"We get seduced by their shooting and their offense and how it’s free-flowing" - Grant Hill outlines the key reason why Golden State Warriors have dominated in NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors survived Steph Curry’s worst shooting night in years to beat the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Golden State relied on their most balanced attack in the series and an overlooked defense to grab a crucial 3-2 lead.

Heading into the series, the championship round was labeled as a battle between Boston’s length and defense versus the Warriors’ offense and experience. This narrative oversimplified too many things, including Golden State’s criminally underrated performance on the gritty side of the game.

Grant Hill, who has been covering the championship round for NBA TV, said this about an overlooked element in the Warriors’ title quest:

“People don’t fully respect the defense of Golden State. We get seduced by their shooting and their offense and how it’s free-flowing, but their defense is one of the tops in the NBA.”

The Hall of Famer continued:

“And this defense, they switch a lot. They have a lot of experience, they have active hands, they play the passing lanes and, so, they’re able to shrink the floor and really confuse them a little bit. That’s really been the key. When Boston values the basketball, they’ve won. When they don’t have good offensive execution and a lot of turnovers, then you struggle.”

The Celtics were arguably the biggest story entering the playoffs. They were, at one point, 11th in the Eastern Conference and looked headed for the lottery. Boston cranked up its defense to an almost unbelievable level to end up as the No. 2 seed in the East.

The Warriors, on the other hand, seemed to coast heading into the postseason. They were much more concerned with the health of their players, especially Steph Curry, who missed the last 12 games of the regular season.

Golden State’s defense, however, has been exceptional since the season started. The Warriors had their best defensive rating of 106.9 this season, a mark shared with the Celtics. The Warriors were third in points allowed, a category led by the Celtics.

The NBA Finals show how potent the Warriors defense has been compared to the Celtics’ version. The Warriors' defensive rating is at 108.3, which is miles ahead of Boston’s 110.6. Golden State's array of otherworldly shooters consistently takes the limelight away from its defense.

The Warriors don’t have the Celtics’ length and size, but their communication and near-flawless game plan have been incredible on defense.

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The Golden State Warriors are winning the turnover battle and the series

The Golden State Warriors have forced the Boston Celtics into a turnover machine in the NBA Finals. [Photo: MassLive]

To underline just how impressive the Warriors defense has been, they have now forced Boston to cough up the ball 75 times in the series. Golden State has scored 103 points off of those turnovers, the most in the NBA Finals in the first five games. Boston is 1-7 in the postseason when they have 16-plus turnovers and 13-2 if they stay below that benchmark.

More importantly, the Warriors have found their rhythm off the Celtics’ turnovers. The Celtics have not been nearly as efficient stopping the Warriors from the break compared to half-court sets. Boston’s effectiveness on offense dramatically drops when it doesn’t value the ball.

In the fourth quarter of Monday's 104-94 Game 5 loss, the Celtics had four converted baskets and also committed four blunders. They are just not winning any games, let alone the NBA Finals if they keep on turning the ball over. The Warriors are beating the Celtics at their own game, and they’re still overlooked on defense.