June 10, 201510 yr Two things - 1. Remember the 2007 ALCS. Tribe was up 3-1 and lost 3 in a row. Anything can happen. 2. Watching these guys run, and jump, play long minutes, and play through injuries, play until they can barely stand up anymore (or are hospitalized for cramps in the case of Dellavedova), it's one of the most amazing sports experiences I've ever witnessed. Most of the time when I've watched sports I just automatically think of it as a question of talent. Sure, we all pay lip service to 'heart' but rarely is it front and center like this. It might have to do with the fact that basketball is more up-close and personal with the players than football or baseball is, but one thing is for sure - These Cavs are truly leaving everything they have on the court and it is amazing to watch. I hope their bodies can hold up.
June 10, 201510 yr It seems to come down to the Cavs being able to enforce this game plan for two more games(below). Will GS' secondary players get hot one night without a Cavalier secondary counter. Would be awesome if we could get one more JR Smith game this year. The Cavaliers are exposing the big problem with the Warriors' offense By Mike Prada on Jun 10, 2015, 11:52a Once is luck. Twice is coincidence. Three times, you have a pattern. The Cleveland Cavaliers' defense is for real, and it is causing the Golden State Warriors' offense to look like a sports car with the parking brake stuck on. Yes, causing. The Warriors are making uncharacteristic errors and have shown flashes of solving Cleveland's strategy, most notably in the fourth quarter of Game 3. But so far the story of the NBA Finals is that the Cavaliers, who ranked 20th in defensive efficiency this year and 17th after acquiring center Timofey Mozgov, have proven to be the one team that can actually halt Golden State's symphony of chaos. They're doing it because they've made a decision and carried it out to the extreme. No matter what happens, they won't let Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson beat them. Anyone else? Go right ahead. We dare you. ... http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/6/10/8755837/nba-finals-2015-cleveland-cavaliers-defense-golden-state-warriors
June 10, 201510 yr Two things - 1. Remember the 2007 ALCS. Tribe was up 3-1 and lost 3 in a row. Anything can happen. 2. Watching these guys run, and jump, play long minutes, and play through injuries, play until they can barely stand up anymore (or are hospitalized for cramps in the case of Dellavedova), it's one of the most amazing sports experiences I've ever witnessed. Most of the time when I've watched sports I just automatically think of it as a question of talent. Sure, we all pay lip service to 'heart' but rarely is it front and center like this. It might have to do with the fact that basketball is more up-close and personal with the players than football or baseball is, but one thing is for sure - These Cavs are truly leaving everything they have on the court and it is amazing to watch. I hope their bodies can hold up. Well said. The Cavs recognize they have an entire summer to recover, so they are exhausting their bodies and energy supplies like there's no tomorrow. Because after next week, there isn't. I only hope they can make it that long. BTW, I've noticed that some of the Warriors were exhausted at the end of yesterday's game -- notably Steph Curry. But he managed to find something at the end to hit some crazy shots, as well as make several costly turnovers. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 11, 201510 yr Dellavedova Breaks Arms, Legs, Neck; Will Play Game 4 In a freak accident following Game 3 of the N.B.A. Finals, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Matthew Dellavedova suffered fractures in all four of his limbs and neck, but said that he should be ready to play in Game 4, on Thursday. Speaking from an intensive-care unit at the Cleveland Clinic, the gritty Australian declined to dwell on the details of the accident, but said that he would not let the loss of his limbs and neck keep him out of Thursday’s contest. “I’m not going to give less than a hundred per cent just because I’m playing without a spinal column,” said Dellavedova, who acknowledged that he also broke his spinal column. MORE: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/dellavedova-breaks-arms-legs-neck-will-play-game-4 The author, Andy Borowitz, is a 1976 graduate of Shaker Heights High School. His stuff is great!
June 11, 201510 yr NSFW! Turn up the volume, and pull the freakin' knob off.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 11, 201510 yr https://twitter.com/dellyfact Dellavedova Facts @DellyFact 19h19 hours ago CAVS UPDATE: Ambulance carrying #Dellavadova for leg cramps broke down; #Delly strapped it to his back and walked it into Cleveland Clinic.
