May 31, 2022 • 36 mins
Hosted by 7-time champion Robert Horry and Jabari Davis, NBA Finals File dives deep into the greatest Finals series in NBA history, breaking down the best moments, storylines and matchups, using rare archival audio from the NBA, and the personal touch that only "Big Shot Bob" can give.
In this episode of NBA Finals File, we examine the 2016 Finals, one of the most dramatic Finals series of all-time. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love bring the Cavs back from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in Finals history. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green led the Warriors to 73 wins, the best regular season record ever, but they could not close it out with a championship.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the NBA Finals File with Robert Orri and
Jabari Davis. I am Jabari Davis, former NBA writer turned podcaster,
and this is legendary seven time champ big shot Bob
a k A. Robert Ory. Yeah, we can really get
into two thousands, sixteen NBA Finals matchup. I call it
(00:26):
that get back series where Cleveland tries to get back
at Golden State wars for taking that title out of
their possession. But you know it's gonna be a fun
with man, I'm excited again because lebron Kyrie versus Splash Brothers. No, absolutely,
and honestly, was was a heck of a series. There
was a lot of fun discussing it with you. But
(00:46):
let's be real with both teams, with your full complement
of players that on top of it being a get
back situation, it was simply it was simply a better series. Yeah,
it's a better series. And I know you're gonna, you know,
deep dive into the part where they won so many games.
The Warriors it best. Regular basketball had a phenomenal season,
(01:07):
but hey, playoffs is a different season and sometimes we
have different results. Well, let's go ahead and started right
there because for the On the Warrior side of things, obviously,
they won the title of the previous year. They finished
a record setting seventy three and nine for first in
the Pacific Division, also first all first round all of
basketball wins, taking their place in the annals of the
(01:31):
NBA with the greatest regular season. Their path to the
finals was an interesting one. They won four one over
the Rockets in the opening round and four one over
the Blazers in the in the second round. But do
you remember how that that conference finals series went with
the Thunder. Yes, I do. Um, everybody thought the Thunder
(01:51):
was gonna win this series. Um, Katie was playing great
for the Thunder, and then you got you know, Westbrook
who played great, and it was it was a great series.
And I just thought the Thunder, we're gonna come out
of the West. Yeah, look we're heading into the series.
I did. I didn't give them a chance. But once
they went up three one, let's be honest, we we
(02:12):
didn't see too many teams lose three one leads, and
we said, and we certainly at that stage had never
seen one, you know, lose one in the finals. So yeah,
I absolutely anticipated them, you know, you know, kind of
shocking the world. But it did. It doesn't happen. The
Warriors come storming back. They you know, they win that
series four four three, and they're you know, on their
way to the finals. And then from the calf side
(02:33):
of things, they lost to the Warriors in the finals
the previous year. Then this year they finished fifty seven
and twenty five for first in the Central Uh. Their
path to the finals, they were four over the Pistons
in the opening round, four over the Hawks in the second.
In the second round, then they then they ended up
beating the Raptors four. To know, it's funny man like
for Raptors fans, Rob, I don't know how much time
(02:54):
you spend on social media, but Raptors fans, it's almost like, uh,
it's like PTSD when it comes to you know, Lebron,
Like this is this is around the time when the
legend of Lebron too, when you know what started. You know,
it's it's two guys has ever played this game? Maybe three?
Um Kareem Michael Jordan and Lebron. This gives a certain
(03:15):
team fits and I think I remember this, the Raptors
were just like no Lebron, No, when Lebron left the heat.
They was like happy because they in the same year
they they finally win the title of the year when
Lebron finally Now going to the historical significance of the matchup,
(03:36):
it's a rematch of the previous finals, which is always
big deep down, it was only right that we got
an opportunity to play Colden State after we having last year.
Me personally, I wanted to see gold State again. Cleveland
is still looking for the city's first sports franchise title
in over fifty years, and Golden State is coming off
of a record setting regular season. Now, the coaching matchup
(03:57):
is a little bit different this year. What were your
thoughts heading in to Steve Kerr versus Ricky head coach
Tyler You know, I was I was really interested because
I played with Tyler, you know, and I understand how
he's thinking and a little bit, you know, And Steve
Kerry was a guy played against and he was coming
off is win his first championship in his first year.
I was like, when he comes to coaching, you think
(04:18):
about it, does lightning really strike twice? Well, a rookie
coach can come into an organization and take him to
title end. Steve Kerr did it. Now does Tyler have
that in him? You know, play with Tyler with the Lakers.
You know, he played with a lot of great players,
Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant. So now he's coaching a great player,
will he be able to take the guys to the promising? Promising?
(04:41):
I think so because Tyler smart guy. You know, he
played with me. He's sparked that that's the pre record
that he played with you. So he sparked, he knows
what title. He knows how to get a title player.
Robert Ory, you know what greatness through ross Moses if
it were a thing, if it were only a thing.
But what about the player's side of things? Because they've
(05:02):
already matched up against one another. I recognize Cleveland's you know,
Cleveland's available players are a little bit different this this series.
But is there any advantage to having to already face
them in a you know, in a similar series. To
be honest with this, there's really no advantage. Um. The
only advantage comes when you playing a team from your
conference because you see them throughout the season, you watch
(05:23):
them a lot more because if you think about West
Coast teams, they don't start at seven o'clock on the East, Coach,
those guys already finished the game. You're on your way
to sleep, and so you don't really get to watch
the game unless you uh, just a guy who loves
to watch the basketball to one in the morning. And
so you look at this situation. You won't that get
back if you if you Cleveland and if you go
to State. You're saying yourself, Yo, this ain't the team
(05:46):
we played last year. This is a fully healthy team.
They got a new coach, they got a new system,
and they won't revenge. So you have to trick yourself
or tell yourself this in order to get ready for
these games. So in our last episode I expla we
specifically kind of discussed, you know, the motivating factors of
a guy, you know, of a of a great player
like Steph. What's his mindset coming into a series like this?
(06:07):
Is this? Is this his series where he says, Okay,
we got one, but I didn't get mine? Or is it? What?
What's he what's he coming in with? I can only
assume that his mindset is I got to play better
than I played last year. People have put this this
banner on me that I got to be the greatest
player to ever played this game. I gotta be the
greatest shooter at this using, so I have to go
(06:29):
out there and show them. And when you tell yourself that,
sometimes it's a little bit too much pressure. It makes
you do things out of your character. But I think
Steph had that on him because thinking about it, he
didn't win m VP of that series. He didn't win
MVP Finals of that series, and we all think he deserved,
but he didn't get it. He's gonna have to prove
to the daughters, the reporters, to everybody in this world
(06:50):
that he is the elite player. And this is why
he won m v P in the regular season. This
was the season of Steph Curry. You are amazing, the
the unanimous set BP. So let's take a quick break.
But when we come back, it's time for Game one
(07:20):
and one NBA Finals. That's about It's all about, man,
We're back here on NBA Finals file. Let's go ahead
and jump into Game one because in this one, you know,
I labeled it as it is. The Dubs continued to
fly high. An epic series begins tonight with Game one.
Enjoy every moment, enjoy the atmosphere, every second, every minute,
every point, every possession enjoyed. All right, The Warriors picked
(07:42):
up right where they left off from the previous finals
matchup between these two teams, and they pretty much hit
the calves and waves in this game one of this series.
Rain Chest pass high left side to Curry working on
tops and tops and slips Curry the ns snatch Curry
the three, even though Stephen Clay struggle from the floor
to the tune of eight for twenty seven combined, the
Warriors had seven players and double figures in in this one,
(08:04):
including your your your guy, a twenty point night from
Sean Livingston off the bench. You know, they had also
a twelve, seven and six game for Michael Dollar, so
Livingston stepped the big twenty points. I thought, he's This
is the reason Golden State won this game because like
you said, Steph didn't shoot the ball. Well, you know,
I should say the Splash Brothers didn't shoot the ball.
