NBA Finals Game 5 Preview

By Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA - Kevin Love, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36918954

The Cavaliers are down 3-1 to the Warriors. A lot of people are saying, "Hey, the Warriors came back from a 3-1 deficit this post-season, why can't the Cavs. Now I'm not saying that the Cavs can't do it, but I am going to say that what the Warriors did was totally different. The Warriors only had to play 1 game on the road while they had 2 home games left. The Cavs only have 1 home game left and have to win 2 games on the Warriors home floor. Now, this isn't impossible because 2 of the 10 teams to comeback from a 3-1 deficit only had 1 home game left after being down 3-1. One was the Celtics from the Bill Russell days, and the other team was the Houston Rockets and their clutch city team. These are two historic teams. And no one has comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA finals, so if the Cavs were to accomplish this feat, it would be a very historic moment in NBA history.

Now, if you haven't heard, Draymond Green has been suspended for game 5 of the NBA finals due to his encounter with LeBron. He will be out of the lineup. I don't know what Steve Kerr is going to do, but I have to assume he'll start Iggy at the 3 and slide Barnes to the 4. What I do if I'm the Cavs, is start Love at the 5. Now you might think I'm crazy, but I can explain. Love at the 5 would most likely match him up with Andrew Bogut and Kevin Love is a guy that can really stretch the floor. Through the whole time Andrew Bogut is on the floor, I'd suggest the Cavs go into pick and roll/pop with Love. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving should just go into pick and roll/pop with Love until Steve Kerr decides to take Bogut out of the game. With shooters like Jefferson and J.R., if the Warriors help off of the pick and roll, these guys will have wide open shots and lanes to the basket. We've seen how the Warriors do against the small line-up in pick and roll when they have Bogut or Ezeli out there; it isn't pretty. With them down 3-1, they have to try something, and Love at the 5 might actually work for at least the first quarter.

With Draymond Green out, this really takes away the Warriors' versatility and option to go small. This is going to force them to have a big throughout most of the game and what the Warriors are going to have to hope to do is out-score the Cavs. I expect Anderson Varejao to play a big role for the team because of his versatility and hustle he brings. He can also somewhat stretch the floor. Same with Speights and I think he will also get some key minutes.









Game 5 is going to be Cleveland's best chance to steal a game in Golden State and you have to think if they can win the next 2 games, they will have a good shot at winning game 7 in Golden State.