June 11, 201510 yr I follow that Twitter account too. It's hilarious. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 11, 201510 yr http://www.9news.com.au/world/2015/06/11/13/06/dellavedova-nba-jersey-sales-skyrocket #1 in jersey sales overall, including LeBron and Jordan. The latter, of course has scored zero points against Delly, all time. 8-)
June 11, 201510 yr Two things - 1. Remember the 2007 ALCS. Tribe was up 3-1 and lost 3 in a row. Anything can happen. 2. Watching these guys run, and jump, play long minutes, and play through injuries, play until they can barely stand up anymore (or are hospitalized for cramps in the case of Dellavedova), it's one of the most amazing sports experiences I've ever witnessed. Most of the time when I've watched sports I just automatically think of it as a question of talent. Sure, we all pay lip service to 'heart' but rarely is it front and center like this. It might have to do with the fact that basketball is more up-close and personal with the players than football or baseball is, but one thing is for sure - These Cavs are truly leaving everything they have on the court and it is amazing to watch. I hope their bodies can hold up. Well said. The Cavs recognize they have an entire summer to recover, so they are exhausting their bodies and energy supplies like there's no tomorrow. Because after next week, there isn't. I only hope they can make it that long. BTW, I've noticed that some of the Warriors were exhausted at the end of yesterday's game -- notably Steph Curry. But he managed to find something at the end to hit some crazy shots, as well as make several costly turnovers. curry's monentary brilliance in game 3 occurred pretty much with both james and delly on the bench....
June 11, 201510 yr Two things - 1. Remember the 2007 ALCS. Tribe was up 3-1 and lost 3 in a row. Anything can happen. 2. Watching these guys run, and jump, play long minutes, and play through injuries, play until they can barely stand up anymore (or are hospitalized for cramps in the case of Dellavedova), it's one of the most amazing sports experiences I've ever witnessed. Most of the time when I've watched sports I just automatically think of it as a question of talent. Sure, we all pay lip service to 'heart' but rarely is it front and center like this. It might have to do with the fact that basketball is more up-close and personal with the players than football or baseball is, but one thing is for sure - These Cavs are truly leaving everything they have on the court and it is amazing to watch. I hope their bodies can hold up. Well said. The Cavs recognize they have an entire summer to recover, so they are exhausting their bodies and energy supplies like there's no tomorrow. Because after next week, there isn't. I only hope they can make it that long. BTW, I've noticed that some of the Warriors were exhausted at the end of yesterday's game -- notably Steph Curry. But he managed to find something at the end to hit some crazy shots, as well as make several costly turnovers. curry's monentary brilliance in game 3 occurred pretty much with both james and delly on the bench.... I was gonna say, LeBron and Delly are playing their hearts out, but Blatt and the coaching staff (LeBron probably included) are coming up with some great schemes that are completely confounding Golden State at times. This is truly a team effort!
June 11, 201510 yr Tifo - it’s not just for soccer anymore: http://www.mlssoccer.com/sideline/news/article/2015/06/10/cleveland-cavaliers-fans-jump-tifo-bandwagon-game-3-nba-finals-sideline
June 11, 201510 yr http://m.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/mariotti-warriors-curry-not-ready-for-this-moment/Content?oid=2932823 Interesting. Being born and raised in northern California these finals are ironic for me but don't worry I have no loyalty for GSW :) I'm all Cleveland. They are playing their hearts out and going beyond what anyone thought they could but most of all they are playing as a team. Nobody can do anything without the other. They truly have each other's backs even when someone messes up. Golden State doesn't give that vibe, and just seem to have a bad attitude going into this. I'm a nervous wreck for tonight because I feel like this game will determine the outcome. Whatever happens, I think everyone will always remember this Cavs performance.
June 11, 201510 yr This game does not determine the outcome. It either puts GSW in a really bad spot or restarts the series. Either way, enjoy the moment, folks.
