@Coinstartled said:
Guess LeBron won't have to worry about snubbing the president.
Indeed. The Warriors get to do that
m
@erikthredd said:
The Plumbers came to play tonight
JR Smith & Love have played great.
Must be union plumbers. Seems they used some vacation days in the second half.
These finals have gone exactly according to script so far. GS is the most heavily favored team in finals history
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
@Coinstartled said:
Guess LeBron won't have to worry about snubbing the president.
Indeed. The Warriors get to do that
m
@erikthredd said:
The Plumbers came to play tonight
JR Smith & Love have played great.
Must be union plumbers. Seems they used some vacation days in the second half.
These finals have gone exactly according to script so far. GS is the most heavily favored team in finals history
m
I still believe that that has more to do with how great GS is rather than how bad Cleveland is. The Cavs shouldn't have any shame after a game like this,they held Curry & Thompson to a combined 21 points on one end and got huge contributions from guys like Love,JR & Hood. There's not much you can do when you have a 7 footer dropping threes from 28ft and taking every defender they threw at him to school.
Cleveland came out fast out of the gate last nigjt, racing to a 16-4 lead. GS came back to trail by one at thr end of yhe first quarter. Cleveland responded by grabbing a double digit lead in the second quarter and holding onto iit until dhortly before the half. A Durant 3 cut the Cleveland lead to 6.
Cleveland was the more aggressive team in the first half, getting 10 offensive rebounds.
It seemed in the first half that GS,, thanks to Durant's brilliant play, was never in a position of peril. Even while trailing by double digits it felt like it was only a matter of time before GS would catch fire and make a run to grab the lead. That must have been a feeling that weighed heavily on Cleveland's mind.
In the second half GS went on a 17-6 run early in the 3rd quarter to climb back into the game. From that point on it was nip and tuck with many lead changes.
Durant took over the game. He brought the ball up the court and scored at will. When Cleveland tried to defend him he either torched the nets with mid range jumpers, drove to the hoop or found open teammates who were making back cuts to the hoop when Cleveland defenders overplayed and were out of position.
GS played better on the boards on the second half and received solid. Contributions from Iggy, Bell, Livingston, Green and others. Curry and Thompson had terrible shooting performances. I thought Curry would break out of his shooting slump eventually and he did at the end of the game. In the final minutes he made a layup, hit an uncontested three (he was so wide open he hesitated before he shot thinking a defender would make an effort to challenge the shot, no one did and he decided to shoot the ball, with it going in) and he passed the ball to Green for an uncontested dunk. Add Durant's dagger 3 with about 50 seconds to go to put GS up 6 and game over.
Cleveland received solid scoring performances from James, Love and Hood. Love pkayed very well in the first half. James cgose to not do it all himself, instead creating sifuations where he passed the ball to open teamates instead of shooting the ball.
It seemed in the second half Cleveland players found themselves out of position on defense many times. The ball movement of GS when GS passed the ball around and when Durant was handling the ball caused the Cleveland defense to breakdown. GS players other than Durant got many easy scores as a result; and Durant was simply unstoppable.
After surviving the strong Clevland performance in the first half it seemed like it was inevitable the GS would end up winning the game. Watching game 3 I ended up feeling a little disinterested. The drama of game 1 and even game 2 was just not there. Resignation that the series is one sided set in. I was hoping the series would go seven games with each game being a nail biter.
So what is left is game r. Will Cleveland show up and simply go through the motions, or will it play with fury to win a game and avoid a sweep? Will GS play all out to complete a sweep, or will it sleep walk to a loss so it can return to Oakland and win the series on its home court?
@SanctionII said:
Cleveland came out fast out of the gate last nigjt, racing to a 16-4 lead. GS came back to trail by one at thr end of yhe first quarter. Cleveland responded by grabbing a double digit lead in the second quarter and holding onto iit until dhortly before the half. A Durant 3 cut the Cleveland lead to 6.
Cleveland was the more aggressive team in the first half, getting 10 offensive rebounds.
It seemed in the first half that GS,, thanks to Durant's brilliant play, was never in a position of peril. Even while trailing by double digits it felt like it was only a matter of time before GS would catch fire and make a run to grab the lead. That must have been a feeling that weighed heavily on Cleveland's mind.
In the second half GS went on a 17-6 run early in the 3rd quarter to climb back into the game. From that point on it was nip and tuck with many lead changes.
Durant took over the game. He brought the ball up the court and scored at will. When Cleveland tried to defend him he either torched the nets with mid range jumpers, drove to the hoop or found open teammates who were making back cuts to the hoop when Cleveland defenders overplayed and were out of position.
GS played better on the boards on the second half and received solid. Contributions from Iggy, Bell, Livingston, Green and others. Curry and Thompson had terrible shooting performances. I thought Curry would break out of his shooting slump eventually and he did at the end of the game. In the final minutes he made a layup, hit an uncontested three (he was so wide open he hesitated before he shot thinking a defender would make an effort to challenge the shot, no one did and he decided to shoot the ball, with it going in) and he passed the ball to Green for an uncontested dunk. Add Durant's dagger 3 with about 50 seconds to go to put GS up 6 and game over.
Cleveland received solid scoring performances from James, Love and Hood. Love pkayed very well in the first half. James cgose to not do it all himself, instead creating sifuations where he passed the ball to open teamates instead of shooting the ball.
It seemed in the second half Cleveland players found themselves out of position on defense many times. The ball movement of GS when GS passed the ball around and when Durant was handling the ball caused the Cleveland defense to breakdown. GS players other than Durant got many easy scores as a result; and Durant was simply unstoppable.
After surviving the strong Clevland performance in the first half it seemed like it was inevitable the GS would end up winning the game. Watching game 3 I ended up feeling a little disinterested. The drama of game 1 and even game 2 was just not there. Resignation that the series is one sided set in. I was hoping the series would go seven games with each game being a nail biter.
So what is left is game r. Will Cleveland show up and simply go through the motions, or will it play with fury to win a game and avoid a sweep? Will GS play all out to complete a sweep, or will it sleep walk to a loss so it can return to Oakland and win the series on its home court?
In my view the outstanding play of Durant was evened out by the horrible play of Curry.
Frankly, the Cavs were getting every break in the book early in that game with the way the ball was bouncing to them and bouncing around going in the hoop for them as well. Sometimes it just goes that way, and the Cavs moved out to an early lead. When those breaks stopped happening for the Cavs, the Cavs lead diminished and eventually evaporated.
The Cavs fought back hard throughout the game, and give them credit where credit is due for that. However they are like an outclassed race horse that runs its heart out, but finishes second.
the Cavs are now sort of the NBA equivalent of the NFL's Buffalo Bills. this installment with Lebron James always seems to be able to figure out how to get to the playoffs but it just so happens to coincide with the formation of an all-time great NBA Team. that's a bitter pill to swallow but as a fan of Sports it is required medicine. they made it farther this season than I had expected and I suppose back in late January when the Team was imploding that I wasn't the only one thinking that.
Team Management has some tough choices ahead as the Cavs are old and slow. they have some good young horses that need to start playing so it might be the last round for guys like JR Smith, Kyle Korver, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.
Lebron is the best player in the league, but Durant is hands-down the best scorer. a 7-ft freak show who can put it on the floor or rise up whenever he so chooses. and unlike someone like Harden who requires 25 dribbles per possession to get his shot off, KD puts you to sleep after about 4. he is effing unguardable. if he was doing this in the finals with, say, OKC or Washington, we would be having an elongated LBJ vs. KD debate
i love me some Steph Curry, but most valuable player of these finals (and the Warriors in general) he most certainly is not. that would be the Durantula.
@galaxy27 said:
Lebron is the best player in the league, but Durant is hands-down the best scorer. a 7-ft freak show who can put it on the floor or rise up whenever he so chooses. and unlike someone like Harden who requires 25 dribbles per possession to get his shot off, KD puts you to sleep after about 4. he is effing unguardable. if he was doing this in the finals with, say, OKC or Washington, we would be having an elongated LBJ vs. KD debate
i love me some Steph Curry, but most valuable player of these finals (and the Warriors in general) he most certainly is not. that would be the Durantula.
@SanctionII said:
Cleveland came out fast out of the gate last nigjt, racing to a 16-4 lead. GS came back to trail by one at thr end of yhe first quarter. Cleveland responded by grabbing a double digit lead in the second quarter and holding onto iit until dhortly before the half. A Durant 3 cut the Cleveland lead to 6.
Cleveland was the more aggressive team in the first half, getting 10 offensive rebounds.
It seemed in the first half that GS,, thanks to Durant's brilliant play, was never in a position of peril. Even while trailing by double digits it felt like it was only a matter of time before GS would catch fire and make a run to grab the lead. That must have been a feeling that weighed heavily on Cleveland's mind.
In the second half GS went on a 17-6 run early in the 3rd quarter to climb back into the game. From that point on it was nip and tuck with many lead changes.
Durant took over the game. He brought the ball up the court and scored at will. When Cleveland tried to defend him he either torched the nets with mid range jumpers, drove to the hoop or found open teammates who were making back cuts to the hoop when Cleveland defenders overplayed and were out of position.
