Three-Man Weave: How Much Do Warriors Use David Lee, Double-Teams?

It’s certainly not a stretch to say that the winner of Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night likely will the championship.

If the Cleveland Cavaliers win, they will have a 3-1 lead and have three chances for LeBron James to snag one more victory for the city’s first pro sports title since 1964.

If the Golden State Warriors win, they will have evened the series at 2-2 while reclaiming home court advantage, They also will have reclaimed some of their mojo, following a strong finish to Game 3 with a victory.

Most of the questions surrounding Game 4 concern the Warriors. A trio of Sheridan Hoops staffers provide some answers in the latest edition of the Three-Man Weave.

1. Should LeBron James expect to see double-teams in Game 4?

CHRIS SHERIDAN, PUBLISHER: Absolutely. Warriors coach Steve Kerr spoke Wednesday about how the time off between Games 3 and 4 will be all about making the proper adjustments, and this needs to be adjustment No. 1 from a tactical standpoint. James is walking the ball up the floor and running a ton of isolation plays, and while Andre Iguodala is a nice defender, he clearly needs some help just so the Warriors can get the ball out of James’ hands. A second defender will get that done. If you are the Warriors, you have got to make the Cavs’ bench players – many of whom now are starters – take a much higher percentage of the shots. Because James is not only taking a lot of shots, he is taking a lot of high-percentage shots.

CHRIS BERNUCCA, MANAGING EDITOR: I don’t see how he won’t. The Warriors cannot afford to fall into a 3-1 hole, and how they have defended James to this point hasn’t worked, so they have to try something different. I think a better question is what sort of double-teams will James see from Golden State. Will they be traps early in the possession? Will they come from his blind side when he’s in the post? I would like to see the approach the Pat Riley-Jeff Van Gundy Knicks used against Michael Jordan: one-on-one coverage for the first 42 minutes, hard double-teams for the last six, putting pressure on his teammates to make shots down the stretch. However, Warriors defensive guru Ron Adams likely will come up with something less simplistic.

BOBBY GONZALEZ, COACH/COLUMNIST: I absolutely believe one of the adjustments Kerr must make after three games – in which James has scored a Finals record 123 points – is that Golden State must throw some double-teams at him. Hopefully, that will get the ball out of his hands so James cannot simply control the tempo and pick his spots methodically as to when to shoot or drive the ball.

2. Golden State coach Steve Kerr has said, “You’ll see more of David Lee.” How many minutes does Lee play in Game 4?

SHERIDAN: If Lee stays out of foul trouble, I’ll put the number at 34 or higher. One factor that could make that number even higher is that Draymond Green is suffering from back spasms. Green has not been as bad an Harrison Barnes offensively, but he hasn’t been good, either. With Lee, you know you are going to get a slow-footed defender, but it’s not like he is guarding Karl Malone. He’s checking Tristan Thompson. Lee is able to score and rebound in a slower-paced game, and quite frankly I am surprised Kerr did not turn to the former All-Star sooner.

BERNUCCA: It could be as many as 30 minutes. Warriors center Andrew Bogut is being thoroughly outplayed by Timofey Mozgov in this series and has had a negative plus-minus in each game. I could easily see Bogut starting but playing only the first seven or eight minutes of each half – possibly returning situationally – with Lee and Festus Ezeli taking the rest of the “center” minutes. Much of Lee’s success in Game 3 came with Mozgov on the floor. He is a triple threat – dribble, shoot, pass – when facing up at the elbow, which Bogut is not. Lee is not a rim protector, however, so how much he plays may depend on how well he offers help, defends pick-and-rolls and keeps Tristan Thompson from becoming a factor on the offensive glass.

GONZALEZ: After not playing in the first two games, Lee played a little over 13 minutes in Game 3 in place of an ineffective Andrew Bogut. His impact was obvious as he gave Golden State another facilitator on the floor who can make plays, which takes a lot of pressure off Stephen Curry. So I fully expect Coach Kerr to at least double Lee’s minutes to around 25 or 26 for Game 4.

3. Is Stephen Curry hurting the Warriors more with his inconsistent shooting or sloppy ballhandling?

SHERIDAN: Definitely the ballhandling. Any shooter is going to have hot and cold streaks, and Curry is no exception. And in the fourth quarter of Game 3, we saw a microcosm of his best and worst. Yes, the 17 points were nice. But the three turnovers in the final 2:05 were all killers. Unlike the Cavaliers and LeBron James, the Warriors do not need Curry to score 30 points. They have plenty of other weapons, and Klay Thompson’s shooting can carry them if Curry’s shot is off, as it did in Game 2. Curry needs to have more of a pure point guard mentality, and pure point guards are natural ball protectors.

BERNUCCA: Sloppy ballhandling. The better phrase may be casual ballhandling. Both Kenny Smith and Dennis Scott of NBA TV have pointed out that Curry has been too “loose” or “casual” with the ball. He leads the Finals with 16 turnovers and his four in Game 3 were actually his low for the series. He also has countered with just 19 assists, a poor ratio for an All-Star point guard who is said to have the best handle in the game. When the Warriors play at their normal pace, there are more possessions to compensate for some of the giveaways. But Cleveland’s deliberate style has reduced the number of possessions and increased their importance. As a youth league coach, one phrase my players are probably sick of hearing is “value the ball.” Steve Kerr needs to remind Curry of that.

GONZALEZ: I think Curry’s turnovers and poor decisions with the basketball – especially late in games in the last two losses – have really hurt Golden State more than his at-times-bad shooting percentage. Curry has to have a much better, more under control floor game for the Warriors to win Game 4.