Thoughts on Warriors Cavaliers matchup?

[cdubbz]

Whats your guys thoughts on how the new look Cavaliers matchup with the World Champs?

Cavaliers looked to be a wreck when Kyrie Irving announced his trade request but Cavaliers reloaded with depth and Dwayne Wade The Cavs matchup with Warriors pretty damn good in small ball and even have an advantage if they play Love at Center to start the game. They're depth is deep as Warriors imo with Rose, Jeff Green, JR Smith, Korver, and other dude they got from Celtics (forgot his name)

Overall it's gonna be another nice year of competition for us!

[azwfan]

Cavs got better IMO. Playing Crowder instead of Shumpert should be a huge upgrade for them.
No idea what Wade/Thomas/Rose will give them as opposed to Irving / Williams... but assuming healthy, they should be tougher.
Rose should give them more than Deron did. And between Isaiah and Wade, Lebron will have a chance to rest.

Curry - Thomas
Klay - Wade
Iguodala - Crowder
Durant - Lebron
Green - Love

Livingston - Rose
Zaza - Tristan
Young - JR Smith
Casspi - Korver

Looks like a fun match up to me.
We still have our X factor - JaVaaaaaale McGee! (and maybe Jordan Bell :hope :pray)

Edit: I think its interesting to point out the Wade / Klay matchup. Klay is clearly the better player... but doesn't seem to come through (offensively) in the finals for us. He needs to outplay Wade.

Also, who would Curry guard? If Curry guards Crowder, he's gonna need to keep him off the boards. Curry is gonna burn through a ton of energy to keep up with IT.

[The-Power]

Also, who would Curry guard?

Thomas, Wade, Rose, Crowder. I don't see a problem there.

[SFrush]

They're still a mess defensively. Unless something drastic changes on that end nothing will really change my thoughts on how they matchup with us.

[FrigginFalcon]

Sometimes, the whole is LESS than the sum of its parts. Lots of individuals and combos that have never played before in Cleveland, while the Dubs have all 5 starters AND a full roster of solid reserves back (McGee, West, Iggy, Shaun, McCaw), PLUS three promising additions (Young, Casspi, Bell), PLUS two returning youngsters (Jones, Looney).

MAYBE one of these semi-random combinations of good players (CLE, BOS, OKC, HOU) will come together by playoff time, but my bet is still on the Dubs for talent AND consistency, and for the same reason, for the Spurs as the biggest threat.

[azwfan]

Also, who would Curry guard?

Thomas, Wade, Rose, Crowder. I don't see a problem there.

My worry about Curry on D is him getting worn out. Wade, Crowder and Rose can all overpower him while Thomas is a quick son of a gun. I think Crowder is the best choice, but whatever. In all likelihood we switch a lot and Curry ends up on Lebron more than we'd like and we make CLE beat us from the perimeter.

[turk3d]

I think that with Rose (and later Thomas) they're better at the PG position defensively (with Rose) and distribution wise (Thomas and Rose Rose slightly). The one question mark is Love at Center. I think Draymond gives him a very difficult time and do hot think he's going to fare too well against your top Centers. It remains to be seen what his threat from the outside will do to compensate for his lack of size in the paint.

[CS707]

I think they have to flip that pick into a really good player for what they brought in to offset the loss of Kyrie.

[FrigginFalcon]

I think that with Rose (and later Thomas) they're better at the PG position defensively (with Rose) and distribution wise (Thomas and Rose Rose slightly). The one question mark is Love at Center. I think Draymond gives him a very difficult time and do hot think he's going to fare too well against your top Centers. It remains to be seen what his threat from the outside will do to compensate for his lack of size in the paint.

I think that Love at Center positively INVITES the "Death Lineup," with McGee and Bell available at Center for variety without compromising speed. Dubs' bench goes plenty deep to play all night without West or Pachulia, and without any big bangers down low, there's no downside for the Warriors.

Also, without giving up a height, bulk,or hops advantage, I'd be interested to see what McGee's low-post game would look like vs. Love. A few buckets down low, and it could loosen up the perimeter a bit.