(08:25):
Weather And you need guys to step up in situations
like this, to be that good role player off the
bench and ready for the moment. And let me let
me talk about this. Winning championships are the best things
for certain players because when you win a championship. That
comes with confidence, confidence that you can do no wrong
(08:45):
in the NBA. And Sean Livingston is the pity of
me of that thinking about it. He just came off
a championship, had a great regular season, and now you're
back into that shining moment and you step up big
in the first game when twenty points, when your splash brothers,
Um didn't get the job done to that point, Sean Livingston,
Andrea Goodala and Barboza, they combined to go eighteen for
(09:06):
twenty four from the floor. They each made contributions for
you know, Golden State and this one in fact, you
know and and I know it sounds cleach, but Golden
States team model for this season with strength and numbers,
and you know what, their bench went out and outscored
Cleveland's by margin of forty five to ten. Rob there
was a whole lot of others putting in work in
this one. Yeah, that's that's that's what it's about, Um
(09:28):
being in that moment, stepping up and being big for
this for the team. You think about it, if you
look over on Cleveland side, Shumper three points, Jefferson three points,
Della Dover to Shannon fro and that was it. You
got ten points out of the bench and it wasn't
to compete with you know what Sean Livings did with
twenty points. Some sides, that's okay, just stay away it,
(09:50):
keep being aggressive, keep attacking. How tough this right now?
Make about we gotta be tougher. And I think a
lot of time when you look at the coaching staff
and you look at what they're able to do, they're
gonna roll with was working. A lot of times coaches
was saying, you know what, that's this is not my rotation.
I'm gonna take him out of rotation and put in.
But Sean Limson in that game, he was a go
(10:12):
to guy. He was posting up and he was rolling.
And Sean Limston is one of these point guards. It
is a big point guard. So he's able to jump
over say adela dover, He's able to jump over a
kyrie because he has the size and link. And so
that was huge for uh Steve Kurry to go outside
his game plan and exploit the weaknesses which was the
size in this game dollar parting Lebron James James, the
(10:38):
spend little point makes it look so BTC. That was
pretty that's six to seventy doing that as well. And
then you know we mentioned that Lebron has his running
mates for this one, but unfortunately, you know, Kyrie, he
does score twenty six, but he shot just seven for
twenty two. Uh. Kevin Love has a nice finals debut.
He puts up seventeen and thirteen. But the Warriors end
up taking this one one oh four eighty nine and
setting the tone for the series. Lawyer's Tech Game one
(11:02):
courtesy up there Patch. So let's go ahead and jump
in the game too, because look, the Calves are looking
to tie the series before heading back to Cleveland. You never,
like I always say it, and you know what, let
me ask a perfect let me ask you know the expert.
I always say, you never want to go you know,
down O two in a series, especially the finals. But
I also remember the old cliche of a series doesn't
(11:25):
start until a road team wins. Which one is it
in MS for For the actual players, I think it's
just win baby. You know so many people want to
put cliches on it. At the end of the day,
you gotta win games. Um, if you're at home, you
gotta win. On the road, you gotta win because the
only thing we're thinking is win as soon as possible,
(11:48):
to get it over with uh and be injury free.
And we don't think about, oh, the game doesn't start
to you know, you say that to pump people up,
but you I think you never hear of players say that.
At plus. Players are like, no, we just gotta win
a game. We don't care if it's on the road
at home, because it only counts if you get a dubbed,
you know, and everything else is absolutely you know, so
(12:12):
I think for writing sake and know and publicity's sake,
and you know, whatever you want to say is they
say that. But as a player, you just want to
basically win, regardless of the situation. You guys are about
that action while we're over here with a cute little
words and phrases and narratives. I'm here for it. I'm
absolutely here for it. So basically, after a hard fought
(12:34):
first quarter that featured an own five star from Lebron,
but you know that he also had five assists and
three steals. You on the other side of things, you
know Bogy gaps has four blocks and then you know
from Cleveland side of things, they get eight big points
from a career nine point of contest guy in Tristan Thompson.
It was kind of all over but you know for
the you know, but the shouting in this one. You
think about this. Cleveland came out desperate in that first quarter.
(12:56):
Go to State kind of had the fat cat syndrome
where it says that we were one game one um easily.
You know, we're gonna win this series. We gotta no doubt.
We just beat them last season. So Go to State
comes out, you know, scores nineteen points in their first
corter pretty much a low scoring first quarter, and then
next thing, you know, it's like, oh no, this team
is for real. We gotta come out and play because
we lost that quarter. Then they go on to blast
(13:18):
them in the next three charters and play good defense.
That's the key. Now the Warriors are set a new
NBA records. Hey if I'll score the Cavaliers like the
first two. You know, we always talk about offense and
what the Splash Brothers can do. You think about in
the second half. Go to State. We said it before.
They're a good defensive team. You know, they're able to
(13:39):
come out and clamp teams down when they need to.
In a second half, they only allowed thirty three points
to the Cleveland Cavalet. This is a fully healthy Cleveland Cavalist.
So that lets you know right there that this Golden
State Warriors knows how to play defense, can lock you
down when they need be. I have actually some more
on that coming up here, because you know what, just
going through the second quarter quickly, Lebron does everything you
(14:01):
can do. He plays all twelve minutes, he goes five
for seven from the floor, but unfortunately, you know, to
you know, to your point, the rest of the team
was just three for thirteen over that stretch. As at
the same time, the Warriors are getting hot. Draymond goes
three for five from deep in the quarter and the
go and Golden State outscores Cleveland by ten and really
never looks back. The second half is more of the same,
as the Warriors stayed hot, going eleven for sixteen as
(14:22):
a group, including two more threes from Draymond. Rob It
pretty much goes without saying, but in games where Draymond
is hitting the hiding from deep, those Warriors teams, they
felt like they were pretty unstoppable. So I have to
ask you this, and this is actually based mainly on
a quote that came from Clay following this game. Clay
said that that version of the Warriors was better than
(14:42):
the showtime Lakers that featured his dad. I'm gonna ask you,
what about your two thousand one team, who wins the
hypothetical series of between that too? You really want me
to answer that question. I want you to answer that question.
Jon Draymond Green is a great He's a good difensive player,
but he is he can't stop Shack. I know a
lot of people are gonna look back at what happened
(15:03):
to the Lakers back when they played Detroit Pistons, when
you had Wallace Garden Shock. You know, Wallace is a
different diffensive player than Draymond. And they said, because they're gonna,
you know, reference that with Hyke and you forget you
had guys that can stretch the Florida Derek Fisher, Kobe Myself,
Rick Fox, and there there's no way they could stop Shack.
(15:24):
And I know they said, what three is more than two?
But you're eventually gonna miss, you know, three points shot game,
missing no dunks. So he's gonna average fifty in that
game pretty much like he did. And in two thousand
when he won M v P against the Pacers. So
I think hold hardly that we win that series in five.
(15:47):
You said it with your chests. See, it's one thing
to say that, yeah, you would take them because for
all of those reasons, which to be honest with you,
I agree with. But it's a whole other thing to
say it's gonna be a gentleman sweep. I'm not. I'm not.
I'm never going to be upset with someone saying it.
With it. But to go back to the Lebron James,
you know, he what he did in that second quarter.
And this is the thing about great players, they can
(16:08):
make adjustments. He wasn't making his his shots, so he
went to an inside game, he went to attack mode,
and he was posting them more. He had a cup
of spin moves on the baseline or Draymond that were
nice and and that's what players do. Um A lot
of guys keep shooting. They'll keep shooting threes. You know,
Steph is like that, He's gonna keep shooting threes. But
Lebron is a different type of aim. He can he's
(16:30):
not knocking on his jump shots. He's like, you know what,
I'm going into be smoke, which just means I'm gonna
go into paint, I'm gonna score, I'm gonna you know,
dom a drive, a kick. But that's how you can
get yourself going. So that's how Lebron was able to
get himself going, even though he was missing shots over
five like you said, but he was meeting to go.
He was able to go and attack mode and get
buckets in the paint and use his spin modes in
(16:50):
the post. So outside of the turnover battle, the Warriors
literally beat the Calves in every facet of this contest,
you know, from shooting to the battle of the boards,
to assist and beyond. Lebron actually echoed this sentiment in
the post game. We gotta be better at all fasts
of the game, both offensively and defensively, both physically and mentally.
I just got to do a better job. Lebron does
(17:13):
lead the team and scoring with nineteen to go with
the nine cis and eight nine assists and eight rebounds.
Kyrie and Kevin Love went just seven for twenty one
from the floor combined, as the Calves only had three
players and double figures. The Warriors take a two oh
lead with a one ten the seventies seven win in
game two. Alright, so time for another quick break. Game
three is next, when the series shifts to Cleveland and
(17:33):
the Calves are fighting to stay alive. All right, we're
back here on NBA Finals follow Let's go ahead and
jump into Game three. It's crazy that, you know, you
start the finals to relatively evenly matched, you know, teams,
you know that, you know, of course different styles, but
(17:54):
to start the finals off with two straight blowouts, Yeah,
it feels at least unprecedented, yes for me. You know,
you think about the way the Warriors jumped Dome to
Calves in that second game, you know, established a the
dominant and after watching those first two games, you sit
bank said, wow, this is what they won seventy three
games in the season. So they're impressive. You know. Sometimes
(18:18):
you know, maybe that's actually a good point. Maybe it's
simply a matter of yeah, this is a seventy three
win team, so they can do that to some guys.
