(Written for Blue Man Hoop)

Everything was in place for the classic Warriors’ victory.  An efficient first half carried the Warriors to a four-point halftime lead, and in the third quarter, as has become custom during the playoffs, Stephen Curry exploded.  Curry scored 22 points in the third, leading the Warriors to a 12 point lead heading into the fourth quarter.  With 3:57 left, the Warriors had stretched the lead to 16.  Curry was in absolute control of the offense, Klay Thompson was shutting down Tony Parker, and the role players were playing perfectly.

Then, just as the Warriors looked set to steal a game in San Antonio, everything changed.  Tony Parker drove to the basket, and drew a bump from Klay Thompson, his sixth foul.  This was the first in a series of mistakes that significantly changed the outlook of the playoff series.  With Thompson no longer guarding him, Tony Parker began attacking offensively.  Assisted by the Warriors’ poor offensive execution, the Spurs came all the way back to send the game to overtime.  The overtime was itself a microcosm of the Warriors’ performance.  They jumped out to an early five-point lead, but could not close the game.

It was Manu Ginobli’s wing 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left that finished the Warriors, but the defeat was instigated by poor decisions and execution, by both players and coaches, over several minutes.  According to mysynergysports.com, the Warriors ran 15 isolation plays through the first three quarters, and 15 in the fourth quarter alone.  As effective as the offense was through the majority of the game, it stagnated in the fourth, forcing the Warriors into several contested shots, with few alterior options.

Though more dramatic, this Game 1 loss mirrored the defeat in the playoff-opener versus Denver, when Andre Miller and the Nuggets took advantage of Warriors’ mistakes to defend their home court.  In this exaggerated version of the prior loss, the Warriors find themselves in the same situation as round one, and hope to replicate the final result.

Key Stretch:

There were several turning points in this game.  Starting around the 4-minute mark, San Antonio began its original comeback.  In overtime, the Warriors missed back-to-back shots to allow the Spurs to take the lead, and in double overtime, the final stretch directly determined the victor.  Because so many different factors impacted the final result, and partly because assigning blame will help with this emotionally distraught fan’s recovery, we will look at the final play, and attempt to determine who is at fault for the Warriors’ blown coverage.

This is the Spurs’ initial set.  Ginobli is at the elbow, and is going to set a screen for Tony Parker, who is at the left short-corner.  Boris Diaw runs to the top of the key to set the second staggered screen for Parker.

Everything goes wrong quickly for the Warriors.  Kent Bazemore and Harrison Barnes did not switch the Ginobli screen for Parker, however, before Diaw even sets the screen, Jack is expecting to switch.  He is clearly in position to pick up Parker, however Barnes is trying to chase Parker above the screen.

The apparent miscommunication between Jack and Barnes leaves Kent Bazemore to guard both Ginobli and Diaw.  Diaw dives to the rim, forcing Bazemore to commit and deny the layup, leaving Ginobli wide open.  Bazemore does make an impressive effort to close out, but Ginobli hits the shot.

This failure may have been the result of a strategic flaw by the Warriors.  Mark Jackson may have told his players to “switch everything,” as Jack clearly intends to switch without regard to Diaw’s positioning.  However, the definition of “everything” may vary among players.  Diaw never makes contact with Barnes on the screen, so Barnes may have thought that he was not supposed to switch.  San Antonio’s positioning suggests that they intended to set a screen, and because Jack must anticipate the screen to properly switch, he leaves Diaw without knowing the screen will never occur.

Notable Performances: 

With 44 points on 35 shots, Stephen Curry had the highest scoring output of any player this postseason, but missed six-of-seven shots over a vital stretch of the game.  Harrison Barnes played 53 minutes, and scored 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting.  Klay Thompson played impressive defense on Tony Parker, and remained relatively efficient offensively.

For the Spurs, Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and made many impactful plays to end the game.  Tony Parker only shot 11-of-26, but carried the Spurs’ offense down the stretch, and Danny Green made 6-of-9 three pointers.

(Written for Fansided.com’s Blue Man Hoop)

On the final night of the regular season, the Warriors beat the previously 33 and 48 Portland Trailblazers 99-88, overcoming a 30 point 21 rebound effort from LaMarcus Aldridge to secure their 47th win, the sixth seed, and a first round series against the Denver Nuggets.  With 5 minutes and 57 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Stephen Curry hit his second of four three pointers on the night, his 270th of the season, breaking the record Ray Allen set with the Seattle Supersonics in the 2005-206 season.

Key Stretch

The Warriors began the second half with a 14-point lead, but only 16 points in the third quarter, allowing the Trailblazers to reduce the lead to 3 by the end of the quarter.  Portland had kept it close through the fourth quarter, when, with 7:18 left, Klay Thompson hit an open three off an impressive no-look over-the-head pass by a driving David Lee, putting the Warriors ahead 79-73.  Joel Freelend made an uncontested midrange jumper, and then Jarrett Jack turned the ball over.  Portland was in position to continue giving the Warriors unexpected trouble, when Steph Curry intercepted an Eric Maynor pass and got fouled while making the fast-break layup attempt.  Curry made the free throw, Portland followed with a turnover, Lee finished a layup over Meyers Leonard, and, up 84-75 with 5:41 left, the Warriors never looked back.

Why The Warriors Won

Klay Thompson: Though Thompson finished 9-19, he made 5 of his 7 attempts behind the arc, many of which silenced Blazer runs or capitalized Warriors ones.  Thompson followed an impressive offensive outing against San Antonio with an effective, but dissimilar performance.  The Warriors abandoned the Thompson post-ups, instead generally leaving him behind the arc.  Though he was less of a creative offensive force, Klay Thompson’s contributions were vital in a second straight Warriors win.

