A mountain that seemed insurmountable not a week ago, is now halfway climbed. Behind the continued heroics of Lebron James and unexpected Dellavedova, the Cavaliers have taken a 2-1 series lead. While they have captured the spotlight, there is something bigger going on here.
For the entire playoffs, the Warriors have used mismatches to gain leverage. Their utilization of Draymond Green at the four and five allowed them exceptional floor spacing on offense. Analysts had proclaimed this as the revolution of small ball. No more need for cumbersome big men. The game is changing, they said.
The Cavaliers are flipping the script. Their strategy is based on a championship recipe as old as time. Slow the pace, play defense, rebound the ball and score in the post.
Lebron is the catalyst of all three. The post skills he learned in Miami have never been more important. He can post on one side of the floor, often drawing at least an additional defender from the weak side. This not only creates space, but opens up offensive rebounding opportunities. Lebron’s missed shots are the buffet on which Tristan Thompson is feasting.
Speaking of Thompson, we haven’t been doing that enough. Perhaps the two most vital parts of the Cavs new strategy are Thompson and Mosgov. The combination has given the Cavaliers a marked 
advantaged on the interior.
Thompson has been rebounding like a man possessed. Over the course of this series, he is averaging 14 rebounds per contest, including 5.7 offensive boards. Those offensive boards are key. That is six extra possessions he’s creating for the Cavaliers every game. In the playoffs, extra touches are critical. It simultaneously deflates the opponent’s defense and increases your point total.
Mosgov has been impacting scoring on both ends of the floor. On offense, he is providing easy buckets in the paint. Whenever the Warriors go small ball, the Cavs can counter with Mozgov. His 54% shooting has been an oasis for an offense craving efficiency.
The real impact Mozgov has had is defensively. His presence is deterring the Warriors from entering the paint. When they do attack the rim, Mozgoz has done a great job of using verticality to create difficult scoring opportunities.
Here he is bothering Green by going straight up.
https://vine.co/v/eO5zxPav1nZ
The Cavs’ strategy certainly starts in the middle, but it spreads out the perimeter as well. Their gritty nature could not have been more encapsulated than by the play of Dellavedova. Everytime there was a loose ball he was diving to the floor, or hurling himself out of bounds. Even the boisterous Draymond Green admired Delly’s hustle.
Who got a ’50-50′ ball? Who dove on the floor? Dellavedova. Who dove on the floor for the other loose ball? Dellavedova. Who dove on the floor? Mike Miller. That’s three loose balls. That’s possibly six more points, maybe nine. Maybe you take away a couple baskets from them.
– Draymond Green
Here is one of his Delly’s dives to the floor.
https://vine.co/v/eO5v3njQqn6
In fact, it was Dellavedova’s play throughout the game that helped secure a win. In addition to his siamese defense on Curry, and hustle, he produced key scoring for the Cavs. He dropped in 20 points, none more important than the and-1 floater to put the Cavs up 84-80 with 2:27 remaining in the game.
https://vine.co/v/eO51rgWLwb2
And of course, no Cavaliers win would be complete without the referees trying to blow another call.
https://vine.co/v/eO5HXVjLUB5
Not sure how this could ever be Warriors ball.
The Cavaliers played a nearly perfect third quarter, only to awaken the MVP and see their lead dwindle in the fourth. Curry finally came out of his six quarter slump to pour in 24 second-half points on 6-9 from 3PT, including this doozy of shot. Around three screens, and over Mozgov, to pull the Warriors within three with 18 seconds to play.
https://vine.co/v/eO5X6KzdWrJ
That’s the Curry we all know and love. It wasn’t enough to topple the Cavs in Game 3, but it could spark the MVP. Let’s see if he can carry that momentum to Game 4.