Toronto Raptors (24-8) at Golden State Warriors (25-5): 3 keys to victory
By Brian Boake
December 30, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11, top) dunks the basketball against Philadelphia 76ers forward Furkan Aldemir (19) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The second straight game against Western monsters occurs tonight, as the Toronto Raptors are at Oracle Arena in un-glamorous Oakland to face the league’s best team. The Golden State Warriors have already enjoyed a 16-game winning streak this season, while rookie bench boss Steve Kerr is being talked about as a Coach of the Year candidate. Although I happen to think our man Dwane Casey should get a lot of votes for that award, Kerr’s success is undeniable. He’s managed to turn lesser lights like Marreese Speights and Draymond Green into major contributors, and shrugged off Andrew Bogut’s latest trip to the injured list.
This team is going to be Golden for years to come. The starters are young and talented, and many of their veterans (who seem content to start games on the pine) would be starting elsewhere. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are the Splash Brothers, and arguably the league’s best backcourt. Curry, the gifted son of former Raptor Dell, might be the best pure shooter on the planet. He’s got the quickest trigger I’ve ever seen, on his way to ranking fourth in 3-balls made this season with 88. But wait, there’s more – he ranks fifth in assists with 7.7 Per Game [PG] and leads in steals, averaging 2.13 PG. The skinny fellow from tiny Davidson College has all the tools. Many of those assists are garnered by passes to Thompson, who ranks sixth with 83 long balls; they average 2.9 “home run balls”, as Jack Armstrong calls them, each PG. Combined they average almost 44 points PG.
The Warriors revel in small ball; Green and Harrison Barnes aren’t big men. The only starter taller than 6’7″ is Speights. Tall people with talent coming off the bench are fast’n’furious David Lee and all-purpose forward Andre Iguodala. Backup guards include Shaun Livingston, who gave the Raps trouble last year in the playoffs, ex-Rap Leandro Barbosa (slowed down from his Brazilian Blur days, but still useful) and swingman Brandon Rush.
Should the Raps even bother to show up against this squad, which for my money is the Western Conference entry for the NBA Championship? Our team is on the Left Coast anyway, so they might as well drop in for the game. They could gut out a win if they…:
(1)…bother Curry when he’s bringing up the ball. He averages 3.4 turnovers PG, which isn’t entirely surprising given how much he handles the ball.
(2)…keep James Johnson on the floor, and in Thompson’s face. If James can avoid knucklehead reach-in fouls, he may give Thompson more trouble than he’s used to. James needs to work like crazy to deny Thompson the ball, since the Warriors run an array of multi-pick sets.
(3)…get quick moves in the low post from Jonas Valanciunas. Our man should be able to bully Speights, but JV will need to watch for the double-team. He can negate that threat by turning and shooting, or taking one dribble then attacking the paint with his hook shot.
Maybe the Warriors will take this game too casually, having just beaten the T’wolves, then steamrolling Philly’s kids. Golden State is an impossible 12-1 at home. It’s time to make that 12-2 with a 115-112 victory for the upstarts from The North.