Golden State Warriors: 5 things Dubs need to do to win Game 2

1. Focus on the supporting cast

As I mentioned in the last slide, Anthony Davis is probably going to play more pick-and-roll to create more unstoppable lob opportunities. All the Warriors can do is sag off Rondo and dare him to take the long jumper rather than risk the alley-oop, but knowing him, he’ll probably connect with that pass regardless of the defensive pressure.

I’d imagine that when Davis isn’t coming off the roll, he’s likely going to be doing his best to get inside position on the block, effectively sealing off his man after getting as close as possible to the basket.

In my Game 1 preview, I wrongly suggested the Warriors focus their defense primarily on limiting AD’s efficiency. I thought if you took away the main threat, then the rest of the team would have difficulty picking up the slack.

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Instead, we witnessed a game in which Holiday, Rondo and Nikola Mirotic failed to be any sort of help to AD, severely crippling the Pelicans. It’s unclear whether the Warriors had a significant effect on Holiday or Mirotic, but I would definitely love to see the Dubs completely take them out of the series.