Golden State Warriors 5 keys to 2019 Western Conference Finals vs. Blazers

2. Make Damian Lillard exert himself

Damian Lillard is having a moment in these playoffs, but the Warriors need to double-down on the Nuggets’ strategy and try to take him out of the series by exhausting him. The Blazers go as their guard tandem — Lillard and CJ McCollum — goes. In Game 7, Lillard shot 3-of-17 and only put up 13 points. And yet, he played a terrific game, grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out eight assists and even getting three steals to finish with a stellar +8 on the night.

It seems obvious to say, but the Warriors can’t let Dame have games where he dictates the flow of the Blazers’ offense. McCollum has a preternatural feel for the mid-range and is going to get his, but the Dubs have to control Lillard and make the other unheralded Blazers like Maurice Harkless and Zach Collins beat them.

The Nuggets (and many teams before them) did this by trying to trap Lillard in the pick-and-roll, as seen here:

Nikola Jokic was a bit slow on that read, but Kevon Looney has faster foot speed and should be able to hedge Dame reasonably enough to keep him off-balance. The Blazers are not likely to try and draw either Draymond or Iguodala into pick-and-rolls, which limits their options for who will be setting screens for Lillard.

That will likely fall on Kanter and Collins, which means dragging guys like Looney 25 feet from the basket; if the Warriors can keep up out there, that means Draymond as the help defender inside, which will help shut off many of the easy pocket passes that Dame had against Denver, like this:

https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1127686476563505152

On the defensive end, the Warriors need to hunt Dame as much as they can. Small guards simply wear down having to go through a gauntlet of screens; this has happened to Steph in the past as well, and he’ll get his fair share of work on the defensive end in this series too.

Jamal Murray constantly had Dame’s man come and screen for him, which over time simply wore Lillard out. The Warriors cannot allow Dame to chill in the corner covering someone like Iguodala or Livingston the way he did guarding Torrey Craig against Denver.

Evan Turner wasn’t running the offense to relive his Buckeye glory days, he was doing it because Dame and CJ were running on fumes. If the Warriors don’t severely limit Lillard by targeting him every second he’s on the court, they’ll be making a serious mistake.