GS played better on the boards on the second half and received solid. Contributions from Iggy, Bell, Livingston, Green and others. Curry and Thompson had terrible shooting performances. I thought Curry would break out of his shooting slump eventually and he did at the end of the game. In the final minutes he made a layup, hit an uncontested three (he was so wide open he hesitated before he shot thinking a defender would make an effort to challenge the shot, no one did and he decided to shoot the ball, with it going in) and he passed the ball to Green for an uncontested dunk. Add Durant's dagger 3 with about 50 seconds to go to put GS up 6 and game over.
Cleveland received solid scoring performances from James, Love and Hood. Love pkayed very well in the first half. James cgose to not do it all himself, instead creating sifuations where he passed the ball to open teamates instead of shooting the ball.
It seemed in the second half Cleveland players found themselves out of position on defense many times. The ball movement of GS when GS passed the ball around and when Durant was handling the ball caused the Cleveland defense to breakdown. GS players other than Durant got many easy scores as a result; and Durant was simply unstoppable.
After surviving the strong Clevland performance in the first half it seemed like it was inevitable the GS would end up winning the game. Watching game 3 I ended up feeling a little disinterested. The drama of game 1 and even game 2 was just not there. Resignation that the series is one sided set in. I was hoping the series would go seven games with each game being a nail biter.
So what is left is game r. Will Cleveland show up and simply go through the motions, or will it play with fury to win a game and avoid a sweep? Will GS play all out to complete a sweep, or will it sleep walk to a loss so it can return to Oakland and win the series on its home court?
In my view the outstanding play of Durant was evened out by the horrible play of Curry.
Frankly, the Cavs were getting every break in the book early in that game with the way the ball was bouncing to them and bouncing around going in the hoop for them as well. Sometimes it just goes that way, and the Cavs moved out to an early lead. When those breaks stopped happening for the Cavs, the Cavs lead diminished and eventually evaporated.
The Cavs fought back hard throughout the game, and give them credit where credit is due for that. However they are like an outclassed race horse that runs its heart out, but finishes second.
Plus some of the fouls called on GS were laughable.
Curry definitely lost any chance of winning it last night,KD had a bad shooting night in game one but it wasn't anywhere close to Curry's game last night. Here are KD's,Curry's & Lebron's averages after 3 games
Curry 24pt,7ass,6reb
KD 32pt,7ass,10reb
LBJ 37pt,10ass,9 reb
Lebron has been incredible in this series but i'm a firm believer that you don't give a title game/series MVP to a losing player.
This would get my vote for one of the best in-game dunks ever. The only time you see something like this is on All Star weekend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MasMfOxKkt0
most telling stat ive heard today -- 10 Warriors are shooting 50% or better in the finals, but Curry isnt one of them. clearly due to the worst shooting performance he'll probably ever have in his career, but still.
Plus some of the fouls called on GS were laughable.
some of the non-calls tend to have a greater affect on the game outcomes, but I thought for the most part that the Refs called a good game last night.
the one I had a hard time with was the "moving screen" non-call on West against Green at mid-court, the one that put Green on the deck. the ONLY reason I bring it up is because of the game changing call change at the 36 second point in the 1st game. my view would be that it is important for the Refs to be consistent: if the call on Lebron was a block then the call on West has to be a moving screen. if the call on West is a legal screen then the call on Lebron has to be charge on Durant. it can't be both ways.
one call(the reversal) affected the outcome of a game and the other didn't. it is one of the more frustrating things about Sports, that the Human Element and interpretation is always in play. we argue about it with the NFL(especially with the "Football Move) and with MLB it's the strike zone that changes from game to game.
taken as a whole through this Finals I think the calls have been pretty balanced. to the point of the "calls against Golden State that were laughable" I ask which ones they were? remember, the Cavs never went to the Free Throw line in the first half. that means the Warriors were whistled for a maximum of eight times and never when Cleveland drove or was fighting for a put-back.
seen from that viewpoint I would say that the Dimeman might be a little biased or forgetful. I thought it was a pretty clean game.
The one's that bothered me the most was the one on Curry against James. And when Draymond & Thompson got tangled up on a rebound and they called a foul on Draymond. That should have been a no call.
And my biggest pet peeve is all the times James gets away with shoving defenders away with his left arm. When they do call him (James) for it.......once in a blue moon...he goes crazy. James is a great shooter, but gets away with murder. He is nothing like MJ or Kobe.
@DIMEMAN said:
The one's that bothered me the most was the one on Curry against James. And when Draymond & Thompson got tangled up on a rebound and they called a foul on Draymond. That should have been a no call.
And my biggest pet peeve is all the times James gets away with shoving defenders away with his left arm. When they do call him (James) for it...he goes crazy. James is a great shooter, but gets away with murder. He is nothing like MJ or Kobe.
I agree with you on that Curry 3rd foul,that should have been Offensive on Lebron. Curry's 2nd foul before that was a phantom call as well. Those two fouls are the only complaints i would have with the refs last night.
