Because the Warriors are the Warriors.
Good Hollinger piece about space ball, the importance of wings, and how centers may become even more obsolete.
https://theathletic.com/3314194/202...s-bucks-spaceball/?source=user_shared_article
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It’s the latest evolution in a postseason tactical game that continues evolving at a dizzying pace: String five players on the perimeter, switch everything on defense, go one-on-one against a defense that can’t easily send help, and either feast on open 3s or get to the rim. Forget pick-and-roll, this is more like pick-and-run. Space-ball teams might set a screen to get a switch, but the endgame is an isolation for the dribbler after the screener gets the hell out of dodge and relocates along the 3-point line.
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I’m being overly reductive about the 3s, of course; both Dallas and Boston have superlative individual talents in Dončić and Jayson Tatum to center their attacks. The Mavs and Celtics also played great individual defense on Sunday and throughout the playoffs, and that was a major factor in their wins.
But here’s the thing: Their space-ball lineups have enabled much of that. Playing this way allowed both teams to keep multiple elite 3-and-D wings on the floor, switch everything and not have a vulnerable true five lying around for opponent pick-and-rolls. Kleber, whom I scouted as a small forward in Germany five years ago (where, coincidentally, he had a teammate named Devin Booker), ended up playing the majority of the minutes at center in this series against a 7-footer who was the top pick in the 2018 draft and against the giant Gobert in the previous round.
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Bodes well for LaRavia’s draft prospects. He can sell himself as someone who can do what Horford and Kleber have done.