Lakers 2015 Draft Post-Recap

And the 2015 NBA draft is officially in the books. Welcome in to a brief post recap of the Lakers' 2015 NBA draft. Usually, I'd just post as the draft rolls on, but sometimes it's good to try a little something new. So the Lakers didn't make any crazy trade. They kept all their picks and drafted the best player on their board. Let's take a look at the draft picks and I'll give a final word.

Round 1 Pick 2: D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State, PG

Highlights:

*Highlights/Tape courtesy of DraftExpress*

Comment: There was a house divided on whether the Lakers should use the number 2 overall pick to select Jahlil Okafor or this kid in D'Angelo Russell. Personally, I was on board with taking Okafor as I feel that the Lakers needed a big man, but understandably so, the NBA is a guard-driven league and the Lakers have to see the likes of Curry, Paul, Westbrook, Lillard, in the West. So why not go with the flow as well? What I see from Russell is that the guy can flat out score and facilitate. He can play on the ball and off of it. What stood out to me about Russell is his pick and roll play as he's able to split the opposing defense with ease and make a quick decision whether to score or to pass as well as his transition game to stop and pop a shot or find a guy in transition. Based on the video above, he's excels more in the transition game.  The Lakers already invested in Clarkson and they like his potential, but it's clear that he's not designated to be the star point guard of the future, but he's still a viable piece. With Kobe Bryant's career coming to an end, Russell and Clarkson could be the back court for years to come. It's going to be interesting to see the pick and roll game with him and Julius Randle given that Randle's best attribute is finishing at the rim. Also with this pick, the Lakers seem confident that they will land a star big man through the free agency. Overall, it wasn't a bad pick. Seeing D'Angelo Russell for me was last minute since I was contempt on Okafor. You can't go wrong with either, but the majority says Russell was the better prospect of the two so I will roll with it.

Round 1 Pick 27: Larry Nance, Jr. Wyoming, PF

Highlights:

*Highlights courtesy of North Dallas*

Comment: The son of Larry Nance Sr., the player who gave Dr. J a run for his money in the first ever dunk contest. He can dunk just like his dad too! At this point of the first round, all the major talent is taken and teams are just looking for value picks and the Lakers believed they uncovered a gem in Larry Nance, Jr. Usually, players coming from bloodlines of NBA legends don't work out too well, but Nance, Jr. fills a need for a big man that can fight for easy baskets and defend. Reading his page, he was regarded as the best big man in the Mountain West Conference and has the accolades to back up his defensively being DPOY and being All-Defensive Team in the conference. Not only can he score inside, but he has a decent range from the outside. The one knock is that many analysts projected him to be a late 2nd round pick and this pick was considered a reach by some, but he has impressed in his workouts to raise his draft stock. In my opinion, he's likely going to be a bench player to spare Randle. He was taken on the fly considering the front court of the Lakers is at a huge uncertainty right now.

Round 2 Pick 34: Anthony Brown, Stanford, SF

Highlights:

*Highlights courtesy of Draft Express*

Comment: I've looked at some full mock drafts for the Lakers and I've seen this Anthony Brown fella go to the Lakers with their 27th pick. For him to still be on the board for the Lakers at 34th overall in the 2nd round is considered a steal. As noted in the video above, this guy can shoot. He shot a career 41% from beyond the arc during his tenure in Stanford. The Lakers got a player who can space the floor so when D'Angelo Russell splits the defense, that leaves Brown open for a high percentage shot from long range. He also has defensive upside given his size and his wing span. If he continues to develop defensively, he'll prove to be a disruption for guys like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Carmelo Anthony, most of the best SFs in the league right now. That is a big "if." If he pans out, that's the 2nd year in a row the Lakers struck gold in the 2nd round.

Conclusion

It wasn't a draft that most Laker fans including myself weren't expecting, but you can't go wrong with this surprise plan B that Mitch Kupchak has created.At this point, the Lakers gotta have some core pieces in there so that they have a life after the Kobe Bryant era. They addressed that by drafting D'Angelo Russell. Would've it been nice to draft Jahlil Okafor? It would, but history shows that the Lakers have more success when they acquire an established big man through a trade or free agency. If free agency goes the way it is planned with the route the Lakers took in this draft, the sky is the limit for the rebuilding process. I'll see you guys later.

Warriors Clinch NBA Title in Game 6

Welcome in to the full recap of game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers where the Warriors end the 40 year drought in the Bay Area, closing out the Cavaliers, 105-97 in Cleveland to capture the Larry O'Brien trophy.

The Bay Area is going crazy right now. 40 years in the making for another NBA title here, it's unbelievable. Keep in mind though, I'm still a Laker fan, but as a Bay Area resident, I'm happy for them. Years of slapping them around in the Pacific Division and look how far they've come. This finals was a battle between an area and a city that are absolutely thirsting for a title and the Cavs' gave the Warriors a run for their money, but the Warriors showed why they're the best team down the stretch and you can't write a storybook any better.

Golden State Warriors

(+)

Andre Iguodala, 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 9-20 shooting. I've said this countless times when Iguodala is on this positive list, there is no other Warriors player out there who wanted it more than Andre Iguodala. You talk about seasons of frustration since he was drafted by the 76ers, always coming up short, but now he came this far and deservedly so, though arguable, won the NBA Finals MVP from his bench play and changing the series since being inserted into the lineup. He started off a little slow this game, missing a couple of shots, but as the game went on, he made big shot after big shot when the Cavs looked like they were about to rally. The wait was long overdue for Iguodala and he showed up when it matters the most with or without any prior finals experience.

Draymond Green, 16 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 6-13 shooting. You can also make another case that Draymond Green could've won the Finals MVP with his kind of performance this game. Green held out on his own against Tristan Thompson, against Timofey Mozgov. When the energy was needed, Green provided that, making shots, penetrating, playing help defense, getting players, the triple-double numbers speak for itself. He was all-around in the biggest game of his career.

Stephen Curry, 25 points, 8 assists, 8-19 shooting. It doesn't matter the order who could've deserved Finals MVP, but this is the last candidate, the regular season MVP himself. It was a slow start for Curry in the finals after being shut down by Matthew Dellavedova, but he started to find the rhythm down the stretch and never looked back. Last game, he went on a scoring spree, this game he was all-around. The Cavs defense had no answer for Curry this game, whether they tried to trap him, double team him, triple team him, but he was constantly finding the open man in pick and roll situations. He's finding Iguodala, finding Draymond Green, finding Klay Thompson, despite his struggles. Then in the closing seconds, he came up in the clutch with critical threes to answer a Cleveland run and making crucial free throws when the Cavs weren't going away in the final seconds.

Bench. You never know who is stepping up for the Warriors with their depth. Last game Barbosa provided the spark, this game, Shaun Livingston and Festus Ezeli showed up this game. I thought their performance in the 3rd quarter, was the difference maker. Ezeli hustling for the ball, giving the Warriors second chance points and same with Livingston, providing much needed buckets to make the lead more insurmountable for the Cavaliers to come back from. The bench quietly played a huge role for the clincher as Ezeli and Livingston contributed 20 points combined, 10 coming from both players.

(-)

Not a lot of negatives for the Warriors other than Klay Thompson's off night and a little bit of prevent defense in the final minute of the 4th. Other than that, the Warriors played a complete, team game to clinch the title.

Cleveland Cavaliers

(+)

Timofey Mozgov, 17 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, 5-8 shooting. If there was one constant for the Cleveland Cavaliers these finals, it's obviously LeBron James and the other, the Cavs' big men. Let's start with Timofey Mozgov here. Defensively, he was solid, able to come up with blocks to help the Cavs gain a little momentum. But since the Warriors inserted the small lineup, Mozgov had his way, making easy baskets and it continued until the bitter end for the Cavaliers.

