Not only are the Warriors back from the third quarter with their 115-91 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Chase Center Thursday, but Golden State has unveiled a new strategy for defending Russell Westbrook: leave him as open as possible .
Speaking to reporters after the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr explained why Draymond Green had fallen so far from the former NBA MVP.
“Draymond is the best midfielder in the league in my opinion,” said Kerr. “I mean, there’s no one who can screw up the trail like he can and just be willing to help whatever happens, wherever he needs to help, and then come in and recover.”
Kerr also made it a point to commend Donte DiVincenzo and Klay Thompson for their concerted efforts to bounce the ball and affect the game in this way.
“Between Draymond and [Kevon Looney] Channeling the defense, getting our guards back on the glass, defending mostly without fouling and just staying solid, I think we’re finding something,” added Kerr.
After the Warriors’ new defensive scheme went viral, Green revealed how the process of developing this unique game plan came about.
“…Coach texted me yesterday…and he hinted that that would be that game plan,” Green said. “And then we went through it in the shootaround this morning, trying to get everyone to understand the concept – it’s very easy when a guy sags like that, when a guy catches it, you just turn to him and we didn’t want to do it.”
The Warriors defensive ace also explained that the game plan worked because it came to Westbrook’s mind.
“We made Russ miss a few shots but I think when you have a game plan like that… what that does to you mentally is difficult,” Green continued. “And I think it was more the mental than his shot.
“And so I thought we did a good job of sticking to the game plan and we were able to muddy the game for them on the defensive end and it worked for us in the end.”
Westbrook has never been a serious threat, but Thursday’s game showed the importance of developing a 3-point shot in today’s NBA.
The former MVP scored eight points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field and missed all five of his shots from the arc.
RELATED: Report: Steph ‘intends’ to play in Warriors-Lakers on Sunday
Given how the Warriors have transformed basketball over the past decade, it makes sense that they continue to find ways to change the game.
And Thursday perhaps showed an effective way to slow down the converted Clippers: by leaving Westbrook as open as possible.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast