Warriors vs. Clippers Live Stream: Watch NBA Warriors know the Clippers will be desperate to win night when the teams meet for Game 5 of their NBA playoff first-round series.
Warriors vs. Clippers LIVE
Warriors:
Expect Cousins to bounce back from a poor Game 1, the first postseason appearance of his career, in which he totaled nine points (4-12 FG) and nine rebounds (along with the six turnovers) before fouling out in 21 minutes.
Thompson also had a subpar offensive game, scoring 12 points (5-of-14 FG, 1-of-6 3PT). He was, however, a factor on defense, with three blocks and one steal.
Coach Steve Kerr reiterated that the Hamptons 5 (Curry, Durant, Green, Thompson and Andre Iguodala) is his go-to unit, pointing out that group has better numbers than any lineup in the NBA.
Kevon Looney (plus-30 in 17 minutes) and Iguodala (plus-19 in 26 minutes) were highly effective, particularly on defense in Game 1 and likely will play similar minutes in Game 2.
Clippers:
Coach Doc Rivers experimented in Game 1, putting the 6-foot-1 Beverley on the 6-foot-11 Durant, and got mixed results. That won't be nearly enough to alter the series, so it's conceivable Beverley will return to his usual assignment, Curry, who torched LA (38 points, 11-of-16 FG, 8-of-12 3PT).
After achieving great success with the Williams-Harrell pick-and-roll, there's no reason to go away from it. Even though the Warriors will make adjustments, LA would be wise to stay with it until it's no longer effective.
The key for the Clippers is to get more offense from the rest of the team, specifically Gallinari and Shamet, who combined to shoot 5-of-20 in Game 1. Apart from Williams and Harrell, LA shot 27.6 percent (16-of-58) from the field.
“Sometimes, he just gets in the habit of trying to strip the ball,” Kerr said Tuesday after practice. “So, more than anything, it’s just about trying to get him past that habit. I keep telling him how valuable he is. I’d much rather he just got out of the guy’s way and gave him a layup and kept playing.
“He’s much more valuable than two points. And we’ve got plenty of help; our defense is predicated on help.”
This, in the big picture, makes sense. While the Warriors seek to close out the Clippers in Game 5 of their first-round series Wednesday, advancing likely means getting a dose of potent Houston.
Anyone care to imagine Curry on the bench with foul trouble against the Rockets?
Curry’s impact against Los Angeles was neutralized by foul trouble in Games 3 and 4. Though having him on the bench for long stretches, saddled with foul trouble, is not ideal in this series, it would invite disaster should the Warriors advance and face Houston.
After committing four or more fouls just four times over the final 27 games of the regular season, Curry has been whistled at least that often in every game against LA. Picking up five fouls in Game 3, including his fourth early in the third quarter, limited him to 20 minutes.
So Curry, prior to Game 4, put a message on his shoes, “No Reach” -- a reminder to avoid a tendency that usually is his quickest route to foul trouble.
“I have confidence in my hand-eye coordination and hand speed,” Curry said. “That’s how I get steals usually, by being quick. But that’s how I get fouls, too, so I’ve got to balance both of them.
“The ones I’ve had trouble with in this series are ones that I shouldn’t even be in that situation to begin with. There’s help behind the play. I’m not even involved in the play, really. I’m just kind of lunging at it. That’s just a lack of focus.
“We could nitpick each one of them and understand exactly why. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to continue to stay on the floor on our normal rotations and not foul.”
There was progress in Game 4 insofar as Curry generally avoided reaching. And when he committed his third foul with 4:16 left in the first half, Kerr stayed with him.
Curry rewarded the coach by playing the rest of the half and the entire third quarter without a whistle. He played 35 minutes, committing four fouls.
Moreover, the Warriors won both games.
[RELATED: Beverley explains why he doesn't talk trash to Curry]
“If he’s got a couple fouls already, he should be able to play with those fouls,” Kerr said. “I’ve always trusted him. Since I’ve been here, I’ve generally played him with two fouls in the first half or three in the third quarter. I believe in letting a guy go, letting him play, a star player like that especially. The second half was a great sign that he’s kind of made it past that habit.”
The Warriors would like to think so.
They’d like to believe that building better habits in this series will make them stronger in the next one. History has shown they are strongest with Curry on the floor.