Tristan Thompson, 15 points, 13 rebounds, 7-12. The 2nd part of the constant in the Cavs' big men was Tristan Thompson. He also played his heart out until the end. Thompson didn't break off consistency as he was a hustling rebounding machine all playoff long. If anything that should be taken away from this experience, it's that Thompson has an identity he can build off of in the following season: be the player who hustles hard and fights for every offensive board. His career started slow being a former 1st round pick, but Tristan Thompson found a role he can excel in once the Cavaliers are at full strength by next season.

(-)

Turnovers. The turnovers couldn't have come at the worst way possible for the Cavaliers. Credit to the Warrior defense, they were able to create 16 turnovers from the Cavs, 6 of them from LeBron James. The game in which the Cavaliers needed it the most, they mar it with the turnovers and the Cavaliers paid dearly for it as the Warriors cashed it on every opportunity to get points in transition and set the pace their way. 16 turnovers, 3 of them from shot clock violations, just an unacceptable effort in taking care of the ball from the Cavalier offense.

Missed Free Throws. The Cavs had 10 more free throw attempts than the Warriors. They were attacking the basket, crashing the paint, giving the Warriors some fits that they had to foul and they just couldn't hit the free throws. LeBron missed some free throws, Shumpert missed some free throws, J.R. Smith missed some free throws. We all know how free throws can make or break a player, a game, and a series and the Cavs had some opportunity, they just couldn't cash in on that.

Conclusion

For the Bay Area, one drought is over. For the city of Cleveland, another year of sports heartbreak. But credit where credit is due, the Warriors and its players made a lot of sacrifices for the greater good to put this team to championship greatness while the Cavs, they scratched and clawed and made this a series. But unfortunately, two fairy tales on a collision course cannot both have a happy ending and the Warriors made their fairy tale season a happy ending while the Cavs' fairy tale ending has a sad ending to its season. But congrats to the Warriors, they deserved it, the fans deserved it. I'm sure the Bay Area will not stop partying for quite some time. This concludes my coverage of the 2015 NBA Finals. Thank you guys for following my posts and I will see you guys until next season. We still got the NBA draft to go. I can't wait to see who the Lakers pick, but I'll be off until the NFL football season starts. Meanwhile, you guys can find me on my friend Stillmattic's blog at bleachzealot.blogspot.com as we have started on our next Fight Night collaboration. So head on there and catch up with our latest postings. I'll see you guys later.

Congrats Golden State Warriors 2015 NBA Champions!

2015 NBA FINALS: Game 6 Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: GS 105 CLE 97

A lot of anxiety down the final minutes. If you remember two years ago, Spurs were on the verge of winning a title, but the Heat lead by LeBron James came back and won it in OT. Almost the same story here, but they just fell short and the Warriors hit critical free throws to close it out. Both teams deserved a title, both cities deserved a title, but in the end the Warriors dream season closes out the right way with a championship. Stay tuned for the full recap after the trophy presentation.

Q3:

Score: GS 73 CLE 61

When the Warriors have a deep team, they have a DEEP team. They pretty much got back to the way they were playing in the 1st quarter, but the bench stepped up big time. Shaun Livingston is stepping up, Festus Ezeli is stepping up. Last game, it was Leandro Barbosa stepping up the scoring and then this game, it was both Livingston and Ezeli. The depth is showing and completely wearing out the Cavs' short-handed roster as the 4th quarter starts in what could be the final quarter of the Cavs' season.

Q2:

Score: GS 45 CLE 43

Wow, a tale of two quarters as the first half comes to an end. The Warriors came out hot in the 1st quarter, but they have struggled in this quarter. The Cavs, despite the turnovers, they are battling out there, clamping this Warriors defense and drawing fouls. Most of their points this quarter came from the free throw line and they needed a lot of it as they made and missed some. The quarter finished off a Tristan Thompson put back dunk and maybe just maybe, it could be enough to turn the momentum for the Cavs. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: GS 28 CLE 15

Talk about a nightmarish start offensively for the Cavaliers! 6 turnovers that quarter, 3 of them were due to 24 second violations. Just bad awareness for the Cavs and it doesn't help that most of their offensive sets are pretty ugly out there. Meanwhile, the Warriors are just firing on all cylinders. They missed a couple of jump shots and this lead would've extended by a big margin. So far, the Warriors are doing it on both sides of the ball with their defense and their fast paced, up tempo offense and you can tell they're on a mission to close this series out.

Game 6 Halftime Post

Score: GS 45 CLE 43

Welcome in to the halftime post of game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers where the Warriors hold on to a two point lead at the half.

(+)

GS: Stephen Curry, 11 points, 4 assists, 5-11 shooting. I thought Curry got off to a good start with his shooting, but he was doing all the other things in the first half. His court vision is also on par with LeBron as he's taking advantage of the pick and roll and getting his teammates involved. One of the beneficiary of Curry's unselfishness is Andre Iguodala, as he was hitting his shots from Curry's passes after starting 0-3 from the field.

GS: Defense. For the most part of the game, the Warriors defense were keeping the Cavaliers' offense in check. They managed to commit 10 turnovers. When that defense is going, the Warriors go full throttle on offense and their defense has set the tone for the most part.

CLE: Timofey Mozgov, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks. Even though Tristan Thompson is doing the load scoring-wise, I thought Mozgov was making all the all-around plays out there, especially on the defensive end. When Mozgov plays the rim protector, blocking shots from Iguodala and Curry, the momentum was slowly building up. The Cavs' offense managed to hit their stride, but Mozgov's defense charged up the Cavs in the 2nd quarter.

(-)

CLE: Turnovers. Turnovers played a critical part in the Cavs' inefficiency early on. Credit to the Warriors defense, the Cavs committed 10 turnovers, 3 of those were off 24 shot clock violations. Luckily enough, the Cavs limited the turnovers in the 2nd quarter, committing just 4 of those 10 total turnovers, but it has created some missed opportunity for the most part, much to the delight of the Warriors' defense.

Bottom Line

The Cavs need to take care of the ball more and use their big time length to generate some turnovers on the offensive side of the ball for the Warriors. They're finally crashing the paint, drawing good fouls, but free throws are critical and they need to hit a lot of them once they draw a foul, attacking the rim. The Warriors may have had a cold 2nd quarter, but they should not be discouraged if they want to close this game out. They need to continue to create turnovers and convert those turnovers to points on transition. Let's see what happens.

Stephen Curry Comes Alive as Warriors Beat Cavs to Take 3-2 Lead

Welcome in to the full recap of game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors where the Warriors earn another big time win against the Cavaliers with a 91-104 victory to go up 3-2 as they are one win away from an NBA title as the series shifts back to Cleveland for game 6.

Now this is what an MVP vs. MVP type of game in the finals feels like. Both LeBron James and Stephen Curry go on a scoring barrage. LeBron with a 40 point, triple-double performance, Steph Curry with a 37 point performance. However, when it mattered the most, Curry managed to edge the King with his scoring and three point explosion in the 4th quarter. For the Warriors, it was another double-digit victory for them and their small both on both offense and defense has proven to be the best adjustment Steve Kerr has made in these finals.

Cleveland Cavaliers

(+)

LeBron James, 40 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, 15-34 shooting. If there's a case to make LeBron James the Finals MVP potentially on a losing team since the logo, Jerry West in 1969, I think the way he has been performing in these finals speaks for itself. The man has put up three 40+ point performances in these finals, notched two near triple-doubles, notched two actual triple-doubles. As much of a LeBron hater as I am (although I give credit where credit is due), he's the sole reason why this Cavaliers team is alive to get past five games into these finals already. Though the Finals MVP goes to the player on the winning team, LeBron's numbers are putting it out there that he's the real Finals MVP, although it's a bitter reception if the Cavs were to lose the championship, just ask Jerry West how that feels.

