Friday night with 1:17 left in Atlanta, ex-Hawk Kyle Korver buried a three to give the Cavs 25 three’s for the game, an NBA record. The Cavs would go on to win 135-130, with 43 points from Kyrie and 38 for LeBron. Who would’ve thunk with twenty games to go the Cleveland Cavaliers would be ascending to the forefront while the Golden State Warriors are seemingly trudging in quicksand. Less than a month ago people were writing off the Cavs and ready to hand the title over to Golden State. Funny how basketball work eh? We need to remember basketball is a LONG season and we cannot be prisoners of the moment.
The scary part about this performance is that they didn’t even have two of their best 3-point shooters suited up in Kevin Love and J.R Smith. How’d they do it then? If you didn’t get the memo yet, Kyrie and LeBron decided they were going to stampede the league like a pack of water buffalo. 81 points, 11-18 from deep, 15 rebounds, and 17 assists was their combined stat line. These guys really aren’t fucking around man. Doing this without Love and Smith, the Cavs are LOADED. In fact, it’s safe to say they have the best roster in the league. Cleveland has added three starters from other teams including Kyle Korver, Andrew Bogut, and Deron Williams. The Warriors may have more superstars but Cleveland has the deeper roster.The difference for Cleveland?
The difference for Cleveland? Ball movement, spacing, and shooting. Sounds like Warrior or Spurs ball, but it’s really just beautiful basketball. Making the extra passes. On one possession Cleveland combined for ten total passes with just three total dribbles. Holy hot potato, that’s fantastic.
LeBron and Kyrie have been the head dogs making the right decision time and time again of when to pass and went to be aggressive. Don’t tell me LeBron made the wrong decision Wednesday night because he didn’t. Some will say “he needs to take that shot”. But in reality, what he should be doing is making the best basketball play to give them the best chance to win the game. The best play was to give up a contested three, LeBron’s shot, for a wide open three, which was Deron Williams. I’ll take that shots 9 times out of 10 to win the game, Williams just fucked up. That’s what he was brought there to do and he just blew it, big time. Nonetheless, the Cavs are making the right plays and the future looks bright.
Everyone is down on the Warriors for the Durant injury and the shooting woes of Curry and Klay. As Aaron Rodgers said everyone needs to R-E-L-A-X, relax. There’s still a quarter of the season left and I doubt their shooting troubles will continue much longer. Unless KD is out for the playoffs at all the Warriors shouldn’t be very concerned. But if there’s a setback or two, they should worry. This year’s team isn’t as well equipped for such an injury of this magnitude as they’re nowhere as deep. No Bogut, Barnes, Speights, or Barbosa. Curry, Klay, and Dray are going to have to hold the fort down until Durant returns. But when they do return, this is going to be one of the most epic finals you will ever see. This will signify the most talented NBA Finals matchup of all time, totaling 11 players who have played in All-Star games. Until then, let’s enjoy the ride.
