Another NBA Finals game went by, and another marvelous performance by LeBron James followed suit. The Cavaliers won Game 3 with a constant dose of LeBron James isolations on offense to go along with tremendous ball pressure and hustle on the defensive end. Cleveland’s new grit and grind style allowed them to completely dominate the pace of the game, preventing Golden State from running and gunning like they usually do.
LeBron James Leads the Cavs to Victory in Game Three
LeBron James did absolutely everything in the Cavs’ game 3 victory, leading the way with 40 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists. James is on pace for a historic series, and what’s most impressive is that he is doing it all by himself. I like to view the injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving as an unexpected blessing for the city of Cleveland and LeBron James. It’s as if the basketball gods did everything in their power to present James with an opportunity to lead the city of Cleveland to a championship all by himself. They didn’t want to see a big three of James, Irving, and Love bring glory to Cleveland; they wanted LeBron James to be the undisputed leader of this team and dominate the NBA Finals, single-handedly bringing a championship to Cleveland.
Of course, I’d be foolish to ignore the contributions of Matthew Dellavedova, the undrafted point guard from Australia who had the game of his life in Game 3. I can still hear the Cavalier fans at the Q chanting his name: DELLY! DELLY! Dellavedova has been outstanding in this series, and as Jeff Van Gundy said it during the broadcast, his success on basketball’s biggest stage has come out of no where. If any basketball fan said that Matthew Dellavedova would score 20 points and lead the Cavs with a +/- of +13 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, they’d be called crazy. Aside from his offense, Delly has provided a huge spark on the defensive end with his ball pressure and tenacity. At halftime, after watching the Aussie limit this season’s MVP to just 3 points in 2 quarters, I decided to look up the scouting reports on Dellavedova from when he first came into the league. One of draft profiles claimed that he “looks willing to, at the very least, put the effort in defensively to not embarrass himself.” Well, he certainly didn’t embarrass himself on the defensive end throughout the past two games. Dellavedova also made the hustle plays that ignited the entire crowd and his teammates. Towards the end of the fourth quarter, it seemed as if he was diving on the floor for a loose ball every possession. It was clear that nobody on the floor wanted the ball more than he did.
Even though the Cavaliers gutted out a hard-fought Game 3 victory, the Warriors did not go down quietly. Steph Curry exploded for 24 points in the second half, and former All-Star David Lee took advantage of the minutes Steve Kerr gave him, sparking the Golden State offense. Lee was perfect from the field, finishing with 11 points in 13 minutes. Andre Iguodala had another fantastic game as well, scoring 15 points while grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. On the other hand, the Warriors’ other two small forwards had games they’ll want to forget. Draymond Green shot 2-10 and finished with just 7 points. If he continues to pass up on open three pointers as often as he has the past two games, then Golden State will have a much tougher time scoring the ball. In addition, Green needs to stop arguing with the referees after every single call that doesn’t go his way. It appears that he is letting his frustration towards the officials get the best of him, and the last thing the Warriors need is for something so foolish and immature to impact one of their best players in the NBA Finals. As for Harrison Barnes, he missed all 8 of his field goal attempts, finishing the game without scoring a single point. David Lee ate up a bunch of his minutes, and if he continues to struggle from the floor, then expect that trend to continue.
Coming into this series, we knew that Timofey Mozgov and Andrew Bogut were two of the better rim protectors in the league. After three games, it’s clear that Mozgov has outplayed Bogut in every aspect of the game. Mozgov has had a tremendous impact on this series; he’s blocking shots, rebounding the ball, and finishing down low off of dimes from LeBron James, which is exactly what he needs to do if the Cavs want to win this series.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have every right to gain some confidence after taking a 2-1 series lead, but under no circumstances is this series over. In the second round of this year’s playoffs, all of the lower seeds led 2-1 in their respective series. How many of those teams closed out the opponent and advanced to the Conference Finals? That’s right, none of them did. That being said, there were plenty of positive signs for the Warriors in this game that they can build off of. They overcame a 20 point deficit to cut the lead to 1, showing that they are a resilient team, which they will need to be in order to come back in this series. Also, Stephen Curry regained his MVP form in the second half, and he nearly shot the Warriors to victory in the final minute. If the Warriors win Game 4 on Thursday, they will take back home court advantage and head back to Oracle Arena with some momentum. This series is NOT over.
Both Oakland and Cleveland are desperate for an NBA Championship, but it just seems as if the city of Cleveland needs it so much more. How incredible would it be for LeBron James to return home, overcome adversity, and lead a group of undrafted heroes and former-Knicks to the promise land? The Cavaliers are just two wins away from making that fantasy a reality.
It was a special night for Cleveland, as their King, joined by surprise assassin Matthew Dellavedova, led the Cavaliers to victory in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The game didn’t go to overtime, but by no means did it lack excitement either. The 2015 NBA Finals have been, and will continue to be, EPIC.
