Black Friday is Now! Don’t miss out on up to 60% OFF InvestingProCLAIM SALE

Cavaliers mull over possible Game Five tweaks

Published 06/13/2015, 10:08 PM
Updated 06/13/2015, 10:14 PM
© Reuters. NBA: Playoffs-Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers

(Reuters) - Just as Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr did not want to reveal details of an altered game plan for Game Four, his Cleveland Cavaliers counterpart did not want to tip his hand for Game Five.

Cavaliers head coach David Blatt was asked how he would counter Kerr's decision to go smaller with his starting five last Thursday, replacing center Andrew Bogut with swing-man Andre Iguodala.

Iguodala scored 22 points in the 103-82 win in Cleveland to tie the NBA Finals at 2-2 with Game Five at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Sunday.

"I think that we've made more than our share of adjustments throughout the course of the entire playoffs, not only in this series," said Blatt, referring to the adjustments he has been forced to make because of injuries to starters Kevin Love (shoulder), Kyrie Irving (knee) and a suspension to J.R. Smith.

"Every game brings out new things and certainly presents new challenges. If you look at the one game, it makes you think ‘okay, we've got to change this, that and the other thing.' If you look at the four games, in three out of four of those games we were pretty good doing the things that we did. So I think you'll see a combination of both of those possibilities.

"We've got to continue to do certain things really well. What we need to change, we will."

If Cavaliers superstar LeBron James has his way, he wants his coach to stick with the team's starting five of James, Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov.

"In this case with our bigs, Timo and Tristan, Timo's starting off on (Iguodala), it's a different match up than Bogut, obviously," James said.

"You've got a guy that's primarily on the perimeter in Game Four versus guarding a guy that's always in the paint, for the most part, unless he's initiating offense.

"So it's definitely a different change for us. But I think we'll be much more prepared for it tomorrow night if they go with the same lineup.

© Reuters. NBA: Playoffs-Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers

"We're going to play our game. We've gotten to this point by playing the way we play, and we're not going to change. We'll make adjustments throughout the game, but we won't change our starting lineup."

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.