Game 5 Prediction / Offical Game Thread

I was a little surprised about Mozgov getting so few minutes ... yes going small allowed the Cavs to match the small ball lineup better. But there's no way in the world over the course of 48 minutes the Cavs going small is going to put them in a position where they win the game going that way. They just don't have the pieces going small to be able to score enough and defensively, the lack of bigs in the middle makes it so much easier for Golden State to get to the basket.

I applaud Blatt for trying something different knowing that the 2 bigs on the court at the same time was going to be a problem going forward. But the biggest advantage that they have for the series is their presence in the paint and they went way too far away from that advantage in Game 5.

The bottom line is that Cleveland can't get much past the 90 point level. Outside of LBJ and Thompson/Mozgov getting rebounds, putbacks, and dunks, or JR Smith getting hot for a few minutes, they don't have a single player on their roster capable of scoring points for them. Regardless of the pace of the game, the Cavs are what they are. Playing faster isn't going to get them more points. What it will do is allow Golden State to get more points.

Cleveland needs to forget about the offensive end of the court. There's not a single thing that they are going to be able to do to get more efficient, etc. there. What they need to focus on is getting better defensively and finding a way to keep the Warriors in the 90 point range themselves. I'm not sure if that is possible with the Warriors going small because of their ball movement that has been unlocked by always having 5 reasonable ball handlers and more importantly passers on the court.

Personally, I don't think that there's a single thing that Cleveland can do to win the series at this point. They've played as well as they can play. The Warriors need to choke it up for them to win the next 2 games.

RoadDawg55 said:

Tequilla said:

I find it funny to say that DJ was a cancer ... I wasn't old enough to know everything at that point but the stories I had heard was that Lenny had a huge ass ego and that as much as anything broke up the team. Not only did DJ get traded, but Gus Williams sat out a year in a contract dispute.

And yes, Magic happened. But the 1980 Western Finals that the Lakers won in 5 games were all close games that could have gone in any direction. One theme in the series was that the Lakers routinely had huge 3rd quarters propelling them to victory. Makes me think that Lenny wasn't good at making halftime adjustments ... particularly not compared to the great Paul Westhead.

But back to DJ, maybe it was having to go to Phoenix and realize what losing was like to be a better teammate, but when Larry Bird says that you are the best player/teammate he ever played with, that's good enough for me.

Tequilla: Coaching Adjustments : Jerry Sandusky : Little Boys

Agree. There's strategy involved in the game, but it's not fucking chess against Deep Blue. The motherfuckers still have to go and hit the shots.

Only analysis needed is: Golden State is the better, deeper team; but Lebron is going full-Lebron right now.

RaceBannon said:

It's funny how all the great championship NBA coaches have all time great players.

Then you have the tier of guys who stayed employed a long time, won around 50 games a year, made the playoffs but never won it all. George Karl, Don Nelson types. Is Karl a better coach than Spoelstra? I would think he is.

Spoelstra is the one that got Lebron to play in the post. That single coaching move is better than everything George Karl ever did.

For a NBA coach, the two most important things that they do (probably in this order) is manage the egos on the team and organize the team in a way to take advantage of their strengths.

What Kerr did in this series was evaluate what was going on and then reorganize his team in the best manner to take advantage of the situation.

Regardless of the sport, players make plays and without it whatever the coaches do doesn't mean shit.

HuskyInAZ said:

NeedleInTheSky88 said:

allpurpleallgold said:

RaceBannon said:

It's funny how all the great championship NBA coaches have all time great players.

Then you have the tier of guys who stayed employed a long time, won around 50 games a year, made the playoffs but never won it all. George Karl, Don Nelson types. Is Karl a better coach than Spoelstra? I would think he is.

Spoelstra is the one that got Lebron to play in the post. That single coaching move is better than everything George Karl ever did.

It's not like it took a genius to have Lebron play in the post. It was just a matter of time. Even Romar would have eventually done it if he had coached Lebron.

Now you've gone WAY too far.

Ok you got me there. But most coaches with a brain would have eventually put Lebron in the post.

NeedleInTheSky88 said:

allpurpleallgold said:

NeedleInTheSky88 said:

allpurpleallgold said:

RaceBannon said:

It's funny how all the great championship NBA coaches have all time great players.

Then you have the tier of guys who stayed employed a long time, won around 50 games a year, made the playoffs but never won it all. George Karl, Don Nelson types. Is Karl a better coach than Spoelstra? I would think he is.

Spoelstra is the one that got Lebron to play in the post. That single coaching move is better than everything George Karl ever did.

It's not like it took a genius to have Lebron play in the post. It was just a matter of time. Even Romar would have eventually done it if he had coached Lebron.

Anyone with half a brain could see Lebron needed to be in the post. It was getting the best player in the world to do something that he didn't want to do that was the accomplishment. Romar can't control college kids, he wasn't going to get Lebron to do it. Get fucking real.

Maybe not Romar. But like I said above, any coach with half a brain would have eventually tried to move Lebron to the post.

BallSacked said:

NeedleInTheSky88 said:

allpurpleallgold said:

NeedleInTheSky88 said:

allpurpleallgold said:

RaceBannon said:

It's funny how all the great championship NBA coaches have all time great players.

Then you have the tier of guys who stayed employed a long time, won around 50 games a year, made the playoffs but never won it all. George Karl, Don Nelson types. Is Karl a better coach than Spoelstra? I would think he is.

Spoelstra is the one that got Lebron to play in the post. That single coaching move is better than everything George Karl ever did.

It's not like it took a genius to have Lebron play in the post. It was just a matter of time. Even Romar would have eventually done it if he had coached Lebron.

Anyone with half a brain could see Lebron needed to be in the post. It was getting the best player in the world to do something that he didn't want to do that was the accomplishment. Romar can't control college kids, he wasn't going to get Lebron to do it. Get fucking real.

Maybe not Romar. But like I said above, any coach with half a brain would have eventually moved Lebron to the post.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious, needle dick.

Stay classy.

NeedleInTheSky88 said:

BallSacked said:

NeedleInTheSky88 said:

allpurpleallgold said:

NeedleInTheSky88 said:

allpurpleallgold said:

RaceBannon said:

It's funny how all the great championship NBA coaches have all time great players.

Then you have the tier of guys who stayed employed a long time, won around 50 games a year, made the playoffs but never won it all. George Karl, Don Nelson types. Is Karl a better coach than Spoelstra? I would think he is.

Spoelstra is the one that got Lebron to play in the post. That single coaching move is better than everything George Karl ever did.

It's not like it took a genius to have Lebron play in the post. It was just a matter of time. Even Romar would have eventually done it if he had coached Lebron.

Anyone with half a brain could see Lebron needed to be in the post. It was getting the best player in the world to do something that he didn't want to do that was the accomplishment. Romar can't control college kids, he wasn't going to get Lebron to do it. Get fucking real.

Maybe not Romar. But like I said above, any coach with half a brain would have eventually moved Lebron to the post.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious, needle dick.

Stay classy.

I can't help it, I'm not from Nebraska...

NeedleInTheSky88 said:

Tequilla said:

Bringing Romar into a conversation about whether or not coaching matters proves that coaching matters.

Remember when the TWolves were seriously thinking of hiring LoRo a couple years ago? Best decision that franchise has ever made.

That's a low bar.