Breaking the Warriors Down By Play Type: Cuts

Jun 5, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) passes the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) and guard J.R. Smith (5) during the third quarter in game two of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 5, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) passes the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) and guard J.R. Smith (5) during the third quarter in game two of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Golden State Warriors
May 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts after committing a turnover against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter in game five of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

Generating Fouls

Cuts are dangerous plays from a ball security standpoint, which could be worrying for a Warriors team already dealing with pronounced turnover issues (v-cuts in particular, since they lend themselves to perimeter pass-land jumping). Surprisingly, this wasn’t a huge problem last year. The Warriors turned the ball over on cuts 6.6% of the time, dead average in the league at 15th.

The worst culprit here was Draymond Green along with Leandro Barbosa, who both turned it over 11.0% of the time and 12.5% of the time. That’s probably largely due to Barbosa’s lack of size, making pass reception and dump-offs much harder with all the moving parts involved in these possessions. Green’s is likely the simple result of a less-refined passing repertoire than Bogut or Curry’s, mixed with high-volume touches.

As for getting to the line on cuts, as with other play types, the Warriors fell short. They got free throws on 14.0% of cut possessions, 24th in the league. Again, this can partially be blamed on the “jump shots” adage, particularly on those perimeter v-cuts. From a scoring standpoint, it’s interesting to remember that Golden already scored more than anyone on cuts, and also happened to be a middling free-throw percentage team last year (perplexing). That scoring total could have been higher, even if they didn’t go to the line as much as other teams.

Finally, what’s the outlook for next year’s Warriors on cuts?

Next: Outlook and Predictions