Golden State Warriors: 2015 NBA Finals Preview
Slowing LeBron James
However, the Warriors are a well-coached group and as we’ve already mentioned, they’re the better team. Assuming the Dubs can string a few buckets together early on and send the crowd into a frenzy, they’ll have a good chance of taking care of business at home against a Cavs team that hasn’t really played anyone in these playoffs yet.
The question is, which MVP will have the advantage in a seven-game series? Steph Curry was the most devastating offensive weapon in basketball this year, but LeBron James is LeBron James. Who has the better chance of stopping whom?
The reigning MVP and four-time MVP will meet in the Finals. LeBron will likely use that as motivation. This is going to be fun to watch.
— Earl K. Sneed (@EarlKSneed) May 28, 2015
Let’s start by looking at how the Cavs will defend King James. For one thing, the Dubs were the top ranked defense in the league this season, holding opponents to 98.2 points per 100 possessions. The Cavs were the NBA’s 20th ranked defense, posting a defensive rating of 104.1.
Looking at the playoff numbers, Cleveland’s defensive rating (98.5, third among playoff teams) has actually been better than Golden State’s defensive rating (98.9, fourth). But the Cavs’ less than stellar opponents — the lowly Boston Celtics, a Chicago Bulls teams that went minutes on end without scoring and an imploding Atlanta Hawks team that suddenly forgot how to make open shots — definitely skewed the numbers a bit.
The point is, the Warriors are an elite defense, something the Cavs haven’t seen yet in these playoffs. And if LeBron James’ playoff efficiency continues to trend toward Kobe Bryant levels, Cleveland could be in trouble.
Strictly speaking, King James has been phenomenal, averaging 27.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game for the postseason. But shooting 42.8 percent from the floor and an atrocious 17.6 percent isn’t going to cut it against this Warriors defense.
King James always rises to the moment, but the Dubs have quite a few players to throw at him. Nobody in the league can “stop” LeBron, but with Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson and Shaun Livingston to throw at him, they’ve got as good a shot as anyone at containing him.
Just ask James Harden, who was put on lock some nights and couldn’t get wins even on the nights when he went off.
Warriors need to play Lebron like the Spurs did. Don't play him aggressive. Force him to shoot the jumper. If he makes them then so be it.
— Martin Brian Ansah (@DaAnsahonSports) May 28, 2015
The Dubs are going to throw a number of defensive looks at James and have enough options to make him work on every play. They’re a definite upgrade from what he saw in the conference finals (a one-legged DeMarre Carroll, a struggling Paul Millsap and Mike Scott) and it’ll take a monumental series to keep this one-man show in the running with a balanced, deep team.
Also, it’s worth noting that LeBron is committing 4.4 turnovers per game during the playoffs, mostly due to how often he’s relied upon to handle the ball. But against a Warriors defense that loves to turn turnovers into fast break points, that kind of bad habit could be self-inflicting wound.
I keep thinking back to the end of Game 3 against the Hawks, when LeBron collapsed to the ground in relief and exhaustion when the final horn sounded. That was against a Hawks team that hadn’t played well in over a month. LeBron already has to put up damn near 40-15-10 in this series to give his team a chance. Against this Warriors defense, he’ll REALLY be hard-pressed to win a series by himself.
Next: Slowing Chef Curry