Golden State Warriors: 3 keys for Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals
By Ananth Para
3.Tighten up on offense
After Kevin Durant suffered a calf injury in Game 5 of the conference semi-finals, the Golden State Warriors rattled off a five-game winning streak that was fueled behind their high octane offense. But for sake of context, let’s remind the world who they went on a run against.
The first game was undoubtedly the most impressive, winning a tough road battle against a top-six defense throughout their run in the playoffs, the Houston Rockets. But that Houston Rockets team is the same team that has reportedly had chemistry issues due to the clashing of their number one and number two options, James Harden and Chris Paul.
The Western Conference Finals, on the other hand, was against the fourth worst defense in the playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers. To compare the jump in defensive competition, it’s only fair to look at the stats.
Through Portland’s playoff tenure, they allowed opponents to score 111.1 points per game on 44 percent shooting, in comparison to the Raptors who stifled teams to only 100.1 points per game on 41. 8 percent shooting, good for 2nd best in the playoffs. But keep in mind the Raptors are only behind the Indiana Pacers this postseason in terms of points allowed.
16 turnovers against the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals is not going to get it done.
While the infamous Stephen Curry-Draymond Green pick and roll worked to perfection against the Trail Blazers, the Raptors have the length that Portland did not to help combat the once unsolvable and unstoppable play in the league.