CLEVELAND: Thirty thoughts for 30 points from Kyrie Irving in the Cavaliers’ 120-90 win over the Golden State Warriors in Wednesday’s Game 3 of the NBA Finals…
1. LeBron James awarded his figurative game ball to Richard Jefferson and he credited Kyrie Irving with taking the game over both early and late, but the truth is James’ move into the post is what at least temporarily saved the Cavaliers’ season.
2. The Cavs’ lineup Wednesday completely flipped the dynamic of this series – at least for one night. Whether or not it’s sustainable remains to be seen, but they seemed to overhaul their defensive schemes and James made life miserable for Draymond Green, who punished the Cavs with 28 points thanks to countless open looks in Game 2. Green scored six points on 2-of-8 shooting Wednesday.
3. James fueled the rage. He roared at his teammates in the tunnel before they even took the court (“Follow my lead and do your f------ job,”), he roared after the national anthem and he stomped uncontrollably and roared again 2 1/2 minutes into the game when the Cavs’ 9-0 start forced the Warriors to call a timeout.
4. James in the post early worked wonders for the Cavs, as it usually does. James inside surrounded by shooters can make life miserable for any defense, including one as sound as the Warriors.
5. “I missed a ton of chippies,” James said. “But I was loving the space that I was getting and my teammates created for me.”
6. Tyronn Lue is faced with a dilemma now. The Cavs have feared for months how Love would fare in a rematch against the Warriors given his defensive deficiencies. One team official suggested in March that Love may have to accept “a David Lee role” should the Cavs and Warriors meet in the Finals. That’s precisely where we are.
7. Lee’s defensive issues forced him into a bench role last season, although he ultimately helped spark the Warriors to a title. It’s hard to fathom Love as a reserve, but it’s even harder to imagine going back to a lineup that was blown out by 48 points in two games when this one seemed to work so well.
8. Now it’s important to realize how poorly the Warriors played Wednesday. Half of their shots were uncontested; they just missed them. The Warriors shot 15-of-38 when the nearest defender was at least 4 feet away. Within that figure is another, more startling subtext: They shot 5-of-15 when the nearest defender was at least 6 feet away. Klay Thompson and Steph Curry combined to shoot 4-of-12 when the nearest defender was at least 4 feet away.
9. “It was all me. They were playing aggressive defense and they came out with a big punch,” Curry said. “I didn't do anything about it or play my game, and for me to do what I need to do to help my team, I have to play a hundred times better than that, especially in the first quarter, to kind of control the game, and I didn't do it.”
10. James refused to give Curry even an inch. When Curry tried dunking after a dead ball, James recognized what he was doing and raced over to swat it away.
11. “When you have the greatest shooter in the world trying to get an easy one or trying to get in rhythm, it’s our job to try to keep him out,” James said. “No matter if it’s after the whistle or not. If you’re a great player and you see the ball go in, no matter if it’s after the play or during the play, then you start feeling it. … I didn’t want him to see the ball go in.”
12. It was easy to dismiss the struggles of Thompson and Curry when the Warriors were winning, but this is all three games in this series when they haven’t shot the ball well. Neither Lue nor James wanted to talk about it, but it was clear the defensive plan changed. The Cavs weren’t switching as much on pick-and-rolls, instead leaving defenders to fight through screens. Some of it was effective defense; some of it was just missed shots.
13. Thompson and Curry went scoreless in the first quarter. Curry was held under 20 points for the third time in as many games in this series, the first time in his career he has gone three consecutive playoff games without scoring 20 points. “He just didn’t play well,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
14. Irving, however, did. He outscored the Splash Brothers by himself (30-29) thanks to a 16-point first quarter that indeed, as James said, set the tone early. With James at power forward, the two stars spent shootaround scheming ways to run pick-and-roll together.
15. “I know that I can’t play in-between or be indecisive, especially with guys in front of me,” Irving said. “Just constantly in attack mode.”
16. Irving conceded he played too much isolation in Game 1 and said he couldn’t find his rhythm in Game 2.
17. “Game 3 it was, I don’t want to say a completely different player, but it’s just back to not really thinking about anything except being aggressive,” he said.
18. It’s no guarantee at this point Love will be cleared in time for Game 4. As the day progressed, it became clear Love was never really close to playing Wednesday despite his pleas.
19. “Kev wanted to be out on the court,” Jefferson said. “Trust me. I saw how pissed off he was when he wasn’t able to get cleared in time.”
20. Jefferson was terrific in the starting lineup. He scored nine points, grabbed eight rebounds, picked off two steals and made a 3-pointer. At 35, Jefferson has been one of the more consistent players in this series. And as long as Love is out, J.R. Smith needs to keep shooting the way he did Wednesday.
21. Smith finally had a breakout performance in his ninth Finals game. His half-court shot to end the first half came after the buzzer, but just the fact he sank it seemed to spark him. Smith shot 2-of-6 on 3-pointers in the first half, but 3-of-4 from deep in the second. Marla Ridenour wrote about Smith’s big night here.
22. The home crowd was tremendous, easily the loudest the Q has been during this postseason run, and it certainly seemed to make a difference. Channing Frye noticed a buzz when he left his house.
23. “This is the loudest arena I’ve ever been in, I’m talking college also,” he said. “The fans, I knew it was crazy when I got out of my house and drove and people came out of their houses and started cheering, ‘Go Cavs!”
24. A series can turn quickly on just one victory. The Cavs certainly have some momentum now when they desperately needed it. James staked the season on a Game 3 victory when he called it “must-win” and “do-or-die” time. Well, the Cavs did. Now they have to do again. A loss in Friday’s Game 4 renders this win meaningless. And much like the Cavs weren’t really rattled by a Game 3 loss at Toronto in the conference finals, neither do the Warriors seem too worked up about one loss here.
25. “They came out and played like a team with a sense of desperation like their season was on the line,” Green said. “We came out and played like everything was peaches and cream.”
26. Thompson had to leave the game in the first quarter and return to the locker room after he caught Timofey Mozgov’s knee to his thigh. The Cavs wanted to play a more physical style at both ends and certainly seemed to accomplish that, although Thompson thought Mozgov’s play was dirty.
27. “I'm just confused why he's trying to set a screen in the middle of the key when we're both running full speed downhill,” Thompson said. “It seemed kind of dirty to me. He stuck his knee out, too. But you know what? That's basketball.”
28. One 30-point blowout deserves another, and now the Cavs have at least loosened the hinges on a night the Warriors were trying to slam the series shut. There is still plenty of work to be done, but the Cavs at least now have life. Tristan Thompson was an animal on the offensive boards (seven) on a night the Cavs smashed the Warriors in rebounding, 52-32. The Warriors are used to getting outplayed and rallying. This is a team that trailed 3-1 to the Thunder and rallied to win, so one loss here isn’t going to shake them.
29. “Me and Steph haven't really shot the ball as well as we want to. That's all right,” Thompson said. “We're still up 2-1, and law of averages, it will all even out. Just got to keep the confidence high.”
30. One final clip. The play of the night. Talk to you Friday after Game 4 at the Q.