Even Holiday himself said he couldn't guard Curry. Does it need to be said where the advantage of this matchup is?
Of course, it can't be said that Holiday's return with full blood is useless. His defense is still very good, but Holiday's defense is more reflected in his defense with the ball. If the opponent is a player who moves without the ball, Holiday will
Dee has no advantage.
As for the offensive end, Holiday's offensive power is pretty good, but he is a scorer and not a good point guard.
Even in terms of scoring, Holiday mainly relies on attacking the basket, and his outside shooting percentage is not very good.
After entering the league, Holiday's three-point shooting percentage has never exceeded 40%. In the previous seasons, he only averaged two or three three-pointers per game!
Of course it won't work to treat Holiday like Rondo, but in general, Holiday's offensive methods are only above average among guards in the league, and they are definitely not top-notch.
The Warriors' defense is among the best in the league, especially their top five. There are still many ways to deal with guards like Holiday!
If you are facing a scorer like Irving and Durant who can burst and shoot, then the Warriors' defense will indeed have a big impact, but if it is Holiday, the Warriors are not so afraid!
James is not afraid of holding the ball. What's scary about a weakened version of James who only has an average three-pointer and an average breakthrough?
All in all, whether on the offensive or defensive end, Holiday's return with full blood has been of great help to the Pelicans, but it has not been very useful against the Warriors.
In terms of shooting guard, Eric Gordon is a good player. He has a good three-point shot and his scoring ability is much better than Holiday.
However, historically Gordon also played in this series and performed very well. The Pelicans' elimination had nothing to do with him, and the reason for the injury mentioned by Yonghei cannot be found on him!
At the small forward position, the Pelicans sent Evans, a former Kings star who was given up.
Evans, like Curry, both entered the league in the 2009 draft. The difference is that Evans was the No. 4 pick and Curry was the No. 9 pick. Historically, Evans won the title of Rookie of the Year.
However, Evans has a single offensive method, only breakthroughs, and his three-pointers are very average, much worse than Holiday!
It was also for this reason that Evans was called James Jr. back then!
The Warriors have the best experience in dealing with players like this!
In this historical series, Evans averaged 31 minutes per game and his shooting percentage was quite unsatisfactory.
But this is a normal phenomenon for Evans. If it is very accurate, it will be abnormal!
So the injury factor cannot be found on Evans!
Needless to say, Anthony Davis is really good. He is very good at both ends of the offense and defense. He is an excellent second-in-command.
The Pelicans' center position is Asik, who was hired from the Rockets.
Asik is a pure human shield, his function is interior defense, and the offensive end can almost be ignored.
Looking at the Pelicans' starting five, what is lacking most on both ends of the floor?
On the offensive end, the Pelicans are all scorers, but they lack a good point guard!
No matter Holiday, Gordon, Evans, or Anthony Davis, they are not good at organizing and can only fight on their own.
It's fine to work independently, as long as the scoring ability is top-notch, but the Pelicans are not at that level!
On the defensive end, the Pelicans are pretty good, but their strengths are in individual defense and penalty area defense, and their off-ball defense and outside defense coverage are average!
What are the strengths of the Warriors?
It’s all about off-ball tactics and outside shooting!
The styles of play are just incompatible, so it is impossible to say that this Pelicans team cannot beat the Warriors!
It doesn't matter much whether Holiday comes back with full blood. At most, he can only win one more game - if he explodes, he will win two games!
This is without Deng Fang!
Although Deng Fang "cast a spell" on Holiday to bring him back with full blood, the Pelicans may win one or two games, but that is without Deng Fang!
With Deng Fang, this situation would be impossible!
As soon as the game started, the Warriors started off-ball attack mode.
Curry and Clay kept running around the tall human shield Bogut, and they kept crossing and covering each other!
Holiday and Gordon, who are defending the Splash Brothers, can switch defenses, but can Asik come out?
After Barnes and Curry screen, does Evans switch defenses or not?
Evans' defense is not as good as Holiday's!
Even for Holiday, his physical advantage is compared to guards, and he has no advantage at all compared to the tall and strong Bogut!
Bogut blocked Holiday with one block!
So what if your defensive skills are good?!
The Warriors have tactical coordination. If two people can fight you alone, what else can you do?
As long as Asik is replaced in front of Curry, the Warriors' offense will basically be fine!
Of course, so can Evans!
Even if he switches defense to Clay, Asik can't do anything!
Clay's shooting speed is also extremely fast. He also needs height and bounce that Curry does not have. How could the slow and bulky Asik guard Clay!
Facing the Warriors' off-ball tactics, the Pelicans were like elephants being targeted by sniper rifles, running around in circles but unable to do anything.
In less than three minutes of the game, Curry and Clay hit two three-pointers each!
Coupled with Bogut's alley-oop dunk behind the screen and Barnes' open three-pointer, the Warriors soon led by double digits!
Pelicans head coach Monty Williams quickly called a timeout.
After the timeout, Asik came off the court and Anthony Davis moved to the center position.
Asik was replaced by Norris Cole, who previously played for the Heat and is an old rival of the Warriors.
All of a sudden, the height of the Pelicans dropped a lot!
The Warriors also changed their players, with Bogut leaving the game and Barbosa coming up.
The Warriors add another scorer!
Compared with Barbosa, Norris Cole's defense is not much better, but his offensive end is much worse!
Fortunately, Anthony Davis still has some advantages over Draymond Green.
However, the Warriors will not give Davis a chance to challenge Green alone. As soon as he gets the ball, the Warriors will attack from a double flank!
Why do the Warriors dare to do this?
Because the Pelicans have Evans, a player like James who doesn't have three-pointers, he can safely and boldly let go!
Also because the Pelicans have Norris Cole, a player whose three-point shooting is not much better than Evans!
Even Holiday and the Warriors dare to let it go!
A team has two players with no three-pointers and one average three-pointer. The opponent still doesn't dare to shrink their defense?
Davis has no room for singles at all!
What the seniors and the juniors need is space, and outside players must have three-pointers. If they lack shooting ability, then the seniors and the juniors are looking for death!
Davis didn't expect the Warriors to attack so resolutely and made repeated mistakes. The Warriors took the opportunity to launch several counterattacks!
Monty Williams called two timeouts in a row to no avail.
After the first quarter, the Warriors led by 18 points!
