Kyrie Irving is out for the rest of the playoffs. To me, this Cavs team isn't done yet. They have key contributors that I think really could be a big impact for this Cavs team. Mike Miller and Shawn Marion are going to come and play. They both have great playoff experience. While this will be a hard task to take down the Golden State Warriors, all these 2 have to do is give some points and be great contributors. Take a look at what these guys have done in the past
Mike Miller:
5.2 PPG for the Playoffs over his carreer
7.3 PPG in the Playoffs last year for the Grizzlies
11.3 PPG for his career
40.7% from 3 point range over his career
4.4 RPG over his career
2.7 APG over his career
Shawn Marion:
4 time all-star
13.9 PPG in the Playoffs over his career
15.2 PPG over his career
8.7 RPG over his career
1.5 Steals over his career
1.1 Blocks over his career
I really don't understand why the Cavs aren't playing Marion right now. Why do they even have this player on their team if they don't even play him? This guy was a 4 time all-star with major playoff experience. He is also a great defensive player. This guy should be played but for some reason, Coach Blatt refuses to. I just don't understand it. But now with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving out, he should have to play them. I actually think the Cavs will play great with Miller and Marion on the floor, and that the Cavs are not out of the finals yet.
Bulls had full control in this game and the Cavaliers better step it up. Let's take a second on what the Cavaliers need to change for game 2.
Cavaliers will still not have J.R. Smith and Kevin Love for game 2, so they absolutely need to put Tristan Thompson into the lineup. They also should play Shawn Marion more. He is a skilled player. Why did they get him? Was it so they could have someone to play the nights they were resting LeBron? No, Marion is a great player. LeBron also needs to play better. He had 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists. Sure that looks good, but he only shot 9-22 from the field, 0-3 from 3 point range, and had a total of 6 turnovers. Let Kyrie handle the ball. He is a much better decision maker than LeBron. I hate it how this team has one of the best Point Guards in the league with the best handles and can pass and they don't even use him. They also need more from their bench. The bench only had 16 points. They didn't play well at all in this game. They need to play better.
The Bulls handled this game well. Joakim Noah needs to step up a little. He didn't have a single point and had 4 turnovers. Mike Dunleavy played really great. He shot 5-6 from the field and 3-4 from 3-point range. Pau Gasol played really well as he had 21 points, 10 rebounds and shot 10-16 from the field. Not to mention, Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler had great games as well. I really think that it is smart not to play Nikola Mirotic in this round. They do need their bench to play well though. This Bulls team will start to get tired through the round and they need to have a bench that can produce. They did look okay in this game though.
That's all from this game. This will be an interesting series. Let's see who will win game 2.
