Golden State Warriors: 2015 NBA Finals Preview

Jan 9, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) in the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 112-94. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) in the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 112-94. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 8
Next
Golden State Warriors
May 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots a basket against the Houston Rockets during the first half in game two of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Three Major X-Factors

First of all, we need to bring up the knee that Thompson took to the head. Curry’s scary fall seems to be nothing more than just a scare, but Thompson was bleeding out of his ear, received stitches and was somehow not tested for a concussion.

After the game, Thompson apparently threw up and started displaying concussion-like symptoms. He has plenty of time to rest up and be ready for the start of the Finals, but how well he responds over the next few days could be huge when it comes to how effective he’ll be in the Finals.

But assuming Thompson is 100 percent, there are two other major X-factors in this series. First, we all know the Warriors are a team that likes to shoot a ton of three-pointers. But in the playoffs, and the Western Conference Finals in particular, the Dubs didn’t shoot the three-ball all that well.

In their five games against the Rockets, Golden State made 58 of their 156 attempts from downtown (37.2 percent). That doesn’t seem like too steep of a drop-off from the 39.8 percent they posted during the regular season, but most of that has to do with the individual brilliance of Steph Curry.

In the WCFs, Curry made 27 of his 55 three-point attempts (49.1 percent). If you take away his three-point output, the rest of the Warriors made only 31 of their 101 three-point attempts (30.7 percent). If you take away Klay Thompson’s shooting as well, all non-Splash Brother Warriors shot just 17-for-60 (28.3 percent) from downtown.

That trend will need to change in the Finals. Role players like Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala and even Leandro Barbosa will need to be able to knock down open looks when they get them.

But just as importantly, the Dubs will need to prevent this game from becoming a half-court game. The Warriors led the NBA in fast break points during the regular season and they’re doing the same in the playoffs. The Cavs don’t often push the ball in transition and as the team with the slowest pace in the playoffs (per NBA.com), they will try to slow the speed of the game down.

The Warriors need to force turnovers, they need to close out defensive stops with rebounds by keeping Thompson off the boards and they need to turn those opportunities into easy transition points.

Next: Final Prediction