NBA Finals Game 4: Warriors even series with huge Game 4 win

These reasons are correct, to a point. It’s true that the Warriors played faster and freer. It’s true that the role players made shots they hadn’t been. It’s true that the Warriors reclaimed their identity after having it swiped from them earlier in the series.

But that’s just window dressing. This worked so well because Steve Kerr was willing to risk drop-offs in smaller areas to make bigger changes to the game.

(We wrote this piece after Andre Iguodala’s brilliant Game 4 performance stopping LeBron James in his first start of the season. Iguodala went on to win NBA Finals MVP after a 25-point performance in Game 6, becoming the first Finals MVP not to have started a single game during the regular season. We think the story of his road to success in a new role with the Warriors is worth another look, so here’s the original story, published June 12:)

Andre Iguodala was the switch.

Another game, another J.R. Smith entrance on a Phunkee Duck. Smith rode into the arena in style again head of Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

★★★

For the first time ever, two rookie head coaches are facing each other in the NBA Finals. David Blatt acts and talks the part with lackluster sideline interviews and sometimes strange mannerisms. He’s a long-time manager in the European leagues and has proved his mettle during this finals run. But at times you can tell he’s still learning the NBA. That’s normal and natural.

That all helps, but in the middle of it all is the breezy, collected Californian who seems to control everything around him like a yoyo -- all it takes is a flick of the wrist to send it the opposite direction.

Here, via Viner WWAlexT, is David Lee having a pleasant, teammate-like exchange with Stephen Curry, only to find himself thrust into an unpleasant, opponent-like exchange with Matthew Dellavedova:

Dellavedova not only bumps into Lee, but says something (to Lee’s shoulder, because Delly’s just a little guy). Lee responds with irritation, and says one of the following things, ranked in confidence order:

Awwwww.

AWWWWWW! Hooray! Happy Riley means happy everyone else on the Internet! (Except Cavaliers fans, possibly.)

We may not be able to trust you now, but it’s more fun this way.

★★★

There in the fourth, the Warriors finally remembered the nuclear codes to their offense. Curry nailed a few of his trademarked three-pointers and the ball movement hummed along in crisp precision. When the Warriors pulled this play off with about seven minutes to play, you knew they were back in the highest gear.

That Iguodala three-pointer put the Warriors up by 14 and they never gave up the double-digit lead. Golden State could have easily trailed 0-3 in this series, but it fought its battles just the same and are now dead even with three left to play. Now can the Cavaliers answer back with adjustments of their own?

On to Game 5, then.

Trevor Ariza seems to think so.

Remember: Andre has done this before.

I suspect Cavaliers fans would have no problem booing the Warriors unprompted, but Quicken Loans Arena is priming them with a Michigan “M” during free throws just to be sure:

If classical conditioning works, they can remove the M next time and the fans will boo anyway!

Great job, ABC! That DEFINITELY doesn’t call more attention to what the crowd is saying! The best part is how subtle it is, in my opinion.

Finding a smile from Kanye is like finding a needle in a haystack. Once again, Kanye was having fun at an NBA game but didn’t want to let us see it.

You can smile, Kanye. We won’t tell.

MARLINS MAN! You know Marlins Man, right? He’s been at this game and this game and this game and this game and this game.

And now he’s at this game! It’s his ****70th**** NBA Finals game.

Noted, Draymond. Thank you.

★★★

SB Nation presents: How to construct an NBA champion

With the help of a pretty sweet card trick from every fan in The Q, Usher started Game 4 with a great version of the national anthem.

The Q looked great after the card flip!

Everyone already assumes LeBron is a basketball playing robot. Maybe he really does have eyes in the back of his head.

Ric Flair is a Cavaliers fan (or at least a LeBron James fan) and he’s IN THE BUILDING before Thursday’s Game 4.

WOOOOOO!

The NBA, in an effort to be more transparent, releases reviews of the calls made in the last two minutes of games. The idea is to give fans who might not be all too familiar with the rules a chance to find out whether the officials made the right decisions. In theory, these reports are helpful to clarify controversial calls by explaining why they were made.

SB Nation presents: How to construct an NBA champion

James nearly notched another triple-double, recording 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. His 123 points after three games is a new Finals record, and while his efficiency hasn’t been as good as usual, the way he has controlled the tempo has been masterful.

While Golden State looked shell-shocked for a good portion of Game 3, the fact that Curry went off in the fourth quarter is a silver lining to take into Game 4. The MVP found his stroke with 17 points in the final frame, and if that momentum can transfer over, the Warriors should be in good shape on Thursday night.

Lee couldn’t lead Golden State to victory, but his performance was a potential revelation for the team. The veteran forward barely played during the postseason run, taking on the role of $15 million benchwarmer until his 11-point, four-rebound effort Tuesday. Lee doing that while playing just 13 minutes was a sign that Cleveland not only didn’t plan for his appearance, but that the Cavaliers also didn’t seem to have any answers for his shrewd interior game. Lee, to his credit, looked ready for the moment despite not hearing his name called by Kerr prior to Game 3.

“We’ve talked all season about this -- my job as a pro is to be ready,” Lee said after the game. “I have confidence in myself. My teammates have confidence in me, and my job is to be ready when my number’s called.”