The Golden State Warriors won Game 1 of their First Round series against the Los Angeles Clippers because down the stretch the youngsters did not get rattled. Most young teams that give up a 98-90 lead with under five minutes remaining would fold in that situation and let the game get away from them, however, Mark Jackson's Warriors are not just any young team. Golden State showed poise getting big three-point buckets from Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson in crunch time. Stephen Curry made the right passing decisions hitting David Lee for crucial inside buckets down the stretch. Lastly, the Warriors made costless throws, which is something that Clippers point guard, Chris Paul failed to do at a crucial juncture in the game.
So what do the Clippers need to do to overcome the 109-105 Game 1 loss they took on Saturday? First of all they need to have Blake Griffin stay out of foul trouble. The Clippers had difficulties in Game 1 cause their main gun on offense spent more time on the bench than running up and down the floor. Griffin only logged 19 minutes and scored 16 points. Blake being on the sideline made life a lot easier for the Warriors and, in particular, David Lee to get buckets in the paint. Lee was huge finishing with 22 points and 13 boards. That kind of thing may not have happened if Blake was able to stay on the floor.
The Clippers also need to figure out how to get Chris Paul better offensive matchups in the halfcourt. Paul is being guarded by bigger players like Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala in the Clippers halfcourt offense. Doc Rivers needs to devise a way to spring CP3 costless from the bigger defenders so he does not have to work so hard to not only get others involved, but also get himself some open looks. Look for the Clippers to set screens from all different kinds of angles on whoever is defending Paul to cause the Warrirors to have to switch defensively. It would also help if Jamal Crawford was able to find his shooting stroke in Game 2. Crawford was a meager 2 of 11 to open up this series and will surely be looking to get back on track in this game.
The Warriors in order to fend off what is about to come, will need to simply stick to the script and adjust when it is required. Of course they would like a better shooting night from Stephen Curry who went 6 of 16 from the floor in Game 1, yet they were able to overcome that in the end. They were blessed to be able to get Game 1, especially given that Andre Iguodala also was in deep foul trouble like Blake Griffin was for "Lob City". Having "Iggy" in the mix will up the chances of the Warriors being able to steal another game from the Clippers in the Staples Center.
The Warriors are going to need to continue to rebound well in Game 2 also. "The Dubs" benefited from outrebounding the Clippers 48-42, and if they could duplicate that output it would help their cause. Finally, the Warriors are going to need big games from Jermaine O'Neal, Marreese Speights and Draymond Green. If the frontcourt rotation of Golden State is able to make an impact by making things difficult on Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Glen "Big Baby" Davis, as far as controlling the paint, the Warriors could win again.
It is going to be interesting to see the chess match that coaches Doc Rivers and Mark Jackson are going to engage in for tonight's game. Adjustments will be made for sure on both sides for Game 2 of this Western Conference playoff battle.