Minus the services of Stephen Curry in Game 1 of their second round series versus Portland, the Golden State Warriors dazzled with a brilliant defensive performance and netted 60 total points from their two other All-Stars. Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet with his second career playoff triple-double and Klay Thompson scored a post-season career high of 37 points while also hounding the Blazers’ Damian Lillard on defense. The Dubs led by as many as 26 points in the contest before the Oakland native Lillard led a mini run in extended fourth-quarter garbage time to slightly level the score.
Here are 10 thoughts on the Game 1 throttling of the Blazers:
1. The Warriors are touted for their pace-and-space, run-and-gun, 3-point-flinging offense (and to be sure, it’s a thrill to watch) but it’d be reductive to not consider their ability to play stifling, 5-men-on-a-string defense when praising the 73-win team. The Dubs were brilliant defending Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, forcing both players into poor shooting performances (13-of-43 combined, which includes Lillard’s 18-point scoring binge in a meaningless fourth). Steve Kerr elected to single-cover the Blazers guards and the length of Klay, Shuan Livingston, and Andre Iguodala clearly gave them fits on the perimeter. With Draymond and Andrew Bogut laying in wait for any potential off-the-dribble breakdowns up top, the Dubs’ defenders were free to run the Blazers’ back court off the 3-point line and crowd their space when they did take a shot from downtown. It’s easier to do that when defenders know Green and Bogues will be there to protect the rim.
2. Klay Thompson was otherworldly. He shot 50% from the field and connected on seven 3-pointers for the third game in a row, the first person to do so in playoff history. But just as important was his defense on Lillard. Klay was able to get into Dame’s space and keep his hands up to thwart potential split-second 3-point shot attempts. Through three quarters, the Blazers’ star guard was held to a mere 12 points. Portland isn’t winning many games when both Lillard and McCollum struggle.
3. Kerr had Draymond defend Mason Plumlee while Andrew Bogut “guarded” Mo Harkless. Dray’s ability to stick with guards on the perimeter allowed the Warriors to defend Lillard with a single player off 1-5 pick-and-rolls. I’d imagine Terry Stotts might counter this in Game 2 by having Harkless run some weak-side cuts just as Lillard starts his move to at least pull Bogut a half step out of the lane.
4. It’s easy to be lulled into thinking DeAndre Jordan is the better defensive center. He’s athletic and imposing; his blocked shots routinely get sent three rows into the stands. But this game was illustrative of how Bogut is #lightyears ahead as a defender. Bogues is nowhere near as athletic a player, but he positions himself smartly and plays all the angles well while not conceding easy shots to his own man. Bogut had 3 blocks in the game and altered countless more. According to Ethan Sherwood-Strauss, the Blazers shot 7-of-34 on attempts within 3 feet of the rim: he and Draymond were masterful in forcing most of those misses.
5. Oh, Draymond had a 23-13-11-1-3 statline. You still hear people call him a “system player” from time to time, but a few more games like this, where Dray anchors the defense at the five, leads the break in transition, and drops 23 smooth points, and people might finally come to realize there’d be no system without him. (You knew he had it was his day when he caught a few vouchers for free fries. I’ve been going to sporting events for 20-plus years and I’ve never once caught a flyball or a t-shirt from a cannon. Draymond is getting free stuff mid-game!)
6. A small part of me died when Anderson Varejao went to the scorer’s table to check in for the game. Steve Kerr is one of the smartest guys in the league, so I’m sure he has his reasons, but as a fan, it’s frustrating to see leads evaporate while AV is on the floor. To his credit, Varejao was somehow a plus-3 in this game, but it took a few incredible Klay Thompson makes to get there. When Ronnie McCutchen kicked him and Gerald Henderson out of the game on a second double-tech, I wasn’t not happy.
7. Ed Davis absolutely mauled Mo Speights in the paint during that 13-4 run that got the Blazers back to within single digits. Davis is too strong and too fast for Mo down low, so I thought it was curious that Kerr didn’t go with Festus Ezeli to match power with power. Festus had a terrible Round 1, to be sure, but even James MacAdoo got burn in this game. Festus was the only Warrior in uniform to not play.
8. Has anyone’s contract value fluctuated more than Ezeli’s this season. When Bogut was out earlier in the year and Festus was lighting the world on fire one lob-dunk at a time, I was convinced dude would get 13 million-plus. Now after another knee injury, and falling in the depth charts in the playoffs, I have no idea what kind of deal he might get this summer. (Then again, it only takes one team to inflate a player’s value and Sacramento always lurks.)
9. Small coaching victories: Kerr subbed Klay back in for the final possession of the first quarter to help the offense and of course dude cans a 3-pointer to increase the Warriors’ lead.
10. The Warriors repeatedly went after Lillard in the post. HB got an easy bucket early. Livingston missed a couple but they were good looks, and Draymond connected on an and-1. Even if the Dubs miss on those post-ups (and they shouldn’t; the wings are great at posting small guards), I like the attempts. Defending guys in the paint is tough; there’s a reason why Paul George didn’t want to play the four this year. You get banged and bruised and it takes energy to arm bar guys and push them with you legs. In a 7-game series where Lillard’s scoring will be tantamount for a Blazers victory, I like any play that drains his batteries even a little. Tired legs make for front-rim threes.