The Los Angeles Lakers stole home-court advantage with a 117-112 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Los Angeles dominated, controlling the interior on both ends of the floor. Anthony Davis practically camped in the paint all game. In Game 1, he and LeBron James combined for seven blocks.
“It hurt [Golden State’s] offense,” The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson said about the Lakers’ strategy. “It turned them into a three-point chucking team. They didn’t get anything inside.”
Golden State was only 14-for-35 in the paint.
However, the Warriors — who play the Lakers at home in Game 2 on Thursday — found something at the end of the game that they should lean on.
At the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter, with the Lakers ahead 112-98, the Warriors went small, subbing in 6-foot-4 Jordan Poole for 6-foot-9 Kevon Looney. It was the right decision despite Looney’s dominance on the glass (career-high 23 rebounds).
The move sparked a 14-0 run, culminating with a Stephen Curry three to tie the score with just over a minute remaining.
By going small and putting Curry on the ball, Golden State found its groove. In the fourth quarter alone, Curry scored 14 points, including nine consecutively.
The strategy worked because it forced Davis to guard perimeter players on each defensive possession. During the Golden State run, Davis was late and sagging off on multiple three-point attempts.
With Draymond Green and Looney on the floor, Golden State’s spacing can be awful. Davis and the Lakers clearly don’t respect the offensive ability of either player. This allows A.D. to play center field and ultimately disrupt the Warriors’ offensive flow.
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN
Golden State’s motion offense doesn’t work when defenders of Green and Looney can hover wherever they please.
In this case, it doesn’t matter whether Poole is hot (six threes in Game 1) or not. He provides spacing for Curry and Klay Thompson that they don’t have when Looney and Green are on the court together.
To win this series, Golden State needs Looney and Green to play well, but the best offensive recipe is the small-ball lineup, putting the ball in Curry’s hands and letting him go to work with as much space as possible.
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