Blueprint for Toppling Warriors in NBA Playoffs Not Easy, but Possible
Despite being one of the few to claim victory over the Golden State Warriors this season, Denver Nuggets interim head coach Melvin Hunt does not envy anyone who has to do it four times to get past them in the upcoming playoffs.
"If you show any weakness, they will go after it," he said. "They have a different kind of toughness. Steph Curry has that 'Isiah Thomas baby-faced assassin' toughness, and it starts with him."
It makes sense, then, that disarming the Warriors begins with figuring out a way to keep Curry, their point guard, from getting them started. Hunt had the benefit of not having to face him—or two other starters, Klay Thompson and Andrew Bogut—as Warriors coach Steve Kerr gave them the night off in a 114-103 mid-March loss for Golden State.
The San Antonio Spurs are the only team to beat the Warriors twice this season, and they did so against their complete squad, save the absence of backup point guard Shaun Livingston due to a one-game suspension.
That wasn't by accident.
With the playoffs starting this weekend, a scout for a rival Pacific Division team broke down the necessary ingredients and game plan for ending the Warriors' season. And no team may be better equipped to implement it than San Antonio. But before the Spurs and Warriors duel, there are a few rounds to get through, and no matter the opponent, the task of stopping the Warriors will be difficult.
1. Force Steph to force shots
There is no way to completely shut Curry down because of his ability to get his shot off so quickly off the dribble, but making him do exactly that for the majority of his attempts is crucial. "Having a guy who is long and athletic and can stay in front of him but still bother his shot is key," the scout said. "Even if Steph gets his pull-up jumper, someone with length can affect it at least a little. Kawhi Leonard did a great job of that."
A long defender also can force Curry into more one-handed lateral passes on the move, which seem to account for the majority of his passing turnovers.
2. Make Steph and Klay get their points via contested shots inside the three-point arc
Three-pointers are what enliven both the Warriors and their frenzied Oracle Arena home crowd. Many teams are a threat to pull up and hoist a three on the break these days, but the Warriors are particularly tricky because they will launch before they get to the line and their switching defense often has opponents scrambling to find the man they're supposed to guard; when playing the Warriors, who is guarding you is not always the guy you're guarding. That can create confusion as a team transitions from offense to defense, because your defensive assignment could be sprinting down the other side of the court rather than next to you.
"The pick-up points are different with them," says one playoff-bound Western Conference assistant coach. "It's not at the three-point line, it's at midcourt because they'll shoot it five feet behind the arc. And with all their cross-matching, you can have two guys running to find Draymond [Green] and you've left Steph."
Starting small forward Harrison Barnes is shooting 40.5 percent for the season from the arc, but he's missed 17 of his last 18 and his efficiency has steadily slid since he shot 47.7 percent from three for January. He is a corner-three specialist and not nearly as effective on pull-up jumpers; take away the feet-set corner three and it means the Warriors must live off Green's 33.7 percent shooting from the top of the arc. "It starts with running Steph and Klay off the line and staying on the corners," the scout said.
3. Shrink the court
The Warriors, at their best, are a kaleidoscope of ball and player movement that takes up the entire floor, from the three-point arc to the baseline and touchline to touchline. Playing defensive angles that force the ball to stay on one side of the lane ideally makes them more predictable. "You do that by denying ball reversal, which their bigs are especially good at from the free-throw line and above," the scout said.
4. Test Draymond Green's Defensive Player of the Year credentials
He has been remarkable guarding every big imaginable, from Tim Duncan to LaMarcus Aldridge to Blake Griffin, and snuffing opponents' pick-and-roll options by jumping out further on the floor than most power forwards are comfortable and still having the agility and strength to slide back and keep opposing big men from getting easy baskets at the rim. A long series against Anthony Davis and then Zach Randolph and then Tim Duncan could test the 6'7", 230-pounder's resilience. "Draymond guarding Tim Duncan for an entire game, let alone a series, is difficult," the scout said.
5. Make Andrew Bogut a dribbler and a scorer, rather than a passer and a finisher
The Warriors would love for Bogut to look for his own shot more, especially by backing down smaller opponents on the block, but he refuses to do it more than a handful of times, at most, each game. He prefers operating from the high post, handing off the ball and setting screens, finding cutters with slip passes or rolling to the rim to finish lobs. According to the scout, "It starts with taking away him being a ball-reversal trailer on the break," the scout said. "Take away his rim runs, too. Make him a driver and a scorer."
6. Have reinforcements
"You also have to be able to match their depth," the scout said. "Limit everything their starters like to do and you still have to contend with what they have coming at you off the bench. It's not easy, by any means. But San Antonio has what it takes."
Ric Bucher covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @RicBucher.
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