Golden State Warriors Playoffs 2014: Preview Of Los Angeles Clippers (Photo: Kelley L Cox / USA Today)
NBA Playoff basketball is imminent. Let us help guide you though the Warriors first round matchup with our Golden State Warriors playoff preview.
#6 Golden State Warriors (51-31) vs. #3 Los Angeles Clippers (57-25)
- Game 1 at Staples Center: Saturday, April 19, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 2 at Staples Center: Monday, April 21, 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
- Game 3 at Oracle Arena: Thursday, April 24, 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
- Game 4 at Oracle Arena: Sunday, April 27, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 5 at Staples Center (if necessary): Tuesday, April 29
- Game 6 at Oracle Arena (if necessary): Thursday, May 1
- Game 7 at Staples Center (if necessary): Saturday, May 3
Season series: Split 2-2 (Home team won each game):
- October 31: Clippers 126, Warriors 115
- December 25: Warriors 105, Clippers 103
- January 30: Warriors 111, Clippers 92
- March 12: Clippers 111, Warriors 98
Stat Leaders:
PTS – Stephen Curry 24.0 | Blake Griffin 24.1
REB – Andrew Bogut 10.0 | DeAndre Jordan 13.8
AST – Curry 8.5 | Chris Paul 10.7
BLK – Bogut 1.8 | Jordan 2.5
STL – Curry 1.6 | Paul 2.5
The Warriors will be heavy underdogs going into the series, especially with Bogut out indefinitely with a fractured rib.
Bogut’s importance to the Warriors will be highlighted when dealing with the Clippers large and imposing front court of Griffin and Jordan. Bogut had been the Dubs’ answer to Griffin’s rim-runs during the four-game season series, and with him out, Griffin won’t face the same imposing size and defense down low.
Bogut had also been part of duo of defenders whose physical play took Griffin out of his element during the Warriors’ Christmas Day win at Oracle Arena. Golden State will not only miss Bogut’s physical presence, but also the mentally draining effect of Bogut’s physical style seems to have on Griffin.
Much of the focus going into the series will be directed at the animosity shared between the two teams. From reports of not sharing pregame chapel together, as is NBA custom, to on-court shoving matches and locker-room confrontations, it’s clear that the two teams don’t like each other.
While that emotion will likely spill onto the court at some point during the series, especially with fire starters like Matt Barnes, Griffin, Draymond Green and Jermaine O’Neal involved, this series could be less physical than expected.
The two teams continue to downplay the rivalry in the media, even despite Klay’s recent comments about Griffin’s acting abilities, and will likely be focused on a bigger and more important goal than proving which team can win a shoving match.
Bogut’s absence makes it especially likely the physicality will take a bit of a backseat when the series starts Saturday. Either way, the series should be whole lot of fun for both sides.
To win the series, the Warriors will have to resort to a tactic that proved successful last year when they upset the Denver Nuggets in six games: small ball.
With Green playing better than ever, he could easily fill the role Harrison Barnes did last season as a stretch four. Not only has he become a reliable deep threat in 2014, he has also been nearly as key to the Warriors defensive success as Bogut and Andre Iguodala.
The Warriors will have to play a different style than they’ve committed themselves to all season, but defense could still be a huge part of an upset of the Clippers. It will simply have to be a more aggressive defense that disrupts the Clippers steady diet of Paul and Griffin’s pick-and-rolls. In fact, the change in tactics could even be more effective given Bogut’s struggles with defending constant switches near the perimeter.
The Warriors will also have to hit their shots. Curry and Klay Thompson will have to carry a large offensive load to create space inside for a still recovering David Lee, while Iguodala will have to find a way to contribute offensively.
His defensive impact has been incredibly understated in his first season as a Warrior, but even if the Warriors use him on Paul, he’ll still spend a lot of his time on the defensive end guarding wing shooters like J.J. Redick, (Matt) Barnes and Jared Dudley.
If Iguodala’s point production remains in the single digits, as it did in the regular season, the Warriors could have problems generating enough offense to compete with the Clippers, who were the top scoring team in the NBA.
Perhaps a final area of concern is rebounding.
Despite a combined 23.3 rebounds per game from Jordan and Griffin, the Clippers were the 5th-worst defensive rebounding team in the NBA. The Warriors had probably hoped to earn extra possessions by crashing the offensive boards, but with Bogut not able to contribute his team leading 2.7 offensive rebounds per game, someone else on the Warriors front court will have to step up to give the Warriors a chance on the boards.
Whether it’ll be Green, who’s rebounding seems to come and go, O’Neal, or even Marreese Speights, Golden State will have to find production down low if they hope to keep Jordan, the NBA’s leading rebounder, from dominating the glass.
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