Golden State Warriors: 5 Lessons From WCFs Game 1

5. Shaun Livingston Was Huge

Golden State’s best player last night was Curry, that much is clear. The league MVP finished with 34 points (13-of-22 shooting, 6-for-11 from downtown), six rebounds and five assists. But the Warriors’ most important player of the game might have been Shaun Livingston.

In a first half where the Dubs trailed by as many as 16 points, Livingston was the catalyst behind Golden State’s turnaround second quarter, even before the Warriors went small with Draymond Green at center. Livingston had 16 points at halftime, a personal career high in a single half per Elias, and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor in the second quarter.

Livingston didn’t do anything flashy; he knocked down a few close jumpers when the shorter Pablo Prigioni was guarding him, but he mostly just got easy baskets in transition.

However, there’s a reason the Dubs won the second quarter by a 34-24 margin to take back the lead. Livingston played the entire period, his length was a problem no matter who he was defending and his 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench were the difference in the end.

Nobody should expect Livingston to play like this every night, but his 18 points — the most by a Warriors reserve so far in the postseason — on 6-of-8 shooting was superior to the rest of Golden State’s bench contributions combined (16 points, 6-for-16 shooting).

The Warriors’ other reserves will have to be better from here on out, but Livingston’s big night was a reminder of what makes this versatile team so scary: on any given night, anyone on this well-rounder roster is capable of twisting the knife.

Next: No. 4