It's not often you see teams force a full switch with a post player at the end of games, but a David Lee pick against the Boston Celtics allowed the Golden State Warriors to come out with a win, 99-97, on Friday. Let's take a look at how the Warriors forced a switch to take the lead.
Breakdown: Warriors, Steph Curry force switch to get game-winner over Boston
The play drawn up by coach Mark Jackson forced the Celtics’ Kris Humphries to contest Golden State’s star on a game-winning jumper.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
1. Down pick by Lee to get Curry the ball near the sideline
Golden State is running a sideline box inbounds play with David Lee on the far high post and Curry below him on the block.
2. Curry pops out to receive the pass and hold the ball
There were 11 seconds on the clock when the Warriors got the ball, and they wanted to be able to either force OT or hit a game-winner without giving Boston an opportunity. It made more sense to run a pick-and-roll play rather than a set catch-and-shoot for Curry in this instance.
3. Curry receives the pass from the inbounder
Lee returns to the high post, slowly, as Curry holds the ball with Avery Bradley defending. The inbounder clears the left side of the floor.
4. David Lee sets a pick well above the arc
With seven seconds left on the clock, Lee makes his move on Bradley. He sets a pick to the defender’s right side. Humphries stays low on the initial action. On the backside of the play, the Warriors clear the floor so that no Celtics can provide help.
5. Lee ties up Bradley
Crucial to this play was Lee’s roll on the pick. Instead of rotating back toward the sideline on the roll, he pushed down on Bradley, tying him up and holding him out of the play.
That forced Humphries to step up to Curry and make the switch rather than allowing Bradley to move back over the top.
6. Step-back game-winner
With Humphries guarding the lane and time on the clock, Curry gives the Celtics big man a step-back move to hit a deep two-pointer.
It was a cleverly-designed play and an incredible pick by David Lee. He didn’t use his hands to lock up Bradley, he simply occupied the exact space the Celtics defender needed in order to recover onto the shooter. That’s a veteran move by Lee and a great shot by Steph Curry. You can watch the video of the play here:
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