Australian plays a real sport, sport!

[oldr_n_wsr]

Literally half of Cleveland watched Game 3 of the NBA Finals

There is nothing else to do in Cleveland anyway.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Said the inhabitant of Podunk

[Lord Jim]

This is what happens when LeBron scores 20 points:

The Golden State Warriors evened up the 2015 NBA Finals with a 103-82 victory over the home-standing Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the best-of-7 series Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Andre Iguodala, making his first start of the year, led the Warriors with 22 points and 8 rebounds. League MVP Stephen Curry added 22 points for Golden State, which outscored Cleveland 27-12 in the fourth quarter.

LeBron James had an off night for Cleveland, scoring 20 points with 12 rebounds and 8 assists. He also took a nasty spill in the second quarter, cutting his head against a photographer's camera.

Timofey Mozgov led Cleveland with 28 points, while Tristan Thompson added 12 points and 13 rebounds. Game 5 of the series is Sunday night in Oakland.

[wesw]

even superman gets tired. Cleveland is heavy....

[Guinevere]

Hard to score 40 points a game with the weight of your entire team and the City of Cleveland on your shoulders.

Hopefully he bounces back for Game 5.

PS - Oakland and Cleveland? Does anyone *have* to win? Can't we just call it a draw?

[MajGenl.Meade]

It was a rather predictable let-down. With Irving, Love and Varajao all out, the Cavs are essentially working with the A-benchers as starters and the B-benchers as fill-ins. Smith, Shumpert and even Dellavadova have finally got the cold hands. The Warriors are, despite a couple of injuries on their side, able to field five scoring-threat starters with some in reserve. The insertion of Lee made game 3 closer than it should have been and helped turn game 4 into (let's be honest) a rout.

Last night's Cavs defense was tired, predictable and mentally loose, continually rotating into a mistaken double-coverage (Shumpert, chief offender) leaving a man wide open. Credit of course to the Warriors for their adjustments, especially in double and even triple teaming LeBron who seemed aware that he had no 'go-to' shooter on the perimeter.

It was sad to see James missing free throws when of all things he should be better than 90% at the line - but it was the double-team that had him shooting two instead of getting to the basket in the first place. It was the Warriors who planned to put him there and achieved their purpose. Having said that, LeBron's nasty collision with the camera that left him with two sizable cuts on the side of his head was due neither to a flagrant foul nor his own exaggeration of the fall. Sadly, the only unavoidable momentum of the night for the Cavs was his bloody tumble.

What else did we learn? Using up almost all of the shot-clock before attempting to score works well when the opposition is neither rebounding nor fast-breaking (and the second largely depends on the first of course). In Game 3, the Warriors were inept at both. Early in game 4 it was clear that they could run the fast-break on a turnover from deep in their own half - there was one telling moment early when LeBron lost the ball over the end line and then lost either the strength or the will to run back down the floor and participate in the defense. It was five on four and the Warriors don't miss opportunities like that.

Even so, the Cavs got to within 3 in the third and had more than one chance to make itt a 1 point game - but it was like watching a hill-climb vehicle struggling to almost reach the crest, only to slide inevitably back down the slope. "I think I can" was answered by the Warrior's "eh, we think not".

So there will still be a Game 6 in Cleveland but barring a miraculous rejuvenation of LeBron in particular and the team in general, it will not be a home game for the championship but a home game to stay in it.

[wesw]

like wolves running down the mighty moose, the moose will succumb, eventually, if the wolves are hungry enough

[Lord Jim]

That was an excellent analysis Gen'l...

I said earlier that I thought that the first two overtime games indicated that the teams are "evenly matched"...

That's not really accurate; because there's a considerable asymmetry between the two...

You hit upon it here:

The Warriors are, despite a couple of injuries on their side, able to field five scoring-threat starters with some in reserve.

Because of injuries and other factors, (like not having as many good players... ) the Cavs do not present the same sort of multifaceted threat...

However, Cleveland can win the championship...

But their chances of winning the championship are as dependent on the performance of LeBron James as the performance of Joe Hardy was for The Senators to win the pennant over The Yankees in Damn Yankees...

