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

4. A Little More Production At Center

The Warriors’ biggest advantage over Cleveland over the last two years has been their small-ball Lineup of Death that the Cavs just don’t have an answer for. That lineup has made Timofey Mozgov virtually unplayable and Channing Frye, a supposed X-factor entering the series, played just seven minutes in Game 1.

That might change in Game 2 based on Tyronn Lue‘s adjustments, but with the Cavs currently starting Tristan Thompson at center and the Warriors being able to play their centers without having to ride the small-ball unit, one thing is certain: Those centers need to be better in Game 2.

To be fair, Andrew Bogut was actually quite good in Game 1, putting up 10 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting. But he also collected only three rebounds in 15 minutes and was a -8 for the game (though, as we all know, living and dying by the plus/minus statistic is a fool’s errand).

Festus Ezeli continued his disturbing (and money-costing) trend of poor play in the postseason, putting up two points and three rebounds on 1-of-4 shooting in 10 minutes of action.

Anderson Varejao was, surprisingly, a +4 in his three minutes, mostly because of the two clutch flops he racked up, which seems to be Steve Kerr‘s sole purpose for putting him in the game now.

All of this depends on how Lue decides to adjust his lineups, but if Cleveland’s rotations look similar and the Warriors are able to continue playing their centers, those big men — Ezeli in particular — need to be a little bit better at controlling the boards.

Next: No. 3