Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 adjustments for Game 3 of 2017 NBA Finals
With their backs against the wall in the 2017 NBA Finals, here are five desperate adjustments the Cleveland Cavaliers need to make for Game 3.
For the second year in a row, the Cleveland Cavaliers have their backs against the wall through the first two games of the championship round. Facing a 2-0 deficit against the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals, the Cavs head back to Quicken Loans Arena in desperate need of a Game 3 victory.
This team has conquered adversity before. Cleveland lost the first two games of the 2016 NBA Finals in blowout fashion — and by an even worse point differential — before becoming the first team to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win the title.
Unfortunately, there is no Game 5 Draymond Green suspension in sight. There is no Harrison Barnes shooting collapse to capitalize on. There is no banged up Stephen Curry or injured Andrew Bogut to make the difference. If the Cavs are going to climb back into this series, against a Warriors team that replaced Barnes with freaking Kevin Durant, they need to get creative.
In Game 1, the Draymond and Klay Thompson went a combined 6-for-28 from the field…but the Warriors only committed four turnovers, put up 27 fast break points and outscored the Cavs 56-30 in points in the paint.
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In Game 2, the Cavs were actually more engaged on the defensive end…and still gave up 132 points in regulation. They won the battle for points in the paint by a 60-40 margin and turned the Dubs over 20 times…but were roasted for an NBA Finals record 18 three-pointers and lost by 19.
They even got a triple-double out of LeBron James and 27 points out of Kevin Love…but that was more than matched by Stephen Curry’s triple-double and KD’s historic 33-13-6-5-3 stat line. No matter which way the Cavs turn, they can’t catch a break.
Heading into a must-win Game 3, what can the Cleveland Cavaliers realistically do against this unstoppable Warriors colossus? Here’s a look at five possible adjustments as desperate times call for desperate measures.