Golden State Warriors need to channel Finals approach to overcome Lakers

The Golden State Warriors relinquished home-court advantage at Chase Center on Tuesday night, defeated 117-112 by the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their highly-anticipated second-round series.

In a tight contest that saw the defending champions nearly pull off a remarkable comeback in the fourth-quarter, the differing play styles were well and truly on display as the Warriors bombed away from deep while the Lakers controlled the interior.

The Golden State Warriors, and particularly Stephen Curry, need to channel their approach to the 2022 NBA Finals where they defeated the Boston Celtics in six games.

Anthony Davis, and by extension Darvin Ham’s decision to play in drop coverage was a risk-reward strategy that ultimately paid off for the visitors in Game 1. However, it’s not the first time Golden State have seen that sort of defense in a big time playoff series in recent times.

The Boston Celtics also devised that plan in last year’s NBA Finals, and it too paid dividends early with a Game 1 victory at Chase Center. It was hardly a bullet proof strategy though as Stephen Curry erupted to put their best laid plans to bed and take the title.

The Celtics drop coverage allowed Curry to walk into practically almost any uncontested three he wanted early in the series, and he subsequently buried 43.7% of his 11.8 attempts per game. The Celtics’ response later in the series was to play more man-to-man, but the two-time MVP then had a field day running rings around Al Horford before finishing at the rim with ease.

The Warriors took a staggering 53 triples in Game 1 against the Lakers, nearly a dozen more than their league-leading regular season average of 41.4. They made 21 of them — a decent mark of 39.6% — but it was never enough to force Davis and Los Angeles into something different.

When Golden State did enter the paint, they were met by Davis’ presence and were often warned away. The Lakers star had four blocks and 23 rebounds to go with his 30 points in a dominant, game-winning display.

The Warriors have a choice — change up their own style to try and create better looks inside, or trust in their ability to punish the drop coverage and force the Lakers into something different. Given Golden State possesses the best shooter of all-time in Curry, and arguably the second-best (or at least top five) in Klay Thompson, the way they played in Game 1 shouldn’t deter them from the latter. The pair combined to shoot 12-for-29 (41.9%) on Tuesday which while efficient, could still be improved upon given some of the looks they got.

Of course, there’s also a defensive element to this. Despite Curry’s brilliance, Golden State’s defense, and the way they contained Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, was key to winning the title last season. They did a similarly good job on another wing, LeBron James, in Game 1 (22 points, 9-for-24 shooting), but finding an answer for Davis will present more of an issue moving forward.