Ethan Sears
Is Cleveland able to switch with the same effectiveness they did in the 2016 Finals?
A simple fact of defending Golden State is that, unless you can switch, you’re screwed. From high-post split cuts to off-ball screens to the constant motion that defines their offense, it’s just impossible to defend that much action without switching. Otherwise, somebody will fall behind. Somebody will mess up.
Last year, the Cavs started winning when they started switching and, more importantly, switching with effectiveness. Tristan Thompson was able to contain Curry on the perimeter. Famously, Kevin Love saved the day when Curry had the chance to tie Game 7 with the big man switched onto the perimeter.
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But Kevin Durant changes things. Last year, Curry was Golden State’s only real deterrent to switches — the only player who could consistently punish big guys off the dribble. Sure, Draymond Green has an advantage over Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson over Kevin Love, but those are at least navigable for the defense.
The Warriors won’t stop everything to put Draymond in the post against a mismatch, Thompson isn’t a great ball-handler, though he’s made strides when it comes to getting to the basket. If you’re the Cavs, you take switches if it means you aren’t dealing with the constant breakdowns that doing anything else creates.
Durant, however, will isolate and punish guards. Give him a mismatch to work with and he’ll put the ball in the post and score.
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Moreover, the Cavs’ bench is a defensive disaster. Cleveland has avoided all-bench lineups for this reason. But Channing Frye, Kyle Korver and Deron Williams have shared the floor for 79 minutes this postseason and allowed 119.9 points per 100 possessions. The Cavs’ second-most used lineup during the postseason — James, those three, and Iman Shumpert — has a -9.6 net rating, thanks entirely to defense.
Switching everything with any of the bench guys on the floor, sans-Shumpert, is tough, even when the Warriors have less threatening guys like Shaun Livingston or Javale McGee on the floor. Breakdowns are more likely, and, even without them, the Warriors can beat guys like Korver and Williams 1-on-1.
The Cavs have been better overall defensively since the start of the postseason. But this is still a team that was 22nd in defensive rating during the regular season. Golden State is a different animal than any of their other playoff opponents — they were the league’s best offensive team during the regular season — and an even tougher nut to crack than last season. The Cavs solved them to win the 2016 Finals, but surviving on switches will be even harder this time around.
