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In 2010, after a group of venture capitalists purchased the Warriors, the franchise adopted a curious philosophy: Three-point shooting could be foundational to a championship team.
Not just making three-pointers, but also preventing them. Golden State has finished among the top five in the league the past four years in lowest opponent three-point shooting percentage. After holding teams to an NBA-low 32.4 percent from beyond the arc in the regular season, the Warriors have limited opponents to 32.0 percent in the playoffs.
Now, with Game 1 of the NBA Finals looming Thursday at Oracle Arena, Golden State’s perimeter defense is preparing for perhaps its biggest challenge yet: a best-of-seven series against a Cleveland team that is even more productive from deep than a Warriors club that helped make depending on three-pointers a league-wide trend.