As for Draymond foul on the play before that Curry/Lebron lockup,he made sure to swipe Thompson's nose on the way down from swinging his arms and that call was well deserved in my opinion.
Lebron bulled over Curry and everyone saw it. Sure their arms looked up but you can clearly see Lebron send him flying backwards with a shove.
The West/Green play was just a blind pick nothing more and that falls on Jeff Green for not looking where he's going or a teammate for not calling out a pick heading his way.
The officiating last night was overall pretty good and I don't think it played any part in GS winning.
Always interesting to see how the refs call plays when James has the ball and attacks the basket.
He is so big and strong that defenders who are between him and the basket simply do not have the strength to stand their ground and prevent James from getting closer to the basket. Even the most stationary of defenders get physically moved back simply by James's body moving forward. This happened last night multiple times on multiple GS defenders. Curry defended James as he attacked the basket multiple times. Curry had no chance to stop him. One time it appeared to me that James should have been called for an offensive foul because he lowered his shoulder into Curry and moved forward. Curry was thrown backward. No call.
However, the other side of the coin is that defenders of James will push, shove, claw, strike, nudge, pull, collar and collide with him in an attempt to stop his progress to the basket or at least slow him down. Many of these attempts look very weak because the defender (like Curry) is simply over matched physically. Many times James is fouled by his defenders and he gets no call.
James is very vocal and demonstrative. He will not hesitate to plead his case with the refs and the camera. Many times he is successful and gets a make up call.
Seeing what happens to James and his defenders when he attacks the basket leaves me of two minds. One says he fouled. The other says he was fouled. Which one prevails depends on each play.
What happens to James and his defenders also reminds me of what happened to Shaq and others like him (i.e. Yao Ming). Shaq was so big and dominant physically that multiple defenders would be trying to stop him down low on the blocks and would just maul him. Many times no fouls were called. Other times he would knock defenders out of the way simply because he moved toward the basket and he was called for offensive fouls.
No one likes Goliath. Thus James and Shaq before him would receive more than their fair share of punishment from defending players without any help from the refs.
James literally gets fouled everytime he goes to the hoop. He is a victim of his own body. People literally glance off of him. Kobe and MJ were finesse players. Lebron is a bulldozer with mad skills
mark
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
@Justacommeman said:
James literally gets fouled everytime he goes to the hoop. He is a victim of his own body. People literally glance off of him. Kobe and MJ were finesse players. Lebron is a bulldozer with mad skills
mark
Come on Mark......James initiates the contact almost all of the time....knowing he is either going to get away with it or a foul will be called on the defender. When he is actually called for an offensive foul he is shocked and outraged.
@Justacommeman said:
James literally gets fouled everytime he goes to the hoop. He is a victim of his own body. People literally glance off of him. Kobe and MJ were finesse players. Lebron is a bulldozer with mad skills
mark
Come on Mark......James initiates the contact almost all of the time....knowing he is either going to get away with it or a foul will be called on the defender. When he is actually called for an offensive foul he is shocked and outraged.
Sanction nailed it the post above mine. You’re wrong. Feel free to hate on him. It’s clear you do, so it doesn’t matter what is said. I can’t remember if it was Van Gundy or Mark Jackson but one of them literally said James hits fouled on every play last night . I happen to agree with them on this matter
Carry on
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
@Justacommeman said:
James literally gets fouled everytime he goes to the hoop. He is a victim of his own body. People literally glance off of him. Kobe and MJ were finesse players. Lebron is a bulldozer with mad skills
mark
Come on Mark......James initiates the contact almost all of the time....knowing he is either going to get away with it or a foul will be called on the defender. When he is actually called for an offensive foul he is shocked and outraged.
Sanction nailed it the post above mine. You’re wrong. Feel free to hate on him. It’s clear you do, so it doesn’t matter what is said. I can’t remember if it was Van Gundy or Mark Jackson but one of them literally said James hits fouled on every play last night . I happen to agree with them on this matter
Carry on
m
I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this. No problem. He will never be a MJ or even a Kobe. If I was building a team I would rather have Durant.
Will GS sweep, or will Cleveland rise up and win a game to avoid a sweep?
James doesn't care at this point. He knows this series is hopeless for the Cavs and it sure seems like he will be playing for another team next season.
Oh sure, LeBron will still play hard, that's his nature. However in my opinion he will only play at maybe around 85% of capacity, and we all know what that means for the final score. Unless some other Cavs player has a career night, but I think they are all looking forward to getting this over with as well.
It's been a long NBA season, the series is over, and I would think that the Cavs players sure don't feel like making a trip to California just to get squashed there. I doubt if there will be much enthusiam tonight with this Cavs team, they'll just go thru the motions and call it a season.
