Dissecting the different styles of play between Cavaliers, Warriors

The playing styles and personnel of both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors complement each other. How do the Cavs and Dubs generate offense and organize their defense? And whose playing style will give them the upper hand in the NBA Finals?

In the first pair of NBA Finals games we have seen a number of trends: two overtime games; LeBron James shooting over 34 times in each contest; Cleveland steadily growing a lead only to have it vanish in an instant; and two contests now where J.R. Smith contemplated quitting basketball to become a professional bricklayer.

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The result: a split series that is now a de facto best-of-five matchup, with the Cavaliers owning home court advantage. Even Stephen (Curry).

At the start of the series – and especially following Kyrie Irving’s injury – the Cavaliers were given a minimal chance to win the series. Many people thought a sweep could be in store, but Game 2 put and to that talk. The Dubs and Cavs have drastically different styles, which allows for a curious and beautiful basketball interplay.

Cleveland Cavaliers

With the injury to Kyrie Irving in Game 1 – and to a lesser extent the injury to Kevin Love in the first round – the Cavaliers offense is totally reliant on James’ isolation play. During the season the Cavs had a play end in an isolation 36 times out of 100, and that was when Irving and Love were healthy.

Cleveland does have some players who can be recipients of timely assists, and they can find easy second-chance points by crashing the offensive boards. However, the only reliable shot creator on the roster is one LeBron, and he hasn’t been very efficient in these playoffs. In Game 1 he scored 44 points, but it took him 38 shots to get there. Game 2 saw him go 11-for-34 in order to reach 39 points. Yeesh.

Overall, he has shot just 40.3% from the field and 35.7% from three during the Finals. Certainly, if anyone in the NBA is allowed to be comfortable taking 38 shots in one game, that player is LeBron James.

LeBron has the physical tools to overpower undersized defenders and rip past slower opponents, but also the balance and agility to finish against even the toughest defensive pressure near the hoop. He also possesses the intelligence to make the most effective play, as well as an understanding of how his offense affects the way defenders guard him over the course of a game, and even a series.

And yet, that isn’t the way in which LeBron is most comfortable playing. His Miami Heat teams utilized ball movement much more than what we see in Cleveland today.

Ideally, the threat of LeBron driving would force a double team and open up opportunities for the other Cavaliers to find open shot – either on the perimeter (Hello, James Jones and J.R. Smith) or by cutting to the basket (Hey there, Tristan Thompson). It would also give the team opportunities to more easily grab offensive rebounds (Is that you again, Tristan?).

Based on the first two games of the NBA Finals, the Cavaliers don’t have enough off-the-ball movement to operate outside of isolation plays. To be fair, perhaps this is because the double team on James comes so infrequently; his inefficiency in these playoffs gives the Warriors less fear then they should have.

Then again, it’s no coincidence that LeBron was quadruple-teamed when he tried to avoid overtime in Game 2.

Of course LeBron was taking the last shot, but with little worry that another Cavalier would take the shot – and when Tony Brothers takes a liberal stance on what constitutes a foul – the Warriors could cheat hard.

The Cavaliers offense still has the capability to be effective, and as LeBron starts to hit more of his open jumpers, as he did at the end of Game 2, the Warriors will begin collapsing on him more. This plays right into Cleveland’s hands. When the Cavaliers do move the ball and control the offensive glass, the result is a grinding, possession control style that prevents opposing teams from getting into an offensive rhythm.

On defense, the Cavaliers have enjoyed an incredible resurgence by suffocating teams and forcing them to play sloppy with the ball. A large part of their success comes from closing out on three-pointers and forcing inefficient shots – long, difficult twos – from their opponents. Paired with their grinding isolation offense, the Cavs challenge the other team to not waste any possessions if they hope to win.

May 15, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after making a 62-foot three point shot at the buzzer to end the third quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies in game six of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /

Golden State Warriors

Unlike the Cavaliers, the Warriors generate their offense from intense ball movement. The Dubs run screens to set up their perimeter shooters, and they generate complex offensive assist opportunities from simple pick-and-rolls.

Also unlike the Cavaliers, the Warriors have a cornucopia of pace-and-space shot creators, perimeter catch-and-shoot players, dime-dropping passers and other roster-fillers with exciting, hyphenated descriptions. They can dip into their pool to sustain pace and energy without losing any offensive potency.

The Warriors are so vastly different from the Cavaliers that it’s a wonder they play the same sport.

