Atlantic Hoops - NBA Blog

The big story was how Durant was going to look. It's a lot of time away and zero actual training before a decisive game. So finally the Warriors leave out the traditional big and we get a bit of a change in matchups with Durant on Siakam, a very physical assignment.  A lot of help is expected with Iguodala and Green on Lowry and Gasol, respectively . The Raptors went straight to Kawhi on KD, logical and it helps since Leonard's also hindered and it cost him some plays where he's beat by Klay. The Warriors were pushing the pace early and most plays would consist on Steph taking some sort of initiative and the change now is one outlet spacing your floor is KD - he would hit his first 2 catch-and-shoot 3s. And the Warriors had a stronger start lifted mostly by 5-5 from deep. Continuing from the previous game, we have Klay attacking smaller guards (he's being guarded by Lowry because of the new assignment Kawhi has)  and the Warriors are ready to pounce on the double it

Looney and Klay. I couldn't believe it. This gets the matchups back to what the Warriors had in game 2. And just Klay opens up the court -  have the Splash bros run inside out to opposite sides and see what the defense gives you . And having Looney in there makes everything look better:  he's the one that covers for Andre in the moment where he's coming around the scree n . First possession is already interesting because they once again force the switch of a guard (Klay) into Siakam, who has been living off any type of mismatch this actions creates for him.  But Draymond helps away from Lowry and since Iguodala is ready for it the whole time, he rotates in time to Lowry . Steph was a bit late because Thompson took an extra second to switch back but so was Kyle's pass.  And there was a lot of double team on Siakam once he began the driblle . The Warriors were getting stops,  being aggressive and smart with their help , which lead to a lot of transition opportunities

While it was the matchup chosen to close out game 2, Kerr started Dray as the primary assignment on Kawhi, which is more a reaction to the lack of Klay than about how good Green can defend him since this removes Draymond from the paint and allows him to help on a lot less situations - and this, mixed with Cousins - was how the Raptors scored at will at first. Steph was incredibly aggressive from the buzzer  (a note for the final clip showing the high PnR near the logo, which was a successful adjustment of last game), as he needs to be because there's just no other shooting in this group. And even with great ball movement and a ton of cutting,  it's a hard task to finish a play when this giant Raptors team clogs up the lane . Curry was carrying the offense on his back, with the first field goal not scored or assisted by him coming in with only 45 seconds left in the 1st. 17 points -  25 at halftime  - with 6 rebounds and 3 assists in that inaugural quarter.  He was incredible