Many have accused the Golden State Warriors –namely Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut– of setting illegal screens this season. The latest to speak on the Dubs’ screen-setting habits is Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum. From Jason Quick of CSNNW:
“They set a lot of illegal screens,’’ Blazers guard CJ McCollum said Tuesday at the team’s shootaround at The Olympic Club. “They are moving and stuff. That’s the respect you get when you are champions, you get a lot more respect from the referees. You have to figure out a way to get around those screens and make it difficult.’’
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McCollum said part of the battle in guarding Thompson is fighting through the repeated screens and pin downs set to free up Thompson. McCollum said he counted 16 pin downs in Game 1.
“Overall, I did a decent job,’’ McCollum said. “I felt like all his shots were contested — they weren’t all well contested — but he was guarded on all of his shots.
The Warriors (sans Stephen Curry) were too much for the Blazers to handle in game one: The Warriors won the game 118-106 behind 37 points from Klay Thompson and a triple-double form Draymond Green.
McCollum certainly isn’t the first to complain about Golden State’s screens, and he probably won’t be the last to do so. The Warriors’ response(if they give one) will likely be the same as usual: Everybody sets moving screens, ours just get more attention.
