[Goat Milk]

This series has been very average compared to most NBA finals. There's been good stuff in the last couple minutes, but these games have been very sloppy for 40 minutes. Cavs losing Irving is going to hurt them down the stretch of this series. I originally thought that with Irving they had a good chance to win this series, but now it puts too much pressure on James to perform at this level every single night. Not only is he being guarded by one of the better perimeter defenders in basketball, the fact that he has to generate 70% of the offense for Cleveland is something that leads me to bring up some questions.

Last year in the finals, James cramped up in game 1 against the Spurs. He hasn't cramped up like that yet, but carrying this load and playing these types of minutes is a recipe for disaster. What's also disturbing is that no one else on the Cavs team can generate offense for another teammate. Dellevodova had 4 or 5 assists tonight, James had his 8...but did anyone else get a dime? I haven't checked the box score but I did not see anyone else making plays for their teammates. That is not easy to do for 4 wins. Sure, you can get away with it for a game here and there, but I don't believe you can win a series that way.

Here are some observations I've made.

1. Cavs are really trapping hard on Curry high screens. Tristin Thompson is showing a lot and Dellevodova is doing a great job at holding his ground in both those situations and down screens. Delly is very very strong for his size, and you're not going to run through him.

ADJUSTMENT: Curry is calling for way too many picks. it's gonna be a lot more one on one basketball for Curry. Also, look for double down screens to free him a few types with guys like Green and Ezili/Bogut/Lee.

ADJUSTMENT 2: Guys like Green are wide open everytime on the trap. Warriors have made this their bread and butter play all year. Curry gets trapped off the pick, lobs it to Green in the middle of the floor, wing player comes to help on green, corner 3 is wide open for Iguadala or Harrison Barnes... Expect Green to get a few more dimes as this series continues.

2. JR Smith and Shumpert are not making plays for anyone else.

ADJUSTMENT: ?? I really don't know. These guys literally have no clue what it means to drive and kick or run a pick and roll. I hardly ever see JR Smith call for a pick and rarely see him lift his eyes off the ground and see the court. Not good. Too much pressure on Lebron to create for everyone.

3. Games 1 and 2 I was wondering why David Lee was not playing. His ability to pump fake, play in that middle of the floor where he can pass the ball as he does his whole career was something missing with Golden State for awhile.

ADJUSTMENT: You have to make Tristin Thompson and Mozgov defend. You can't let these two beasts sit back in the paint and just roam around. They need to account for their man and if Ezili and Bogut are not going to get going offensively, you have to put in David Lee. Maybe Bogut will start taking it personal.

4. Depth. Maybe it's just me, but how Blatt is playing these guys 40+ minutes a night -- I don't agree with this formula. I feel it's only a matter of a time before these guys start to lose their legs. And we know that when you lose your legs in an NBA finals, you're done. It's so hard to guard a duo like a Jordan and Pippen or a Lebron and Wade for 7 games because you lose lift in your legs. When you do, you start bricking shots. And the Cavs are not deep enough to go through those droughts. They don't have 10-11 guys that can knock down shots. I think that Marion should be playing in this series. 4 years ago he won a ring in Dallas as the primary defender on James and he shut him down. Shut down. They played zone but Marion is not finished yet. It leads me to question David Blatt and makes me wonder if he really understands the concept that if guys like Delly and JR Smith start losing their legs (playing 40, 45 or so minutes a night), you're team is done.

I like the Warriors depth and they don't seem fatigued to me at all. This will be a battle of endurance and the Warriors will have more fresh bodies come game 4, 5, and 6... The other thing is when you're fatigued, you start making MENTAL MISTAKES. THOSE MENTAL ERRORS ARE GOING TO COST THE CAVS going forward imo.


Will be putting 300 on warriors in game 4.
And 500 on warriors to win this series.

Btw, if Tony Parker was healthy, Spurs would bitch make the West and dick slap this Cavs team in 5 games at most.

[Vegas39]

congrats on your title Cleveland

[Seaweed]

I tend to agree

[louielouie]

There is the fade everyone needed -- Cavs series is a lock if GoatMilk is posting

[Vinnie Paz]

Can't you idiots ever just discuss the game or his post? He made some quality points here and all you jerk offs do is post some crap about fades that we all know you aren't doing. If someone else posted this and broke down the games like that you'd be slobbering all over them about how great a post it is:ivon_roll:

Anyhow I'm not sure if they can win it but you make solid points. Barnes and iggy have been wide open and getting great looks, but just keep bricking.