**I can’t remember if it was Van Gundy or Mark Jackson but one of them literally said James hits fouled on every play last night **
Mark, that was Van Gundy and the context of what he was saying is that Lebron gets penalized for his strength and the Refs tend to call/not call fouls based on that. if you can watch a game objectively it is undeniable.
Tonight's game comes down to Galaxy's prediction of does GS want to sweep or just wait till they play at home in front of their fans. I'm gonna guess go for the sweep and we'll probably see one hell of a game tonight.
@keets said:
**I can’t remember if it was Van Gundy or Mark Jackson but one of them literally said James hits fouled on every play last night **
Mark, that was Van Gundy and the context of what he was saying is that Lebron gets penalized for his strength and the Refs tend to call/not call fouls based on that. if you can watch a game objectively it is undeniable.
That's the biggest load of crap I have ever heard! He gets away with more (pushing off) than anyone because of who he is!
thank you for that non-objective opinion, Jon. I will take it under consideration as I watch the game tonight. please be sure to bring that objective viewpoint to bear on all the contact between players of both Teams, especially from the low=post to the glass.
@keets said:
thank you for that non-objective opinion, Jon. I will take it under consideration as I watch the game tonight. please be sure to bring that objective viewpoint to bear on all the contact between players of both Teams, especially from the low=post to the glass.
thank you.
I've seen it in every game I have ever watched that he played in! Harden tries it about as much, but ends up on the floor a lot!
the game is just about to get underway and I won't make a prediction on who will win but I will say I expect Lebron James to have a big game for two reasons: he will be playing for pride if nothing else --- and --- I think the Warriors will allow him to score while attempting to lock down the rest of the Cavs. it'll be a strategy to win by Golden State.
@stevek said:
Tough call now on who will win the series MVP.
I'm leaning back a bit towards Curry, perhaps only because Durant won it last year.
We shall see.
no more durant mvp's please . That guy is nothing without 4 other all stars backing him up. A flaky pastry , a creampuff of the highest degree. If he has to be the man , the big dog on a team he disappears .
so I'm struggling to watch this game and I had to get away from the screen just before the half, I headed out to the kitchen and washed a sink full of dinner dishes. then the thought hit me............................the Cavs just can't handle the pressure of the Big Stage, it's just too much for them. I've seen these guys miss open shots and easy shots so much in the last four games that I want to eat something just so I can puke!!!
I played sports in High School and then until I was in my early 30's and we had a term for that, you guys all know it, the dreaded "C" word...............................CHOKE. players like Kyle Korver, JR Smith and Kevin Love just stink the place up, it's ridiculous. and what is with shooting 62% from the freakin' free throw line in an elimination game?? how do you do that??
they are done and there is no one to blame. I will not argue that the Warriors are not a great Team, we all know that. the thing that makes me nuts is that the Cavs aren't this bad, they just have too many players that can't stand the heat and need to be kicked out of the kitchen.
if I was ownership I'd figure out how to keep Lebron along worth some of the young players they have and dump all the other garbage that is proving to us that they aren't worthy, they aren't worthy of playing with Lebron and getting dragged to the Finals every year. enough is enough, so forgive me and my rant is over.
if I can't find anything in the refrigerator to smash down and puke I may just drink some ipecac in honor of the Cavs. way to go guys, your gonna get a Championship celebration in your arena, unfortunately you'll all be hangin' your heads in the locker room as the Trophy is presented and you should be embarrassed and ashamed.
Comments
curry played like he was on the take and they still won
the outcome of game 4 is contingent upon the warriors' level of boredom and whether or not they want to celebrate in front of their own. nothing more
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Well...if it just goes 4 games maybe Draymond can stay under 7 T's.
I think I could have matched Curry's 3 point shooting tonight!
You know GS wants that sweep. This was probably Cleveland's best group effort and it wasn't enough at home. Golden State is just too good all around.
edit: I didn't see Curry & Thompson having a game like this on the road and GS still getting the win.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Indeed. The Warriors get to do that
m
Must be union plumbers. Seems they used some vacation days in the second half.
These finals have gone exactly according to script so far. GS is the most heavily favored team in finals history
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
a western conf finals with paul playing 6 & 7 would have been epic
a finals pitting gs or hou against boston w/ irving & hayward would have, too
instead, i'm resigned to watching dimeman try to best 1-10 from deep
someone shoot me
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
I still believe that that has more to do with how great GS is rather than how bad Cleveland is. The Cavs shouldn't have any shame after a game like this,they held Curry & Thompson to a combined 21 points on one end and got huge contributions from guys like Love,JR & Hood. There's not much you can do when you have a 7 footer dropping threes from 28ft and taking every defender they threw at him to school.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
That is sad.
