NBA Finals Thoughts Through Three Games; Plus Game Four Prediction

A few thoughts on the emotional, psychological, and intellectual roller coaster that has been the 2015 NBA Finals (and I'm not even a fan of either team)...

• The best word I've heard to describe LeBron James' performance is "herculean". He is the Hercules of the NBA. The workload that he has to take on as essentially the entire Cleveland offense is staggering. I honestly have no idea how he's doing it, even with these awesome insights from Ken Berger over at CBS Sports (http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer/ken-berger/25210929/what-trainer-does-to-get-a-spent-lebron-james-from-one-herculean-effort-to-next) I mean, look at all that he has to do just to get ready for the next game. He is Cleveland's entire offense, he has to do everything for them if they're going to stay afloat in this series against this Warriors team. Just look at his averages: 41 PPG, 47 minutes, 36 FGA, 13 FTA, 12 REB, 8 AST. Yes, I know he isn't shooting very efficiently, almost terribly for his lofty standards, but this is the only way the Cavs can win. And that's all that matters to LeBron; winning the chip for Cleveland. They're well on their way to doing just that, with LeBron leading the way. If he continues his level of play and the Cavs beat this great Golden State team, this has to go down as a top five Finals performance ever. I don't care about his shooting inefficiencies. It's been incredible to see him put his team on his back and lead them to the promised land.
• How is it possible that LeBron is leading a team with almost no playoff experience, missing two All-Star caliber players, with Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith seeming to try to throw games away to Golden State, and Matthew Dellavedova as his sidekick? Against a 67-win team! Stealing one (and almost two) in Oracle Arena where the Warriors lost twice in the regular season! Unbelievable.
• Matthew Dellavedova is a GOD. He's my new hero, and on a team full of lovable, quirky players, he's supplanted Tristan Thompson as my favorite Cavalier. The guy just has no fear. He's not afraid of Stephen Curry, he's not afraid of ugly, stumbling, and-one floaters, he's not afraid of taking Draymond Green's legs out. Of course he's not fully responsible for Curry's lackluster performances in games 2 and most of 3. The Cavs have done an excellent job of pushing Curry out on the pick-and-roll with a big man, then recovering and making plays in the lane to force missed shots or turnovers once Golden State tries to go 4-on-3. They've also done a great job of shading off-ball picks for Curry to allow Dellavedova to recover when he needs to. Cleveland's defense has been swarming and has out-worked Golden State through three games, even outside of Dellavedova. But it all starts with Delly. His scrappiness and hustle is absorbed by everyone on the court, it lights a fire under his teammates and confounds his opponents. He just works so hard, and it's great to see a player like that play well.
• That being said,  he shouldn't be able to do a thing with Curry. Curry is just too good to not figure out Cleveland's defense at some point. We saw it a little bit at the end of Game 3, I expect to see it more often as the series moves on and Delly (and everyone else on Cleveland) has to deal with the fatigue of playing on a team that consistently plays seven players. The Cavs will wear down, and Golden State will take advantage.
• Curry's struggles so far haven't been all about him. His teammates need to play better, specifically Green and Harrison Barnes. A consistent component of Golden State's offense this season has been Green catching from Curry on those high pick-and-rolls and attacking 4-on-3 to get himself a layup, a lob to Bogut, or a corner three for Barnes. Barnes has been shooting dreadfully, and Timofey Mozgov has done a great job going vertical to stuff Green at the rim. Green needs to find his confidence in his three point shot, as does Barnes.
• Stephen Curry is COMING in Game 4. Don't say I didn't warn you Cleveland.
• The Warriors need to throw some doubles at LeBron. Not all the time, just switch it up on him, give him a few different looks. Yes, he has the ability to pick a defense apart passing, but I'd much rather have Iman Shumpert tossing up threes than LeBron getting to the rim time after time and a) finishing at the rim b) drawing a foul c) sucking the defense in and then kicking out for a much more open three than when the defense is set d) getting those close range misses rebounded by Mozgov and Thompson. Those two have been beasts from the start of this series on the offensive glass, and if GSW allows LeBron to hold the ball for 20 seconds and destroy them in all the ways detailed above, Cleveland controls the pace and doesn't let GSW get a rhythm going. The Warriors are best in a fast tempo, quick hitting game where they force turnovers and get out for easy buckets. That';s when their jumpers start to fall, Curry pulls some craziness with the ball, and they become unstoppable. But they can't get to that point because they're allowing LeBron to dictate the flow. Make someone else beat you, like what the Cavs are doing to Curry.

GAME 4

Cavaliers 97, Warriors 102

I'm sticking to my original pick, Warriors in 7. I just think Curry got his rhythm back a little too much and figured out the Cavs defense at the end of that last game. Steve Kerr is going to find ways to make things easier for Curry and Klay Thompson, and figure out a better way to deal with LeBron.A team of six can only hold off a team of ten for so long. But hey, long live Delly.