Golden State Warriors: 5 Preparations For NBA Finals Game 5

4. Committing To Small-Ball

On a similar note, the reason the Warriors were able to dominate Game 4 is all about tempo. Part of this emphasis on dictating the speed of the game rests in the way Kerr adjusted his defense on LeBron, which we’ll get to in a bit.

But the rest of it has to do with playing those unconventional small-ball lineups that everyone seems to love when they’re working and condemns when the opposition is hauling in offensive rebounds.

Playing an undersized lineup like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green is obviously going to have its advantages and disadvantages. The Dubs gave up 16 offensive rebounds in Game 4, leading to 20 second chance points, and they had a hard time closing out good defensive possessions with a rebound.

But they scrapped and only lost the rebound battle by five in the end, holding the Cavs to 33 percent shooting in the process. And considering the extreme advantages they were able to conjure up on the offensive end, the gambit was well worth it.

You could easily see the Warriors were more comfortable playing at a faster pace, shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. The Dubs scored 11 points in transition (their largest total since Game 2, a game the Dubs would have won if they hadn’t forgotten how to shoot), but more importantly, Cleveland didn’t know what to do defensively.

Andre Iguodala’s huge night (22 points, 8-of-15 shooting, 4-of-9 from downtown) played a major role in flustering Cleveland’s defense, but the truth is, they seemed almost…cavalier in living with leaving him open. With Curry, Thompson, Barnes and Green all being more dangerous perimeter threats, Cleveland stuck Mozgov on Iggy and had him camp out in the lane, only contesting shots after they had already gone up.

Iggy made the Cavs pay for it, while Barnes (14 points, 4-of-9) and Green (17 points, 6-of-11) did their part to spread the floor and attack out of the pick and roll. It didn’t even matter that Curry (22 points, 8-of-17, 4-of-7 from downtown) and Thompson (nine points, 4-of-9) didn’t have transcendent nights; the Dubs still cracked 100 points and routed Cleveland’s mighty D anyway.

In Game 5, the Warriors need to continue pushing the pace and keep things at an up-tempo speed. Iggy won’t always set his career playoff high, but if they can get steady production out of that Iggy/Barnes/Green trio and, hell, maybe even a 30-point night from Curry or Thompson, they’ll blow this series wide open.

Next: No. 3