The Los Angeles Lakers must pound the ball inside against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Lakers megastar LeBron James is known for his love of the iconic Godfather trilogy featuring Al Pacino and Marlon Brando.
But perhaps LeBron and the Lakers should watch another Pacino classic for inspiration.
Scarface! Starring Pacino’s timeless character Tony Montana!
Because Golden State’s Draymond Green will probably scream out Montana’s most iconic line as the game begins:
“You wanna play rough? Okay! Say hello to my little friend!”
Like at the end of Scarface, this is the last stand for the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State is barely a playoff team even though Stephen Curry and Green are healthy and in their prime. There is no guarantee Klay Thompson’s return next season will make them a championship contender again.
Thompson hasn’t played since the 2019 NBA Finals. Nobody has ever been the same player coming back from a torn Achilles, much less missing two full seasons due to injury.
Golden State is also too deep into the luxury tax to sign a marquee free agent. No other team is going to give them another star in exchange for James Wiseman and draft picks.
Golden State Head Coach Steve Kerr knows all this. Here is how Coach Kerr is adapting to his new roster with Curry as the only superstar left.
What Coach Kerr and the Golden State Warriors are doing differently this season:
Golden State is no longer running Kerr’s equal opportunity motion offense. Curry’s relentless movement away from the ball is a big reason why this offense has been so effective for so long (plus also having Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Kevin Durant).
Curry is still frantically moving, but he either has the ball in his hands or Golden State spends the entire shot clock getting the ball back to him.
There is nobody else on the roster who is a threat to take over the game at any moment.
Opposing defenses know this. Only Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal are double-teamed just as often as Curry on the perimeter. Curry still won the scoring title in spite of routinely facing double and triple teams.
Memphis executed their game plan to near perfection and it wasn’t enough. We can’t assume the Lakers are stopping Curry either.