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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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May 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) scores against Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston (34) during the third quarter in game one between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Control The Defensive Glass

The Thunder out-rebounded every team in the NBA during the regular season, so expecting the Warriors to out-rebound OKC’s back line of Steven Adams, Enes Kanter and Serge Ibaka was always unrealistic.

This was an issue for the Warriors during the regular season as well. In three meetings, the Dubs were a -40 on the glass and gave up an average of 13.0 offensive rebounds per game.

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    • The Warriors won all three of those games, including the overtime thriller where they were out-rebounded by 30, but this is a key issue in the playoffs when the possessions slow down and closing out stops with a defensive rebound becomes paramount.

    In Game 1, it was yet another instance of being a tale of two halves for the Warriors. In the first half, a collective team effort limited the Thunder to two offensive boards and the Dubs were actually a +3 on the glass.

    In the second half, the Thunder hauled in eight offensive rebounds and were a +8 on the glass. It wasn’t even surprising that Curry (10 rebounds) and Thompson (nine) were Golden State’s leading rebounders with the way the frontcourt played.

    The Thunder finished with 15 second chance points to the Warriors’ two in Game 1. Going small comes at a price, but when Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli and/or Marreese Speights are on the floor, they’ve got to give Draymond Green and the backcourt helpers some aid, especially late in games.

    Next: No. 1

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