Tag Archives: thefinals

Evan and Jim’s Shoot Around: Game 5 Preview

– By Evan Sally and Jim Bearor

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Photo: Associated Press/Tony Dejak

The first three games of Warriors vs. Cavs have ranged from unexpected to downright bizarre. We saw back-to-back overtime games for the first time in Finals history. We saw Golden State, the best team in the league statistically, never lead at the end of any quarter except for the end of overtime of Game 1. We saw Matthew Dellavedova become a household name because of his inexplicable ability to frustrate the MVP Steph Curry, and more bizarrely, score a career high 20 points in Game 3. We saw Golden State miss a ton of open shots. We saw the league’s best shooter shoot a career worst 2 for 15 from 3 in Game 2. We saw LeBron James torch the league’s best defense for 41 points per game. And as great as LeBron James is, no one saw that coming.

Then the Warriors woke up.

Game 4 represented a return to normalcy. Finally, we saw the series we expected to see. Role players like Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala finally hit some open shots. Especially in the case of Barnes and Green, who had looked rattled previously, this is a huge development. LeBron finally had an off game, and the rest of the Cavs weren’t able to keep up the scoring slack. Add it all up, and it’s the recipe for a Golden State blowout victory. With the series tied at 2-2 headed back to the Bay Area to start a best of 3 for the championship, Jim Bearor and I try to figure out how we got to this point and examine where the series is going from here. Continue reading

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The Sheriff’s Quick Takes of the Week

– Zachary El- Sharif

It’s starting to feel like summer out there, so it’s getting to the time of the year that even if you’re the biggest sports fan in the world, you still may find yourself doing things outside instead of sitting on the couch and watching every second of every game. So, I’ll take it upon myself to fill you in on everything you may have missed this past week of sports.

NBA:
Western Conference Finals:
Houston got booted from the playoffs thanks to Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Lil B. (No clue who this guy actually is, but he put a curse on James Harden.) Dwight Howard is still a champion (in his eyes), but the Golden State Warriors won the Series (4-1).

Eastern Conference Finals:

Source: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images North America)

Matthew Dellavedova has played important minutes this postseason run. Source: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images North America)

No Kyrie, no K. Love, no problem. LeBron James, Tristan Thompson, and Matthew Dellavedova take care of business rather easily against the top seeded Atlanta Hawks. LeBron James showed why he’s the best player on the planet, Tristan Thompson showed why he needs a new contract, and Matthew Dellavedova showed that even if you’re a long lost cousin of the O’Doyles (Always Sunny in Philadelphia), you can still be an X factor on an NBA team. Cleveland swept the series (4-0).

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