5 Takeaways from Game One

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May 19, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) celebrates with guard Stephen Curry (30) in the first half in game one of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Adjustments for Game Two?

The Warriors’ Game One win may have been one to savour, but there will be many more adjustments to make for Game Two. The Warriors cannot afford to get off to a slow start in the next game, and as good as their offense is, a 16-point deficit might not always be erased.

The Warriors had a lot of success with the Curry-Livingston-Thompson-Barnes-Green lineup, especially when the Rockets went small. The lineup is a good blend of defense and offense, and will give the Rockets fits. It will be interesting to see if the success continues, since a large reason why it worked was that Livingston was making his shots. Also, having Draymond Green as the de facto rim protector might not always fare well, especially if Harden is having success driving to the rim.

The Rockets’ defense tried to slow down the Warriors’ offense by allowing them to post up Green on Harden. It takes away from their motion offense, as it stops their quick ball movement, but Green isn’t your typical power forward. Just look at this pass he was able to make from that play.

The Rockets might continue to give the Warriors the post-up, as it does that the Splash Brothers out of the play. Perhaps we’ll see coach Steve Kerr come up with more sets out of the post up in Game Two.

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