After a historic night from their superstars in Monday’s Game 5 win, the Cavaliers still have hope of making more history. No team has overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals, but the Cavs got the first one on the road and look to send this series the distance.
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Golden State Warriors +2.5
Cleveland Cavaliers -2.5
Over/Under 207.5
LOOK AHEAD
Even if Draymond Green was playing in Monday’s Game 5, he probably would have been powerless to stop the Cavaliers, just as the rest of his teammates were. With their season on the line, the Cavs played like it, especially LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. James was the focus of several Golden State players who essentially said James lobbied the NBA for Green’s suspension after a dust up in Game 4. Apparently, according to the Warriors, there’s an unwritten rule about stepping over a player when he’s lying on the floor. There is a written rule for intentionally striking a player in the sack, and that’s what Green did resulting in an accumulation of flagrant foul points and a suspension.
With Green out, the Warriors went small, plugging Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup. But the effect of Green’s absence was measurable. Through four games, the Warriors held a slight rebounding edge; in the first half Monday, the Cavs held a 19-17 advantage. Those problems got worse for Golden State in the second half when Andrew Bogut went down with a knee injury and couldn’t return. Green will be back for Game 6, and after what happened Monday night, the Warriors sure will need him.
INJURIES
Golden State’s Andrew Bogut suffered a hyperextended knee when J.R. Smith rolled into his leg following a blocked shot in the third quarter of Monday’s game. Bogut fell to the floor clutching his left knee with both hands and stayed there writhing in pain for two more possessions before a timeout finally stopped play, allowing the Warriors to get their starting center off the court.
Bogut was to have an MRI on the knee and hasn’t been ruled out for Game 6, though the injury looked serious enough to doubt that he’d be ready to play on Friday.
KEY MATCHUP
With the Cavaliers season on the line – and faced with an offseason of uncertainty – James put on a series-defining demonstration. With Kevin Love and J.R. Smith proving unreliable, James took over. The four-time MVP overpowered Iguodala, drove past Harrison Barnes and shot over every defender the Warriors sent at him. James finished with 41 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in a game that will rank among his finest.
James wanted to shoot the basketball in Cleveland’s Game 5 win. He wanted to take long shots and three-pointers to keep Golden State’s defense on edge. He hit 16 of 30 from the floor and four of his eight threes. James made more than four three-pointers in a game just once during the regular season and he’d hit five from distance in the series prior to Monday. But that hardly mattered. James wanted the ball. He even took over point guard duties, bringing the rock up the court nearly every possession. He will need to play with the same intensity on Friday because things might be a bit more difficult with Green back in the Warriors lineup.
QUICK PICK
The Cavs get to play another game thanks to the efforts of James and Irving, who each scored 41 points to become the first set of teammates to top 40 in a Finals game. All the mud the Warriors slung at James after Game 4 just seemed to inspire the King. He was unstoppable and did what the great ones do.
But it’s hard to imagine Golden State doing what it did in the second half of Game 5. The Warriors missed 18 of 21 threes in the final 24 minutes and had several good looks at the cup. Overall, they shot 14 of 42 from behind the arc, making exactly one third of their looks. They weren’t forced shots and the Cavs were not closing out expertly as the Warriors lined up. Golden State just misfired. With Green back for Game 6 and their shooting touch following, there’s a good chance the Warriors celebrate on the Cavs home floor once again.
NBA Odds: Golden State 107, Cleveland 102
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