5 things we learned about a potential Warriors-Cavs Finals rematch
On the biggest day of the 2015-16 season so far, the NBA gave us the greatest gift it could with a fun back-and-forth contest between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. In a rematch of the 2015 NBA Finals, the Warriors emerged victorious thanks in large part to some big missed free throws from LeBron James.
Even those freebies might not have been enough for the Cavaliers, however, who played from behind for most of the game. Despite Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving playing for Cleveland on Friday after missing last year's Finals, the Warriors once again looked like the better team. When Draymond Green plays like he did on Christmas, that's generally going to be the case.
Green's dominant play was just one of the major takeaways from the first big game of the year for the Warriors. Here are the five things we learned on Christmas Day about another potential June matchup between these two teams:
1. Cleveland doesn't have an answer for Draymond Green
For whatever reason — the defensive intensity of the Cavs guards or the calf injury that forced him to the locker room during the first half — Stephen Curry wasn't his dominant self against Cleveland. Instead, the Warriors relied on their jack-of-all-trades forward to get the job done. When Love guarded Green, the Cavaliers were a disaster. Every trap of Curry led to Green picking apart the Cleveland weakside defense, and Love too often found himself in no-man's land, either trying to recover to Green or help on Curry. The lasting image of this Warriors win will be Green operating in space, free to pull up for a 3-pointer or find an open teammate. He may very well have built his All-Star campaign with the world watching.
Poetry in Motion for the @Warriors in transition on @ABC! #NBARapidReplay #NBAXmas https://t.co/u645erQX0F
— NBA (@NBA) December 25, 2015
2. LeBron James is still pretty good, too
The only limitation for The King — other than those aforementioned missed free throws — was the Cavs' stagnant approach to offense. In order to negate Golden State's tendency to switch defensive assignments and jump into passing lanes, Cleveland went to an isolation-heavy offense, often putting four players on the side of the floor opposite James and letting him go to work:
LeBron displays power + finesse on @ABC with a graceful take to the rim! #NBARapidReplay #NBAXmas https://t.co/zgIbrWSUTX
— NBA (@NBA) December 25, 2015
It's a tactic we've seen previously from the Los Angeles Clippers with Blake Griffin, and it's not the worst idea in the world. But it puts an awfully heavy burden on James, and it takes away much of his ability as an off-the-bounce playmaker. He's very good at finding open shooters out of the post, which is fine. But if the Cavs are missing those looks, the bland offense leaves them with little recourse.
Speaking of which ...
3. It's a make or miss league
No one likes cliches. But when a team is missing as many open shots as Cleveland did on Friday night, it has to be acknowledged. On the one hand, the Cavs can live with a 5-for-30 night from the 3-point line. That kind of thing is going to happen. What should worry the team is LeBron's struggles from deep going back to last year's Finals. He was shooting just 26 percent on 3s heading into the game against the Warriors. It certainly doesn't help when he's hoisting contested jumpers. One play in particular sticks out. James forced Curry to switch onto him with time on the clock, then settled for a jumper over the top of the shorter point guard. It was a clean look, given the height discrepancy, but there was almost certainly a higher-value shot to be had with such a mismatch.
With all that said, however, the Cavs still had a chance in the closing minute. To some extent, they gave the game away by matching Golden State's choice to go small, which made little sense, since Cleveland showed it has a lineup that can make the most of the Warriors' lack of size.
4. Love's shooting is the Cavs' trump card
The return of Irving undoubtedly helps Cleveland. Irving takes the challenge from Curry personally, and he's one of the best players in the league at being able to create his own shot. If the Cavs want to limit Golden State's switching, that's huge. Once he's healthy -- and make no mistake, Irving was far from the player he'll be once he's worked his way back into game shape -- the Cavaliers will be a very different offensive team, particularly in the pick-and-roll. Yet it's Love's availability that could truly make the difference for Cleveland. He allows the Cavaliers to stay "big." And Love's rebounding ability crushes the Warriors when they go small. Cleveland grabbed nearly 30 percent of available offensive rebounds (17 offensive boards to the Warriors' 41 defensive), gaining extra possessions and depriving Golden State of opportunities to get out and run. Alongside Tristan Thompson, Love offers an answer for small-ball without forcing Cleveland to actually go small. That's a good thing, because we know one thing for certain with Golden State.
5. When in doubt, Warriors' small-ball will roll
In one month, the Warriors will face the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs might be the only team in the league with the discipline to avoid the temptation to match Golden State in going small, especially in Oakland. As soon as the 3s start flying and the crowd gets into it, it seems like the only answer. Yet without a huge closing stretch from LeBron, the Cavaliers' decision to go small would have been their rapid undoing. With James and Love as the two "bigs," no one has the defensive instincts to protect the rim. Curry went on the attack, drawing a big and-1 and getting to the rim seemingly at will.
If these two teams meet again in June, the games will be very different than what we saw on Christmas Day. Irving will hopefully have shaken off the rust, and the Cavs will have figured out how to solidify their defense. Yet whether that will be enough to knock off the defending champions is an open question.
Perhaps we won't get an answer. The Spurs will have something to say about Golden State making it back to the Finals, and anything could happen in a wide-open East. But we're counting on these keys to success being just as important in June as they were in December.
