Golden State Warriors: 5 Preparations For NBA Finals Game 5
2. Force The Ball Out Of LeBron’s Hand
Heading into Game 4, LeBron James was averaging an absurd 41 points, 12 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game, so even though he was shooting about 40 percent from the field, it didn’t matter. He was dictating the tempo by winding down the shot clock with iso-ball, and even his misses allowed the Cavaliers to either set up their transition defense or grab an offensive rebound for a new 24 seconds.
But in Game 4, Kerr resisted being stubborn and stopped hoping that (over)usage would wear LeBron out, taking the fight to King James instead. Golden State sent a ton of help every time LeBron caught the ball, abandoning their one-on-one coverage strategy through the first three games that basically dared LeBron to be a high volume scorer and get his points while his teammates stood around watching.
Warriors have all these guys that are same size. Works as long as LeBron James doesn't take over. He's not as bouncy as he'd been
— Dave King (@DaveKingNBA) June 12, 2015
Last night, the mantra seemed to be forcing anyone but LeBron James to beat the Dubs. One game is a small sample size, and this system may need tweaking depending on who gets in hot in Game 5. But for Game 4, it completely worked.
Timofey Mozgov represented Cleveland’s leading scorer with 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting. LeBron got 20, but it took him 22 shots to get there, and it was a far cry from the 41 points he was averaging for the series.
Tristan Thompson went 6-for-10 from the floor for 12 points, but Matthew Dellavedova (3-for-14), J.R. Smith (2-for-12) and Iman Shumpert (2-for-9) completely failed to spread the floor with any kind of perimeter threat.
Cavs' LeBron James says Warriors were able to play quicker pace because Cavs shot so poorly. Adds: "We'll take those looks again."
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) June 12, 2015
To be fair, the Dubs can’t rely on those three shooting that poorly again. But Golden State’s defense hasn’t been the issue in this series; their defensive coverage and inability to control the tempo of the game has been their biggest problem.
They solved that problem in Game 4, and if they can continue to limit LeBron by forcing the ball out of his hands, Cleveland doesn’t have the weapons to make the Dubs pay for it, even when they’re scrambling to get back into position.
Next: No. 1