In other words...

Totally dependent...

If every other player on the Cavs squad plays a career game up to their maximum skill level, but LeBron scores 20 points...

They lose...(maybe not 103-82, but they still lose...)

Considering all the other factors, LeBron has to be in the high 30s to low 40s in point production for Cleveland to even have a chance to win...(and even that's no guarantee; he scored 42 points in the first game, and they still lost...)

But Cleveland can still win...

If James produces 40 plus points in two of the next three games, it's possible...

[wesw]

golden state may lose this game , but I am confident that they are aware that they are running them to death and will continue with that strategy, and that if they do, they will win the series. run run run, push push push defense defense defense

[Lord Jim]

Warriors on brink of NBA title with 104-91 win over Cavaliers

Forty-eight minutes could separate the Golden State Warriors from 40 years of heartbreak.

NBA
Cavaliers' LeBron James is playing at an historic level in NBA Finals

A fourth-quarter burst pushed them to a 104-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals and ever closer to the championship.

Stephen Curry had 37 points to lead the Warriors to a 3-2 series lead Sunday at Oracle Arena. Game 6 is Tuesday in Cleveland, where the Warriors can win it all for the first time since 1975.

[Long Run]

That was an excellent analysis Gen'l...

Although, I'll take, the more brief take by wesw:

like wolves running down the mighty moose, the moose will succumb, eventually, if the wolves are hungry enough

It has been forever/never for the Cavs, and 40 years for the Warriors. Golden State/S.F. (post-Philly) should have two banners but the year after their most recent win, Barry got in a hissy fit that his teammates didn't like him and stopped shooting, which resulted in the clearly second best team winning the title -- one of the weird NBA stories of the ridiculous 70's.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well no long analysis this time. For the Cavs fan, a great game up until the final 5-6 minutes of the 4th quarter. They look tired and depleted by that stage while the Warriors seemed like Tigger. Game 6 - maybe Cavs winning but Game 7? Severe doubts and the feeling that this might be the last of Mr. James - if he can get decent movies instead of utter crap, he shows promise as an engaging actor.

[wesw]

it seemed to me that the refs kept Cleveland in the game by calling cheap fouls against the warriors, while the announcers swore it was slanted the other way. don t believe your lyin eyes......

it really annoys me that traveling is not called when it happens. LeBron gets 3steps, or three steps and one jump stop every drive, while jr smith shuffles his feet after taking his two steps while setting up for threes....

[MajGenl.Meade]

[Lord Jim]

it seemed to me that the refs kept Cleveland in the game by calling cheap fouls against the warriors, while the announcers swore it was slanted the other way.

Yeah, but you also thought that the catcher in that softball game was completely in the right, so your judgement's highly questionable...

[Big RR]

[wesw]

well ok, I ll concede that in the second incident, both the runner and the catcher should have been ejected, but the run does not not score....


I just love hardball. I will concede, also, that ty cobb took it too far. but my god he was good. it s a shame that he used his powers for evil..

there is a really good biography of John McGraw around here somewhere. I ll post the title and author when I find it....

[Long Run]

it really annoys me that traveling is not called when it happens.

You must be in a constant state of agitation during NBA (or most college) games. I like HDTV because I can instantly rewind and replay in slo-mo to reveal the traveling that I thought I just saw, and 99% of the time I'm right. Although, I get tired of playing this game about 4 minutes into the first quarter, usually.

As for the officiating, last night and I think Game 2 were particularly poorly called, though I don't think the refs have favored one team or the other much.

[wesw]

yeah, i barely even watched the tournament this year, which is unusual for me.

i have to admit that LeBron is a man among boys out there. he is like shaq in his prime, or like wilt must have been, or like Jordan was, but LeBron just looks huge and he moves like no other. l like the way he plays the game. he hustles, plays defense, he shares the ball when he has people that can handle the ball...

...but for some reason i still don t like him. i d rather play with Curry any day and try to slay the beast. the Jabberwalker.

[wesw]

the wolves are sated. the Jabberwalker has fallen.

the curry was too hot....

the king is dead, long live the king....

the warriors were gettin' Iggy with it....