NBA Finals: Why the Warriors' dominant defense has been the difference vs. Cavs
Golden State is not going to let Cleveland play the way it did against the East
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3 min read
This year is the first time that the league's two most prolific 3-point shooting teams have met in the NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors made 1,077 3-pointers during the regular season, by far an all-time record, and the Cleveland Cavaliers made 880 before ratcheting up their attempts and percentage in the playoffs. The Warriors bombed away toward 73 wins and the league's highest offensive rating, and the Cavaliers' offense has been by far the best in the postseason. Game 1, however, showed that this series will be about defense.
In 2014-15, Golden State was consistently dominant on that end, becoming the first team to lead the NBA in both defensive rating and pace. This year, the way that the Warriors were scoring, they could afford to lose focus every once in a while. The result: they finished -- gasp! -- fourth in defensive rating. Their players did not get any less versatile, physical or long, though, and Thursday was a reminder of what happens when they go up against a team that has a tendency to revert to isolation plays.
"We've shown in the past that we can be a really good defensive team," Iguodala said after the 104-89 win. "When we make that our focus, we're sticking to our principles and communicate, we'll have a lot of success. You're in a situation right now where it seems like everything is do or die. Every small detail matters. Tonight guys were locked in."
Outside of a run in the third quarter, Cleveland never got in rhythm. The Cavs shot 38.1 percent, and -- as has already been discussed to death -- their role players contributed next to nothing. Here's LeBron James trying to be a hero in the second quarter:
And here's Kyrie Irving trying to save a possession in the third:
The Warriors, unlike the rest of Cleveland's competition -- even the Atlanta Hawks, who finished second in defensive rating this season -- were consistently able to help on drives and recover to shooters. They didn't allow James, Irving or Kevin Love to get comfortable, and they didn't let them set up their teammates for many layups or open 3s, either.
Sometimes, it looked like the Cavs were about to get an easy bucket, and then they didn't. Look at Klay Thompson contesting Tristan Thompson at the rim:
And look at Draymond Green helping on James, running Love off the 3-point line, contesting James at the rim and tapping the rebound out:
Everywhere Cleveland went, there were long-armed athletes getting in the way. Iguodala's one-on-one defense was just about perfect. Green was everywhere. They can both switch onto almost anyone the Cavs are putting on the court, and the same is true for Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Shaun Livingston. It is no coincidence that the Cavs' catch-and-shoot players -- J.R. Smith, Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson and Matthew Dellavedova -- had almost no opportunities.
On Friday, Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue answered question after question about his team's stagnant offense. He repeatedly said that, since the Warriors were switching 1-through-5, the Cavs had no choice but to play iso-ball in the halfcourt. Lue wants them to play faster to get easy looks in transition, but there is a problem with that: they need to get more stops to make that happen. Against Golden State, that is much easier said than done.
Coming into the series, much was made of Cleveland essentially doing a Warriors impression in the playoffs. As the Cavs stormed through the East, they moved the ball, spread the floor and made 3s at a historic rate. It appears that the defending champs are not going to let them do that anymore.
