OAKLAND – As the Warriors move from the first round and into the Western Conference semifinals, the secondary spotlight also will shift its direction.
Though Spotlight No. 1 stays with Stephen Curry, because he's an MVP candidate and conceivably the most watchable player in the NBA, spotlight No. 2 moves from forward Draymond Green to center Andrew Bogut.
Green attracted attention in the first round of the playoffs because he matched up with Anthony Davis. His job was to offset Davis' greatness, and because he succeeded the Warriors swept New Orleans.
Now that the Warriors have advanced and will face Memphis in the second round, it's Bogut, the 7-footer, who becomes a focal point. He gets Zach Randolph, the most dangerous of the Grizzlies and a man who once routinely terrorized the Warriors.
Randolph is nearly as important to Memphis as Davis is to New Orleans.
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"That's one of the smartest guys in the league," Bogut said of the bullish power forward. "People don't give him credit. He's very strong and physical, but to play at that height with no athleticism that stands out and still get it done on a nightly basis, you have to respect a guy like that.
"You know that whoever comes out of this series is probably going to be battered and bruised for the next one."
Bogut-Randolph illustrates usage of a "crossmatch" on defense, in this case a center defending a power forward. Green, the Warriors' power forward, will spend most of his time defending Memphis center Marc Gasol – even though, at 7-feet, Gasol has a six-inch height advantage.
Why do this? Because it works. The Warriors with this strategy have won four of the last five meetings, losing only when Bogut was on the sideline. There will be some straight-up matchups, too, but only when other factors come into play.
"Me and Draymond can both switch a lot, so it'll probably be predicated on who's in foul trouble, or who needs a break or whatever it is," Bogut said. "We have a lot of bodies to throw at those guys."
With Marreese Speights and Festus Ezeli and the return of David Lee, there are five options to play big. Bogut, though, is the most essential member in this series.