Someone shoot both of us! 
Golden State is off the charts good. They have nothing to be ashamed of making the Cavs go seven games to win the title.
http://www.unisquare.com/store/brick/
Ralph
Please stop this Ralph.
Cleveland came out fast out of the gate last nigjt, racing to a 16-4 lead. GS came back to trail by one at thr end of yhe first quarter. Cleveland responded by grabbing a double digit lead in the second quarter and holding onto iit until dhortly before the half. A Durant 3 cut the Cleveland lead to 6.
Cleveland was the more aggressive team in the first half, getting 10 offensive rebounds.
It seemed in the first half that GS,, thanks to Durant's brilliant play, was never in a position of peril. Even while trailing by double digits it felt like it was only a matter of time before GS would catch fire and make a run to grab the lead. That must have been a feeling that weighed heavily on Cleveland's mind.
In the second half GS went on a 17-6 run early in the 3rd quarter to climb back into the game. From that point on it was nip and tuck with many lead changes.
Durant took over the game. He brought the ball up the court and scored at will. When Cleveland tried to defend him he either torched the nets with mid range jumpers, drove to the hoop or found open teammates who were making back cuts to the hoop when Cleveland defenders overplayed and were out of position.
GS played better on the boards on the second half and received solid. Contributions from Iggy, Bell, Livingston, Green and others. Curry and Thompson had terrible shooting performances. I thought Curry would break out of his shooting slump eventually and he did at the end of the game. In the final minutes he made a layup, hit an uncontested three (he was so wide open he hesitated before he shot thinking a defender would make an effort to challenge the shot, no one did and he decided to shoot the ball, with it going in) and he passed the ball to Green for an uncontested dunk. Add Durant's dagger 3 with about 50 seconds to go to put GS up 6 and game over.
Cleveland received solid scoring performances from James, Love and Hood. Love pkayed very well in the first half. James cgose to not do it all himself, instead creating sifuations where he passed the ball to open teamates instead of shooting the ball.
It seemed in the second half Cleveland players found themselves out of position on defense many times. The ball movement of GS when GS passed the ball around and when Durant was handling the ball caused the Cleveland defense to breakdown. GS players other than Durant got many easy scores as a result; and Durant was simply unstoppable.
After surviving the strong Clevland performance in the first half it seemed like it was inevitable the GS would end up winning the game. Watching game 3 I ended up feeling a little disinterested. The drama of game 1 and even game 2 was just not there. Resignation that the series is one sided set in. I was hoping the series would go seven games with each game being a nail biter.
So what is left is game r. Will Cleveland show up and simply go through the motions, or will it play with fury to win a game and avoid a sweep? Will GS play all out to complete a sweep, or will it sleep walk to a loss so it can return to Oakland and win the series on its home court?
In my view the outstanding play of Durant was evened out by the horrible play of Curry.
Frankly, the Cavs were getting every break in the book early in that game with the way the ball was bouncing to them and bouncing around going in the hoop for them as well. Sometimes it just goes that way, and the Cavs moved out to an early lead. When those breaks stopped happening for the Cavs, the Cavs lead diminished and eventually evaporated.
The Cavs fought back hard throughout the game, and give them credit where credit is due for that. However they are like an outclassed race horse that runs its heart out, but finishes second.
the Cavs are now sort of the NBA equivalent of the NFL's Buffalo Bills. this installment with Lebron James always seems to be able to figure out how to get to the playoffs but it just so happens to coincide with the formation of an all-time great NBA Team. that's a bitter pill to swallow but as a fan of Sports it is required medicine. they made it farther this season than I had expected and I suppose back in late January when the Team was imploding that I wasn't the only one thinking that.
Team Management has some tough choices ahead as the Cavs are old and slow. they have some good young horses that need to start playing so it might be the last round for guys like JR Smith, Kyle Korver, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.
Lebron is the best player in the league, but Durant is hands-down the best scorer. a 7-ft freak show who can put it on the floor or rise up whenever he so chooses. and unlike someone like Harden who requires 25 dribbles per possession to get his shot off, KD puts you to sleep after about 4. he is effing unguardable. if he was doing this in the finals with, say, OKC or Washington, we would be having an elongated LBJ vs. KD debate
i love me some Steph Curry, but most valuable player of these finals (and the Warriors in general) he most certainly is not. that would be the Durantula.
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
<<< most valuable player of these finals >>>
Curry lost that award last night.
Plus some of the fouls called on GS were laughable.
