[jcotingParticipant]

After watching game 3, I have come up with some ideas that I would do if I were Steve Kerr.

1) Start Andre Iguodala over Harrison Barnes

– Lebron James has obviously been dominating the entire series. Nonetheless, I feel like Iguodala has done a better job in slowing down Lebron. Iguodala is stronger than Barnes, and will make it tougher for Lebron to muscle his way into the paint for easy layups, just like he did against Barnes in the first quarter. Barnes is definitely a good defensive player, but he hasn’t shown the ability to slow down Lebron this series, so why not let Iguodala have a try on the best player in the planet right now?

On the offensive end, Iguodala is also much more effective than Barnes. Right now the warriors are relying on too many jump shots, especially Curry and Thompson. The Cavs knows this, and therefore has been playing very aggressively on the three point line, making it clear that they would rather allow Warriors to beat them from the inside. With Iguodala on the court alongside Curry and Thompson, the Warriors will be more of an offensive threat. Iguodala has shown the ability to slash to the basket and attack the rim, something that the Warriors have been lacking. Having Iguodala on the court will also alleviate the pressure placed on Curry and Thompson on the offensive end. Just look at the box score from Game 2. Curry and Thompson took 51 out of the 83 shots the whole team had. That’s 61% shots of the whole team placed on two players! Right now Barnes and Bogut has been a nonfactor on the offensive end; they really need another player to go to, and I don’t think Draymond Green is good enough to create his own shot. Barnes is more of a spot up shooter, and hasn’t shown the ability to consistently make a shot yet. I say start Iguodala.

2) Play Ezeli and David Lee over Bogut

This is not that I believe Ezeli and Lee are better basketball players than Bogut, this is just that I think Ezeli and Lee will be more effective against the Cavs. It is unquestionable that Tristan Thompson has been dominating the boards. The lack of lateral quickness of Bogut has greatly hurt the Warriors, enabling Thompson to grab many offensive boards and create second chances for the Cavs. Ezeli proved today that he has that similar competitive spirit with Thompson, and placing him on the court against Thompson will give the Warriors a better chance to win that important rebounding category. As for David Lee, he proved today that he deserves to play. He has the tools on the offensive end, scoring 11 points in 13 mins. I say give him a chance to play and surprise the Cavs by giving them a new trouble to worry about.

 

I really believe that this series is for the Warriors to lose. With all the credit Steve Kerr has been receiving, I haven’t really been convinced that he is a great coach yet. Hopefully he can prove me wrong and make certain adjustments that will rejuvenate this Warriors squad.

With that said, as a Lakers fan, I have been really impressed with Lebron in this series, and what he has done for his team has been unbelievable. Nevertheless, I hope the Warriors can quickly find a way to counter him and make my life as a Lakers fan easier haha. Cheers for a great series and here’s to more enjoyable games to come!

 

 

[llperez]

 bogut needs to play better but i wouldnt give up on him. Lee and barbosa are the two guys who need more minutes imo. Also Speights could play more as well. In fact i have no idea why ezeli is gatting minutes at all with all those solid bigs. 

[llperez]

 bogut needs to play better but i wouldnt give up on him. Lee and barbosa are the two guys who need more minutes imo. Also Speights could play more as well. In fact i have no idea why ezeli is gatting minutes at all with all those solid bigs. 

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

Agreed on Ezeli playing less. If I’m Steve Kerr my minutes would go as such: 

1. Curry-38 Barbosa-10

2. Thompson-32 Livingston-16

3. Barnes-25 Iggy-23

4. Green-30 Iggy-10 Lee-8

5. Bogut-26 Lee-15 Speights/Ezeli-7

James isn’t leaving the floor, so playing an all-bench lineup isn’t going to have the same effect on Cleveland as it would on a lot of other teams that do the ol hockey sub rotations. Gotta get creative and if Lee is on the floor, you’ve got to keep James from getting to the rim because he’s not going to bother him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

Agreed on Ezeli playing less. If I’m Steve Kerr my minutes would go as such: 

1. Curry-38 Barbosa-10

2. Thompson-32 Livingston-16

3. Barnes-25 Iggy-23

4. Green-30 Iggy-10 Lee-8

5. Bogut-26 Lee-15 Speights/Ezeli-7

James isn’t leaving the floor, so playing an all-bench lineup isn’t going to have the same effect on Cleveland as it would on a lot of other teams that do the ol hockey sub rotations. Gotta get creative and if Lee is on the floor, you’ve got to keep James from getting to the rim because he’s not going to bother him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TRC1991Participant]

David Lee is actually really good, and should play significantly more than 8 minutes per game 

[TRC1991Participant]

David Lee is actually really good, and should play significantly more than 8 minutes per game 

[trelos6Participant]

Plus 15 at centre, so 23 min all up. 

[trelos6Participant]

Plus 15 at centre, so 23 min all up. 

[frogmanParticipant]

Just reading that roster it is not ridiculous to think that the warriors have 6 of the best 7 players in this series.  Crazy  

[frogmanParticipant]

Just reading that roster it is not ridiculous to think that the warriors have 6 of the best 7 players in this series.  Crazy  

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

Iguodala played over 30 minutes in each game so far against the Cavs,  Almost exclusively against Lebron. 

