Warriors need ‘defensive intensity and our edge’
Rockets’ D’Antoni might be right that all pressure for Game 4 on Warriors
A day after his team was blown out by 41 points in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni made a curious statement.
“To me, Golden State has all the pressure,” D’Antoni said at Rockets practice at the University of San Francisco on Monday. “They got to win tomorrow night.”
Game 4 is a must-win … for the Warriors? That’s interesting. But thinking about D’Antoni’s statement for an extra beat, I found some truth behind it.
The Rockets have been written off — including by yours truly (no regrets) — after their landslide loss Sunday. The worst has already happened for them and they’re now playing with house money. And if they add the necessary “swagger” and “giddy up” to their game — D’Antoni’s words, not mine — and beat Golden State tonight, the series becomes a bestof-3 affair in which the Rockets have home court. Hardly ideal for the Warriors.
At the same time, the Warriors can claim the series — for all intents and purposes — tonight with a win.
So yeah, Game 4 is crucial. And while D’Antoni might need to
re-calibrate his pressure scales, he’s right to insinuate that Warriors need to take care of business tonight.
That said, it will be a bit more difficult for the Warriors to do that without Andre Iguodala in the lineup.
The Warriors’ forward is unlikely to play — the team has listed him as “doubtful” on the injury report — after he appeared to bump knees with James Harden in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game.
The Warriors have made it clear in this series they control their own destiny — pardon the cliche, but the only team that can sabotage Golden State’s path to back-to-back titles and a third championship in four years is Golden State. When the Warriors are playing focused, aggressive basketball, there isn’t a team in the NBA that can keep up with them — as evidenced by Sunday night’s win. But these Warriors are also prone to lapses in that focus and force.
“I think we’re at our best when we feel threatened,” Draymond Green said before Game 3.
Well, there are few things less threatening than a team you just beat by 41 points.
Iguodala has proven himself to be a harbinger for the Warriors this year — when he’s engaged the way he was engaged in Game 3, his teammates typically follow his lead, and as we’ve seen countless times, this team, when focused, is extremely difficult to beat.
“When we’re right, when we’re playing how we are supposed to play, Andre’s right in the middle of it,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after Game 3. “His defense and being smart, making good decisions. Andre is one of the guys who seems to set the tone for that for us.”
I’d go as far to say that Iguodala is the Warriors’ dean, and Golden State will without a doubt miss his calming influence in Game 4 should he not play.
“He always has a couple of steals, four, five rebounds, five points, four or five assists — he just does it all,” Warriors wing Klay Thompson said Monday. “He always makes the right play. He just sees basketball at a very high level, and while I’m not a huge believer in analytics, I’m sure the analytics are on his side.”
The analytics — as well as the folks in Las Vegas — are still on the Warriors’ side to win tonight, even with Iguodala’s injury, which will likely stretch the Warriors’ already thin bench. (Who is ready for serious Nick Young run?)
The logical side of all of this looks at Stephen Curry’s breakout and the Warriors’ great metrics when Kevon Looney (who is likely to get a solid chunk of Iguodala’s minutes — possibly starting if Young doesn’t get the call) is on the court in this series, pairs those things with the fact that the Warriors won by 41 points on Sunday, and sees another Warriors win coming down the pipeline tonight.
But we all know with these Warriors the emotional element is paramount.
The Warriors said Monday that they are aware that — Iguodala or not — focus will separate the game.
“You forget about (Game 3) and you play as if you want to win a championship,” Klay Thompson said. “We do not want to give them home court again, so we have to exert ourselves tomorrow.”
The Warriors were aware of a similar thing ahead of Game 2 as well. How’d that work out?
The difference this time around is that for Game 4, the Warriors will have a home crowd behind them.
The Warriors have won an NBA record 16 straight home games in the postseason, and while so much of that has to do with the fact that they’re supremely talented and went 16-1 in last year’s playoffs, you can’t undercut the value of playing at home for any team, especially Golden State.
The Warriors have posted a net rating (point differential per 100 possessions) of 17.9 at home this postseason — a massive number. The Warriors are the best road team in the NBA this postseason, per that metric, as well, but they only have a net rating of 1.8 on the road.
“I feel like definitely with a 6-0 run, it could turn into a 12-, 14-0 run at home,” Kevin Durant said Monday.
The Warriors might not be able to tap into the positive energy of Iguodala tonight but if they can find similar inspiration in the home court, they could be in good shape — though another 41-point win, in a “must-win” game, is probably out of the question.