Eight years ago, we didn’t know if Shaun Livingston would be playing basketball ever again. The young, 6’8″ point guard was improving every game for the Los Angeles Clippers, and was seen as having a bright future in the NBA.
Then the injury happened.
That moment in Livingston’s career does not need to be discussed, and you know what, I don’t even want to discuss it. It’s in the past. The “basketball gods” tried taking away Livingston’s livelihood (and no, I’m not going to link a video to the injury).
Game 4 on Thursday night was the ultimate revenge.
Livingston has been a matchup nightmare his whole basketball life, and that testament to his game held up true last night. The abilities that Livingston possesses in that wiry, six-foot eight inch body of his is unmatchable for the Cavaliers, who had problems all night finding a suitable member that could give Livingston a challenge on either end of the court. Although he didn’t have a huge stat line, — he scored seven points, had eight rebounds, with four assists — the Livingston problem for Cleveland was noticeable.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recognized Cleveland’s dilemma with Livingston early, and rode that in with certain lineups the whole game. One of Kerr’s best moves in the game was having Livingston bring the ball up the court, which would allow Stephen Curry to play off the ball and let him focus on scoring more than playmaking. It also allowed Curry to get away from Dellavedova, who had been pestering the MVP all series with his size advantage. Livingston turned that situation on its head, as he now had the size advantage on Dellavedova. He took the Aussie down in the post on occasion, hitting easy turnaround jump shots that looked vintage from his days as a Clipper. He made multiple extra passes that led to high-quality looks. Not to mention the screens that Livingston set without the ball, which usually came one after another, and more often than not, also led to open looks for the Warriors.
Dellavedova tried to force positive action on offense, but Livingston wasn’t having it on that end of the court either. His superior length was a shield to Dellavedova’s tough shots; he even blocked one of Dellavedova’s layup attempts with both hands, just snatching it away. The other thing with Livingston guarding Dellavedova is the doubling plan on LeBron James; Golden State had game planned to double or dig off of Dellavedova. Earlier in the game, it was Curry, and as scrappy as he can be, he wasn’t taking the ball from James. Livingston — with his long arms — gave James a lot more problems than Curry could.
The luxury of having a tall guard that can defend and move the ball well was undeniable for Kerr. Livingston allowed the Warriors to go small most of the game without losing a massive amount of size because of his height alone. Kerr played Livingston the whole fourth quarter, the quarter in which the Warriors finally pulled away from Cleveland. Livingston ultimately had to perform to make Kerr look like a genius, though, and did he ever. Livingston finished the game with a personal plus/minus of +25, by far a game high.
When it comes to unsung hero, there are a few good choices for the Warriors in Game 4. Andre Iguodala, who has been the most consistent player for Golden State, put together another good game for the Warriors after starting his first game of the season. David Lee also had a quality game after getting zero minutes in Games 1 and 2. That said, Iguodala seems to finally be getting his due among the court of public opinion, and to be blunt, Livingston was more important than Lee while getting the same amount of attention. That’s not supposed to be a knock on Lee; he has certainly been a series changer in his own respect. His ability to roll to the rim and finish with either hand has given the Cavaliers fits. Just not as many as Livingston.
It is important to note that when Cleveland made their 12-2 run to cut the Warriors lead to three in the middle of the third quarter, Livingston was on the bench.
All in all, Shaun Livingston was Golden State’s unsung hero of Game 4. All the mismatches he drew, the little plays he made, and the positivity he brought to the court were all the unnoticed impacts he made in the game. Not only should he get more attention for his play in Game 4, but he could hold the key for the Warriors for the rest of the series.