Curry definitely lost any chance of winning it last night,KD had a bad shooting night in game one but it wasn't anywhere close to Curry's game last night. Here are KD's,Curry's & Lebron's averages after 3 games
Curry 24pt,7ass,6reb
KD 32pt,7ass,10reb
LBJ 37pt,10ass,9 reb
Lebron has been incredible in this series but i'm a firm believer that you don't give a title game/series MVP to a losing player.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
This would get my vote for one of the best in-game dunks ever. The only time you see something like this is on All Star weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MasMfOxKkt0
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
most telling stat ive heard today -- 10 Warriors are shooting 50% or better in the finals, but Curry isnt one of them. clearly due to the worst shooting performance he'll probably ever have in his career, but still.
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
ok that was harlem globetrotters right there
That was remarkable, and he made it look easy.
Plus some of the fouls called on GS were laughable.
some of the non-calls tend to have a greater affect on the game outcomes, but I thought for the most part that the Refs called a good game last night.
the one I had a hard time with was the "moving screen" non-call on West against Green at mid-court, the one that put Green on the deck. the ONLY reason I bring it up is because of the game changing call change at the 36 second point in the 1st game. my view would be that it is important for the Refs to be consistent: if the call on Lebron was a block then the call on West has to be a moving screen. if the call on West is a legal screen then the call on Lebron has to be charge on Durant. it can't be both ways.
one call(the reversal) affected the outcome of a game and the other didn't. it is one of the more frustrating things about Sports, that the Human Element and interpretation is always in play. we argue about it with the NFL(especially with the "Football Move) and with MLB it's the strike zone that changes from game to game.
taken as a whole through this Finals I think the calls have been pretty balanced. to the point of the "calls against Golden State that were laughable" I ask which ones they were? remember, the Cavs never went to the Free Throw line in the first half. that means the Warriors were whistled for a maximum of eight times and never when Cleveland drove or was fighting for a put-back.
seen from that viewpoint I would say that the Dimeman might be a little biased or forgetful. I thought it was a pretty clean game.
a little biased or forgetful.
a kind hearted synonym for terminal alzhiemers
The one's that bothered me the most was the one on Curry against James. And when Draymond & Thompson got tangled up on a rebound and they called a foul on Draymond. That should have been a no call.
And my biggest pet peeve is all the times James gets away with shoving defenders away with his left arm. When they do call him (James) for it.......once in a blue moon...he goes crazy. James is a great shooter, but gets away with murder. He is nothing like MJ or Kobe.
I agree with you on that Curry 3rd foul,that should have been Offensive on Lebron. Curry's 2nd foul before that was a phantom call as well. Those two fouls are the only complaints i would have with the refs last night.
As for Draymond foul on the play before that Curry/Lebron lockup,he made sure to swipe Thompson's nose on the way down from swinging his arms and that call was well deserved in my opinion.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Love was 6-10 in the first half, then had 3 total shots in the 2nd half. You need to keep your 2nd best player involved.
one foul on Curry was a Phantom but the other was a hook with his arm and the defender generally gets called for that, not the ball handler.
no comments about West/Green??
Lebron bulled over Curry and everyone saw it. Sure their arms looked up but you can clearly see Lebron send him flying backwards with a shove.
The West/Green play was just a blind pick nothing more and that falls on Jeff Green for not looking where he's going or a teammate for not calling out a pick heading his way.
The officiating last night was overall pretty good and I don't think it played any part in GS winning.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
The Referee union was actually live tweeting last night so fans can interact with them during the game. I wonder how that actually went.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Always interesting to see how the refs call plays when James has the ball and attacks the basket.
He is so big and strong that defenders who are between him and the basket simply do not have the strength to stand their ground and prevent James from getting closer to the basket. Even the most stationary of defenders get physically moved back simply by James's body moving forward. This happened last night multiple times on multiple GS defenders. Curry defended James as he attacked the basket multiple times. Curry had no chance to stop him. One time it appeared to me that James should have been called for an offensive foul because he lowered his shoulder into Curry and moved forward. Curry was thrown backward. No call.
However, the other side of the coin is that defenders of James will push, shove, claw, strike, nudge, pull, collar and collide with him in an attempt to stop his progress to the basket or at least slow him down. Many of these attempts look very weak because the defender (like Curry) is simply over matched physically. Many times James is fouled by his defenders and he gets no call.
James is very vocal and demonstrative. He will not hesitate to plead his case with the refs and the camera. Many times he is successful and gets a make up call.
Seeing what happens to James and his defenders when he attacks the basket leaves me of two minds. One says he fouled. The other says he was fouled. Which one prevails depends on each play.
What happens to James and his defenders also reminds me of what happened to Shaq and others like him (i.e. Yao Ming). Shaq was so big and dominant physically that multiple defenders would be trying to stop him down low on the blocks and would just maul him. Many times no fouls were called. Other times he would knock defenders out of the way simply because he moved toward the basket and he was called for offensive fouls.
