laitimes

Stare at the thick eyebrows! Forcing thick eyebrows away from the basket so that the Warriors can replicate the miracle of the overturned Thunder?

Stare at the thick eyebrows! Forcing thick eyebrows away from the basket so that the Warriors can replicate the miracle of the overturned Thunder?

Originally compiled from: The Athletic

Written by Anthony Slater

原标题:How the Warriors targeted Anthony Davis in switching action to beat the Lakers in Game 5

As the most talked about point of this series, how the G5 warriors managed to limit thick eyebrows:

The Warriors are regaining the feeling of turning the Thunder over 16 years

Stare at the thick eyebrows! Forcing thick eyebrows away from the basket so that the Warriors can replicate the miracle of the overturned Thunder?

The most frequently mentioned Warriors series over the past two days was the seven-game heavyweight showdown against the Thunder in 2016. Trailing 3-1, they defended their home turf in Game 5, stole victory with Klay Thompson's legendary performance in Game 6 before ending the series at Oracle Arena in Game 7.

That's the template, against the Lakers, the template they're trying to repeat. The easiest game for the Warriors' trident — the fifth against a not-so-desperate opponent — is done: a 121-106 win Wednesday night, bringing the series to 3-2 and sending opponents back to Los Angeles, where the Lakers are expected to respond forcefully on Friday night.

"If I'm not mistaken, we trailed by 15 points in the third quarter (in Game 6 against the Thunder) and Klay was like crazy," Drummond Green said. 'You just have to keep fighting and know that this team on the opposite side is going to come out and give us a heavy blow and you have to take that blow and give a response.'

Over the past 48 hours, some on the Warriors have been reminded of bits and pieces of the Thunder series. They were beaten in Game 3 and Game 4, beaten by 28 and 24 points, respectively, and they had little reason to believe that a reversal series was achievable until they returned home.

"We didn't know how to score," they recalled.

Cole made adjustments to the game

But that's not how the Warriors feel when they return to San Francisco from Los Angeles. They felt that the fourth game exposed a lot of opponents' weaknesses, and after discovering that the starting lineup and offensive strategy worked in this particular confrontation, they awkwardly controlled the backcourt in the fourth quarter. The defeat left them undoubtedly series losers, but they had a sense that they had received the necessary and useful tactical support to make their recovery more realistic at a similar moment in the Thunder series at the time.

"So far, (Steve Cole's) game plan has never failed," Drummond Green said. "So if he comes in and says, 'Hey, we're going to do the dismantling tonight,' that's what we're going to do." If he walks in and says, 'We're going to play more according to our routine,' that's what we're supposed to be doing." We believe in his adjustments. He's one of the best playoff tweaks coaches ever. ”

Kerr acknowledged before the game that the Warriors deviated from an effective strategy early in Game 4 and failed to ruthlessly pull Anthony Davis into cover and away from the basket as they did in the fourth quarter. They did some, but not enough. This is probably why they were defeated.

Kerr will never have his Warriors like the James Harden-era Rockets, with three motionless space players around slow-moving blocks. But there are always creative ways to attack the weaknesses of the defenses that are found. The more points a tactic targets, the more difficult it is for the defender to adjust their strategy and address it.

The offensive end liberated more people

The Lakers switched Davis' mandate from Gary Payton II to Andrew Wiggins in Game 4 because his high-post cover tactics with Payton were very effective. Payton is a competent coverer, passing the ball more fluidly in the sprint position. Wiggins is a more accurate and feared space shooter. So if Wiggins is the cover and Payton is given an empty spot, it's not advisable for the Warriors.

But early in the second quarter of the game, there was an adjustment that could create the necessary separation. The Lakers often change defenses in Game 5. The Warriors took notice.

Davis began to defend Wiggins. But a simple no-ball block would have allowed Davis to target Drummond Green instead of Wiggins, giving Green the opportunity to cover (which is his strength), while Wiggins was moved to a position where he could dunk (which was his strength).

Green blocks Austin Reeves. When Davis matched Curry, Reeves rushed to Curry, and Green entered his familiar 4-on-3 off-ball condition. Curry threw the ball at him. Green must choose between Payton and Wiggins. LeBron James leans towards Payton. So Green passed the ball to Wiggins for a dunk.

Wiggins looked back at the video of Game Four and said he wasn't aggressive enough. Many times, Green isn't aggressive enough against defenders who let go of his offense. With 15 seconds left in Game Four, he passed the ball to Dennis Schroeder a few feet from the basket instead of passing the ball to Curry, who had just missed a 31-foot shot.

The Warriors managed to keep the thick eyebrows out of the box

Stare at the thick eyebrows! Forcing thick eyebrows away from the basket so that the Warriors can replicate the miracle of the overturned Thunder?

Wiggins and Green brought varying degrees of decisiveness and a desire to score in Game 5. This is necessary in a rapidly changing playing environment.

"Pull AD out," Payton said of the strategy.

When Davis was released to sweep in the box and under the basket, he became a key variable in this series. But if the Warriors know he's going to switch defenses, and once he does, he has to play against Curry, and they can drag him out of the game and let the remaining Warriors players attack the Lakers 4-on-4 without Davis.

Here is an example, accompanied by the extremely aggressive Grimm. Curry had Davis on top of him. Green pounds Schroeder. Curry passed the ball to him. Davis couldn't help. Green received one foul and two free throws. He hit two free throws steadily.

Here's another example, accompanied by an aggressive Wiggins with another creative crossover run. This time the cover tactic was reversed. Curry actually helps the ball spread when he's off the ball. Wiggins gets the ball in the high post. Curry stepped forward to cover Wiggins.

This also produces the same expected result. Davis switched to Curry and had to stay on the outside. Wiggins turned under Curry's cover and turned to the smaller Schroder. He ran over Schroeder directly and took off straight from the floor.

Forcing the Lakers to switch defenses is key

Stare at the thick eyebrows! Forcing thick eyebrows away from the basket so that the Warriors can replicate the miracle of the overturned Thunder?

Wiggins scored 25 points. Kerr called it his best game after two months away. It was his highest score in the playoffs.

Green scored 20 points. It was the second time since Christmas 2019 that he had scored 20 points in the playoffs. When he reached double digits, the Warriors were 4-0 in the playoffs, compared with 27-2 in the last 29 games in which he scored 18 points or more. When he scores, they almost always win.

"I'm going to Los Angeles with the same mindset." Green said, "Our work is not done. We still face elimination and we will face elimination for the rest of this series. So have the same mindset. ”

Expect the same strategy. This is another example of forcing the Lakers to change defenses. It was the first attack of the second half. The Warriors still want Davis to defend and Green to cover. So they asked Wiggins to cover again to open possession and force Davis to switch to Green. Then they asked Green to come up and give Curry a high cover.

This caused Davis to face an active Curry spatially, and Reeves, as the closest frame guard on Curry's breakthrough line, was entangled in Green. Curry crossed Davis and bypassed Reeves for an easy layup.

Can the Warriors still limit the thick eyebrows in the next city?

Read on