Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says while the box-and-1 defensive tactic the Toronto Raptors used late in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the Finals was effective to an extent, it's not something which can used for large stretches of the game.
As he always does with the media, Kerr also revealed a funny tidbit, saying when he was in ninth grade, an opposing team used the box-and-1 strategy on him:
Steve Kerr asked about the box-and-1: "In ninth grade, a team played that against me. Very proud to announce that." Kerr called it effective, said "it changed the rhythm," but…"It's typically not something you can rely on for (large) stretches of the game."
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) June 4, 2019
The Warriors had 106 points with 4:30 left in the game. They finished with 109 points. The Raptors' box-and-1 zone worked against the Dubs. However, you can expect Kerr and his staff to make adjustments and prepare the team should the Raptors use that tactic again.
If the Raptors could have scored the ball better while they were using the box-and-1 zone, they might have won Game 2 to take a 2-0 lead in the series. To hold a team like the Warriors to zero points for over four minutes is pretty impressive. Toronto, though, wasn't able to take advantage of it.
Games 3 and 4 of the Finals will be in Oakland. The Warriors have to win both games to keep home-court advantage. It's going to be interesting to see if the Raptors decide to deploy the box-and-1 zone again.
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