Hoops Habit
Fansided

Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Game 4 vs. Cavaliers

By Gerald Bourguet

Jun 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and forward Andre Iguodala (9) celebrate after a three point basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the fourth quarter in game four of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and forward Andre Iguodala (9) celebrate after a three point basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the fourth quarter in game four of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
Golden State Warriors
Jun 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala (9) grabs a rebound against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the fourth quarter in game four of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Balancing Death And Rebounding Is Key

For most of these NBA Finals, Steve Kerr had been hesitant to go to the team’s patented Lineup of Death, which, ironically enough, was the turning point in the Warriors’ six-game victory over these same Cavaliers in last year’s Finals.

Through the first three games, the Curry-Thompson-Barnes-Iggy-Green lineup that’s rained death from above for a year played a grand total of 13 minutes. In Game 4, when an injured Andrew Bogut forced Kerr to put Iggy in and the Dubs rattled off an 8-0 run, the Warriors rode their secret weapon lineup to 17 minutes and a big road win.

The Dubs were a +8 in those 17 minutes and were able to exploit Kevin Love and Channing Frye late in the game on switches. With Draymond Green playing a series-high 28 minutes at center, the Warriors were a +27.4 per 48 minutes.

According to NBC Pro Basketball Talk’s Dan Feldman, the Warriors have averaged a +29.1 plus/minus per 48 minutes with Green playing center…as opposed to a -10.7 per 48 minutes with a traditional center playing the 5.

The trouble with going small can often be the advantage other teams enjoy on the offensive glass. Oddly enough, this was not the case in Game 4.

In the first half, the Cavs were a +3 on the boards and had racked up 10 offensive rebounds against the Warriors’ more traditional starting lineup. In the second half, when small-ball took over, the Dubs out-rebounded Cleveland by six, held them to only six offensive boards and racked up nine offensive boards of their own.

The Warriors wound up a +3 on the glass, moving to 60-4 (.938) when they win or tie the rebounding battle…as opposed to a slightly more vulnerable 28-11 (.718) when they lose it.

With a golden opportunity to close this thing out at home and capture back-to-back titles, Kerr will have to straddle the line between unleashing small-ball, riding that go-to lineup too hard, trusting his bench at home and having enough size and strength to protect the defensive glass.

Next: No. 1

Home/Golden State Warriors