The Warriors and the Grizzlies' G1, Dream Chasing was punished by a controversial second-degree malicious foul, and in the absence of Dream Chasing at halftime, the Warriors still stole a valuable home in Memphis, which was not easy.
The rule of the series is that the losing side adjusts first. Judging from the G1 game process, the Grizzlies are indeed the more problematic side. The Warriors have a clearer game strategy, regardless of the effectiveness of these strategies, whether they can be maintained, at least the Warriors got two results:
First, the Warriors didn't let the Grizzlies take advantage of the dominance, they turned out to be the side with higher scoring in the second offense and fast attack;
Second, the Grizzlies have small signs of playing with the Warriors.
In other words, the point of contention expected before the start of the series was taken by the Warriors.
How did the Warriors do it?
Focus: Put Morant and Jarren Jr. to shoot three-pointers. After chasing the dream to open the defense against Morant, give him a big step away and let Morant shoot, this choice lasted most of the game, either around his blocking, or after changing defenses to give him shooting space. Defense Jalen Jr. is similar, giving him some space outside the three-point line. But it's much more rigorous when it comes to defending Bain.
This method of distinguishing the quality of shooters and cutting off the starting point at the source is the usual method used by warriors. In this game, Morant and Jaren Jr. combined 20 three-pointers, hit 10 hits, and scored 67 points, and the Grizzlies' main output was concentrated in these two people. On the one hand, the Warriors did prevent these two people from struggling, on the other hand, they were also fierce, and the two of them were angry enough to respond to the Warriors.
Even if these two are accurate, the Warriors have to do this, most of the time the lineup is very small, you do not put the opposite inaccurate shooter shot, then the basket and rebounds are more difficult to protect. In this game, the Warriors limited the opponent's paint score and limited the opponent's basket shooting rate are more decent, although they were still rebounded by the Grizzlies, but with the Warriors' size, they could have been more fiercely exploded. Considering that Morant and Jalen Jr.'s feel may not be maintained, this may mean that the Warriors G2 will still be so defensive.
Kerr opened with a five-shot lineup for Peyton Jr., without Looney or Poole starting. This use is obviously for the sake of positioning Morant, but it does not increase the size of the Warriors. As a result, the Warriors' starting rebounding and fouling speed are not lost to the Nuggets' G5, and Wiggins' low defense against Jalan Jr. is also a steady loss, and it may be better to let him play against Morant and replace Looney with Jaran Jr.
So I don't think Cole's Payton version of the five small, including the ultimate five small of Wiggins playing center + Payton + three guards at the end, was successful on the defensive end, although the latter way of employing people, winning in the closing stage, is still too risky, a gambling type of employment when there is no dream. The transition section increases Cuminga time, and he and Porter partner the inside time, and the effect needs to be seen, there may be some accidents.
The Warriors' most comfortable time for this defense is still the second half Looney started, with a Wiggins + three-guard lineup. Although Morant and Jalan Jr. scored three-pointers during this time, the Warriors did not continue to let the number of fouls of the main players rise rapidly during this time, and Looney was able to withstand Jalan Jr. at a low position. Cole has another bold counterpoint here - Thompson vs. Clark, who shined in the series against the Timberwolves, and the rapid explosion of Tang Shen is inevitable, and he also scored a key goal against Tang Shen in the fourth quarter at 1 minute and 17 seconds, which is a punishment for this pair of pairs.
Overall, G1 Kerr's arrangement in defensive alignment is quite a bit of a taste of "rich and dangerous", but the strategy of shrinking the defense line and putting Morant and Jaren Jr. for three points should be acceptable in the case of the opponent's response is not so exaggerated. Especially in the second half of the second quarter, when the Warriors began to approach the score, they could already see enough returns on the defensive end, but after the dream was expelled, the difficulty of defense in the second half increased.
Defensively alone, the Warriors can't win the Grizzlies in the second offense and fast attack areas, and the Warriors' own secondary offense and fast offense have scored a lot of points, which is the key. The Grizzlies have not done a good job of retreating this time, and the rebound protection is a mess, but can the Warriors' small size really continue to explode rebounds with the Grizzlies in this series?
There are two situations here:
One is that grizzly bears are actually getting smaller and smaller. Tillman used a moment to find that the attack was too bad, the defense could not keep up with Curry, simply added forward and defender time, and indeed there was a four-back time, so that in some times, the overall size of the two sides could not say who was bigger. Even if the Grizzlies are all athletes, the Warriors' Payton and Wiggins are not in vain;
Second, in order to dismantle the opponent's attack, the two sides choose different defensive methods. The Warriors put three points, and the Grizzlies must defend against three points, and the three of them slipped the big men out on the line, and the basket was bound to be empty, causing the Warriors to run rampant in frontcourt rebounds and empty cuts. In this game, the Warriors painted more than the Grizzlies, and the Grizzlies scored more three points than the Warriors, and this inversion is actually the price they pay to limit the opponent's strengths.
So, if neither side makes adjustments, which side is more favorable?
Apparently a warrior. In case morant and Jarren Jr. are not accurate, the Grizzlies will not match the offense and will be finished.
But the Grizzlies also have a lot of room to adjust. The Grizzlies obviously followed the rhythm of the Warriors in the second half, the Warriors let the Grizzlies shoot, the Grizzlies really shot, so the Splash Brothers each made 3 mistakes in the half, even if they were stuck, the emptiness under the basket was not fully exposed. While the Grizzlies scored enough points on three-pointers, they didn't cause enough damage and attrition to the Warriors.
On the defensive end, the Grizzlies need to reflect on this — why did the response to the Warriors' unstable space points that were worried about before the start of the series not be exposed at all?
Porter + Payton + Cumminga played a total of 61 minutes, why did he only shoot 1 three-pointer in total?
Not letting more three-point opportunities appear in the hands of those who are not in the right hands is certainly the biggest mistake in the Grizzlies defense. Although there are reasons why the Warriors' non-shooters are calm and calm, and they will wait for the shooter's support after taking the ball at the top of the arc, there are also the Grizzlies' own problems, such as:
Morant's defensive problems are big;
Brother Li attracted 5 people to assist in defense;
Clark is still too much to add face to Cumming.
This kind of round is like a team with very poor discipline, and the Grizzlies, as a defensive team, obviously shouldn't make such mistakes. If the Grizzlies don't improve in this regard, it won't be difficult for the Warriors to beat the Grizzlies even if they use more of a non-four-shooter lineup. But from past experience, warrior opponents will generally pay more attention to the choice of letting go in the series advancement, in other words, the defensive tests faced by the Warriors behind will increase, and the Grizzlies will not let Poole be so cool every game.
G1 can still see very clearly that the advantages of the two sides in their respective fields, these advantages have not been reflected in the data, but because of the existence of these advantages, the opponents have made changes, but let their respective weak data become advantages. How the Grizzlies' defensive choices improve, how lucky the Warriors' emptying strategy is, and whether the Warriors will plan ahead and be better prepared for alignment and offensive and defensive strategies — for example, it's clear that it's easier for the ball carrier to create opportunities after changing the formation, and chasing dreams that some forced feeding can be avoided — will affect the outcome of the next game.
The Warriors took the initiative, but the Grizzlies also had the strength not to make it out.