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Golden State Warriors: 5 Adjustments For Game 2 vs. Thunder

By Gerald Bourguet

May 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and guard Stephen Curry (30) on the bench against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter in game one of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Golden State Warriors 108-102. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and guard Stephen Curry (30) on the bench against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter in game one of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Golden State Warriors 108-102. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Golden State Warriors
May 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter in game one of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Thunder defeated the Warriors 108-102. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Play Their Game

Give the Thunder’s defense credit; after finishing 20th in defensive rating during the regular season, Billy Donovan simplified things and the result has been a much stingier OKC defense during the playoffs.

The Thunder are holding opponents to 103.1 points per 100 possessions over the last seven games, which is pretty remarkable those opponents have been the San Antonio Spurs (six games) and Golden State Warriors (one game), who were ranked third and first in offensive efficiency during the regular season, respectively.

But make no mistake about it: the NBA’s top ranked offense looked very out of sorts during the second half of Game 1, and not all of that can be linked to the Thunder’s defensive progress.

Stephen Curry didn’t look like he had his legs under him, most likely a product of being sidelined for two weeks in the middle of the playoff run. After a 19-point firestorm in the first half, Klay Thompson disappeared in the second half, finishing it with six points on 3-of-10 shooting.

Draymond Green tried to do too much when it came to his scoring and couldn’t find his shooting touch, missing four free throws and all four of his three-point attempts.

Quick shots are no stranger to the Warriors’ unstoppable offense, but the ones Golden State took late in Game 1 felt rushed, often coming off the dribble with a defender’s hand in their face. The Warriors even rushed layups, making them far more complicated than they needed to be.

Everyone was trying to go for the home run play instead of just trusting the same late-game execution that helped them post a league-best +38.6 net rating in what NBA.com refers to as “clutch situations” (point differential of five or less with five minutes or less) during the regular season.

In the second half, the Warriors got away from the ball movement and cutting that got them here in the first place. The shots weren’t falling, everyone went cold at the wrong time and the tempo slowed to a grind, dropping from a 110.9 pace in the first half to 98.6 in the second half.

It’s not often the Dubs fail to dictate the tempo, but they’ll have to get back to it in Game 2 by simply playing their brand of basketball.

Next: No. 3

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