Luka’s Corner

After watching the first two games of the Finals, and seeing the Cavs being absolutely demolished on both ends of the floor, I thought to myself what Cleveland needed to do to get back into the series. They have still not found the answer offensively or defensively for the Big Three. Tony Parker went for a combined 57 points in the two games, Tim Duncan went for a combined 47 and 22 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili went for a combined 41 and 4 steals. San Antonio also played excellent team defense, shutting down LeBron and controlling the paint. The Big Fundamental had 5 blocks in game 1, and Big Shot Rob had 5 in game 2. Parker and Ginobili have also controlled the outside, preventing the Cavs’ shooters from knocking down threes. To top it all off, a passing exhibition was put on display by the Spurs, running constant backdoor plays and outlet fastbreaks. Now…I am not saying that the series is over already (it will be in 6 games), because Cleveland just needs to do two things to win the next two games:

1. Run some plays for LeBron

The problem with Cleveland (among others) is that they have not realized that LeBron cannot just take on the Spurs defense by himself. It may have worked in Detroit, where James could simply attack the Pistons off the dribble from the top of the key. San Antonio, on the other hand, is a seasoned squad, possessing the league’s best team/rotating defense. To break it down, LeBron will have to call for the ball on the low block. Bowen is a great perimeter defender, but LeBron can easily overwhelm him down low, where he is just too big and strong for Bruce. With this strategy, even if LeBron is double-teamed, he can still kick it out, and this will set up Daniel Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic on the perimeter for some uncontested three-pointers (which they arecomfortable shooting). Also, if LeBron is at the top of the circle, he should call Big Z over for a pick-and-pop play. This enables LeBron to take a slower guy off the dribble, such as Robert Horry or Fabricio Oberto, and get to the rim. Or, if he is doubled on the pick, LeBron can just kick it back out to Ilgauskas for an 18-footer, a shot which he is adept at knocking down.

2. Play a zone

It has become clear to everybody that Tony Parker and Tim Duncan have been simply too dominant on the offensive end. In my opinion, this is partly because the Cavs have not even tried playing a 2-3 or 3-2 zone (in addition to them being too good). The only defense they have relied on is a weak man-to-man, which is vulnerable to high isos for Parker to penetrate and low isos for Duncan to post up. Unfortunately for Cleveland, a zone will not completely stifle the Spurs offensively, but it will make them change their game plan. Parker will not be able to attack the rim consistently because the middle would be too congested for driving inside. Duncan would also find it more difficult to get to the rim for a easy dunks and fingerrolls because he would always have two Cavs checking on him. The only setback is that the Spurs’ shooters would be left wide open. This, however, is a better scenario then having Parker scorch you for 30 and have Duncan dominate inside (again). I would rather see Brent Barry or Michael Finley beat my team in the Finals with three-pointers.

If the Cavs do these two things, there is a greater chance that they will come back to San Antonio with two victories. Although I do not think they will win the series, Cleveland should make the series competitive once again at home, especially if LeBron finds a way to dominate (like he did in game 5 against Detroit). They are so much better as a team when LBJ has a good offensive night, and he will need at least two of those to make the Finals not seem like a series rout.