Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff basically dropped starting small forward and perimeter defender Isaac Okoro from his Game 2 rotation, playing the low-scoring wing for just three minutes.
- NY Post
They went with 3 headed offense and went after Brunson every time (with some RJ for good measure) with either Mitchell, Garland or Lavert.
And to avoid Brunson abusing those 3 they kept trapping him
One remedy here is start IQ —- gives us another ball handler, defender shooter and removes RJ.
This way we can attack them with Brunson/IQ and have Grimes spread the floor.
LivingLegend wrote:They went with 3 headed offense and went after Brunson every time (with some RJ for good measure) with either Mitchell, Garland or Lavert.And to avoid Brunson abusing those 3 they kept trapping him
One remedy here is start IQ —- gives us another ball handler, defender shooter and removes RJ.
This way we can attack them with Brunson/IQ and have Grimes spread the floor.
Starting IQ would be out of character for thibs. But just like he inserted Obi at the 7min mark two games straight. I can see thibs inserting IQ early for RJ this time.
We need to do the same for RJ. The playoff is not time to worry about hurt feelings. Do what you must to win and worry about that after. I think Grimes shoots better if he gets some of the touches RJ got.
I wonder if Cav fans complain that they drafted Okuru 5 the overall like would have.
Okoro is a very bad basketball player who will likely be out of the league or a lesser Ntilikina without the defense in a few years
Levert is the tougher matchup, but he is inconsistent. We let him get a groove in game 2.