They can do that to some teams. So with their
collective backs against the walls, the Calves dug deep and
they played like it back home in quicken Loans Arena,
many words were talking about and warts about going to
get it done. I saw them about it. Coach leew
elected to switch to a a small ball lineup, sliding Richard
(18:39):
Jefferson into the starting lineup with Lebron, moving Lebron to
the power forward spot, you know, to replace an injured
Kevin Love. I had act that was one of those
you know, one of those things that I had forgotten about.
Kevin Love goes down in this series for here for
a game and a half because of a concussion. While
they held the Warriors to just seven of twenty shooting
for in the opening quarter, the Calves went fifteen one
in the first on the way to more than bubling
(19:00):
Golden State up with thirty three to six. Team to
Press the time to back up lot down the light
tree from Press, the topic a person's one home. What
does it feel like as the team that absolutely needs
to win when you're when you're able to come out
and jump on top of him like that. The thing
about that, the the adjustments are crucial. If you think
back to the season, what did Steve Kurr do. He
(19:25):
went with the small lineup, you know, now, Tyler like
ding ding ding, light bulb goes on, I'm gonna take
a page out of europlaybook and hit you with a
small a line because I told you this league is
a copycat league. If it works for you, it might
work for me. And even though you know Jr. Didn't
get a lot of playing time, he was vital and
(19:46):
the way he approached the game. You know, he had
been to the finals in New Jersey, so he was
no newcomer to the playoffs. So that was key that
Tyler had the smartest to say, you know what, let's
go small ball, because hey, even though Richard Jefferson is
a small he can play big and then rob this.
You know that this series continue to be weird because
(20:06):
in a crazy twist of fate, the two teams reversed
courses in the second quarter, with Lebron and Kyrie, you know,
somehow combining to go just two for seventeen, while on
the other side of things, Harrison, Barton and Clay they
combined to go seven for nine. Is the Warriors actually
pulled back to within single digits by halftime. I'm wondering that,
and this is kind of a two parter. Did you
notice any specific adjustments by either team in the second
(20:26):
quarter or was this just a matter of two great
teams slugging it out. I think it's you know, two
great teams looking at But you have to go back
to the start of this game with Tyler was like, okay,
I was on this bench last year and we lost
to go to the State. Go to State. Made a
significant move by going small, So you know what, let
me start Richard Jefferson's instead. You know, even though we
(20:48):
know Kevin Love was out, but he still went small.
He could have went big, we went he went small,
and so he started with Richard Jefferson at the force part.
And Richard Jeffersons don't forget he has playoff experience. He's
been to the finals, so he was primarily ready to go.
So that to me was a key move. But also
understanding that when your guys aren't playing well, your big
(21:08):
dogs put them in a position to be successful, make
them go to old school basketball, pick and rows, uh,
push the basketball, push the pace. And also with our
j on that team, Richard Jefferson, he has that veteran ear.
He knows how to get those guys going because he played.
(21:28):
He didn't have great numbers, but he played a significant role,
almost identical to Iggy. So actually taking it taking that
a step further, you know, based on something that you
just said. How else does it make things easier for
guys like Lebron and Kyrie having a small a small balls,
you know, big in there like Richard Jefferson. Does they
open up new you know, driving lanes? Does it give
(21:49):
you a little bit more space? Like? How? How does
how does that adjustment help? It allows you to drive
more on the offensive end, and it allows you to
switch more on the defensive end. So on the office
vent you can spread the floor, especially when you have
Tristan Thompson who's a great pick setter. He sets to
pick for Kyrie. Kyrie, we all know his ball handing
(22:09):
skills is probably the best that we've ever seen. You know,
he can be able to get those skills to get
to the cup, draw the defense, kick to those guys
that are spotting up for threes, and even Lebron. Lebron
gets that pick and roll, he's gonna be going downhill
and Lebron is going down him and going towards the basket.
There's nobody can stop him. He's either gonna get the
and one, he's gonna dunk on you, or he's gonna
(22:30):
go to the free thrown because you have to wrap
him up. So I think those three things are key
for Lebron. Pick and roll, Kyrie pick and roll and
spreading on the floor, those are three keys for that.
But I'm more interested on the defensive vent because now
when you got the splash brothers um, and you've got
these guys coming off picking rolls, everybody's the same size.
Now you can switch and I had to worry about
(22:52):
helping so much, and you can stay home on the shooters.
Speaking of that stephan Iguadala. They were actually strong in
the second half, especially in the third, but you know,
unfortunately for them, Cleveland got hot once again and actually
put this game away relatively early on Kyrie. Every from
White Downtown, the Calves have responses. Takes the three fires
a three from your experience, can you remember another Finals
(23:18):
with quite so many significant swings of this nature? Uh No,
I cannot um think about blow out game to blow
out game three. And you really don't see that in
the finals that much because teams are so evenly matched.
You might see a team you know, go down like
twenty points, twenty five points, and now of a sudden,
the teams do you know what, we've lost this one.
We can go sit it down, you know, and and
(23:39):
and the reserves come in and they play a little
bit and increase that league. Um. But other than you
see in teams like this of balance and you have
back to back blowouts, this is unheard of. So Kurt,
you know, I I feel like he was right along
with you in that one. He actually winds up acknowledging
that the Calves punched them in the mouths at the
start of this. You know, in his postgame comment he
(24:00):
goes as far as to call his own team soft,
you know, for their efforts in this one. Rob as
a player and a team, what does it do to
you when you hear your coach any messages through the
media like that, um, because you have to look at
yourself and realize, we played soft. We let these guys
come out, We gave him no resistance. We pretty much
let them do whatever they want on the floor, and
(24:22):
then we made our run. They made their run, and
then we were able to stop me Because most successful
teams you're able to stop one run and you do
allow a lot of second to happen. In this series, well,
in this game, I should say, look at it. Kevali
has had multiple runs and to be successful in the game,
(24:42):
you can get by with one, but multiple ones you're
gonna get an l or you can get blown out
like the Warriors dead in this game. Exactly that, because
Cleveland winds up taking this game three one ninety and
now at least Ball of Black James up for it,
passes over the irving live back to James team up
and that well do it. The Cavaliers playing game three
(25:06):
by thirty points. They got huge nights from lebron Kyrie
and j R. Smith, who eats combined for honestly just
eight less points than the Warriors did as a team
in this one. Jefferson presence with the starters, you really
seem to make a difference, as did. You know, it's
funny because we alluded to him not really putting up
huge numbers, but his nine points and eight boards in
(25:27):
thirty three big minutes of action, Like, I absolutely feel
like those were the difference in this game. Yeah, you know,
fourth for seven being efficient and that's what we talk about.
I think about those offensive rebounds he got. Those lead
to buckets and when you're able to get second chance points,
it makes it easier for the team, and it puts
you know, the other team on the hills and go
to state when they went small to match up with that.
(25:49):
Richard Jefferson is a big you know, he's really a
big and a small man's body. He's strong, he's athletic,
he got crazy hops and so he's able to keep
balls alive and play him do different things for them
on both ends of the floor. So, speaking of spreading
it out, in this one in particular, the Calves shot
twelve or twenty five from deep. They won the rebound
battle thirty fifty two to thirty two, and even turned
the ball over less, you know, five less times, you know,
(26:12):
eighteen to thirteen. There's really no other way to say it.
Steve Kerr was exactly right. They whooped them in every
single way. Everybody got a plan to get punched in
the mouth. This is true, the great Mike Tyson, true
professional game tonight man. We needed everything that that showed
up in the box score and everything that didn't show
up in the box score. It's a big time. So
go into game four, who you're heading into it, it's
(26:33):
you know, we're wondering can the Calves tie things up?
