Iguodala starts in place of Bogut as Warriors go small in Game 4
After Game 3 of the 2015 NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he didn’t anticipate changing his starting lineup, despite that unit’s struggles against the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the first three games of this series. Before Game 4, Kerr reiterated that message to the media assembled at Quicken Loans Arena, saying that he wouldn’t bench center Andrew Bogut, who has struggled at times with the size of opposing center Timofey Mozgov and is chipping in just 3.3 points (albeit alongside 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 blocks) in 23.6 minutes per game.
“No, we’re going to start the same way,” Kerr said.
He was lying.
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Just before tipoff of Thursday’s Game 4, Kerr decided to shuffle his starting lineup, sending the 7-foot Bogut to the bench and inserting small forward Andre Iguodala — arguably Golden State’s best player thus far in this series — into the mix.
The tactical shift means the Warriors will open the game small, with power forward Draymond Green bumping up to center, Harrison Barnes sliding up to power forward and Iguodala slotting in at the three alongside the All-Star backcourt of Klay Thompson and MVP Stephen Curry. As NBA.com’s John Schuhmann notes, the small-ball lineup has been successful for Golden State, outscoring opponents by 18 points in 62 total minutes this postseason and topping the Cavaliers by eight points in 20 minutes thus far in the Finals.
With the Cavaliers grinding the Warriors down over the course of the last three games by dragging out possessions and running endless LeBron James isolations, Golden State has frequently found itself unable to push the tempo, generate clean driving lanes at the basket, and find the sort of offensive flow that propelled them to the No. 2 spot in points scored per possession throughout the regular season.
The move to go small from the opening tip seems aimed at forcing Cleveland head coach David Blatt to make a choice. If we spread the floor with shooters (theoretically, anyway; new-look center Green’s just 1 for 8 from 3-point land in this series) and put Mozgov in pick-and-rolls over and over again, aiming to take him out of his comfort zone and open up lanes to the basket, will you keep him out there for rebounding and paint patrolling? Or will you go small, too, and take your best rim protector out of the game?
The move also looks like an attempt to unlock Barnes, who has struggled to find his stroke in this series (he was scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting in Game 3) while also getting battered and bruised in the matchup with James on the other end. Getting the former UNC standout on track and back into a productive offensive mode while matched up on someone other than LeBron would be a major win for Golden State, which has struggled to generate offense with Cleveland clamping down on Curry and Thompson.
What this means for Bogut’s minutes in the Warriors frontcourt rotation, or those of reserve center Festus Ezeli or Game 3 revelation David Lee, remains to be seen. For now, though, we know that Kerr, faced with the prospect of a 3-1 deficit, has decided it’s time for a change.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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