Full Court Press: 2017-18 NBA Preview

By Randall Groce, @Brownsareaweful


A lot has changed since the season ended last June. Six all stars from last year are now on different teams. Paul George went to the OKC Thunder. Paul Millsap went to Denver. Jimmy Butler is in Minnesota. Gordon Hayward moved on to Boston. Kyrie Irving joined him about a month later, which caused Isaiah Thomas to go to Cleveland. Did you get all of that?

After the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers to claim their second title in three years, many wondered what impact that might have on the direction teams would go about in building teams this past offseason with so many big name free agents available. In the East, the question is do you build to win immediately to try and take down the Cavaliers, or slowly put together a roster that will be ready to win once LeBron finally retires. A team that seems to have done both are the Boston Celtics.

In August, the Celtics acquired Kyrie Irving in a trade with the Cavaliers in exchange for fellow all-star Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and one of Boston's 2018 first round picks, by way of Brooklyn. The Cavs also added Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Jeff Green, and Jose Calderon. Good luck trying to dethrone them.

Three teams that seem to be waiting on LeBron to move on are the Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors, and Milwaukee Bucks. They basically stood pat this offseason. The Philadelphia 76ers are hoping for good health. Everyone else in the East got worse. I'm not using hyperbole. Literally every team other than the six listed above got worse. Charlotte picked up Dwight Howard, so yea...they got worse too.

Now the Western conference is a completely different story. The fall of the Warriors empire doesn't seem likely to fall anytime soon, so waiting them out would not seem like the smart move. Instead, most of the teams in the West made moves this off season that will make the Warriors' path to the Finals a lot more difficult than it has been the last three seasons.

Carmelo Anthony and Paul George are now teammates with reigning MVP Russell Westbrook in OKC. On paper they pose the greatest threat to the Warriors. Again, on paper. Chris Paul was traded to the Rockets, which will allow the runner up in last year's MVP race, James Harden to go back to his natural position of shooting guard. The Spurs didn't gain a new all-star, but they have Kawhi Leonard and Greg Popovich. They'll be around when it matters.

Denver, Minnesota, Utah, and Portland will probably round out the rest of the playoff teams in the West but Sacramento, Phoenix, and the Lakers have pieces that'll be fun to watch while Dallas, New Orleans, and the Clippers try to sneak into the final playoff spot.

I must admit, when the 2017 Finals ended I was convinced there was really no reason to even pay attention to the upcoming season. What's the point? Cavs-Warriors part 4 was basically written in stone. While I still think that will be the match up next June, fans will on a nightly basis have exciting games to pay attention to. If you don't follow any team in particular the crop of young guys that just came in this season will be fun to watch as well. Dennis Smith Jr. in Dallas will probably win the Slam Dunk competition next February. De'Aaron Fox running the show in Sacramento on a team that features vets Vince Carter and Zach Randolph. Lonzo Ball dealing with the hype and pressure of playing in LA. Jayson Tatum will try to fit in with Kyrie and Gordon Hayward, and Josh Jackson will be the all-around player Phoenix is missing.

This season is going to be FUN. This is going to be a eight month journey. All that I am asking is that the regular season and the playoffs are just as entertaining as the off season was.

Full Court Press: Did Kevin Durant make the right decision?

By Randy Groce, @ImissWiggins


As the NBA Finals have gone into full swing, I wanted to know "are you still mad at Kevin Durant?" Are we still upset because we feel that he chose the easy path to the finals, or do we understand why he made his decision? It has and will continue to be debated over who's decision was worse, LeBron's or Durant's. My take is Durant joined a team that had already won a title and was one game away from winning another. He also immediately joined the team that had just eliminated him from the playoffs. LeBron didn't join the Celtics so as far as I'm concerned the two are completely different.

We can spend hours going back-and-forth over the details of who's decision was worse but for me it simply comes down to why the decision was made in the first place. It's easy as a fan to sit back and criticize Durant's decision, but have any of you actually taken a second and asked yourself why he left without having a negative response to it?

