Golden State Warriors Film Breakdown: 3 Plays that defined Game 1

1. Marc Gasol’s dominance

While Pascal Siakam snagged all of the headlines, it was Marc Gasol who truly put his handprints all over this game. The veteran big man showed how valuable he could be with his surprisingly quick feet on the defensive end.

Let’s start with his defense. The Raptors made a big effort to blitz Stephen Curry on pick-and-rolls and force him into tough decisions. Gasol’s bulky 7-foot frame made it nearly impossible for Curry to make a play over him and the Dubs ran their screen-and-roll action too close to the sidelines for Curry to have any space to dribble around Gasol.

I wish NBA.com had footage of these instances, but unfortunately, they do not. In the two particular plays I am thinking of, Gasol forced a jump ball in one and a tipped pass out of bounds in the other. In order to counter this, the Dubs will need to run this action closer to center court and allow Curry enough room to beat Gasol off of the dribble.

Next up we have to address a defensive tactic that the Warriors attempted to use on Toronto. In both of these clips, it’s evident that Draymond Green is daring Gasol to shoot the 3-pointer. In both instances, he casually knocked the shot down. Gasol is a career 35.0 percent 3-point shooter, so allowing this shot is questionable.

Perhaps the Dubs decided that this is the shot they would like to give up, rather than allowing Kawhi Leonard freedom to create his own look. If this was the plan, it worked as Leonard scored just 23 points on 14 attempts.

However, if Gasol continues to knock these deep shots down at a consistent rate, the Dubs will have to adjust.