Defending Home

I can't wait to get myself a Dellavedova jersey. Hopefully they spell it right.

I also can't wait to see how many "expert" analysts change their mind on who they think is going to win this series. Most predicted a sweep or the Warriors in 5 once Irving went down. We know now it has to go at least 6 games. Outside of Cavalier fans, no one thought this team had a chance. Most of us are from Cleveland...we don't care about that.

This was such a great game for the Cavs to win. Even more importantly, it would've taken the wind out of the team if they would've lost. I've been waiting for someone to step their game up...Shumpert, Smith, Mozgov, Thompson... I don't think even Cavs fans thought it was going to be Matthew Dellavedova.

When the Cavaliers made the switch to give more minutes to Delly due to the injury of Kyrie Irving and with the absence of Kevin Love in the lineup giving Tristan Thompson more minutes did something to the Cavs: it made them a better defensive team. Obviously Irving and Love are better offensive players, but as long as Delly and Thompson can provide a little bit of offense, then you can look at it as an upgrade. They're providing more than just a little offense.

The Cavs are obviously better with Irving and I'm pretty sure with Love, but they're being forced to play differently with those guys out. It may be just what they needed to do...they're more physical, better defensively, and with their pace of play, all of it has taken the Warriors out of their rhythm.

Here's a little recap of game 3 with some insights as to what can happen moving forward.

This game's tempo was set early from the most unlikely of heroes. James Jones, Mike Miller, LeBron, and Delly all hit the floor tonight to grab loose balls with Delly doing it all over the place. That's what you need to do every game, which is one reason why having Delly in there is a great thing. Honestly, Delly is not a great offensive player. He never will be. If he was playing anywhere else, he may not even get playing time. The only reason he's getting the time he is now is because of Irving's injury. Throughout this whole year, Cleveland was picked to take a PG with their first round pick as a decent backup to Kyrie. I don't think they have to worry about that anymore. Get a wing player who can take some time off of LeBron. And what a pass to LeBron for the alley-oop dunk!

Stephen Curry was bad for game two and most of game 3, but has finally found a rhythm. Delly has been able to take him out of it a little with his physical play. Plus we didn't know how Curry was going to respond to playing at this level. Remember OKC when they went to the finals? They had James Harden. He never showed up for the finals...a big reason they lost. You never know who will step up at the highest level and who just can't seem to do so.

For as much crap as Cavs legitimately gave the refs in game 2, game 3 went the Cavs way. We got some calls and no-calls that we didn't get in game 2. Mozgov did have some nice blocks when he went straight up, but the Warriors weren't as fortunate as they were the previous game. Then there was the review at the end of the game that shouldn't have been reviewed. It should've been Warriors ball, but oh well. How's it feel, Golden State?!

With Curry back in a little bit of a rhythm, it makes game 4 interesting. If they can continue to frustrate him and keep him under his season average, they'll be fine. So far, only one splash brother has gone off per game: Curry, then Thompson, then Curry. It'll be a lot more difficult if both eventually put a game together.

After a game, I like to look at stats. Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green combined to go 2-18 in game 3. That's a little worrisome to me because that means they can do better next game. Of course, the others went 18-39 including 9-20 from 3-point land. That's not easy to duplicate, either. Meanwhile the top Cavs went 21-51 so they have some improvement to do as well. If the Cavs were barely winning these games and shooting high percentages, it would mean that they were playing near-perfect basketball and would have to do that every game to win. They're not, and they're still winning. That's a good sign.

In fact, the Cavs had a great lead. They've outplayed the Warriors for 13 of the 14 periods including overtimes. They only lost the 4th quarter of this game and they were still able to hold on at the end. They were able to withstand a Curry comeback as he found his groove in that last quarter. Also a positive sign.

The Warriors have some hope with the lineup change that Kerr went to at the end. David Lee i a good player and gives them a different rhythm than with Ezeli. They'll look to do that again, although I don't think Lee will be as effective as he was in game 3. That'll be something the Cavs will need to game plan for the next game.

