2016 NBA Finals POLL for Warriors vs. Cavs' Game 6 – Does Cleveland Have a Legitimate Shot to Win the Championship?
Cleveland Forces a Game 6 Against Golden State
After a convincing win in Game 5 the Cleveland Cavaliers have pushed the 2016 NBA finals back to Cleveland for a game 6 on Thursday. The game starts at 9:00 p.m. ET taking place at the Quicken Loans Arena. Now, the question is: Do the Cavs have a shot to legitimately win the title?
Many fans believe that the real deciding factor of Game 5 was Draymond Green's suspension by the NBA for a flagrant foul against LeBron James in Game 4. But apart from this, there could be other factors behind the sudden surge of the Cavaliers.
Kyrie Irving and LeBron James Finally in Rhythm
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Currently the only two rings that King James has are the two that he won with Dwayne Wade and company during his stint in Miami. However, after Irving and James' performance in Game 5, where both players totaled 82 of the team's 112 points, it seem that this year's pairing might be better than what James had in Miami.
Cleveland only lost two games before this year's finals in this Playoffs, which is a big diffrence compared to James' struggle in last year's finals without Irving. The latter's ability to score and pass the ball has taken a lot of pressure off James, and if the duo can repeat their performance, a win for Cleveland in Game 6 might become a reality.
Andre Bogut Out, Draymond Green In
The Warrior's defense was visibly lacking after Andrew Bogut sprained his left knee in a scary play early in the third quarter. While Bogut's numbers have not been spectacular during the series, his presence below the rim will be sorely missed by Golden State.
When asked about Bogut's injury, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said, "It would have been nice to have [Bogut] available, but we played, I think, what, four, five different people at center, just trying to find something that would work."
The good news is that Draymond Green will be available for Game 6. Green's physical style of defense was missed as LeBron James scored 41 points in his absence.
Golden State's Roster Needs to Step Up
Besides Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, who scored 37 and 25 points respectfully, the only other Golden State player in double digits was Andre Iguodala, who scored 15 points.
Golden State has been winning off the success of their role players who were mysteriously silent for much of Game 5. If the team wants to win in Cleveland then role players such as Harrison Barnes and Shaun Livingston need to step up.
Game 6 of the 2016 NBA finals will be on Thursday, June 16, in Cleveland.
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