After two blowout losses in Oakland, it was clear that the Cavaliers needed to find a spark as the series moved to Cleveland. Since Kevin Love was sidelined with a concussion and LeBron James seemed unable to dominate as he did in last year's Finals, Kyrie Irving had to be the one to provide it.
The simple adjustment Cleveland made to revive Kyrie Irving
An adjustment to the game plan allowed Kyrie to be Kyrie and the result was a fantastic performance.
He answered the call on Wednesday night, scoring 30 points on 48 percent shooting from the floor to go with eight assists in Game 3. Kyrie was one of the biggest reasons why the Cavaliers beat Golden State and could be the key for Cleveland’s offense going forward now that his role has changed.
Normally a great Irving performance wouldn't feel this unexpected, but he had such a difficult time in Game 2 that it was hard to see this one coming. He was extremely passive on Sunday and finished with 10 points in 14 attempts as Golden State obliterated the Cavaliers in a 33-point blowout. He completely disappeared on a huge matchup and Tyronn Lue seemed to be going away from him in favor of Love and James.
Game 3 showed how big of a mistake that was.
Irving was setting the table instead of attacking in Game 2. James and Love would screen for Irving only to force a switch. They would then get the ball and try to overpower a smaller defender.
Since James is no longer a reliable threat from outside, he was in primary ball handler mode while Irving played off the ball to prevent the Warriors from overloading the strong side on defense.
While the strategy made sense in theory, the Cavaliers were falling right into the Warriors’ trap by trying to attack one-on-one on a perceived mismatch. Golden State simply has too many versatile defenders that can make life hard for Cleveland’s stars even after switches.
Worse yet, the game plan prevented Irving from controlling the ball and attacking as a pick-and-roll ball handler, his bread and butter during the regular season. That all changed in Game 3.
Instead of James screening for him, trying to force a mismatch, Irving got screens from the Cavaliers’ centers, which signaled he had the green light to attack. That made all the difference. Since the secondary defender was in the paint instead of the perimeter, he had room to shoot. When they tried to meet him further out, he turned on the jets and drove past them.
The adjustment not only allowed Irving to get better shots than in past games, but it also unlocked his passing game. In Game 3 he had eight assists, more than in the two other matchups combined. When he got to the middle of the floor, he found the open man as the second defender helped. Since he was scoring well, the defense had to pay extra attention to him, which opened up room for the screeners to get their shots off.
Lue needed to make an adjustment to get his point guard going and he did. While Irving hit shots that he was missing in previous games, giving him the ball and having the Cavaliers’ centers screen for him did wonders for his aggressiveness.
It should be noted that unleashing Irving in the pick and roll is no small tweak. The fact that Love wasn't playing made it easier because there was one fewer star wanting touches. Richard Jefferson, who started in his place, was happy to space the floor, hit open shots and make hustle plays. Whether Love, who has already accepted a much smaller role than he's had in the past, will be willing to be marginalized even further in the offense remains to be seen.
Yet it might give the Cavaliers their best shot at beating the Warriors. Attacking switches in the post just hasn’t been working. It doesn’t mean they should never attempt to do it anymore -- Love is good in the post, despite his struggles in this series -- but they should make it a smaller part of their game plan. If they do, there’s no reason why Love can’t take on Jefferson’s role as floor-spacer and energy guy.
The other option would be to keep Jefferson in the starting lineup and bring Love off the bench, where he might get to feast on the Warriors’ second unit. The Cavaliers’ bench has been a non-factor so far, so doing that could help on two fronts. It might be a tough sell, but Love was willing to sit in fourth quarters in the David Blatt era to help the team.
Regardless of what happens with Love, Game 3 made it obvious that the way to maximize Irving is to get him in attack mode by having centers screen for him on the pick and roll. It’s one of the few things that has gone right for the Cavaliers on offense in this series, so they need to continue to use him that way until the Warriors adjust.
Irving proved that when he’s allowed to play his game, he can make a positive impact. If he can continue to break down the Warriors’ defense like he did on Wednesday, the Cavaliers’ chances of pulling off the upset will increase exponentially.
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