Golden State Warriors Film Room: 3 Plays that ruined Game 4
By Tony Pesta
1. Kawhi Leonard’s two-way dominance
This game was controlled by Kawhi Leonard. When the pace sped up, Leonard was there to slow it down. When the Warriors began to pull away, guess who was there to deliver timely buckets. This was a masterful performance from Leonard from top to bottom, to save time, we will only focus on his second half.
Right away, we can see the aggression in Leonard to start this half off right. After opening the half with a 3-pointer, Leonard collects a steal and calmly drills a pull up 3-pointer over Green. It is moments like this that truly showcase his brilliance as a two-way star.
At this point, Leonard has already led the Raptors on a run to take the lead and put pressure on the Warriors. He has rocked them to sleep with his mid-range fadeaway and he has scored 15 points already in the quarter. However, he is ready to show how versatile he is on offense, playing off the ball before getting to his spot and drilling the baseline jumper.
This last play is simply here to showcase how incredible Leonard’s physical attributes are. There aren’t many players in the world capable of leaping over 7-foot Andrew Bogut to deflect a cross-court pass. Leonard manages to get his hands on this and start the break that delivered the final nail in the coffin for Golden State.
The Dubs don’t have many options to stop him. Denying him the ball doesn’t mean much as he is talented enough to get it himself through his defense. He is a killer both off and on the ball and is calm demeanor makes it tough to throw him off his game. By the end of this matchup, Leonard had 36 points and 12 rebounds.
Next. 3 Ways the Raptors have contained Stephen Curry. dark
Leonard is on the verge of leading the Raptors to their first ever NBA Championship. The Dubs have done their best to contain him, but as these plays show, it’s a tall task stopping an all-time great.