NBA Opening Night: What to watch for in each match-up
By Joshua Mayer
Warriors: Center
I know, I know. The Warriors new “death” lineup will be unstoppable with Kevin Durant replacing the disappointing Harrison Barnes. Draymond Green is the best center in the game when he has to play the five as well! That’s all fine and dandy, but Green cannot play 48 minutes a game at center, let alone play all game in general.
After playing approximately 20% of his minutes at the five last season, it can be expected the number will increase for Green after the departures of Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli. Still, the 6’7″ former Spartan will not be playing strictly center. Instead, ZaZa Pachulia, Javale McGee, Anderson Varejao, and David West will see minutes at the five.
Only Varejao has ever played for the Warriors before, but he was merely a short-term sparkplug, playing 8.5 MPG in Golden State. Don’t expect him to see any more than 10 minutes in any given game if he plays at all.
McGee is still just a big athletic body, incapable of doing much in terms of basketball maneuvering. His size continues to intrigue teams, but do not expect much out of him.
Instead, the bigger minutes will come down to Pachulia and West. ZaZa was very effective in the first half of the season in Dallas before tailing off towards the end. He is expected to start, and is a solid rebounder who does not need the ball to be effective. At the same time, he will have a hard time taking the place of Andrew Bogut. The former number one pick is a great shot blocker (5.8 BLK%), and also possesses good passing instincts (14.8 AST%).
Pachulia has neither of these qualities (0.9 BLK%, 9.7 AST%). The former Hawk still possesses rebounding and hustle, but it will be interesting to see if the lack of a shot blocker effects the Warriors defense. Sure, Draymond Green is a great defender, and the other stars can defend when they want to, but without a big man protecting the rim, teams will attack the hoop all day long, perhaps getting key players in foul trouble.
David West has the passing and playmaking abilities (15.4 AST%) of Bogut, with a sexy midrange game to boot. But, he too does not possess the shot blocking ability needed and is not a traditional center. Last season, West played 49% of his minutes at the five, easily a career high over his past high of 13%.
Keep an eye out for who is playing the majority of minutes at center when Green is not there, and how their lack of shot blocking effects the reigning Western Conference Champion’s defense as a whole.
Bonus to watch: LaMarcus Aldridge post up fadeaway mid rangers (GO SPURS).