At two two before heading back to Oakland. You gotta
play faster being be on the attack, be the investor
all night. All right. I don't care if it makes
mess in transition, but we got to attack them right
prior to Game four. You know, we haven't mentioned this,
but Stephane only scored forty eight points in the series combined,
you know, and he was facing the usual criticisms, you know,
(26:55):
when one of the greats are the all time greats,
there's subpar in the series. But he definitely answered the
call on this one. So Rob, I'm interested in what
I'm interested in what players think in general about the
basketball conversations when it comes to analysts and bloggers, you know,
particularly when it comes to social media. Admittedly, while there
are absolutely reporters and writers that are out there, you know,
(27:15):
simply trying to provide you know, game analysis, much of
the general conversation these days tends to sway towards the negative,
almost incessantly pointing out flaws and or perceived weaknesses rather
than you know, what felt like a slightly more straightforward
approach when we were coming up, How did you guys
as players feel about the general conversation when it comes
to basketball. For me, I normally try not to read
(27:38):
anything during the playoffs because we, yeah, we as players
know they have to make they have to have a story,
and sometimes those stories they nit picked. But a lot
of times, as certain star players, I know, I've seen
this with Shack, I've seen this with Kobe, and I've
seen this with Manu. You read what is written about
you and next thing you know you're going was as gasoline,
(28:01):
gasoline and fuel your fire. And a lot of great
ones do that. And I think we know Steph he's
gonna read stuff, He's gonna hear stuff. He's a matter
of fact, there's so much press around during the finals,
someone's gonna mistion not once, not twice, but three times
the same question. And so it's just fuel to his fire.
And I think he uses that to to get locked in,
(28:23):
to engage and go out and play better the next thing.
Not just stiff though. I say that with a lot
of great players. They all do that and they know
how to to take with the reporters say, oh, with
the public is saying and use that for feel all right,
Speaking of fuel, not only does Curry go seven for
thirteen from deep on his way to a thirty eight
point six and his five rebound game. But he's joined
by Clay and Barnes, and the three of them combined
(28:45):
for fifteen twenty seven from deep. They just blitzed them
from behind the yard. To think about that, if you've
watched that that game, Steph Will started out hot, and
now we all know as basketball players and as whoever
it is, you have to stop the star. You have to,
you know, stop that star from shining so bright. And
Steph was doing it. But when the others step up,
(29:07):
you know, you got Barns four for five from three.
You got Clay, who's really not an other he's a
star in his arm right. He's a part of that
Splash Brother's crew. He's hitting four for nine. And when
I got a guy like andre Iggy that comes out
and goes two for five from three, those two or
his equivalent to steps six or seven whatever he hits
in the game because people not expecting that, and now
(29:28):
you as a player, like, I'm not leaving my guy.
He just hit the three, you're on your own, and
that allows Steph to get open. And then it's just
about Steph's ability to shoot. And we just talked about
Kyrie's ability to handling the rock. If you watch this game,
this is where STEP's ball, Helen starts coming in and
(29:48):
play and people starts realizing, Wow, Steph got some handles too,
because you have a couple of moments there where he
dribbles in and out and they was still step back
and hit the threes. And the thing I love best
about his threes that he's making, he's already turning another
way to get back down to the court because he
knows his money. That's how hot he was here. If
I can clevelands Curry steps back there three for Curry,
(30:11):
he had that one three in the corner and I
was like, Oh, they're in trouble because this dude is
on fire. Bighead fire, NBA jam type of fire. I
love it. In BAJM reference a dollar to tops tops
it out to Curry freak Horter that one of the
things I've always appreciated about Steff was that, like, you know, yes,
(30:33):
he's a little you know he's a smaller guy. He's
not a little guy. He's bigger than you know, he's
a smaller guy, but he talks his talk. Curry a
dollar shot block a seventh Curry fakes puts up a trade.
Shine like, I've always been here for the shimmy, and
I've always been here for all of that, But I'm
interested as a competitor. Steps, you know, steps knocking down
(30:54):
threes and turning around and running down the other way.
Does that does that get Does it get to you
just a little bit more because because he's doing it,
and because you know there's really nothing you can do
about it. Well, you know, I played in the area
where the shimmy wasn't allowed, so I can't really come
in on that because if someone shimy do us, we
brought them up a pick and we just laid him
out and say, yo, don't try that and don't try
to embarrass it. So, you know, it was a different time,
(31:14):
a different area then, but you know, to think about
it now, every player does it. Everybody goes out and
they have a good time. That's the one great thing
about basketball. Guys are allowed to express themselves so much.
And Steph, he simmy's a lot. He knocked down the
three threes a lot. He's great at it. He's one
of the great ones. You don't want him to do it,
don't let him do it. That it really boils down there.
(31:36):
So the game was still highly competitive throughout, you know,
until the Cows wound up going the final six thirty
six of the fourth without scoring the field goal. In fact,
the game was tied at eight one with just under
eleven minutes left when the Warriors Bridge basically just separated themselves.
Once again, it was the others doing a lot of
the damage in the final quarter. Barnes made several threes, Igua,
(31:57):
Dolla and Levinston each made jumpers and their key contributions
as well, and in step basically helps close the show
with two layups the three and six straight free throws
to kind of salted away down the stretch. Rob There's
one play that we have to discuss, and while it
didn't necessarily have an impact on the outcome of this contest,
it I do think it changes the course of this series,
(32:17):
as the Calves definitely seemed to rally around their star.
It came with just under three minutes left and what
was the ten point game at the time. Lebron and
dre they get tangled up um and and the sending
Draymond to the floor as Lebron tries to step over
him like it should it should be no, it should
be mentioned Lebron is definitely stepping over him. At this point,
(32:37):
Draymond swings up and wax him into growing the Barnes free.
The James chowing at each other, will play the tenures
like a dollar to pull off that won't go and
a couple of fouls gonna be called chantning Cry getting
into tween Lebron, James and sensed Green starting to walk away,
(33:03):
James has more words. Raymond Green is one flagrant foul
and two technicals away from being suspended. And it takes
a little swing that misses after the objected the James
stepping over him. The conversation continued, the bumping and shoving,
and they're the double foul ball by Danny Crawford. Double
foul does not result in any free throws. Obviously, each
(33:25):
player picks up a personal the Green it's his third,
make that his fourth, and for James it's his third. Well,
let's see if they're gonna give out any technicals as well,
and that is that's important from Golden state standpoint. In
Green and his technical fowl total. James usually doesn't respond
(33:46):
like that, especially if the ball is still in plays
this physical play. Again, we talked about it from the
start of the game. It's been a physical game. What
do have contact a double foul? While I know that
you know just about everything is generally fair in the battle,
is there a line that's simply too far when dealing
(34:06):
with your fellow competitors. There's a line that should be drawn.
And when you think of players stepping over other players,
of course everybody thinks of Alan Iverson stepping over Tyler,
and people think that Alan Iverson did his patent a
crossover and Tyler fell, but it wasn't that. Then you
think about Scottie Pippen duncan on Patrick ewing and pushed
him down and stepping over him. You've got all these
(34:29):
scenarios that going. But this one was where Lebron was
just trying to, you know, get to the other side
of the court, and Draymond didn't like it. Everything. No,
it's not a player allowed it likes to be stepped
over because it's an embarrassment. It's almost like you're trying
to degrade me. And I know Lebron he probably wasn't
even thinking about it. But Draymond, being a guy he is,
he's a competitor. He feels like you're trying to disrespect me,
(34:49):
and so he kind of like say, Nope, you're not
gonna do this and swung up. And you gotta also understand,
in big moments like this, you got to be calm,
cool and collective. And sometimes Draymond gets a little hot headed,
and that leads me to wonder, but Lebron, knowing this
and players do that, did he do that to see
(35:10):
if you could give reaction Draymond? He playing a game
within the game, the chest, not checkers. I'm not mad
at that. I had never considered that, but you know,
it wouldn't shock me given how you know, for one,
given how all of you guys as competitors will study
your opponents, but they actually had a personal relationship and
continue to have a personal and professional relationship. I do wonder.
(35:32):
I think that's I think that's a good point. I
do wonder if he knew, and maybe maybe if I
rub it in a little bit, step over him, you know,
give him, give him, give him the AI right quick.
You know he'll do something, which he did, which he did.
The Golden State Warriors take a commanding three games to
one lead. So the Warriors. They wind up taking this
one one O eight ninety seven to take the three
(35:52):
series three one series lead. I don't even know why
that's a question. Their chances of winning this series zero
as far as I'm concerned. Everybody is saying that we
can't get this done and it's over. No team has
ever come back from three one. But I was just calm.
I started just automatically thinking about how we can be
better for game five. I sent every guy a text
(36:14):
that night and told him, don't listen to nobody right
now besides the fourteen guys in the locker room, the
coaching staff. Let's make history. But on that note, let's
actually rob let's go ahead and in Part one here
with the Warriors up, everyone, what could go wrong? You know,
they seem like they're in a good spot, right, Yeah.
