Golden State Warriors/Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals Game 3 Analysis
16 Wins A Ring Writers offer 3 different perspectives on NBA Finals, Game 3 results: Warriors 118 — Cavaliers 113
Golden State Analysis by: Rich Condon
What Worked:
Even when the Golden State Warriors are off, they still find a way to win the game. Golden State just has too much firepower. Klay Thompson got off to a scorching start, scoring 16 points in the first quarter. Klay’s shooting slump looks to be a thing of the past, as he finished with 30 points on 11–18 shooting and 6–11 from three. Thompson continued to play good defense on Kyrie Irving, although the box score won’t reflect that.
Klay’s Splash Brother, Steph Curry turned in another spectacular game. Curry finished with 26 points on 8–19 shooting (a tidy 5–9 from deep), in addition to 13 rebounds. Yes, 13 rebounds (5 offensive boards) for the 6'3" point guard, which was tied for the most in the game with Kevin Love.Oh, by the way, Curry has hit 31 consecutive free throws in the playoffs, 19 of which have come in the Finals. Curry also made good on “eliminating that 8 from the stat line,” reducing his turnovers down to one in Game Three. If it weren’t for the gaudy numbers Kevin Durant has put up over the first three games, Steph would be running away with the Finals MVP.
But, Kevin Durant has been on another level. Tonight was no different, as Durant finished with 31 points on 10–18 from the field and 4–7 from deep. 14 of Durant’s 31 came in the 4th quarter, but no shot was more important than this dagger that would prove to be the difference maker:
In addition to yet another highly efficient scoring game (Durant is the third player in league history to score 25+ points in his first 8 NBA Finals Games, along with Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal), Durant added 8 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and a block.
As a team, it was more of the same from Golden State, a 44–37 rebound advantage, 29 assists on 40 made baskets, and a 24–13 fast break point advantage. And, the Warriors set a record for most made three pointers (9) in a half in the NBA Finals. They finished the game shooting 48.5 percent from three and 48.2 percent from the field.
Lessons Learned:
In spite of all that, it took a last-minute (okay, last three minute), 11–0 run for the Warriors to pull this game out. Golden State still turned the ball over 18 times, which is far too many. They looked awful in the third quarter, often settling for poor looks out of isolation plays. Their offense stagnated for large stretches, and the Cavaliers were able to score, almost at will, on the other end. Kyrie Irving, who finished with 38 points, was able to get to the rim at will. LeBron James was a problem for three quarters as well, finishing with 39 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists.
The Warriors did a good job defending Kevin Love, who finished with 9 points on 1–9 shooting. However, Love grabbed 13 rebounds and stole the ball 6 times from the Warriors.
Game 4 Adjustments:
It’s clear to anybody who’s watched the first three games of the Finals that the Warriors are the superior team. If they limit their turnovers especially, they’re as unstoppable as any juggernaut we’ve seen.
They wore the Cavs out in Game Three, and were able to capitalize on their exhaustion. Tonight’s game was a morale-deflating gut-wrenching loss for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who should’ve won the game by all intents and purposes, but just ran out of gas.
It looks like they may have run out of gas for the series as well. Golden State will attempt to go a perfect 16–0 in the postseason on Friday night.
Game 4 Prediction:
As much as I want to see history, and even though I predicted the Warriors would sweep the Cavs, I almost want to see Cleveland win Game Four. The only reason is because I truly think it’s infinitely cooler to see a team win the Finals on their home court, in front of their home crowd. Furthermore, I think it would be an even sweeter moment for the fans at the Oracle Arena to see their team win on their floor in one of the last seasons at the arena.
The Warriors have been so good these last three years, it’s a near forgotten fact that their fan base (their true fan base, not the bandwagon), stuck with their team through some of the worst seasons in NBA history. They deserve to see their team win at home.
That being said, I don’t think that’s going to happen this year. Get your brooms out.
Cavaliers Analysis by Brendan Vogt
What Worked
LeBron James was excellent for the third consecutive game, and he was the only Cleveland starter to finish with a positive +/- rating in Wednesday night’s game.
James was aggressive from the tip once again, driving relentlessly, and rarely settling for his jumper. Even when he did settle, he hit his shots. The King finished with 39 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists on a 55.9 percent night from the field, while going 4–9 from beyond the arc. James was magnificent, as he was all playoffs long. But it just wasn’t enough as his teammates failed to pick up the slack for the third consecutive game.
Kyrie Irving was the only other Cavalier to finish with more than 16 points, and the defending champions watched their lead slip away as the Warriors put together an 11–0 run to end the game.
The bench was awful, Tristan Thompson was awful, and Kevin Love was awful. Only Irving and James had it going on Wednesday night, and that wasn’t enough against the most stacked team in league history.
