Yes, the Golden State Warriors is just one step away from winning their first ever NBA title in 40 years. Obviously, MVP Stephen Curry had a superb performance by scoring 37 points including 7 three-pointers, perhaps his best performance in this finals series. Even LeBron James’ triple-double can’t save the Cavs from losing. Once again, fatigue caught up with the Cavs players, and a poor 4th quarter performance eventually separated the winner and the loser in Game 5.
Despite the Warriors being a game away from title, that doesn’t mean that the Cavaliers has no shot of winning the title. As we see time and time again, there are teams that are able to make great comebacks and win the series. Which team was the last team to lost 3-2, then came back and win two straight games to clinch the title? LeBron James’ 2013 Miami Heat team. So, there is still plenty of hope for Cavs fans that their team can pull off a victory. You have the man who has done it before. But obviously, it will take a monumental effort from the players. Not only they don’t have the advantage of playing that all-important Game 7 at home, physically the Cavs are in a disadvantage with such a thin bench. With the single day rest between Game 5 and Game 6, the Warriors which has a bigger unit will have the advantage.
Andre Iguodala once again had a spectacular performance. Forget about those awful free-throws, he has been great in this series so far and will be a favorite for the Finals MVP should the Warriors win the title. Iguodala recorded 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists with 42 minutes of play. Harrison Barnes was aggressive with the basketball, having a couple of dunks over the Cavs players. Draymond Green had a great start to the game, scoring 10 points alone in the first half to get the team going. Leandro Barbosa was instrumental from the bench. All the Warriors need right now is one last team effort from all these guys to win the title.
The decision to go for the small-ball lineup has paid off for the Warriors. The decision has also forced the Cavs to make a similar change. David Blatt greatly reduced the minutes of Timothy Mozgov because of the faster, smaller Warriors line-up. This move forces the guards to take up extra minutes in this game. Perhaps David Blatt might be too conservative in this approach. It is a right move to reduce Mozgov’s minutes, but to play him for only 9 minutes might seems a little too little when he contributed so much scoring through the series. Despite being slower, Blatt will need to insert Mozgov with more minutes because he has proven to be a scoring threat to the Warriors.
There are not much David Blatt can do apart from hoping that his guys have the energy and determination to force a Game 7. The Cavs had better ball movement in this game, helping their guys to secure better shot. He made the necessary adjustments to LeBron’s minutes. He went deep in his bench by giving more minutes to Mike Miller, the veteran who won the title with Miami Heat. He trusted JR Smith with his shot making ability. And quite frankly, it worked. But sadly only for the first half. The only thing Blatt might want to do is the “Hack-A-Iguodala”. Iguodala was horrible from the line in Game 5, nailing only two free throws from 11 attempts. This move can also force the Warriors to take off their best defender on LeBron James.
Iman Shumpert had a better performance in Game 5, scoring 10 points in the process. And he needs to give an even better show now with the Cavs on the brink of losing. Matthew Dellavedova gave what he had, especially defensively against Curry. As for the three 3-pointers Curry nailed in the 4th quarter, that was just pure genius from Curry, nothing much Dellavedova can do.
Looking at all those ridiculous shot from both James and Curry late in the match, it was truly a great final series to watch. After the blow-out Miami Heat suffered last year, this was a much closer affair than most people anticipated. Regardless of the result in the coming Game 6, LeBron has fully justified the tag of being the world’s best player and he should feel proud of what he has done for the team considering the Cavs had a season full of ups and downs. For the Warriors, it was a collective team effort led by their MVP. You just get the sense that the momentum is with the Warriors to finish off this series at Cleveland. But, the Warriors should not take anything for granted because a Ray Allen 3-point shot might happen again if they don’t play to their best.
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