Nobody's ever lost in the finals three winning up three
(36:35):
one nobody, Yeah, exactly, So we're about to witness history
in Part two,
Welcome to the NBA Finals File with Robert Orri and
Jabari Davis. I am Jabari Davis, former NBA writer turned podcaster,
and this is legendary seven time champ big shot Bob
a k A. Robert Ory. Yeah, we can really get
into two thousands, sixteen NBA Finals matchup. I call it
(00:26):
that get back series where Cleveland tries to get back
at Golden State wars for taking that title out of
their possession. But you know it's gonna be a fun
with man, I'm excited again because lebron Kyrie versus Splash Brothers. No, absolutely,
and honestly, was was a heck of a series. There
was a lot of fun discussing it with you. But
(00:46):
let's be real with both teams, with your full complement
of players that on top of it being a get
back situation, it was simply it was simply a better series. Yeah,
it's a better series. And I know you're gonna, you know,
deep dive into the part where they won so many games.
The Warriors it best. Regular basketball had a phenomenal season,
(01:07):
but hey, playoffs is a different season and sometimes we
have different results. Well, let's go ahead and started right
there because for the On the Warrior side of things, obviously,
they won the title of the previous year. They finished
a record setting seventy three and nine for first in
the Pacific Division, also first all first round all of
basketball wins, taking their place in the annals of the
(01:31):
NBA with the greatest regular season. Their path to the
finals was an interesting one. They won four one over
the Rockets in the opening round and four one over
the Blazers in the in the second round. But do
you remember how that that conference finals series went with
the Thunder. Yes, I do. Um, everybody thought the Thunder
(01:51):
was gonna win this series. Um, Katie was playing great
for the Thunder, and then you got you know, Westbrook
who played great, and it was it was a great series.
And I just thought the Thunder, we're gonna come out
of the West. Yeah, look we're heading into the series.
I did. I didn't give them a chance. But once
they went up three one, let's be honest, we we
(02:12):
didn't see too many teams lose three one leads, and
we said, and we certainly at that stage had never
seen one, you know, lose one in the finals. So yeah,
I absolutely anticipated them, you know, you know, kind of
shocking the world. But it did. It doesn't happen. The
Warriors come storming back. They you know, they win that
series four four three, and they're you know, on their
way to the finals. And then from the calf side
(02:33):
of things, they lost to the Warriors in the finals
the previous year. Then this year they finished fifty seven
and twenty five for first in the Central Uh. Their
path to the finals, they were four over the Pistons
in the opening round, four over the Hawks in the second.
In the second round, then they then they ended up
beating the Raptors four. To know, it's funny man like
for Raptors fans, Rob, I don't know how much time
(02:54):
you spend on social media, but Raptors fans, it's almost like, uh,
it's like PTSD when it comes to you know, Lebron,
Like this is this is around the time when the
legend of Lebron too, when you know what started. You know,
it's it's two guys has ever played this game? Maybe three?
Um Kareem Michael Jordan and Lebron. This gives a certain
(03:15):
team fits and I think I remember this, the Raptors
were just like no Lebron, No, when Lebron left the heat.
They was like happy because they in the same year
they they finally win the title of the year when
Lebron finally Now going to the historical significance of the matchup,
(03:36):
it's a rematch of the previous finals, which is always
big deep down, it was only right that we got
an opportunity to play Colden State after we having last year.
Me personally, I wanted to see gold State again. Cleveland
is still looking for the city's first sports franchise title
in over fifty years, and Golden State is coming off
of a record setting regular season. Now, the coaching matchup
(03:57):
is a little bit different this year. What were your
thoughts heading in to Steve Kerr versus Ricky head coach
Tyler You know, I was I was really interested because
I played with Tyler, you know, and I understand how
he's thinking and a little bit, you know, And Steve
Kerry was a guy played against and he was coming
off is win his first championship in his first year.
I was like, when he comes to coaching, you think
(04:18):
about it, does lightning really strike twice? Well, a rookie
coach can come into an organization and take him to
title end. Steve Kerr did it. Now does Tyler have
that in him? You know, play with Tyler with the Lakers.
You know, he played with a lot of great players,
Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant. So now he's coaching a great player,
will he be able to take the guys to the promising? Promising?
(04:41):
I think so because Tyler smart guy. You know, he
played with me. He's sparked that that's the pre record
that he played with you. So he sparked, he knows
what title. He knows how to get a title player.
Robert Ory, you know what greatness through ross Moses if
it were a thing, if it were only a thing.
But what about the player's side of things? Because they've
(05:02):
already matched up against one another. I recognize Cleveland's you know,
Cleveland's available players are a little bit different this this series.
But is there any advantage to having to already face
them in a you know, in a similar series. To
be honest with this, there's really no advantage. Um. The
only advantage comes when you playing a team from your
conference because you see them throughout the season, you watch
(05:23):
them a lot more because if you think about West
Coast teams, they don't start at seven o'clock on the East, Coach,
those guys already finished the game. You're on your way
to sleep, and so you don't really get to watch
the game unless you uh, just a guy who loves
to watch the basketball to one in the morning. And
so you look at this situation. You won't that get
back if you if you Cleveland and if you go
to State. You're saying yourself, Yo, this ain't the team
(05:46):
we played last year. This is a fully healthy team.
They got a new coach, they got a new system,
and they won't revenge. So you have to trick yourself
or tell yourself this in order to get ready for
these games. So in our last episode I expla we
specifically kind of discussed, you know, the motivating factors of
a guy, you know, of a of a great player
like Steph. What's his mindset coming into a series like this?
(06:07):
Is this? Is this his series where he says, Okay,
we got one, but I didn't get mine? Or is it? What?
What's he what's he coming in with? I can only
assume that his mindset is I got to play better
than I played last year. People have put this this
banner on me that I got to be the greatest
player to ever played this game. I gotta be the
greatest shooter at this using, so I have to go
(06:29):
out there and show them. And when you tell yourself that,
sometimes it's a little bit too much pressure. It makes
you do things out of your character. But I think
Steph had that on him because thinking about it, he
didn't win m VP of that series. He didn't win
MVP Finals of that series, and we all think he deserved,
but he didn't get it. He's gonna have to prove
to the daughters, the reporters, to everybody in this world
(06:50):
that he is the elite player. And this is why
he won m v P in the regular season. This
was the season of Steph Curry. You are amazing, the
the unanimous set BP. So let's take a quick break.
But when we come back, it's time for Game one
(07:20):
and one NBA Finals. That's about It's all about, man,
We're back here on NBA Finals file. Let's go ahead
and jump into Game one because in this one, you know,
I labeled it as it is. The Dubs continued to
fly high. An epic series begins tonight with Game one.
Enjoy every moment, enjoy the atmosphere, every second, every minute,
every point, every possession enjoyed. All right, The Warriors picked
(07:42):
up right where they left off from the previous finals
matchup between these two teams, and they pretty much hit
the calves and waves in this game one of this series.
Rain Chest pass high left side to Curry working on
tops and tops and slips Curry the ns snatch Curry
the three, even though Stephen Clay struggle from the floor
to the tune of eight for twenty seven combined, the
Warriors had seven players and double figures in in this one,
(08:04):
including your your your guy, a twenty point night from
Sean Livingston off the bench. You know, they had also
a twelve, seven and six game for Michael Dollar, so
Livingston stepped the big twenty points. I thought, he's This
is the reason Golden State won this game because like
you said, Steph didn't shoot the ball. Well, you know,
I should say the Splash Brothers didn't shoot the ball.
(08:25):
Weather And you need guys to step up in situations
like this, to be that good role player off the
bench and ready for the moment. And let me let
me talk about this. Winning championships are the best things
for certain players because when you win a championship. That
comes with confidence, confidence that you can do no wrong
(08:45):
in the NBA. And Sean Livingston is the pity of
me of that thinking about it. He just came off
a championship, had a great regular season, and now you're
back into that shining moment and you step up big
in the first game when twenty points, when your splash brothers,
Um didn't get the job done to that point, Sean Livingston,
Andrea Goodala and Barboza, they combined to go eighteen for
(09:06):
twenty four from the floor. They each made contributions for
you know, Golden State and this one in fact, you
know and and I know it sounds cleach, but Golden
States team model for this season with strength and numbers,
and you know what, their bench went out and outscored
Cleveland's by margin of forty five to ten. Rob there
was a whole lot of others putting in work in
this one. Yeah, that's that's that's what it's about, Um
(09:28):
being in that moment, stepping up and being big for
this for the team. You think about it, if you
look over on Cleveland side, Shumper three points, Jefferson three points,
Della Dover to Shannon fro and that was it. You
got ten points out of the bench and it wasn't
to compete with you know what Sean Livings did with
twenty points. Some sides, that's okay, just stay away it,
(09:50):
keep being aggressive, keep attacking. How tough this right now?
