![]() Midway through the fourth, Durant was the roll man, slipping the screen, taking the feed from Curry, and finding Andre Iguodala for a layup after weak-side help from Love. To start the third quarter, McGee was the roll man taking the feed from Green in a slightly different spot on the floor. NBA.com/Stats: Green finds Bell rolling to the basket after the Cavs’ trapīell drew a foul on almost the exact same play on the Warriors’ next possession and again on a direct feed from Curry early in the fourth.Rather than settle for a jumper, Green attacked Tristan Thompson and found Bell rolling to the basket before Love could recover. ![]() Green was his release valve and the Warriors had a 4-on-3 situation. Midway through the second quarter, Jordan Bell set a screen for Curry on the left side of the floor, triggering a trap from Smith and Love…Ĭurry quickly got off the ball. And that just freed up the Warriors’ bigs for more dunks and layups. But who can think throughout the course of the game?” Beating the trapĪfter having their switches punished too often in Games 1 and 2, the Cavs chose to trap Curry in Game 3. Everybody knows how to put the ball in the hoop. “Not only do you have to have the talent,” James said Thursday, “you have to have the minds as well. Smith scored five points in the first minute and a half of Game 3, but he gave four right back to the defending champs.Īfter Game 3 and again after practice on Thursday, LeBron James put an emphasis on having “cerebral” players in this league. The Warriors may be the most difficult team to defend in NBA history, but it’s kind of amazing that, in his 27th game against the Warriors over the last four seasons, Smith is making the same mistakes over and over again. NBA.com/Stats: McGee rolls to the basket for a dunk.This time McGee was free to roll to the basket, where Green found him for a dunk. And once again, Smith stayed with Curry too. Once again, the big (Kevin Love this time) switched onto Curry. On the Warriors’ next possession, JaVale McGee set an off-ball screen for Curry beyond the 3-point line… NBA.com/Stats: Green fakes the hand-off and draw a foul on Smith.Green went right to the basket and Smith was forced to foul. Smith made his first defensive mistake of Game 3 just 20 seconds in, initially staying with Curry as Tristan Thompson switched onto the shooter. ![]() Green proceeded to fake a hand-off to Curry…Īppropriately, J.R. ![]() On the Warriors’ first possession of the game, Curry fed Draymond Green at the high post. But the attention paid to Curry in Game 3 was particularly important in getting shots at the basket, and adds some context to that 3-for-16 performance. ![]() It’s been written here before (including between Games 2 and 3) how the Warriors leverage their 3-point shooting (along with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ defensive issues) to get better shots (layups and dunks). They didn’t shoot as well in the restricted area as they did in Games 1 and 2 ( 82 percent), but their 37 attempts there were five more than they’ve had in any other game in these playoffs. One reason is that Kevin Durant had himself a night, scoring 43 points, with 28 of them coming on an incredible 11-for-15 from outside the paint.Īnother reason is that the Warriors scored 48 points in the restricted area, tying their high for the postseason. Of course, the Golden State Warriors won Game 3 with an efficient offensive performance despite Curry shooting 3-for-16, including 1-for-10 on 3-pointers. Cavs, Game 4 (9 ET)ĬLEVELAND - Stephen Curry has played in 89 postseason games, and in none of the previous 88 had he shot as poorly as he did in Game 3 of the 2018 Finals. ![]()
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