Tristan Thompson, 19 points, 10 rebounds. Thompson continues to be a monster on the boards for the Cavs and he's finally hitting those free throws. I think the other constant besides LeBron in these finals has been Tristan Thompson with the way he's battling for every possession to give the Cavaliers some second chance opportunities. As long the Warriors play small, Thompson will have his way, grabbing boards and scoring from inside the paint when given the opportunity.

(-)

J.R. Smith (2nd half). Oh, J.R. Smith, how you have fooled us all with your 2nd half shooting performance. In the first half, he was doing good, delivering some good spacing for LeBron to give him the ball for wide open three pointers. In the 2nd half, it was a whole different story as Smith couldn't hit one shot. Some of it had to do with the Warriors' defense, some of of it had to do with unlucky misses, but I thought Smith drifted away from spacing the floor to give himself a wide open shot and he's trying to make a play for himself to put the Cavs back in it. Nevertheless, Smith finished with 14 points and with another horrendous display of shooting from beyond the arc, making only 4 of those 14 attempts.

Matthew Dellavedova, 5 points, 2-9 shooting. Delly is quickly turning from a hero to a zero in the last two games. OK, scratch game 4, he was tired. But aside from generating 2-3 steals from Curry, he was getting lit up to the point of no return, especially in the 4th quarter. It doesn't help the fact that he's had another bad offensive display. Things are quickly turning for the worse for Matthew Dellavedova unless he bounces back with a heroic effort in game 6.

Golden State Warriors

(+)

Stephen Curry, 37 points, 13-23 shooting. It's safe to say that the NBA's Most Valuable Player is alive and well this game. You talk about a much needed scoring explosion from Stephen Curry in the finals. He might've started a little slow as usual in the 1st quarter, but throughout the whole game, he was finding the range and getting in rhythm. By the time the 4th quarter hits, Curry was in Human Torch mode. You would think through every difficult three he made in that quarter, the shot was not going in, considering Dellavedova was in his face and then it goes in. Those three pointers couldn't have come at a right time for the MVP as LeBron hit a deep three pointer previously to rally the Cavs. Curry was like "anything you do LeBron, I can do better not once, but three times!" The guy is exciting and as an NBA fan, you can't contain that excitement when he just releases those three pointers and it's a picture perfect splash.

Andre Iguodala, 14 points, 5-11 shooting. He struggled in the free throw shooting game, but I've said this many times when Iguodala is on this list: there is no other player on the Warriors who wants the NBA championship more than Andre Iguodala. Since his days with the 76ers, defending LeBron full time and handling the other stacked teams in the East, he's always come up short, first round exit at best. This is the closest he's been. He doesn't have the finals experience, but it looks like he has that experience, making key plays for the Warriors, especially that and 1 late in the 4th this game to help extend the lead.

Leandro Barbosa, 13 points, 4-5 shooting. Quality playing time leads to a quality game for Barbosa. I thought Leandro Barbosa had a solid game, providing that scoring off the bench with David Lee and Shaun Livingston contributing little off the bench. He's not the sixth man player he once was, but with Iguodala in the lineup as long as the Warriors' small ball is working, I look for Barbosa to step it up and contribute quality production with the minutes he's given to retain that balanced effort that the Warriors have been demonstrating all season long given their depth.

(-)

Turnovers. They didn't play a big part as the Warriors take this game, but especially when the game is closely contested, the turnovers hurt the Warriors. They did a good job defensively, generating turnovers from the Cavs to go on that quick start. However, they couldn't live up to their end of the bargain on the offensive end on taking care of the ball, especially when both teams were clinging to one point leads or when the game is all tied up.

Conclusion

The Warriors are one win away from capturing that elusive NBA championship. The Bay Area has been waiting 40 years for them to bring one up and they have an opportunity to do that if they close out game 6 Tuesday night in Cleveland. That game could be the biggest one for the Warriors and their young core because they've come this far and never have they been so close to hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy. For the Cavaliers, they've been in this situation before and they have responded successfully, especially LeBron James. LeBron has been in a 3-2 deficit before in the finals and his team has won it all. Will destiny be on the Warriors side? Or will it be on the Cavaliers side as they try to force a decisive game 7? It is going to be interesting how the next game plays out. I'll see you guys for game 6.

2015 NBA FINALS: Game 5 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: CLE 91 GS 104

I guess this video by Bleacher Report with Steph Curry as the Undertaker scaring off Matthew Dellavedova is now appropriate after this game. The MVP was due for a breakout scoring session in these finals at some point in time and he came alive at the right time to help the Warriors power to a 3-2 lead and spoil LeBron's 40 point night for the Cavaliers. Just an epic 4th quarter by Curry, you just can't help but get excited with his awe-inspiring play as an NBA fan to put his team within reach of winning one game to win the Larry O'Brien trophy. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: CLE 67 GS 73

Strong finish for the Warriors at the end of three. Although Tristan Thompson is still giving the Warriors some fits in the paint with his rebounding, the Warriors used their small ball once again to space the floor and generate some offense, especially generating offense from Steph Curry and a couple of quality buckets by Andre Iguodala. Also, Leandro Barbosa is putting the most out of his quality minutes, scoring 13 big points as the Warriors somewhat take over this quarter.

Q2:

Score: CLE 50 GS 51

It was a shootout in the 2nd quarter to say the least. The small ball that both these teams are playing is so good that I don't think their defenses can figure either out. A great finish to the first half as both teams are just exchanging play after play in this back and forth 2nd quarter. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: CLE 22 GS 22

David Blatt starts to fight fire with fire by countering the small ball adjustment by the Warriors by playing small as well. Early on in the game, it was obvious the Warriors were using their quickness and agility on the small ball to give the Cavs' bigger lineup a hard time. Draymond Green was the beneficiary on that start as he has 10 quick points and the only Warrior in the double figure. However, Blatt used the small lineup formula to counter and the Cavs started to rally. Better start from J.R. Smith as his first threes put the Cavs back into the game quickly and one of the reasons why this game is all tied up.

Game 5 Halftime Post

Score: CLE 50 GS 51

Welcome in to the halftime post of game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors where the Warriors hold on to a one point lead at the end of the first half.

(+)

CLE: J.R. Smith, 14 points, 5-11 shooting. Smith may have gotten cold late in the 2nd quarter, but this is a bounce back game he needed. What's different about Smith's game here is that he's settling for high percentage shots. With the help LeBron's of tremendous court vision, Smith is spacing the floor much better and hitting open shots and he's one of the many reasons that the Cavs are back in this game in the first place when it looked bleak early on the in the 1st quarter.

GS: Draymond Green, 10 points, 4-7 shooting. It was a quick start for Green in the first quarter. I thought he took advantage of the transition game well as he was going for breakaway dunks for easy deuces. His positive value might've slowed down with his three fouls, but he was one of the players that stood out.

CLE: LeBron James, 20 points, 8-15 shooting. A fresh LeBron brings some benefits for the Cavs. With David Blatt's adjustment to play the Warriors' small ball, the adjustment benefited LeBron to use his strength and power as well as his vision to exploit the small ball. He's attacking the rim when necessary, but settling for high percentage shots by finding the open man.

GS: Stephen Curry, 15 points, 6-8 shooting. The first half of game 5 is probably the best start Curry can ask for. After having a rough start in the first four games shooting-wise, Curry found his range early on and that needs to be the key for the Warriors to take a commanding 3-2 lead. Dellavedova is still hounding him defensive-wise as Curry committed 2 of his 3 turnovers against him, but if Curry can continue to have this efficient shooting with Dellavedova on him, watch out.

GS: Leandro Barbosa, 9 points, 3-3 shooting. If Iguodala is in the starting lineup, somebody on the Warriors' deep bench has to step up and Barbosa has answered that call. A perfect 3-3 shooting, 9 points off the bench, it's a good start for Barbosa as he tries to carry the load off the bench.