Iman Shumpert has to stay healthy. He brings so much to this team. Amongst all the trades, he was the one I was most excited for. He was an up-and-coming young player with some handles, ability to shoot well and score slightly better, but is a defensive lock-down. Watch him during the game. There was a play where he just stripped a guy to get a steal for someone else. He was the one who made the play at the end of game 2 to win the game. He can cover Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Livingston...basically positions 1-3. That's not easy to do. LeBron can play 1-5 but he's a freak of nature. For anyone else, playing 3 positions on defense is amazing. He needs to stay healthy, so watch it around those Draymond screens.

The Cavs have such a great team when Irving and Love are on the floor. Kyrie can drive and score...he can drive and dish. LeBron gets to slash if Kyrie handles the ball. Love can play down-low. He can pop-out and hit a 3. LeBron can handle the ball and drive. It's limitless on offense when everyone is healthy. That was the one thing the "experts" were saying about the Cavs before the season started...this could be the best offensive team ever, but they were worried about their D. Well, Mozgov and Shumpert changed their defensive mentality, but losing Love and Irving hurts offensively.

Because of these injuries, the Cavaliers have had to change the way that they run their offense. Let's look at what's going on. Varejao is out, Love, and Irving as well. Shumpert is banged up as is LeBron. The Cavs didn't have a ton of depth to begin with, especially with Perkins and Marion not really being able to play. I thought they were really gonna help in the finals since they didn't play a ton during the year or the playoffs. The Cavaliers have a small lineup: LeBron, Shumpert, Thompson, Mozgov, Smith, Delly, and Jones all get major minutes. Miller might get a few. Haywood and Harris aren't coming in unless absolutely necessary. Perkins and Marion will come in just before that. It's basically a 7-man rotation with Miller able to give a few minutes.

There's the small rotation. The Warriors have an 11-man rotation that they can use but normally use 9-10 guys. With Golden State having more guys and normally playing an up-beat tempo, what should the Cavaliers do? Slow the game down. This creates less possessions and less energy exerted then if they were running up and down the floor. A lot of free throws help to give short breaks as well. A lot of slack is being hurled at LeBron for playing iso-ball, and I admit I don't love it. But this is the most effective way to play right now since it gives extra breathers, slows the game down by causing there to be less possessions, and when he drives and gets to the free throw line, it stops the game again giving the Cavaliers a mini-break. It also creates less shots so not as much offense for the Warriors who are used to putting up a ton of points. Psychologically when you don't score as much as you're used to, it can have an effect on you.

Not only does this help with the lack of depth, but it also creates an interesting offensive strategy. Thompson is the best offensive rebounder in the league, period. Mozgov doesn't get a ton of offensive rebounds, but he is a master at the offensive tip back to a guard. So with LeBron isolating, he either drives and gets to the bucket (and potentially the foul line) or he draws a double-team and kicks it out to one of the many great Cavalier shooters this series (Smith, Shumpert, Delly is okay, Jones has been great, Miller is available) who put it up. Either the Cavs hit the 3 or something else happens. Thompson and Mozgov are really good at getting the rebound or tip-out. They haven't gotten a ton this series because Green and Bogut are struggling to box them out. So what's happening? Green in particular, but both of them are fouling Thompson and Mozgov. They're getting in foul trouble early. Fouling Mozgov is a good thing, too, because he's a good free throw shooter. When Green and/or Bogut has to exit earlier than expected, it throws off their rhythm with the new lineup.

Any coach can tell you, shooting teams like to stay in rhythm. They don't like change. Their goal is consistency, and when they get thrown off, it can affect them. That's one of the reasons I think that Curry hasn't been hitting as many shots as he's used to. Even shots in the paint he's missing. Delly is playing him really well, but the Cavs offense is playing in such a way that it forces Green and Bogut to foul or give up an easy offensive put-back. It forces them to the bench which changes Golden State's offensive options.

This series is shaping up to be a really good one. Close games, overtimes...it'll be fun to watch. If anybody thought the Cavs were out of this from game 1, they're certainly rethinking that stance now.

14 games down. 2 to go.