In the last game, the Warriors played the Nuggets, chasing dreams absent, and the Warriors handed over the least offensively efficient game of the season. The scene is also more ugly, not so simple, the Warriors also had problems in the development link, resulting in the team's defense in the second half of the situation, regrettably lost the game.
Not surprisingly, there were some voices after the game that the Warriors and Curry would not play without Green. Many fans also asked me backstage what I thought of this phenomenon.
In fact, don't worry:
On the one hand, Green is undoubtedly important to the Warriors, and his absence cannot have no impact on the team, and there is no need to refute this;
On the other hand, some of the voices are clearly deliberate, and it's clear to everyone that Curry plays differently from a regular point guard and needs a tactical pivot point to turn his containment into a teammate's chance, and Green is the character. In order to prove that "Curry is a system player", of course, the value of Green as a central axis should be infinitely magnified. Just as you can never wake up a person who is pretending to be asleep, if someone doesn't like a star in his heart, there is no need or impossible to convince him.
The Warriors' games against the Nuggets and Jazz have created a stark contrast. Against the Nuggets, the Warriors delivered 20 assists, the fewest this season; against the Jazz, the Warriors delivered 39 assists, the most assists this season. If you single out any of them, you can't explain the influence of Green, who has become Schrödinger's cat.
A lubricant-type player who is involved in tactics every turn, he is a "service", unlike the 3D shooter and the endpoint, this position is more related to the word "chemical reaction". Although Anderson's functional positioning is close to that of chasing dreams, but there is a gap in ability, suddenly placed in the strength of the start, and the other 4 people have never played at the same time, it is not surprising that the team has some confusion, and everyone needs some time to adapt to the adjustment. Catching up with the overall poor feel, it is easy to magnify the bad situation.
The adjustment process was quick, and in the second half with the Nuggets, the Warriors' offense improved. In the game against the Jazz, Porter and Iguodala as tactical turning points, a total of 16 assists, basically filling the central axis value of the dream, the Warriors did not have any problems in transferring the ball.
Cole's employment adjustments are also in place. In the game against the Jazz, Kerr started with Porter instead of Anderson, and did not replace the starting Peyton Jr. after Poole returned, and the effect was obvious.
The game against the Nuggets can be seen that Anderson's damage to space is very serious, which is the main reason why Curry was caught between three people at the three-point line.
Due to the strong ability of Teacher Yu to delay and interfere with the ball, it is difficult for Curry to play directly with Looney. You can look back at the fourth quarter with the Nuggets, Curry scored 4 three-pointers, are very simple blocking and dismantling the ball to shoot three-pointers, the starting position is very high, or basically empty the space above the free throw line, so that the blocking becomes a local 2-on-2. This style of play minimizes the value of the dealer and relies more on Curry's individual ability and team space.
When there is no dream, it is necessary to release Curry's ability to hold the ball, and it makes more sense to optimize the team space, so Porter is obviously a better choice than Anderson, not to mention the gap in absolute ability between the two.
Starting with Peyton Jr. instead of Poole is not all paving the way for The Comeback, and Kerr obviously has to consider the ability to start. During the absence of Poole and Wiggins, Cole's principle of employment was two positions on the flanks, one attacking and one defending, one providing space, and one must be a strong point of opposition. Due to the Jazz's strong outside possession, Cole swung Wiggins + Payton Jr. to ensure that Mitchell and Conley had someone to pinch. Because Payton Jr. is super capable of finishing — 81 percent from the basket and the team-topping — the last three-point response has been good, except for a little worse free throws, and there is no need to worry on the offensive end.
Cole's alignment worked, with Conley and Mitchell both frustrated.
Of course, the Warriors can limit Conley and Mitchell, and it is not all dependent on the on-line defense of Payton and Wiggins, the integrity of the defense, and the reliable change of defense at other points cannot be ignored. The Warriors' on-line defenders behind the cover wall, Looney's position of taking into account one defense and two, coupled with the 45° defense on the opposite side, basically completely defused the jazz's mid-road threat of demolition, and the Jazz's small vacant three-pointers did not give a strong response.
The Jazz actually deliberately found cover, often changing Curry to the front of the block before the demolition, but the effect was limited. This game, whether it is Curry's change of defense against Mitchell, Conley, Clarkson, or some front-line changes , such as Porter against Mitchell, the effect is good.
The Warriors' overpowered defense of the ball carrier produced a result — the Jazz's discovery that Whiteside wasn't playing and Gobert's absence from the center was amplified.
Of course, if it's the playoffs, Whiteside's value in playing the Warriors is already in doubt, and it's probably only a matter of time before he gets DNPed. But without him, the Jazz would have other problems with a small lineup. Snyder has not practiced a small lineup in recent years, how to play small, the Jazz do not know, this has become the winner of this game. When Gobert wasn't on the floor, the Jazz lost 17 points.
The Jazz's small lineup offensive and defensive ends are no way to take the Warriors' small lineup. According to past experience, the plot of playing the Warriors, in the end, is that the lineup is smaller and smaller, and finally becomes a five-small to five-small change of defense, due to the Warriors' "lack of violence", the ability to punish the small lineup is limited, and the small lineup will show the defensive advantage of breaking the Warriors' pass with mobility. And, in general, the small lineup has better space, and the offense is often no worse than the big lineup.
But things have changed for the Warriors this season:
First, there are more talented players in the Warriors' squad who are both in size and athleticism, and those who are slightly flawed in both aspects basically have a one-handed finishing technique or rebounding sense of smell, and the ability to punish small lineups has improved;
Second, the Warriors' single-soldier defensive ability and co-defensive rotation ability are stronger than in the past, all are players of the same size, without misalignment, the Warriors' ability to break the opponent's tactics is stronger than the opponent's ability to break the Warriors' tactics, if there is no top one-on-one superstar, how can the opponent's small lineup break the Warriors' defense?
Therefore, the first problem for the Jazz small lineup to meet the Warriors small lineup is that the first line cannot break the single defense, how to score?
The Jazz's initial answer was that Clarkson was just doing it. After Gobert went off, the Warriors no longer clipped Clarkson — in fact, you can clip him — allowing Clarkson to score some difficult goals, and he reached the "false low" near the basket.
So, the Warriors took Cumminga up to Clarkson, the talent was crushed, and the Jazz's strong point was gone. The Jazz have a total of two one-on-one strong points, and after Mitchell went off, Clarkson couldn't move, and others didn't have to think about it.
The Jazz's small lineup defense is also enough. The Jazz's existing small lineup configuration, there is still room for defense to improve, but Coach Snyder obviously needs more time to practice this lineup. Jazz's inherent defensive system, almost completely dependent on the fifth position to protect the basket, the two bottom corners of the shooter is too tight, but the small lineup can certainly not be so defensive, not to mention the opponent Warriors connecting the small lineup center is basically not standing under the basket, the original defensive system must have changes, some non-shooters or general quality shooters, should be let go, small size players to assist in defense, there is no point in going late. The upper line and swipe position must delay the ball carrier's breakthrough speed, otherwise the small lineup will easily miss the basket or the big open position in the bottom corner.
Without Gobert, the Jazz didn't have much to do with the Warriors on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends. In other words, Gobert is a point that the Warriors don't handle very well, and the Warriors have been very successful in not letting the Jazz's middle-of-the-road block feed Gobert, but there are two things the Warriors still haven't defended:
First of all, of course, rebounding, the Warriors are a strong defensive rebounding team this season, the collective protection of rebounding awareness is excellent, can not stand Gobert too high, directly behind the board you can not do;
Second, jazz classic Gobert fake cover, the ball carrier out of the ball 45° or bottom corner, the second pass Gobert to end.
Gobert had 20 points and 19 rebounds (7 front boards), and his actual offensive contribution was even greater than the stat sheet, and the Warriors missed some bottom corners in order to take over him early.
