Cavs now face a major decision after dominating Game 3
Just a few days ago, I wrote I just couldn’t see how LeBron James could put the Cavaliers on his back and carry them back into this series. On Wednesday night in Cleveland, during a must-win, pivotal Game 3 of the NBA Finals, James had support and reinforcements. Something he hasn’t had much of this entire series.
James’ wingman, Kyrie Irving, came out ready to play in a do-or-die situation. Irving gave the Cavaliers the picture-perfect start they were dying to have. He dropped 16 points in the first quarter and gave the Cavs an immediate double-digit cushion.
After Irving’s personal first-quarter onslaught, the Warriors never really managed to make it a game. They were able to cut the lead to 8 at halftime, but the third quarter was nearly a mirror image of the first. The Cavaliers turned Warriors misses into fast break opportunities and they jumped out to yet another double-digit lead. Except, this time, the Warriors couldn’t find a way back into the contest.
Irving was the main difference in the result of this game. He scored 30 points, outscoring the Splash Brothers by himself (30–29) and the Cavaliers dominated Game 3 by a final score of 120–90. But it wasn’t just Irving who stepped up big and took his game to the next level.
Warriors fans must be wondering what is going on with their beloved Splash Brothers? Through three games, Stephen Curry is yet to score 20 points on the Cavaliers. The same could be said about Klay Thompson. Before last night, it was easy to dismiss the duo’s struggles because of the dominant performances the Warriors turned in as a team at Oracle Arena.
You know what they say: Winning cures everything. But unfortunately for the Splash Brothers and Dub Nation, the “others” couldn’t bail them out in a hostile environment on the road. Maybe homecourt advantage really does mean everything. There have been 20 blowouts by home teams these playoffs — shattering the previous record of 11. Following the Cavs’ 30-point blowout victory, Magic Johnson tweeted that momentum has swung back in Cleveland’s favor and I can’t disagree with that statement.
Another huge swing of momentum came the Cavs’ way when J.R. Smith was finally able to find his stroke from deep. Smith gave the Cavaliers a much-needed 20-point performance. But what can’t be understated is the performance LeBron James delivered.
As usual, the pressure was on James to deliver a series-changing performance to give the Cavaliers some hope, and man, did he deliver. Just like he’s done year after year, James responded to the pressure. He started off hot, connecting on his first four drives to the rim, but he would eventually cool down until the second half arrived.
It was then, when James took over the game. Up to this point, the Warriors had been relying on James’ “broken jump shot” but that plan crashed and burned on Wednesday night. In the second half, James was taking bad shots by the Warriors’ standards, but they were still falling.
James practically couldn’t miss in the second half — pulling up from downtown in transition, contested mid-rangers — it didn’t matter. Midway through the third quarter, Irving and James connected on a lob pass, which resulted in one of the most, if not, the most thunderous dunk I have ever seen James throw down in any uniform.
James’ close followers have witnessed hundreds of breathtaking dunks from the four-time MVP during his 14 years in the association, but the way he practically reached up to the moon to throw down a lob from Irving, it has to be considered one of his best dunks of all-time.
Simply because of the magnitude of the moment, the amount of force exerted on the slam, and the fact that the Warriors were never able to make it a game after James had just blown the roof off of the Q. If the Cavaliers go on to win this series, that dunk might be a huge reason why. It shifted momentum. It gave Cavs fans not just hope, but confidence. Win or lose, Clevelanders will never forget that tomahawk slam that sent the Q into a frenzy. It gave the city, and its team, rejuvenated life.
The big question for the Cavaliers heading into yet another must-win Game 4 — what to do with Kevin Love? Love, who is still in the league’s concussion protocol, was forced to sit out Game 3. ESPN’s Marc Stein reported before the game that Love was “really frustrated” with the Cavs’ insistence he sits out. Well, whether it was a strategical move or not, it looks like that decision worked out for the Cavs.
However, now the question at hand is what do the Cavaliers do if he’s cleared and available for Game 4? In my opinion, the solution is a no-brainer. Look at how the first two games played out compared to last night. Also, throw in the fact the Cavaliers scored a total of 15 bench points in Game 3.
Those points didn’t come until the fourth quarter when Iman Shumpert found a rhtyhm and managed to knock down some outside shots. Throughout the series, the Warriors’ bench has dominated the Cavs’ reserves. Cleveland’s second unit has been outscored by 53 points (108–55). That is why Lue must not risk tinkering with the lineup that got the Cavaliers back into the series.
Bringing Love off of the bench gives the Cavaliers additional bench scoring they so desperately need at this moment. It also prevents Love from being taken advantage of in pick and roll situations. Love has been a liability on the defensive end of the floor when playing against the Warriors’ starters.
That’s why this decision is an easy one in my opinion. Bringing Love off of the bench will allow him to get more opportunities against a more vulnerable second unit. Love struggles defensively when both of the Splash Brothers are in the game.
Therefore, Lue’s adjustment should be: Love plays when there is a maximum of one Splash Brother on the floor. When both Curry and Thompson are in the game; he must come out. If the Cavaliers make this adjustment and end up winning the series, it should be compared to an adjustment Steve Kerr made in last year’s NBA Finals.
During Game 3 of the 2015 NBA Finals, Kerr noticed a spark was lit within his team when he replaced Andrew Bogut and inserted Andre Iguodala into the starting 5. That’s how the Warriors’ lethal “death lineup” was born. The Warriors went on to dominate the rest of the series and never looked back winning the title in six games.
The Cavs’ ability, or inability to make that adjustment will come down to two things: Love’s ego and Lue’s cojones. If Lue can find it within himself to sit Love down and explain to him why this must be done, and if Love can set his ego aside, it may result in the Cavaliers hoisting a Larry O’Brien Trophy and ending a 52-year drought that has haunted Clevelanders for far too long.