Lessons Learned:
The Warriors have the most collective talent of any team in the history of the NBA. LeBron James is the best player alive, but even his inhuman efforts could only keep the Cavs so close against a squad like this.
You would be misguided to pick Kevin Durant over LeBron James if you were drafting your own squad from scratch, even after these finals. But the Warriors also have Stephen Curry, the former unanimous MVP, and probably the second or third best player in this year’s playoffs. He’s better than Irving or Kevin Love, and he proved his value in more ways than one in this series. Curry went 5–9 from deep, but he also managed 13 rebounds in game 3, five of them coming on the offensive end.
As you move down the list, you realize the futility of the situation.
Not only is Curry a better player than either of Cleveland’s lesser pegs of their big three, but Klay Thompson very well may be a better player than those two as well.
After struggling on the offensive end all playoffs long, Thompson finally woke up, dropping 30 points on 61.1 percent shooting — this coming after incredibly impressive defensive performances in games 1 and 2.
Draymond Green is the most versatile defensive player in the league, and he’s likely a top-15 player in the NBA. He has yet to show up in this series, but the Warriors still lead three games to none. This is ridiculous.
The second lesson we learned was the limit to the value that Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving provide to this Cavaliers team. After back-to-back impressive performances, Kevin Love disappeared in game three. The former MVP candidate finished with just nine points on 11.1 percent shooting in 37 minutes. Love has been excellent so far in these playoffs, and it’s not fair to expect him to be the second or third best player in this series. But Cleveland needed him to play like a star all series long, and he no-showed in game 3.
Kyrie Irving finally found his scoring groove, and his scoring numbers looked great: 38 points on 55.8 percent shooting. But Irving went 0-for-7 from deep and finished with only three assists as Cleveland’s starting point guard. This kid can get buckets, but they never come within the flow of the offense.
Irving shot it well tonight, but his misses came on bad shots at bad times, and his defense was lacking as usual. Irving and Love are excellent, but you can’t bring those two to a Curry-Thompson-Durant-Green fight and expect to win.
Finally, Tristan Thompson is not worth his max contract. Cleveland’s lack of a center and need for a presence on the glass paved the way for an understandable 5-year $82 million dollar deal two years ago, but Thompson did not earn that money in this series.
For the third straight game, Thompson failed to make an impact on the offensive glass. In fact, he finished with just three total rebounds in game 3. Again, Curry finished with five offensive boards. It was another embarrassing effort from TT.
Game 4 Adjustments:
It’s all futile. Cleveland can hope that Kyrie passes the ball more, that Love can regain his confidence, that Iman Shumpert will stop shooting the basketball — but it just doesn’t matter. They’re down three games to none, and at this point it looks like it would require a perfect game from the defending champions just to grab one win in this series.
But if the Cavs want to win game four, they need to fix their rotations: LeBron can’t sit, Shumpert can’t shoot, and Deron Williams shouldn’t see the floor.
There’s no need to get cute here though, Golden State is the best basketball team that we have ever seen. It’s hard to adjust for that.
Game 4 Prediction:
If the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to steal a win in this series, it’s clear that it will require a transcendent effort from LeBron James. Down three games to none, it’s hard to imagine that he’s capable of finding such an effort within himself.
No team has ever overcome such a deficit. Only one team has ever won 73 games. That team just added the second best player in the world. That team is up three games to none. This series is over.
It might be game four, it might be game five, but either way it’s over. We all know it, LeBron knows it, and that’s why the Warriors will finish this thing off in game four.
Neutral Analysis by Tamberlyn Richardson
Why Warriors Won:
To this point in the series, the Golden State Warriors haven’t experienced a full 48 minute, 2-way effort, with all their super stars clicking simultaneously. Despite this, GSW lead the series 3–0. Let that fact resonate for a minute. As a result, the Dubs enter Friday, June 9 seeking to become the first team in NBA history to sweep the postseason 16–0.
The offseason addition of Kevin Durant provided a Warriors’ talent explosion. Arguably a close second to KD’s arrival was the Warriors supporting cast roster tweaks. To wit, each and every player on the Dubs bench can step in to play meaningful defense. If there has been a tangible factor in this NBA Finals series (other than the super stars), the Dubs 2-way reserves are it.
The narrative is leaning toward Kevin Durant winning series MVP, but there is a solid case to be made for Stephen Curry. In another first for him, Curry delivered back to back games of double digit rebounds. This to go along with 26 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, five made 3-pointers and only one turnover.
Last game, Curry provided highlight footage when he put LeBron on wheels driving to the paint. Game 3 he produced another highlight, this time on defense via a late second quarter steal (switching momentum heading into the locker rooms).
Another noticeable Steph contribution came during the final frame. At this point in the game the Warriors looked uncharacteristically stilted on offense with KD falling into old habits of ball holding and iso play. As soon as Curry subbed in, the game shifted with increased player and ball movement. Recaps will focus on the 11–0 Warriors game finish, but it’s important to note how Curry shifted the complexity of the final 8:33 of the game. From this point forward the Dubs (who were trailing 95–102) went on a 23–11 run.
