by Brian » Wed Jun 01, 2016 6:07 am
Yeah it's the same old story with OKC. It's no surprise they blow plenty of 4th Q leads cuz when it gets to crunch time, and they aren't getting fastbreak chances, their halfcourt offense gets so predictable. They iso Durant or Westbrook and have everyone else stand around too much. If that kind of offense is going to work, they have to have optimal floor spacing. Any bit of crowding there (or weak link on the court, like Adams around the perimeter, or Roberson when he has no confidence like in this last game), and the defense can hedge and be ready to give help to contain Russ and KD. That's when you see Iguodala and Green making great defensive plays, getting strips of Durant, or Klay having a great block while containing Westbrook's forced drive to the hoop. And Curry has stripped KD when he's switched onto him, and he's jumped some passing lanes for steals.
OKC always depends on their defense and drawing plenty of fouls on offense, getting Russ and KD to the line. All the pressure is on the opposing team to run quality offense, getting good open shots, not turning it over. Cuz you let OKC get in transition, and of course those athletes take advantage of having extra court space to score. And on defense, GS had to stay so focused, so disciplined, always being aware of the "crafty" attempts by Russ and KD at drawing fouls. I hate that style too, it's an ugly thing to watch, but when it works for them against a lot of defenders, of course they will keep trying it. I was so happy to see the GS defenders adjust to avoid those bullshit plays, keeping Russ and KD off the line in game 7. Like the play where Russ drives with his defender in catchup mode trailing him, and Russ stops and jumps back into the defender, who gets the foul on him. Russ got that play twice in game 6, then tried to draw it again on Klay in game 7, but Klay was ready for it and made sure to stay away, so Russ missed the shot cuz his focus was on trying to draw the foul.
The Spurs didn't play well enough on offense as it's their first year bringing Aldridge into the mix, so they're lacking a definitive offensive identity. Also, Kawhi struggled adjusting to the length and athleticism of OKC's defenders. Aldridge had a great first game, then wasn't hitting his J consistently enough after that. Working together another year should help them get their offense finetuned to have a better shot at beating OKC next year.
The Warriors were also affected by the great length and athleticism of OKC. Early in the series they were turning it over way too much, and getting plenty of shots blocked at the hoop. It took them some time to adjust, but they got comfortable and executed well the last few games. I believe the early troubles were also due to Curry's knee injury. He didn't have his usual explosiveness (you could see it in his attempts at the rim when he wasn't elevating much), and wasn't in a perfect rhythm after missing a couple weeks, but as the series progressed, he looked to be right near 100% by the end of it. Cuz in game 7, he was elevating better. So if he knows he's finishing effectively again with his usual floaters, his high layups etc., then it gives him total confidence to attack the bigs that switch on him on the perimeter. So he KILLED the bigs in game 7.
And that brings it back to coaching. Kerr clearly outcoached Donovan, who's just getting used to the NBA game. Donovan was too stubborn with his defensive coverage. He stayed with the switching every screen, cuz it had worked well enough earlier in the series, but once Curry got back to his normal MVP self, you should try to mix up your defenses so you bring some indecision and scrambling plays into the mix. If you let Curry dance with Adams to get those awesome 3s, you're going down.
Also, look how Kerr is always tinkering with his fringe players he puts in. You never know which bigs they're gonna use. He wasn't getting a lot from Bogut, a few nice passes here and there, and Ezeli had some lapses. Speights hit a 3 earlier but had some gaffes after that (like the missed layup, heh, he's not an athletic finisher, he's a shooter). So Kerr doesn't just stick with them, he puts Varejao into the game and he ends up making a few excellent plays. He drove and dished nicely. The great coaches will adjust to how the game is going and use their personnel accordingly.
Donovan should've seen that he needed some more offense and given some time to either Foye or Morrow (knockdown 3 pt shooters) over Roberson. Cuz Roberson was not even close on his corner 3s this game. Which isn't a surprise, with a mediocre shooter, on the road, under game 7 pressure. If you're gonna try to space the floor and let KD and Russ operate, put a knockdown 3 pt shooter out there. When Ibaka gets wide open chances, he hits them. Waiters likes to create and then shoot. But Foye and Morrow both catch and shoot very well. They aren't nearly the defenders that Roberson is of course, but Roberson wasn't shutting anyone down either, cuz the Warriors aren't a one on one team - they're gonna screen you to death. And work for the right matchups one on one at times.
Donovan needs to install a real halfcourt offense with man movement next training camp and then OKC can beat anyone (assuming Durant is back obviously). They have a simple play where they set a downscreen from a big for KD to get his midrange J turning towards the middle, and KD hits that one plenty. They even set a screen for him at the 3 pt line in game 7 and KD nailed it (Ezeli was dropped off of the big so in no position to contest KD, and Curry gave Festus a look afterwards heh). They should get KD coming off screens a lot. Imagine Russ setting a screen for him, KD pops out for 3, and Russ dives to the hoop. Have sets like this where you can take advantage of your great talents. Don't put all this pressure on them to create everything from the perimeter off the dribble.