Picture: Cavs Fan Fest at Gateway Plaza and East 6th Street on Monday, April 17th, 2017.
12 down, 4 to go.
Tomorrow, the 2017 NBA Finals will begin. History is being made as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are the first pair of teams to play each other in 3 consecutive Finals.
Here is a review of some notes from the past 3 years:
End of 2013-2014 Season
2014-2015 Season
10/27/14: NBA Team Chemistry Rankings: 2014-2015 Beginning of the Season
3. Golden State Warriors (5) - They might not have enough to win it all, but they are a steady playoff team for the foreseeable future with the Splash Brothers in town.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers (20) - A new coach with some new core stars and role players look to dominate the weak East. Cleveland fans hope that the return of The King equates to championship destiny.
6/11/15: NBA Finals: Game 4 Pregame Notes
The Cavaliers take a 2-1 lead heading into Game 4 tonight. Coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors made some effective adjustments in the 2nd half of Game 3 and look to build on that tonight.
Warriors: Look for the Warriors to take the ball out of Curry's hands and let him roam around more. Think of Reggie Miller's style of play: running around the court, going around picks, and cutting all over the place. This will allow him to focus more on scoring points while worrying less on running the offense. In Curry's place, Shaun Livingston would be a prime candidate to run the offense, with Andre Iguodala already sharing the role in the first 3 games. Draymond Green has also helped passing at the top of the 3 point arc but will be physically limited by back spasms tonight.
2015-2016 Season
10/27/15: NBA Team Chemistry Rankings: 2015-2016 Beginning of the Season
The defending champion Warriors retain most of their core players and continue to show tremendous team chemistry. They retain a high-powered offense but face the challenges of a healthier Western Conference on the road to defending the championship.
The Cavaliers are the clear team to beat in the East. Injuries to start the season will make the first half of the regular season difficult. If they can get healthy, the combination of stars LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving with role players such as Timofey Mozgov, Iman Shumpert, and Tristan Thompson should power their way to the NBA Finals.
1/22/16: "To be the greatest, you have to be coachable."
On Friday afternoon, news reports confirmed that David Blatt had been fired as head coach of the Cavs, with Tyronn Lue being promoted on a permanent basis. Rumors have been swirling that Coach Blatt had butted heads with stars LeBron James and Kevin Love and did not have the buy-in of the players. During an impromptu press conference, David Griffin confirmed that there was a sentiment of disconnect in the locker room.
As he said, "This team is not galvanized after wins." He added, "I know what something that's not right looks like". Griffin knew he had to make the change.
Much has been said about the players already turning to Lue for help during practices and games. At this point, it is clear that Griffin sees Lue as the right facilitator and teacher for this team.
The Warriors and the Spurs are the best teams in the NBA right now. The Spurs have won 5 championships; the Warriors have won the last championship. Both appear ready to win another one this year. Are Lue, Lebron, Love, and Kyrie Irving ready to build their legacy? Will this Cavaliers team become a dynasty? Saturday night versus the Bulls will be the first of many tests on the road to their first championship together.
3/26/16: Setting the Cavs Playoff Rotation
Coach Tyronn Lue--much like every Cavs coach since the days of Lenny Wilkens and Mike Fratello--has taken a lot of criticism for juggling the lineup. Fans are concerned that the Cavs do not have a set rotation, a lineup that they roll out day in and day out. The truth is that Lue is trying to do what he needs to do.
Ultimately, Lue is tasked with making sure the Cavs score enough points while playing a championship level of defense. With the Cavs having noticeable deficiencies on both sides of the court, Lue may need to shuffle players in and out of the lineup even more than he already has. As stated previously, there are four main reasons why teams have to change their lineup: injuries, matchups, slumps, and rest. Last season, the circumstances of injuries eliminated difficult decisions with the rotation. Now, Lue will have to make tough calls as he may need to sit out players due to difficult matchups. This pretty much means having to sit out anyone other than LeBron due to matchup problems.
Furthermore, despite the deficiencies, the Cavs have a deep bench. This means that Lue must be willing to sit out slumping players.
6/1/16: NBA Finals Lineup Rotations: Cavaliers vs. Warriors
Coach Lue has established a core group of nine players that has played 3,202 minutes out of a possible 3,360 minutes. Should anything happen with foul trouble or injuries, Mozgov, Mo Williams, and Dahntay Jones are next in line to play.
Cleveland has won on the scoring of James, Irving, and Love as others have stepped up from game to game. Based on matchups and skill sets, J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, Channing Frye, and Richard Jefferson are likely to step up in the Finals as secondary scorers while Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert will focus more on defense and ball movement.
Although Stephen Curry is the reigning two-time MVP and Klay Thompson is the other half of the feared "Splash Brothers" backcourt, Draymond Green has led the Warriors in minutes played throughout the regular season and the playoffs. Behind them, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, and Shaun Livingston round out their core group of seven players.
Marreese Speights and Leandro Barbosa have played in all 17 Golden State playoff games, while Festus Ezeli has played in 16 of 17. These three players are the first in line for the rest of the minutes, but Coach Kerr is not reluctant to change things up if any of them are struggling on defense or offense. Varejao will likely play against Cleveland in the Finals as his defense, rebounding, and pick and roll play will be needed against the differing skill sets of Love, Thompson, and Frye.
Like last season, the Warriors have thrived on three-point shooting and ball movement. They continue to punish 'lazy' teams with lots of passing, forced turnovers, and pushing the ball when other teams are frustrated with missed shots, turnovers, and uncalled fouls.
Finally, it is time for Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals! Much of the media focus has been on possible history being written by either team (Golden State for most wins by a champion over the course of the season and playoffs; Cleveland as the first champion to come back from a 3-1 Finals series deficit) and the legacies of LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
When it is all said and done, Game 7--just like any basketball game--will be won as a team game, not just by the highest scoring individual player.
If Coach Kerr wants to be bold, he will remove Barnes from the starting lineup, possibly even benching him aside from the final minutes of the first half. If Barnes does not start, look for Livingston to take over at point guard with Curry and Thompson sliding up to shooting guard and small forward.
The Cavs will continue to run the offense through the driving of James and Irving, with one player on one half of the court and the other on the other half of the court.
Look for Jefferson to play a big role in Game 7. He will be first in line off the bench as a defensive stopper and spot scorer.
Coach Lue wants to push Love's scoring as much as he can. However, as was seen in Game 6, he will pull Love from the game if Love gets in foul trouble and/or it gives the Cavs their best chance to win. With James and Irving operating from the elbows, Love will need to be ready to shoot corner threes. He also needs to crash the boards as much as possible, especially if playing center in place of Thompson.
2016-2017 Season
10/25/16: NBA Team Chemistry Rankings: 2016-2017 Beginning of the Season
In only a few minutes, the 2016-2017 NBA season will begin. The Cavaliers and the Warriors remain the top contenders for the NBA championship.
