Warriors survive to fight another day

The NBA playoffs are here. The games are tighter, the lights are brighter, and the narratives are getting thick. It can be a lot to keep up with but don’t worry we’re here to help. Throughout the NBA postseason, FanSided will be gathering together some of the most talented writers from our network for a daily recap of our favorite stories from the night before.

Welcome to The Rotation.

Stephen Curry plays MVP defense

Ian Levy | @HickoryHigh | FanSided

The Golden State Warriors needed more from Stephen Curry. Turns out he was up to the challenge.

In his best all-around game of the series, Curry put together 31 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. His three-point shot still wasn’t tracking towards brilliance — he made just 3-of-8, and was 9-of-20 from the field overall — but he compensated by attacking the rim and attempting 10 free throws. As important as his offense was, Curry’s defense may have been even better.

Curry has spent most of this series matched up against Russell Westbrook, an assignment that has clearly taken a physical toll. In Game 5, he spent more time on Andre Roberson and Dion Waiters, giving him the opportunity to freelance a little more and get disruptive. Curry finished with 5 steals, tying a season-high, another two deflections and four loose balls recovered. Whenever the Thunder seemed to present the ball, Curry was there, poking it away and chasing it down.

The most important steal came with just a minute and a half left, the Warriors clinging to an eight-point lead. Caught on a driving Durant because of an off-ball switch, Curry knocked his dribble away and beat everyone to the ball. The ensuing possession ended with Curry slicing to the basket for a layup and the lead being pushed definitively out of reach.

Game 5 was the most engaged and fiery Curry we have seen yet in this series. He still looked slightly out of sorts at times on offense, missing shots he normally makes, but some of that lilting, gliding swagger was back. Watching him muck up the Thunder’s offense with quick ends and defensive intensity was a new facet to one of the most incredible seasons we’ve ever seen. Now he just needs to pull it off two more times.

Warriors can play big too

Philip Rossman-Reich | @omagicdaily | Orlando Magic Daily, Hardwood Paroxysm

The Golden State Warriors are small. That is the narrative. That is what everyone applauds them for in some respect. They are able to win without a center.

Teams do not know how to figure out the “Death Lineup” with Draymond Green at center. The versatility, speed and offense became too much.

Not in Games 3 and 4. The Oklahoma City Thunder went big and pulverized the lineup. Serge Ibaka was able to cover the ball handler and still track back to the paint to block shots and protect the rim. Enes Kanter looked as active defensively as he ever has. Steven Adams covered whatever they could not.

This is the way Golden State usually plays with any lineup on the floor. The Warriors cover for each other, protect the rim and rotate quickly. They were completely slow and completely off in those two losses on the road. The Warriors’ identity is one that is small, fast and versatile. But still tough. Still able to defend the rim. Still difficult to score on.

Green’s struggles in Oklahoma City were well documented. He turned the ball over a lot and did not do the things that make him so great. Most of all, he did not help lock down the paint. He looked . . . small.

And the Warriors needed to play big. They are never going to be big in the traditional sense. But they still have to play like it.

In winning Game 5 and staving off elimination, the Warriors got big again. They played big. Green closed down the paint and kept the Thunder out. Andrew Bogut blocked shots, locking down the paint and collecting rebounds on both ends. After two straight games of being virtually invisible, the two played big.

Yes, the Warriors needed to play big. They needed to be big.

Anything to slow down the speeding train that was the Oklahoma City Thunder with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook playing at the height of their offensive powers. Probably their best playoff play on offense since James Harden was coming off the bench. That is not an easy thing to slow down.

Instead, the Warriors got them to slow down and think twice when they went into the paint. Oklahoma City scored only 30 points in the paint on Thursday. Bogut had 14 boards and two blocks and Green adding 13 boards and four blocks. They were active and energetic, swarming to contest shots in the paint.

Nothing would come easy. At least not as easy as things had come in Oklahoma City.

Green in this game did not play like a guard like he did in those two crushing losses. Bogut was not invisible. Their impact came because they played like centers. They played big.

With Golden State’s general lack of size, the Warriors need this big play from Green. What makes him unique is his ability to play both the win and the post. As a wing player, he is not nearly as unique when he adds those skills to his ability to defend in the paint. Against a team that drives like the Thunder can, that rim protection is critical.

Golden State is a small team. That is their reputation. In order to win though, they need to be big.

They clearly have the players to do so. Game 5 served as their reminder of that.

Quiet Like Thunder

Cody Williams | @TheSizzle20 | Lake Show Life, FanSided

There were a multitude of problems that the Oklahoma City Thunder had in Game 5 as they tried to close out the Golden State Warriors. The turnovers of Russell Westbrook didn’t help anything and, despite combining for 71 points, that Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined to shoot 23-59 from the floor didn’t help matters either. But nothing labeled their performance DOA more than how absent the Thunder bench was in Game 5.

OKC’s bench combined to score only 13 points on the night. Given that the Thunder certainly aren’t a team that relies too heavily on their bench production, perhaps the more detrimental line would be that of Dion Waiters as the cult hero was on the floor for 27 minutes and put up an 0-4 shooting effort and zero points, though he did add four assists, and four boards.

When you look over the past two rounds—the victory in the last round over the Spurs and the first five game against the Thunder—Waiters has quietly been the key for this team, particularly in regards to his scoring and efficiency. In the seven games that they’ve won over that span, Waiters has averaged 9.1 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 61.5 percent from long range. In the four losses, his numbers dip to six points per game on 29.6 percent shooting overall and only 20 percent three-point shooting.

Frankly, that’s where relying on Dion Waiters as heavily as the Thunder do in this reserve role gets you, though. Despite his propensity for moments of unintentional comedy, it’d be foolish to deny the value of his peaks in performance. However, the key is finding a way to balance those peaks with the inevitable valleys and still be able to win.

And that’s where the heart of the problem for Oklahoma City right now lies. Sure, Anthony Morrow put up 10 points in Game 5 and Enes Kanter was a key cog in the system against the Spurs last round. However, the Thunder can’t rely on Thunder in the same manner in this matchup and Morrow is a minimal role player at best at this point. Therefore, the onus is on Waiters even more so than normal.

Tasked again with being the guy off of the bench in Game 5, Waiters choked in a big way as he came up empty shooting the ball, posted a -18 plus-minus, and was a quiet space-filler for the most part when on the floor. If the Thunder are to hang on, they’re going to need more noise from Waiters if they’re really going to shake things up and complete upset of Golden State.