Make about we gotta be tougher. And I think a
lot of time when you look at the coaching staff
and you look at what they're able to do, they're
gonna roll with was working. A lot of times coaches
was saying, you know what, that's this is not my rotation.
I'm gonna take him out of rotation and put in.
But Sean Limson in that game, he was a go
(10:12):
to guy. He was posting up and he was rolling.
And Sean Limston is one of these point guards. It
is a big point guard. So he's able to jump
over say adela dover, He's able to jump over a
kyrie because he has the size and link. And so
that was huge for uh Steve Kurry to go outside
his game plan and exploit the weaknesses which was the
size in this game dollar parting Lebron James James, the
(10:38):
spend little point makes it look so BTC. That was
pretty that's six to seventy doing that as well. And
then you know we mentioned that Lebron has his running
mates for this one, but unfortunately, you know, Kyrie, he
does score twenty six, but he shot just seven for
twenty two. Uh. Kevin Love has a nice finals debut.
He puts up seventeen and thirteen. But the Warriors end
up taking this one one oh four eighty nine and
setting the tone for the series. Lawyer's Tech Game one
(11:02):
courtesy up there Patch. So let's go ahead and jump
in the game too, because look, the Calves are looking
to tie the series before heading back to Cleveland. You never,
like I always say it, and you know what, let
me ask a perfect let me ask you know the expert.
I always say, you never want to go you know,
down O two in a series, especially the finals. But
I also remember the old cliche of a series doesn't
(11:25):
start until a road team wins. Which one is it
in MS for For the actual players, I think it's
just win baby. You know so many people want to
put cliches on it. At the end of the day,
you gotta win games. Um, if you're at home, you
gotta win. On the road, you gotta win because the
only thing we're thinking is win as soon as possible,
(11:48):
to get it over with uh and be injury free.
And we don't think about, oh, the game doesn't start
to you know, you say that to pump people up,
but you I think you never hear of players say that.
At plus. Players are like, no, we just gotta win
a game. We don't care if it's on the road
at home, because it only counts if you get a dubbed,
you know, and everything else is absolutely you know, so
(12:12):
I think for writing sake and know and publicity's sake,
and you know, whatever you want to say is they
say that. But as a player, you just want to
basically win, regardless of the situation. You guys are about
that action while we're over here with a cute little
words and phrases and narratives. I'm here for it. I'm
absolutely here for it. So basically, after a hard fought
(12:34):
first quarter that featured an own five star from Lebron,
but you know that he also had five assists and
three steals. You on the other side of things, you
know Bogy gaps has four blocks and then you know
from Cleveland side of things, they get eight big points
from a career nine point of contest guy in Tristan Thompson.
It was kind of all over but you know for
the you know, but the shouting in this one. You
think about this. Cleveland came out desperate in that first quarter.
(12:56):
Go to State kind of had the fat cat syndrome
where it says that we were one game one um easily.
You know, we're gonna win this series. We gotta no doubt.
We just beat them last season. So Go to State
comes out, you know, scores nineteen points in their first
corter pretty much a low scoring first quarter, and then
next thing, you know, it's like, oh no, this team
is for real. We gotta come out and play because
we lost that quarter. Then they go on to blast
(13:18):
them in the next three charters and play good defense.
That's the key. Now the Warriors are set a new
NBA records. Hey if I'll score the Cavaliers like the
first two. You know, we always talk about offense and
what the Splash Brothers can do. You think about in
the second half. Go to State. We said it before.
They're a good defensive team. You know, they're able to
(13:39):
come out and clamp teams down when they need to.
In a second half, they only allowed thirty three points
to the Cleveland Cavalet. This is a fully healthy Cleveland Cavalist.
So that lets you know right there that this Golden
State Warriors knows how to play defense, can lock you
down when they need be. I have actually some more
on that coming up here, because you know what, just
going through the second quarter quickly, Lebron does everything you
(14:01):
can do. He plays all twelve minutes, he goes five
for seven from the floor, but unfortunately, you know, to
you know, to your point, the rest of the team
was just three for thirteen over that stretch. As at
the same time, the Warriors are getting hot. Draymond goes
three for five from deep in the quarter and the
go and Golden State outscores Cleveland by ten and really
never looks back. The second half is more of the same,
as the Warriors stayed hot, going eleven for sixteen as
(14:22):
a group, including two more threes from Draymond. Rob It
pretty much goes without saying, but in games where Draymond
is hitting the hiding from deep, those Warriors teams, they
felt like they were pretty unstoppable. So I have to
ask you this, and this is actually based mainly on
a quote that came from Clay following this game. Clay
said that that version of the Warriors was better than
(14:42):
the showtime Lakers that featured his dad. I'm gonna ask you,
what about your two thousand one team, who wins the
hypothetical series of between that too? You really want me
to answer that question. I want you to answer that question.
Jon Draymond Green is a great He's a good difensive player,
but he is he can't stop Shack. I know a
lot of people are gonna look back at what happened
(15:03):
to the Lakers back when they played Detroit Pistons, when
you had Wallace Garden Shock. You know, Wallace is a
different diffensive player than Draymond. And they said, because they're gonna,
you know, reference that with Hyke and you forget you
had guys that can stretch the Florida Derek Fisher, Kobe Myself,
Rick Fox, and there there's no way they could stop Shack.
(15:24):
And I know they said, what three is more than two?
But you're eventually gonna miss, you know, three points shot game,
missing no dunks. So he's gonna average fifty in that
game pretty much like he did. And in two thousand
when he won M v P against the Pacers. So
I think hold hardly that we win that series in five.
(15:47):
You said it with your chests. See, it's one thing
to say that, yeah, you would take them because for
all of those reasons, which to be honest with you,
I agree with. But it's a whole other thing to
say it's gonna be a gentleman sweep. I'm not. I'm not.
I'm never going to be upset with someone saying it.
With it. But to go back to the Lebron James,
you know, he what he did in that second quarter.
And this is the thing about great players, they can
(16:08):
make adjustments. He wasn't making his his shots, so he
went to an inside game, he went to attack mode,
and he was posting them more. He had a cup
of spin moves on the baseline or Draymond that were
nice and and that's what players do. Um A lot
of guys keep shooting. They'll keep shooting threes. You know,
Steph is like that, He's gonna keep shooting threes. But
Lebron is a different type of aim. He can he's
(16:30):
not knocking on his jump shots. He's like, you know what,
I'm going into be smoke, which just means I'm gonna
go into paint, I'm gonna score, I'm gonna you know,
dom a drive, a kick. But that's how you can
get yourself going. So that's how Lebron was able to
get himself going, even though he was missing shots over
five like you said, but he was meeting to go.
He was able to go and attack mode and get
buckets in the paint and use his spin modes in
(16:50):
the post. So outside of the turnover battle, the Warriors
literally beat the Calves in every facet of this contest,
you know, from shooting to the battle of the boards,
to assist and beyond. Lebron actually echoed this sentiment in
the post game. We gotta be better at all fasts
of the game, both offensively and defensively, both physically and mentally.
I just got to do a better job. Lebron does
(17:13):
lead the team and scoring with nineteen to go with
the nine cis and eight nine assists and eight rebounds.
Kyrie and Kevin Love went just seven for twenty one
from the floor combined, as the Calves only had three
players and double figures. The Warriors take a two oh
lead with a one ten the seventies seven win in
game two. Alright, so time for another quick break. Game
three is next, when the series shifts to Cleveland and
(17:33):
the Calves are fighting to stay alive. All right, we're
back here on NBA Finals follow Let's go ahead and
jump into Game three. It's crazy that, you know, you
start the finals to relatively evenly matched, you know, teams,
you know that, you know, of course different styles, but
(17:54):
to start the finals off with two straight blowouts, Yeah,
it feels at least unprecedented, yes for me. You know,
you think about the way the Warriors jumped Dome to
Calves in that second game, you know, established a the
dominant and after watching those first two games, you sit
bank said, wow, this is what they won seventy three
games in the season. So they're impressive. You know. Sometimes
(18:18):
you know, maybe that's actually a good point. Maybe it's
simply a matter of yeah, this is a seventy three
win team, so they can do that to some guys.
