Finals PodCap: Warriors 129, Cavs 120 (or, Falling Short)
2017-06-13https://soundcloud.com/ctb-5/episode-139-falling-short
Photo: Ben Margot, Associated Press
When are 120 points not enough? When you give up 129. That’s obvious and simple math… but the Cavs chose to try and sprint along next to the Warriors in an attempt to outrun, outgun and outscore them with a team loaded with shooters. In the end… they just couldn’t quite match the offensive firepower, which was magnified by their own mistakes and inability to get stops when they desperately needed them.
LeBron James did his part, racking up 41 points on 19-30 shooting, with 13 rebounds, eight assists and two steals… on his way to averaging a triple double for the Finals (33.6 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 10.0 apg). Kyrie Irving chipped in 26 points, six assists and two steals, but seemed to struggle with his knee and back. JR Smith made almost every shot (9-11, 7-8 from downtown) for a scintillating 25 points, in trying to back up his deleted “Cavs in 7” Tweet. Tristan Thompson was also effective again, with 15 points and eight boards. Only Kevin Love struggled (among the starters anyway), picking up two early fouls and having a miserable shooting night (2-8, 0-3 from deep), yet still snagged 10 rebounds. The bench did very little, providing just seven points in a combined 51 minutes of play.
For the now Champion again Warriors, Kevin Durant was brilliant once more, scoring 39 points on 14-20 (5-8 from three), to earn Finals MVP honors. Steph Curry added 34 points with 10 assists, and Andre Iguodala was big off the bench with 20 points, three rebounds and three assists. The Larry O’Brien trophy is back in the Bay Area for another year, and the Cavs will have the summer months to regroup and devise a plan to take it back next season.
Nate, Tom and EG spent an extra-long session in the booth following this final game of the season. We touched on this game, the series in general, and reflect on the entire season, as well as discussed the immediate future of both teams, what the Cavs need to do to improve, and where we go from here. Fair warning, this pod does get awfully long in the tooth. But, hopefully, it helps in coping with the end of another Cavalier campaign. We’ve greatly enjoyed bringing you all of our news, views and hot takes throughout the season… and we wish you all an awesome summer from Cavs: the Blog.
Listen above, on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Google Play, and as always… GO CAVS!
I apologize for the all-caps, but, taking a page out of Jason Lloyd’s book, I have five points for CtB for five games of the finals, looking forward to the off-season: – 1. DOWN WITH ALL HOT TAKES – 2. COLS 666 NEEDS TO BE LIMITED TO A DOZEN COMMENTS PER THREAD (yer drunk, go home) – 3. ENDLESS DISCUSSIONS OF FANTASY TRADES ARE A MEANS OF AVOIDING THE NEED TO ANALYSE WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST YEAR – 4. CAVS VS. PISTONS, CAVS-PACERS, CAVS-BULLS, CAVS-BUCKS ARE ALL FANTASTIC MATCH-UPS WORTH ATTENDING AND CHEERING FOR — BEATING THE EAST IS A… Read more »
Can I add to (5) – I cannot imagine even trying to do my day job whilst my prematurely-born daughter is fighting for her life. I’d have taken months of leave (I don’t know what JR’s contract would allow). Just incredible.
If I have said it before I apologize. I am really proud of the professionalism both Lebron and Kyrie displayed in this series. Class act on and off the court. Believe me, those reporters had baited questions.
I’ll listen to the podcast in a few days, after my frustration abates at watching Mouthpiece dance like a Globetrotter and Durant act like he was Rudy overcoming great odds to finally win a title. CTB staff and posters, thanks for an amazing year of content and analysis. I learned a bunch reading and listening here. Enjoy the off-season guys, you’ve earned some Shump free months.
“Durant act like he was Rudy overcoming great odds to finally win a title.” – LOL, that is great.
Seriously, this Warriors team faced little to no adversity the entire year. They are so coddled by the media. Remember LeBron’s first season with the Heatles? The Spoelstra time out bump, can LeBron/Wade coexist?, Bosh as a third wheel, etc etc. God forbid that team lost 2 games in a row and it was breaking news on ESPN.
Why didn’t this year’s Warriors team face that?
They never will because so much of the sports media especially ESPN is always for them. The bias is real. They are now actually comparing KD to be equivalent to Tom Brady on Colin Cowherd. It’s beyond insane.
The biggest offseason improvement that needs to happen should come from coach Lue.
In-game adjustments, solid rotations, trusting your bench.