NBA: What Do We Expect in Game 2?
Game 1 of the 2017 NBA Finals was all Golden State, as the Warriors ran away with a 113-91 victory, defeating the Cavaliers with ease, while Kevin Durant scored 38 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds, and Stephen Curry added 28 points.
Charles Post and Tunde Aduroja, two of our NBA Staff writers, are going to give their expectations on Game 2, including figuring out who Lebron James should defend, where Tristan Thompson was, who takes Game 2, and more!
Who should LeBron James primarily defend?
This is a loaded question, given that James could guard all five positions. In Game 1, he defended Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green at times, and the Warriors were effective — shooting 7/12 on him. I think James should check Durant while the starters are on the court, and then when the benches come in, he should switch to Javale McGee, and either Richard Jefferson or Derrick Williams can take a shot at Durant. James is more effective when he plays off the ball and perimeter, giving him the opportunity to help over if needed and gamble on passes.
- Charles Post.
In Game 1, we saw that Cleveland opted to have Kevin Durant be LeBron James' primary defender. However, they sorely missed his ability to help protect the rim, since he was stuck staying close to KD's body. In the event that KD did get by him, no one was there to help, leading to dunk after dunk after dunk. If I was Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue, I'd put The King on Zaza Pachulia as much as possible. Several times in Game 1, Pachulia came off of pick-and-rolls and passed up lay-up and dunk attempts to try and dump it off to someone else. If James guards Pachulia or Javale McGee, he can provide more help at the rim.
- Tunde Aduroja.
How does Tristan Thompson be more effective?
Tristan Thompson, who was supposed to be the one player that the Warriors couldn't account for, was a no show in Game 1, going for zero points on 0/3 shooting from the field and four rebounds in just 22 minutes. Thompson has nearly averaged a double-double in the playoffs with 9.2 points and 9.3 rebounds prior to the Finals, and the Cavaliers have become accustomed to getting that level of production from their big man, so when he's absent for an entire game, it's alarming. Thompson's motor must run higher in Game 2, in order to get more rebounds, but on the offensive end, his teammates need to get him more involved. The Cavaliers' four main guards (Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, Deron Williams, and Kyle Korver) combined for an atrocious four assists. Thompson needs his guards to attack the basket, draw an extra defender, and then catch the lob for 5-10 easy looks a game. Irving and Co. have to step it up and get their big man a couple of early dunks to keep him engaged on both ends.
- Charles Post.
Golden State got 14 offensive rebounds in Game 1. Simply put, giving the Dubs that many extra possessions will lead to the death of Cleveland's title hopes. Tristan Thompson can be effective by helping put a body on the Warriors' big men. Javale McGee was especially effective on the glass, and neutralizing him will go a long way towards getting Cleveland back in this series. Thompson will also need to be active on the offensive glass himself. Expect that to happen tonight, since Thompson is one of the league's best offensive rebounders.
- Tunde Aduroja.
Can Cleveland attack defensive mismatches?
Golden State's below average defenders are Ian Clark, Stephen Curry, and Zaza Pachulia, for the most part. And yet Cleveland did virtually nothing to exploit those three. Pachulia only played 14 minutes in Game 1 after starting, and Tristan Thompson didn't get one point. While Pachulia is on the court, he has to be attacked whether it be on a post feed to Thompson or forcing a pick-and-roll switch, and then having Kyrie Irving take him off the dribble. Pachulia also has a tendency to commit fouls so if Irving or Lebron James can get a step on him, they'll be in the bonus early and can get easy points at the line. Clark and Curry are similar defenders: They have quick hands and feet but don't seem to always give their full effort on that side of the floor. At times, Curry can looks like a good defender, because he's able to read passing lanes well, and can rack up the steals, but he can't guard Irving one-on-one. If Curry starts on Irving, he must be attacked from the jump. And if Klay Thompson guards Uncle Drew, the Cavaliers must run a simple slip screen with J.R. Smith and get a switch with the two-time MVP.
- Charles Post.
Draymond Green's defensive abilities were on full display in Game 1. Cleveland tried to screen with Steph Curry's man to force a switch several times, which they did to great success in last year's Finals. However, Green wouldn't let it happen. On one possession, he switched Curry off of J.R. Smith, moving Curry onto Kevin Love. When LeBron James tried to feed Love in the post on the mismatch, Green came over in help and stole the pass. Cleveland will probably need to find a way to attack Curry on defense, but they might have to do through other means. Running Smith and Kyle Korver off of screens might be a way to attack Chef Curry. Cleveland should also continue to attack Javale McGee and Zaza Pachulia in the pick-and-roll.
- Tunde Aduroja.
Can Cleveland be better on transition defense?
Golden State outscored Cleveland 27-9 in fast break points during Game 1, and the most obvious issue was allowing Kevin Durant to rebound and run a handful of times. Durant was able to turn up the floor and take four dribbles before being met by any defender, and multiple times he had a clear path to the hole and finished uncontested. Cleveland isn't the best defensive team, which has been well documented over the regular season, but Lebron James (or whoever is guarding Durant) has to pick him up at half court every time down the floor if they want to remain in the series. The second problem for Cleveland's transition defense was that their offense was putting themselves in a horrible spot by turning the ball over 20 (!) times, including 12 steals by Golden State. It's easy to outscore your opponent if you're getting easy looks on the break. Going forward, beginning in Game 2, Cleveland must stop turning the ball over so much and avoid open lanes for Durant and Andre Igoudala on the break. Even the great James was caught napping multiple times. Things like this can't happen.
- Charles Post.
The Cavs aren't a good transition defensive team. They haven't been good at it at any point this season. They turned the ball over 20 times in Game 1, which handed the Warriors easy points on the break. The Cavs didn't communicate well in fast break situations and the Dubs capitalized, to the tune of countless easy buckets. With that being said, Cleveland probably won't turn the ball over 20 times again, which should cut down on the impact of Golden State's transition attack. Look for them to rebound tonight in this department.
- Tunde Aduroja.
Will Derrick Williams get some clock?
Yes. Well, I don't know what Tyronn Lue is thinking, but I believe he should. In our Finals Preview, Tunde Aduroja was a big advocate for Derrick Williams playing important minutes in this series because of his athleticism, size, and strength. And I think he's right. Clearly the plan for defending Kevin Durant didn't go well in Game 1, giving up 38 points on 26 shots, including 3/6 from three-point range. So why not give the former No. 2 overall pick a shot? Williams should see more playing time, and if there's any success, we could be seeing him regularly.
- Charles Post.
Derrick Williams almost certainly can't guard Kevin Durant. However, Cleveland clearly doesn't want LeBron James to have to guard KD for 48 minutes. For the sake of their defense, it would be best if somebody else took on that task. Why not Williams? KD is taller than him, but Williams has a relatively nice combo of size, strength, and athleticism. Williams can use his strength to bump KD off of his spots, get in his grill on the ball, and redirect him on screens and cuts off of it. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see Cleveland bring Williams on the floor and let him get a couple of possessions against Durant.
- Tunde Aduroja.
Who wins Game 2 and what's the final score?
Warriors over Cavaliers, 108-102.
-Charles Post.
Warriors over Cavaliers, 111-106.
-Tunde Aduroja.
Photo Credit: Bleacher Report, NBA.com., and Yahoo! Sports.