Trust is contagious

Golden State coach Steve Kerr knows all about the importance of trust in the NBA Finals. On June 13, 1997, Michael Jordan could’ve taken the final shot to shatter an 86-all deadlock with 28 seconds left in Game 6 of the championship series between Chicago and Utah but deferred to Kerr who hit a 17-foot jumper, time down to five ticks. Jordan expected the double team on the last play and it came with John Stockton leaving Kerr open. The pass came from Jordan and Kerr knocked it down. Toni Kukoc scored on a breakaway dunk in the final second to settle the score, 90-86, as the Bulls clinched the series, 4-2.

Jordan trusted Kerr to make the shot and in the timeout before the play, Kerr assured probably the greatest basketball player of all time that he’ll be ready if the pass comes his way. Kerr was more than ready. He paid back Jordan for the trust and hit the shot that sealed the outcome.

Yesterday was June 13, Manila time, and the 20th anniversary of Kerr’s title-clinching basket. How fitting that Kerr showed the same trust he got from Jordan on the Warriors bench to deliver the backbreaker in clinching the Finals, 4-1, over Cleveland. There was no miracle at the Oracle for the Cavs who avoided a sweep by taking Game 4 in Cleveland. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving gave it their all in Game 4, combining for 71 points in a 137-116 win punctuated by 24 three-point conversions and a 49-point first quarter explosion. No team has ever recovered from a 0-3 hole to win a best-of-seven series in NBA history and Cleveland was in no position to make history.

James averaged 41.4 minutes in the first four games of the Finals and in Game 5, extended himself to 46 in collecting 41 points, 13 boards and eight assists. While James was phenomenal, there were instances where he seemed to rest defensively.  At least twice, he backed off from protecting the rim to instead, settle for the less straining option of boxing out Draymond Green. The Warriors scored on both occasions with James watching, not defending. Superman just couldn’t be Superman all night long.    

Kerr didn’t hesitate to trust Andre Iguodala who before Game 4, averaged 5.8 points and 25.8 minutes in the Finals. Iguodala paid back Kerr for his faith like Kerr repaid Jordan. Iguodala finished with 20 points in 38 minutes. More than his offense, Iguodala’s defense on both James and Irving was exceptional. You concede James’ points but he didn’t get his 10th Finals triple double and Irving was limited to 26, down from his average of 30.3. In the first period when Cleveland was up, 30-25, Kerr went with Patrick McCaw, Steph Curry, Shaun Livingston, Green and Iguodala. Durant was not in the picture. To start the second period, Kerr’s

five was composed of David West, Klay Thompson, McCaw, Iguodala and Durant. West responded to the call to duty by scoring back-to-back baskets to trim the Cavs’ lead from eight to four then Iguodala connected to cut the margin to two. 

Opening the fourth period, Kerr had Durant, Green, McCaw, Thompson and Iguodala on the floor. Curry rested on the bench. Kerr never sent in JaVale McGee and Ian Clark, opting to rotate players more suited to defend the Cavs’ pick-and-roll. In contrast, Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue stuck to his routine and the predictability proved costly. Early in the fourth period when the game was still up for grabs, Lue forgot about Tristan Thompson who wound up with 15 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes. That’s because in Lue’s usual rotation, Thompson doesn’t play in the fourth quarter. By the time Lue remembered to bring back Thompson, the Warriors had increased their lead from three to 14. 

Lue is obviously not in Kerr’s class. Kerr made subtle adjustments in Game 5 with Iguodala facing Irving and McCaw coming off the bench for more quickness in defending the pick-and-roll.  He anticipated the Cavs to trap Curry on ball-screens so he made sure there were options to clear the path for the pass either to the free roller or another open man. Lue showed no game-changing adjustments and just relied heavily on James to make the bail-out plays.

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The killer was the Warriors’ 22-2 blast in the second quarter which turned a 43-39 advantage for Cleveland into a 61-45 edge for Golden State. That surge was highlighted by two threes from Durant and one triple each from Curry and Green. But Cleveland was still within striking distance as James hit a bucket to cut the lead to only three, 98-95, early in the payoff period. The margin remained manageable at six after Kyle Korver’s triple to make it 108-102, time down to 8:26. Then, Durant, Iguodala, Curry and Thompson conspired to put it away. Typically, James scored 12 of the Cavs’ last 18 points and Irving was scoreless in the final period.