The Golden State Warriors nearly became invincible in the 2017 NBA playoffs, going 15-0 before finally dropping a game in Cleveland en route to a second title in three years.
With four formidable starters, all of whom were All-Stars and three of whom were named to All-NBA teams this season, it was much too easy for the Warriors as they steamrolled their opposition through a combination of explosive offence and stingy defence.
Beyond talent, in the form of forwards Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, and guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, it was how the Warriors managed to gel in a system that set them apart.
On offence, the Warriors were perpetually in motion. Players set screens, allowing the ball-handler to find space to score or create mismatches, freeing teammates to spot-up and shoot. If the misdirection and screens were defended and the shooters weren’t freed up, the Warriors simply threw the ball to Durant or Curry to score in isolation.
Durant, nearly 7ft tall, relied on his unique abilities to handle and shoot the ball accurately, especially by rising above the defender and releasing the ball from close to 10ft above the ground – an impossible point of release to defend.
Point Guard (PG) Curry, on the other hand, was at his fittest in the playoffs, which enabled him to do his ‘happy feet’ and nimble dribbling routine. Curry only needed the tiniest sliver of space to pull-up and shoot three pointers. If defenders tried to crowd him out at the three point line, he sought to penetrate the lane and score off floaters, feather touches off the backboard or simply passed to the open man.
The Warriors were impossible to defend in transition, with too many accurate shooters, and they killed opponents who were unable to pause or hamper their running game. On defence, their ability to retain efficiency in pick and roll (P&R) defence, i.e. to leave bigger defenders onto smaller players after switches, suffocated opponents that relied primarily on P&Rs for offence.
The Warriors were remarkably versatile – Green could defend players ranging from point guards to centers, while Durant strengthened his rim-protection abilities over the course of the season – and had answers to most schemes opponents threw at them. In the Finals, they did run into a Cleveland Cavaliers squad that showcased a potent offence in the form of three-point shooting and attacking versatility, but were able to outscore and limit them in crunch situations as seen in Game 3 when the Cavs frittered away a lead in the waning moments.
The big question then is whether anyone can stop the Warriors juggernaut which threatens to dominate the league for the next half-a-decade. Their primary rivals, the San Antonio Spurs and the Cavaliers, already seem to be looking for talent upgrades to perk up their starting line-ups in order to compete. But beyond throwing money at skilled players, the Spurs and the Cavaliers will have to look to limit the marauding ways of the Warriors by evolving their offence and defence accordingly.
The Spurs thought they had an antidote: fielding long players who could pound the ball in the paint and score closer to the basket by taking advantage of the Warriors’ relative lack of shot-blocking, and using stout perimeter defenders to take on their wing counterparts. But their primary frontcourt player LaMarcus Aldridge proved unequal to that task in the Western Conference finals even as forward Kawhi Leonard and PG Tony Parker were injured, hurting their playmaking.
The Spurs hope to hang in there by improving their backcourt (reports suggest they are making a play for premier PG Chris Paul) and retaining their solid defence.
The Cavaliers were caught out on defence and would seek to get LeBron James yet another wing partner – someone like the Pacers’ Paul George or the Bulls’ Jimmy Butler – to help shore up their perimeter defence.
2017-18 will see the Warriors start as strong favourites yet again and likely to retain a significant advantage in terms of both talent and systemic evolution. The opposition will need to make quite a leap to catch up.
| Best teams in the playoffs | |||
| Team | Season | Win% | NetRtg |
| Golden State Warriors | 2016-17 | 94.1 | 13.5 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 2000-01 | 93.8 | 13.8 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 1982-83 | 92.3 | NA |
| Detroit Pistons | 1988-89 | 88.2 | 8.7 |
| Chicago Bulls | 1990-91 | 88.2 | 13.3 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 1998-99 | 88.2 | 8.5 |
| Chicago Bulls | 1995-96 | 83.3 | 12.2 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 1986-87 | 83.3 | 11.4 |
NetRtg: Offensive Rating – Opponent’s Offensive Rating | Offensive Rating: An estimate of points produced per 100 possessions | Win%: Wins as a % of total games played