The most instantly recognizable aspect of the Warriors’ attack is their three-point shooting. MVP Stephen Curry set the record for most three point shots made in a season at 286 – breaking his own record from 2012-13 – and is in the process of extending his record for three pointers made in the playoffs.

However, the most valuable weapon for the Warriors has been Curry’s fellow acolyte of the Splash Brotherhood. Klay Thompson has dominated both J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, either curling away on screens, leaking out to the corner on fast breaks, or handling at the top of the arc in front of a forest of frontcourt players. I mean, take a look at this …

This is how the universe ends.

But it’s not just the shooting. Curry’s handle and ability to release quickly off the dribble creates a dilemma for perimeter defenders, leaving them with two options:

Play tight on Curry, likely embarrassing yourself as he gets you off balance, runs you face-first into a Andrew Bogut screen, and finds an easy shot to create.
Play loose on Curry, and commit suicide by jump shot.

In their half-court sets, the Warriors employ screens all over the court, either giving their shooters open looks on the perimeter, or their ball handlers and shot creators enough space to finish off the pick-and-roll. Smart teams let Curry pass it to Bogut, Draymond Green or Harrison Barnes off of a pick-and-roll rather then let the MVP kill them with his shot.

But Golden State also grabs a high number of points by pushing the pace with strong outlet passes and crisp work in transition. As a result, the Warriors take advantage of slower and/or lazier transition defenses, and score in large chunks to quickly close gaps or run opponents out of the building. The Warriors led the league in the regular season with 20.9 fast break points per game.

Certainly the offense finishes well, but the defense creates those fast break opportunities. Led by Green and Bogut, the Warriors are content to let their opponents over-pace themselves, and then use help defense to trap the offense in a situation that is difficult to score from. This results in missed shots, turnovers and the Warriors flying out in transition.

How do the Cavaliers and the Warriors match up?

The Cavaliers want to dominate the glass against and force the Warriors to over-commit. The Warriors want to crush the Cavaliers by out-pacing them and forcing them to make impossible decisions.

The result is a beautiful basketball match of wits.

This is evident whenever the Warriors have the ball. When Curry tries to run off of picks, he hopes to set up a switch on defense so he can either take a quick jumper off of the dribble or drive to the open basket. The Cavs have been refusing to switch, instead trapping Curry and encouraging him to pass out to the rolling screener (or a curling shooter, although the Cavs generally don’t want to double someone just so an open Klay Thompson can curl open for an easy three-point shot).

The strategy has been working for Cleveland. In Game 1, Curry was limited to two triples and had his shot bothered, while in Game 2 he went a moribund 5-23 from the field, missing thirteen (13!) threes. Eliminating Curry and Thompson’s easy baskets hasn’t led to easy chances for the secondary options until late, when Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green have come up big by either grabbing second chance points or curling to the basket. Cleveland’s defense has led to hard shots for the primary scorers.

That’s just looking at half court sets. When LeBron is on isolation, he will bounce between drawing double teams and being presented with a one-on-one matchup away from the paint. Either way, the defensive attention inspires the Cavaliers to crash the boards.

Second chance points have helped the Cavs keep pace, but they also inspired the Warriors to leak out on the fast break after the Cavs over-commit to rebounding. Both teams must have a balance: the Cavs don’t want to give up fast break opportunities, and the Warriors don’t want to give the Cavs too much of an advantage keeping the possession alive. Again, each strategy is imprinted in the team’s style of play, and it’s that balance that can swing an entire championship.

Despite the tie in the series, the Warriors still have the slight advantage in terms of how they play. Shooting is not reliably sustainable for the small sample size of a seven-game series, but the Warriors do so much more. Their system is based on shot creation and forcing the defense to adjust to the threat of scoring.

Cleveland has rebounding to help them, and that is far more sustainable. However, the difference in rebounding is negligible when a team relies on a 40% shooter to take 30+ shots per game, mostly on difficult isolation plays. The Cavs willed themselves to a victory in Game 2, and should take one, if not two, more in the series. Yet the lack of ball movement and a shallow bench still make it difficult to envision the Cavs winning their first championship.

But still, let’s not write off the Cavaliers. Most of us already did before Game 2, and we know how that ended.

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NBA Finals: Dissecting differing styles of play between the Cavaliers and Warriors

By Luke Dahlgren | Jun 9, 2015

The playing styles and personnel of both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors complement each other. How do the Cavs and Dubs generate offense and organize their defense? And whose playing style will give them the upper hand in the NBA Finals?

More from Cleveland Cavaliers