Golden State Warriors: 10 Keys To Beating The Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Pushing The Tempo
The Warriors may not have gotten the highly anticipated playoff matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, but in the Finals, they’ll be facing a team that prefers playing at a similarly slow pace.
During the regular season, the Warriors ranked second in pace in the NBA at 101.65, trailing only George Karl‘s frenetically-paced Sacramento Kings. In the playoffs, they’ve somehow managed to elevate their tempo to 101.67, making them the most high-paced team in the postseason.
The Cavs, on the other hand, ranked 28th in pace during the regular season (95.48) and have slowed things down to an absolute grind in the playoffs (91.83). That’s nearly been a double-digit gap in pace for the postseason between these two teams.
Cavs are going to have to control the pace as best they can without sacrificing their offensive efficiency. Hard to do.
— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) May 31, 2016
Lue can talk about wanting to run with the Warriors all he wants, but the Cavaliers “playing their game” should really entail trying to slow the tempo down to a grind as they’ve done all postseason. Obviously the Dubs will want to dictate tempo and play at their Helter Skelter pace.
The Warriors lead all playoff teams in fast break points at 16.8 per game; the Cavs are ranked second in fewest opponent fast break points at 7.9 per game. The Warriors thrive when Curry and Thompson are unleashing threes from all over the court and igniting Oracle Arena in a game that feels more like a heart attack; the Cavs are more comfortable taking their time and grinding out possessions.
Whichever team can impose its will and dictate the tempo will have a considerable advantage. If the Dubs can hold their own on the defensive glass and force turnovers, it’s only a matter of time before Curry and Thompson start cutting loose.
Next: No. 3