The Golden State Warriors fell just short of stealing home-court advantage from the Sacramento Kings in the postseason opener. As Monday night's pivotal Game 2 fast approaches, here are three key adjustments the defending champs must make to even the most exciting series of the first round.
3. Unleash Andrew Wiggins…and Stephen Curry
After last taking the floor more than two months ago, Wiggins wasted no time on Saturday proving he's ready for the physical rigors and mental intensity of playoff basketball. He was the Warriors' best player at times in Game 1, bothering De'Aaron Fox as an isolation defender, plugging holes defensively in help at the nail and providing some much-needed finishing and shot-making dynamism on the other end.
“Wiggs was great,” Steve Kerr said on the postgame podium. “So awesome to have him back. We’re whole with him out there. Our team makes sense with Wiggs back. I thought he looked really good.”
The only areas Wiggins didn't make an overtly positive impact for the Dubs? On the glass and from beyond the arc, where he should be better as the 28-year-old continues getting his postseason sea legs.
Wiggins came off the bench for the first time in his career on Saturday night, playing just over 28 minutes—a few more than expected given the Warriors' plan to ease him back into action. There's no time for that in wake of Sacramento's epic Game 1 victory, especially considering the way Fox eviscerated Donte DiVincenzo to open the second half.
These three consecutive half-court possessions came after Golden State had opened up a 10-point lead early in the third quarter, Fox taking matters into his own hands against an overmatched defender with his team potentially on the ropes.
There's a role for DiVincenzo in this series. He does all the little things on both ends that loom extra large in frantic, up-and-down games, always making multiple efforts and putting his teammates in position to succeed on both sides of the ball.
But unlike Wiggins, he just doesn't have the length or short-area burst to make Fox work to find good looks one-on-one.
Fox is going to get his own offense. He's too fast and shifty, with that much-improved mid-range jumper, to be shut down entirely. Rest assured Fox will try to sustain momentum from his dominant second-half effort come Game 2, coming out ultra-aggressive to try to put Golden State in an early hole.
If Wiggins doesn't start for DiVincenzo on Monday night, expect Kerr to give the latter a quick hook, siccing Wiggins or Gary Payton II on Fox early. Either way, Wiggins needs to play over 30 minutes in Game 2.
Another player who must get more burn? Curry. Game 1 changed for good when he left with 2:18 left in the third quarter, Sacramento turning an eight-point deficit into a one-point lead entering the final stanza by shutting down the Warriors and preying on Jordan Poole.
Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and the Warriors fell just short in an epic first-round opener that portends a long, exciting series. Dubs beat writer @armstrongwinter checks in with in-depth reactions from Game 1.https://t.co/suNlDLPdMa
— Warriors Nation (@WarriorNationCP) April 16, 2023
Curry played 37 minutes on Saturday, leaving him plenty fresh for a scintillating fourth quarter performance. It's playoff time. There's no reason why the Dubs' best player—among the most well-conditioned athletes in all of professional sports—can't eclipse the 40-minute mark in Game 2 and beyond.
2. Sprint back to set halfcourt defense
The Kings' 12 fast-break points aren't an accurate indicator of their commitment to pushing the pace in Game 1.
Mike Brown clearly reiterated the importance of playing fast in the halftime locker room, Sacramento's half-court offense neutered by Golden State laying far off Domantas Sabonis, daring him to shoot from the perimeter and pressuring Kings guards off the ball to limit the effectiveness of dribble hand-offs.
Sacramento finished Saturday's game with a 94.9 first-shot offensive rating in the halfcourt, per Cleaning the Glass, nearly 10 points below its second-ranked mark from the regular season. That number doesn't account for the home team's prowess on the offensive glass, among the areas Golden State should clean up most going forward. All five Dubs needs to crash the defensive boards against the Kings.
Another fix the Warriors can make in Game 2 with more concerted, consistent effort? Preventing Sacramento from creating early, efficient offense in the halfcourt by sprinting back to set to their defense.
None of these consecutive Kings possessions in crunch-time are true fast breaks, but function as such regardless due to Fox and Monk racing the ball up the floor and creasing the paint, making the defense scramble.
Sacramento knows it can't beat Golden State when the game slows down. To wit, the Warriors' halfcourt offensive rating on Saturday was a gaudy 112.1, per Cleaning the Glass, and the Kings—boasting an underrated transition defense—refused to let them get loose in the open floor.
Keeping up with Fox and Monk is a difficult task, especially for a veteran team like Golden State. But it's hardly too much to ask of the Dubs given both stakes of the postseason and the Kings' struggles to consistently produce efficient looks against a set defense.
1. Trade rushed threes for rim attacks
A whopping 19 of the Warriors' 24 field goal attempts in the fourth quarter came from beyond the arc. Though they drained just just six triples, good for 31.6% shooting, it's not like the offense suffered overall due to that over-reliance on the long ball. Golden State put up a 132.0 offensive rating in the final stanza, per NBA.com/stats.
Many of those tries from deep were high quality, too. The Warriors will certainly live with Wiggins launching an open corner jumper that could send them to late-game victory, for instance, and the Splash Brothers had it going in the fourth, combining for five made threes.
Golden State will always prioritize three-point shooting. But there's a fine line between seeking out triples at the expense of more efficient shots, especially situationally, and the Warriors crossed it with the game hanging in the balance.
The Dubs didn't need to take a single one of these rushed, clanked three-pointers.
Poole and Curry can get those shots literally whenever they want.
Curry's miss came when the Kings were going box-and-one, after he'd turned the corner to meet Monk on the other side of Kevon Looney's screen. Why not take a page from Fox and attack an ill-equipped defender off the bounce?
That could be a dunk for Jonathan Kuminga if he staggers his feet to catch on the run, elevating over Sabonis.
There's 13 seconds on the shot clock when Thompson steps back to try an off-balance three over Kevin Huerter. Look who's guarding Wiggins at the top of the floor, by the way. Golden State can't let Sacramento get away with hiding Sabonis on a dynamic, proven self-creator.
You love Wiggins' confidence here, but he lacked the touch from range all night. Maybe swinging it back to the reigning Finals MVP would've been a better option?
Subtext makes the Warriors' debilitating dependence on triples late in Game 1 even more frustrating. They shot 18-of-23—elite 78.3% accuracy—at the rim against the Kings, facing even less resistance from that hallowed ground with Sabonis on the floor instead of veteran center Alex Len.
Golden State's offensive execution in the clutch was a major problem throughout the regular season. That weakness took the familiar form of the league's best shooting team settling for three after three in the playoff opener when better options could've been had elsewhere, even as the Dubs were flummoxed by Sacramento playing box-and-one and getting Sabonis out of screening actions with Curry.
The Warriors' ugly fourth quarter shot chart will no doubt be a point of emphasis heading into Monday night. Only time will tell, unfortunately, if they fall back on what comes most natural should the going get tough in crunch-time of a must-win Game 2.
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