Manny Wilson, Founder of The Run USA.
The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics 123-107. The Slash Bro's were in Full effect as the Celtics struggled to keep up. Here's five key takeaways about the Celtics and Warriors to keep in mind going forward!
Splash Bro’s in full effect
Golden State looked like the solid team we remember as they played their Golden Brand of basketball. Constant motion, in and out of screens and most importantly making jump shots. Steph Curry and Klay Thomson combined for a total of 66 points in last night's win. They're offensive barrage allowed the them to stay ahead and keep momentum throughout the game.
Klay Thompson finished the game with 34 points and 5 rebounds off 53% shooting. Twenty-Four of Klay's 34pts came quickly in the first half of the game. Steph Curry had 32 points, 7 assist and 6 rebounds tonight. Before sitting out a large majority of the 4th quarter, Steph gave big minutes leading the first and second unit for the Warriors.
Warriors Locked In Defensively:
Warriors dibbled and dabbled in multiple defenses tonight. There were shades of a 2-3 zone, 1-3-1 zone trap, 3-2 zone and basic man-to-man defense. Typically you want to avoid playing zone defense against great three-point shooting teams but the Celtics fell short to live up to the "Number one three-point shooting team" statistic.
The Warriors got many stops defensively and clearly frustrated the Celtics offense. Golden State
forced ten turnovers in the game and It's wasn't the quantity of turnovers, it was the quality of turnovers that helped. These ten extra possessions were in crucial moments of the game which boosted the momentum for Golden State.
Celtics Offensive Struggles
The offense clicked early on as dynamic duo Tatum and Brown slashed through the defense and made tough shots around the floor. Similar shots were taken in the second half but the circumstances shifted making things more difficult to score inside. Zone Defenses!
Boston created easy layup opportunities off the dribble until the Warriors clogged the paint with two-three defenders using a zone defense. The Celtics were swarmed on almost every dribble drive attempt in the paint but failed to make adjustments that could put easy points on the board.
Shots were not falling enough to seriously threaten the zone defense, therefore, it became incredibly difficult for the Celtics offense. If you can't shoot a team out of a zone defense, what's the next approach offensively? Continue to force buckets inside? No...How about utilizing a play that will result in a high percentage shot attempt?
What about Defense?
Celtics struggled defensively to get pivotal stops. Although its not easy task, there was not much resistance when fighting through Screens to prevent an easy shot. Shooter like Curry and Thompson have to be denied any space, with and without the ball to effectively disturb them. Last, don't forget to pray for a miss before contesting the shot.
Unfortunately, there's not much you can do when tough shots are falling. Sending a double team toward Curry seemed to helped for a small period in the game but not enough to significantly change the game. It probably didn't help the Celtics utilized this tactic when Steph had already proven to be in a groove. When Steph is hot, any room is too much room...
Missing Pieces
Let's not get too ahead of ourselves after this regular season matchup, both teams played at a disadvantage with key players sitting out. Boston played without their star Centers, Al Horford and Robert Williams. Both centers bring a tough presence to the defensive end by blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and contesting everything nearby the rim. Boston could have converted to a much larger lineup to play bully ball with the presence of 2 big men on the floor. Very similar to the strategy used in game 3 of the NBA Finals.
As for the Golden State, The Warriors played without Andrew Wiggins who proved to be one of the top 2-way players in the NBA. Wiggins is often used to slow down other teams best scorer while still being able to create and distribute on the offensive end. Bringing back a healthy 2-way starter also adds depth to the Warriors roster, allowing Jordan Poole to make a spark off the bench.
Next Up!
Moving forward, the Warriors will kick off their six game road trip against the Milwaukee Bucks on December 13th. As for the Celtics, Boston will take on the Clippers in Los Angeles on December 12th following a matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 14th.
Follow Manny on twitter & instagram @IamMannyWilson .
________________________________________________
Leave a comment below and let us know what you think of the article!
Follow us on Instagram: @TheRunPodcast
Follow us on Twitter: @PodcastTheRun
Subscribe to our Youtube: The Run with Manny Wilson
Check out our Podcast: https://www.therunusa.com/podcast