[DOM-Ganador]

GS playing lackadaisical and entitled way too much.

Looks like the learning curve theory is alive and well...see Det/Bos, Chic/Det etc.

[DOM_Toretto]

Tonight is Do-or-Die for GS. A must win. They go down 3-1 there's NO way they make it out of Cleveland in game 6.

[Smoke]

You lie!

[lakerboy]

Totally agree. At the end of the day the warriors depth will win this series.

[jjgold]

Warriors too strong..Cleve is hanging on by a thread

I say they win the next 3 pretty easy

[no1here]

on a hunch liking GS 98-96 or 97-95 next game

[Mac4Lyfe]

Vinnie, you're not new here. You should know that this guy is a modern day sleptrock. If he posts one opinion, you can pretty much bet it's going to be the other way. He has a great gift at being wrong with these long write ups. I love him because he's a great fade and I'm a Cav fan.

Can't you idiots ever just discuss the game or his post? He made some quality points here and all you jerk offs do is post some crap about fades that we all know you aren't doing. If someone else posted this and broke down the games like that you'd be slobbering all over them about how great a post it is:ivon_roll:

Anyhow I'm not sure if they can win it but you make solid points. Barnes and iggy have been wide open and getting great looks, but just keep bricking.

[pronk]

Warriors too strong..Cleve is hanging on by a thread

I say they win the next 3 pretty easy

get off retard sandwiches boss

[pinchegringo]

-LBJ cramped due to the AC going out, which was one of the most creative fixes in history. He does have a history of cramping though, and that does worry me but he didn't play an entire season this year.
-JR and Shump never did but honestly that is fine. They can run isos every once in a while just to give LBJ a break.
-Lee should be a problem.
-Depth isn't going to matter if this only goes 5 games.




All being said right now I am less certain right now with this game than I was with game 3, but game 3 was just a huge public fade that I didn't even play.






-And LOL at the Spurs, they shouldn't have even been in the finals last year.

[edawg]

GS is a finesse jumpshooting with no toughness on the inside both Curry and Thompson have to get hot for them to win the series. They have better depth and scoring but Cavs are tougher with bettter rebounding.

[bradthebloke]

-LBJ cramped due to the AC going out, which was one of the most creative fixes in history. He does have a history of cramping though, and that does worry me but he didn't play an entire season this year.
-JR and Shump never did but honestly that is fine. They can run isos every once in a while just to give LBJ a break.
-Lee should be a problem.
-Depth isn't going to matter if this only goes 5 games.




All being said right now I am less certain right now with this game than I was with game 3, but game 3 was just a huge public fade that I didn't even play.






-And LOL at the Spurs, they shouldn't have even been in the finals last year.

[texhooper]

i didn't read anything you said goat but i actually agree with you.

[TwoWays]

i didn't read anything you said goat but i actually agree with you.

Goatie loss all credibility. He said shabazz Napier was better than Kemba walker and mike Conley. U can't come back from that

[Ratzz]

congrats on your title Cleveland

lol.. prefect response

[jjgold]

It's almost impossible for Cleveland to win three straight games against this team

[d2bets]

Yep.

Didn't the Cavs/Bulls series start with the same sequence? Bulls lost first on the road, then won road then home before losing the next 3.

[ithinkiamgood]

These bold titles usually end up losing more than winning. I thought vegas had the perfect response too lolol... This guy reminds me of this soccer tipster who would definately have some knowledge about the game and would make these big writeups but couldn't cap to save his fukking life.

[jjgold]

It's a matter of time Golden State wins by 15 their next home game they're going to destroy them

The contrary opinion in game four is that Curry had a great fourth quarter and they still lost

[texhooper]

Goatie loss all credibility. He said shabazz Napier was better than Kemba walker and mike Conley. U can't come back from that

Jesus. Well let me go on record that the only thing I agree with is the title.

