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Golden State Warriors: Four Takeaways from First Round Game One Win

By Matteo Meschi

April 16, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) celebrates with guard Shaun Livingston (34) against the Portland Trail Blazers during the fourth quarter in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Trail Blazers 121-109. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
April 16, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) celebrates with guard Shaun Livingston (34) against the Portland Trail Blazers during the fourth quarter in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Trail Blazers 121-109. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Golden State Warriors won Game 1 in First Round of Playoff and the game suggested some food for thought:

  1. Draymond Green deserves to be the Defensive Player Of the Year. The game with the Portland Trial Blazers showed the forward as the leader of the Golden State Warriors. His night: 19 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 blocks. Two of those blocks, against Lillard and Vonleh, made Oracle Arena erupt. The numbers on the defensive side said he grabbed 30.4 percent of the rebounds when he was on the court, while during last year’s playoffs, the average was 23.1 percent. His defensive efficiency also helped the offense, with 20 points generated by his assists, 33.2 percent of field goal made off his assists during the game, and an unbelievable 72.6 true shooting percentage.

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  • The bench counts. When Kevin Durant arrived last summer, the insiders doubted the bench and rotations. The risk was the supporting cast was not enough to assist the starting five, and the idea to replace Festus Ezeli and Andrew Bogut with Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee could bend the environment certainties. Instead, none of this happened Sunday. McGee over-performed against Portland, playing a starring role with six points and five rebounds in ten minutes. The most impressive value in his game is not only the three dunks he made, but the defensive ability and the good solutions adopted to limit the pick-and-roll attempted by the Blazers. The way he blocked an explosive player like Damian Lillard sounds like the perfect day in his playoff debut with the Warriors. Also, other players showed the best from the bench. Ian Clark, for example, is finding more and more confidence and his comfort level with the Warriors playbook is increasing day by day. Specifically against the Blazers, Clark is averaging 13 points per game in 17 minutes this season, and the Blazers head coach Terry Stotts recognized his impact at the end of the game. Steve Kerr, asked about him, commented “He’s learning how to, not just survive in the league, but how to thrive”

    • Leave the Blazers backcourt isolated. C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard broke the game with an unbelievable first half. The Blazers were close at halftime, and it’s only because of the deadly accuracy of this dynamic duo. They scored 75 of the 109 points scored by the entire team. McCollum played a monster game, with 41 points in 41 minutes.

    Stephen Curry

    is usually labeled for his bad defensive attitude, but this time, McCollum just had a great game. The Warriors shouldn’t be too scared for the future. In January, McCollum also had a huge game with 30-plus points scored, but keeping the pace that high for the entire series is impossible. In fact, in the fourth quarter his pace decreased and the Warriors found the margin to take the win. Furthermore, between the second and third quarters,

    Steve Kerr

    changed the approach moving from a single coverage to a trap with Green in support. With his help, something changed and Warriors had a decisive 15-5 run in the last quarter. McCollum and Lillard paid their effort and in the fourth quarter, the different level was evident,

    with the Blazers shooting 7 of 24 (1-7 from three’s)

    .

    Next: Golden State Warriors: Championship Or Bust As Playoffs Open

  • Turnovers matter. The Warriors led the league in assists with 30.3 per game in during the regular Season. If this philosophy breaks down, the Warriors are in trouble. During the game with the Blazers, they finished with 26 assist and 16 turnovers, but nine turnovers came in the first 15 minutes and only five for Curry. The main problem in the regular season came from games where the Warriors played under the average in assist and rebounds. This time, the Golden State Warriors were able to fix their problem and not run ISO and make bad choices. Unfortunately, Klay Thompson had probably the worst night in his playoff career, and he finished with 15 points on only 6-of-16 shooting (1-6 behind the arc). But, during the season Thompson had some ups and downs, but generally the shooting guard answers a bad game with a great game. We will see in game two if this trend is continued.
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