Warriors vs Clippers Playoffs: Game 6 Preview – Keys For Golden State (Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle)
Game 6: Los Angeles Clippers (3-2) at Golden State Warriors (2-3)
Keys to the Game by @DubsPlayLoud:
1) Run and Gun. The Warriors need to get Oracle into it early by getting early dunks and early transition threes. The way they do that, play defense, get rebounds and push.
2) Set good screens. Get Stephen Curry off the ball, set good screens and let him curl off a high screen to get an open look.
3) The bench needs to play better. Golden State didn’t trade for Jordan Crawford and Steve Blake and sign Marreese Speights for them to do next to nothing. The Dubs need 20+ points from the bench a night to make another deep playoff run this season.
Keys To The Game by @MonteSports11
1) Go down shooting. There is no way that Golden State can play another game against the Clippers with Curry getting just ten shot attempts like he did in Game 5. Look for Curry to be more selfish and understand that sometimes a bad shot by him is a better option then an open jump shot for someone else. In Game 5, head coach Mark Jackson used Curry at the shooting guard position, but Chris Paul did a good job of holding Curry at bay, in some cases, literally.
2) Keep the pressure on Griffin. Blake Griffin was in foul trouble through most of Game 5. He finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds in 36 minutes. The Warriors will live with those types of numbers from Griffin, but he has the ability to score 30 points per game on any given night. If Golden State can get Griffin to struggle in back-to-back games, they have a great chance of winning.
3) Have something left in the tank in the 4th quarter. Foul trouble plagued David Lee and Draymond Green in Los Angeles. There were times when both Lee and Green were dominant players on offense and defense, only to commit a touch foul and have to sit on the bench. Lee committed his 5th foul with 3:53 left in the 3rd quarter, while Green picked up two early ones within two minutes of tipoff of Game 5. Sometimes giving up a layup when you have three fouls is not the worst idea in the world.
4) Feed off the energy of the crowd. The other night, #ClipperNation was electric. With Commissioner Adam Silver announcing earlier in the day that long time owner Donald Sterling would be suspended for life for racial comments, the Clippers’ fans were ready to erupt with every basket, whereas LA is usually a laid back crowd. The Warriors must come out and give the crowd something to be fired up about. When #Roaracle is fired up, there is no better crowd in the country. If the Warriors get a big lead early, it can be lights out for the Clippers.
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