The first reason I believe he left is the exact same reason I believe LeBron left. He had the unfortunate title of being the "best player without a ring". It's OK to have that moniker at the beginning of your career but when you've gone a few years without winning I think the pressure starts to weigh on you. The other reason I believe he left was because he was tired of playing with Russell Westbrook.

I'm not a Russ hater before anyone assumes that, he's actually my favorite player. I think Russ has an unbelievable will to win and plays as hard as possible when he's on the floor, but both Westbrook and Durant are alpha players, they both need the ball they both feel they have to have the ball, but there's only one ball. They both have had their playoff experiences of coming up big and coming up short but they have never truly played well together when it mattered the most.

Kevin Durant is the second best player in the world so there's no excuse for the OKC Thunder to have lost to the Golden State Warriors last year after building a 3-1 series lead. Sometimes having two top five or two top 10 players on the same team that have the same skill set isn't always a positive. Mix in the fact that they did not have a strong head coach to handle the situation and you can see why the team never hit its full potential.

I've had people point to the relationship between LeBron James and Dwayne Wade and say that if that can work ANYTHING can work. Well, it's not that simple and their situation was rare. For starters, regardless of who was in Miami first and who had a ring first (Wade), EVERYONE knows that wherever LeBron James is it's HIS team. Secondly, Wade and LeBron are real friends who genuinely love each other so for them, playing together was going to be fun. Although Durant had won scoring titles and a MVP, Westbrook still felt he was an equal to Durant, not a sidekick.

We saw this with Kobe and Shaq. They won three titles but still clashed with each other until the team was torn apart. Unfortunately some guys choose ego over team. Regardless of the way it went down Durant would be criticized. Stay in OKC, maybe beat the Warriors then lose to the Cavs and then everyone would say "you can't beat LeBron!". Go to another team they'd say "you're stupid for leaving Russ!". So why not join the team that has the best chance to make it to the Finals, and has a great chance of winning it with you being there? If the Warriors win, the main reason will be Durant. He's the best player on the team, and without him last year they didn't win it all.

Personally, I hate the current state of the NBA. We're basically waiting till June to see Cleveland and Golden State every year. I wouldn't mind that if it was organic, but this is basically a condensed version of the NBA All Star game. If the Warriors win it all, what's the Cavs' next move? Trade for Melo? Try to work a deal for Paul George or Jimmy Butler? Who knows how things would've turned out had Durant chosen the Celtics instead of Golden State. Would have made for a great Eastern Conference Final.

What I do know is Kevin Durant is comfortable with his decision and if he wins, who's to say he's wrong?

Full Court Press: There's Still Hope and Time For The Cavs

By Randy Groce, @ImissWiggins


Coach Ty Lue said no. Lebron said no. Most "experts" and analysts have said no. The question that's being asked is, "should the Cleveland Cavaliers slow the game down and run more half court sets?" Well, I'm not an expert, coach, or a current player but based on what I witnessed in the 2015 and 2016 NBA Finals the Cavaliers absolutely need to slow the game down. Two years ago without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love the Cavs won two games against the Warriors. Last year fully loaded they beat the Warriors in seven games. So far this year after two games the Cavs have yet to win a game. The difference between this year and the other two Finals' appearances, LeBron controlling the game from the paint.

So far the Warriors' defensive gameplan has been well executed. Let LeBron score, (he was gonna do it regardless)stay glued to the shooters (JR Smith, Kyle Korver, Kevin Love), and either trap or shade a second defender to Kyrie Irving. The gameplan that's been deployed against Kyrie should look familiar. Doc's Celtics and the Spurs have used that strategy against LeBron a few times during his career. It works well against Kyrie because he's not a pass first point guard. He sees it as a challenge and tries to dribble around or through it instead of making the smart basketball play. So far the ball pressure has either made him turn the ball over or take a bad jump shot.

