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Kerr’s Motion Offense vs. Blatt’s Isolation Play

By Michael Shultz

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On Thursday night, Steve Kerr and David Blatt will make history. It will be the first time in NBA history rookie head-coaches will meet in the NBA Finals since the NBA’s inaugural season in 1946-47. Kerr is the leader of the Golden State Warriors, the best team in basketball with his motion offense and lockdown defense. Blatt leads the Cleveland Cavaliers who relies much more on LeBron James and isolation play. Both styles have worked for their respective teams but this coaching matchup almost did not happen.

Back when the Warriors hired Steve Kerr, Kerr’s number one target for his lead assistant coach was Blatt. Blatt even signed with the Warriors but received a call from the Cavaliers saying that they wanted him to lead their team. Blatt was the Warriors’ property so it was up to Kerr to allow him to speak to the Cavaliers, Kerr obliged and Blatt became the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

At the time, the Cavaliers had the number one pick in the draft but there had been lots of talk that this pick would be traded. They ended up taking Andrew Wiggins and it looked like Blatt would be taking over a young exciting team, led by Kyrie Irving, but on July 13, 2014, that all changed. That was the day that James decided to come home and play for his hometown team, signing with the Cavaliers. With James in the mix, it became clear that the Cavaliers were building a team to win a championship and their last offseason move would come when they traded Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love in late August. Cleveland now had their own big three and looked like one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference. Blatt may have had his own offensive philosophy but with James on the team, he deferred to him much of the time.

Jan 9, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt calls a play against the Golden State Warriors in the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland’s offensive philosophy has been give the ball to James and have him make a play. The Cavaliers best offense is James driving the lane and either finishing at the rim or hitting one of his many three point shooters in rhythm. The Cavaliers are loaded with shooters with JR Smith being their best option from the perimeter. Irving is also a very good shooter but has been hampered by injuries throughout the postseason. In his absence, Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova have really stepped up and hit big threes for the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers have hit the second most threes this postseason only behind the Warriors so it is major part of their game.

When the Cavaliers can’t get an open look from beyond the arc, they look to their superstar, James to break down his man and create his own shot. James may be the best player in the NBA when it comes to creating his own shot and his opponent can play perfect defense but he will still knock it down much like James Harden. James takes lots of shots and he is not the most efficient shooter so he will miss his fair share of shots. That is where the Cavaliers’ rebounding prowess comes in which results in lots of put back dunks by Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov.

Kerr’s offensive philosophy is probably the complete opposite of Blatt’s. The Warriors run a motion offense that was made famous by the San Antonio Spurs where players are constantly moving the ball. Kerr wants his team to get great shots because he has two of the best shooters in the NBA on his team, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Warriors players have thrived under his system with many having career years including Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes. Green has shown everyone how versatile he can be in Kerr’s offense. He is able to knock down the three, run the offense off a pick and roll and set solid screens for open shooters. Green has also been given the freedom to push the basketball in transition, making plays for others or finishing at the rim.

Barnes has probably been the biggest beneficiary of Kerr’s offense. Under coach Mark Jackson, he came off the bench and always had to lead the second unit. Most of the time, he was in isolation situations where he struggled mightily due to his poor ball handling. In Kerr’s system, he returned to the starting lineup , allowing him to play with better players and getting easier shots. You will no longer see Barnes in isolation situations unless he is posting up smaller guards where he dominated Houston in the last round.

Kerr’s system has given everyone better shots as evidenced by the Warriors’ number one offense. They are the best in the NBA in points, assists, field goal percentage and three point percentage per game. They also led the league in fast break points, which is due in large part to their number one defense. At times, the Warriors offense looks unstoppable and their defense can shut down any team.

In a clash of opposing styles, the Warriors will come out on top not because of their offense but their defense. This series is simply going to come down to which team can contain their opponents’ superstar. The Warriors should come out on top because they have more guys to contain James. Green, Barnes, Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston will all have opportunities to stop James and with the Cavaliers’ offense being so isolation driven will make them easier to defend.

The Cavaliers will have a much tougher time containing Curry because of their motion offense. Curry is great off the ball, coming off screens and tiring out his opponents. Most of the time, he gets a wide open three or because the defense is focused on him, an open jumper for one of his teammates. With the ball, he is just as tough because of his incredible handling and quickness. A healthy Irving would help out a lot for the Cavaliers but his health remains a huge question mark. The Cavaliers will most likely put Shumpert on Curry but he does not have the quickness or stamina to stay with Curry. James may be a candidate as well but will have the same problems as Shumpert.

Kerr’s system will prevail in this series for the simple fact that his system gets his superstar easier shots. Ball movement is harder to defend than isolation plays and the Warriors have used this system to become the best team in the league. If the Warriors continue to their outstanding ball movement and stifling defense, they will win this series and raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy in their best season in franchise history with much of the credit due to Kerr.

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