The Cleveland Cavaliers hopes of capturing their first NBA title came to an end when the Warriors defeated them 105-97 on Tuesday night.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Warriors captured a championship for the fourth time in franchise history and first time since the 1975-76 season.
But instead of talking about everything the Warriors did right to capture the NBA title for the Bay
Area, everyone is focused on what went wrong for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love being out for the Finals did effect the Cavs depth, there is no doubt about that.
But no one cares about that when playoffs are about surviving attrition and razor sharp focus.
That is where the disappearing act of Iman Shumpert becomes highly disappointing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The disappearing act is disappointing to the point where it would be a shock if the Cavs decide to keep Shumpert after this season.
When you are getting an all world performance out of LeBron James who averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists, someone has to lend some kind of support to the championship cause.
Support did not come from anyone on the perimeter for the Cavaliers, and Shumpert’s offensive performance was down right putrid.
He averaged 6.5 points on 28.9% shooting from the field and 31% from three-point land hitting a mere 8 of 25 from deep.
True, Iman Shumpert was playing with shoulder and groin injuries, but he could not hit an open shot to save his life or the championship hopes of Cleveland.
On the defensive end he was outstanding and played without any intimidation.
He did a great job of holding Klay Thompson in check for most of the series including Game 6 where Thompson scored five points on 2 of 7 from the floor.
Shumpert even went all out trying to fight through screens set by Draymond Green to keep close tabs on Stephen Curry, and keep in mind he has a bad shoulder.
But for all that defensive effort, he was nonexistent on the offensive end.
Shumpert probably played his last game for Cleveland Tuesday Night.
He is going to be a restricted free agent after this season, and more than likely, Cleveland will not match any offer that another team makes for him.
Cleveland has bigger contract priorities such as signing Anderson Varejao, Tristan Thompson, and Timofey Mozgov.
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Shumpert’s inconsistency on offense is something that could be a turn off for prospective suitors.
He will get picked up because of his defensive prowess but he really will need to work hard on his offensive game if he wants to make a bigger impact at his next destination.
It was already bad enough that Shumpert missed out on his opportunity to get a championship ring, but coming up small offensively in the NBA Finals is something that taints a resume.
2015-16 is going to hold a new home and a new contract for Shumpert. Hopefully an Iman Shumpert with an improved offensive game will show up under those circumstances.