(-)

I couldn't find a lot of negatives for each team. They're pretty much in a deadlock, despite the Warriors having a one point advantage. Both the Cavs and Warriors' commitment to the small ball style of play has both teams in a deadlock.

Bottom Line

Like I said before, both teams' small ball style of play cancel each other out. I think the key to try to figure out one of the teams and their small ball is that either one of the team's defense has to step up. Will it be the Cavs' defense? Will it be the Warriors' defense? Let's see what happens.

Warriors Rout Cavaliers to Even Up NBA Finals at 2-2

Welcome in to the full recap of game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers where the Warriors respond with a decisive 103-82 victory over the Cavs to even the series up as the NBA Finals shifts back to the Oracle Arena in Oakland.

Well, we got out first rout of these finals after the first three games were decided by single digits. I expected to this to be another grit and grind it out type of game and the Warriors will pull it off, but not in this kind of fashion. Steve Kerr made one heck of an adjustment going small and their small ball has been a winning formula all season long. It didn't work early on as the Cavs got off to a fast start, but the Warriors remained poised and started firing from all cylinders. Down 2-1, almost choked on the lead in the 3rd quarter, but the Warriors persevered and finished with a dominating victory.

Golden State Warriors

(+)

Andre Iguodala, 22 points, 8 rebounds, 8-15 shooting. Andre Iguodala has been inserted into the Warriors' starting lineup for the first time this season and he looked like he hasn't missed a beat. All game long, Iguodala set the tone on both the offensive end and the defensive end, pushing the basketball, making plays for a couple of easy dunks, making three pointers when needed when the Cavs were making a run, and containing LeBron with a couple of help. He has been the constant for the Warriors in these series.

Draymond Green, 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 6-11 shooting. For being inserted as the starting center, Draymond Green managed to hold his own down low. Despite the five fouls due to the fact that Thompson and Mozgov were unstoppable all game long, Draymond Green did other things to lure both of the Cavs' big men away from their game. Whenever he is pushing the basketball like Iguodala, the Warriors are clamping down the defense and they're stretching the floor and he has drawn some fouls as well when penetrating to the basket.

Defense. The Warriors defense generated 9 turnovers and held LeBron to a 7-22 shooting. The defense for the Golden State Warriors just hounded LeBron, putting a body on him, and helping at the right time. This is one of the reasons why the margin wasn't as close as it is the last 3 games and why LeBron didn't put up 30+ points. They are constantly doubling him on defense and when LeBron's getting disrupted, it disrupts the flow of the Cavaliers when they are setting their offense.

(-)

Like the Cavs last game, there aren't any negatives to pinpoint from the Warriors. Despite Klay Thompson having an off game, the way the Warriors played a complete game today offsets the negatives that were addressed.

Cleveland Cavaliers

(+)

Timofey Mozgov, 28 points, 10 rebounds, 9-16 shooting. Only the big men of the Cavs showed up this game as the Warriors small lineup didn't affect their game. Timofey Mozgov was one of them and was just having a field day when the rest of the Cavs were having off days. Mozgov recorded a career high and he successfully used his size against the smaller Warriors team. He's just putting up shot after shot from inside the paint without much effort needed, some of them were from LeBron penetrating to the basket, but Mozgov for the most part had his way and the Warriors could live with that since they contained the Cavs' offensive spacing.

Tristan Thompson, 12 points, 13 rebounds, 6-10 shooting. Tristan Thompson continues to be a force on the boards as usual. He didn't have a great night as his counterpart Mozgov had, but Thompson contributed some solid numbers and it was just another day in the office for Thompson in the rebounding department.

(-)

The Knicks cast offs. Iman Shumpert, 5 points, 2-9 shooting, 1-5 from three point land, J.R. Smith, 4 points, 2-12 shooting, 0-8 from three point land. They were brought in from the Knicks to bolster the supporting cast of the Cavs and they just stunk it up, J.R. Smith in particular. When he was young, seeing him play against the Lakers when he was still in Denver, he could hit those shots when dribbling and stepping back, regardless of which defender is in his face. Smith's shots can't hit the net this game and it hurt the Cavs big time. Shumpert had an awful game as well. After shooting his first shot, which was a 3 pointer, he couldn't hit anything. The former Knicks were just off.

Matthew Dellavedova, 10 points, 3-14 shooting. A part of it may be the cramps he suffered in game 3 and a part of it may not have been. All fairy tales must have a point where it's fallen on hard times and it showed this game. After playing his heart out in the last two games, Dellavedova took a step back and luckily he has until Sunday to recharge and continue to play like he did in games 2 and 3.

Conclusion

Overall, a great game for the Warriors. They should follow the old saying that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Starting small, extending playing time for David Lee, Steve Kerr has pressed the right button at the opportune time and they look to repeat the process as they head back home for game 5. For the Cavs, it was a lethargic effort in front of their home crowd. It's not the type of performance they want to put up if they were going to lose this game. LeBron looked gassed out there, Delly looked gassed out there and it took a toll on the Cavaliers' flow. Momentum has shifted towards Golden State a little, but don't count Cleveland out yet as they have responded with much better effort in the next game when a series is tied 2-2. I'll see you guys on Sunday for Game 5.

2015 NBA FINALS: Game 4 Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: GS 103 CLE 82

The Warriors have been on a situation where they trailed 2-1 against Memphis and they've responded. They did the same thing, pulling off a complete, team victory in the Quicken Loans Arena against the Cavaliers. They did it with the small lineup adjustment and they have done so by playing tough, stingy defense to disrupt the Cavs' flow. LeBron didn't go off for another 30+ point game, the whole supporting cast didn't show up with the exception of Mozgov and Thompson, the Cavs didn't have the energy needed to take a commanding 3-1 lead as the series shifts back to Oakland, with the finals tied at two a piece. Stay tuned for the full recap. 

Q3:

Score: GS 76 CLE 70

The Cavaliers are finally finding their rhythm putting and doing what they do best. Using the big men of Mozgov and Thompson to their advantage and LeBron attacking the rim to clamp down that Warriors defense. The Warriors committing turnovers have also played a part in the Cavs' run this 3rd quarter, just three bad turnovers to give them some life. It's been close in the three games with each team rallying to cut the deficit. Let's see how the 4th quarter finishes.

Q2:

Score: GS 54 CLE 42

The Cavs defense looks like they're on skates with the Warriors' small lineup adjustments. The Warriors are being disruptive with their pace, exploiting some mismatches. I thought there were good moments, especially when they boxed out the Cavs' big men and they're double teaming LeBron on the defensive side of the ball. So far, all Warriors. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: GS 31 CLE 24

Steve Kerr made a bold move going small at the start of the game. It didn't work out early on when the Cavs were off to a 7-0 start, but a quick timeout and the Warriors started to fire on all cylinders. I think this is the best start we've seen from Golden State Warriors in these finals. When they went big, their offense was anemic at best, but going small, they can create some mismatches for this big Cavs team as well as stretching the floor. Like I said, a bold adjustment by Coach Kerr and it's working as the Warriors have a seven point lead. And another note, good on the refs for letting them play early. LeBron tried to pull a couple of flops and it's not fazing the refs one bit.

Game 4 Halftime Post

Score: GS 54 CLE 42

Welcome in to the halftime post of game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers where the Warriors have a 54-42 lead at the half.

(+)

GS: Coach Kerr's adjustments. Like I said before, it's a bold move by Steve Kerr to put Iguodala in the starting lineup and moving Draymond Green to the Center position and it is working. The pace of the game started to work into the Warriors' favor and it allows them to play their fast and furious tempo to create problems for the Cavs' defense. We've been waiting for Steve Kerr to show up with his adjustments and it's paying off for the Warriors with the start they have.

