InstaCap: Cavs 112 – Warriors 97 (Or, Kyrie’s Best Game Ever) 2016-06-14 Off By Tom Pestak Live Thread: Cavs @ Warriors, NBA Finals Game 5 Recap: Cavaliers 112, Warriors 97 (or, I’ll Never Forget That One)
Looks like Bogut’s MRI is going to be pushed back to tomorrow (originally scheduled for today) due to too much swelling. Very real chance he could be out for the rest of the series. Hate to see a guy get injured like that, especially with someone with an injury history like Bogut.
Agree.
I will save further discussion on Love’s future until this series is over. All I know is that we need him to step up. Game 6 at home in the Q.
Cmon Kev everyone is rooting for you to succeed, we know you can do it.
C’mon Kev, gotta make it happen!!
I couldn’t stand the talk in last podcast about Kyrie being a loser. The kid has a huge heart. He just made his way back from a 7 month injury rehab. He has had to live all season with people proclaiming the Golden Boy’s greatness, and responds by outplaying him in the Finals. He deserves this moment
Well, he played outstanding last night. So yeah, I get why some Kyrie believers feel vindicated. I’ll shelve any Kyrie debates for the offseason. He was burning bright last night and he kept the Cavs season alive. And it was hugely entertaining to watch.
He has been incredible all playoffs. Last night was hardly the exception.
The Cavs need to go into full on flop mode anytime Kerr wants to put Varejao in the game. I mean all five players on the court. He’s just putting him in there to flop nonstop, and nothing else, so fight fire with fire. Turn it into a complete farce if the NBA refuses to address it.
That play where Varejao rolled around on the floor like a gasping carp for 10 minutes, acting like JR ripped his ear off, deserves a suspension.
Liked Van Gundy’s words on Andy, “Stand Up and Play”
I think Mo should get Dellys minutes at this point.
I think Jordan McCrae should get Delly’s minutes.
Delly was very good in the Toronto series and had a great year. His shot has been off for some time but the problem in the Finals is that the Warriors are playing him to shoot and none of the other Cavs (mainly LeBron) are working very hard to get those downhill pick and rolls going.
I think we need to trust Delly. And he needs to be more decisive on O. Then he’ll be OK. Mo is just so bad on D.
Agree that Love was overwhelmed on offense, and ineffective. But I thought he was great on D, and was a key contributor to our interior D and rebounding in the 4th. That is why Lue road him. He figured out that it made sense to leave two bigs in against the Draymond-less Ws. Also, even though he didn’t score on O, when he is in the game he creates space. KI and LBJ emphasized the importance of that space in their pressers. Love can be a lot better, but I totally understood why Lue played him a lot in second… Read more »
Yeah. But Love has to play better on offense.
Didn’t think his defense was all that great. Barnes missed 3-4 wide open three’s when Love didn’t close out timely. Wide open in the sense that no one was within 6 feet of him. His offense was a train wreck. He needs to have more confidence to make Kyrie and LBJ give him the ball. He passively sat in the corner on most possessions in the second half. And Lue played him because he had no other choice. His big man rotation was: Tristian, Lebron, Love. Pretty sure no one else got minutes at the 4 or 5 except maybe… Read more »
Lue had a very clear choice to go small. The Ws were small. Lue could have played only 1 big, but he played 2. It was a great decision. Look, Love was bad relative to his talent. But he was effective in their defensive scheme in the 4th Q. That was important. Tom argued that it made no sense to keep Love in there. I thought it made perfect sense given how their interior D played and how the dominated the defensive glass. Also, when Love passively sits in the corner it HELPS create space. Again, I want him to… Read more »
I thought he was okay defensively, pretty good in the paint….he’s always going to be at a disadvantage on a switch to a quicker guy, but I thought he at least worked hard on the perimeter. The Cavs don’t exactly put him in the best shots, but he needs to look to shoot or move the ball when he gets it, at least when he has a favorable matchup. But we’ve been saying that a lot of the season. Certainly don’t mind him deferring on shots when Lebron and KI are both scoring like that. Gotta ride them. Unfortunately, doubt… Read more »
There were times it didn’t make sense to me. Like where Kevin Love repeatedly showed on the pick and roll with either of the splash brothers and wasn’t quick enough to retreat and it led to very unfavorable match ups. Or his inability to box out Steph Curry in the 4th, or him just standing in the corner on offense. There were sequences in both halves where he looked completely overmatched and Ty Lue just kept him in there. I wasn’t the only one who saw that.
