Cavs sticking with ‘do-or-die’ approach to NBA Finals

Steve Kerr has a certain charm that belies a clear toughness.

Jordan didn’t break. The clipboard did.

“Hopefully just trying to get Kevin healthy is the most important thing right now”, said Lue, who started Richard Jefferson to rave reviews in Game 3, a victory that brought the Cavs to within 2-1 in the Finals.

Kevin Love, who hasn’t played since the second half of Game 2 because of a concussion, participated in the team’s morning shootaround and could be cleared to play in Game 4 on Friday night against the Golden State Warriors. When we lost a couple games in Toronto, or when we struggled in Games 1 and 2 of this series, it wasn’t all his fault. Golden State’s defense was bad on Wednesday, and that usually does not happen two games in a row.

If they can tie it up on Friday night, the series then becomes a best of three and that means both teams will have to win two out of three to decide it. For those that want to watch the Cavaliers’ attempt to make another stand on Friday night, the game can be seen on TV on ABC.

“It’s always just are we going to be better off matchup-wise or are we going to be better off with a certain rotation that allows one guy to guard somebody specifically on the other team?” Obviously, give them credit.

These are the NBA Finals and on Wednesday the Warriors got blasted by a team they’re pretty sure shouldn’t be doing that to the Warriors. “Change the starting lineup?” Curry’s Warriors finished the regular season 73-9, breaking the Jordan-era Chicago Bulls’ longstanding record for most wins in a single season. He’s two wins away from being the 14th coach in National Basketball Association history to win two rings, two wins away from a seventh ring in all, having won five as a player with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.

He was a sharpshooter as a player, then transitioned into showing off sharp wit as a broadcaster and still does so as a coach. He often quotes or paraphrases San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, and even seemed to mimic the longtime Spurs boss – who notoriously hates the in-game sideline interviews that occur in nationally televised contests – when he spoke with ABC’s Doris Burke after the first quarter of Game 3 on Wednesday.

Burke’s question: “You were expecting an aggressive Cleveland squad”.

Curry has also seen his famously long range leave him this postseason.

Kerr’s response, offered with a smile: “Not a whole lot”.

He walked away. Interview over.

“Sometimes people step out of their norm and say what they feel needs to be said, and it was definitely something that needed to be said”. Kerr said he rarely even has to give Curry advice on such matters, and poked fun at the notion that the Warriors suddenly went from strutting to sputtering. If Kerr can’t find a common denominator to explain his team’s lackluster performance on the road, there is an emerging trend through three games in these Finals: Stephen Curry is not shooting the ball well at all. In the third quarter, the game still somewhat in the balance and with the Warriors on a break that could have gotten them within 12 points, Curry chose not to lead Klay Thompson with a pass that would have set up a layup. They did not drop consecutive games all season until the Western Conference finals, when Oklahoma City smacked them by 28 and 24 points in Games 3 and 4. A decision will come Friday.

“We’re all to blame”, Thompson said. With the exception of two games in Oklahoma City where the Thunder seemingly neutralized the Death Lineup with their own smaller fivesome, it’s been the best lineup in the league all season. It’s a formula that’s clearly working.

Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love (R) drives past Houston Rockets’ James Harden.