GS: Andre Iguodala, 9 points, 4-7 shooting. The small lineup adjustment is playing into Andre Iguodala's favor. He has a done a tremendous job leading the Warriors to play in favor of the pace they want to play. He made a couple of nice plays, eluding the Cavs' defense for an open dunk, pushing the ball in half court for another dunk. Iguodala's insertion into the starting lineup is paying off for the Warriors.

CLE: Tristan Thompson, 10 points, 7 rebounds. There's only one player on the Cavalier team that has not been affected by the Warriors' small lineup and that's Tristan Thompson. He's still rebounding, giving the Cavs 2nd chance possessions and he's exploiting the small lineup by posting up and scoring inside. There were times the Warriors defense just had to put two guys in front of him to box out and get a defensive rebound. So far, Tristan Thompson has been unfazed by the small lineup adjustments.

(-)

CLE: Matthew Dellavedova, 4 points, 1-7 shooting. Delly has come down to earth a bit and he has made some poor decisions and was indecisive for the most part when the ball is in his hands. It doesn't help the fact that the he's missed a couple of wide open shots. The defense is still there, but it's not as effective if his offense is not helping.

Bottom Line

The question is how will David Blatt adjust to the Warriors' small ball to start the 2nd half? He needs to make the right adjustments to disrupt the Warriors' small lineup. For the Warriors, they need to keep the pace to play in their favor. They have to continue to penetrate, stretch the floor, and make their shots. Let's see what happens.

Cavs Hold Off Warriors in Game 3 to Take 2-1 Series Lead

Welcome in to the full recap of game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers where the Cavaliers take a 2-1 lead, staving off another improbable Warriors rally with a 91-96 victory.

I was waiting for this to go to yet a third straight OT. It almost did, but still nonetheless another exciting finish for these finals. For the most part the Cavs looked like they had complete control of this game, especially in the third quarter when they were up 55-72, but the Warriors were never out as they continued to battle, they just came up a little short. None of these games finished with the winning team winning by double digits and only one game finished in the 100's range scoring-wise.

Golden State Warriors

(+)

Stephen Curry, 27 points, 10-20 shooting. It's not about how you start, but how you finish and Curry found his struggles again early on in the game. In the first quarter, he just only scored 3 points and he was never heard from again. In the 2nd half, he found the range and started playing like the league MVP, draining a lot ridiculous three pointers to will his team back in it. The 4th quarter was the type of quarter Curry needed and hopefully for the Warriors, this pays off and Curry goes "Human Torch" in the next set of games.

Andre Iguodala, 15 points, 6-12 shooting. Iguodala comes close for the Warriors to have a player that has been on this stage before. Well, we know that Andre Iguodala has not been to the finals, but he has over a decade of playoff experience. Early on in the game, he looked like the only guy on the Warriors that wanted to win this game, pushing the ball up the court, breaking away for a dunk, creating opportunities for other players. If there's one constant for this deep Warriors team it's Iguodala continually putting up solid double-figure points off the bench.

David Lee, 11 points, 4-4 shooting. Well hello David Lee and welcome to the NBA Finals! I called it in the last full recap that the Warriors need some big man scoring as Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli are doing all they can against Thompson and Mozgov. Lee got off to a solid start in his first NBA Finals game like he hasn't missed a beat at all. When Lee is on the floor, the Warriors get more ball movement and their pick and roll game becomes more effective. Hopefully this serves as a flyer for Steve Kerr for the next few games.

(-)

Klay Thompson, 14 points, 6-16 shooting. Klay Thompson scored 20 less points than he did in game 2. If the Warriors want to have a chance, both Splash Bros. have to go off, it's not one Splash brother goes off and then the other takes a night off, they both have to score at least in the 20+ range like they did in game 1. You can give some of the credit to Cavaliers defense as they know they can contain Stephen Curry by getting a body in front of him and that leads them to also account for Thompson as well.

Cleveland Cavaliers

(+)

LeBron James, 40 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 14-34 shooting. I said it before and I'll say it again, LeBron is going to be on this positive list as long as he's putting up numbers like this. You can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him, but it's very hard to defend a player as complete as LeBron James with his scoring, rebounding, and facilitating. For three straight games, the guy has put the Cavs on his shoulders with 30+ point performances while playing 40+ minutes in all three games. For this game in particular, I thought he was going at the Warriors' defense hard, setting the tone that this Warriors defense will clamp down once he gets to the hoop. He was rarely settling for jump shots until the final minutes of the quarter and it was just attack, attack, and attack.

Matthew Dellavedova, 20 points, 7-17 shooting. Like I said before, Matthew Dellavedova is writing a fairy tale in this NBA Finals series. He started it off, filling in for Kyrie Irving and just shutting down Stephen Curry. In this game, now his stat sheet is worth looking at! Two three pointers during the third quarter to start blowing this game open, making an off balance and 1 to give the Cavs some air when the Warriors were making a run, and leaping, crashing, diving for loose ball after loose ball. You can tell, his energy was being spent, but it is well worth it and you can't not like his effort and drive to sacrifice his body to give his team a win.

Tristan Thompson, 10 points, 13 rebounds. It's just another day in the rebounding office for Tristan Thompson. The numbers just speak for itself. He's still crashing the boards and giving the Cavs 2nd chance opportunities while allowing almost none for the Warriors.

(-)

There were not a lot of negatives to point out for the Cavaliers other than the fact that the defense started loosening up in the fourth quarter when they were just absolutely crushing the Warriors' offense in the third quarter. Both teams held each other to under 100, but the Cavs had a large lead with their defense, they just couldn't keep up the intensity heading into the 4th.

Conclusion

I find it hard to believe that a team as stacked as the Warriors with their depth is really struggling against a short-handed Cavaliers team. You gotta hand it to the Cavaliers even though there are two more games for them to clinch the championship for not laying down without a fight and the experience of LeBron James is helping erase some finals inexperience with a majority of the Cavs' rotational lineup. The Warriors, they've been down 2-1 in the playoffs this game against Memphis and they have responded with three straight wins, but they're facing a different cat with the pressure of the finals. Game 3 may be considered a moral victory for the team considering they came back. Hopefully for them, they build some of that to get a better start in game 4 if they want to avoid going back to Oracle down 3-1. I'll see you guys for game 4 on Thursday.

2015 NBA FINALS: Game 3 Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: GS 91 CLE 96

Another crazy finish. The Warriors attempted yet another rally, potentially to set this game up for another OT or pull off an improbable victory, but the Cavs made the clutch shots when needed. Matthew Dellavedova's fairy tale continues. He may not have gotten the better of Steph Curry defensively as Curry got it going late in the 4th to rally the Warriors, but was that and 1 bank shot, off the wrong leg really crucial for the Cavs to preserve a victory in Cleveland and he had a solid offensive game as well. More to come in the full recap.

Q3:

Score: GS 55 CLE 72

Wow, this Cavalier team is on a whole another level in this quarter. Just outscoring the Warriors big time. The Warriors, they just look deflated out there, although they made a couple of desperately needed buckets, they just can't stop this momentum. The third quarter comes to a close and the Cavaliers are soaring sky high heading to the fourth. Enough said.

Q2:

Score: GS 37 CLE 44

There's some stingy defense going on for both teams in this quarter. But overall, the Cavaliers have the edge right now because the Warriors have been missing a lot of shots, particularly from three point land. The Cavs are just relentlessly attacking the Warriors' defense by penetrating towards the rim and the younger big men of the Cavs are just completely gassing out Bogut and Ezeli with the high energy of Tristan Thompson crashing the boards. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: GS 20 CLE 24

The first quarter in the books for game 3 in Cleveland. I thought the Cavaliers did a great job at the start offensively and unlike the past two games, they are attacking the rim early on to put the Warriors' defense on its heels. LeBron James as usual was the one to start it off and pretty much schooled Harrison Barnes for easy buckets. However, the Warriors late in the quarter, they shook off some of those jitters in their first finals game on the road and managed to muster offense and get some second chance opportunities from the supporting cast to get back in this game.

