Bloggers Roundtable: Mid-Series Adjustments

Several Warriors bloggers share their opinions on what adjustments can be made by both teams heading into Game 5 of The NBA Finals.

The Warriors and Cavaliers are tied up at two games apiece, and The 2015 NBA Finals is suddenly a best-of-three series. Each team has the same goal in mind, and the adjustments they'll possibly make to achieve that championship goal are discussed in this edition of the Bloggers Roundtable.

Adam Lauridsen, Fast Break: In the playoffs, if you stop adjusting, you're likely done. I expect both teams to keep making changes, although nothing quite as radical as the Iguodala for Bogut switch. The Cavs need to find more offense and try to regain their defensive hold on the Warriors. For offense, I wouldn't be surprised to see more shots for J.R. Smith -- maybe even a move to the starting line-up in place of Dellavedova or Shumpert. The offense runs through LeBron James regardless of who technically plays point guard, and putting another dangerous shooter next to James may help the Cavs punish the Warriors more when they throw double teams at him. On defense, it might be time for the Cavs to consider hack-a-Iguodala. The Warriors' MVP-so-far of the Finals is still shooting under 50% from the line in the playoffs, so fouling him intentionally may help knock the Warriors out of their offensive rhythm and maybe even force Iguodala off the floor, making life much easier for James.

For the Warriors, I'd expect to see more attempts made to exploit the relatively open mid-range area in the Cavs' defense. Curry is mobbed at the three-point line, and the duo of Thompson and Mozgov have done a nice job protecting the rim, but there have been plenty of pull-ups for the Warriors from 8-12 feet. Curry and Green had some luck from this range in Game 4, but guys like Thompson, Livingston and maybe even Lee should be feasting on these shots. If the ball keeps moving, the Warriors will have plenty of good looks. On defense, the Warriors may want to bring more help for their small-ball defenders when Mozgov or Thompson get the ball deep in the post. The beauty of the small, switch-everything line-up is that they can flash at the ball, then recover. If Cleveland decides to try to ram the ball into the paint, the Warriors will need a team effort to stop it.

David Zavac, Fear the Sword: The Cavs margin for error just isn't very big. I thought they responded well to the Warriors' changes in Game 4, but they are clearly worn down and couldn't make jump shots. If the Warriors keep doubling LeBron James, guys like J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Matthew Dellavedova are going to have to score when James passes out. There are rumblings that Cavalier players want a deeper bench utilized, and if the Warriors play small perhaps you can probably steal Shawn Marion minutes. That isn't going to help the Cavs with their fundamental problem, though, which is finding ways to score.

I think the Cavs need to keep playing in much the same manner as they have. Pound the Warriors inside when they go small, slow down the game as best as they can. It might not be enough to beat a great Warriors team, but they've surprised many by winning two games. What do they have left in the tank?

Daniel Leroux, RealGM/WarriorsWorld: There absolutely will be further adjustments but I doubt they will be as dramatic as what we saw in Game Four.

Cleveland simply does not have the personnel to make any real rotation changes and their defense has done an excellent job limiting Golden State’s most dangerous options. One adjustment they can try is working with their role players to reduce some of the harmful choices they made offensively- the Cavs have too small a margin of error to have players like Matthew Dellavedova taking ill-advised shots, even if they go in more often than usual for a game or two. Coach David Blatt can also get more comfortable playing Timofey Mozgov against smaller lineups because he has been the third-best player in the series so far. Losing Kyrie Irving hurt Cleveland’s chances of winning but they also clarified how it remains possible. Taking smarter shots fits in with the grinding and hustling they have done since Game 1even if it can be hard to reconcile with the more effort-centric parts of the game.

The Warriors still have plenty of options to try out if need be. As a big proponent of the TLC lineup (Thompson, Livingston and Curry), the Warriors could use all three of them and Iguodala still defending LeBron to get their two best shooters open looks surrounded with capable ballhandlers. After all, it is very hard to double a player who does not have the ball in their hands. Coach Kerr also needs to continue taking advantage of times when Stephen Curry is defended by Dellavedova or when Klay draws J.R. Smith. Adding screeners to the action in these circumstances adds defenders who are guarding less dangerous Warriors so it makes life harder on the team’s best scorers. One other change is that I would like to see Andrew Bogut play reliably when Mozgov is off the floor. The Russian has done a great job defending Bogut by knowing where he can and cannot hurt the Cavs but other Cleveland players may not have as firm a grasp on the gameplan. In addition, Bogut’s rim protection helps make the defense work in these situations, especially if he can put his backside into preventing Tristan Thompson from getting rebounds instead of faceguarding him.

Both teams have room to adjust and improve, which is part of what makes the later games in a seven game series so fascinating.