5 Takeaways From the Golden State Warriors’ Epic Game 1 Collapse

5. Each team is going to have to make adjustments on some key matchups.

As mentioned before, Thompson guarded Parker wonderfully in Game 1. Parker looked flustered, had trouble driving to the basket, and ended up forcing shots. It’ll be interesting to see how Parker and the Spurs make adjustments to their game plan in order to respond to Thompson’s lockdown defense on Parker.

May 6, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (left) is fouled by San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the first half in game one of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the AT

On the other hand, the Warriors are going to have to make adjustments to how Curry plays against Leonard. Curry was also defended by Parker, Danny Green, and Corey Joseph at times, but Leonard defended him well at the end of the game, so Popovich will probably continue to use that matchup. Curry struggled against Andre Iguodala at times in the last series, but he was still able to find a way to put up big numbers and score when the Warriors needed him to the most. Curry will have to find a way to beat Leonard and shoot consistently in order for the Warriors to have a chance in Game 2.

Another key matchup is Tim Duncan vs. Andrew Bogut. Festus Ezeli started alongside Bogut and was able to help out defensively on Tim Duncan when needed. The Warriors looked great defensively at the beginning of the game when they used this big lineup. At the end of the game though, Mark Jackson decided to use his small lineup with Jarrett Jack in. The Warriors are able to run more with a smaller lineup, but with Klay Thompson not able to guard Parker after fouling out, it seems like Jackson should’ve gone back to the bigger lineup to clog up the paint more. It will be be interesting to see how each team responds to these issues.