The Golden State Warriors don’t tend to start out games with their small Lineup of Death, but going to it right away could throw off the Utah Jazz.
The Golden State Warriors probably aren’t all that worried about the Utah Jazz. They swept the Portland Trail Blazers without a healthy Kevin Durant for three of the four games, without a healthy Matt Barnes for any of the games and without Shaun Livingston for three of four games as well.
Still, the Dubs won’t take their opponent lightly, even if they are disappointed they don’t get to spend a few nights in Los Angeles during the second round. To really get an upper hand in the series, the Warriors could come out with a different starting lineup in Game 1.
No disrespect to Zaza Pachulia, but Rudy Gobert is a potential First Team All-NBA center, and would absolutely win his matchup with Zaza time and time again. JaVale McGee is more athletically equipped to handle Gobert, but the Dubs haven’t trusted him to play all too often in the postseason thus far.
There is, of course, another option at center in Golden State. Two years ago the Warriors made hay by playing small lineups with Draymond Green at center for stretches in both the regular season and the playoffs.
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The original group, nicknamed the Lineup of Death, consisted of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Green. That group is fairly unique in the NBA, as it features five capable shooters without completely giving up on the defensive end, thanks to the versatility of Green.
Now, given that Durant is healthy, the updated version is Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Durant and Green. Trading out Harrison Barnes for Kevin Durant is one hell of an upgrade.
There was an obvious cost in terms of depth — players like Barnes and defensive stalwart Andrew Bogut had to be jettisoned to make cap space for Durant — but it’s harder to notice the cost of Durant if Bogut’s replacement isn’t starting games.
The Warriors might want to save putting lots of mileage on that lineup until the latter rounds, but using it right away could definitely throw off the Utah Jazz. Gobert is a game-changer, but he’ll be partially nullified if he’s forced to guard a perimeter player who can shoot.
Gobert will either have to leave the paint, which he defends better than just about any player east of Draymond Green, or stay there and give up open shots to whoever the Jazz pick for him to guard.
Draymond had a down year from beyond the arc, as he shot under 31 percent from three-point range over the course of the regular season. Still, giving him an open runway is a dangerous proposition, considering how skilled he is at playmaking. Besides, a few early makes could really get Green going, which is a less than ideal outcome for Utah.
The next-worst shooter in the Lineup of Death is Iguodala, but he still made 36 percent of his triples in the regular season. Leaving any of Curry, Thompson or Durant open on purpose is a non-starter, for obvious reasons.
Iguodala is slumping thus far in the postseason, as he’s 0-for-9 from beyond the arc. Draymond has been thriving, on the other hand. He’s hit 55 percent of his threes, and trails only the Splash Brothers in attempts.
Even if Iguodala failed to get going from deep, the Dubs could throw Ian Clark (50 percent from deep in the playoffs, 37.4 percent in the regular season) or Patrick McCaw (33.3 percent in the regular season and playoffs) in there and move Thompson up to the small forward spot.
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Even beyond winning individual matchups, throwing in the Lineup of Death from the jump would probably get the game moving. The Warriors played at the fourth-fastest pace among all teams in the regular season, while no team plodded slower than the Jazz.
Whichever team dictates the pace will thus have a huge advantage. Golden State runs fast even with Zaza on the court, but they move at blazing speed when they go small. There’s a real chance Utah simply couldn’t keep up, especially with Gobert on the floor.
The Warriors haven’t turned to Draymond-at-center lineups often in the postseason thus far. Part of that is likely due to Durant’s injury, as well as Livingston missing time, throwing off the Dubs typical rotations.
In the regular season, only the Dubs starters played more minutes together than their Lineup of Death, and both groups enjoyed great success. The starters had a better defensive rating, but the small group had a better offensive rating, net rating and pace.
The pace might be as important as anything mentioned above. The Warriors averaged around 116 points per game in the regular season. The Jazz got to that mark four times in 82 regular season games, and haven’t scored more than 106 points yet in the playoffs.
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If the Golden State Warriors go small and get the Utah Jazz running after them, they could put games out of reach in terms of overall points scored. The last thing the Warriors want is to play a slow game, and they can avoid doing so by bringing out the Lineup of Death from the very beginning of Game 1, which would allow the Dubs to set the tone of the series right away.