Game 4 NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors (1-3) 92 - 105 Toronto Raptors (3-1)
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 screen.
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 but this was again an awful showing for Demarcus. In that first play he misreads the play and tries to take the ball from Klay, which also means he wasn't properly set for a screen, and the he turns the ball over. It's incredible how he wasted so many possessions in those first minutes. And look at him again not being aware of what the play is. I'll be fair to him and say he wasn't the only one who made mistakes on offense. So many turnovers... And there's still too many open 3s being conceded by the home team, though nothing will be worse than game 3. Dray is in no man's land in that clip.
The Raptors are good at switching it up to confuse the opposition. In this instance Danny Green rejects the screen and cuts to the rim, leaving Curry with momentum in the wrong direction and forcing Iguodala to drop a bit, while Kawhi pops out for a good look at a 3. And in regards to their defense, this is the maximum extent of "we only care about your two shooters but we'll help on drives" possible.
Kawhi, who can rise and score above anyone, was carrying his team that couldn't buy a bucket and it was an 6 point lead at the end of the inaugural period. And it could've been a lot bigger if not for the many turnovers during the DMC minutes. On the closing stretch I have to mention Alfonzo being everywhere on the court with a textbook spark plug performance.
Ibaka had a really good start in 2nd quarter after having a incredible 2nd half last game. In one of those you see them trying to get Cook and Cousins defending the PnR, which they tried many times in this period.
Pace was still really high and Cook got a ton of open shots - a lot from Livingston screening for him - but lack of outside shooting was a staple of the half with both teams combining for 3-20.
Klay had an outstanding defensive quarter. A great combination of reading positions and being physical without fouling.
And we finally saw a couple of plays using the Ibaka+Gasol lineup that I've been waiting to see in 2nd and 4th quarters after their work in the Bucks series. And of course they got an offensive board because they systematically have both screen for Lowry and any switch they can create is an advantage crashing the glass.
And my God how halftime turned it around. The second half begins and again FVV takes Danny's spot and the defense felt revitalized. Kawhi and Siakam on Andre and Dray allows them to free roam and it can shut an offense down. And Leonard hits two great 3s in a row, including one following another Warriors turnover, and Toronto gets their first lead. But the focus of the Warriors was blocking any chance to get to the rim and I thought the defense did mostly a good job for that goal. But there was still a reliance on the Raptors 3s not going in and that was about to end.
The game stayed close but was very start-and-stop with a lot of fouls, coming from a lot of physical play. The Warriors were relying a ton on Klay for shooting with Curry missing his outside shots and, funny enough, had a much harder time getting to the rim. They collapsed harder on his drives here than in most of game 3.
Things changed once Ibaka returned. He's been the perfect complementary big against Golden State: Beast around the rim with boards and blocks that can stretch the floor.
Now there was a moment here where Kerr goes back to the lineup with zero shooters and Curry. I honestly don't understand why. It's a solid defensive lineup but the team is behind and you're giving them an excuse to use a box-and-1 again, which they did! And before you know it, he was bringing Cook back in and it turned into a 10-2 run by the time he was in. I get Klay needs to rest but this was a poor decision. This, however, wouldn't reverse the flow because Cook missed all of his open shots again.
And on the other side Kawhi Leonard, once he no longer had to deal with Andre or Klay (Why was Kerr allowing this?), and the return of the FVV/Ibaka PnR was destroying the Warriors. A 12 point lead to end enter the final quarter and this stretch might have decided the fate of the series. Kawhi and Ibaka outscored the Warriors in the 3rd.
Draymond was the only closer sitting to start the 4th, the urgency was clear. But as a fan, this is the type of play that deflates your hope.
Once he came back, the new plan was to unleash Draymond at the 5 for the first significant time in these finals but without KD this is too small to deal with Ibaka and Siakam. They run a PnR to bring Dray away from the basket and then the two giants kill whoever's inside. So immediately Kerr brought Looney back in. The Raptors stuck with the high PnR and had Leonard and Danny Green on the weak side and the the points kept coming. In terms of strategy in this decisive 2nd half, the Raptors were vastly superior. Nick Nurse is legit.
These minutes were the dagger stretch of the game. It never felt like a comeback was building. The Warriors allow a shit ton of 3s for the majority of the games - they overhelp a lot once they start to feel the pressure - and the moment they start going in it always ends in carnage. Curry missed all the shots he was making up to this point and was a disappointment on defense down the stretch as well. On one hand, I know he's tired and wasn't being so successful on ball and on the other hand it's frustrating having him play so much off ball considering there's no roster for him to do so without KD. Our role players can't score to save their lives (those Cook shots... ) and even free throws were being bricked. Kerr being a nice guy and "trusting" Boogie for the second half was... whatever. Klay was a hero tonight, give him all the money.
The Raptors pick and roll game is amazing because Lowry makes every right decision every time and Leonard has been the MVP in these playoffs. Ibaka has been a game changing force off the bench every game. Maybe surprisingly, it's been the Raptors offense that has been the biggest story. The team that's ahead has earned a championship thus far.
If there's anything I still want to see is Siakam at the 5 matching up with the full Death Lineup. I really want to see if that works or not.
Other Notes:
FVV lost a tooth for this.
These classic off ball switch the Warriors do to protect against mismatches. We didn't see enough of it. In this case it could've been the difference to avoid another rebound for Ibaka.
Using Klay's size against Lowry/FVV has barely been used throughout the series but I'll again make a public plea for it to happen more. I did notice they tried it again the following play and he was doubled on the catch but then the Warriors countered for that as well when they looked for it a 3rd time.
Not only the best defense, Toronto is also the best passing team the Warriors ever faced.
McKinnie can't guard Leonard (at all) but he's a damn good rebounder. But damn, him and Bogut as a duo have been relentlessly killed in every game this series. At this point, Lowry must be in a state of ecstasy every time he sees them both and he single handedly ran Alf from the floor forcing 3 fouls on him.
If Kawhi, while receiving the ball from a pindown, gets space to gain some speed... It's over.
Danny Green might be the most glaring case of the phrase "make-or-miss league". He gets open 3s in every game and it seems that, as long as Pascal is in the dunker spot, that's the shot the Warriors tend to give up.
(Reddit)
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