When the Cavs beat the Warriors on Friday night in Game 4, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were at their best.
LeBron’s been spectacular for all but one game in the 2017 Playoffs and has brought his A Game to the Finals (aside from an eight turnover performance in Game 1).
Unlike last year, having LeBron at his best simply hasn’t been enough to beat the Warriors, as the addition of Kevin Durant has made the challenge that much tougher.
In the first two games of this series, Irving was practically a non-factor. The final scores reflected that, as Cleveland lost both games in blowout fashion.
In Game 3, Irving and James both erupted, but it still wasn’t enough, as Durant hit a clutch shot to cap off an 11-0 run in the final three minutes and change to put Golden State up 3-0.
What we saw in Game 4, as much as it was a dominant performance by LeBron and Kyrie, was the revival of guys like Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver.
Thompson grabbed five boards in the first quarter and ten in the game.
Prior to Game 4, his series high was four rebounds.
Smith knocked down 5-of-9 three-point attempts, scoring 15 points on the night. Entering Game 4, Smith scored only three points in the first two games of the series, but put up 16 in Game 3’s nail biter loss.
When Smith and Thompson signed their big contracts in back-to-back years, it was for these moments in the Finals. Both were valued for their ability to defend Golden State, create extra possessions with their hustle and toughness, and play their roles to the best of their abilities, surrounded by two superstar playmakers.
Assuming LeBron and Irving deliver their superstar caliber performances we’ve come to expect, it’s going to take a similar performance from Cleveland’s role players in Game 5 to send the series back to Cleveland.
As much as Clevelanders dislike Golden State and how the team was put together, the reality of the Durant addition is that LeBron and Kyrie turning into superheroes on any given night is not always enough to get the job done against such a talent-loaded team.
Kevin Love has had an impressive series altogether and no one would pin the three losses on him, but it goes to show that even if the Big Three all plays well, it may not be enough.
Cleveland will need “the other guys” to be stars in their roles and do what fits their skillset in Game 5.
Even Draymond Green pointed that out after Game 4.
“Kyrie can have the same game, and J.R. doesn’t get 15,” Green said. “We take away those threes. Kevin Love went 6-for-8 from three. You take that away. LeBron can get his 31, 10 and 10. Kyrie can get his 40. If you take those other things away, it’s a different ballgame.”
The Cavs hit an NBA Finals record 24 three’s on the night and scored 49 points in the first quarter – also a Finals record.
Those two things probably won’t happen again, but Cleveland also went on to win that game in blowout fashion, and whether the Cavs win by one or 21, a win’s a win at this point.
Coming into the series, Tristan Thompson was seen as one of the edges Cleveland had over Golden State. He finally played like it in Game 4 and let’s hope that was the start of his resurgence.
Cleveland’s bench (on paper) had more talent than Golden State’s coming into the series, but it’s hard to make that argument after seeing the Warriors’ bench outplay Cleveland in three of four games.
One area Cleveland should be able to make a difference is affecting the physicality of the game with guys like Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson, Smith and Thompson, who may not have as much to offer from a scoring standpoint, but can impact the game with their toughness.
Cleveland is overmatched in talent, heading into a hostile environment on the road. For the Cavs to win tonight, it’s probably not going to be a pretty game, but the Cavs are going to need to be the tougher team and will likely need more well-rounded contributions than their counterparts receive.
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