Lue wants LeBron, Cavs to pick up the pace in Game 2
To help the Cleveland Cavaliers' chances of taking Game 2 at Oracle Arena on Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors, head coach Tyronn Lue wants his squad to fight fire with fire by pushing the tempo of the offense, with LeBron James leading the charge.
"I just told LeBron I need him to play faster," Lue said Friday. "I need him to pick up the pace for us offensively, getting the ball out and just beginning to play faster."
James fell one assist short of notching the seventh triple-double of his Finals career in a 104-89 loss on Thursday, scoring 23 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, and dishing out nine assists. The four-time league MVP, along with fellow Big 3 members Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, accounted for 66 of Cleveland's 89 points.
For whatever reason, James' aggression in getting to the basket dipped as the game progressed. He drove to the rim on five occasions in the opening quarter for eight points, but only scored three more the rest of the way on six drives.
Lue held a film session Friday to show his players just how dormant they were in the moving the ball around the floor. Cleveland totaled 17 assists to 15 turnovers in Game 1. The Warriors' defense was in top form on the perimeter, which didn't help matters, but Lue believes the defending champions can be less effective if his team avoids running a sluggish offense.
"They make you stagnant and make you play one-on-one basketball because that's all you can get," Lue said. "So if we pick up the pace and play with a faster tempo offensively, I think we'll be fine."
James is all for a hastier brand of basketball, which could hurt elite defenders in Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green as they'd have less time to set up on that end.
"Coach has given us a game plan, and we need to execute it," James said. "If coach feels like we need to play faster, then we do. We've got to push the tempo a little bit more offensively, see if we can get down, get some easy baskets, and get to the flow of our game. It's been a good thing for us throughout the whole season once Coach Lue took over, so we need to do that."
A leisurely pace wasn't the only reason why Cleveland struggled in the series opener. Golden State got major contributions from its bench and forced the Cavs into taking bad shots to disrupt their rhythm. That was enough for the Warriors to overcome getting outrebounded, attempting 10 fewer free throws, and having a poor shooting performance from The Splash Brothers.
Nonetheless, Love feels his team will learn from its mistakes and be prepared for the challenge that lies ahead Sunday.
"I think we're in a good place psychologically and mentally," he said. "We remain calm, but also know that this next game is huge for us."