“You Lose Sight of Everything Else”: Tyronn Lue Reveals How Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson Made Him Forget the Warriors’ Other Weapons

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were the leaders of the Golden State Warriors’ 2015 NBA title run and their subsequent 73-9 season. The pair’s deep-range shooting was so revolutionary at the time that that’s all opposition coaches could think about while playing against the Dubs. Tyronn Lue admitted how he fell into the same trap in the first few games of the 2016 NBA Finals.

The veteran head coach relayed how the Warriors were able to get whatever they wanted in that series because of their fast movements of the ball. Their quick pace allowed more threes to go up uncontested, and it also distracted the Cavs from focusing on the points that the Dubs were getting inside the paint.

“What happens is a lot of people go crazy about the threes that Klay and Steph gonna make, but you lose sight of [everything else]. ‘S**t, they got 60 points in the paint,'” Ty Lue admitted on The Draymond Green Show. The 47-year-old also pointed out how the Warriors’ brand of basketball was completely different from the slow style of play practiced at the time by teams in the Eastern Conference.

So the Finals required some major adjustments, which was more difficult with the smoke screen that the Splash Bros put up with their three-point shooting.

Trying to contain the NBA’s first unanimous MVP and his absurdly efficient backcourt partner is enough of a challenge in its own right. But another reason the Warriors were so dominant was because of their all-around depth. The Dubs also saw notable scoring from players like Harrison Barnes, Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, and Andre Iguodala. However, it was Draymond Green’s emergence that elevated the team from tough to unstoppable.

Lue pivoted to lauding the show’s host, discussing how Green added a whole extra layer to what Golden State could do on offense. “Because you running to stop them… and then you got Dray [Green], one of the best passers in the league, soon as you go out to help Steph, they slip, they get the dunks, they getting layups,” the Clippers head coach continued.

The multi-faceted forward’s ability to screen and roll, pick and pop, and find his teammates off dribble handoffs made him arguably the league’s most unique big man. Green’s undersized frame is quickly glossed over when considering the guard-like instincts he displays with the ball in his hands.

Cavs’ defense couldn’t keep up with Golden State’s “Big Three”

The former guard wasn’t exaggerating when he said his Cleveland squad simply couldn’t contain the constant motion in Golden State’s offense early in the series. The Warriors ran away victorious in each of the first two games of the 2016 NBA Finals, winning by 15 and 33 points respectively.

With Steph and Klay running around screens looking for a sliver of daylight, opposing guards JR Smith and Iman Shumpert had to exhaust their energy just to keep up on defense. Add to that Draymond’s creativity with the ball and it’s hard to gameplan for the Warriors no matter how much you prepare.

According to Lue, the Dubs’ offensive unpredictability was the backbone of what made Golden State’s first runs so special.