The Warriors wrapped up the top seed in the west and home-court through the playoffs a long time ago, but finally the playoffs are here. The Warriors will start their quest for an NBA championship on Saturday against the Pelicans at 3:30 EST.
The Pelicans as a team are no match realistically for the Warriors. They have some nice pieces but aren’t on the same level. That being said, this Pelicans team is no pushover. They will pound you and get after it on both ends of the floor.
The Warriors come into this matchup molten hot. Their offense was flowing, defense looked solid, and team is healthy. There are some keys for this team that we’ll dive into further.
Starting Lineups
PG - Stephen Curry vs. Tyreke Evans
Clearly, this matchup is in favor of Curry. Curry comes into the series being arguably the best point guard in the league, and won’t really have trouble against Evans on offense. On defense, while Curry has vastly improved this year, Evans can bring out some nice scoring and the Warriors will need to be mindful of that.
SG - Klay Thompson vs. Eric Gordon
Gordon is a nice talented shooting guard, but Klay is favored in this matchup. Klay has improved his driving ability, while really staying just as consistent shooting the ball as last season.
SF - Harrison Barnes vs. Quincy Pondexter
At 6’6” and 225, Pondexter is a force that this writer is not sure Barnes is equipped for. Barnes is good athletically, good in a system of offense like the Warriors, but is outmatched at this position. It isn’t a landslide that Pondexter is favored, but should be noted.
PF - Draymond Green vs. Anthony Davis
Davis has the edge handedly in this matchup, but Green has been incredible defensively all year. Green has been the catalyst to this Warriors defense and isn’t afraid to bang with Davis down low. Davis is clearly the favored in this matchup.
C - Andrew Bogut vs. Omer Asik
This matchup is even. Both players are adequate centers, but not necessarily the catalyst for either team. Bogut and Asik both are limited offensively while contributing on defense adequately. This writer has this matchup as even.
Keys To The Series
So for both teams, defense is very key. Anthony Davis brings a huge defensive presence with him, as well as Asik. They'll really need to clog up the paint and limit the second-chance points by the Warriors. The Warriors are a good rebounding team and you can't let them beat you with second-chance shots or three pointers.
For the Warriors offensively, one big key will be bringing Anthony Davis out of the paint. As you see in the video above, Bogut brings out Davis for a pick and roll and it gives a lot of room to work with in the paint.
The next key for the Warriors, is showing on the New Orleans pick and roll, and getting back to helping quickly. Multiple times, as seen in one instance above, Davis rolls and gets enough space for a lob and an alley-oop. Obviously, not many can leap up there with Davis, but if Draymond can recover quickly, or even make New Orleans take shots off the P&R instead of lobs, then this can hopefully be avoided.
The second thing for the Warriors is defensively they need to limit the penetration to the middle. In the video above it shows a couple of plays where the penetration to the middle opened up a ton of options for New Orleans, in this case ended in two threes.
Lastly, the Warriors need to go back to their offensive roots. What got them blowing out teams all season were three things: Ball movement, cutting, and open shots. These three, while seemingly obvious, the Warriors lost a bit as the season came to an end. This is likely because of them wrapping up the 1-seed, so it shouldn't be hard to get back to the roots. Stephen Curry, while arguably one of the best offensive players all season, can't get caught up in iso ball. Sometimes it comes with the territory for him, but other times it slows down movement and can be detrimental to the offensive flow.
This series is finally here and the Warriors finally get to start on a quest that has been surrounding their thoughts all season long. The Pelicans will be a tough task, but a manageable one in this first round. Not that any of us should look past the first round, but with a series win the Warriors will have to go through Memphis or Portland in the second round. Since San Antonio lost and dropped to the 6-seed, they won't see the Warriors until the Western Conference Finals. That should be a nice feeling for all Spurs and Warriors fans out there.