I was going to title this post “How To Beat The Golden State Warriors”.
But I figured that was way too propagandic, especially since I don’t have the SLIGHTEST idea what the fck I’m talking about. So, with that in mind…
How to beat the Golden State Warriors:
When you have a new innovation, in any sport, there’s generally one player and/or team that starts that trend.
Logically, that team MUST be extremely good at that innovation, whatever it is, because if they weren’t, they wouldn’t introduce and use it.
There are examples in every sport – one team starts to play a certain, specific way…approach, personnel, innovation, etc…
In baseball: Dramatic shifts for every player with a strong tendency to hit to a specific field – it started, it WORKED, and so eventually team after team has adopted it, to some extent.
In football: The no-huddle offense. They didn’t just say one day, during a game, “Ok…let’s stop huddling, see if it works”. You get an innovation, and you PRACTICE it before you deploy it, so YOU are by default the best at it. EVERY team in the NFL now has a version of the “two minute offense”, the no-huddle. Why? Because it’s been proven to work, so it’s been universally adopted. But the team that tries it FIRST, the one that practices it for WEEKS before unveiling it, has a HUGE advantage over all other teams, until other teams have enough time to catch up.
So, in basketball: The “small-ball” lineup. The traditional center is a useful accessory, at best.
Example: Golden State’s “Death Lineup”. By tailoring the flow and strategy of the game to suit THEIR personnel – personnel that have been chosen to be proficient in that flow and strategy – they instantly gain an advantage over every other team. It’s a fact that the “Death Lineup” works. Other teams, faced with it, often find themselves overmatched because THEIR personnel weren’t made to play that specific strategy. The traditional center, who stays inside, blocks shots, operates on the box, never takes a three…becomes virtually useless. Because if the other team has five players on the court that can ALL shoot the three pointer, that team can have those five players in a “spread offense”…maximizing spacing to get three point shots off. They do it well because they KNOW it’s what they’re going to do, they’re PRACTICED doing it, and they have the SKILL to make it work.
So the question everyone should be asking is: how do you counter that?
The easy, most obvious answer is “go small yourself”. But if your team isn’t BUILT for that, you’re almost certainly not as GOOD at it, from a personnel standpoint, a practice standpoint, and a skill standpoint.
Golden State, with the signing of Kevin Durant, now has the ultimate “Death Lineup”: Durant, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and…well, the fifth doesn’t matter much, all they have to be is competent at the strategy (read: Harrison Barnes) and they simply CANNOT be matched at this type of basketball. Other teams can TRY…but no other team has the personnel, the SKILL in this way, to beat the Warriors at their own game.
So, if you can’t beat them at their own game, what do you do?
You come up with a strategy, an innovation, a technique SPECIFICALLY designed to combat EXACTLY that strategy.
Example: The Boston Celtics showed a blueprint for how to beat the Warriors last season – a win AT Golden State, and a double-overtime loss in Boston. Why?
It wasn’t coincidence. They used (and fortunately had, to use) relentless, smothering perimeter defense to not allow the Warriors to get off open threes, or at the very least to make them work a LOT harder than they wanted to to get an open shot.
You overcome superior talent in two ways: strategy and hustle.
That’s why the Celtics went 1-1 against GS, ALMOST handing them their first loss of the season (they lost the next night), and beating them in Golden State, their first home loss of the season.
It just seems logical: if they’re hitting over 40 percent of their three-point shots, and they’re taking a three a lot more than a 2, and you’re taking a 2 a lot more than a three…basic mathematics says you’re gonna lose.
UNLESS you can work SPECIFICALLY to combat their skill set.
MAKE your team, PLAN your team, BUILD your team, PRACTICE your team, etc, etc…with that ONE goal in mind.
Then practice STOPPING as much as they practice DOING.
This will give you a reasonable chance of victory. They’re extremely talented, and hustle and planning can only go so far…so you still might lose. But – like the Celtics – you might be able to fight them tooth-and-nail and have a reasonable chance of victory.
And, there’s no reason to worry about the Warriors adapting to your adaptation. AS LONG AS you work, plan, and practice as hard as they do.
They are NOT going to switch from Curry/Thompson and gang taking a ton of threes. You know that. Why? Because that’s what they’re best at.
As Bill Belichick does: TAKE AWAY what they’re best at. Maybe you can’t STOP them, but you can harrass them. You can limit the effectiveness of their strategy with one specifically designed to counter it.
Suggested perfect anti-“Death Lineup” lineup:
One great shot blocker/rebounder with skill and quickness
Three lock-down perimeter defenders: Two to start, one off the bench to keep the pressure on when one needs a rest. The two lock-down defenders on, of course, Curry and Thompson.
Three tough/strong/quick/agile forwards: Again, two to start, one to spell. These go on Durant and Green.
Other reserves to back up these duties…maybe a big and a small. Or two mediums. Versatility is the key.
That’s nine. The vast majority of the time, play them.
WHEN the “Death Lineup” rests (and it has to, eventually), a pure scorer or two off the bench to light up their reserves. Their reserves – if you plan your team properly – could not possibly be good enough to beat you if your main goal is accomplished, especially when so much is tied into the “Big Four”.
So you get a good coach (Hello, Brad Stevens).
You get hard-nosed, strong, relentless, AND skilled players (Hello, Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder, etc.).
You make your philosophy as ingrained as GS’s is. (Hello, Celtics).
You don’t try to out-three point the Warriors. If you do, you lose.
Don’t play their game…SHUT DOWN their game, and ATTACK their weaknesses.
I watch games, and I hear all the time “when (so and so) goes to this, it takes (so and so) out of their game.”
WHY? You have to KNOW going in that, IF/WHEN going to (so and so) takes one of your good players out of their game, they’re GOING TO DO IT. Every time. Why wouldn’t they?
You don’t plan on stopping them during the game.
You anticipate EVERYTHING they could do, you devise a countermeasure, you PRACTICE all of them, you get players that can PLAY them…and maybe you win.
Or, maybe that’s all really stupid. Too close to call, really.
