Heading into Game 2, the Golden State Warriors have the opportunity to be greedy. The Dubs are looking to build on their 1-0 lead over the Houston Rockets after stealing a win on the road in a 95-85 slugfest. But despite the win, it was far from a perfect Warriors game, especially on offense, and head coach Steve Kerr knows that.
On 95.7 The Game, Kerr talked about winning the less celebrated stat categories entering Game 2.
“We can’t turn [the ball] over. That’s the biggest thing for me. If we turn it over, their athletes will get free for easy baskets and we can’t afford that. We’ve got to be able to contain them and take away the easy stuff, ” Kerr said. “Fouls and turnovers, those are the things that will hurt us. And obviously, the offensive boards, they are going to get plenty of those. It’s all part of the package, so we just have to check as many boxes as possible.”
Those stats will be key not just in Game 2 but also for the rest of the series. The Rockets dominated the Dubs 22-6 on the offensive boards for 22 second-chance points. Offensive rebounds got Houston back in it after falling behind by 23, so it will be interesting to see how Kerr and company counter Ime Udoka’s Steven Adams-Alperen Sengün lineup. In the same interview, Kerr fielded questions about the Rockets’ potential adjustments.
“I don’t expect massive changes from Ime [Udoka], they know who they are,” Kerr stated. “We know they’re going to be physical, they’re going to defend, and they’re going to rebound. I don’t think too much will change from that philosophy.”
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As for the other categories Kerr talked about, turnovers weren’t a huge problem in Game 1. The Warriors turned the ball over 14 times in Game 1 to Houston’s 17, matching their regular-season average. But the Warriors rank 10th among the 16 playoff teams in turnovers per game, and they surrendered 23 points off of turnovers. That makes 55 points from offensive rebounds and turnovers, which is massive in a game where the Rockets only scored 85 points.
As for the foul battle, it was 18-15 in favor of Houston, which gave the Rockets six more free throw attempts. The Warriors dodged a bullet in this area because Houston went 13-for-20 from the stripe. The foul battle has historically been a losing category for the Kerr-era Warriors. However, with the foul-savvy Jimmy Butler, they stand more of a chance. Butler’s capable of getting a team into the bonus all by himself, which he has room to do more of in Game 2.
But at the end of the day, it comes down to getting the Rockets to play in the Warriors’ style of play. Kerr was adamant about fixing the team’s offensive execution.
“There were some obvious things that we have to improve upon, particularly our offensive execution. You feel good about the win, but you prepare for the force that’s coming,” Kerr said. “We want to run, we’re not trying to keep the game under 100 [points].”
