Steve Kerr's Lineup Tweaks Will Lead the Warriors to Western Conference Finals

The Golden State Warriors never hit rough waters this year.

They avoided major, lingering injuries. They led the NBA in regular-season wins (67), average margin of victory (10.1) and defensive efficiency (98.2) and finished second to the Clippers in offensive efficiency.

They have the league's Most Valuable Player in Stephen Curry and two others, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut, who finished second and sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, respectively.

But after a first-round sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans, the Warriors' ship finally sailed right into a hurricane. 

Golden State's second-round matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies—lovers of grit and grind, proprietors of The Grindhouse and a team that would be just as comfortable in a hockey brawl as on a basketball court—has become the Warriors' first meeting with true adversity this season.

Heading into a pivotal Game 4 down 2-1, the Warriors finally endured their first test under legitimate pressure this season. A loss would spell certain doom, while a win would even the series and allow Golden State to regain home-court advantage. 

Coach of the Year runner-up Steve Kerr had to make some unexpected adjustments, as he told reporters following the game, via Kevin Lipe of the Memphis Flyer:

His first move, absurd as it might sound, was to put 7-footer Bogut on 6'4" wing Tony Allen. Deadspin's Kevin Draper explained what Kerr was trying to accomplish with such an auspicious move:

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Cross-matching on defense isn’t unusual, but centers usually don’t guard small forwards on anything other than a switch or broken play. While Bogut has quick feet and impeccable timing, most small forwards can kill him on offense by running around the perimeter, but not Tony Allen. Tony Allen is a 27 percent career three-point shooter and has never even averaged two assists per game. A victory for Allen on offense is keeping his defender honest. Anything else is a bonus.

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As Allen's shot chart indicates, Kerr's strategy worked to perfection: 

NBA.com

Bogut essentially let Allen frolic around the perimeter, picking him up only if he ventured deep into the paint. Bogut's primary objective was to serve as reinforcements for Green and Harrison Barnes, who were guarding two physically imposing beasts in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.

The dividends from Kerr's gamble were paid immediately. The Warriors were content to let Allen shoot whenever he wanted, while Bogut's continual presence at the rim affected every Grizzlies foray into the post. 

Bogut allowed opponents to shoot just 2-of-18 (11 percent) against him at the rim, according to SportVU data provided by the NBA. This is an insane number, considering Rudy Gobert led the NBA at 40 percent during the regular season.

NBA.com

As the shot chart attests, Memphis wasn't particularly good from anywhere on the floor last night, but the Grizzlies' struggles inside, an area they typically dominate with Randolph and Gasol, essentially doomed their chances from the beginning:

Golden State's funky game plan limited Mr. Grit 'n' Grind to just 16 minutes in Game 4, which immediately opened the door for the Splash Brothers to dominate sans his intimidating defensive presence, as Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes explained:

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The ripple effects of eliminating Allen from the proceedings were massive. Suddenly, Curry and Thompson didn't have to tangle with the league's scariest perimeter defender this side of Kawhi Leonard. Golden State's improved offensive flow with Allen on the bench was no coincidence.

In addition, the Warriors aggressively doubled Memphis' post-up tries all night after seeing some success with the tactic in the second half of Game 3.

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This likely wouldn't have worked though, had Barnes not been able to adequately matchup with Z-Bo, who outweighs the 6'8" Barnes by over 50 pounds. 

Randolph had eight total touches with Barnes as his primary defender and was able to produce just one point, according to SportVU data. Bogut's rim defense was a major factor, but if Barnes hadn't been able to stifle Randolph, the entire scheme may have fallen apart.

With Allen out and the Memphis defense vulnerable, Curry was allowed to return to his true MVP form, dropping jaws with his magician's bag of tricks: 

The Baby-Faced Assassin finished with a game-high 33 points (11-22 FG, 4-9 3PT), eight rebounds and five assists. In the prior two games, both Golden State losses, Curry averaged 21 points on just 37.5 percent (15-40) shooting from the field and 19 percent (4-21) from three. 

The MVP's return to form, coupled with Golden State's defensive resurgence and eccentric game plan, completely changed the complexion of this series in just one night. 

Golden State is now heading home tied 2-2, riding a huge wave of momentum following their Game 4 thrashing of Memphis.

The Warriors may have hit a strong swell against the Grizzlies' grinding play, but Kerr steered his ship right through the eye of the hurricane and safely to the other side. 

This was Golden State's first meeting with adversity. Their next will come in the Western Conference Finals.

All statistics courtesy of NBA.com unless otherwise noted.http://www.nba.com/