NBA Finals - Game 6

"When facing elimination, LeBron James averages 31.9 PPG, the highest in NBA playoff history among players with at least 5 such games in their careers. His teams are 7-7 in those games, but they’ve won 5 of the last 6." - ESPN

What more could LeBron do tonight that he hasn't already done? He's scored 40 in 3 out of the 5 games in this series. He's had a triple double in 2 of them. If only one of his teammates could step up and carry some of the load, LeBron and the Cavs would have a much better chance of winning. Tonight is different. LeBron and the Cavs are facing elimination. Tonight will be all about Lebron James, not about how much his teammates will help. Tonight will be all about attacking every opportunity he gets. I wouldn't be surprised if LeBron surpasses the 30 point mark at halftime if he's truly playing in desperation mode.
Just like in Game 6 at Boston in 2013, LeBron will be on a mission tonight. The one thing I truly believe he's lacked effort in this series and most of the post season is his INDIVIDUAL defense. Yes, I know he's basically the Cavs' only threat on offense, thus him conserving energy on the defensive side, but tonight he is going to have to play just as hard on defense as he has been on offense if the Cavs want to stay alive. If you don't agree that he hasn't given his full effort on defense, look at the play that Harrison Barnes dunked on him on the offensive rebound putback slam. Also, watch him guard Iguodala, yes he is suppose to give him room to shoot, but his close outs are lackadaisical and effortless. He needs to take command and guard Steph Curry when Steph is starting to heat up to prevent the Warriors from going on a big run or score 17 points in the 4th quarter.

When it is all over it will come down to a win or another NBA Finals loss.

My Final thought is that LeBron will come out hungry and have a big 1st half. Although he will be gunning, I think the Warriors will stay right with the Cavs. The difference tonight will be the help of the whole team in terms of defense and making shots when called to. The 4th quarter will be the final factor as to why the Cavs win or lose and I think LeBron will take over, willing his way to force Game 7 with an incredible offensive output, but even more importantly, taking responsibility on defense, shutting down Curry.



Here is an interesting article on Lebron's performance through the 5 games.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/lebron-james-may-go-down-as-the-greatest-loser-ever/

Follow me on twitter @basketballguy61

NBA Finals - Game 4 recap - Game 5 preview

It was about time that Cleveland's gas tank hit completely empty, they have had their gas light on since the 4th quarter of Game 3. We all knew that this would inevitably happen with the minutes that the Cavs player were playing. LeBron finally returned to mortal and was a non-factor in the second half. Pretty much every Cavs player had a bad night except Mozgov who had the best game of his career finishing with 28 points. This was about the only thing Cleveland did well. With the Warriors playing small, Cleveland had to use their size and take advantage. Unfortunately nobody else could make a shot, especially from outside and from 3, where the Cavs shot 4-27. JR Smith has been absent from this series and thus I predict a breakout Game 5.

Game 5

These 2 days between games will make a big difference for the depleted Cavaliers. After a horrendous Game 4, I expect LeBron to return to his SuperMan like form and have a big Game 5. I hope JR and Shumpert can get it going as well because they were so bad in Game 4. My guess is that Game 5 is another down to the wire, one possession game. I have a feeling LeBron is going to have a big game along with one other teammate, hopefully JR Smith and they pull out a win.

Cleveland wins and takes a 3-2 lead back to Cleveland.


Side note: Andre Iguodala has been the MVP of the Warriors and is the biggest reason they won last night.

LeBron will bring back the over-sized sweatband.

Follow me on twitter @basketballguy61

NBA Finals - Game 3 recap - Game 4 preview

Once again another very inefficient game for LeBron. 14-34 is better than Game 2, but still not the best. 46 minutes added to his minutes total, getting him to 142/154 minutes possible. His efficiency is really taking a toll because of his lack of rest. That being said, this is how he has to play with the line-ups he is playing with. I was impressed with how he came out attacking in the 1st half and 3rd quarter when they pushed the lead to 22. The 4th quarter was a different story though, after what we thought was turning into a blowout, the Warrior came back and cut the lead all the way to 1 point. A lot of this was because of stagnant offense by the Cavs, but another reason was because Steph Curry finally found his shot and started lighting it up from downtown. Fortunately for the Cavs, the Warriors could not complete the full comeback, due to some clutch free throws by LeBron and Dellavedova. Curry ended up scoring 17 in the 4th and 27 in the game.

Delly! Delly! Delly! Dellavedova deserves all the praise and attention he is receiving. He out played the MVP, maybe not in stats, but in terms of hustle, heart, and defense. He is giving his all and it shows. I doubt he will have the same kind of performance he had in Game 3 in Game 4, but if he plays with the same intensity and effort, expect him to frustrate Curry and the Warriors again.

Tristan Thompson was much better in Game 3 than Game 2. A key stat worth noting is that he played 44 mins, only 2 less than LeBron who played 46. TT was also very efficient last night getting some easy finishes off 4 offensive rebounds finishing 4/6 from the field with 13 rebounds, a team high. It seems to be that when one of Cleveland's bigs is on the other is off. They work so well at protecting the rim and rebounding, but if they could both be on for one game, the Warriors would have their hands full. I know Cleveland is switching all picks when Thompson is the center, but he simply cannot guard Steph.

