Cavs’ Thompson rendered a non-factor in Game 1 — One of the players on just
about everyone’s short list of potential X-factors for The Finals was Cleveland
Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson. Yet after a solid showing throughout the
playoffs, Thompson was not able to do his usual work on the glass in the Cavs’
Game 1 loss, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com:
Tristan Thompson knows the sound well, when a boisterous crowd goes silent as
he’s pulling down an offensive rebound and giving the explosive Cavaliers
another offensive possession. He sees the exasperated look on the opponent’s
face and shoulders begin to drop.
He saw that look again Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, only this
time it came from the guys in navy, wine and gold.
“It’s deflating,” Thompson said of the Warriors’ offensive rebounds.
Thompson — who has become a menace this time of year, when possessions are
vital — entered the Finals series brimming with confidence, knowing the smaller
Warriors could have problems with his hustle and muscle. He had given Golden
State issues in the past, an overlooked story during back-to-back wins to force
a Game 7 last year. All those gritty plays were buried underneath the brilliance
of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
But in Game 1, Thompson was ineffective, as the Warriors pushed their lead to a
point where Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue had to pull his big man off the floor
midway through the third quarter.
“Once we got down, we decided to go to the offensive lineup, the offensive
unit,” Lue said. “And with Tristan, he’s a monster on the boards. So they’re
putting two or three guys on him to block him out so he can’t rebound the
basketball.”
…
His rim protection, at the center of the team’s defensive turnaround in the
playoffs, was nonexistent. The undersized, “jump-shooting” Warriors pounded the
Cavs in the paint, scoring 56 points, including numerous dunks and layups.
…
“We kept Tristan off the boards to the best of our abilities,” said JaVale
McGee, who had more rebounds than Thompson despite playing six total minutes.
“You can’t be worried about getting the rebound yourself. That’s where most
people go wrong with him. We just tried to box him out so he wasn’t able to give
them a spark.”
The playoffs are oftentimes about possessions. Because of the head-scratching
turnovers and the second-chance points, the Cavs took 20 fewer shots than the
Warriors in Game 1, something that is certainly correctable. But only if
Thompson bounces back from his forgettable zero-point-four-rebound performance.
* * *
Report: Kerr hasn’t been ruled out for Game 2 yet — The Golden State Warriors
have a 1-0 NBA Finals lead after last night’s win. They got that victory without
coach Steve Kerr leading the charge, as they have gotten many of their wins in
these playoffs. While Kerr’s status remains as up in the air as ever, the good
news is he hasn’t been ruled out yet for Game 2. Ramona Shelburne and Chris
Haynes of ESPN.com have more:
If Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr feels well over the next few days
without any setbacks, there remains some optimism he could coach Sunday in Game
2 of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources told ESPN.
“He may coach Sunday. He’s feeling better,” a source close to Kerr told ESPN’s
Marc Spears.
Kerr had been feeling well enough earlier this week to be hopeful that he would
be able to coach in Game 1 on Thursday, but according to team sources, after he
had a bad day Wednesday, he decided it was best for acting head coach Mike Brown
to continue leading the team.
Brown urged Kerr to wait until game time to make a final decision about coaching
Game 1, but Kerr felt he needed to string together several good days in a row
before returning.
Kerr watched Game 1 with Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton as Brown tallied
his 11th consecutive victory with a 113-91 rout of his former team at Oracle
Arena.
…
Kerr doesn’t want to be a distraction, but the team doesn’t view this situation
as such and is committed to seeing the process through.
* * *
Davidson’s death closes chapter of Pistons’ history — Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars,
Dennis Rodman, Mark Aguire, Bill Laimbeer and others comprised the on-court
heart and soul of the Detroit Pistons’ “Bad Boys” championship teams of the late
1980s and early ’90s. While those faces are alive and well, the passing of
former GM Jack McCloskey on Thursday means the last of the men who helped make
those Pistons teams has gone. Tony Paul of The Detroit News has more:
Three men were considered the architects of one of the greatest sports teams
ever assembled, the 1990s Pistons “Bad Boys.”
Owner Bill Davidson died in 2009 at age 86, coach Chuck Daly died later in 2009
at 78. And on Thursday, general manager Jack McCloskey died at 91, the Pistons
announced.
McCloskey had been battling Alzheimer’s Disease in recent years, a diagnosis
made public last month.
“It’s scary almost to think about that,” said George Blaha, the longtime Pistons
broadcaster, “that none of them are with us anymore.
“He was an amazing guy, and his name hangs from the rafters for a good reason.
He built one of the greatest teams in NBA history, and one of the most important
and popular teams in Detroit and Michigan history.
“Everybody knows about the ‘Bad Boys,’ and he was the architect of the ‘Bad
Boys.'”
…
In 1981, he used the second overall pick in the draft to select a sophomore
guard out of Indiana named Isiah Thomas, and the rest is history — thanks to
good drafting (Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, John Salley), as well as shrewd and in
many places gutsy trades (Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Vinnie Johnson, Mark
Aguire), earning him the moniker, “Trader Jack.”
So fearless with trades, in fact, he once offered the Lakers his entire Pistons
roster for Earvin “Magic” Johnson, according to longtime Pistons beat writer
Keith Langlois.
“He would always listen,” Blaha said. “When the Pistons weren’t quite good
enough, he tried to make them better. One thing he did do, he did stay with the
guys who won in 1989 and ’90, even though they didn’t get back to the Finals in
1991.
“Those were his guys. You could see him walking off the court with tears in his
eyes. He was as much of a ‘Bad Boy’ as anybody.”
…
McCloskey left the team after a first-round playoff exit in 1992 — seeing the
writing on the wall, Daly left, too, to coach New Jersey — and later worked
briefly for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors.
But he’ll best be remembered for his time in Detroit. In 2006, McCloskey was
enshrined into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, and was honored by the Pistons
in 2008 when his name was placed on a banner and sent to the rafters of The
Palace. His name will be moved this fall to the rafters at Detroit’s Little
Caesars Arena, the Pistons’ new home.
“When Jack had his name raised to the rafters by the Pistons,” Blaha said, “his
son said to some of us, ‘No matter how much you think this means to my Dad, it
means even more.’ Jack was an emotional guy in his own way, and truly
appreciated the fact the Pistons appreciated him.”
* * *
SOME RANDOM HEADLINES: ICYMI, Stephen Curry debuted his new shoe during Game 1
of The Finals … Great way to soak in everything that happened in Game 1 of The
Finals … The Hang Time Podcast crew gathered for a quick, postgame breakdown
of Game 1 … Advertisements on the Detroit Pistons’ jerseys are ‘in the works’
… Great story about Miami Heat star Hassan Whiteside buying a house for his
mom …
