Warriors big men bottle up Cavaliers’ Thompson
Pachulia, McGee and West score 14 points, Thompson held scoreless
OAKLAND — In the last two NBA Finals, Cleveland Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson has been a serious thorn to the Warriors as an rebounding force and paint presence, and he figures to be a pivotal player if the Cavs expect to have any chance of repeating as champions.
But in Game 1 on Thursday night, a cast of big men led by Zaza Pachulia did something almost unthinkable — they made the usually relentless Thompson virtually disappear. He didn’t score a single point, managed just four rebounds and looked totally lost on defense as the Warriors repeatedly penetrated the paint for close open looks. If they’d made a few more chippies, the outcome would have been even more lopsided than the eventual 113-91 romp.
A few missed layups can be forgiven when you can eliminate a real threat like Thompson. Pachulia was the ringleader of the Warriors’ big man gangup on him, but JaVale McGee and David West also had some significant input. As a group, they scored 14 points with 12 rebounds in a combined 28 minutes at the center position, while Thompson was so ineffective he only wound up playing 22 minutes as Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue scrambled to find some different answers.
But when Golden State finally broke away in the third quarter, it was Pachulia’s work at both ends of the floor that was a major factor in an eight-point halftime lead ballooning to 21 just four minutes into the second half. The 6-foot11, 280-pound veteran did a little bit of everything, defensively challenging Kyrie Irving and LeBron James on consecutive possessions and forcing misses, setting hard screens for a couple of Stephen Curry 3point knockdowns, making a steal on an Irving pass and even converting a wild, no-look reverse layup that somehow went in.
“Steph layup,” said Pachulia with a wry grin.
But his work negating Thompson’s impact was the most important task he accomplished. Acting head coach Mike Brown didn’t even have to be asked about it.
“One thing we talked about was keeping them off the offensive glass and Tristan Thompson’s a load,” Brown said. “He’s been destroying almost everyone he’s come across in the playoffs on the offensive glass and while Zaza Pachulia didn’t play a ton of minutes, the minutes he played kind of set the tone for the game on the offensive glass.”
So how does a big, lumbering 33-year-old man like Zaza stop a lithe, young, quick, athletic guy like Thompson?
Pachulia missed a couple of easy layups early in the game on passes from teammates but admitted he had more than just a bit of anxiety coursing through his veins.
“First time (in the Finals), a long nine days without playing, a lot of things in your mind, you can’t wait, excitement,” he said. “But after I missed those couple of shots, I settled down and got back to be my normal routine.”
McGee only played 5⁄1 2 first-half minutes in the opening quarter but had five rebounds, four points on a pair of dunks, an assist and a block. But his focus, he maintained, was the same as Zaza’s — play defense, and don’t let Thompson get in front of you.
“We kept Tristan off the boards to the best of our abilities,” McGee said. “You can’t be worried about getting the rebound yourself. That’s where most people go wrong with him. We just tried to box him out so he wasn’t able to give them a spark by getting the offensive rebound and extra possessions.”