Five Storylines To Watch in Game 2 Of the NBA Finals

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Turnovers were the tale of the tape in Game 1. Golden State had only four—tying an NBA Finals record for the fewest in a game—while Cleveland had 20. Expect those numbers to be more even Sunday. The Cavs need to limit Golden State’s extra possessions, so protecting the orange will be vital.

Of particular interest: how many TOs will King James commit? He had eight Thursday.

Klay Thompson is always valuable when he’s on the court. Even when this half of the Splash Brothers isn’t, well, splashing, he’s one of the best wing defenders in the NBA. The Warriors keeping him out there to guard Kyrie Irving is a no-brainer—but Golden State would certainly prefer it if Klay could get his stroke back.

In Thompson’s last 16 games, he’s shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from 3. That’s a far cry from his usual efficiency. His career averages are 45.3 and 41.9, respectively.

Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are on fire right now. If Klay starts feeling it and joins the party, the Warriors could hang 130 on Cleveland’s porous defense.

If you look at the numbers from the past two Finals matchups plus Game 1 of this year, the strategy the Cavs need to implement seems clear: slow the game down and turn it into a slugfest. This is pretty intuitive; Golden State has more firepower, and you simply don’t want to give the Warriors more opportunities and let them play their desired fast-paced game.

The Cavs say they don’t plan on slowing it down, though—in fact, they want to run. Certainly, running at strategic moments is a good idea, but if Cleveland forces the issue as it did in Game 1, it will likely backfire.

If this game is in the 80s or 90s, Cleveland has a good shot. Once it gets into the triple digits, Golden State becomes the overwhelming favorite.

Tristan Thompson is not a super-skilled offensive player, but he’s a creator—he sets good screens and gets vital offensive boards. He was poor all-around Thursday, going 0 for 3 from the field, scoring 0 points, grabbing only four rebounds, and recording a -13 player rating.

Cleveland needs TT to play like he did in last year’s Finals, particularly in Game 6—he amassed 15 points, 16 boards, and a +32 rating—the best of any player on the court.

It’s no secret where the Warriors are weak: in the frontcourt. We've known this would be the case since Golden State let Andrew Bogut walk.

Draymond Green is a stud, but Kevin Durant prefers to play around the perimeter and Golden State’s other bigs simply aren’t skilled enough to belong on the court.

Zaza Pachulia, David West, JaVale McGee—these are the guys Cleveland needs to expose (cue someone yelling, "expose him!"). Golden State’s bigs recorded the lowest player ratings of anyone on their squad in Game 1, but the Warriors managed to hide them well. GSW's wings were clearly well prepared, and aside from a couple cases of confusion—such as when Steph Curry left LeBron all alone under the basket—the Warriors played pick situations practically to perfection.

The Cavs need to implement a steady diet of screens that force GSW’s bigs to switch onto LeBron James or Kyrie Irving in isolation situations. If Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson show up ready to set some physical picks—which the refs have been letting fly this postseason; keep an eye on how Love and Thompson use their upper bodies—Cleveland will create favorable matchups that could let the Cavs jump right back in this series.