NBA Finals 2016: Why the Warriors will still win Game 5 without Draymond Green
By John Buhler
5. A deeper bench than Cleveland
One area of tremendous discrepancy between these two finalists in this best-of-seven series that has been honestly overlooked is that Warriors have a significantly deeper bench than what Cleveland has to offer.
Players like point guard Shaun Livingston, small forward Andre Iguodala, power forward Marreese Speights, and center Festus Ezeli are just a few of the many great reserves Golden State has to work with on any given night.
While Cleveland does have a great starting lineup and a few key bench players, guys like point guard Matthew Dellavedova, shooting guard Iman Shumpert, and forward Richard Jefferson aren’t able to appropriately match up with what Golden State throws their way.
Not only is Cleveland at a disadvantage in terms of numbers coming off the bench, but the Cavaliers simply lack the agility to hang with Golden State when the Warriors go small with their pace-and-space lineup.
Even with players like Iguodala, Speights, center Andrew Bogut, and even center Anderson Varejao having to play more minutes to account for Green’s absence, Golden State will continue to win with their bench on the floor versus Cleveland’s weaker rotation of reserve players.
Next: 4. Steve Kerr.