Golden State Warriors: 10 Keys To Winning Game 7
6. Battle For The Boards
Tristan Thompson has been an absolute X-factor for the Cavaliers in this series, and that can’t be the case again in Game 7. Whoever has won the Draymond Green-Tristan Thompson matchup in this series has generally won the game, and that’ll probably be the case again Sunday night.
More from Golden State Warriors
- Grade the Trade: Warriors become title-favs in proposed deal with Raptors
- 5 NBA players everyone should be keeping a close eye on in 2023-24
- New detail about title-costing mistake reopens old wounds for Warriors
- 5 NBA players facing do-or-die 2023–2024 seasons
- 7 Harsh realities of the Golden State Warriors offseason
In Game 1 (a Warriors win), Green out dueled Thompson’s 10-12 double-double with a 16-11-7-4 stat line. In Game 2 (a Warriors win), Green’s 28 points and five threes made him the player of the game. In Game 3 (a Cavs win), Thompson’s 14-13 double-double trumped Green’s 6-7-7 stat line.
In Game 4 (a Warriors win), Green was big again with a 9-12-4-3-2 stat line, out-rebounding Thompson by five. Green obviously missed Game 5, and in Game 6 (a Cavs win), Thompson’s 15-16 double-double had a far greater impact than Green’s 8-10-6 stat line.
In games where the Warriors have won or tied in the rebounding battle against their opponent, they’re a staggering 60-5 (.923 win percentage). When they lose the rebounding battle, that stellar record drops to 28-12 (.700).
Now, to be fair, the only other team to win 70 percent of its games this year was the San Antonio Spurs, so that’s not a bad mark at all. But it’s as close as we’re going to get to finding an Achilles heel for this team, and with the season on the line, it’ll be up to Green, Barnes and the rest of the Death Lineup to make up for Andrew Bogut‘s absence and take care of the boards.
Next: No. 5