June 11, 201510 yr http://m.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/mariotti-warriors-curry-not-ready-for-this-moment/Content?oid=2932823 Interesting. Being born and raised in northern California these finals are ironic for me but don't worry I have no loyalty for GSW :) I'm all Cleveland. They are playing their hearts out and going beyond what anyone thought they could but most of all they are playing as a team. Nobody can do anything without the other. They truly have each other's backs even when someone messes up. Golden State doesn't give that vibe, and just seem to have a bad attitude going into this. I'm a nervous wreck for tonight because I feel like this game will determine the outcome. Whatever happens, I think everyone will always remember this Cavs performance. Good point. Just look at the body language....the Golden State Warriors look absolutely miserable having to play these games.
June 11, 201510 yr This game does not determine the outcome. It either puts GSW in a really bad spot or restarts the series. Either way, enjoy the moment, folks. this is true. A client of mine golfs with Mike Miller all the time. They golfed today actually. Miller says this will be by and far the toughest game of the series...but Cavs feel regardless of outcome...they will win the series. His outlook makes sense to me...Golden State going home after this grueling stretch is not like the Spurs going home after this grueling stretch. They are still a young team and we have all the toughness and leadership on our side.
June 12, 201510 yr AMBER ALERT J.R. Smith Male 6'6 225 lbs Multiple identifying tattoos If found please contact Lebron James "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 12, 201510 yr ^ you watched, didn't you? At halftime I started watching. I heard how bad we were losing so I figured watching this game couldn't cause us to lose two games in one night. But I've been following all of the games live on Twitter. A couple of interesting tweets I just spotted.... Tom Haberstroh @tomhaberstroh now LeBron James points in the fourth quarter. 2011 Finals Game 4: 0 2014 Finals Game 4: 0 2015 Finals Game 4: 0 Larry Beyince @DragonflyJonez 3m3 minutes ago Chin up tho, Cavs fans. Losses when you have a terrible shooting night and your opponent has a good shooting night are the "best" losses. arry Beyince @DragonflyJonez 2m2 minutes ago Best to get those terrible shooting nights out the way when the other team is on fire. Dont wanna waste a good shooting night on a L "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 12, 201510 yr The photos of both JR and Shumpert should be on milk cartons. Only Mozgov showed up big time, esp offensively. Tristan continued to fight, but when nobody is pickup up the King offensively, what are you going to do?
June 12, 201510 yr Still think cavs in 6. Iguodala outplayed lebron. That won't happen ever again. Guys r spent. Three days off. If smith finds his shot it could be ugly in Oakland. That's why its a 7 game series.
June 12, 201510 yr The photos of both JR and Shumpert should be on milk cartons. Only Mozgov showed up big time, esp offensively. Tristan continued to fight, but when nobody is pickup up the King offensively, what are you going to do? Unfortunately, there's a video and screenshots of that video floating around the web of LeBron accidentally exposing himself on national TV during the game. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 12, 201510 yr Hardwood Paroxysm @HPbasketball 5m5 minutes ago A point I’m going to be hammering home over and over again, no matter who wins this series: The Cavs are going to be STACKED next year. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 12, 201510 yr no, not that a tired cavs team lost, but the lebron stitches thing. can we even go one freakin game without injuries??
June 12, 201510 yr That was a pivotal moment. He was not himself after he hit his head on that camera.
June 12, 201510 yr They looked like a team with nothing left in the tank. With no one hitting their outside shots, the Cavs simply have no chance, given the injuries they've sustained. To win 2 of the next 3 Lebron has to be dominant, the defense has to be air tight, Mosgov and Thompson need to lock down the boards, and role players need to hit their open shots. It's been a great series, and I'm 100% rooting for the Cavs, but I just think this slope might be a bit too steep a climb for this injured bunch.
June 12, 201510 yr Lebron doesn't seem too concerned. I wouldn't be either. One thing he has learned from being in Miami, a single game in a 7 game series is not the end of the world. the guy single handedly ended the Boston dynasty in a more raucous arena than Oracle by scoring 45 points...wade and bosh didn't even do anything that game. He has seen it all, done it all, been through it all. Hell, with the exception of last year...the SAN ANTONIO SPURS have a game (or two) like last night in just about every playoff series they play in. Its what happens in 7 game series. Here is my biggest take away...our defensive gameplan still works against them. Curry and Klay did not beat us last night, Iguodala did. IN the third we made a huge run, just couldn't get over the top. Lebron was outplayed by Iguodala, Smith cant hit a shot. I feel like this sets up fine for the Cavs.
