Golden State Warriors: 5 Keys To Second Round Series

1. Push The Tempo

During the regular season, the Warriors averaged 20.9 fast break points per game to lead the league. During the playoffs, the Warriors have averaged 22.5 fast break points per game to lead all playoff teams. The Grizzlies like to play in a grind-it-out, half-court game. The Warriors like to push the tempo, get out in transition and maximize the potential of every possession.

This isn’t rocket science.

During the regular season, the Grizzlies limited opponents to 13.4 fast break points per game. In the playoffs, they’ve been a stifling transition defense, holding the Blazers to 9.6 fast break points per game. To be fair, Portland was a poor transition offense during the regular season, but the biggest aspect of this series will be who controls the tempo.

The Warriors are capable of beating teams in a half-court game, but in the first round, we saw what happened to Golden State’s half-court offense against a formidable Pelicans defense. If the Dubs hadn’t been able to push the tempo and score easy points in transition, that might have been a very different series.

Memphis’ offense, with or without Conley, is not good enough to play an up-and-down game with the Dubs. They’ll be trying to slow the tempo down, limit Golden State’s possessions and keep them from scoring backbreaking threes in transition.

For Golden State to win in these playoffs, they need to continue unleashing their unstoppable fast break attack every opportunity they get.

Next: Golden State Warriors: 5 Areas To Improve In Second Round