They can do that to some teams. So with their
collective backs against the walls, the Calves dug deep and
they played like it back home in quicken Loans Arena,
many words were talking about and warts about going to
get it done. I saw them about it. Coach leew
elected to switch to a a small ball lineup, sliding Richard
(18:39):
Jefferson into the starting lineup with Lebron, moving Lebron to
the power forward spot, you know, to replace an injured
Kevin Love. I had act that was one of those
you know, one of those things that I had forgotten about.
Kevin Love goes down in this series for here for
a game and a half because of a concussion. While
they held the Warriors to just seven of twenty shooting
for in the opening quarter, the Calves went fifteen one
in the first on the way to more than bubling
(19:00):
Golden State up with thirty three to six. Team to
Press the time to back up lot down the light
tree from Press, the topic a person's one home. What
does it feel like as the team that absolutely needs
to win when you're when you're able to come out
and jump on top of him like that. The thing
about that, the the adjustments are crucial. If you think
back to the season, what did Steve Kurr do. He
(19:25):
went with the small lineup, you know, now, Tyler like
ding ding ding, light bulb goes on, I'm gonna take
a page out of europlaybook and hit you with a
small a line because I told you this league is
a copycat league. If it works for you, it might
work for me. And even though you know Jr. Didn't
get a lot of playing time, he was vital and
(19:46):
the way he approached the game. You know, he had
been to the finals in New Jersey, so he was
no newcomer to the playoffs. So that was key that
Tyler had the smartest to say, you know what, let's
go small ball, because hey, even though Richard Jefferson is
a small he can play big and then rob this.
You know that this series continue to be weird because
(20:06):
in a crazy twist of fate, the two teams reversed
courses in the second quarter, with Lebron and Kyrie, you know,
somehow combining to go just two for seventeen, while on
the other side of things, Harrison, Barton and Clay they
combined to go seven for nine. Is the Warriors actually
pulled back to within single digits by halftime. I'm wondering that,
and this is kind of a two parter. Did you
notice any specific adjustments by either team in the second
(20:26):
quarter or was this just a matter of two great
teams slugging it out. I think it's you know, two
great teams looking at But you have to go back
to the start of this game with Tyler was like, okay,
I was on this bench last year and we lost
to go to the State. Go to State. Made a
significant move by going small, So you know what, let
me start Richard Jefferson's instead. You know, even though we
(20:48):
know Kevin Love was out, but he still went small.
He could have went big, we went he went small,
and so he started with Richard Jefferson at the force part.
And Richard Jeffersons don't forget he has playoff experience. He's
been to the finals, so he was primarily ready to go.
So that to me was a key move. But also
understanding that when your guys aren't playing well, your big
(21:08):
dogs put them in a position to be successful, make
them go to old school basketball, pick and rows, uh,
push the basketball, push the pace. And also with our
j on that team, Richard Jefferson, he has that veteran ear.
He knows how to get those guys going because he played.
(21:28):
He didn't have great numbers, but he played a significant role,
almost identical to Iggy. So actually taking it taking that
a step further, you know, based on something that you
just said. How else does it make things easier for
guys like Lebron and Kyrie having a small a small balls,
you know, big in there like Richard Jefferson. Does they
open up new you know, driving lanes? Does it give
(21:49):
you a little bit more space? Like? How? How does
how does that adjustment help? It allows you to drive
more on the offensive end, and it allows you to
switch more on the defensive end. So on the office
vent you can spread the floor, especially when you have
Tristan Thompson who's a great pick setter. He sets to
pick for Kyrie. Kyrie, we all know his ball handing
(22:09):
skills is probably the best that we've ever seen. You know,
he can be able to get those skills to get
to the cup, draw the defense, kick to those guys
that are spotting up for threes, and even Lebron. Lebron
gets that pick and roll, he's gonna be going downhill
and Lebron is going down him and going towards the basket.
There's nobody can stop him. He's either gonna get the
and one, he's gonna dunk on you, or he's gonna
(22:30):
go to the free thrown because you have to wrap
him up. So I think those three things are key
for Lebron. Pick and roll, Kyrie pick and roll and
spreading on the floor, those are three keys for that.
But I'm more interested on the defensive vent because now
when you got the splash brothers um, and you've got
these guys coming off picking rolls, everybody's the same size.
Now you can switch and I had to worry about
(22:52):
helping so much, and you can stay home on the shooters.
Speaking of that stephan Iguadala. They were actually strong in
the second half, especially in the third, but you know,
unfortunately for them, Cleveland got hot once again and actually
put this game away relatively early on Kyrie. Every from
White Downtown, the Calves have responses. Takes the three fires
a three from your experience, can you remember another Finals
(23:18):
with quite so many significant swings of this nature? Uh No,
I cannot um think about blow out game to blow
out game three. And you really don't see that in
the finals that much because teams are so evenly matched.
You might see a team you know, go down like
twenty points, twenty five points, and now of a sudden,
the teams do you know what, we've lost this one.
We can go sit it down, you know, and and
(23:39):
and the reserves come in and they play a little
bit and increase that league. Um. But other than you
see in teams like this of balance and you have
back to back blowouts, this is unheard of. So Kurt,
you know, I I feel like he was right along
with you in that one. He actually winds up acknowledging
that the Calves punched them in the mouths at the
start of this. You know, in his postgame comment he
(24:00):
goes as far as to call his own team soft,
you know, for their efforts in this one. Rob as
a player and a team, what does it do to
you when you hear your coach any messages through the
media like that, um, because you have to look at
yourself and realize, we played soft. We let these guys
come out, We gave him no resistance. We pretty much
let them do whatever they want on the floor, and
(24:22):
then we made our run. They made their run, and
then we were able to stop me Because most successful
teams you're able to stop one run and you do
allow a lot of second to happen. In this series, well,
in this game, I should say, look at it. Kevali
has had multiple runs and to be successful in the game,
(24:42):
you can get by with one, but multiple ones you're
gonna get an l or you can get blown out
like the Warriors dead in this game. Exactly that, because
Cleveland winds up taking this game three one ninety and
now at least Ball of Black James up for it,
passes over the irving live back to James team up
and that well do it. The Cavaliers playing game three
(25:06):
by thirty points. They got huge nights from lebron Kyrie
and j R. Smith, who eats combined for honestly just
eight less points than the Warriors did as a team
in this one. Jefferson presence with the starters, you really
seem to make a difference, as did. You know, it's
funny because we alluded to him not really putting up
huge numbers, but his nine points and eight boards in
(25:27):
thirty three big minutes of action, Like, I absolutely feel
like those were the difference in this game. Yeah, you know,
fourth for seven being efficient and that's what we talk about.
I think about those offensive rebounds he got. Those lead
to buckets and when you're able to get second chance points,
it makes it easier for the team, and it puts
you know, the other team on the hills and go
to state when they went small to match up with that.
(25:49):
Richard Jefferson is a big you know, he's really a
big and a small man's body. He's strong, he's athletic,
he got crazy hops and so he's able to keep
balls alive and play him do different things for them
on both ends of the floor. So, speaking of spreading
it out, in this one in particular, the Calves shot
twelve or twenty five from deep. They won the rebound
battle thirty fifty two to thirty two, and even turned
the ball over less, you know, five less times, you know,
(26:12):
eighteen to thirteen. There's really no other way to say it.
Steve Kerr was exactly right. They whooped them in every
single way. Everybody got a plan to get punched in
the mouth. This is true, the great Mike Tyson, true
professional game tonight man. We needed everything that that showed
up in the box score and everything that didn't show
up in the box score. It's a big time. So
go into game four, who you're heading into it, it's
(26:33):
you know, we're wondering can the Calves tie things up?
