
 
This could be one of the hardest games we play. Warriors will come out swinging with the home crowd behind them. But I think they will play nervous to start. Take advantage of the bad shots and push in transition.

Our team has to be very confident right now though. Game 5 is going to be super tough, but if we win, Warriors will collapse. Huge game.

And our role players really have to step up on the road for us to win. We need JR and Korver to shoot well. And TT to play well. We have to attack them and shoot confidently like last game. And if we go out, we go out swinging. But I hope to see a newfound confidence in us that translates on the court. Make them panic.
 
I’m nowhere near “confident”...none of our role players have stepped up at Oracle to date and the Warriors are way harder to beat at home. I am optimistic though.
 
The first doubt is already planted into GSWs mind.. now we need to keep attacking them to break their minds.

Will be hard. Extremly hard. But we can do this!

One ..... Game.... at ......a ...... time.

Go Cavs! Bring this Series back home!
 
So nervous about tomorrow. Hope we can shoot well and keep it close going into the 4th quarter. they are going to come out quick and the crowd will be loud. we need Kev Love and Swish balling well again
 
I know game 7 of 2016 was a hard fought great battle of our history, but tomorrow's game 5 will be the hardest game in our history considering the circumstances at hand, the so called best team ever, 2 MVPs coward-ing (if that's even a word lol) up.

Circle 18 3pt. That should be the target to beat them, I'm curious how the first 6 minutes goes, Kyrie, Bron, and Love are great at attacking and drawing fouls, KD is only good at attacking on their side. Continue to put the pressure on the officials.

And when Cavs have GS in foul trouble, Lue needs to put LeBron in the post. KD and Iggy can not guard him there, and again, put the pressure on the officials.

It's going to be fun, but we better not get screwed by no-calls that turns into quick 3s. That's the only thing that scares me.
 

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Video

Episode 3-13: "Backup Bash Brothers"

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Spotify

Episode 3:11: "Clipping Bucks."
Top