There was something to the way Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue approached Game 2 of the NBA Finals that, theoretically, bore a resemblance to entering a lion’s den in a meat suit.
Youth Rocky Bleier Jersey Where conventional wisdom might suggest that the Cavaliers’ best chance to pull an upset here in the third iteration of their championship matchup against Golden State would be to slow the game, force the Warriors into the halfcourt and let LeBron James bully his way to a win, Lue — as has been his wont in these series — went the other way. He got his Cavs to push the pace against a team that has mastered the art of fast play in the past three seasons.
Again, Lue and the Cavs were dealt a harsh lesson: Quicken the game against the Warriors at your own peril. Game 2, a 132-113 win for Golden State, was played at warp speed, with a pace of 108.5 possessions per 48 minutes. That built on the extreme pace of Game 1, which was 102.5.
We had a lot of unforced turnovers, James said Saturday. Some of them was aggression. I had two charges — that’s aggression, I can take those. But I also had some where I got caught up in the air, trying to make some skip passes, and they were able to pick them off.
Youth Ryan Hewitt Jersey
Those are like pick-sixes. It’s like throwing the ball to Deion Sanders. For the most part, it’s going to be a touchdown going the other way.
Even with his preternatural passing ability, James can’t afford to leave his feet without knowing where the ball will end up. That might work against smaller guards (like we saw with the Celtics in the last round), but the Warriors are too long and too quick for that type of play. This is what happens.
SB Nation’s Mike Prada suggested the Cavs toss the ball out of bounds if they get stuck, not unlike a quarterback lofting the ball into the crowd to live another down. It sounds crazy initially, but is it really any worse than watching Durant dunk again and again?