Lessons Learned from Golden State Warriors' First-Round Victory over Pelicans

The Golden State Warriors sent a message to the masses with their four-game sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans in their first-round playoff series. The newcomer Pels made it a hard-fought contest, but their inexperience was overwhelmed by the talent of Golden State.

The Warriors had their way in two  games, holding on to big leads until New Orleans fought back late each time.

Stephen Curry delivered the game-saving miracle three-pointer during the unbelievable comeback victory in Game 3, a 123-119 overtime win on April 23. That was New Orleans' best shot at a victory.

The Warriors played their style of ball by opening the court and getting the necessary touches. They did rush at times, but head coach Steve Kerr made sure to slow down the pace when necessary.

In all, what lessons did Golden State learn from the first-round victory? 

Draymond Green Does Everything

Draymond Green is the heartbeat of the Warriors. Period.

He does so much on offense and defense that the Warriors are at a loss with him off the floor. The team was minus-45 with Green sitting.

He put up a line of 15.8 points, 12.8 boards, 6.3 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.3 blocks in 41.8 minutes per game.

On defense, Green had the task of guarding Anthony Davis. Yes, Davis had a successful series, but Green made it tough on the big man.

He pairs well with Andrew Bogut, as Green can move up and down the key to front his man with the big Aussie as the last line of defense.

Moving forward, Green will likely have to link up against the bigger Zach Randolph of the Grizzlies (who lead the Portland Trail Blazers 3-0), which will be an intense affair. Both Michigan State alumni will likely look forward to that.

Per Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, Coach Kerr has a simple approach with Green. “I ask Draymond if he’s tired, and if he says no, I leave him in. And if he says yes, I leave him in. It’s a very scientific approach.”

Green played more than 40 minutes in each game. Expect Kerr to maximize his effort and his time on the court.

The Warriors Need to Tighten Up Their 4th Quarters

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The Warriors got sloppy when they held big leads.

In two games, the Warriors rolled into the fourth quarter with a large lead. Then, it got tense.

During the regular season, Kerr sat Curry for 18 fourth quarters out of the 82 games played. With so much on the line against New Orleans, Curry had to be reinserted quickly to slow down the potential collapses.

The rotations are shorter in the second season, which should be a reason that teams don’t give up 10-plus-point leads.

Since a lot of the huge runs are momentum-based, the Warriors can’t completely relax when the game looks out of hand. Flipping the switch works with electricity, but it is extremely difficult to re-gather a team within a few seconds.

In Game 1, the Warriors needed clutch shots from Klay Thompson to right the ship. The Warriors had a 17-point lead cut to four points in the final moments.

In Game 4, Golden State had a 19-point lead that was shrunk to seven.

Per Diamond Leung of the Mercury News, Curry felt that the Warriors still have work to do. "We still feel like we can play better and more consistent," Curry said.

Kerr needs to be ready to make substitutions and change matchups, as the Warriors will be facing stronger opponents in future rounds.

The players can’t feel like they have already won the game and get careless. They have had runs when they play like the ball is on fire and force quick shots instead of making the extra pass.

They need to stick with the game plan and play every second like the game is tied.

Anthony Davis Is the Next Big Thing

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Anthony Davis and Stephen Curry will see a lot more of each other in future playoff matchups.

The Warriors got a firsthand glimpse of Anthony Davis in this season’s playoffs. He is the next rising star.

Davis was the one Pelicans player who had his way with the Warriors defense. He rebounded the ball, made blocks and converted his offensive opportunities.

He was the main offensive weapon that Kerr and assistant coach Ron Adams had to game-plan around.

Davis put up impressive stats in his first four playoff games. He averaged 31.5 points, 11 boards, two assists and three blocks.

He has impressive company for players who have averaged 30 and 10 in their first four playoff games. The others were Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob McAdoo.

Per Marcus Thompson of the Mercury News, Kerr was happy to be done with Davis:

"

The first three games all came down to the wire and I thought tonight was the best effort of the series. I’m very pleased with the effort and I’m very pleased that I don’t have to see Anthony Davis until November at the earliest. I hope he has a nice off-season and doesn’t get too much better from here, but he was brilliant.

"

The Warriors were too much for him this season, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see future playoff battles in the near future.

Kerr Needs More Production from Certain Players

Kerr can rely on his mainstays of Curry, Thompson, Bogut and Green, but others have not brought their A-games so far this playoff season.

Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, Shaun Livingston and Marreese Speights have all had disappointing runs in the first round.

Barnes has disappeared at a variety of points, but he was a key factor with offensive putbacks in the Game 3 comeback. He skied through the air to secure rebounds and even hit a clutch three-pointer.

Livingston started out with a stinker (per Basketball-Reference.com, he was minus-20), but he has slowly come back to form. He helped guide the beginning of the comeback in the third game and maintained the flow in the clincher.

Iguodala has been the most disappointing so far. He has played sufficient defense, but he has not impacted the game on offense the way he did in the second half of the season.

Per Basketball-Reference.com, he is a cumulative minus-25 for the playoffs. He has not been on the positive end for a single game.

He has hit only two of 16 three-point attempts and needs to become more aggressive with the ball. Another no-show round won’t work against better opponents.

Curry Is Playoff Clutch

Before this season, Curry had never hit a last-second, game-winning three-point shot. On December 2, Curry got off the schneid in a 98-97 win over the Orlando Magic.

Since that time, he has taken over as the vocal and floor leader for the best team in the NBA. And he is getting better.

In this series, most fans didn't think Curry would need to provide any late-game heroics.

He delivered with solid numbers in every game, with point totals of 34, 22, 40 and 39. He was also creative in getting to the hole, making shots and providing kickbacks to open teammates.

However, his biggest moment came when the team needed him the most in Game 3. He hit shot after shot to close the deficit from 20 points to only three with seconds remaining.

He had his first attempt with less than nine seconds left, but the offensive rebound by Speights gave Curry one more try. He hit the tying shot with three Pelicans charging at him in the corner and only two seconds left.

Curry then took over the extra period and led his team to the convincing 123-119 win that all but secured the series.

The results of his play have given him a line of 33.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 39.8 minutes per game.

Warriors fans and teammates look forward to future playoff games, which may lead to an NBA title behind the gifted guard.

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