Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Game 2 vs. Thunder
2. Still Might Need More Death Lineup
When Bogut, Ezeli, Marreese Speights (13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in nine minutes) and even Anderson Varejao (four points and four rebounds in six minutes) play like they did Wednesday night, the Warriors don’t need to go small as much.
But against a resilient Thunder team that will enjoy home-court advantage for the next two games, Kerr has to be prepared to unleash the Lineup of Death for longer periods than he’s usually comfortable with.
Ezeli’s emergence in Game 2 gives Kerr the option of staying big when Bogut needs a breather, but as Andre Iguodala proved in Game 2 with 14 points, three steals and a bench-high +18, the Warriors need his composure, passing and good decision-making on the floor more often during this series.
Or, you know, even plays like these from time to time:
In Game 1, the Curry-Thompson-Barnes-Iguodala-Green lineup was a +8 in 13 minutes of action, giving it the best plus/minus in the game and making it Golden State’s most used lineup.
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In Game 2, the Death Lineup once again worked like gangbusters, posting a +6 in just 1.7 minutes, per NBA.com. The Warriors didn’t need to fully utilize it with Curry going into supernova mode in the third quarter, but in just under 15 minutes of action together in this series, that lineup has outscored OKC by 14 points.
In the event Game 3 is more competitive and not dominated by a singlehanded Curry explosion, Kerr may need to resort back to going small, as it appeared he was prepared to do before Curry made it unnecessary to whip out in the fourth quarter.
Going small takes a physical toll and leaves the Warriors vulnerable on the glass, but whenever it starts to feel like momentum is slipping away, the Lineup of Death is an undeniably effective trump card.
Next: No. 1