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.
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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.
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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.
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