Green, Durant, Iguodala key in Warriors’ assist-driven style.
Facilitators a bound, even without Curry
OAKLAND >> The three players are different in stature and skill level. Kevin Durant has remained one of the NBA’s top scorers. Draymond Green has become one of the NBA’s toughest defenders. And Andre Iguodala has evolved from an All-Star player to a key reserve.
Yet, Durant, Green and Iguodala all share something in common. They all operate as some of the Warriors’ most important playmakers.
That dynamic largely explains why the Warriors enter Game 2 of their first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs tonight at Oracle Arena with a 1-0 lead. The Warriors logged 32 assists, a number that exceeded the Warriors’ regular-season average (30.9). Green (11 assists), Durant (seven) and Iguodala (four) all served as the primary facilitators.
“Ball movement is hard to guard. The ball moves faster than the defense,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “If the ball is going to a guy that can make a play, we get the defense on its heels and let that guy attack. That’s been our formula.”
Obviously, the Warriors have a better formula when Stephen Curry is healthy. The Warriors went 17-14 without Curry this season amid injuries to his right ankle and left knee, as opposed to 41-10 when Curry played.
The Warriors also posted fewer assists (26.6) without Curry than they averaged with him (30.9) Those numbers do not account, however, for a key fact. Curry missed the last 10 games of the regular season because of a Grade 2 MCL sprain to his left knee, an injury that overlapped ailments that kept Durant (three games), Green (two games), Iguodala (six games)
and Klay Thompson (three games) sidelined.
With the Warriors fielding a healthy playoff roster sans Curry and Patrick McCaw (bone bruise near spine), Durant, Green and Iguodala appear equipped to fuel the team’s swift ball movement even if they do not have the gravity that Curry commands.
“We (improvise) a lot. I think that’s the beauty of our team,” Durant said. “We have guys who can play off the ball. Not one guy dominates the ball. We move it around. We trust everyone to make plays. That’s what coach does. He empowers everyone to be themselves.”
Kerr has done that in various ways. Kerr encourages anyone who grabs a rebound to run the offense. During timeouts, Kerr mixes up his play-calling so various players handle the ball. If Kerr notices a matchup he feels the team can exploit, he often points that out from the sideline. Beyond Durant, Green and Iguodala, Warriors guards Quinn Cook and Shaun Livingston also handle the ball.
“Even with Steph in, us two handle the ball a lot,” Green said of himself and Durant. “We know that we have a lot of weapons around us. We try to make plays for everyone else. Sometimes you just stumble upon assists because you play with such great players. Nonetheless, we’re always looking to find our guys and try to put them in the best position to succeed.”
That quality partly explained why the Warriors considered it a priority to retain Iguodala in free agency last summer. The Warriors re-signed Iguodala to a three-year, $48 million deal for a key reason. Kerr said “we rewarded him for everything he’s done and what we think he can do for us” after Iguodala accepted a bench role and won the 2015 Finals MVP.
Though Iguodala has struggled
at times this season with his shooting accuracy, Kerr said that Iguodala showed in Game 1 what he called a “true picture” of his play. Then, Kerr credited Iguodala both with sparking the team’s defensive intensity and fluid passing.
“For us to be able to throw Andre out there one through four offensively and defensively,” Kerr said, “it’s an incredible valuable thing.”
It also is an incredibly valuable thing that the Warriors have two other forwards in Durant and Green to run the offense as well. As Thompson summed up, “It allows us to get really creative and run endless amount of plays.”
“We like moving the basketball,” Durant said. “Our movement forces teams to switch, no matter what. When they do switch, we just try to find the best shot we can. That’s gut wrenching for a team.”