Live Thread: Warriors @ Cavs

It’s the big day. The Warriors are in Cleveland for revenge. Last time they were in Cleveland was for game six, when they were on the verge of losing three in a row and not capturing an almost sure thing title. The Warriors are coming in at full strength. And, they have swapped out Harrison Barnes for some guy named Kevin Durant.

Golden State is currently 27-4, which is the best mark in the league. They have the second ranked offense and defense. Durant, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson are all averaging over twenty points a game, and Draymond Green is still leading their assault notching 7.4 assists a game.

The Cavs will be without J.R. Smith, but the rest of the team should be ready to go. Kevin Love, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving have all had some rest over the past couple of weeks.

What to Watch

1. There will be lots of cross matching today. Love won’t cover Green for much of the game, and LeBron probably won’t cover Durant until late into the game. The Warriors will shuffle their coverage too. It will be fun to see which guys can capitalize the most when they aren’t being locked down.

2. Every one always talks about how fast the Warriors play and how well they pass the ball. The Cavs need to dictate the pace. They need to have solid offensive possessions and not turn the ball over. And, slow it down. Let James run some pick and rolls after holding the ball for ten seconds. Let Irving go to work against Curry. Let the whole team go to work against Curry. He’s their weakest defender and when the Warriors try to counter that by switching anything he’s involved in, the Cavs can crush the mismatches.

3. James is dominant against Durant. He shut him down once in a Finals series, and it just feels like he wins against him. This season the pair is pretty close statistically.

4. The Cavs should try and play big today. This forces the Warriors to try and rebound or else Love and Tristan can get the Cavs too many second chances. Having to rebound like that will keep them from getting out on the break.

I’m picking the Cavs. The Warriors have this game built up too much and their nerves may get the best of them. Cavs 115, Warriors 100.

Merry Christmas!