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Cleveland Cavs (2016 NBA Champions)

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BuckeyeMafia said:
If the Cavs lose tonight it's back to 0-0, and they've worked too hard to see that happen.

As far as matchups go, I think coaching will have a huge impact on tonight's game. Blatt and Lue have been masterful with their defensive game plan thus far, and slowing David Lee is obviously a factor in tonight's game. The Cavs game plan has been to get the ball out of Curry and Thompson's hands, and make one of the big guys make a play to beat you. With Lee, he's more than capable. He's a good passer and 10x the shooter that Green is. The Cavs can't switch out of their current game plan, but they do have to make a minor adjustment around Lee. I actually think the solution for Lee comes on the offensive end. Lee is going to get the Warriors going more than the Cavs have seen in the series so far, but if LeBron runs PNR against Lee, I like LeBron as a playmaker a lot more than I like Lee as a playmaker. I think the Cavs are going to have to make GS pay on defense in order to get Lee off the floor. I expect tonight's game will be the highest scoring we've seen so far.

The second adjustment may come from the Warriors. How long can you let LeBron James beat you? Is Golden State really comfortable losing the series while watching LeBron put up these numbers? It's time for Kerr to double team. That means the other Cavs need to beat the Warriors in four on three situtations, and if that does happen, ball movement and knocking down open threes is the way to beat them.
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I don't think the Warriors are going to drastically change what they are doing on defense. I think they would rather have Lebron back them down every possession and take a contested shot than to double him every time and give him the chance to hit the open guy for an easy shot or dunk. It isn't like Lebron is shooting a high percentage of his shots. IMO the Warriors think the key to the game is hitting more shots on offense. All the games have been close enough that if an extra guy got hot at the right time they would be up 3-0. I'm just hoping that the Cavs slow pace and the inability to get out on the break is what's grounding the Warriors offense. It actually might not be the worst thing for them to let the Cavs get out running and take a big lead early. When the Cavs got the lead in the 3rd Tuesday that seemed to speed up the game and open things for the Warriors offense.
 
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UpNorth_Buckeye said:
I'd say most likely, but not 100%. Maybe like 90% or so. GS still having a 10% chance if they lose since while they would need to win 3 in a row, 2/3 would be at home. That, and in theory with their deeper bench they should be fresher in the later games. I think that's being a little overrated, but still true to a point. And then if the Cavs lose I'd still give them a 10% chance. I thought about a 20% chance since they've shown they can win @GS, but I'll also factor in the bench here as well.
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This is my biggest concern. At what point is the sheer effort going to catch up to the Cavs? LBJ is a physical specimen, but at some point, his body is gonna start to tap. They need bigger contributions offensively from Smith, TT, and Shump to take some of he load off of LeBald. Also have to wonder if Delly can continue to give the effort he has. He wound up in the hospital after game 3, for chrissakes.
 
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Well, I hate what I am about to say...

I think this game tonight is a blowout for GS. I say that because I don't think I have ever seen an NBA team as exhausted as the Cavs were after game 3. One day of rest is not enough. Something super-human will have to be done. Maybe LeBron can do exactly that, but he is human. I agree that JR (or someone/anyone) needs to do something remarkable
 
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NFBuck said:
This is my biggest concern. At what point is the sheer effort going to catch up to the Cavs? LBJ is a physical specimen, but at some point, his body is gonna start to tap. They need bigger contributions offensively from Smith, TT, and Shump to take some of he load off of LeBald. Also have to wonder if Delly can continue to give the effort he has. He wound up in the hospital after game 3, for chrissakes.
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I think today will be the biggest challenge with fatigue until game 7, that's why it's important for the Cavs to win. They get 2 days rest before the game Sunday and IIRC save for a tankjob against the Celtics at the end of the season they were undefeated with 2 days off. Even though the game is in Cali on Sunday I feel pretty good about the outcome if the Cavs go in with a 3-1 lead.

The thing I hate about this series is how much depth and firepower the Warriors have. They have the ability to completely go off and blow out the Cavs at any time. When the Cavs went up by 20 I knew the Warriors would make a run and come back, but if the Warriors went up by 20 the game is probably over. The Cavs are the triple option offense of the NBA right now. So far the Cavs have done an amazing job keeping the Warriors in check except for a quarter each from Thompson and Curry. I just want the series over as quickly as possible to prevent the Warriors from figuring it out.
 
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exhawg said:
I think today will be the biggest challenge with fatigue until game 7, that's why it's important for the Cavs to win. They get 2 days rest before the game Sunday and IIRC save for a tankjob against the Celtics at the end of the season they were undefeated with 2 days off. Even though the game is in Cali on Sunday I feel pretty good about the outcome if the Cavs go in with a 3-1 lead.

The thing I hate about this series is how much depth and firepower the Warriors have. They have the ability to completely go off and blow out the Cavs at any time. When the Cavs went up by 20 I knew the Warriors would make a run and come back, but if the Warriors went up by 20 the game is probably over. The Cavs are the triple option offense of the NBA right now. So far the Cavs have done an amazing job keeping the Warriors in check except for a quarter each from Thompson and Curry. I just want the series over as quickly as possible to prevent the Warriors from figuring it out.
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i think you'll see cleveland try to steal a few more minutes with guys like miller and james jones, or even dust off marion.
 
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tsteele316 said:
i think you'll see cleveland try to steal a few more minutes with guys like miller and james jones, or even dust off marion.
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I would be playing Jones 20-25 minutes a game if he could stay out of foul trouble. He's one of the few guys that has been able to knock down open looks and has been giving good effort on D. I agree about Miller and Marion, but neither of them have brought anything offensively all season. Miller at least gave good effort on D in game 3 and has been an elite 3pt shooter for most of his career. I read Marion has a bad calf so he might not be up for playing.

They need to find a way to get Delly down around 35 minutes and see if they can buy Lebron more than 2 minutes of rest a game. The only stipulation is that Lebron has to be in the game if Delly is out and Delly and Smith need to be in the game when Lebron is on the bench.
 
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Cavs will at least win one more game when LeBron goes off for 50...
so the rest of the fellas need to bag one more and LeBron's gonna uncork for a shitload before this is done

can we really pull this off... friggin amazing
 
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Nice start! This lifelong Celtics fan is pulling for the Cavs. If they pull this off with the guys they're playing...wow.

Still a long way to go.
 
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