Ball Played: Prince Fielder taunts Indians in Rangers win
May 26, 2015OTA News: Barkevious Mingo still not cleared for contact
May 26, 2015The final score rarely tells the entire story, but the Cleveland Cavaliers won Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals due in large part to their late-game defensive effort and execution. In the final eight minutes of the game, they secured several key stops, any one of which not occurring could have flipped this game in Atlanta’s favor and completely changed the climate of the series. Not only did they get stops, but Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson were able to play the last nine-and-a-half minutes of the game, each with five personal fouls.
Let’s dig deeper into the plays that ensured the Cavaliers were in position to go up 3-0 in the series.
First up, we have an Atlanta possession as we near the final minute of regulation. The Hawks, without the services of Kyle Korver and Al Horford, are going to go to a Jeff Teague and Paul Millsap pick and roll. LeBron James is guarding Teague, while Tristan Thompson is on Millsap. The Cavaliers, as we’ve covered here before in the film room, are more than willing to switch pick and roll action with their bigs, especially when Thompson is involved.
With barely a rub of a screen, the two Cavaliers switch defensively. Teague has done most of his damage in this series at the rim, and Thompson has the length to disrupt that at the release point. Thompson gives up a lot of ground, virtually inviting Teague to take the outside shot with a delayed contest.
Even with a couple of shakes and fakes, Teague is only able to get one step on Thompson, and Tristan closes that quickly as the shot goes up, bothering the shot with his length such that Teague skids it across the other side of the hoop without hitting the rim. The Cavaliers, as they have nearly all series, grab the defensive rebound.
♦♦♦
On the next possession, after another James-Thompson switch, the ball goes to Millsap on the left wing. James goes for the steal and misses. He has plenty of help though as Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova sag off of Mike Scott and Kent Bazemore to stop the greater threat. In fact, Delly initiates a double-team on Millsap.
This forces J.R. Smith to account for both Bazemore and DeMarre Carroll on the opposite side of the floor. Bazemore cuts through to the left wing, Smith pinches to prevent the thought of an easy bucket, but Carroll immediately flashes to the open space at the front of the hoop. You couldn’t put it into a basketball textbook any better as Smith meets Carroll as soon as he catches the ball. He is then able to contest not only one but two point-blank shot attempts. Shumpert grabs the defensive rebound.
♦♦♦
As that Shumpert defensive rebound is directed to LeBron James, he turns the ball over as a personal foul is not called for Jeff Teague cutting in front of James and sending him to the floor. The Hawks pick up the ball and suddenly have a 5-on-4 situation as James with his cramps and such takes an incredibly long time to get up.
Luckily for the Cavaliers, their three best defenders and the man who may arguably be their fourth are in the game and able to cover for their star. The ball comes up the right side, and it’s Bazemore left mostly alone in the left corner as a relatively small threat from outside by comparison.
Three defenders have to apply resistance to Teague as Delly influences him out of the middle, Shumpert sets up for the charge, and Smith slides in to help as Teague slides past Shumpert. Teague dumps it off to Smith’s man, Mike Scott cutting down the middle of the key.
Thompson, responsible for Millsap, leaves him to challenge Scott. Tristan meets him at the top floor and sends it back. The Cavaliers are able to get yet another defensive rebound as Shumpert is fouled.
♦♦♦
The last possession of regulation goes to show that a bit of luck is always involved in these situations. Instead of sending Millsap, which I’m presuming the Cavaliers were prepared for, to screen for Teague, the Hawks send Carroll. That puts James and Smith into the pick and roll potential swap, a win for the Cavaliers as far as I’m concerned.
As Teague goes left, James fights through the Carroll pick. Some wanted a foul on James here, but this could simultaneously be a toss-up of a foul for James pushing through the pick and Carroll for setting and re-setting a moving pick.
Smith hangs back to protect against the drive, but he is just a hair late in tightening up as the clock winds down. However, James is able to fight through just enough to contest the shot from Teague, a 27-foot three pointer. Sometimes they go in, and sometimes they don’t. This one does not, and the teams play on.