Gobert's performance on the offensive end is a place that really reflects the major impact of chasing dreams - the Warriors' rebounding card ability and weak side defense ability have been greatly reduced, and the average size of players really can't take Gobert.
Gobert also showed some deterrence on the defensive end, but the Warriors certainly made him very uncomfortable. In fact, when the two teams played each other in the past, it was a bit difficult for the Warriors to break the Jazz defense, partly because the Warriors also happened to encounter the old version of the Jazz's twin towers at their peak, which perfectly targeted the Warriors' two interior lines without spatial threats, making the Warriors' empty cuts awkward. Coupled with the Jazz's three-point strike with the Warriors, the Salt Lake City Devils' home name is worthy of the name, and this game, from the 17-18 season to the present, the Warriors have won one game here. "Curry can train Gobert", such a picture is more stuck in the 17-year playoff highlights, and then Gobert's performance when he meets the Warriors has always been remarkable.
Now the situation is different, although the Jazz is still a strong defensive team, but more dependent on Gobert than in the past, if the offensive side can disgust Gobert, the Jazz's entire defensive system will be very difficult, and with the Warriors, the problem that must be solved is naturally how to defend Curry, most of the effective strategies of the team are nothing more than two:
First, change the defense or delay on the inside line to try not to let Curry shoot;
The second is to simply pinch the attack.
No matter which strategy it is, it must test the ability to assist in the defense of all points outside the center. The Jazz obviously can't accept these two strategies, Gobert's change of defense or pinch is a waste of talent, and the only thing that can be accepted is to lift and then recycle and take into account the downside players. As a result, Curry made a fake shot, Looney dunked, and Gorbert was shaken - Curry's 9 assists, Gobert's defense is at a cost.
After the Warriors grabbed the balls after continuous play, Gobert could only "lie flat" to defend Curry, the first line of squeezing cover to try to interfere, squeezing through, he could not completely give up the free throw line below the defense, then Curry was naturally comfortable. Curry's recent increase in mid-range shots is a good choice, and when the opposing center does not come out, the combination of the forward mid-range and holding the ball to shoot three points will make the players who follow the defense very helpless.
Curry could have scored 10 more points if he had the strength to play the Blazers in the playoffs.
In Salt Lake City, there were no small difficulties, and without Dream Green, the Warriors could still nibble on opponents like the Jazz — the no. 1 team in the league with the 100-game goal difference — and as Curry said, the team gained great confidence.
But the Great Powers must not despise the Jazz, and the Jazz must not be arrogant, and their offensive efficiency against the Warriors can shoot down 116.3 in the face of poor three-point feelings is a very good report card. In addition to the game of lying flat to send the Raptors, this is already the Warriors' worst defensive efficiency this season, even if there is no dream, the Jazz have a lot of gold in this report card.
The Jazz's offense is still their more trustworthy side, but how to defend the team that makes Gobert uncomfortable is still a problem that has not been completely solved.
Finally, a few words Potter.
"Porter is the key to the Warriors' re-competition with the league's top", although the Warriors' success this season is due to many improvements, but this strategic level of reinforcements is likely to pry the balance of the high-end game in the playoffs. Porter has a crucial ability - he is the most reliable player for the Warriors to project outside the splash, career sample, not only to provide space, but also to develop a certain value. He has provided mid-range solutions in two key moments of major games, and this game against the Jazz, Porter was heavily involved in tactics and became the key to the Warriors' disintegration of the Jazz's defense:
For example, Tang Shen style no-ball cover, playing a duet with Curry:
For example, breaking the middle distance of the penalty line that is suspected of "one staring at four":
After Thompson's return, the Warriors can pose curry, Tang Shen, Wiggins, Porter 4 three-point shooting rate of more than 40%, and all have the offensive threat of three points outside the three points, and Dream Green, he will enjoy the space treatment that no one in history has enjoyed, think about it...
Little excitement...