I think Jefferson played the exact amount of time he can play at a high level. You could see that as the game wore on, he started making silly mistakes, like the travelling call or the pass to nowhere the play before. The perplexing thing is why Frye didn’t play at all. It’s not like Love is a world beater on D, though he is better than Channing, but I think we could use Frye’s quick trigger to keep the defense honest, at least for a short stretch. Also, I loved that Lue brought Mo Williams in for like 1… Read more »
Think about this. If the Cavs win Thursday, it will be the first time since the ’97 Tribe that a Cleveland team has the chance to clinch a title. Wow. This city has been crapped on by every measurable statistic outside healthcare service and access to arts and culture.
I wish Amin Elhassan would stop taking shots at the city every chance he gets. I don’t think he actually explores the cities he goes to, there is so much to do in Cleveland. He must just sit in his hotel moping.
Food is dope too, although too greasy at times.
He’s just a moron. He doesn’t usually bring anything to any argument to back it up, it’s basically just smug barstool chest thumping. He may as well be posting on Reddit with the 16 year old boys. It’s hilarious how he talks about his Suns days like he was a mover and shaker there, rather than just the guy who picked up the subs and salad at lunch time.
I hope this game finally translates into legitimate growth for the Cavs. Even if this isn’t our year, it is awesome to watch this team play. Keep gaining trust and chemistry and we will be a force for years to come. Finally some fire from our team! All I ask for from a Cleveland team is to work harder and be tougher than the opponent every game. Win or lose, that’s all. Go Cavs, glad to be able to watch another game this season. Ty Lue is a much better assistant coach who can relate to players, he is a… Read more »
What are you, the body language police of coaches?
Just an observation. He needs some Chapstick
Fantastic win. Kyrie is one of a few players in the league who has the ability to match Curry shot for shot. Yes his defence is poor, yes he can get basket tunnel-vision but games like tonight remind us why trading him would be a very short sighted move. Love, on the other hand… I don’t see why we bring him back if offered a selection of young 3&D guys. LeBron always reduces his team mates to role players (Kyrie the exception as he is a primary ball handler). James is good enough that he all he really needs is… Read more »
How many strech 4s in the league are better than him? They aren’t that common. Draymond, and thats about it. Ibaka might fit here better but hes not nearly the shooter. We are overreacting to Kevin not being able to switch onto 2 of the best shooters in league history.
That said he was abysmal tonight. I was particularily disappointed by his rebounding but thought his defense was actually passable
I agree that he’s one of the best stretch 4’s in the league, but it’s far better to have a lesser player who fits better than an individually more talented one. Love is better than Ibaka offensively – no question – but Ibaka would fit so much better defensively and still be a threat from 3 to give the spacing Kyrie and LeBron need.
Only against the Warriors Love isn’t that useful. He’d be tremendously useful against the Thunder.
On another note, Kyrie interviews better than Curry or Clay. He just comes off more articulate & has a more dynamic personality. Most of those reporter questions are stupid & lazy because they are repetitive . Akron Beacon journal (not Lloyd) asked on what date did Kyrie notice he was getting along with Lebron? Are you serious? That’s your question on National TV in the NBA Finals? Veteran Lebron answered it perfectly, “The date was when I announced I was coming back to Cleveland, that was the date. Next question”
Share the awesome feeling Tom! What an incredible show Kyrie put on in the Bright Lights Tonight! And Lebron’s dominance was fantastic! It’ll be fun to hold onto the good feeling for a couple of more days until Thursday. You and the world are perplexed at Lue’s rotation of keeping Love in there and not going back to a very Effective Richard Jefferson. I loved how he handled Iggy numerous times. Many people were saying (before) that Draymond gives Love fits. Well, he wasn’t in and Love still didn’t perform very well in this game. It seems we are running… Read more »
Is this an Interpol reference? One of my favorite albums from the early aughts.
Can we wear the black sleeve jerseys for the rest of the series?
Tom you are awesome! Thank you so much for putting the instacaps up win or lose. The Cleveland Cavaliers just beat the Warriors on their home court…and got ZILCH from their bench and ZILCH from their coach. I’ve only seen Lebron go more villain once…he was in a Miami Heat uniform and he was hated beyond belief for all that he did to Cleveland…and he put up unreal numbers against the thunder to win his first title. He was angrier and more evil Lebron tonight than ever. We might need Lebron the villain to win the next two games. I’m… Read more »
That was definitely more of the Miami ‘F you’ Lebron. I think the booing brings it out. Oracle morons should have been booing their own guy – it was his fault, and his fault alone that he sat that game. I do understand the Oracle playoff crowd is pretty stupid, though.
Not sure why the topic of conversation wasn’t “why does green keep hitting other players in the junk?”
All the comments about him calling Lebron names and such…none of that matters. He got suspended because he hit another dude in the junk for the third time this post season. He’s not so much dirty as he is repetitively stupid.
He’s both. Dirty, stupid player or Stupid, dirty donkey. Donkey because he kicks like one.
My dog Frodo ensured this instacap didn’t get too long in the tooth
The curse of the black sleeves is over!!