Game 1 Review: Iso Ball

My cold pick of LeBron James was okay. He got the highest of all the Cavs with 47 PRABS, and just 1 assist shy of a triple-double. It remains to be seen how that will stack up against his next PRAs in these Finals, but I am satisfied how it turned out even if that happened while the Cavs lost in a low-scoring effort. I am guessing he tops that 1 or 2 more times these Finals.

The hot pick Kyrie Irving was excellent I might say as he got 36 PRABS which is above average. I reckon he can top that only once more, but 12 trips to the free throw line won't happen again. His pickers should be happy with that performance.

The steal of the night is Shaun Livingston with 27 PRA. There should be less than a dozen of you feeling genius about that pick because he won't be getting those stats again this series. Congratz!

As for the game, the Splash Brothers only had 27 field goal attempts. That's far from their usual 40+ line, so I guess the Cavs really did a great job limiting their touches and disrupting their pick-and-roll. Steph and Klay missed a lot of open shots, and that bids well for the Cavs because the two never really had the chance to get hot due to the Cavs D. Even if the Cavs lost, they should stick to that game plan versus the duo.

The Warriors bench won it for them. Livingston and Leandro Barbosa were unstoppable. There really is strength in numbers! A 45-10 point advantage is impressive, but I don't really blame the Cavs bench like what is told and hyped out there. They only had 10 attempts because...

The Cavs did a lot of iso-ball, pumping the rock to LeBron and Kevin Love. Maybe the Cavs wanted to take the Warriors off their game by slowing the pace. It didn't work though, as it got defended well and really just didn't warm their shooters enough. Offense-wise, I think the Cavs should get back to what they do best and run. And they can still do that. Anyone from the roster from Kyrie and Tristan can run, and a trailing Kevin Love is dangerous from three.

The Cavs wanted to steal one by changing who they are, instead of just sticking to what works and just doing it better.

Anyway, there is a lot of basketball left :)

Comments

  1. Wait, hold on just a minute, when did the Cavs suddenly become the Heat? Did LeBron take his talents back to South Beach? :P

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  2. Sorry, that was my future self who was brought back to our timeline by Kitty Pryde to prevent a future where LeBron went back to South Beach. Messed with my head :P

    Snikkt!

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  3. I could not have dreamed Livingston would have had that good a game. Genius, yes with a "splash" of luck :)

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  4. Maccabi de LevantarJune 4, 2016 at 3:25 PM

    Yes, Irving was not bad thanks to the free throw line. I don't want to think what score would we have had from him if he didn't get to the line so many times xD

    For my next pick, JR Smith, I hope Taong is right and the Miami Cavs...sorry, the Cleveland Heat pick up the pace. I am just not so sure if it will make them better than the Warriors, or it will let Curry and Thompson to get hot as well. It's difficult to pick up the pace on offense and keep them out of rythm at the same time. But as a basketball fan I would love to see that happen.

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    1. i reckon now that cavs keep same plan for game 2 (slow pace, iso) but with tweaks -- defend bench guards the same way they do step and klay.

      dubs can't adjust much yet coz they still won game 1. remember that they still won last year's finals even if steph was defended well.


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  5. How come the totals have not been updated? Or Are you just waiting till the end?

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    1. Sorry busy this weekend. Will update after Game 2.

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  6. Drive and Slam is a total disaster! I'm 2nd worst (not counting nyahoo who only picked for 5 days)even with that 52 PRABS (156 with 3X)!!!!! I should be doing a lot better with the players I pick, but it seems like 3/4 of them have sub-par performances when I pick them.

    Now in the Finals each of the Cavs Big 3 did well and Draymond Green had the best showing while Curry and Thompson both had bad performances for the Warriors. That sounds like a Cavs win, but instead the Warriors won by 15!!!!! The Warriors bench dominated over the Cavs which won the game for GS, proving they have more than 3 players on their team (lol)! Now I took a bench player from each team (J.R. Smith for google drive and Festus Ezeli for drive and slam) and with the prior news it would sound like at least the Warriors pick (Festus) did well! No such luck! Smith has FIVE PRA for google blog (though I miraculously did not get red) and Festus (despite being on the dominant bench) did not play a role with just as few PRA (though he got a steal so 6 PRABS and hey we'll 4X it to 24!!!! LOL)!!!!! Looks like I'm the master of picking INVISIBLE MEN!!!!!

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  7. 3rd round results
    Google drive PAR; Drive and Slam PARBS(X3)
    D30 D Shaun Livingston 8`, Harrison Barnes 19 (57)
    D31 Bismack Biyombo 16, Tristan Thompson 14 (42)
    D32 Harrison Barnes 20, D Shaun Livingston 9` (27)
    D33 DeMar DeRozan 29, J.R. Smith 15 (45)
    NGD2 Hassan Whiteside 0, NULL 0 (0)
    D34 DeMarre Carroll 15, DeMarre Carroll 15 (45)
    D35 Andre Iguodala 16, T- Steven Adams 15 (45)
    D36 Tristan Thompson 11, Patrick Patterson 17 (51)
    D37 Stephen Curry 29#, Klay Thompson 36 (108)
    D38 Channing Frye 10, D Matthew Dellavedova 5 (15)
    D39 Draymond Green 28, Draymond Green 33 (99)
    D40 Jonas Valanciunas 15, Jonas Valanciunas 15 (45)
    D41 Klay Thompson 45, Stephen Curry 52 (156)
    NGD3 Chris Paul 0, NULL 0 (0)
    D42 T- Kevin Durant 37, T- Kevin Durant 39 (117)
    NGD4 Blake Griffin 0, NULL 0 (0)
    NGD5 Dirk Nowitzki 0, NULL 0 (0)
    `Livingston couldn't get me 20 PAR in two games combined, now he gets 20 regular points in game 1 and 27 PAR/28 PARBSs (pre multiplier)!!!!!
    #Epic fail performance
    D Disaster (<10 PAR)
    T- ALL Thunder picks for me in both games (including those picked in the 2nd round) were below average!

    I'm 8/11 (not counting the secret celebrity who has his traditional mid playoff disappearance) in google blog which looks good compared to 21/22 (not counting the player who only picked 5 days) in drive and slam.

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  8. I think I will be taking Bogut tonight...
    (I'm scared)
    ...
    I'm trying to hold on to LBJ and Irving for home games.
    GSW players used.
    Thompson,
    Curry,
    Barns,
    Green,
    A.I. and
    Livingston....
    ..
    CLE players used...
    Love,
    J.R. Smith,
    Thompson.
    ...
    Bogut should be the genius pick of the night, right?
    (game of his life like Livy game me last time)
    lol

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    1. I actually like to see it happen, so at least one of us will be totally psyched about it :P

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