Let's get back to the point of this article. LeBron working out of the post the last two NBA Finals has allowed him to put up some of the most ridiculous numbers we have ever seen from a player on such big stage. What it forces the defense to do is either play him one on one. No small forward in the league can contain him in the paint, so that's either an automatic two points or a foul. Or, it forces the defense to send help and leave some one open. The latter is what has me shaking my head and wondering what the hell is going on?

This is by far the best crop of shooters LeBron has ever been surrounded by. You would think that working down low in the paint while waiting for the double team would be his number one mission. Kick it to an open shooter and then as Mike Breen would say, "BANG". It would also allow the role players to gain some type of confidence if they can hit an open shot or two. We've heard many times before that role players have a more difficult time on the road, so why not do everything possible to make their jobs easier.

Please, don't take what I'm saying as criticism of LeBron. He's doing everything he can, while getting minimal assistance. The problem is the Cavs are loaded with specialists, guys that are only shooters or "hustlers". The Warriors have a stable of guys that simply are very good if not great at basketball. Oh, and they play excellent half court defense. LeBron in the post and ball movement on the perimeter is the remedy for the Cavs issues. We've seen it work in the past, but for some reason they're trying to match the Warriors pace of play which hasn't done much except for tiring them out faster.

It also wouldn't hurt to dust off Derrick Williams and get him off the bench since he's one of the few guys on the team that's under 30 years old and can defend. There's no shame in losing, especially if the opponent is better than you but at least make sure you use every single weapon and strategy to your disposal.

Full Court Press: 2016-17 NBA Season Preview

By Randy Groce, @ImissWiggins

This upcoming NBA season comes with a lot more intrigue than the last few. Superstars have left. Sidekicks turned superstars are now asked to lead. A third year rookie finally making his debut. A Miami legend going to Chicago, and a hometown Chicago kid going to New York. Hell, the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers, who return every single important piece to their championship team, aren't even the favorites going in the season. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Joel Embiid, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, and the possibility of Cavs-Warriors III are just a handful of players and storylines that will make the 2016/17 season one of the most interesting in a long time. 

I like to break down NBA teams the same way I do NFL quarterbacks, by tiers: Elite, Championship contenders, Playoff hopefuls, and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Cavaliers, Warriors, and Spurs are who I would consider elite. The Raptors, Clippers, and Celtics would fall into championship contenders. The Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz would fall into the category of playoff hopefuls. The Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, and Philadelphia 76ers fall into the dreaded Los Angeles Lakers category. More teams fall into each category, but I chose to give you the most obvious.

It seemed as though we were going to get our first look at seeing if the process that the Philadelphia 76ers told us to trust was going to work, but a broken foot by Ben Simmons will force us to wait until January at the earliest. Joel Embiid has looked good during the preseason, but the biggest question concerning him will be health. Between Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor I expect Philly to only have one of them on their roster when the season ends. This young teams has pieces, but they'll need a little more luck before fans start believing. 

The statement of "do or die season" was meant for this year's Los Angeles Clippers team. They are loaded with veterans. They have two of the top 20 players in the world on their roster. They have an excellent coach, and a high payroll. Too bad they can't make it to the Conference Finals. With Chris Paul and Blake Griffin approaching free agency, I tend to believe this could be their final run together unless they somehow make a trip to the NBA Finals. 

I'm a Laker fan and I plan on closely watching the relationship between new head coach Luke Walton and the young core of Deangelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr., and Jordan Clarkson. Can Walton convince these guys to run a real half court offense and play defense? Will he help a young guy like Nance Jr. reach his potential?  I think I'll be equally interested in seeing the new duo of Anthony Davis and Buddy Hield. A couple of years ago it was suggested that Davis would be the "face of the NBA" by now, but injuries have yet to allow that to happen. Every big man needs a good perimeter guy. Hield might finally serve that role for Davis. 