June 12, 201510 yr The extra day off should help. It looked as if neither LeBron nor Delly ever fully recovered from the dehydration and cramping suffered after Game 3. We are still waiting on that JR Swishness game and, agreeing with the comment upthread, I'm glad it didn't happen in the loss last night. It's been no secret that the Cavs are going to make the other players, not named Curry and Thompson, beat them. They have no choice but to give Iggy good looks and if he is knocking them down as he did last night it will be a tough game for us. But Iggy doing that for more than one game would be out of character. We should take a good hard look at what worked when we made our runs last night and build off that.
June 12, 201510 yr The photos of both JR and Shumpert should be on milk cartons. Only Mozgov showed up big time, esp offensively. Tristan continued to fight, but when nobody is pickup up the King offensively, what are you going to do? Unfortunately, there's a video and screenshots of that video floating around the web of LeBron accidentally exposing himself on national TV during the game. In an unrelated development, Rihanna has announced that she is shooting her next video in Akron. :evil:
June 12, 201510 yr The extra day off should help. It looked as if neither LeBron nor Delly ever fully recovered from the dehydration and cramping suffered after Game 3. We are still waiting on that JR Swishness game and, agreeing with the comment upthread, I'm glad it didn't happen in the loss last night. It's been no secret that the Cavs are going to make the other players, not named Curry and Thompson, beat them. They have no choice but to give Iggy good looks and if he is knocking them down as he did last night it will be a tough game for us. But Iggy doing that for more than one game would be out of character. We should take a good hard look at what worked when we made our runs last night and build off that. It's been an entertaining series. Kerr rediscovering David Lee has actually been a factor--he always has been a good offensive player, and giving him some of Bogut's minutes makes the Warriors much harder to defend. I think the next three games will be a slugfest.
June 12, 201510 yr Life is about silver linings. Next Tuesday will be game 6 in Cleveland. It WILL be a hell of a night downtown
June 12, 201510 yr Life is about silver linings. Next Tuesday will be game 6 in Cleveland. It WILL be a hell of a night downtown Especially if the Cavs win Sunday. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 12, 201510 yr Blatt needs to utilize more of his bench, having an extra days rest is nice but if you're just gonna drive them back into the ground then that extra day of rest means nothing IMO.
June 13, 201510 yr Yeah, unfortunately, our two-days-off game will be on Golden State's home floor; after that, it's back to one game off for Game 6, and if there's a Game 7, that will be one day off and played in Oakland.
June 13, 201510 yr ^at this point in the championship , anyone can win anywhere...don't look too much into home court advantage. If anything, the Cavs could get and edge if those young warriors players just think being home will make winning easier
June 14, 201510 yr the rest of the cavs need to follow the delly lead, play that dee with high energy and disrupt everything, every little thing they can. like this: http://www.thescore.com/nba/news/779144
June 14, 201510 yr Yeah, unfortunately, our two-days-off game will be on Golden State's home floor; after that, it's back to one game off for Game 6, and if there's a Game 7, that will be one day off and played in Oakland. Check the schedule again. Game 7 would actually be Friday, oddly enough.
June 14, 201510 yr In depth look from Buffalo: http://buckyandsully.buffalonews.com/2015/06/13/cleveland-all-aboard-for-wild-journey/
June 15, 201510 yr Yeah, unfortunately, our two-days-off game will be on Golden State's home floor; after that, it's back to one game off for Game 6, and if there's a Game 7, that will be one day off and played in Oakland. Check the schedule again. Game 7 would actually be Friday, oddly enough. Oh good. Well, at least we have a shot ... as long as we win one of the next two! (Or both!)
June 15, 201510 yr Can somebody stick a sock in the mouth of whiner Greg Brinda with his trash-the-Cleveland-fans act? Shut the hell up!!!!
