How to beat the Warriors - discussion thread

[I<3NBA]

post Curry up and just bang down low on him every time. make him work on the defensive end. just keep at him for 4 straight games. just tire him out until his body gives out.

it will eventually.

[Sarcastic]

Play physical, just like Minnesota did.

[Thorpesaurous]

Flexibility at the guard position defensively is absolutely essential. You've got to be able to switch on both on ball and off ball screens. A Four who can come out and guard would be nice when they run the Green / Curry PnR. In fact, I'd be tempted to play a SF on Green and hide my PF on Barnes / Iggy / or whoever else and let them try to beat me. I'd make Green prove he can punish someone like Kawhi Leonard in a way that makes me move my PF back onto him. And for the love of god, try to deny Curry the ball once he gives it up.

It would also help if that defender on Curry had some length, and just general toughness. Someone that could hold up on a switch to Green at least long enough to get some help to scramble over.

There's also some weakness to exploit on the other end. Memphis has had moments looking good by killing them on the Offensive Glass. I'm sure that's part of San Antonio's success. Overwhelming them with size. They look best with Draymond at Center, but that's not easy all the time, even though the league has made it harder to excel using your bigs as focul points.


Boston does match up well. I'd play Crowder on Green and see if he holds up. And would even trust Smart or Bradley to not get exploited on a switch to Green in a Screen and Roll. Thomas has to get hidden at times.

The Bucks are really switchy on the perimeter, and match up better than their record indicates they should.

The Spurs are just really really good in their own right.

Going into the not so distant past, a guy like KG would do a great deal of good against a Green / Curry PnR. Anthony Davis should be able to do something like that, with the right group around him.

Memphis still has Tony Allen as a perimeter defender, not what he used to be, and can punish the glass some.


It's obviously not easy, but there are approaches you can take to improve your chances, and it will be fun to watch teams with more time to prepare try to exploit some of this stuff. And it is interesting to see if GS can make adjustments, when they really haven't had to make any all season.

[Rocketswin2013]

bring blunt objects.

[robby712]

The Cavs are the only team that can beat the GSW.
The Thunder don't have the defense to deal with all the weapons of Golden State, they don't execute well and WB is not good when you slow the game down.
The Spurs can push the Warriors, but I think in a 7 game series the GSW will figure them out and the Spurs don't have the firepower to go head to head with the warriors when they get hot.
The Cavs meanwhile, if healthy, have all the tools to beat them. With Love on the floor they can go small with him and TT. Frye also comes in handy playing that stretch 4 role, something they did not have last finals. Delly did probably the best job on Curry out of all the guys that defended him and Kyrie also played him well in game 1 last year. And Kyrie will surely give him trouble on the other end, making him work. Most important, they have the shooting to keep up with the gsw when they get hot. I think JR will shoot well being the 4th option instead of the 2nd, and if lbj keeps playing like this they have a good chance.

[Wa88iors]

You catch the Warriors on the back end of a back to back, 7 game, 6,500 miles road trip matinee tip off. Play your starters 35-40 mins. When Curry is sitting. It's your only chance.

[eriX]

honestly the biggest thing is their personnel and thats possible with their current contracts.

PLAYER NAME 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20
Klay Thompson
$15,501,000
$16,663,575
$17,826,150
$18,988,725

Draymond Green
$14,260,870
$15,330,435
$16,400,000
$17,469,565
$18,539,130
$0

Andrew Bogut
$12,000,000
$11,027,027
$0
$0
$0
$0

Andre Iguodala
$11,710,456
$11,131,368
$0
$0
$0
$0

Stephen Curry
$11,370,786
$12,112,359
$0
$0
$0

Their starting 5 is making a combined total of 63million this year, not to mention Barnes and Ezeli making combined 6million too. Curry alone should be making 25million+ every year, double what he is being paid right now. The warrios will 3peat and then maybe we will see some changes to the team with Curry's contract and others and then someone will be able to beat them because this team is way too stacked at this moment

[kshutts1]

I think the best way is to slow the game down on offense by executing a series to find a great shot, and/or hammer it down in to the post. Further slow the game down by crashing the glass, hard. Does not have to be everyone, obviously, but crash the offensive glass with 2-3 people; almost no team does that anymore, and it would work against a smaller lineup.

On defense, it's about focus and intensity. Switching on picks would help, as would a strong hedge if you're not comfortable switching. As another poster wisely pointed out, try some ball denial on Curry. Live with anyone but Klay or Curry taking the three, but you can't sell out because they'll burn you on cuts.

You don't have to be smarter; I'm not sure there are many, or even any, smarter teams in basketball than the Warriors. You don't have to be more talented. You just have to play really hard, really focused, and stick to your game plan even through that spurt that you know the Warriors will go through.

On a personnel standpoint only, I think Houston matches up ridiculously well. They lack all the other factors though, unfortunately.

OKC could match up pretty well, but they like to run, and I don't see anyone out-running this Warriors teams.

A healthy Memphis team, or a smart Houston team, are the best bets to beat the Warriors in the West.

In the East, Miami and Cleveland would do well against them. Atlanta could do well, on paper. I have not watched Atlanta play often enough to see if they're able to slow the game down, but Horford and Millsap should be able to exploit their matchup in the post, while being mobile enough on defense. And as for Cleveland, another poster said it well when they said that they lack the focus.

[rzp]

Play physical, just like Minnesota did.

This... also watch those first 3 final games last year. Play like that australian boy.

[Goldrush25]

post Curry up and just bang down low on him every time. make him work on the defensive end. just keep at him for 4 straight games. just tire him out until his body gives out.

it will eventually.

This, and everyone needs to chip at him off-ball.

Everyone treats this guy like a porcelain doll. If they beat him up a little bit he's not going to be bouncing around the court clowning everyone anymore.

[hold this L]

This... also watch those first 3 final games last year. Play like that australian boy.

Curry is a lot better than last year though. He's one of the most improved players in the league this season.

[sammichoffate]

Their bench isn't as consistent as the Spurs, they have trouble scoring half the time

[choppermagic]

I think the best way is to slow the game down on offense by executing a series to find a great shot, and/or hammer it down in to the post. Further slow the game down by crashing the glass, hard. Does not have to be everyone, obviously, but crash the offensive glass with 2-3 people; almost no team does that anymore, and it would work against a smaller lineup.

This for sure. In previous years, small ball would be punished on the glass. Offensive rebounds would chew up time and beat up smaller defenders, as well as keep the running game to a minimum. Coaches invariably had to sub in bigger players from stopping giving up all the second chance points. Too bad there are not enough talented big men around to balance the small ball game out.

[inclinerator]

not even without curry, without green or thompson they dont win

[97 bulls]

The Clippers are the only team with the personal to be GS. Theyre just not focused. They have three guards that can score in Paul, Crawford, and Reddick. So they ca make Curry work. The problem is they don't have the mental concentration to make Curry works for a significant amount of time. They try to outscore the Warriors in stead of trying to beat them.