Harrison Barnes’ Defense on Damian Lillard:  In the latter half of the fourth quarter the Warriors switched Harrison Barnes onto Lillard.  Though Mark Jackson has recently favored using Klay Thompson on similar positional switches, the athletic Barnes was able to effectively pressure Lillard on the ball and deny positioning to Lillard on Meyers Leonard’s screens, disrupting a Trailblazer offense that often relies on perimeter penetration from Lillard both as a primary source of scoring and to set up secondary options.  Before he hit a three with 1:13 left in the effectively-over game, Lillard had not scored in the fourth quarter, largely due to Barnes’ successful pressure.

Shorthanded Trailblazers:  This season, Portland’s typical starting lineup, Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Hickson-Aldridge has been outscored by 2 points per 100 possessions, 2.2 points better than the team’s actual net rating, per nba.com. Though this may seem unimpressive, the Trailblazers recent commitment to improving their draft position has decreased the statistical reputation of the lineup.  Fortunately for the Warriors, the Trailblazer’s were without Batum or Matthews, two members of the starting group and the core of their perimeter defense.  Against a healthy Portland team, rather than exposing the shortcomings of rookie Will Barton, Klay Thompson would have been attempting to score on Batum or Matthews, two far above average defenders.

Jarrett Jack:  Though 6 for 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from the line appears to be a relatively unimportant contribution, Jack, though he has been anything but consistent in recent months, was able to stable the Warriors’ offense when Curry struggled.  Though Jack has recently drawn the ire of Warriors fans for his often questionable shot selection, his contributions to begin the season were instrumental in many a Warrior victory.  Jack’s ability to replicate Curry’s creating and scoring production in the pick and roll has been vital to the Warriors all year, and in a fitting end to Jarrett Jack’s nationally under-appreciated season, the sixth man’s quiet contributions, in contrast with his often explosive performances, guided the Warriors to victory.

(Written for Fansided.com’s Blue Man Hoop)

In their final home game of the season, the Warriors overcame an impressive effort by the depleted San Antonio Spurs, to, in combination with a Rocket’s loss, retake the sixth seed with a 116-106 victory.  Spurred by Gary Neal and poor Warrior defense, San Antonio scored their way to a 57-54 halftime lead over the Warriors.  Golden State rallied in the second half, outscoring San Antonio by 17 points in the first 7 minutes of the 4^th quarter to secure the teams 46^th victory, a feat previously achieved 12 times in franchise history.

Key Stretch

Though Steph Curry entered, in the words of Bob Fitzgerald, “human torch mode,” toward the end of the 4^th quarter, the Warriors opened their lead several possessions before.  They were clinging to a three point lead, when at the 8:33 mark of the 4^th quarter, Klay Thompson a midrange jumper off a Jarret Jack-David Lee pick and roll.  The Warriors forced Nando De Colo into a missed jumper, then caught a break when DeJuan Blair missed a putback.  The next possession, Festus Ezeli, a 51.9% free throw shooter, was fouled after rolling to the rim, and made both free throws. A Jarret Jack jumper followed another Warriors stop, and then the Steph Curry shooting exhibition began.

Why the Warriors Won

Spurs’ Offensive Inconsistency:  Though they began the game hot, the Spurs reserve squad suffered through spurts of offensive inefficiency, the last of which they were unable to overcome.  In terms of usage percentage, without Duncan, Parker, or Ginobli, the Spurs were missing their top 3 sources of offense.  Though Gary Neal, 10-15 and 4-5 from 3 for 25 points, attempted to compensate, the Spurs simply could not keep pace with the Warriors.

Offensive Contribution from Role Players:  While Steph Curry and Klay Thompson had dominant offensive outings, only one Warrior had a true-shooting percentage below 50%: Jarret Jack, who managed 12 assists.  Efficient offensive contributions from Carl Landry, Festus Ezeli, and David Lee helped to fill the gaps between Thompson and Curry’s scoring.

Klay Thomson’s Offense:  Tonight was one of Thompson’s more impressive offensive performances of the season.  Though he has had higher scoring outputs, Klay revealed a variety of offensive moves in isolation, out of the post, and off his usual pin-down plays.  Thompson was able to consistently take advantage of smaller defenders Gary Neal and Danny Green.  The mid-post game, a development only recently displayed, adds complexity to Thompson’s seemingly limited offensive game, and not only affected tonight’s result, but could be a key to future success.

Steph Curry’s Shooting: Steph Curry’s incredible shooting, one of the few near-constants of the Warrior’s season, was on full display versus the Spurs.  Curry’s shooting ability, combined with his quick release, force defenses to constantly adjust to his presence, and tonight was no exception.  Curry’s position on the opposite wing prevented San Antonio from fully extending their help on David Lee rolls, Klay Thompson post-ups, and most strong-side action.  Curry’s shooting did not only serve as a threat, but was on oft-used weapon in this game. Curry was 7/13 from 3 en route to a 35-point outing.

Notes

Steph Curry’s 7 made threes leave him within 1 of tying Reggie Miller’s single season record.

Though the Warriors put the game away late, two memorable highlights, a nifty-Steph Curry double-crossover and a Harrison Barnes dunk, occurred in the 1^st quarter.

Though this was mentioned above, the Warriors use of Klay Thompson in the post, often derived from a 1-2 pick and roll, is a wrinkle to the offense worth watching for in the playoffs.