[The fiddler]

I LMAO at people like Eke. JJGold and especiallly Laker Boy that crowned GS champs before the series started. "The Warriors one of the greatest...blah, blah blah." I am a $50 bettor and I laid $600 to win $1100 before the series started. Now I could lose...could not predict Irving's demise. I read all the crap on why the Warriors are "far superior". So let's set the record straight regarding these 2 teams. First, the team with the best record in the NBA since January 15 was.....Cleveland..not GS. Secondly, the Cavs were 13 and 1 against the Western Conference teams since mid January...including a shit stomping of....Golden State. The only game the Cavs lost to God's conference was at Houston when LBJ bricked 2 free throws down one with 2 seconds to go. Should have been 14-0. In that stretch the Cavs beat Memphis by 25 points plus at Memphis. They beat the red hot Spurs in San Antonio. They blew out the Mavericks by 30 in Dallas. Need more? The Cavs are 7-2 on the road in the playoffs this season. The 2 losses? A 40 foot slop shot from Derek Rose at the buzzer and the Warriors double bullet dodge job in the waning seconds in regulation in game one. Vegas had the wrong team favored at the onset of this series...and unbelievably still have the wrong team favored now. I expected a Cav sweep....but now...even without all stars Irving and Love, I see the Cavs playing their last home game tomorrow night at the Q. Cavs in 5.

[jjgold]

I know the game better than most here will see you celebrating in another week

[Seto]

I LMAO at people like Eke. JJGold and especiallly Laker Boy that crowned GS champs before the series started. "The Warriors one of the greatest...blah, blah blah." I am a $50 bettor and I laid $600 to win $1100 before the series started. Now I could lose...could not predict Irving's demise. I read all the crap on why the Warriors are "far superior". So let's set the record straight regarding these 2 teams. First, the team with the best record in the NBA since January 15 was.....Cleveland..not GS. Secondly, the Cavs were 13 and 1 against the Western Conference teams since mid January...including a shit stomping of....Golden State. The only game the Cavs lost to God's conference was at Houston when LBJ bricked 2 free throws down one with 2 seconds to go. Should have been 14-0. In that stretch the Cavs beat Memphis by 25 points plus at Memphis. They beat the red hot Spurs in San Antonio. They blew out the Mavericks by 30 in Dallas. Need more? The Cavs are 7-2 on the road in the playoffs this season. The 2 losses? A 40 foot slop shot from Derek Rose at the buzzer and the Warriors double bullet dodge job in the waning seconds in regulation in game one. Vegas had the wrong team favored at the onset of this series...and unbelievably still have the wrong team favored now. I expected a Cav sweep....but now...even without all stars Irving and Love, I see the Cavs playing their last home game tomorrow night at the Q. Cavs in 5.

So they "should have" beat the Rockets in that game where LeBron bricked 2 free throws and gone 14-0 according to you, yet you mention that game in San Antonio without mentioning Kawhi bricked 2 free throws up 3 when just making 1 would have sealed the game? And without mentioning the only reason they ever stayed even close in that game was Kyrie Irving, a player who is not playing in this series, having the best game of his career? Gotta love posters always adapting stories to what's convenient.

40 foot shot by Rose? Really? I thought it was at least 70. Maybe I should watch that again.

[Barnes & Whine]

This series has been very average compared to most NBA finals. There's been good stuff in the last couple minutes, but these games have been very sloppy for 40 minutes. Cavs losing Irving is going to hurt them down the stretch of this series. I originally thought that with Irving they had a good chance to win this series, but now it puts too much pressure on James to perform at this level every single night. Not only is he being guarded by one of the better perimeter defenders in basketball, the fact that he has to generate 70% of the offense for Cleveland is something that leads me to bring up some questions.

Last year in the finals, James cramped up in game 1 against the Spurs. He hasn't cramped up like that yet, but carrying this load and playing these types of minutes is a recipe for disaster. What's also disturbing is that no one else on the Cavs team can generate offense for another teammate. Dellevodova had 4 or 5 assists tonight, James had his 8...but did anyone else get a dime? I haven't checked the box score but I did not see anyone else making plays for their teammates. That is not easy to do for 4 wins. Sure, you can get away with it for a game here and there, but I don't believe you can win a series that way.

Here are some observations I've made.

