The difference in tonight's game was what the Cavs missed in the first game and that was a bench or their role players stepping up. Game 1 was 2 stars against the Warriors. Game 2 was about 1 guy and a group of guys stepping up to a challenge and beat a deeper team. The player that's not getting the press that should be getting talked about more is Mozgov. He had a very quiet, but extremely efficient 17 points and 11 Rebs. He was the Cavs' second highest scorer, yet nobody is talking about him because he hardly played in the last periods of the game.
As for Matthew Dellavedova, he deserves all the press he's getting. After posting an absolute goose egg in Game 1, he got the call to start and guard Curry all night. He might have done the best job anybody has EVER done guarding Curry. Curry ended with 19 points and had one of the worst shooting nights of his career including a record setting, most missed 3 pointers in a game going 2-15. I would have to give almost all the credit to Delly, who when guarding Curry, caused him to go 0-8. 0-8 when guarded by Dellavedova! The best shooter in the world. That's heart. Not only did Delly play stellar defense, but he posted a +15. Tristan Thompson was excellent on the rebounds, grabbing 14 rebounds but posted a team worst -21. I just wish the Cavs could get him a little more involved in the offense, getting him more touches and easy buckets, but as of now he is doing his role as best as they could ask him.
Game 2 might have been even more enticing than Game 1 just due to the fact that the Cavs won while being without their second best player and on the road after losing a heart breaker.
I hope Game 3 will live up to what Game 1 & 2 have been, which I think it will. My guess is that the Cavs shock the world an take Game 3, forcing the Warriors and the rest of the world to doubt how good the Warriors are. Doubt is just what the Cavs have installed into the Warriors heads after winning in Golden State. Had the impossible just been done? I think the Warriors are stunned and are in a vulnerable spot right now coming to Cleveland, with the momentum on Cleveland's side. 1 day of rest is in favor of GS because of their depth.
Maybe I'm being too optimistic in thinking the Cavs are going to win the series and are just on a high from winning Game 2 without Kyrie, but I truly think Cleveland is in just as good of shape as they were before Kyrie going out. I think this because, yes Kyrie is really good and I think he would help a lot, but with him gone others really have to step up without having to go out of their comfort zones. For example, Dellevedova didn't do anything special last night in terms of playing outside his abilities, he just accepted the challenge in front of him and stepped up to it. LeBron is the one that will have to do more and something different. The rest of the Cavs just need to step their game up and know their role.
As for Game 3, I would hope Cleveland shows up like they did in Game 2, but nobody can believe Steph Curry will shoot as bad as he did in Game 2 again. I'm afraid he will have one of his "video game" like moments and get his teammates to play like they did all regular season. It's how the Cavs respond to a Curry "video game" unstoppable moment that will decide the game, if they cave in and let the lead get around 15 it might be done, but if they can sustain a big run by GS and not get knocked out (theoretically speaking) they might have a chance to play well enough to take a 2-1 lead into Game 4. This series has been a gift from the basketball gods that we should all be thankful for. I can't imagine not having 3 or 4 more epic games to lead into another epic NBA Finals like we had in the 2013 Finals between LeBron's Miami Heat and Tim Duncan's SA Spurs. After a lot of thought and research I have came to the prediction that the Cavs will take Game 3 and take a series lead into Game 4. Follow me on twitter
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