Breaking Down the Golden State Warriors Game 4 Starting Lineup in the NBA Finals

Game 3 went about the way we expected. With no Klay Thompson or Kevin Durant, Toronto was able to take care of business. Struggling both offensively and defensively wasn’t a surprise for Golden State. Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard had their way, while Marc Gasol took advantage of a clearly tired DeMarcus Cousins. Stephen Curry’s 47 point game was not enough, as the Warriors had a bad shooting night, especially by their standards. The Warriors will welcome back Klay Thompson for Game 4, but not Kevin Durant.

Game 3 Warriors Recap

It was going to be a tough task for Golden State to win without Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. While they seemingly were within striking distance at all times, Toronto made big shots to keep them at a distance. Stephen Curry had a whopping 36% usage rate in Game 3, shooting over 30 times. This will drop with Thompson back next game. Kawhi Leonard rivaled Curry with a 29.2% usage rate. After a horrendous shooting game from Toronto in Game 2, Golden State followed one with their own. It wasn’t surprising as they didn’t have many shooters out on the court. They shot 39% from the field and 33% from three. It was Toronto who hot 45% from three and 52% from the field.

Outside of the shooting, things were pretty even. The rebounds were dead even at 50 a piece, and each team turned the ball over 15 times. Fouls were in favor of Toronto by just one. Golden State was unable to get anything going outside of Curry. They only had three scorers in double-digits. Toronto had six.

Warriors Starting Lineup

Stephen Curry, PG – Stephen Curry had his way, which seemed inevitable given the injuries. He shot 50% against Fred VanVleet which was surprising given how he was able to defend him historically. Curry had 31 total shots, and also was 13-14 at the line. Curry might not have had most of his focus on defense, where he guarded Danny Green and Fred VanVleet mostly. With Thompson back next game, Curry shouldn’t have to shoulder the workload as much as Game 3. This will free up more Lowry on Curry, who he has torched this series.

Klay Thompson, SG – Game 3 was a miss for Klay Thompson, but is ready to play in Game 4. While it was exciting watching Stephen Curry play hero ball, Thompson’s absence made everyone else worse. With the lack of shooters outside of the Splash Bros, they desperately need both healthy to have a shot. We can also look at the defensive side of things, where Thompson’s absence created an easier go for both Leonard and Green. As long as the hamstring is okay, Thompson’s impact should be felt in Game 4.

Andre Iguodala, SF – With Kevin Durant ruled out already for Game 4, that means we will see Andre Iguodala start again. He was -14 in 31 minutes. He shot well, but defensively he was a liability. With no other shooters surrounding him, he was going to have a tough time making an impact like Green. It is hard to tell if Iggy is even 100% at this point. Iguodala was shut down defensively when guarded by Leonard, but had some success against Siakam. He was able to limit production against Leonard and Siakam defensively, but still wasn’t great.

Draymond Green, PF – With Klay Thompson out, Draymond Green took 14 shots. He scored 17 points, and we saw the assists drop, which was expected. Green wasn’t able to make an impact like he did in Game 2, and with Thompson out we saw more of a focus on Green. Kawhi Leonard was also able to take advantage of Green being on him. He went 5-8 with 15 points on 21 possessions. He saw mostly Pascal Siakam and Leonard defensively, and had his troubles.

DeMarcus Cousins, C – It was a tough go for DeMarcus Cousins, struggling to defend, but also struggled offensively where they really needed a second option. After defending Marc Gasol well in Game 2, he allowed ten points in 20 possessions. Cousins was 0-4 against Gasol, and scored just two points against him and Serge Ibaka. Hard to see Cousins getting pulled from the starting lineup, but he will likely have a short leash again if he struggles. It is a quicker turn around, and after a 25+ minute Game 2, he struggled after a longer stretch of rest.

Bench Players

With Klay Thompson missing time, we saw Quinn Cook get the most run out of the bench names. He played 26 minutes, and had nine points on nine shots. Shaun Livingston drew the start, but struggled in 17 minutes. He was -14 in that span, and Livingston has not made a mark on this series. Nobody really has for the Warriors. Andrew Bogut was the most successful bench player, playing 21 minutes, which was two minutes over starter DeMarcus Cousins. Jordan Bell and Jonas Jerebko played nine minutes a piece to round out the game, which neither had much of an impact.

Game 4 is going to be interesting, one Klay Thompson is going to be back, while Kevin Durant is likely out again. That means Livingston will shift back to the bench, and likely be extremely limited. Thompson’s minutes should be normal, so expect Cook and Livingston to be back under 20. After a big game from Cousins in Game 2, he played 19 minutes. Bogut giving quality minutes off the bench could push Cousins off the court more easily if he struggles again.