Game 3 Halftime Post

Score: GS 37 CLE 44

Welcome in to the halftime post of game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers where the Cavaliers have a seven point advantage, leading 37-44 at the half.

(+)

CLE: LeBron James, 13 points, 9 rebounds, 6-17 shooting. LeBron is going to be continually on this positive list until he doesn't have any energy to play an all-around game. He may have missed a couple of layup attempts, but I like what he is doing to this Warriors defense. He is putting the pressure on the Golden State D to clamp down and is creating all kinds of problems for the Warriors defense with his penetration.

CLE: Tristan Thompson, 7 points, 7 rebounds. When the Cavs are attacking the rim, this guy is having the benefit of a doubt. As previously said, Thompson is a rebounding machine throughout these playoffs, but he is totally outclassing Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli in the middle with his hustle, heck I even noticed Bogut being gassed trying to box out both Thompson and Mozgov.

GS: Andre Iguodala, 10 points, 4-8 shooting. The supporting cast is pretty much what's keeping the Warriors alive this game. The one role player that's stepping it up is Iguodala. He's basically carrying the team right now, pushing the floor, breaking off on the dunk, and drawing contact. Out of the whole Warriors team, it looks like Iggy is the only one out there that's playing to win.

(-)

GS: Splash Bros. 9 points at the first half for the Splash Bros. 9 combined points! Klay Thompson, who had a spectacular game in game 2, not doing much. Stephen Curry is still having problems with Matthew Dellavedova in his grill. When these two are hot, this Warriors is all systems go on offense, but they are having problems right now and it's one of the reasons why the Warriors finish with their lowest point total in the first half all season.

Bottom Line

The Cavs have to continually to be in attack mode as it has worked so far this game to clamp down a very good Warriors defense. This allows their shooters like James Jones and J.R. Smith to space the floor and hit wide open 3's when the opportunity is ripe. For the Warriors, it starts with the Splash Bros. and they have to find a way to get their shot to spark this Warriors team. Let's see what happens.

NBA Finals Go OT Again, Different Result as Cavs Beat Warriors and Even Up Series

Welcome in to the full recap of game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors where the Cavs come away with an emotional game 2 victory to tie up the series at 1 a piece as the setting of the NBA Finals heads to Cleveland for game 3. The Cavs, despite a meltdown in the late 4th quarter, hold it together and squeak out of Oracle Arena with a 95-93 victory.

My hairs are standing up right now because as an NBA fan, this is a really exciting start to the NBA Finals! The first two games going into OT is just rare and props to both the Cavaliers and the Warriors for having a "never say never" attitude in these first two games. They are fighting tooth and nail out there. The Warriors did so in game 1, but it was the Cavaliers' turn in game 2 and against all odds, they persevered and got the better of a Warriors team that has struggled all game long to find their shot.

Cleveland Cavaliers

(+)

LeBron James, 39 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists, 11-34 shooting. Usually, when LeBron James has a triple-double, most of the time the team would win and that just happened. I said it before, LeBron-led teams in the Finals have a 3 game winning streak when down 1-0 and that streak was kept alive today. A more balanced LeBron leads to more trouble and even though he was missing some shots down the stretch and getting double or triple-teamed, he made some pretty good passes to give James Jones, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert an opportunity. Especially that pass to Shumpert in OT, I thought that was the most critical shot because if that was a two pointer, the game would've been tied up again and Dellavedova's heroics would go unnoticed. It was just another day at office for the King, but he had a more balanced game and it benefited the Cavs big time.

Matthew Dellavedova, 9 points, 3-10 shooting. Dropping elbows, breaking ankles, shutting down the MVPs, Dellavedova has been the Cavs' unsung player throughout these playoffs. He might not "wow" people on the stat sheet, but he makes it up for his hard-nosed defense. When you keep the reigning MVP Steph Curry in check for 5-23 shooting and denying him a potential GW (game winner) in OT, you deserve to be that player that other players on your team love and the Cavs have loved "Delle" for his effort. His other contributions, two beautiful floaters over Andrew Bogut to give Cleveland some needed buckets and of course, his offensive rebound to put himself on the free throw line to give the Cavs the lead in OT.

(-)

J.R. Smith's last 3 fouls. Don't get me wrong, J.R. Smith had a solid game today, complete opposite of his lackluster game 1 performance, but to commit three boneheaded fouls in the fourth and OT is just unacceptable. The Cavs had in the bag the 4th quarter, but J.R. Smith commits a foul on Curry and gives Harrison Barnes an "and 1;" those trigger meltdowns of epic proportions, but Smith got off the hook with the Cavs' win today. His "foul out" foul on Curry in OT could've gone either way, but Smith's two fouls in the 4th exemplify poor decisions.

Golden State Warriors

(+)

Klay Thompson, 34 points, 14-28 shooting. He might've gone cold in the 4th and in OT, but Klay Thompson was alive and well this game. Curry didn't have a good game scoring-wise, so the slack had to be picked up by the other Splash Brother. All game long until the 4th and OT, the Cavs couldn't find a way to stop Klay. Whatever shot he takes, it went in and especially when the Cavs were playing good defense on him, it didn't matter because as mentioned, he was getting shots wherever he shot the ball from. The Warriors need this Klay Thompson night in and night out if they want to have a shot at giving the Cavs a run for their money as the series shifts to Cleveland.

Draymond Green, 10 points, 2-7 shooting, 3 blocks. Another example of not impressive in the stat sheet, but made it up for defense. Draymond Green managed to get a hand on LeBron how many times? Three times? I'm sure Green just only got LeBron in two of those blocks and he almost came up with probably the defensive play of the Finals had Iguodala and Klay Thompson hold on to the ball to clinch the game for the Warriors. Preferably Thompson holds on to it since Iggy is terrible at the free throw line. Green had a block party and he gave LeBron James an invite twice.

(-)

Stephen Curry, 19 points, 5-23 shooting. Stephen Curry, the MVP, on the negative list? Oh my goodness. Yes this is happening. Curry pulled a Kobe Bryant tonight (yes and I'm a Laker fan too), but give 100% credit to the defense of Matthew Dellavedova. The MVP was hounded today defensively. There were a couple shots that Curry usually made without "Delle" in his face, it's just that none of them didn't fall down. In OT, he had chance for the win, but shot an uncharacteristic air ball. The Warriors' three point shooting as a whole was awful, but Curry accounted for 15 of those 35 missed shots from three point land.

Conclusion

Two thrillers in Oakland, let's see if the next two games in Cleveland can follow up with exciting finishes like games 1 and 2. However, the Cavs have the edge because they have been extremely good at home with or without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving in the lineup. If the Warriors want to have a chance to regain home court, Curry has to have a bounce back game and Klay Thompson has to have these kinds of games and the Splash Bros can remind the league why they are a dynamic and deadly back court duo. Also, is David Lee around? The Warriors could use him because their bigs are doing a good job defensively, but they need some scoring as well. I'll see you guys for game 3. A small, but major announcement, I will be collaborating with my friend Stillmattic at bleachzealot.blogspot.com. We have another fight night collaboration in place and it's an anticipated rematch from last year. Not too minor, just announcing that I could be potentially doing "double duty" on my blog and on his blog. Anyway, game 3 on Tuesday, I'll see you guys later.

