Three reasons the Golden State Warriors dominated the NOP in game four

Starting  the Death Lineup

In last year’s playoffs, we were introduced to the Golden State Warriors’ greatest secret weapon. The death lineup.

This five man lineup consists of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. The team had never elected to start this lineup for a whole game, but in the shorter stints in which it was deployed, they dominated.

It was the best back pocket weapon any team in the NBA possessed. In game four, Steve Kerr elected to make this the starting lineup for the game.

It makes sense to deploy this lineup in a more expanded capacity, as everyone in the league knows about it at this point.

It is no longer a secret weapon of the team’s, but rather a weapon that everyone is aware of and has a plan in their head of how to deal with it, but are still unable to stop it.

This is what makes the lineup so deadly. Every team in the league is aware of it and has a plan in place to deal it once the Warriors decide to bring it out. Of course this plan never works well for the team who thinks they can slow the Warriors down, but that’s besides the point.

If every time is always prepping for your best lineup, you might as well use it all game. There’s no use in saving it for key moments when it no longer surprises anyone.

This is likely the line of thinking that was going through Steve Kerr’s mind when he decided the team would start the death lineup in last night’s game four, and in the upcoming game five.

This ended up being a great decision, and the Warriors dominated the Pelicans from start to finish.