The team that a lot of people have their eyes on is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Some have suggested that Karl Anthony Towns is the best big man in the game. Add in Andrew Wiggins, rookie Kris Dunn, Ricky Rubio, and new head coach Tom Thibodeau and you would have to wonder how this team doesn't make the playoffs. 

Earlier I mentioned the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and the New York Knicks. Honorable mention is all they deserve. ESPN, FS1, and every other outlet will drool over these non-factors all season for absolutely no reason. I'll pass.

The departure of Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors and the retirement of Tim Duncan has caused the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs to drop off a bit. Both teams will still make the playoffs, but how far they go depends on how well they are led by their stars, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard. Westbrook undoubtedly has the talent and teammates to at least make it to the Conference Finals, the question is does he trust his teammates and coaching staff enough to try not to do it all on his own. Leonard has LaMarcus Aldridge and coach Popovich, their issue is how much does Tony Parker have left in the tank?

You ever watch a romantic comedy and the guy tries to get the girl for the entire movie? A lot of different things happen good and bad, but when the movie is over and the credits roll they have ended up together? That is how this season is going to play out. Some teams will surprise you and some will disappoint, but when the first week of June rolls around we'll get the ending we felt we'd get as soon as training camp started...

Cavaliers vs. Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals.

Enjoy the show!

Full Court Press 6.29.16: The Cavs and NBA Free Agency #Cavs #NBAFreeAgency

By Randy Groce, @ImissWiggins


NBA free agency begins this Friday July 1st at 12:00 Midnight. Teams and players are only allowed to negotiate deals, but players are not allowed to actually sign with a team until July 7th. A lot of assuming and mind changing can go on in six days, so as a fan, your best bet would be to actually wait until the players' name is signed on the dotted line before you allow yourself to get too excited (see DeAndre Jordan in 2015).

The defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers have seven free agents of their own this offseason, 5 unrestricted and 2 restricted. LeBron James and Richard Jefferson have pretty much stated that they will return. JR Smith just recently signed to Rich Paul's Klutch Sports Group. The last Cavalier player that was a free agent under them, Tristan Thompson, ended up getting exactly what he wanted and stayed in Cleveland. James Jones has a spot as long as he wants, which leaves Timofey Mozgov as the only unrestricted free agent that the Cavs will not try to re-sign.

Matthew Dellavedova and Jordan McRae are restricted free agents, but it has almost been decided that McRae's option for next year will be picked up. Delly will probably be the one that will be the most difficult for the Cavs to make a decision on. His offensive game has improved, and he does an excellent job leading the second unit. The problem with that is other teams see this and will absolutely offer more money for his services than the Cavs will want or be able to. This is the main reason the team was able to buy a draft pick and select a point guard. 

During the team's playoff run, almost everyone on the roster was helpful and involved. Once the team reached the Finals, the rotation was knocked down to only seven players. When you have LeBron James and Kyrie Irving that can work a few times, but it's not sustainable. The Cavs' bench needs to get younger. Jefferson is 36, Mo Williams is 33 (34 when the 2017 playoffs start), Jones is 35, and Channing Frye is 33, (34 when the 2017 playoffs start). Cavs' GM David Griffin has stated that the roster will not be blown up, nor should it, but personally I would like to see them let Jones and Jefferson walk. 

The Cavs have a $9.7 million dollar trade exception, so it's possible they can obtain a player using that. A perfect move would've been trading the exception to Memphis for Lance Stephenson and his $9.2 million dollar option for next year. Unfortunately on Monday, the Grizzlies decided to decline the option, making Stephenson a free agent.

Two players that I really want, Nicholas Batum and Jeremy Lin, will cost more than what the Cavs have to offer. The only way to get younger and improve would be to get a guy like Marvin Williams, Kent Bazemore, or Gerald Henderson. These players could be willing to sign for one or two years and take a pay cut to come and play for a title contender. Also, don't rule out former LeBron teammate from his time in Miami, Norris Cole. 

Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge is the wild card.

Over the past year he has made it clear that he is trying to trade for a superstar. He was unable to make a move before last season's trade deadline and he was unable to make one on draft day last week. He's not going to give up, but he's going to have to sweeten the pot if he wants a team to give up one of their best players. GM's around the league have stated that since he's had so much success in getting over on the last couple of trades he's made, he's basically low balling every team he talks to. I believe if he's not able to pry Jimmy Butler out of Chicago, David Griffin will get a phone call pretty soon regarding Kevin Love. Despite Griffin's insistence that he's not willing to mess up the team's chemistry, he still would have to make a decision that makes sense. 

We're only a couple of days away, so expect to hear every rumor imaginable. I must admit that for the first time in my life, I couldn't care less what happens on July 1st or any day after that. The Cleveland Cavaliers are World Champs, I'll worry about this stuff in February around the trade deadline.

Full Court Press 6.2.16: No Excuses #NBAFinals #Cavs

No Excuses
By Randy Groce, @ImissWiggins


The first Super Bowl I watched was the one that featured the '85 Bears vs the New England Patriots. The first World Series I ever watched was the Cardinals vs the Twins in '87. The first NBA Finals I ever watched was in '87 which featured the Lakers vs the Celtics.

For 31 years I've been a sports fan and this is our best chance of winning a championship. I'm not excited. I'm not overly anxious. I'm a fan, a Cleveland sports fan, who has absolutely no impact on the outcome, so I'm prepared for anything to happen. The minute game 6 of last years Finals ended we all felt we'd be back this year.

For as much as you can be after playing 96 games, the Cleveland Cavaliers enter the 2016 NBA Finals healthy. Add in the ingredients of being hungry, determined, and having the best player in the world on their team, the Cavs appear to be ready to break the 52 year drought of bringing Cleveland a world championship.

What better way to do that than to defeat the team that beat you in last year's championship round? The Golden State Warriors who defeated a severely depleted Cavs team last year, came back this year better than last. Steph Curry won another MVP award, this time unanimously, while improving his scoring average from 23 points per game to 30 points per game and the Warriors team broke the NBA single season win record. 

As good as both of these teams are, I could flood this entire article with numbers and stats but most of them you already know and a few of the others won't mean much once the series starts. Although these two teams feature the #1 and #2 top players in the game, the series will come down to what their teammates do. LeBron and Steph are going to score and there's nothing the other team can do to stop it, but allowing Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, JR Smith, and Iman Shumpert to sneak in a 20 point game here and there will kill you. The "experts" will make predictions because that's what they're paid to do, but we're talking about a series which features a matchup in which either team could sweep or win in 7. 

In my humble opinion, there are two players that can swing this series in favor of their team.....

Klay Thompson and Kevin Love.

If Klay is making 6-7 threes a game and has a few of those 15-20 point quarters the Cavs will be in serious trouble. Having to pay extra attention to him frees up guys like Draymond Green or Harrison Barnes. Kevin Love is probably the highest paid "X factor" in NBA history, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. His role on this team is huge even though he's basically the Cavs' number three scoring option. When he's involved in the offense and grabbing rebounds and launching full court passes, he's locked in. My concerns for him is when he settles for jump shots instead of being more physical and attack the rim or take advantage of more post up opportunities.

Defensively, Love truly tries hard he's just not that good at it. Regardless of how good he's playing offensively, if he's repeatedly getting beat on the other end and those shots going in for the Warriors are three pointers, he might not see much action in 4th quarters in this series. Golden State will attack him relentlessly, and it's up to him to dig deep and fight. I've doubted him all season, but for this series I think he'll answer the call. 

