OAKLAND, CALIF: After his disappearing act Thursday in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Tristan Thompson knows he has to go back to being the Cavaliers’ rock.
As in the Rock, of professional wrestling fame.
Of all the glaring issues the Cavs must fix going into Sunday night’s Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena, one that stuck out besides their 20 turnovers was their lack of physicality. It was easy to see why the Cavs knew they needed Andrew Bogut, even though the big man’s stint in Cleveland lasted only 58 seconds before he suffered a broken leg.
The tough, 7-foot Australian who can clog the lane would have come in handy when the Cavs were getting outscored 56-30 in the paint, 42-16 in the first half, many on Kevin Durant driving layups or dunks. Bogut was a factor for the Warriors in last year’s Finals until he was hurt in Game 5, when the Cavs began their rally from a 3-1 deficit.
Physicality was a point the Cavs made after the game, and it continued to be a focus Saturday before practice at the Warriors’ facility in downtown Oakland.
“It’s going to be a wrestling match, like WWE down there,” Thompson said. “Just got to be active. It might not show up in the first quarter or the second quarter, but as the game goes on you’ve got to wear their bigs down. In the third quarter, fourth quarter, we start getting those big offensive rebounds that change the game. That’s my approach for tomorrow.
“That’s going to be a very important factor in the series — which team is more physical.”
Forward Kevin Love said the Cavs must set the tone by making the Warriors “feel us,” not only in transition but in their half-court defense.
Of course, the Cavs’ approach will be no surprise. Warriors interim coach Mike Brown, directing the team while Steve Kerr battles complications from multiple back surgeries, knows what to expect.
“They’re going to grab a little bit more and try to knock us off our routes and do what they can to disrupt whatever we try to do offensively,” Brown said. “We have played teams in the past that have been real physical with us, so we feel like we’ll be OK.”
Cavs guard J.R. Smith didn’t agree with a suggestion that they would “dirty up the game” as they ramp up their effort.
“Dirtying up the game, I don’t know about that,” Smith said. “Kicking people in the [groin], I don’t know about that. We’ll just play physical. Some people don’t like physicality.”
Cavs guard Kyrie Irving said that must be their mentality from the start.
“We definitely have to come out with that if we have any chance. But the team that’s going to win that battle is who can sustain it for the longest,” Irving said. “We want to be that team.”
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue agreed, saying, “You have to be the first one to hit. I thought they hit us first.”
Of course, that’s not Lue’s only concern. He said the Cavs must “stop the ball,” especially when it comes to Durant, who scored 38 points with eight rebounds and eight assists. The Warriors had a 21-6 advantage in points off turnovers as Golden State matched an NBA Finals record for the fewest turnovers with four. The Warriors also had a 27-9 edge in fast-break points and came up with 12 steals and 16 deflections, compared to the Cavs’ zero steals and eight deflections. The Warriors got 22 50-50 balls to the Cavs’ six.
Eight of the 20 turnovers were lost by LeBron James, his most in a Finals game.
“We had a lot of unforced turnovers. Some of them was aggression,” James said. “I had two charges — that’s aggression, I can take those. But I also had some where I got caught up in the air, trying to make some skip passes, and they were able to pick them off. Those are like pick-sixes. It’s like throwing the ball to Deion Sanders. For the most part, it’s going to be a touchdown going the other way.”
For the Cavs, the spotlight will be on James, who had a plus/minus of minus-22 (a team-worst) despite 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in 40 minutes, and Thompson, who went scoreless with just four rebounds (three offensive) in 22 minutes before being benched.
Asked to assess his Game 1 performance, Thompson said, “Trash. Trash. I have to be better. I have to bring more energy. It’s something for them to keep me off the glass. You have to make it tough for them and just try to wear them out. Make them run a lot of pick-and-rolls.
“Playing against the Warriors, you can’t just play hard. You have to play hard to a level where it’s past the thermostat. Guys have to be reminded — I have to be reminded — that against this team, you have to go balls out.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.