Looking ahead to Game 4

As the Cavs take a 2-1 lead into Game 4 and home-court advantage, I wouldn't say anything is locked up for them at all. After last night's loss, I believe the Warriors finally have felt like they can actually be beat. Their body language said it all. They seem like they have lost all their confidence and chemistry. Klay Thompson was MIA last night after having a huge Game 2. Steph didn't find his shot until the 4th quarter. The Golden State front court of Bogut, Green, and Barnes was absolutely horrendous. The only reason they stayed in the game was becasue of the combo of Iggy, David Lee, and Barbosa. Yes, the very unlikely trio. If I'm Steve Kerr, I would piss these guys off to get a fire lit under them. Also, maybe David Lee has to play more. He ended with a +17 rating. That's riddiculous. I think Golden State will come out firing on all cylinders showing everybody that they haven't thrown in the towel yet and make this another close game. The difference between Game 4 and the first 3 games will be that Golden State will actually lead most of the game rather than the Cavs. The Cavs have been leading most of the game because LeBron has been controlling the tempo, disabling Golden State to play at a fast pace and get transition baskets. At the end of the game, Golden State will tie the series 2-2, unless an unexpected performance from Dellavedova, JR Smith, or Iman Shumpert.














Follow me on twitter @basketballguy61

NBA Finals - Game 2 recap - Game 3 preview

In all honestly LeBron played very inefficient in terms of offense and amount of minutes he played. Nobody cares about efficiency though, because the highlights and history books only care about "how many" points, rebounds, assists rather than efficiency. Both Game 1 and 2 LeBron has been very inefficient but all people will see is that he has scored 44 & 39 respectfully in each game. None the less, 39 points and a triple-double is extremely impressive and will go down as one of his best performances in NBA Finals history, joining the elite company of James Worthy as the only players with 35, 15, & 10. Not to shabby Mr. James.

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 @basketballguy61

NBA Eastern Conference Top 5 teams

After about 6 weeks of the NBA season, I have came to some thoughts. The Eastern Conference is totally up for grabs between Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Toronto, and the Wizards. Those 5 are the only good teams in the East. I left the Miami Heat off because without LeBron they are now just an average Eastern Conference team. Now let me breakdown the 5 teams I mentioned.

Atlanta Hawks: I don't know how they are on a 9 game winning streak, but whatever they are doing keep doing it. They are .5 a game behind Toronto for the #1 seed. I don't see them as being a real contender for the Eastern Conference Championship, but they will be tough to go through if they keep playing as they are for the rest of the season.

Chicago Bulls: On paper they look really good and they are really good. They have maybe the most complete team in the East. They are the favorite to a lot of journalist to win the East and they certainly can, but their playoff success depends on the health of Derrick Rose. Last night, he looked really good against a very good Western Conference team, the Portland Trailblazers. Dropping 31 was a great sign for him and the team. As a fan of the game I hope he gets back to his MVP form, but that's highly unlikely. Rose has struggled this season. He is shooting a very low FG% and 3P%. Those number's need to increase closer to 48% and 35%. I would say the biggest concern that I can see are the amount of free throws attempted. He has only one game this season with 10 FTA. His average FTA is only slightly lower than his career FTA, but I personally think that the scoring PG that he is should be getting to the FT at least 6 times per game. It's early in the season, so there is a lot of time to improve and get back to his peak, but that will take proper rest from coach Thibodeau in terms of minutes played and games played. The addition of Pau Gasol has been a great compliment to both Jokim Noah and Taj Gibson. The emergence of Jimmy Butler as premier defender and legit offensive threat has been impressive. The Bulls are a serious contender that could possibly knock King James off his throne.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Sitting at the #5 seed in the East, you would think this team will make it to the playoffs and then bow out in the first or maybe second round. That is not the case. The Cavs just ended a remarkable 8 game winning streak that truly showed us (the fans and league) what this team is capable of doing. After their sluggish start, they finally showed that they can be a sound defensive team and high powered offensive team that we all could predict when the new Big 3 (James, Irving, Love) teamed up. Blatt has finally figured out a game plan that will play to his team's strengths. With a defense first mindset, the Cavs can easily rise to a #1 o#2 seed in the East. Last night was an MVP like performance from Mr. James. 17/24 from the floor is quite spectacular. LeBron is playing great, it's his teammates that need to step up as it's always his teammates that need to step up where ever he goes. DeJaVu? When the Big 3 are all clicking, this team is pretty tough to stop, but it's the guys like Tristan Thompson and Varejo that are the X factors of the Cavs winning these regular season games. Thompson is a very important key to the Cavs success. If Thompson, Love, and Varejo can control the boards, the Cavs will be very successful. Getting Delladova back is a huge addition for the Cavs. He will be able to take some pressure off Kyrie Irving when Irving is on the bench or at the SG position.

follow me at @basketballguy61

Lebron's Homecoming

Well that was ugly. I know it was just this first game of the season, but that had to be so disappointing to the city of Cleveland. Lebron looked like he had never played with his teammates and he didn't want to upset them by playing like his usual self. He literally played like an average SF in the league that was just there to get occasional shots. It seemed as if the game plan was for him to play off his teammates rather than his teammates play off him. If the Cavs want to be serious championship contenders David Blatt is going to need to change his game plans.
This was a rare outing from Lebron and I expect a huge game from him tonight, but it wont be easy going to the revamped Chicago Bulls for their home opener and Derrick Rose back. Kyrie will have his hands full with Rose and vice versa.

Can't wait to watch ESPN @ 7:00 PM CT Cavs at Bulls

Follow me on Twitter @basketballguy61