The beautiful machine that is the Golden State Warriors offense hasn't exactly been firing on all cylinders during the NBA Finals, with the Cleveland Cavaliers slowing the pace and grinding things to a halt.
At least, that was true for the first four games of the series. The Warriors seemed to figure things out as Game 5 went along, and even late in Game 4, and they're rolling in Game 6 on Tuesday. They're now three quarters from an NBA championship as a result, taking a 28-15 lead into the second frame.
The Cavs coughing the ball up six times in 22 possessions not only helped limit their scoring, but greased the wheels for the Warriors offense going back the other way. When Golden State can ping the ball around, the Cavs defense has to be flawless, which they were decidedly not on this Steph Curry-Draymond Green-Andre Iguodala connection in the right corner.
It was more of the same shortly after, with Curry whipping a ridiculous transition pass to Harrison Barnes in the opposite corner.
The Warriors shot 12-of-22 for the quarter, assisting on 11 of those field goals. Green dished four of those assists, and his re-emergence as a facilitating threat on the move has been a huge factor in swinging this series back in Golden State's favor.
The @warriors assist on 11 of their 12 field goals as they shoot 54.5% in the 1stQ to take a 28-15 lead #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/lJEfzGdvA7
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) June 17, 2015
The Cavaliers need to figure out a way to stop the bleeding quickly, and continuing to turn the ball over with shot-clock violations just to slow the pace isn't the answer.
