The Golden State Warriors bench has gotten better as the season has gone on. For the team to win, the reserves will need to step up against the Utah Jazz.
Role players are the key to championships. This is a phrase heard often when referring to the NBA Playoffs. The Golden State Warriors bench has progressively improved as the season progressed. Now it’s time for the next step.
The Warriors bench will need to play well in order to defeat the Utah Jazz in the Conference Semifinals. The Jazz have one of the better benches in the league with Joe Johnson, Derrick Favors and Rodney Hood. Those three were crucial in defeating the Los Angeles Clippers last round.
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Johnson, Favors and Hood each provide different strengths that will make life tricky for the Warriors. Johnson provides the clutch isolation scoring late in games, Favors will bother the Warriors with his size and offensive rebounding while Hood is the kind of streaky shooter who can get on a roll.
Those three players give the Jazz loads of versatility when paired with Joe Ingles, Gordon Hayward or George Hill. The point guard-less lineups run out by Utah will be challenging for the Warriors to defend because of the size and athleticism.
The Warriors bench led by Andre Iguodala, Javale McGee, David West, Ian Clark and maybe Shaun Livingston will need to hold the fort down while the starters head to the bench. Utah relies on their bench to score while the Warriors rely on theirs for playmaking, defense and intangibles. The Warriors don’t need to outscore Utah’s bench, but they need to keep it within 10 points.
The Jazz starting five can’t touch the Warriors starting five. The only opportunity they have in the series is if they can take away one of the big 3 or their bench explodes for 40 or more points per game.
Bench production was a perceived weakness for the Warriors at the beginning of the season. Now it’s a strength because of McGee’s emergence as a lob threat off the bench and Clark’s improved scoring. The Warriors ability to beat teams in a variety of ways will need to be on display in this series.
The Jazz could be the 2014-15 Memphis Grizzlies because they provide some of the same problems as the Grizzlies. They are a big physical team who plays a methodical style and will hold the Warriors below their scoring average.
It’s hard to imagine this series going 6 games like that 2015 series with the Grizz as the Warriors are better than they were two years ago. In order to guarantee an easy series win, the bench needs to continue to play well.