Golden State Warriors Roundtable: 5 Questions About NBA Finals
4) Name three keys for the Warriors to win the NBA Finals.
May 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and guard Klay Thompson (11) celebrate the 99-98 victory against the Houston Rockets following the second half in game two of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Nick Hjeltness: 1) The first answer is obvious – Steph Curry has to do Steph Curry things. We’ve become accustomed to MVP caliber play from our MVP, and we’ll need that to continue if the Dubs are going to win this series.
2) Shut down every Cavs player outside of LeBron. He’s gonna put up big numbers regardless, but minimizing the impact his teammates have will greatly increase the chances of the Warriors winning this series.
3) Do all the little things. I expect this series to be very close, with each game coming within a handful of points. Little things such as winning loose balls, making the extra pass, coming up with an big offensive rebound and not losing the turnover battle will pay huge dividends.
Live Feed
Betsided
Angelo Mendoza: First, force James into tough situations without having to double him. As we saw in Cleveland’s series with the Atlanta Hawks, doubling a high IQ player like James only results in a high percentage shot for someone else. Second, crash the defensive boards. The Warriors would be wise to not give the Cleveland frontcourt any second chances. Third, play fast, and establish their pace throughout the series. The Cavs have gone up against a lot of set, half court offenses, so playing a fast-paced offense will only force them to play the way the Warriors are most comfortable.
Brendan Kennealy: For the Warriors to win the NBA Finals, they must win four games, score more points than the Cavs, and put the ball in the hoop more than the Cavs.
For real however, the Warriors have to limit turnovers. It pains me to watch these games where the Warriors turn the ball over 20 times a game. This team is far too talented to be making lazy mistakes, especially at this stage.
Next, Bogut must continue to protect the rim. This is way easier said than done with LeBron on the other team, but compared to the post-players in the previous three series (Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, and Dwight Howard), this should be the easiest series of them all in the paint.
Finally, branching off of the last point, Golden State MUST out-rebound the Cavaliers. Mozgov and Tristan Thompson are solid on the boards, but the Warriors have Bogut, David Lee, Draymond, Marreese Speights, etc. to clean up the boards.
Marc Grandi: If Golden State wants to bring home their first title in 40 years, they must keep J.R. Smith — who has had an incredible postseason — in check. If he goes on one of his famous hot streaks, the Warriors are in trouble. As stated earlier, Golden State needs to keep Cleveland’s Thompson off the offensive glass. Lastly, the Warriors need to take advantage of the little time they have left with Alvin Gentry. Golden State needs to score early and often to beat the Cavaliers, and with Gentry essentially running the offense, they should be able to get it done.
Jamie Faue: In order for the Warriors to win the NBA Finals, Bogut needs to stay out of foul trouble. While Festus Ezeli has stepped up, he has had a bad case of butterfingers on rebounds and catching passes causing turnovers, which leads me to my second thing: REDUCE THE TURNOVERS. This is a flaw that caught up with the Warriors last series as well. They can’t be careless with the basketball. or LeBron will make them pay. Finally, Klay needs step up this series. The Warriors play their best basketball when both Curry and Thompson are firing on all cylinders. Having Klay being productive will take pressure off Curry and allow Kerr to rest Curry more.
Next: Prediction