June 15, 201510 yr Sorry to hear Cavs lost and are now down 3-2. I saw on Twitter it was a good game. Based on what I saw on Twitter, I'm glad I didn't watch it. I probably would have smashed my TV. I saw comments from many respected NBA reporters/analysts about poor officiating. The game was close through most of it, but the Cavs have been outscored by 37 points in the 4th in the series. They also lost the rebounding edge. Both stats speak to them being exhausted. I didn't expect the Cavs, even if healthy, to win the Finals this year. I expected them to win it in 2015-16. There's still 1-2 games left in this Finals, but the Cavs' legs have to feel like rubber by now. Their injuries are very unfortunate. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 15, 201510 yr Wow, not a single post since the end of the game except mine and clvlndr's. Life goes on. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 15, 201510 yr Exactly where I thought we would be when the series began..... when I wasn't being an overly optimistic homer. A must win game 6 at home for the chance to win a game 7 on their floor.
June 15, 201510 yr Wow, not a single post since the end of the game except mine and clvlndr's. Life goes on. I watched the entire game, but felt that your post accurately surmised the current situation. :) The only thing I'd have to add is they wouldn't have to hustle *quite* as much on defense if they could actually get their shots to drop. Way to many missed buckets, including some massive bricks and airballs. The Cavs shot 34% to the Warriors 48% from the field. Delladova needs to to back to pounding espresso to get his jump shot back. Thompson missed quite a few in the paint as well taking his good ole time to set up for a shot, as I believe the announcers pointed out. If the Warriors had hit their free throws, this game would have been much more one-sided.
June 15, 201510 yr Wow, not a single post since the end of the game except mine and clvlndr's. Life goes on. Well cussing is banned, so......
June 15, 201510 yr I think Blatt should go back to the lineup that got us the lead in this series: - Put Mozgov back in at center and leave him there. - Run low pick 'n rolls for LeBron, or Delly, to free them up either for the runner or pass to Mozgov or Thompson. - Whip them on both boards. - Get the combo of Delly and Shumpert to beat the hell out of Curry and - slow the tempo down to keep GSW to under 100 points. Whether it's Memphis, Houston or Cleveland... Golden State wilts when you pound them inside and control the game's tempo... Yes, we panicked in Game 4 when Kerr pulled Bogut for Iguodala and Mozgov ran out to the perimeter to guard AI which opened up the middle. And yesterday, when Golden State ran out to an 8-2 lead, Blatt panicked and pulled Timo again until late in the game. I say stick with the game plan that gave us success. If the Warriors have an early run, just call timeout to settle our guys. Don't panic and start throwing guys into unfamiliar situations like throwing away our trump card and going, because that's what Kerr has thrives off of (he did to Memphis exactly what he's doing to us now -- but the difference is that, unlike Memphis, we have BOTH size and outside shooting (or at least we should), whereas Memphis is more a strictly inside, grind-it-out club). ... and we keep Andre Iguodala out of the paint... if he beats us with shots from the perimeter, then so be it. Better that as opposed to watching him throw down dunks like we've been seeing for the past to games after Blatt went small. You're almost always going to lose in sports -- any sport -- when you allow your opponent to force you to play his game rather than vice-versa.
June 15, 201510 yr I was watching Blatt's press conference and he was getting a ton of heat about Mozgov... (especially from a handful of Russian journalists, who seemed to insinuate that he had something personal against Timofey. He got quite perturbed at that.) Same thing on Mike and Mike this morning... lots of people wondering why Mozgov wasn't playing.
June 15, 201510 yr Shumpert looked awful last night, I thought. It was like playing 5 on 4 with him on the court most of the night.
June 15, 201510 yr Shumpert is getting a bad rap because his shots can be ugly. He did have a couple really bad drives, but his defense has been tremendous. Klay did nothing last night. Its really a shame, because the cavs have controlled this series with the exception of three quarters....the 4th quarter of games 3,4, & 5 (also OT game 1). I like to believe we will come out guns a blazing tomorrow night...but I just think they are worn down. Lebron will be very difficult to put away...but I just think we are running on empty. We shall see. Have to focus and play great D. Crowd also needs to come up huge.
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