Golden State Warriors: Three keys to winning Game 5

Keep Tristan Thompson off the glass

The first key in this piece is getting out and running. Given what we saw in Games 1 and 2, that makes absolute sense. It’s a sound approach.

However, before you can run, you must

crawl

rebound. Getting stops is important. Those stops are meaningless if they don’t secure the rebound.

Golden State did a great job of neutralizing Tristan Thompson through the first three games. Stephen Curry was out rebounding him. He was nowhere to be found.

The most shaken Cleveland Cavaliers were throwing out potential trade ideas. But the Cavs have proven that they like to stay the course. And, in Game 4, it worked.

Thompson knows his role. He’s out there to do the dirty work. He’s supposed to be a dog in the paint.

Through the first three games, he did not do that. He was getting completely dominated by whatever Warrior happened to be closest to him. He was overmatched on both ends of the floor.

In Game 4, he was physical. He grabbed 10 rebounds, four of them offensive. That’s the kind of activity and production Cleveland needs if they are going to win.

The Warriors cannot let him control the paint. They need to be the ones who establish a physical tone, not him. This will keep him out of a rhythm and, hopefully, force the referees to let the Warriors match the physicality that the Cavaliers played with in Game 4.

Keeping Thompson off the glass is a team effort. While they should try to turn misses into fast break opportunities, they also need to ensure that they are crashing the boards hard. Thompson is an absolute menace down low.

The Warriors need to win the rebounding battle. It starts with boxing Thompson out.