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

Iguodala played over 30 minutes in each game so far against the Cavs,  Almost exclusively against Lebron. 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 Green and bogut are really struggling right now and have completely lost confidence. Both passed up multiple open looks last night. When either one of them or ezeli is screening for curry the cavs are trapping curry and forcing him to give it up, essentially creating a 4 on 3. The problem is that bigs aren’t making plays when they catch the ball. 

When they put Lee in the game and had him be the screener, it really opened up the floor and eventually got curry going offensively. If green and bogut continue to be ineffective, I think Kerr will have no choice but to give Lee major mins. If golden state gets their offense rolling, Cleveland just doesn’t have the firepower to keep up.

After game 3 of the Memphis series when the warriors were down 2-1, I thought that gs was too perimeter oriented and wouldn’t be able to win that series. They got it going and came back to win easily. Since they are so perimeter oriented, they are more streaky than most elite teams, but I still think they will build off the momentum from the 4th quarter of game 3 and find a way to pull this out.

 

 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 Green and bogut are really struggling right now and have completely lost confidence. Both passed up multiple open looks last night. When either one of them or ezeli is screening for curry the cavs are trapping curry and forcing him to give it up, essentially creating a 4 on 3. The problem is that bigs aren’t making plays when they catch the ball. 

When they put Lee in the game and had him be the screener, it really opened up the floor and eventually got curry going offensively. If green and bogut continue to be ineffective, I think Kerr will have no choice but to give Lee major mins. If golden state gets their offense rolling, Cleveland just doesn’t have the firepower to keep up.

After game 3 of the Memphis series when the warriors were down 2-1, I thought that gs was too perimeter oriented and wouldn’t be able to win that series. They got it going and came back to win easily. Since they are so perimeter oriented, they are more streaky than most elite teams, but I still think they will build off the momentum from the 4th quarter of game 3 and find a way to pull this out.

 

 

[Bigballer55Participant]

I would give Andre the nod over Harrison right now.but the system that golden state runs is guard heavy offense. So doesn’t make sense to switch big men bc they don’t post with a purpose.bogut can score down low he will look to pass to shooter before he makes a post move.

[Bigballer55Participant]

I would give Andre the nod over Harrison right now.but the system that golden state runs is guard heavy offense. So doesn’t make sense to switch big men bc they don’t post with a purpose.bogut can score down low he will look to pass to shooter before he makes a post move.

[DolanCareParticipant]

I would keep starting Barnes despite Iggy’s recent play. The main issue is that Barnes hasn’t been hitting his shots. Hopefully the young kid can turn it around, because he is a better shooter than Igoudala.

Additionally, we need to remember why Igoudala comes off the bench. It’s not because Harrison Barnes is better than him, because he’s not, it’s because Iggy leds the second team. (This is often construed as an euphemism for a putdown, it shouldn’t be. It’s critical to have someone on the second team who can handle the ball and do some playmaking… Iggy can do that). 

Ultimately, Iguodala should play more minutes than Barnes. But Barnes fit in the starting line up, and Iggy’s with the bench, is still as relevant today as it was in the regular season. 

 

[DolanCareParticipant]

I would keep starting Barnes despite Iggy’s recent play. The main issue is that Barnes hasn’t been hitting his shots. Hopefully the young kid can turn it around, because he is a better shooter than Igoudala.

Additionally, we need to remember why Igoudala comes off the bench. It’s not because Harrison Barnes is better than him, because he’s not, it’s because Iggy leds the second team. (This is often construed as an euphemism for a putdown, it shouldn’t be. It’s critical to have someone on the second team who can handle the ball and do some playmaking… Iggy can do that). 

Ultimately, Iguodala should play more minutes than Barnes. But Barnes fit in the starting line up, and Iggy’s with the bench, is still as relevant today as it was in the regular season. 

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

They can totally shake it up.

Start Shaun Livingston to give them some more passing and ball handling. Let him find the two shooters in rhythm.

Start Iggy at the 3 for defense and slash.

Put David Lee in at the 4 for rebounding, inside scoring, and extra passing.

Keep Bogut in their for defense, rebounding, and passing. SOMEBODY has to guard Mozgov and Bogut is the best option the Warriors’ have.

They would then have a bit more scoring and playmaking off the bench with Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes. That would make Barbosa the 8th man with Ezeli and Mo Speights filling out the rotation.

If the first team needs more inside scoring then that is what David Lee would give them. If they need more wing defense and athleticism then Iggy would give them that. Then Livingston can handle the ball more and run the offense some so Steph Curry won’t get so tired.

Let the Cavs bench worry about guarding the Draymond Green Show.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

They can totally shake it up.

Start Shaun Livingston to give them some more passing and ball handling. Let him find the two shooters in rhythm.

Start Iggy at the 3 for defense and slash.

Put David Lee in at the 4 for rebounding, inside scoring, and extra passing.

Keep Bogut in their for defense, rebounding, and passing. SOMEBODY has to guard Mozgov and Bogut is the best option the Warriors’ have.

They would then have a bit more scoring and playmaking off the bench with Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes. That would make Barbosa the 8th man with Ezeli and Mo Speights filling out the rotation.

If the first team needs more inside scoring then that is what David Lee would give them. If they need more wing defense and athleticism then Iggy would give them that. Then Livingston can handle the ball more and run the offense some so Steph Curry won’t get so tired.

Let the Cavs bench worry about guarding the Draymond Green Show.

[Author]

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