At two two before heading back to Oakland. You gotta
play faster being be on the attack, be the investor
all night. All right. I don't care if it makes
mess in transition, but we got to attack them right
prior to Game four. You know, we haven't mentioned this,
but Stephane only scored forty eight points in the series combined,
you know, and he was facing the usual criticisms, you know,
(26:55):
when one of the greats are the all time greats,
there's subpar in the series. But he definitely answered the
call on this one. So Rob, I'm interested in what
I'm interested in what players think in general about the
basketball conversations when it comes to analysts and bloggers, you know,
particularly when it comes to social media. Admittedly, while there
are absolutely reporters and writers that are out there, you know,
(27:15):
simply trying to provide you know, game analysis, much of
the general conversation these days tends to sway towards the negative,
almost incessantly pointing out flaws and or perceived weaknesses rather
than you know, what felt like a slightly more straightforward
approach when we were coming up, How did you guys
as players feel about the general conversation when it comes
to basketball. For me, I normally try not to read
(27:38):
anything during the playoffs because we, yeah, we as players
know they have to make they have to have a story,
and sometimes those stories they nit picked. But a lot
of times, as certain star players, I know, I've seen
this with Shack, I've seen this with Kobe, and I've
seen this with Manu. You read what is written about
you and next thing you know you're going was as gasoline,
(28:01):
gasoline and fuel your fire. And a lot of great
ones do that. And I think we know Steph he's
gonna read stuff, He's gonna hear stuff. He's a matter
of fact, there's so much press around during the finals,
someone's gonna mistion not once, not twice, but three times
the same question. And so it's just fuel to his fire.
And I think he uses that to to get locked in,
(28:23):
to engage and go out and play better the next thing.
Not just stiff though. I say that with a lot
of great players. They all do that and they know
how to to take with the reporters say, oh, with
the public is saying and use that for feel all right,
Speaking of fuel, not only does Curry go seven for
thirteen from deep on his way to a thirty eight
point six and his five rebound game. But he's joined
by Clay and Barnes, and the three of them combined
(28:45):
for fifteen twenty seven from deep. They just blitzed them
from behind the yard. To think about that, if you've
watched that that game, Steph Will started out hot, and
now we all know as basketball players and as whoever
it is, you have to stop the star. You have to,
you know, stop that star from shining so bright. And
Steph was doing it. But when the others step up,
(29:07):
you know, you got Barns four for five from three.
You got Clay, who's really not an other he's a
star in his arm right. He's a part of that
Splash Brother's crew. He's hitting four for nine. And when
I got a guy like andre Iggy that comes out
and goes two for five from three, those two or
his equivalent to steps six or seven whatever he hits
in the game because people not expecting that, and now
(29:28):
you as a player, like, I'm not leaving my guy.
He just hit the three, you're on your own, and
that allows Steph to get open. And then it's just
about Steph's ability to shoot. And we just talked about
Kyrie's ability to handling the rock. If you watch this game,
this is where STEP's ball, Helen starts coming in and
(29:48):
play and people starts realizing, Wow, Steph got some handles too,
because you have a couple of moments there where he
dribbles in and out and they was still step back
and hit the threes. And the thing I love best
about his threes that he's making, he's already turning another
way to get back down to the court because he
knows his money. That's how hot he was here. If
I can clevelands Curry steps back there three for Curry,
(30:11):
he had that one three in the corner and I
was like, Oh, they're in trouble because this dude is
on fire. Bighead fire, NBA jam type of fire. I
love it. In BAJM reference a dollar to tops tops
it out to Curry freak Horter that one of the
things I've always appreciated about Steff was that, like, you know, yes,
(30:33):
he's a little you know he's a smaller guy. He's
not a little guy. He's bigger than you know, he's
a smaller guy, but he talks his talk. Curry a
dollar shot block a seventh Curry fakes puts up a trade.
Shine like, I've always been here for the shimmy, and
I've always been here for all of that, But I'm
interested as a competitor. Steps, you know, steps knocking down
(30:54):
threes and turning around and running down the other way.
Does that does that get Does it get to you
just a little bit more because because he's doing it,
and because you know there's really nothing you can do
about it. Well, you know, I played in the area
where the shimmy wasn't allowed, so I can't really come
in on that because if someone shimy do us, we
brought them up a pick and we just laid him
out and say, yo, don't try that and don't try
to embarrass it. So, you know, it was a different time,
(31:14):
a different area then, but you know, to think about
it now, every player does it. Everybody goes out and
they have a good time. That's the one great thing
about basketball. Guys are allowed to express themselves so much.
And Steph, he simmy's a lot. He knocked down the
three threes a lot. He's great at it. He's one
of the great ones. You don't want him to do it,
don't let him do it. That it really boils down there.
(31:36):
So the game was still highly competitive throughout, you know,
until the Cows wound up going the final six thirty
six of the fourth without scoring the field goal. In fact,
the game was tied at eight one with just under
eleven minutes left when the Warriors Bridge basically just separated themselves.
Once again, it was the others doing a lot of
the damage in the final quarter. Barnes made several threes, Igua,
(31:57):
Dolla and Levinston each made jumpers and their key contributions
as well, and in step basically helps close the show
with two layups the three and six straight free throws
to kind of salted away down the stretch. Rob There's
one play that we have to discuss, and while it
didn't necessarily have an impact on the outcome of this contest,
it I do think it changes the course of this series,
(32:17):
as the Calves definitely seemed to rally around their star.
It came with just under three minutes left and what
was the ten point game at the time. Lebron and
dre they get tangled up um and and the sending
Draymond to the floor as Lebron tries to step over
him like it should it should be no, it should
be mentioned Lebron is definitely stepping over him. At this point,
(32:37):
Draymond swings up and wax him into growing the Barnes free.
The James chowing at each other, will play the tenures
like a dollar to pull off that won't go and
a couple of fouls gonna be called chantning Cry getting
into tween Lebron, James and sensed Green starting to walk away,
(33:03):
James has more words. Raymond Green is one flagrant foul
and two technicals away from being suspended. And it takes
a little swing that misses after the objected the James
stepping over him. The conversation continued, the bumping and shoving,
and they're the double foul ball by Danny Crawford. Double
foul does not result in any free throws. Obviously, each
(33:25):
player picks up a personal the Green it's his third,
make that his fourth, and for James it's his third. Well,
let's see if they're gonna give out any technicals as well,
and that is that's important from Golden state standpoint. In
Green and his technical fowl total. James usually doesn't respond
(33:46):
like that, especially if the ball is still in plays
this physical play. Again, we talked about it from the
start of the game. It's been a physical game. What
do have contact a double foul? While I know that
you know just about everything is generally fair in the battle,
is there a line that's simply too far when dealing
(34:06):
with your fellow competitors. There's a line that should be drawn.
And when you think of players stepping over other players,
of course everybody thinks of Alan Iverson stepping over Tyler,
and people think that Alan Iverson did his patent a
crossover and Tyler fell, but it wasn't that. Then you
think about Scottie Pippen duncan on Patrick ewing and pushed
him down and stepping over him. You've got all these
(34:29):
scenarios that going. But this one was where Lebron was
just trying to, you know, get to the other side
of the court, and Draymond didn't like it. Everything. No,
it's not a player allowed it likes to be stepped
over because it's an embarrassment. It's almost like you're trying
to degrade me. And I know Lebron he probably wasn't
even thinking about it. But Draymond, being a guy he is,
he's a competitor. He feels like you're trying to disrespect me,
(34:49):
and so he kind of like say, Nope, you're not
gonna do this and swung up. And you gotta also understand,
in big moments like this, you got to be calm,
cool and collective. And sometimes Draymond gets a little hot headed,
and that leads me to wonder, but Lebron, knowing this
and players do that, did he do that to see
(35:10):
if you could give reaction Draymond? He playing a game
within the game, the chest, not checkers. I'm not mad
at that. I had never considered that, but you know,
it wouldn't shock me given how you know, for one,
given how all of you guys as competitors will study
your opponents, but they actually had a personal relationship and
continue to have a personal and professional relationship. I do wonder.
(35:32):
I think that's I think that's a good point. I
do wonder if he knew, and maybe maybe if I
rub it in a little bit, step over him, you know,
give him, give him, give him the AI right quick.
You know he'll do something, which he did, which he did.
The Golden State Warriors take a commanding three games to
one lead. So the Warriors. They wind up taking this
one one O eight ninety seven to take the three
(35:52):
series three one series lead. I don't even know why
that's a question. Their chances of winning this series zero
as far as I'm concerned. Everybody is saying that we
can't get this done and it's over. No team has
ever come back from three one. But I was just calm.
I started just automatically thinking about how we can be
better for game five. I sent every guy a text
(36:14):
that night and told him, don't listen to nobody right
now besides the fourteen guys in the locker room, the
coaching staff. Let's make history. But on that note, let's
actually rob let's go ahead and in Part one here
with the Warriors up, everyone, what could go wrong? You know,
they seem like they're in a good spot, right, Yeah.
Nobody's ever lost in the finals three winning up three
(36:35):
one nobody, Yeah, exactly, So we're about to witness history
in Part two,
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