The Warriors play a style of defense the Celtics should try to emulate. At the beginning of the series I posted about the amount of contact the Warriors make while playing defense. This included a lot of hand checking, bumping, reaching in, slapping at the ball, etc.
I noticed the Celtics do that to some extent as well.
The major difference (as I see it) is that when the Warriors hand check they do it firmly - almost stiff armed. Oftentimes they hand check with just enough force to throw the Celtic player slightly off balance. Yet, not hard enough to knock the player over and/or draw a foul.
For some reason the refs are allowing an incredible amount of leeway in this regard. This might be something the Celtics could explore. Of course, be careful with Curry as he's an expert at sweeping his arm into an outstretched hand and drawing a foul.
A couple players I wish would hand check more firmly would be Tatum, White and Horford. White should have bumped and/or hand checked Wiggins a number of times before he shot the ball tonight. White waved his hand in his face, but that didn't bother Wiggins at all.
Another player I wish the Celtics would hand check or bump more often is Thompson. He took a number of shots where he received no contact at any time before he shot the ball. None.
Many times when a Celtic player drove through the lane the Warriors would collapse. Inevitably someone would move closely into the player and hand check with one hand while a number of players would swipe at the ball. This led to a number of poor shots and turnovers.
The Warriors firmly hand check even when guarding a stationary player dribbling or holding the ball - one hand firmly on the back, the other swiping or poking away.
It seems the intent with this sort of defense is two fold 1. Confuse/irritate the player with the ball 2. Throw him off balance ever so slightly so that he takes a bad shot or throws the ball away.
My recommendation is to fight fire with fire. Just do the same. They don't have any problem pushing Jason. He shouldn't have any problem doing likewise.
Of course, my Don Quixote self hasn't given up on playing Aaron Nesmith with the starters from time to time. He adds athleticism and can drive to the hoop better than White, Prichard or Grant Williams. And, he doesn't have any trouble getting his shot off inside the lane. Something both Prichard and White have problems with.) I don't want him shooting 3's - just drive to the hoop or shoot jumpers close to the lane.
Yeah, I know it's too late in the season to experiment, he goes for the fakes, he's an erratic shooter, etc. I just feel he would add another dimension to this team that they are lacking against this Warrior team. (No need to comment on my Nesmith idea. I've read them all in my previous post on him.)
