Five Takeaways From Game 2
During the summer of 2008, Roger Federer lost the Wimbledon final to Rafa Nadal in what many consider to be the greatest tennis game of all time. Rumor has it that Roger took it personally; he spent more time in the training room watching film of Nadal’s game. He changed some his traditional routines. He made adjustments but in January 2009 none of it mattered. Nadal won the Australian open in five set. By the fifth, which was not even close (6–2). Roger looked spent and infamously he cried on TV after the game.
Much of the press around game 2 was centered around a similar narrative. The Cavs got destroyed in game 1 and had to make adjustments. It was reported that they too spent a lot of time in the film room to assess how to address the issues I pointed out in my takeaways from game 1. All you could hear from the Cavs’ camp over the past 3 days was “We’re going to get more physical.” Tristan Thompson said that it has to be WWE mode on the offensive glass. It was expected: Steph, Klay and Durant all acknowledged that the Cavs were going to get more touchy. Much like the 2009 Australian Open, none of it mattered and by the fourth quarter, which was not even close, the Cavs looked spent and Lebron was so angry he skipped the traditional post game press booth.
I honestly don’t understand why “physical” has been the most used word by pundits to analyze this series. Jean Pierre Etienne, of radio Ibo, wrote down that the physicality of Cleveland’s game the series could/would cause issues to Steph Curry. Eddie Jones said on ESPN that he still thinks the Cavs will win the series because they have the more physical team. Countless other things were said about physicality but what people fail to understand is that “Being physical” is not a defensive strategy. Being physical mostly means, “we’re gonna foul the shit out the Warriors off ball and hope the refs don’t call fouls.” This was obviously a failure: Steph curry had a Kobe-esque 14 for 14 at the free throw line.
For the Cavs, the question should not be “Can we be more physical on Steph?” It should be “What the fuck are we gonna do about the Steph-KD pick-and-roll?” Here are 5 tactical-and-miscellaneous takeaways from game 2:
1- KD is the best center in the NBA
Last year I would have voted for Draymond Green as my All-NBA First team center. In an era in which pundits say the most dominant position in league history is becoming extinct, Dray has reshaped the very definition of what it means to be an NBA center. To say that KD was more dominant than peak-Dray during the 14 minutes he played center last night is an understatement. What we witnessed was the most skilled seven-footer in league history come into his own on both ends of the floor.
Lebron is an probably the smartest player in basketball. He knows that Draymond is the Dub’s heart and brain — In case you didn’t know Dray led them in rebounds and assists during the last two regular season. He decided to attack Dray early on in the game and cause him foul trouble. When Dray picked up his fifth foul in the third quarter, Kerr slotted KD to the center position to provide rim protection and length in a new iteration of the death lineup. KD embraced the moment destroying both Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love on the defensive end and wrecking Lebron on the offensive end.
By the end of the game KD had five blocks and 3 steals. From now on, even when Green is the floor, the Warriors should use KD as the center in crunch time in the death lineup. He’s the tallest player on the court, he’s their best shot blocker and the tallest player should always be the center anyways.
2 — Lebron James was FUCKING Sensational
Don’t let the score board fool you: Lebron James was sensational. He ramped up his defense, he single handedly caused five Golden State turnover in the first quarter. He was the best passer, the best driver and the fastest player on the court. I’m not a Lebron groupie but I felt bad seeing the best player I’ve ever seen ball and still losing by 20.
3 — Can Kyrie sustain Durant on the pick and roll?
So much was said about the Cavs attacking Steph in the pick-and-roll last year. By the end of the 2016 finals, Steph was worn out and had all kind of foul troubles in game 6 and 7. How ironic that the Warriors are doing the same thing to Kyrie Irving? Kyrie is not only a below average defender, he’s also a passive defender who routinely loses his man on defense and gets lost in the Warriors’ switching-prone offense. Last year, Harrison Barnes and Shaun Livingston abused him in the first couple of games. This year with Kevin Durant, it’s not even fair. Cleveland needs to be find a way to hide him on defense whether it’s by pre-switching the pick and roll or asking Shump to go under the screen and live with KD taking a long 3. This match-up more than anything else will determine whether we have a series or not.
4 — The 3 best player in the world were on the court tonight
Lebron: 29–11–14 (3 steals, 1 block)
KD: 33–13–6, (3 steals, 5 blocks)
Steph: 32–10–11 (2 Steals)
you can’t make this shit up!
5 — Cavs should slow it down (retread from Game 1)
I said it last time, if the Cavs think they can play in the fastest pace they’ve played all year (109 possessions in the game), this series will be over very quick. If they dirty it up and slow it down the pace, Lebron can find a way. He will find a way. They owe it to him to figure things out.
I invite you to follow me on twitter and listen to my Haitian Creole podcast to hear more analysis about the NBA finals.