No one likes Goliath. Thus James and Shaq before him would receive more than their fair share of punishment from defending players without any help from the refs.
James literally gets fouled everytime he goes to the hoop. He is a victim of his own body. People literally glance off of him. Kobe and MJ were finesse players. Lebron is a bulldozer with mad skills
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Come on Mark......James initiates the contact almost all of the time....knowing he is either going to get away with it or a foul will be called on the defender. When he is actually called for an offensive foul he is shocked and outraged.
Sanction nailed it the post above mine. You’re wrong. Feel free to hate on him. It’s clear you do, so it doesn’t matter what is said. I can’t remember if it was Van Gundy or Mark Jackson but one of them literally said James hits fouled on every play last night . I happen to agree with them on this matter
Carry on
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this. No problem. He will never be a MJ or even a Kobe. If I was building a team I would rather have Durant.
Game 4 tonight.
Will GS sweep, or will Cleveland rise up and win a game to avoid a sweep?
James doesn't care at this point. He knows this series is hopeless for the Cavs and it sure seems like he will be playing for another team next season.
Oh sure, LeBron will still play hard, that's his nature. However in my opinion he will only play at maybe around 85% of capacity, and we all know what that means for the final score. Unless some other Cavs player has a career night, but I think they are all looking forward to getting this over with as well.
It's been a long NBA season, the series is over, and I would think that the Cavs players sure don't feel like making a trip to California just to get squashed there. I doubt if there will be much enthusiam tonight with this Cavs team, they'll just go thru the motions and call it a season.
**I can’t remember if it was Van Gundy or Mark Jackson but one of them literally said James hits fouled on every play last night **
Mark, that was Van Gundy and the context of what he was saying is that Lebron gets penalized for his strength and the Refs tend to call/not call fouls based on that. if you can watch a game objectively it is undeniable.
Tonight's game comes down to Galaxy's prediction of does GS want to sweep or just wait till they play at home in front of their fans. I'm gonna guess go for the sweep and we'll probably see one hell of a game tonight.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
That's the biggest load of crap I have ever heard! He gets away with more (pushing off) than anyone because of who he is!
thank you for that non-objective opinion, Jon. I will take it under consideration as I watch the game tonight. please be sure to bring that objective viewpoint to bear on all the contact between players of both Teams, especially from the low=post to the glass.
thank you.
I've seen it in every game I have ever watched that he played in! Harden tries it about as much, but ends up on the floor a lot!
>
Amen
Lafayette Grading Set
wow, I didn't know we were in church!!
the game is just about to get underway and I won't make a prediction on who will win but I will say I expect Lebron James to have a big game for two reasons: he will be playing for pride if nothing else --- and --- I think the Warriors will allow him to score while attempting to lock down the rest of the Cavs. it'll be a strategy to win by Golden State.
GS wants this sweep tonight.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
I wish GS would stop playing around. They were stuck on 38 for what seemed like a half hour!
Tough call now on who will win the series MVP.
I'm leaning back a bit towards Curry, perhaps only because Durant won it last year.
We shall see.
Curry is unreal. He is in range as soon as he crosses midcourt!
no more durant mvp's please . That guy is nothing without 4 other all stars backing him up. A flaky pastry , a creampuff of the highest degree. If he has to be the man , the big dog on a team he disappears .
so I'm struggling to watch this game and I had to get away from the screen just before the half, I headed out to the kitchen and washed a sink full of dinner dishes. then the thought hit me............................the Cavs just can't handle the pressure of the Big Stage, it's just too much for them. I've seen these guys miss open shots and easy shots so much in the last four games that I want to eat something just so I can puke!!!
I played sports in High School and then until I was in my early 30's and we had a term for that, you guys all know it, the dreaded "C" word...............................CHOKE. players like Kyle Korver, JR Smith and Kevin Love just stink the place up, it's ridiculous. and what is with shooting 62% from the freakin' free throw line in an elimination game?? how do you do that??
they are done and there is no one to blame. I will not argue that the Warriors are not a great Team, we all know that. the thing that makes me nuts is that the Cavs aren't this bad, they just have too many players that can't stand the heat and need to be kicked out of the kitchen.
if I was ownership I'd figure out how to keep Lebron along worth some of the young players they have and dump all the other garbage that is proving to us that they aren't worthy, they aren't worthy of playing with Lebron and getting dragged to the Finals every year. enough is enough, so forgive me and my rant is over.
if I can't find anything in the refrigerator to smash down and puke I may just drink some ipecac in honor of the Cavs. way to go guys, your gonna get a Championship celebration in your arena, unfortunately you'll all be hangin' your heads in the locker room as the Trophy is presented and you should be embarrassed and ashamed.
you owe your fans an apology.