ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — Cleveland Cavaliers beat writer Chris Haynes reported yesterday that head coach Tyronn Lue intends to run with the Golden State Warriors, heading into the 2016 NBA Finals:
Ever since Lue took over in late January, heavy emphasis has been placed on accelerating the team’s offensive pace. Getting (LeBron) James and (Kyrie) Irving more transitional opportunities against an unprepared defense was the goal.
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However, teams seldom try to beat Golden State at its own game.
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Puzzled by why I would ask in Tuesday’s media availability if he thinks the Cavaliers can play run-and-shoot against the defending champs, Lue emphasized his point when he walked toward me afterward.
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“We want to push the pace!” Lue yelled in jest for everyone to hear. “You know what I’m saying. Put that on record. Push the pace. You think I’m going to walk it down every time?”
You’d think the Warriors, who were fourth in the NBA’s regular season in “in transition possessions”, would be salivating as soon as Haynes’ article hits their group chat. You’d think the first words that come to Golden State’s mind are “splash” or “eat”.
“Nothing really,” Harrison Barnes deadpanned, as expected, to LetsGoWarriors today at media availability.
But then again, he’s totally unfazed. “We’ve seen that with Portland. They said that. Houston said that a little bit. OKC was definitely getting out in transition as well, so teams running with us is something that we’ve seen before.”
“We’ve had teams that have ran out against us and they’ve had some success,” said the even more even-keeled Andre Iguodala, perhaps referring to five of the Warriors’ nine losses this regular season, where the Pace Factor (as defined by bkref.com) was more than 100. “We’ve been able to battle back and make adjustments, so if they decided to do that, it’s our job to try to combat that.”
The unbridled truth came out a little more from the role players.
“That’s the best game plan they could say,” said Marreese Speights. “That’s what we wanna do. We got a lot of guys who can play a small lineup. It’s gonna be a small-lineup series, so all the wings are gonna be ready to play.”
And for Shaun Livingston, who ranked behind only DeMarre Carroll in number of in-transition possessions for bench players during the 2015-16 NBA regular season, hearing that the Cavs want to run was sweet.
“Music,” said Livingston. “Music to my ears. Makes you wanna dance ‘cause that’s my game, so hopefully I get a chance to play a lot more.”
Specifically, Livingston referenced Jay-Z and “some Kanye” as the type of beat he’ll be running to. “Backpack Days. Make me wanna groove.”
To be sure, the way the Oklahoma City Thunder’s defense put at least the 48-42 first half of Monday night’s Game 7 to a virtual crawl, this sudden probable change of pace is certainly an adjustment — no matter if it’s a fastball down the middle — the Warriors will have to make.
And even if it’s the “Horns Rub” halfcourt set for the Cavs, it’ll be something far different than an iso involving Russell Westbrook or Kevin Durant.
There’s an overarching theme of this year’s potentially epic, history-book-making season, what with the 73 wins and all.
“If we really want to win and we want to deserve a championship, we gotta take on any type of scheme that anyone throws at us,” said the cerebral Iguodala. “A lot of things have been thrown at us throughout this year. You know, rough up Steph (Curry), try to switch everything, make certain guys score, take away the three-point line. We’ve done a really good job of adjusting to that.”
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via NBA/Getty)
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