2015 NBA FINALS: Game 2 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors Q-by-Q Reaction

OT:

Score: CLE 95 GS 93

It didn't go well for the Cavaliers in the last few minutes in the 4th quarter and heading into OT, but they persevered to even up the series. Holy cow, these last two games have been pretty entertaining with both teams gaining wins in OT. But for the Cavs, it wasn't LeBron who was the unsung hero, but the undrafted Australian, Matthew Dellavedova, who came up big with a clutch offensive rebound, clutch free throws, and clutch defense to deny the MVP Stephen Curry a game winner for the Warriors to take a 2-0 lead as it is evened up at 1-1. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q4:

Score: CLE 87 GS 87

This game, this series is C-R-A-Z-Y! At first, the Cavaliers looked like they had it in the bag, ready to put this game on ice and even it up, but so sudden, the Warriors exploded to a 13-4 run! They close it out with Curry tying the game, then LeBron had a chance to win it, but couldn't. We are going to another overtime guys! Wow, what a series!

Q3:

Score: CLE 62 GS 59

What a crazy, defensive finish to close out the 3rd quarter. Bodies are flying around at the end, Mo Speights missing a huge opportunity to cut the lead to 1, and back-to-back 24 second violations from the Cavs on the offensive end. Clearly the Cavs have the edge right now because some of the supporting casts are knocking down shot when it matters and the Warriors, they had a couple of opportunities, but they just couldn't cash in on them. The missed dunk by Mo Speights was one of the many opportunities missed here in this defensive 3rd quarter.

Q2:

Score: CLE 47 GS 46

A couple of headlines this quarter: Klay Thompson is unstoppable, James Jones has answered the call out the Cavaliers' supporting cast, and Matthew Dellavedova keeping Steph Curry in check. The Cavs desperately needed one of their role players to step up and James Jones has done that, stretching the floor, and knocking down threes. They've done a good job defensively against Curry, but they have to do something against Klay Thompson as well as he's been feeling it so far this game. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: CLE 20 GS 20

No more jitters for the Warriors, but they are still uncharacteristically missing three pointers. Klay Thompson was a big part of that, scoring 9 points; I thought he got off to a good start and got his shot going early, but the 2 quick fouls he made definitely slowed some of the offense for the Warriors. Despite the fact the Warriors opened up a six point lead, that lead eventually evaporated with LeBron James making yet another run and putting the team on his back when the rest of the Cavs' supporting cast is inefficient. Those segments, coupled by great defense from both teams is the reason why Q1 comes to a close at 20 a piece.

Game 2 Halftime Post

Score: CLE 47 GS 46

Welcome in to the halftime post for game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors where the Cavs cling to a one point, 47-46 lead to close out the half.

(+)

GS: Klay Thompson, 20 points, 9-13 shooting. He didn't have that good of a game 1, but Thompson has got his shot going this game. I thought he was disappointed so far into the playoffs, but he has rekindled some of that form and the Cavaliers don't have an answer for him as without Kyrie Irving, the Cavs can't account for both Curry and Klay. Good job by Klay Thompson to exploit Irving's void.

CLE: LeBron James, 20 point, 6 assists, 7-13 shooting. Another finals game, another great start for LeBron James. If the Cavs want to get back in this series overall despite a demoralizing injury to Kyrie, LeBron just has to start hot and finding the open man to distribute to like a Timofey Mozgov.

CLE: James Jones, 8 points, 3-4 shooting. Jones has been the forgotten man as we forget he's also in his fifth straight finals as him and LeBron were teammates in Miami. What James Jones brings is somebody for the Cavs to stretch the floor and put some stress on the Warriors' defense to account for the outside shooting. Like I said, the Cavs needed someone to pick up the slack and James Jones has answered that.

(-)

CLE: The rest of the supporting cast. With Kyrie and K. Love, the rest of the Cavaliers has to be a mixed bag and some of them have to contribute in a big way. James Jones has exemplified that offensively, Dellavedova has exemplified that defensively with the way he's guarding Steph Curry, now it's time for guys like J.R. Smith, Shumpert, and Tristan Thompson to step up.

GS: Stephen Curry, 8 points, 2-10 shooting, 3-7 three point shooting. An uncharacteristic start for Curry, but you gotta give credit to the defense of Matthew Dellavedova as he has been a "sick 'em" like player defensively. What Curry has to do is to facilitate more as he only has 2 assists in the first half and when "Delly" is gone, Curry should exploit that and get his offense in rhythm.

Bottom Line

Like I said in the full recap, LeBron James-led teams have a 3 game winning streak in the finals when they're down 0-1. If they're going to steal home court advantage, they need all of their supporting casts to step up and deliver surprising performances. For the Warriors, they need to keep feeding the ball to Thompson while he's hot and once Curry gets his offense going and the bench continues to play at a high level, they have a chance to rally and take a 2-0 lead heading into Cleveland. Let's see what happens.

Warriors Rally in OT, Take Game 1 of the NBA Finals

Alright, welcome in to the full recap of game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors where the Warriors take game 1 of the NBA Finals thanks to the team's balanced effort to close out the game in OT with 100-108 victory despite LeBron James pouring it on, finishing with a 44 point performance for the Cavaliers.

Now that's how you start off an NBA Finals! The Cavs looked like they had it in the bag early on, but the Warriors kept fighting and fighting. Both teams were caught in a deadlock, but the Warriors in some way pulled it off when LeBron was going off for the Cavs. Warriors almost shut out the Cavaliers in OT, barely allowing a point before they just gift wrapped two for LeBron to add to his great performance.

Cleveland Cavaliers

(+)

LeBron James, 44 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 18-38 shooting. Five finals appearance are paying dividends for LeBron as he's leading his inexperienced team. He set the tone early on, scoring 12 points in the first quarter and from then on, he was just unstoppable. The Warriors put one guy, two guys, even all five guys, but LeBron managed to make his shots look easy. In the game's entirety, the whole offense for the Cavaliers this game was all LeBron. Whether he can duplicate this kinds of performance next game remains to be seen because with Irving's injury, the offense is going to revolve around him just like his previous tenure with the Cavs.

Kyrie Irving, 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 10-22 shooting. Irving's injury is something you don't want to see as an NBA fan, especially if you're a Cavaliers fan. In his finals debut, Irving managed to hold his own against Curry. The block on Curry to set up the game into OT may have been his defining play in the finals. Aside from that, Irving had a solid game scoring-wise and he was basically LeBron's only help as well as Mozgov this game, but how rare do you see Mozgov have games like that? Irving's injury could deal a huge blow for the Cavs if he's not ready to go for the rest of the series.

Tristan Thompson, 15 rebounds. The rebounding definitely falls into Cleveland's favor and Thompson was responsible for a majority of them. Like I said before, Thompson has developed to be a rebounding machine in this playoffs and look for him to continue that throughout the series as he uses his size and hustle to exploit an undersized Warriors team.

(-)

J.R. Smith, 9 points, 3-13 shooting. If there's one flaw that the Cavaliers have in its finals, it's the bench. The Cavaliers bench was completely outscored by the Warriors bench 34-9 and those 9 points were contributed solely by J.R. Smith off the bench. Smith had a solid start, but the shots he usually make at an impossible angle were not falling throughout the game. If the Cavs want to have a chance, Smith has gotta have one of those scoring nights to carry inefficient bench of the Cavaliers.

Golden State Warriors

(+)

Andre Iguodala, 15 points, 6-8 shooting. Coach Steve Kerr said that Iguodala is the Warriors' security blanket and he lived up to that reputation in his first finals game. Iggy lead all bench players in scoring with 15 points and every bit was crucial for the Warriors to get back in this game. Though LeBron was unstoppable the whole, Andre was the one who even came close to stopping his onslaught and he has successfully done so in critical times for the most part of the game. If he can have nights like this off the bench, as well as the other players such as Livingston, Speights, and Ezeli keep contributing at opportune time, the Warriors might end this sooner rather than later.

