NBA: Is The Small-Ball Era In The Association Here to Stay?

Apr 28, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) controls the ball during the first quarter as Houston Rockets forward

(1) defends in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive Mismatches

This one is pretty self-explanatory. The whole basic key to successful small ball is the ability to take advantage of any of the numerous mismatches it often creates. If a larger player is forced to guard a smaller, quicker player then that opens up endless opportunities for a potent offense.

With the right personnel (a key that will be talked about to death in this article) this can be nearly indefensible. Let’s use the Golden State Warriors as the example here.

Draymond Green and

; the man he would replace as the starting center during the 2015 NBA Finals: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

A game removed from having a monstrous 28 point performance in Game 4, Timofey Mozgov was relegated to the bench. Why? He couldn’t guard Draymond Green.

Mozgov played a measly nine minutes in Game 5 because Cleveland tried to match up with Golden State’s small-ball lineups. That is how dangerous and respected the style has become.

Starting Andre Iguadola, Harrison Barnes, and Draymond Green saved the Warriors’ season. It is hard to deny that fact.

The mismatches created by the lethal starting 5 that Kerr led out to battle ultimately led to the downfall of the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers.

Teams who employ small-ball tactics look to push the tempo against larger opponents, not allowing the opposing team to set up their halfcourt defense. The faster you can run, the more points you will score type of idea.

What needs to be talked about more often is the stellar ball movement of the Warriors. During the entire year they showed an uncanny ability to get “good shots.” This very well could have stemmed off of what the San Antonio Spurs did to the Miami Heat during the 2013-14 NBA Finals.

Basketball is a game of match-ups. Too often, the better team loses due to the inability to exploit advantageous matchups. Golden State exemplified taking advantage of matchups in the NBA Finals by completely taking the Cavs out of their comfort zone.

This is the essence of what small-ball is all about.

Next: The Key Components