♦♦♦
In the extra session, the Hawks continue to run through Teague and Millsap. Dellavedova and Thompson do a great job of working together to defend every possibility.
Delly works under the Millsap pick, Thompson protects against the drive, and they do this without having to switch. Teague passes to Millsap in the left corner. Thompson is able to cut off the baseline drive. As Millsap spins back, Tristan throws the clamps on and forces a fadeaway mid-range jumper from Millsap. Bazemore goes flailing by, and LeBron grabs the rebound. Thompson is significantly slowing an All-Star in this series. Millsap is just 10-for-30 with 13 points and 7 rebounds per game.
♦♦♦
With a three-point deficit and over 12 seconds remaining, the Hawks had a decision to make. I’m surprised they did not choose to go for a quick two and play the foul game at least once with the Cavaliers as they had James, Shumpert, and Thompson all in the game who had missed key free throws and were without their best shooter in Kyrie Irving.
Instead, they played for the three ball, and got two for the price of one. Pero Antic enters the game for the first time all night to inbound and provide a better three-point than Carroll. The personnel for Atlanta is big with a Millsap, Scott, Antic frontcourt to go with Teague and Shelvin Mack.
I’m completely floored that Mack was not used more prior to the Korver injury against the Cavs. He absolutely destroyed them in one regular season matchup, and his combined quickness and outside threat is a tough cover. He was 5-for-8 overall and 3-for-5 from three point range entering this possession.
The ball is entered in the corner to Mack with Dellavedova checking him. Mack starts out toward the top of the key in an apparent fakeout to get the ball to Teague for action with him and Millsap. Instead, Mack spins back and tries to create space against Dellavedova. Delly stays with him every step, forcing a fall-away three with Delly right up in his airspace without fouling.
But, the shot goes long—really long. So, even though Tristan Thompson was boxing out Paul Millsap, he gets a slight shove and is unable to snag the board as Millsap grabs it. With the closest teammate being Jeff Teague, Delly makes a decision. Jeff Teague is not going to tie this game with an open three. Delly abandons Mack in the corner due to Shumpert leaving Teague to crash for the defensive rebound. Delly gets there in time, instead urging Millsap to make the skip pass back to Mack in the corner. Shumpert quickly recognizes what Delly has done and runs out to Mack to give a glancing contest as the shot goes up. It’s another misfire, and the clock runs out on the Hawks.
The takeaway from all of this: The Cleveland Cavaliers may have one offensive star with several role players right now, but defensively they have multiple stars, and they’re doing just as much or more on that end to put them in the position that they’re in: one win from the NBA Finals.
Until next time, the film room is closed!
8 Comments
My favorite still has to be the 4 on 5 where LeBron stayed back to complain to refs. (Or “cramps and such,” that sounds better). Amazing that Atlanta couldn’t score on that.
I’ll repeat myself…David Griffin has his work cut out for him this summer. The way TT is playing, as a starter, has to bring some question into the Kevin Love situation. Don’t get me wrong I want both TT and Love back but I also want Shump and Delly too. I’m not sure even Dan Gilbert’s wallet is big enough to bring everyone back.
great stuff, again. Kirk.
The defense is relentless. You have to imagine that after a while that just wears the Hawks down. The Cavs haven’t had a flat game that would let the Hawks breathe and just play free and easy, until now they shoot like they know each possession is one and done.
That 5-on-4 possession is a brainlock by the Hawks. Firstly, you’re up a point with just a four-second clock differential. Second, you have five to the Cavs’ four. How do you not keep rotation the ball until a foul comes or you have a wide-open look? How do you drive into traffic? Cavs caught a break there.
Should be a great finals Cavs defense verse Warriors offense. We’ll see if defense can win another championship as the saying says.
You do it because you have bench players, your spirit is broken and you are a soft team.
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/chicken-hawk.jpg
∎∎∎∎∎∎✈✈✈✈✈Take Easy with waitingfornextyear < my buddy's step-mother makes $74 hourly on the computer . She has been without a job for 7 months but last month her paycheck was $14216 just working on the computer for a few hours.
official website ===—->-> SEE MORE DETAIL