Stephen Curry, 26 points, 8 assists, 10-20 shooting. The MVP of the league did not necessarily have a "wow" performance in his finals debut, but it was still a solid all-around game for Steph Curry. He got off to a slow start, but when the bench for the Warriors was giving the team a spark, so did Curry. Curry will get those double-figure points regardless. He did not put up a performance like LeBron did, but he does what's best for the team in crucial times, whether hitting a dagger three, dishing it to an open man for an easy shot, or in this case, making key free throws when it matters the most.

(-)

Draymond Green, 12 points, 4-13 shooting, 5 fouls. I can see why some Warriors fans see Draymond Green is somewhat of a pain. Yes he brings the energy and the passion, but sometimes his head is not where it's supposed to be. Defensively, he was okay, some fouls he committed were ticky-tacky and all in part of LeBron flopping, but offensively Green was throwing wild shots. Most of them were supposed to be layups, but they didn't look like layups considering he's just throwing it up there. There were also times he had other white jerseys behind him or in front of him, but he doesn't give the ball up.

Conclusion

The best start to a finals you can ask for. The Warriors had some nerves running, but as the game flowed they start to wear down and they went back to their basic fundamentals of playing great defense and having a balanced effort on offense. Whether it disappears in the upcoming games is a question left unanswered. The bad news for the Cavs is that Kyrie Irving's injury may be serious considering the way he limped off the court, but the good news is they still have LeBron James. Keep in mind, when down 1-0, LeBron tends to rally his troops and they respond in a big way to tie up the series. It has happened in 2012, 2013, and 2014 and he's looking to continue that streak by giving the Cavs a win for the upcoming game 2 on Sunday. I'll see you guys for that game and hopefully, I don't screw up again with the time like last year's game 2. That was horrible. Game 2 starts at 5:00 PM Pacific time people! I'll see you guys later.

2015 NBA FINALS: Game 1 Cleveland Cavaliers @ Golden State Warriors Q-by-Q Reaction

OT:

Score: CLE 100 GS 108

A tremendous display of defense by the Warriors as the Cavs cannot score a point until the winding seconds of OT! LeBron James was on a rampage all game long to create offense for the Cavaliers, but the Warriors' depth helped the team pull away. Great contributions by Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, and the rest of the Warriors bench to help the Warriors overcome a great finals performance by LeBron and of course, the MVP, Steph Curry closing this game out making critical free throws to put the game on ice early on in OT. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q4:

Score: CLE 98 GS 98

Tied again! Talk about a great start to the NBA Finals to have the first game go into OT. But that block by Irving when Curry looked like he had an easy layup was a key play to keep this game tied at 98 a piece. LeBron is putting on a clinic and he could go for more with 5 extra minutes, but the Warriors' balanced attack will not let this team go away with key performances by the Splash Bros as well as the bench players. Five more minutes!

Q3:

Score: CLE 73 GS 73

The LeBron James show was in full force this quarter as he was the Cavaliers offense. Give it to LeBron, let him post up and do work. 2nd chance points are still hurting the Warriors, but they turned up the stingy defense, especially in the last play of the quarter leading to the Iguodala dunk to tie the game up. It's a fight to the finish so far for the 1st game of the finals. Let's see what the 4th quarter has in store.

Q2:

Score: CLE 51 GS 48

An exciting finish to the 2nd quarter! If there's anything that the Warriors have that the Cavaliers don't, it's the depth. Golden State's bench has provided a spark plug for the team to keep the Warriors afloat. Added by Curry getting hot and the Warriors are just down three. The Cavs still managed to finish strong in the first half thanks to timely three pointers by Iman Shumpert and a J.R. Smith three to end the half. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: CLE 29 GS 19

Warriors finished strong to cut the deficit by 10 at least after a really slow start offensively. The Cavs thoroughly dominated the quarter and LeBron James had a lot to do with that, scoring 12 of Cleveland's 29 points, pretty much setting the tone. Not all is lost for the Warriors though as Andrew Bogut made a couple of nice defensive plays to fire up the Oracle crowd a little bit and the aforementioned small run to put the Warriors within 10. Along with the Warriors slow start offensively, the Cavs have an advantage in the 2nd chance points and that played a role to their great start.

Game 1 Halftime Post

Score: CLE 51 GS 48

Welcome in to the halftime post of game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors where the Cavaliers have a 51-48 advantage heading into the locker room.

(+)

CLE: LeBron James, 19 points, 7-16 shooting. If there's anything the Cavs needed to rely on, it's the experience of LeBron James as his solid start helped set the tone for the team. LeBron knows what it's like to play in the NBA's grandest stage and he was creating offense to get his shot off and using his vision to find open teammates for a high percentage shot.

CLE: Tristan Thompson, 7 rebounds. Thompson is the Cavs' rebounding machine in these playoffs and he continues to do so at the highest level. Thompson grabbed 3 of the Cavs' offensive rebounds to give the Cavaliers a 2nd chance and they have cashed in on Thompson's rebounding ability and hustle for the ball to give the Cavs the slight edge.

GS: Bench play. The Warriors have depth and the bench has kept them alive. Barbosa is contributing, Iguodala is contributing, Mo Speights, who has barely played a minute in the playoffs, made surprising, yet crucial buckets to give the Warriors a spark. The bench has outscored the Cavs' bench 18-9 and single-handedly kept the Warriors afloat before Curry can get hot.

(-)

GS: Rebounding. Though the Warriors have the rebounding edge now, it was ineffective in comparison to the Cavs' rebounding as they were getting out-hustled by Cleveland's younger big men. The Warriors need someone besides Bogut to box out and grab rebounds and Thompson has stepped it up, grabbing the same amount of rebounds as Bogut.

GS: Offensive inefficiency. A slow start in the first half for the Warriors, but they slowly picked it up. Early on the game, the Warriors couldn't hit anything and give credit to Cleveland's defense for forcing the Warriors to take ill-advised shots early on.

Bottom Line

Looks like the Warriors' nerves of playing in their first finals is starting to relax and their overall game needs to take it up another notch to take a 1-0 series lead. For the Cavs, rely on LeBron's leadership and he'll create some opportunities for the team. Let's see what happens in the 2nd half.

True Raider Laker's Q-by-Q/Full Recap Pictures of the 2015 NBA Finals Unveiled

The NBA Finals are almost here and none of us can't wait until game 1 starts tomorrow night. Beginning in 2013, I've implemented a new change that I was going to cover the NBA Finals regardless of which teams advanced. I've done it and it worked out successfully during the 2013 NBA Finals and I took it up another notch in the now traditional Q-by-Q, Halftime, and Full Recap segments on the blog when I covered the Finals in 2014.

For these NBA Finals, I started to get a little creative and utilize Photoshop skills to the best of my ability and lo and behold, this is what I've come up with. If you remember during my Super Bowl coverages, I would have the two teams left and right and place them on the venue on where the Super Bowl is going to be played followed by the actual Super Bowl logo placed at the center. For the NBA Finals beginning from now till whenever, I will place the teams and their respective landscape and venue depending on who has the home court.

For example, the Golden State Warriors will hold games 1, 2, 5, and 7 on their home floor. That will be represented by the top picture with the view of the Bay Bridge on the left and the night view of San Francisco (despite the fact the Warriors play in Oakland), but if you notice on the bottom of the center, is the render of Oracle Arena. The same can be said on the bottom picture with the night view of Cleveland, Ohio and the render of Quicken Loans Arena representing the Cavs having home court when the series shifts to Cleveland for games 3, 4, and 6. Commonly, the pictures follow with a scoreboard of 0-0. Please note, that does not indicate the final score for each game, but which team leads the series. I've rendered those under the team's respective colors and they will change once the Full Recap post is in the process of being typed up and it will carry on to the next game.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this short description and I'll see you guys again tomorrow night for game 1.