Not long ago, giving Lee more run in Game 4 and the rest of the Finals.
How has Lee impacted Golden State this season? And how has his on-court presence affected the rest of the starting five?
On/Off Splits
The Warriors played the majority of their possessions without Lee, of course, but they did play 1,997 possessions with him this year (compared to 7,785 without him), according to NBAwowy.com.
Here are the splits in each situation.
| Warriors | Possessions | Pts/Poss | Pts/Shot | eFG% | 2P% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| With Lee | 1997 | 1.084 | 1.085 | 51.4 | 48.3 | 39.9 |
| Without Lee | 7785 | 1.119 | 1.143 | 54.2 | 51.9 | 39.1 |
Without Lee, the Warriors scored 1.119 points per possession, which was nearly their mark on the whole season (1.116). That Offensive Rating (multiplying their points per possession by 100) of 111.9 -- coincidentally Golden State's Offensive Rating when Basketball Reference). Green shot 39.9 percent of his total attempts from above the break without Lee and 41.5 percent with him. His three-point field goal percentage, though, was just 25.7 percent with Lee and 32.6 precent without him.
A Verdict
The Warriors were a great team with Lee on the floor, based on the smallish sample from this season, but they were even better without him. That isn't to suggest that giving him more minutes isn't a viable option because he'll inherently shift Cleveland's defensive approach.
Both Curry and Thompson shouldn't see much of a change in numbers, but examining how more burn for Lee will affect the reeling Draymond Green could be the biggest storyline of Game 4.
Of course, Dellavedova has shown us that improved team play can come from unlikely candidates. Maybe Lee, who constantly flirted with double-double seasons for eight years prior to this one, will offer Golden State enough to steal Game 4 in Cleveland and take back homecourt advantage.