The Golden State Warriors staved off elimination with a 121-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. Here are three reactions from the defending champions' invigorating and season-saving Game 5 win at Chase Center.
Andrew Wiggins does it all
Remember around this time last year, when Wiggins began emerging as the Dubs' clear-cut second-best player the deeper they got into a title run? That do-it-all force made a stirring return in Game 5, with Wiggins creating offense on all three levels of the floor—as a roll man, spot-up shooter, off-dribble attacker and mismatch hunter—from the opening tip.
Who says the Warriors can't milk pick-and-rolls for Stephen Curry with Wiggins screening on the ball? He may not be Draymond Green or Kevon Looney as a screen-setter, but that finer point of Wiggins' game has more than enough nuance and heft to free Curry for advantage situations.
The Lakers didn't just pay Wiggins disrespect by stashing Davis on him to begin Game 5, a carryover from a key adjustment Darvin Ham made for the second half of his team's win on Monday. They also dared him to launch jumpers, unconcerned by laying multiple steps off Wiggins with the ball in his hands at the arc or away from the play.
That was a mistake Wednesday night.
Los Angeles eventually started treating Wiggins like a real threat from deep. Instead of testing his potentially hot hand with more triples, he exploited that development by driving close-outs to produce good looks for himself and his teammates.
You know Wiggins is feeling good when he's aggressive as a pick-and-roll ball handler. He was on the other side of that two-man dance much more often in Game 5, but made the most of his limited chances leading it.
This inverted pick-and-roll between Wiggins and Curry—who set another ball screen for Draymond Green on the following possession—is a look we'll surely see again.
There was no doubt coming into this series that Wiggins would have opportunities to prey on smaller defenders. The Lakers would much rather risk Wiggins attacking one-on-one in space than not committing appropriate attention to Curry and Klay Thompson flying off screens.
Wiggins finally made Los Angeles pay for it on Wednesday night.
Wiggins cemented his case as the best non-star wing in basketball during last year's playoffs. He was that guy again in Game 5, taking nothing off the table for Golden State on either end of the floor while making a palpable two-way impact with his athleticism, size and skill.
Wiggins hasn't been the Warriors' problem in the postseason. He's even been better than expected considering his last action leading up to Game 1 of the first round came before the All-Star break. With the their back against the wall of elimination, though, Wiggins provided an easy answer to pretty much every question Los Angeles posed to the Dubs.
The next one? Whether Wiggins can do it again in Game 6.
Golden State's pace overwhelms Los Angeles
The Warriors played like a team Wednesday night that knew exactly what was at stake. Their unceasing commitment to pushing the pace, making multiple efforts defensively and crashing the glass with abandon is the stuff that won them a remarkable fourth ring in eight seasons less than a year ago.
No one exemplified that team-wide spirit better than Green, who led the charge as an ever-churning transition engine. Golden State's 13 fast-break points don't come close to portraying just how intentional Steve Kerr's team was creating early offense basically out of thin air, off misses and makes by the Lakers.
The Warriors were at their most dangerous, no surprise, running off Lakers turnovers and blocked shots.
These feedback loops are Golden State at its best, the type of multi-pronged, defense-to-offense magic that was the hallmark of ‘Strength In Numbers' when the dynasty tipped off in 2014-15.
The Lakers sported one of the league's worst transition defenses during the regular season, age, wear and tear and a penchant for complaining to officials regularly, and quickly, coming back to bite them in the open floor. Los Angeles has been a bit more diligent setting its halfcourt defense on the whole in the postseason, but is never totally immune to those ingrained foibles of effort, fatigue and a fleeting next-play mentality—especially away from home.
It'll be much more difficult for the Warriors to sustain their transition vigor at Crypto.com Arena. Somehow pulling it off in another elimination game in front of a hostile road crowd could be the biggest key to Golden State forcing an all-or-nothing Game 7.
Warriors leave Lakers' defense switching, searching
Early reports indicate Davis avoided a concussion despite leaving Wednesday's action a few minutes into the fourth quarter with a head injury. Obviously, the dynamics of this series will shift entirely if he's unable to play on Friday night and beyond.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they might have anyway.
Davis has terrorized the Dubs defensively for most of the Western Conference Semifinals, absolutely owning the paint and consistently making his singular presence felt when venturing beyond it. Game 5 stressed Davis past his limits in pick-and-roll coverage, though, Golden State's adherence to dragging him toward the arc to contain Curry with ball screens from Wiggins and Green running him ragged.
Ham switched up his team's strategy late in the first half, readily switching Davis onto Curry, Thompson and Poole in screening actions. It didn't work, and not because Davis was getting abused in isolation. Having him check guards at least somewhat mitigated Los Angeles' need for a series of pitch-perfect defensive rotations every Warriors trip down, but still pulled Davis away from the area he was doing most damage.
No one is there to spook the Dubs on the back line with Davis switched onto the perimeter.
This possession is a perfect illustration of the bind Los Angeles is put in switching across five positions.
Austin Reaves three-quarter fronts Wiggins to prevent a post catch, forcing Jarred Vanderbilt to help over the top. Green immediately recognizes it, knowing all he has to do for a clean lane to the rim—with James attached to Curry on the back side—is go-and-catch quickly.
It's not like switching Davis onto Curry completely deactivated the reigning Finals MVP.
Curry was just a bit more judicious attacking Davis and James off the bounce than anyone else, seeking out split cuts and extra brush screens for an additional advantage when guarded by the Lakers' intimidating stars.
Golden State has been a different team away from Chase Center all season, and Los Angeles is a perfect 7-0 at home in the playoffs.
There's no guaranteeing the Warriors' offensive blend and continuity in the halfcourt Wednesday night travels to Southern California, allowing the Lakers to go back to typical ball-screen coverage. Wiggins coming back to earth would certainly make switching a more viable strategy for Los Angeles, too.
But even the Lakers don't have the defensive talent and versatility to string together stops when Golden State is at its best. Here's hoping the Dubs can tap back into it Friday night at Crypto.
Follow Us
Subscribe