Tyronn Lue says Celtics are tougher to defend than Warriors. Here’s what he means

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue told a group of reporters on Wednesday that the Boston Celtics’ offensive sets are tougher to defend than those of the Golden State Warriors, who have made three consecutive NBA Finals appearances.

”We’re just focused on Boston. The stuff they’re running, it’s harder to defend than Golden State’s [offense] for me, as far as the actions and all the running around and all the guys who are making all the plays, so it’s a totally different thing,” Lue said via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Like, they hit the post, Golden State runs splits and all that stuff, but these guys are running all kinds of s---.

“I’ll be like, ‘F---.’ They’re running all kinds of s---, man. And Brad’s got them moving and cutting and playing with pace, and everybody is a threat. It’s tough, you know, it’s tough.”

Warriors interim head coach Mike Brown caught wind of Lue’s remarks, responding via ESPN’s Chris Haynes, “That’s his opinion, it’s cute.”

But the Cavs’ coach does have a point.

The Warriors led the NBA in offensive efficiency at 113.2 during the regular season. That’s with two former MVPs in Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, the league’s best two-way two guard Klay Thompson, and one of the most versatile two-way players in NBA history in Draymond Green.

The Celtics, though, weren’t too far behind. Boston had the fourth-best offense with a rating of 108.6, and that’s with just one 5’9 All-Star, a fringe All-Star, and a supporting cast of young three-and-D players.

That was with Isaiah Thomas, though, who injured his hip in Game 2 and was ruled out for the playoffs. The injury posed a challenge for Lue, whose Cavs prepped to play against an All-Star point guard.

Without the ball-dominant scorer on the floor, Boston’s offense has changed altogether.

”We’re trying to figure out exactly what they’re running and things of that nature, so it’s been very difficult on us without I.T. on the floor,” LeBron James said after Cleveland’s Game 4 win, via cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.

“They run different things just because of I.T. being a huge piece of the puzzle for them offensively,” James added. “So they had to kind of reshape, and that’s the beauty of having Brad Stevens as your coach, you’re able to reshape what you do offensively and still be in a good rhythm

Here’s the opening possession from Boston’s Game 3 win over Cleveland, where you can see the “all kinds of s—-” that’s given Lue headaches this series. Pay attention to how many passing options Al Horford and Jae Crowder have before Horford finally takes advantage of a mismatch to score on J.R. Smith down low.

The Celtics never stop moving. That’s what makes them so tough to guard. But neither do the Warriors.

Now, here’s a look at your average Golden State possession:

Not really, but it was fun to watch.

The Warriors’ offense is somewhat unpredictable. They force turnovers and bad shots on defense and turn them into easy buckets in transition. They exploit mismatches for good looks early in the shot clock. When they’re bored, they give the ball to Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry.

If there’s a such thing as an average Warriors’ possession, this would be something like it:

So maybe Tyronn Lue is right. The Celtics run a lot more action than the Warriors. That’s because they don’t have as much talent and need to work four times harder to create an open shot.

That doesn’t mean they’re a tougher team to defend, though. Any team with two ex-MVPs and the versatility the Warriors boast would haunt even the most illustrious coaches with ghastly nightmares.

Just ask Gregg Popovich. He’ll tell you.

So while Lue may have his hands full with the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, he’d better have some type of foresight into his pending NBA Finals showdown against the Warriors. Because they’ll be waiting.

And they aren’t by any means an easy team to defend. Again, just ask Pop.