Playoff basketball is different than regular season basketball. It is a phrase uttered a lot this time of year, sometimes appropriately, sometimes not.
But one thing that consistently gets exploited in the postseason is matchups on both sides of the floor. If there is a weak link on offense or defense, the opponent will take advantage of it over and over again until an adjustment is made. These back-and-forth chess matches often determine the end results of a series.
We’ve already seen it this spring. The Golden State Warriors decided they weren’t going to cover Tony Allen, and dared him to beat them in Game 4.