How will the Warriors defend Ja Morant with Payton out?
Warriors' season depends on finding ways to stop Ja Morant of the Grizzlies
>MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MAY 3: Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant (12) passes
the ball against Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) and Golden
State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins (22) in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of
an NBA basketball second-round Western Conference playoff series at the
FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
>MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MAY 3: Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant (12) passes
the ball against Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) and Golden
State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins (22) in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of
an NBA basketball second-round Western Conference playoff series at the
FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 5, 2022 at 5:45 a.m. | UPDATED: May 5, 2022 at 12:42 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/05/05/how-will-the-warriors-defend-ja-morant-with-payton-out/

The Warriors will be without Gary Payton II indefinitely, almost
certainly through the remainder of the second-round series against the
Memphis Grizzlies.

Not only will Payton — a unique defensive talent who couldn’t find an
NBA home before landing with Golden State — miss most of his first
playoff run, but the Warriors will be without their best defender
against Ja Morant.

And Morant has been a killer, scoring 34 points in the Warriors’ Game 1
win and 47 in their Game 2 loss. News that Payton fractured his left
elbow on a reckless foul by Dillon Brooks will force Golden State to
scramble for other ways to limit Morant’s explosive game.

Not many in the entire NBA have Payton’s quick hands and feet
defensively, but the Warriors have a few defensive options heading into
Games 3 and 4 at Chase Center. Here’s where they might turn:

- Andrew Wiggins defends Morant

Wiggins was one of the Warriors’ better defenders in the regular season,
but he’s playing with an edge in the playoffs that his teammates
clamored for all year.

Though he struggled to keep Morant in front of him as his primary
defender after Payton’s departure in Game 2, Wiggins has the athleticism
and length to get in front of Morant, who speeds downhill to the cup and
scores on tricky finishes with eye-opening efficiency.

Wiggins has shown he can step up to the task at hand — his physicality
in this series has been both a surprise and necessary for Golden State
to match Memphis’ aggressive style of play. He’s pushing for rebounds on
both ends, diving for loose balls and finding spots to get to the rim.

In the touted (and now tested) three-guard lineup featuring Jordan
Poole, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Wiggins has been playing his best
ball at power forward during these playoffs, a new role. If Wiggins is
tasked with guarding Morant, he will have to move back to a wing
position. That would likely force coach Steve Kerr to take out either
Thompson or Poole when Wiggins is in to guard Morant, or count on
Wiggins to fight through the screens.

In minutes where Wiggins, Thompson and Poole are sharing the court,
Memphis used high screens to switch Wiggins off of Morant and one of
Thompson or Poole onto him — and though Thompson pre-injury would be an
ideal defender for Morant, he’s been a half step slower defensively
since his return from two major injuries.

- Trap or blitz Morant

The Warriors might also consider this: Morant is all the Grizzlies have
working right now. And he can be quite the silver bullet. But Desmond
Bane’s back injury is clearly bothering him: The ace shooter has gone
2-of-9 from 3 in two games so far. Tyus Jones and De’Anthony Melton
haven’t been much more productive, either. Jaren Jackson Jr. went off
for six 3-pointers in Game 1 — should the Warriors expect that regularly
from the seven-footer?

So why not trap Morant?

Golden State tried this at least once in Game 2 and was successful in
getting the ball out of Morant’s hands. Wiggins and Poole were sent to
trap Morant at halfcourt, and Morant nearly turned the ball over before
finding Xavier Tillman for a pass, who found Ziaire Williams beyond the arc.

Williams hit the 3-pointer — he was 4-for-6 on the night — but the
rookie was 3-for-12 from 3 in the playoffs leading up to Game 2. In the
aggregate, Golden State may be happy with Williams taking that shot.
They may be happy with anyone else but Morant having the ball.

- Create a defensive “wall”

The Warriors are at their best defensively when they can create a strong
wall near the perimeter with Green playing free safety as a secondary
line of defense. They have lost that shell during this Memphis series,
perhaps because the Grizzlies generate a lot of their offense in
transition before the Warriors can set their defense.

Whether they use a zone or switching man-to-man defense, the Warriors
must prioritize stopping dribble penetration — in particular by Morant.

Getting back in transition and communicating cleanly on defense would go
a long way toward limiting him off the dribble and forcing Memphis to
rely on zipping the ball around the perimeter to shooters.

- Let Morant go off

The Grizzlies needed every bit of Morant’s 47-point performance on
Tuesday night. Maybe a young star like Morant can carry a team to a
series win, but the Warriors may find they’re better off letting Morant
tire himself out while they rediscover their scoring groove.

Morant got whatever he wanted with ease, but each game could have gone
differently if Curry, Thompson and Poole shot better from 3-point land.
Golden State is shooting a dismal 27.6% from 3 in this series. In this
series, maybe the best defense is a better offense.

--
Shayna Rubin | Oakland Athletics reporter