Why Cavaliers Lost:
Whether this falls on coach Tyronn Lue or LeBron James, the pace and tempo the Cavaliers played with was poorly constructed. Granted, the confidence Cleveland received by coming out strong was palpable. Still, keeping up the pace over the course of 48 minutes was a losing battle, particularly with limited contributions aside from James, Irving, Love and Smith.
Without doubt, Cleveland needs LeBron James to do everything (and he did scoring 27 of his 39 points in the first half). The problem was he expended so much energy early, it was inevitable the tank would run out of gas. During the game Rich Condon and I were discussing this fact and how it would take a toll late. Sure enough Draymond Green confirmed our thought process. His post game comments cited coach Steve Kerr believed Cleveland couldn’t keep up the pace and GSW would be fresher to finish.
Overall, this was definitely the Cavaliers best effort of the series. Credit is due for adjustments to erase issues experienced in Oakland. Specifically:
- fixed third quarter lapse, winning the frame 33–22 (unfortunately, they lost the fourth quarter 29–19)
- punched Warriors first and maintained their aggression through three and a half quarters
- won points in the paint battle 46–38
- held GSW to 83 shots while getting up 90
- JR Smith had his best offensive productivity in the series (16 points)
Although this is a different scenario if the final 3:09 plays out differently, but there are other areas which led to the loss.
- in the final frame in particular, the Cavs ignored their paint success opting to shoot from the perimeter despite low efficiency (another sign of fatigue)
- although the Cavs forced more turnovers (18 versus 12), they only scored 2 additional points
- allowing Steph Curry to grab 13 rebounds (5 offensive) and best your squad 44–37 in total rebounds is unacceptable, particularly when players who aren’t scoring also aren’t producing on the glass
- as per above, Tristan Thompson did not score (again) and grabbed just 3 rebounds
- transition defense remained an issue with the Dubs winning the fast break column 24–13
- Kyle Korver scored 8 points — the rest of the Cavs bench scored three (with GSW also winning the reserve scoring battle 23–11)
Ultimately it came down to seven seconds in which Kyle Korver misses a 3-point shot, Kevin Durant grabs the rebound and comes down to hit a transition 3-pointer to take the lead.
Game 4 Adjustments:
No doubt LeBron and Co. will provide all the adequate sound bites prior to Game 4. Certainly there is no questioning the Cavaliers pride, but comparing this year’s challenge to last season isn’t fair.
To that end, as much as the Warriors 15–0 postseason speaks for itself the reverse side of the super team coin is equally compelling. Like the Dubs, Cleveland has players chasing rings and smaller reserve player contracts. Yet, there is a definitive difference between the squads. Golden States’ youngsters (Ian Clark, Patrick McCaw, James Michael McAdoo) can play without lowering the compete level. Moreover, the Dubs lower end contract players are specialists who know their roles, add value and most importantly can defend. Conversely, the Cavs role players either aren’t as versatile offensively or can’t match the Warriors defensively.
For as much as pundits pointed to Cleveland flipping the postseason switch, there is something to be said for creating habits. The fact Cleveland waited until April to up their defensive effort provides compelling evidence. Their bodies aren’t used to 48 minutes of full out, 2-way effort. Punctuating this point was Cleveland’s shooting efficiency which dropped off as the game progressed. Undeterred the Cavaliers hoisted 26 three point attempts in the second half (connecting on 7).
Game 4 Prediction:
Pre-series my thinking was LeBron would win at least one game for Cleveland. It seemed plausible Game 1 (Warriors being rusty after long lay off) or Game 3, back home offering the best opportunities. Neither occurred, so logic dictates a sweep.
Twitter displayed a message from JR Smith’s account saying “Cavs in 7”, but after the fact the enigmatic star says it wasn’t him. Regardless, it sure doesn’t feel like the 2017 version of the squad can channel last season’s ghosts. Their post game interview body language and facial expressions hint to a dejected Cavaliers group. Recalling an earlier playoff series, a player said it’s far easier to summon an effort to win following a blow out loss than a close game loss. For the Cavaliers they have to deal with losing what was a winnable game in the manner they did and putting themselves in a canyon sized hole.
Making the pill more bitter is the fact the Cavaliers are still paying Mike Brown’s salary from his last coaching stint in Cleveland.
LeBron James is destined for a 3–5 record in NBA Finals. Of those 5 losses, this series has a similarity to the Spurs revenge 2014 title win. In the close out game of that series the Spurs couldn’t miss from deep and showcased the very best of their symphonic ball movement. With that in mind, I’m betting on a relaxed Warriors squad producing their best effort of the series to capture their second title in three years.
