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NBA Finals: 3 Things To Watch Out For

By Cameron Stewart

Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the first quarter in game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the first quarter in game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 3, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) gets a high five from his teammates guard Kyrie Irving (2) and forward Kevin Love (0) after scoring during the second half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. Hornets win 106-97. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports /

How do Cavs handle Warriors’ ‘Death Lineup’?

The Warriors’ “death lineup” has wreaked on opposing teams all season long. The small-ball lineup of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, and Draymond Green has just been a nightmare to handle.

During the regular season, the lineup appeared in 37 games and per 100 possessions, outscored opponents by 43.7 points.

How do the Cavaliers respond to the small-ball lineup?

The Cavs could keep Tristan Thompson on the court in an attempt to thwart small-ball. Thompson is long and athletic enough to not be exploited like bigger, slower centers do against the death lineup.

Thompson is the logically the only big that the Cavs have on their roster to throw out against the small-ball lineup.

But Thompson’s calling card is his rim protection and rebounding. If the Warriors spread the floor, they’re taking Thompson out of the paint and creating driving lanes.

It’s very likely that the Warriors single out Thompson and take him out of the paint.

Without much of an offensive game, Thompson’s strengths would be taken away and his weaknesses offensively wouldn’t be able to keep him on the court unless he’s just dominated the glass, which is entirely possible that he would.

One hot idea that the Cavs could do is throw a lineup that they haven’t played much against the small-ball lineup.

Kyrie Irving, Matthew Dellavedova, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and LeBron James is an option. Dellavedova could be swapped out in favor of Richard Jefferson or James Jones if Cavs coach Tyronn Lue wanted to go for a bit more size.

No combination of these lineups played more than four minutes together this season.

Last year in the Finals, the dreaded Warriors’ lineup appeared in all six games, outscoring the Cavaliers by 19.9 points per 100 possessions.

The Cavaliers are going to go up against the “death lineup” likely during every game this series and they might have to try out lineups that they haven’t trotted out all season to counter it.

How they fare against the small-ball lineup could determine the series.

Next: Roller Coaster of Love