Golden State Warriors: 5 takeaways from Game 3 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

5. Warriors winning the switching game

Three games into their third straight Finals matchup, there are no strategic secrets remaining between the Cavaliers and Warriors.

Central to both team’s strategies: forcing switches. Getting Kevin Love into the pick-and-roll has long since been Steve Kerr‘s approach against Cleveland (and why, in Love’s absence, the Cavs fared surprisingly well in 2015). Last year, Tyronn Lue adopted a similar approach, forcing Stephen Curry into the action.

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Through two games, the Cavs had underutilized the strategy that helped them win the 2016 title. They made a much more concerted effort to get Curry on to LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in Game 3, with mixed results.

When they got the switch, it worked. It was a big part of why James and Irving scored 39 and 38 points apiece, and the deliberate nature of that approach slowed the game to the tempo Cleveland wanted.

However, Golden State has ramped its defense to a higher level than ever in these playoffs. Anticipating Curry’s man becoming a screener, the Warriors have been pre-switching, getting Curry as far away from the action as possible. This confuses the Cavs and stalls out their sets, as it did during their scoring drought across the game’s final 3:09.

On the other end, the Warriors went at Love (as well as Tristan Thompson) with far more success. James’ willingness to switch onto Draymond Green gave Durant several phenomenal looks, especially late in the fourth quarter. The Cavs’ lack of off-ball communication (Kyle Korver is exempt from this; he was outstanding) compounded this issue.

The Warriors have superior talent player for player. If they also generate the matchups they want more often, Cleveland is hopeless.