As a fan there are two ways to view this. You can be satisfied no matter what and be proud that you have a competitive team that will be around for years. You can also be the type of fan that feels the only way to feel satisfied if if the team wins it all. Championship or bust. I fall in line with the first one. I'm not defeated, but I'm used to the losing and I've learned to enjoy the ride. I'll compliment my team and rip them in the same paragraph. I'm a fan. I've been one for 31 years. I want to see good basketball. I want to see maximum effort put out by every single guy that gets on the floor. If I can get that, I'll be satisfied win or lose. The Cavs are healthy, locked in, focused, and determined. They have a loaded roster and the best player in the world. Based on their standards, not mine, they should win it all this year.

No excuses. Go Cavs!

Full Court Press 5.9.16: Another Cavs Sweep #Cavs

Eight Down, Eight To Go
By Randy Groce, @ImissWiggins

For the second straight series, the Cleveland Cavaliers have swept their opponent, this time the Atlanta Hawks 4-0. This series featured the best three point shooting that the Cavaliers have ever done in the history of the franchise, and the NBA, as they hit 77 threes in a series. The easiest way to describe this series would be to give out statistics, but the problem with that is, there's too many. The Cavs won this series mainly because of the consistent outside shooting. They hate being called a "three point shooting team", but that's exactly what they have been all season long. In this series however, they have made more three point field goals than two point field goals. In game 3, they broke a regular and post season record by hitting 25 three pointers in one game. 

LeBron James is still the best player on the planet, averaging 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Great numbers, but he didn't even crack the 30-point mark one time. This series was about everyone on the Cavs roster that received an opportunity to play. From JR to Channing Frye, everyone played well. Great ball movement led to open three point opportunities. It's rare when an entire roster is hot or consistent for four straight games, but that was the case in this situation. Matthew Dellavedova was the only Cavalier who had an off series. Each game featured a different guy as the "go to guy". Game one it was LeBron, game 2 belonged to JR, game 3 was Frye's turn, and game 4 belonged to Kevin Love.

The Hawks gave a pretty good effort, but overall they were simply outmatched. They are a team that is "usually" well coached, play good defense, and move the ball. This series they found themselves trying to match the Cavs in three point shooting which at times took them away from their game plan. I used the usually when I mentioned coaching, because Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer insisted on trapping once the Cavs crossed half court.

The problem with that was the Cavs repeatedly made the right pass to the open man which almost always led to a three pointer in all four games. The biggest adjustment made in the series was in game 3, where Tristan was having a bad night and was pulled in favor of Channing Frye. Unprepared for the pick and roll, Frye ended the night with 27 points, while making 7 three pointers. Almost every single move made by Coach Tyronn Lue worked, even calling timeouts at the right time to stop a Hawks run or start a Cavs run. 

Losing to the best team in your conference 11 times in a row and getting knocked out of the playoffs by them in back to back seasons will probably end up causing Atlanta to either shake up their roster or fire their coach. So far this year, getting rid of the coach has been the popular move, but I don't feel it's necessary in this case. Atlanta needs a number one scoring option and they will be fine. They also need to figure out why Jeff Teague can't stay consistent enough to be on the floor in crunch time.

The Cavaliers on the other hand will have another 7-9 days of rest before either Toronto or Miami come to town for a chance to advance to the NBA Finals. The major thing that the Cavs need to figure out is how to maintain some type of defensive intensity. The Hawks were left open a lot on the perimeter, consistently beat the Cavs to the basket, and muscled them in the paint. Hitting three's to combat that won't always work. At some point they'll need to start turning defensive pressure into turnovers which will eventually lead to points. Kyrie and LeBron played a terrific series, but the ball still got stuck in their hands far too often. Also, LeBron is getting his layup blocked a little too much. Be a big boy LeBron, dunk the ball. 

Eight down, eight to go.

It's still early, but I'm thinking back to a famous phrase used by Moses Malone that gets brought up around this time of the year. Back when he played their were only three rounds compared to the four that we have now. Before the playoffs started in 1983, Malone was asked what his prediction was on how his team would fare and he answered "fo' fo' fo", meaning his team, the Sixers, would sweep all three series.

