Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Game 1 vs. Thunder
3. Controlling The Boards Is Key
After the Thunder demolished San Antonio with a dual center lineup of Steven Adams and Enes Kanter, the big talk entering the Western Conference Finals was how Golden State’s Death Lineup would fare against OKC’s monstrous frontcourt.
In three regular season meetings between these two teams, the Thunder — the league’s top rebounding team — beat Golden State on the boards by a total of 46 rebounds and collected an average of 13.0 offensive rebounds per game.
Head coach Steve Kerr was certainly wise to preach the importance of rebounding to his team all week long.
Warrior Warts on full display, though. Sometimes casual on offense, lack of lockdown defense and rebounding…chickens, home. Roost.
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) May 17, 2016
In the first half, his team showed that the message had sunk in. Not only did they limit the Thunder to two offensive rebounds, but they were also +3 on the boards at the break. Unfortunately, the Dubs’ lack of second half execution extended to their game plan on the glass as well.
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In the third and fourth quarters, the Warriors were out-rebounded by 11, giving up eight offensive boards that led to eight second chance points. The Dubs were outscored 15-2 in that category for the game and were out-rebounded by eight overall.
To be fair, the Warriors were out-rebounded in every regular season matchup with the Thunder and won all of those games, including the overtime thriller where OKC was an unbelievable +30 on the boards.
But in the playoffs, when possessions matter just a little bit more, the Dubs have to bring that same effort and focus they had in the first half and keep guys like Kanter, Adams, Westbrook and Serge Ibaka off the glass.
Next: No. 2