Golden State Warriors: 5 Keys To Closing Out The Finals

3. Push The Tempo

Luckily for the Warriors, they didn’t have to deal with the Hack-A-Iggy tactic for too long, since Blatt only resorted to it out of desperation late in Game 5. After only a few intentional fouls on Iguodala, the clock had passed the two-minute mark, when that sort of intentional fouling off the ball results in a free throw and the ball back.

At that point, the Warriors were able to extend their lead back into double-digits thanks to the brilliance of Steph Curry. But if Blatt employs that tactic early and often in Game 6, the Warriors have the push the tempo every chance they get, especially in a game the Cavs will try to slow down even without the Hack-A-Iggy.

In Game 5, the Warriors did an excellent job establishing themselves in transition, scoring six of their first eight points on the break. The Dubs finished the game with 18 fast break points to Cleveland’s three.

As we learned early on, when the Cavaliers are playing isolation ball and winding the shot clock down every time, they’re capable of holding the Warriors’ offense in check. Luckily, Kerr’s decision to start trapping LeBron and force the ball from his hands to speed up the tempo has helped with that, but if Iguodala is getting hacked every time down, the Warriors might have to think outside the box here.

If the Dubs can close out defensive stops with rebounds (and we know there will be plenty of opportunities to do so since the Warriors are holding Cleveland under 40 percent shooting for the series), they need to push the ball up the floor whenever they can.

Next: No. 2