Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 keys to beating the Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals

2. The defense has to hold

The biggest mismatch in this series is not an individual matchup, but rather, Golden State’s offense against Cleveland’s defense in general.

Through the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Cavs have been the third-best defense of the postseason, holding opponents to 104.6 points per 100 possessions. That’s a stark improvement from the 108.0 points per 100 possessions they hemorrhaged during the regular season, which ranked 22nd in the NBA.

The Warriors, meanwhile, aside from possessing the NBA’s second-best defense in the regular season (101.1) and stingiest defense in the playoffs (99.1), are also the league’s second-ranked offense in the playoffs (115.8) and top-ranked offense from the regular season (113.2).

That should be somewhat frightening for a Cavs defense that faced mundane offenses in their playoff run, especially since they made the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics look like high-powered offensive units at times.

The Warriors machine is another matter entirely, and you can be guaranteed Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson aren’t going to let the Cavs off the hook for leaving them wide open like Harrison Barnes did last year.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

Though the Cavs’ defense has faltered at times in the playoffs, for the most part, the effort has drastically improved, especially compared to after the All-Star break when only the Los Angeles Lakers had a more porous defense. The trend has to continue through the next 4-7 games.

LeBron has to have the energy to guard either Kevin Durant or Draymond Green and STILL bring it on the offensive end. Tristan Thompson has to be able to defend Green’s playmaking and chase him out to the perimeter. Kyrie or whoever the Warriors put on Curry has to hold the two-time MVP in check. J.R. Smith or Irving has to make sure Klay Thompson doesn’t shake off his shooting slump and serve as the proverbial dagger in Cleveland’s side.

And all this is without mentioning how Kevin Love has to somehow hold his own on the defensive end to stay on the floor, and the bench needing to do its part to combat Golden State’s superior depth.

Against a team that moves the ball obnoxiously well and features four of the league’s 20 best players, the Cavaliers’ defense has to hold for them to have a prayer in this series.