[The Hack]

Does. Not. Matter.
We will be so much better as a cohesive unit this year...I think they'll go through a lot of chemistry stuff. Not enough to stop them from getting there, but they won't keep up with our level of play

[The-Power]

Also, who would Curry guard?

Thomas, Wade, Rose, Crowder. I don't see a problem there.

My worry about Curry on D is him getting worn out. Wade, Crowder and Rose can all overpower him while Thomas is a quick son of a gun. I think Crowder is the best choice, but whatever. In all likelihood we switch a lot and Curry ends up on Lebron more than we'd like and we make CLE beat us from the perimeter.

Good luck trying to keep up with out offense by isolating or posting-up Curry with guys like current Wade, Rose or Crowder. That's a recipe for desaster for the Cavs, so they'll try to force Curry to switch onto LeBron either way as you correctly stated. Thomas is tough to handle IF he comes back as spry as he was but he's going to have to guard someone at the other end, too – and that's much greater for us than any advantage he could give them against Curry.

[HiRez]

IMO they fleeced Boston on the trade (considering they had no leverage at all) and saved what looked like a looming disaster. However, Thomas' health is still obviously in question and one of the best parts of the trade for them, the pick, won't be a factor until at least next year. Having Crowder will be a plus but he's not a game-changer. Wade could help stabilize their bench a bit but you aren't beating the Warriors with your bench.

With regard to the Warriors, Kyrie was a real thorn in our side in certain games so his removal hurts. I still think they have only a tiny chance of beating the Warriors if everyone is healthy. In other words they'll need to get extremely lucky, like Steph, Klay, and KD all go ice cold from the field in multiple games, Draymond gets suspended, or whatever.

[Quazza]

everyone healthy ?

4-1

[Duke4life831]

I think they match up a lot worse with us now honestly. Wade and Rose are ball dominant players that cant shoot and neither can defend. IT is arguably the worst defensive perimeter player in the league and we have seem to always give him trouble throughout his career, I believe his numbers against GS is some of the worst for him vs any team. They're also banking on Crowder's shot being legit, lets remember his 3pt shooting %s in his career are 32, 33, 29, 33 then 39%. I think Crowder is a great pickup if he can keep up that 39% shooting but if it falls back down to the low 30s, I dont see him as all that big of a threat. I think they have gotten easier to guard while not really getting any better defensively.

[East Bay Sports]

They don't have a chance against a healthy Warriors team

[turk3d]

I think that with Rose (and later Thomas) they're better at the PG position defensively (with Rose) and distribution wise (Thomas and Rose Rose slightly). The one question mark is Love at Center. I think Draymond gives him a very difficult time and do hot think he's going to fare too well against your top Centers. It remains to be seen what his threat from the outside will do to compensate for his lack of size in the paint.

I think that Love at Center positively INVITES the "Death Lineup," with McGee and Bell available at Center for variety without compromising speed. Dubs' bench goes plenty deep to play all night without West or Pachulia, and without any big bangers down low, there's no downside for the Warriors.

Also, without giving up a height, bulk,or hops advantage, I'd be interested to see what McGee's low-post game would look like vs. Love. A few buckets down low, and it could loosen up the perimeter a bit.

The problem with Javale and Love is him guarding Love when he goes out to the 3Pt line. If Javale comes out, it takes away from his effectiveness in help defense on the low block. I think that Kerr (from what we've just seen in our first game) will be more inclined to go with Draymond, Durant and Bell against Love when we play them. For sure, on offense Javale should be able to eat Love up but I don't see that happening because of the way it appears that Kerr is going to be playing it. Total disrepect by Kerr to Javale. Even played Looney some minutes. Would giving McGee a few have hurt us all the much if not at all? Houston I think will be our biggest threat in the West this season.

[Mylie10]

Turk.....I'm completely positive that Kerr is NOT disrespecting Javale, and that he let him know he was going to go with the young guys. I seriously doubt Kerr is disrespecting anyone.

Give it up on that point.

[Warriorfan]

What they gain in Crowder on Defense is lost in IT on defense. Livingston and Thompson have good post games for guards.

Seems like Cavs are picking up past their prime players doubling down on offense where they would have been better off picking up D League guys who will play tough D.

Warriors should have better chemistry and now have more fire power in bench scoring with Young and Casspi.