Cleveland vs. San Antonio

The Spurs have played remarkably in the first two games of the NBA Finals, leading the Cavaliers 2-0 going back to Cleveland for Game 3 of the series tomorrow night.

I find the press to be so funny in regard to their "analysis" and predictions. Just as it was in the series with Detroit, Cleveland is down 2-0 going back home for a pair of games. Just like in that series, "analysts" are claiming that the Cavs have no chance to win a game, let alone the series. Knowing the Cavs are in the finals has to say one thing, they overcame the 2-0 deficit en route to sweeping the Pistons in the final four games. Will the same thing happen this time around? I highly doubt it, but let's not count the team out just yet. While San Antonio has played fantastic at both ends of the court, especially on defense, Cleveland has shown life in the fourth quarter in both games.

What I think coach Mike Brown needs to do is switch things up a little bit. How much is debatable, but I think one thing is for certain, start rookie guard Gibson. He's been one of the lone bright spots in the finals thus far for the Cavaliers, averaging nearly 16 points a game as a bench player and shooting well above 50% from the floor. Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been dreadful. Here's how I'd start the Cavs' lineup:

C - Drew Gooden
PF- Anderson Varejao
SF- Donyell Marshall
SG- Gibson
PG- LeBron James

Gooden has been much more consistent at both ends of the floor than Ilgauskas and would continue to give the Cavs a good low presence. Varejao isn't a great offensive player, but makes up for it with his defense, energy, and hustle. Marshall isn't known for his defense, but can block a shot or make a steal here or there with his long arms and is lethal from deep. Speaking of lethal from deep, Gibson has been nearly unstoppable once the ball leaves his hands, especially in the past two series. James may not be a natural point guard, but good things happen when the ball is in his hands and even when he plays at the 2 or the 3, he typically finishes with 5+ assists in every game. This would be a fairly good balance between Brown's typical defensive and offensive units. Ilgauskas, Larry Hughes, Eric Snow, and Damon Jones could all be explosive in coming off the bench. In games 1 and 2, the Cavs were much more explosive with Gibson and Marshall on the court. If I was Brown, I'd refuse to get down early like in the first two games and would start those two along with switching some other things up for the rest of the series. If he stays conservative as he's done, then the "analysts" may be right for a change and the Spurs could sweep the Cavs.