Kuminga transforms! The Warriors forward group + long rotation show their power. Can Curry Butler kill the Bear by paddling?

The Warriors basically fight to death when they see the Grizzlies, and everyone knows the feud between the two teams.

In the 2021 playoffs, the Warriors lost to the Grizzlies in overtime and missed the playoffs; in the 2022 Western Conference semifinals, the Warriors personally eliminated the Grizzlies 4-2 and completed their revenge.

In recent years, there have been countless news about the two teams attacking each other off the court. They dislike each other, and every match is full of gunpowder. Now, even though the two topic makers, Jenkins and Dillon, were missing, the mortal enemies were still extremely jealous when they met.

The Warriors and Grizzlies both won 48 games last season and were close to 50-win teams in the Western Conference. It can be said that they are in a strong dialogue.

Cole took the initiative to adjust the defensive matchup, and the special design set the defensive tone for the Warriors to defeat the Grizzlies.

The Warriors sent the young and strong Kuminga to lead defense on Morant, Curry went to face 3D Wells, and Podemski chased Pope. These are still conventional methods.

The most critical thing for the Warriors in this campaign is the mismatched defense design at positions 4 and 5: Cole uses Butler to face Grizzlies center Landale. Once Morant and Landale play the pick-and-roll, both Kuminga and Butler are capable of switching defensive tasks against Morant/Landale; Dream Chaser mainly defends 3J, with both strength and mobility. Dream Chaser is still a good player with his mentality.

The Warriors easily dismantled the pick-and-roll at position 1/5 led by Morant. Kuminga, Butler, and Dream Chasing could all switch to guard Morant. Morant took 23 shots in exchange for 23 points in this campaign. It was not easy for him to single-handedly attack the Warriors' forward group. Moreover, he made 0 of 6 three-pointers. He was allowed three points but could not punish the Warriors.

The Warriors' core defensive concept of restricting Morant is exactly the same as in the past. They try to force Morant to finish as far away from the three-second zone as possible. As long as Morant cannot get to the basket (layup, dunk, floater), the threat of his mid-to-long-range shots actually doesn't hurt.

The Warriors successfully limited Morant's single-handed thrusts, chasing dreams and 3J hand-to-hand combat. The comprehensive defensive capabilities of the forward group simultaneously suppressed the Grizzlies' ace and second-in-command, and the defense set the tone for winning.

The Grizzlies system revolves around Morant and a group of engineers. The Warriors can easily target the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies sent away Bane this summer, and the replacement Pope is a 3D off-ball defender who is not good at holding the ball. Jerome is injured, and rookie Small serves as the backup point guard. The Grizzlies only have Morant as the actual ball-handler in this campaign.

The Grizzlies rely on Morant to attack and destroy the Warriors' defense. After all, Pope, Wells, Coward, Konchar, Cam Spencer, etc. all tend to be off-ball shooters. Their ball-holding offense is difficult to destroy the Warriors' defense point-to-point. In other words, except for Morant, everyone else's one-on-one, including 3J Chasing Dreams, can't kill anyone.

The Grizzlies were beaten 7-0 by the Warriors at the beginning. When the Grizzlies caught up to 11-14, the entire team's score was related to Morant. Morant's single-handed thrust attracted help and created open opportunities for others. The Grizzlies were barely able to match the Warriors' firepower.

The Warriors made perfect use of Morant's offensive characteristics of being good at breakthroughs and lacking three-point stability, shrinking the defense and testing Morant's mid-to-long-range shooting efficiency. Morant made only 4 of 14 shots in the second and third quarters, 0 of 6 three-pointers in the game, and 8 of 17 two-pointers obviously couldn't kill anyone.

As long as Morant cannot break into the penalty area, his power will be greatly reduced, and the Grizzlies' engineers have limited ability to score independently. The Warriors can build up to a 22-point lead without losing any blood.

Kuminga has transformed, the Jigsaw players are brave, and the Warriors' hope of breaking out of the Western Conference this year has greatly increased.

Kuminga scored 25 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in this campaign. He has a strong offensive and defensive presence, especially his ability to handle the ball has improved significantly - he finally learned to slow down and read the game patiently. Since the beginning of the season, he has repeatedly sent exquisite inward passes in the low post, which is eye-catching.

Kuminga took 14 shots in this game, which tied for the highest number on the team with Podger. Curry only took 11 shots, and Butler only took 8 shots!

The two big brothers sincerely encourage young people to grow. They can not only act as attackers at critical moments, but also act as green leaves to give young people room to develop. The Warriors gave the ball to Kuminga, Podemski, Moody, and Richard. The selflessness of Curry and Butler truly made the Warriors what they are today.

With the return of Horford and Melton in the future, the Warriors can arrange a super long rotation and focus on deep basketball.

Even if Horford takes up the rotation time of Post and Davis, the Warriors can still arrange a 10-12-man rotation. It is worth mentioning that all 14 players on the Warriors' roster were rotated last season, and depth is still the fundamental guarantee for the Warriors' overall competitiveness.

The Warriors' current winning ideas are similar to those in 2022. They will use a long rotation lineup around Curry and Butler to take advantage of the large number of players and reduce the burden on the veterans as much as possible.

Since the beginning of the season, Kuminga's performance has lived up to expectations, averaging 18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists per game, and a 42.9% three-point shooting percentage. He worked hard in the summer to increase his goals and finally realized his transformation; Curry averaged 29 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.0 blocks, and a 45.5% three-point shooting percentage per game. He is in extremely hot form and is getting stronger with age.

With Curry and Kuminga, plus Butler and Dream Chasing, the Warriors’ prospects this season are far better than last season. The championship is more than just a slogan!