Nba Finals – Warriors, what Game 1 taught and how to correct mistakes

From defensive errors to the anomaly of the last quarter: Kerr’s strategies to rekindle the challenge with Boston

The awakening of the Warriors fans, the day after the sensational collapse in the fourth period, was not the easiest. In the eyes the 7/7 from long distance with which the Celtics started a closed fraction then with 40 points on the scoresheet that transformed a passive of 12 lengths in the comfortable success for 120-108.

How to get up

The first Chase Center defeat in postseason history, a decidedly young “story” given that these are the first playoffs hosted by the beautiful arena in downtown San Francisco, came right at the start of the Finals, in the most unexpected and shocking way for the fans of the Warriors. “We must congratulate the Celtics – said Steve Kerr in the post-match – in the last quarter they changed gears and played in an extraordinary way. If they make 21 triples, 11 with Horford and White, beating them becomes really difficult ”. Now the Californian team cannot be wrong in Game-2, going down 0-2 and then showing up at the TD Garden in Boston would make the comeback in the series very complicated, but the Golden State veterans do not seem too worried. And maybe that doesn’t make Coach Kerr sleep soundly.

The anomaly

The thought that seems to reign in the locker room, perfectly articulated by a Draymond Green who, as usual, does not mince words, is that of an anomaly: a fourth period not repeatable by the Celtics that changed the fate of a race until the beginning of the fourth period in the hands of Golden State. “We dominated the game for 41-42 minutes – is Green’s perspective – they found rhythm in attack in the last quarter, thanks to the Celtics but I remain very confident”. Boston, however, has changed direction of the game, transforming for one evening, in the last quarter, in the Warriors and playing the best basketball designed by the Californian team.

The tactic

Udoka’s intuition to lower the quintet to open the field allowed the visiting team to find comfortable conclusions in series from the perimeter. Golden State has contributed by defending with approximation and often even “baptizing” White who, however, has repeatedly punished the bad readings of the Warriors. Kerr, on the other hand, did not manage the rotations very well by keeping out for too many minutes in the second quarter a glowing Curry who had returned from 21 points in the first fraction, and not opting for a plan B to overcome the defensive problems of a Poole who was unable to leave. the sign in attack.

Proof

The race on Sunday therefore becomes a very important testing ground for the Warriors. Will there be any adjustments from Kerr or will Boston cross the line of the “one-time” match? The first option is more likely despite the words of the players in the post-game 1. “Obviously losing the first game of the Finals is not a good thing but this team knows how to respond in the right way to defeats – Steph Curry declared at the end of Thursday’s match – in the last quarter they practically never missed a conclusion, now we we have to win race-2 and get back into the series, we’ll see the rest later ”.

ttn-14