I wouldn't bet a paycheck on this, but the Cavs are getting mighty close to a "fo' fo' fo' fo" journey this postseason.

Full Court Press 4.26.16: The Cavaliers... On To The Next One

By Randy Groce, @ImissWiggins

No big celebrations and no one said I told you so.

Following Sunday's win over the Pistons, the Cavs were already focused on their next opponent in the conference semifinals. After defeating the Detroit Pistons 100-98 in the closest game of the series, the Cavaliers will now patiently wait to see who'll they will face between the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics. That series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 tonight. Check "TV Tonight" here on TripleThreatCLE.com later today for time and channel.

This year's matchup between the Cavs and the Pistons was very similar to the series that the Cavs played against the Boston Celtics in the first round last year. The Celtics were a tenacious, gritty, trash talking group who led every game last year but simply did not have enough talent to overcome the Cavaliers. The almost same exact thing can be said about this year's opponent, in the Detroit Pistons.

They were well coached and gave everything they had, but the Cavaliers simply have too many pieces that can win a game on any given night. You can argue that Detroit might have had the best four game stretch of shooting that they've had all season, and it still wasn't enough to overcome the firepower of the Cavs. When Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris, who are very good role players, are two of your best players, you're gonna find yourself struggling to beat a team that features three of the best players in the league. 

Kyrie was the MVP for the Cavs in the first round. His clutch shooting and solid defense led the team almost every game. LeBron's minutes have increased during the playoffs, but with Kyrie and Kevin Love stepping up offensively, he's basically being allowed to pace himself until his heroics are needed. Coach Ty Lue has done an excellent job of game planning and making adjustments in his first appearance in the playoffs as a head coach. Lue made a habit of starting LeBron James in the second and fourth quarters while surrounding him with good outside shooters. After game one in which James, Love, and Irving scored 81 points, the bench stepped up the rest of the series. 

Facing off against this Pistons team was a good way for the Cavs to get started. The series was physical and fast paced, something they'll definitely see a few more times on this championship journey. The Cavs will get a nice rest before the start of their next series (which isn't until May 2), but more importantly they'll start the next series healthy.

If they're able to shoot the ball as well against Atlanta or Boston as they did against Detroit, I think they'll be OK.

Full Court Press 4.18.16: Cavaliers v. Pistons, Game 1 Recap

By Randy Groce, @ImissWiggins

The Detroit Pistons have nothing to lose and they played like it. Just as the Boston Celtics did a year ago against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, the Pistons came out attacking the Cavs early and often but still came up short losing, 106-101 on Sunday evening. Detroit probably shot the ball better than they will the entire series, but have nothing to show for it other than feeling like they can compete for the remainder of the series. 

The Cavaliers' "big three" Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, and Kevin Love combined for 81 of the team's 106 points. One minute into the 4th quarter, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue called a timeout with the Cavs trailing by 7. Richard Jefferson nailed a three pointer and the Cavs were on their way to showing the NBA world that when they move the ball and play defense, they are a hard team to beat. 

But it wasn't all well and good. A few of the bad habits that the Cavs exhibited during the regular season popped up in this game: bad defensive rotations, poor ball movement, and falling in love with the three point shot.

The advantage the Cavs has, is that every team that they face in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference will not have as much talent as them, which bodes well because they sometimes lose focus. The Pistons were led in scoring by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 21 points. That's basically all you need to know. That along with Reggie Jackson becoming an over-dribbling ball hog, trying to will the team to a win on his own, despite adding 17 points. Detroit was 15-29 from three, but seeing that they are not a good three point shooting team, I wouldn't expect to see that type of shooting performance again. 

I'm not sure if the Cavs will get 80 plus from their top guys again, but you know LeBron has a big game or two in his system that's waiting to come out. Game 2 is Wednesday night at The Q. If Detroit has any hopes of making this series go beyond 4 or 5 games, they must somehow steal this game in Cleveland.