Cavs face Warriors on Christmas as NBA's best rivalry resumes: 5 Things to know
It's the latest chapter involving the two best teams in the league with a great deal of history
By
Matt Moore
•
4 min read
The NBA's premier rivalry begins a new chapter Sunday as the Golden State Warriors travel to Cleveland to take on the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers. The last time the Warriors saw the Cavs they were blowing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals in a Game 7 at Oracle, and the last time they saw Quicken Loans Arena it was a Game 6 in which Draymond Green returned to no effect as the Cavs forced a decisive Game 7.
This season things are different, but still familiar. The Warriors obviously added Kevin Durant, and that will be the biggest thing to consider in this matchup. The Cavaliers are without J.R. Smith due to a thumb injury, and that's a big issue.
It's the NBA's marquee matchup on its marquee day, the biggest regular-season game. The Warriors won a tight, ugly game last year in their Christmas Day game before running the Cavs out of the building in their January meeting at Quicken Loans.
Here are five things to know about Warriors-Cavaliers 2016-17, Volume 1:
1. Have yourself a K.D. little Christmas
Durant joined the Warriors this summer, and while it was a no-brainer for the Warriors on multiple levels, it specifically helps in this matchup because of one central element: LeBron James can't guard everyone.
In the Finals, James disrupted the pick and roll with Stephen Curry and Green. The Cavaliers could switch James onto Curry to contain him, or have him blitz and recover on Green. This was in part possible because the Cavaliers could put J.R. Smith or Iman Shumpert on Harrison Barnes. Shumpert will likely spend some time on Durant, but the dynamics are entirely differently. Particularly, if the Cavaliers switch in the 1-3/4 pick and roll with Curry and Durant, that means Kyrie Irving or Shumpert winds up in a postup mismatch with the 6-foot-11 Durant.
The key is that the Cavaliers have to just surrender something. You can't shut down Durant and Curry and Klay Thompson. And really, you can't shut down two of them. You can allow Durant to feast, but you have to absolutely control the rest of the Warriors ... and that's difficult to do.
And if the Warriors run that pick and roll when James is on Durant, James will almost definitely have to go help, and that means leaving Durant open. The Cavaliers haven't been great defensively this season in the first place. Are they really in a mode to defend this Death Star configuration in the regular season? History says no.
2. Love, actually
Kevin Love has been terrific. No kidding. He has not just been good offensively, playing more in the post, rebounding better and attacking mismatches on the interior more often, but he has been better defensively. That helps a lot in this situation. While him locking up Curry in isolation again is unlikely, he can at least help the Cavaliers with their size advantage and contain a bit in pick and rolls. If Love helps them get the edge when Green is on the court, that's just like firing torpedoes down the exhaust chute of the Death Star. Green's ability to win matchups vs. larger opponents is what opens up everything for Golden State. If Love helps combat that, it's a major boost.
3. Deck the bench with boughs of folly
Matthew Dellavedova is gone, so is Leandro Barbosa. Zaza Pachulia has played well and JaVale McGee dunks a lot, while Mike Dunleavy can play a larger role than he has been asked. But both teams are relatively thin in terms of depth. Will they play long minutes in a regular-season matchup?
4. Baby, it's Kyrie outside
Irving was a huge part of the Cavaliers' comeback, putting up incredible scoring performances and sinking the eventual winner in Game 7. He's shooting 43 percent from deep this season, and he has had a lot of success in isolation against Curry, who can't attack his handle or contain his speed. The Cavaliers need to win this game with offense, since they aren't equipped for a regular-season slugfest (which is different in the playoffs). To get there, they need Kyrie to have a monster game.
5. All I want for Christmas is a'W'
This game matters to both teams ... kind of. This is the NBA's only real rivalry. They've met in two consecutive Finals, this game features arguably the three best players in the NBA, and after last season there's genuine dislike between the two teams. Green hit James in the reproductive area after James stepped over him, Thompson said James was "in his feelings" and the Cavaliers literally had "3-1" imprinted on their championship rings.
They don't like each other. They're not going to show all their tricks, they're not going to go all out, this is still a regular-season game. If the Warriors win, the Cavaliers get to say "Yeah, but they won last year, and how did that work out in the Finals?" If the Cavaliers win, the Warriors can say "We won last year, and how did that work out in the Finals?" There's not much at stake in this game ... and yet, once these two teams see each other, that hate's going to start to percolate.
The Finals between these two teams were not flawless, great basketball, but they were incredible drama. Expect more of the same when they clash Sunday.
