Golden State Warriors: 10 Keys To Winning Game 7
5. Stop Putting Tristan Thompson In Pick-And-Rolls
In last year’s Finals, the small-ball Lineup of Death was unstoppable because none of the Cavs’ bigs could contain Stephen Curry on the perimeter out of pick and rolls. Green sliced and diced Cleveland’s defense as the roll man, capitalizing on 4-on-3s when Curry wasn’t drilling them with the long ball.
In this year’s Finals, Thompson has been a complete deterrent to Curry, playing the role of Kevin Durant in this series by switching every screen on the perimeter, preventing him from driving the lane and stifling the long range threat Curry provides with his length.
With the league MVP struggling with his consistency ever since that MCL sprain, it begs the question why Kerr continues to use Thompson’s man for ball screens on Curry’s defender.
Holy crap. This is insane. Look at Curry's #'s with Tristan Thompson on the court as opposed to off of it. pic.twitter.com/EUpKm82sjg
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) June 17, 2016
For two years now, the Warriors have been so remarkable because they take their opponents’ weaknesses — however minuscule they might seem — and exploit them for their own personal gain. It’d be a shame for the Dubs to buck that trend in this series, especially if Kevin Love can avoid foul trouble and stay on the floor in Game 7.
If that’s the case, and if Tyronn Lue leaves Love in the game for too long, there’s no reason for the Warriors to screen Curry with Thompson’s man rather than Love’s. And even if Love is off the floor, why not run more of the Curry-Klay Thompson screens that were so killer in Game 4?
If Curry is on in Game 7 — the way he’s only been on in one game so far this series — the Warriors can live with him exploiting whichever big switches onto him. But if he doesn’t come out firing, Golden State should do everything in their power to get him going, which includes not putting Tristan Thompson in screens.
Next: No. 4