1. Cavs are really trapping hard on Curry high screens. Tristin Thompson is showing a lot and Dellevodova is doing a great job at holding his ground in both those situations and down screens. Delly is very very strong for his size, and you're not going to run through him.

ADJUSTMENT: Curry is calling for way too many picks. it's gonna be a lot more one on one basketball for Curry. Also, look for double down screens to free him a few types with guys like Green and Ezili/Bogut/Lee.

ADJUSTMENT 2: Guys like Green are wide open everytime on the trap. Warriors have made this their bread and butter play all year. Curry gets trapped off the pick, lobs it to Green in the middle of the floor, wing player comes to help on green, corner 3 is wide open for Iguadala or Harrison Barnes... Expect Green to get a few more dimes as this series continues.

2. JR Smith and Shumpert are not making plays for anyone else.

ADJUSTMENT: ?? I really don't know. These guys literally have no clue what it means to drive and kick or run a pick and roll. I hardly ever see JR Smith call for a pick and rarely see him lift his eyes off the ground and see the court. Not good. Too much pressure on Lebron to create for everyone.

3. Games 1 and 2 I was wondering why David Lee was not playing. His ability to pump fake, play in that middle of the floor where he can pass the ball as he does his whole career was something missing with Golden State for awhile.

ADJUSTMENT: You have to make Tristin Thompson and Mozgov defend. You can't let these two beasts sit back in the paint and just roam around. They need to account for their man and if Ezili and Bogut are not going to get going offensively, you have to put in David Lee. Maybe Bogut will start taking it personal.

4. Depth. Maybe it's just me, but how Blatt is playing these guys 40+ minutes a night -- I don't agree with this formula. I feel it's only a matter of a time before these guys start to lose their legs. And we know that when you lose your legs in an NBA finals, you're done. It's so hard to guard a duo like a Jordan and Pippen or a Lebron and Wade for 7 games because you lose lift in your legs. When you do, you start bricking shots. And the Cavs are not deep enough to go through those droughts. They don't have 10-11 guys that can knock down shots. I think that Marion should be playing in this series. 4 years ago he won a ring in Dallas as the primary defender on James and he shut him down. Shut down. They played zone but Marion is not finished yet. It leads me to question David Blatt and makes me wonder if he really understands the concept that if guys like Delly and JR Smith start losing their legs (playing 40, 45 or so minutes a night), you're team is done.

I like the Warriors depth and they don't seem fatigued to me at all. This will be a battle of endurance and the Warriors will have more fresh bodies come game 4, 5, and 6... The other thing is when you're fatigued, you start making MENTAL MISTAKES. THOSE MENTAL ERRORS ARE GOING TO COST THE CAVS going forward imo.


Will be putting 300 on warriors in game 4.
And 500 on warriors to win this series.

Btw, if Tony Parker was healthy, Spurs would bitch make the West and dick slap this Cavs team in 5 games at most.

You fuking idiot. Do you see how bad the James want this? He will play through the cramps, Cavs will win this in 6. Don't fuk around with the "soft" Warriors... James is the new coach of the Cavs in this series and he will not let his team slip up. He will be drilling them on every time out and never give Curry and this team a chance to get it back to Oakland for Game 7.

[Seto]

Yep.

Didn't the Cavs/Bulls series start with the same sequence? Bulls lost first on the road, then won road then home before losing the next 3.

Bulls won game 1, not game 2.

[t-wizzle]

Pretty solid analysis but at the end of the day, Golden State needs to shoot better. There's really no way of knowing whether Barnes and Green will continue to shit the bed.

[jjgold]

Every square in the world and every sharp in the world is on Golden State to win the series it's a rare minority to be on Cleveland

[a4u2fear]

congrats on your title Cleveland

yup. clincher

[a4u2fear]

i already won, took cleveland +2.5 games for + money down 1-0, perfect

[Grits n' Gravy]

It's almost impossible for Cleveland to win three straight games against this team

Yet they came within a missed last second jumper of taking game 1(which they gave away). Would be up 3-0. Series far from over now after just 3 games but Cavs backers have to like their chances right now.

[nbaprofosor]

Warriors too strong..Cleve is hanging on by a thread

I say they win the next 3 pretty easy

What crack you using ?? It must be high quality