Nemanja Bjelica: defensive clinics, shaping the NBA Finals / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: USA Sports Today-Scanpix Credit USA Sports Today-Scanpix

As we are heading to Game 5 of the NBA Finals, it is good to keep some reminders on factors that silently changed the fate of the series so far.

One of them was Nemanja Bjelica, who did an amazing job on the defensive end for Golden State Warriors and stopped the Boston Celtics on their way to a two-game lead.

It is not a big secret that Nemanja Bjelica played a more significant role than many people expected after he joined the Warriors on a one-year contract last summer.

However, he earned minutes and respect from coach Steve Kerr as well as his teammates soon after he started to play at the beginning of the season.

Draymond Green admitted that he was unaware of how good Bjelica was, and Kerr was impressed by the basketball IQ of the Serbian big and how he fits into the playing scheme of GSW.

"That's the beauty of our team this year. We are built to take advantage of 4-on-3," Kerr said on a podcast show, The Dubs Talk, at the beginning of the season.

"[Nemanja] Bjelica is really a hell of a basketball player. We've all watched him stretch the floor and be a pick-and-pop 3-point shooter, but he's showing what he's about in terms of his ability to pass, dribble and make plays."

On that matter, our own Augustas Suliauskas also made an excellent analysis of how Bjelica contributes with his pick and pop threat, passing efficiency in the post-up plays, and smart decisions in the famous split actions of the Warriors.

But during his 7-year stint in the NBA, his defensive skills were sometimes overlooked due to his limited athleticism. People will often tell about his lack of "lateral quickness" or show his humble stealing or blocking stats.

But that would be doing unjust to his willingness and talent, not only on the offensive but also on the defensive end of the court. His basketball IQ, ability to read the plays, and defensive floor spacing give the switching ability and improve the overall integrity around the perimeter.

The on/off stats for Bjelica in the defense (per Cleaning the Glass) show that his teams were better off when he was on the court, with the exception of his brief stint in Miami.

And for nowadays, he is just a game-changer in the NBA Finals, as we just saw in the crucial Game 4 where GSW came back to win in Boston to tie the series at 2-2.

While Steph Curry once again amazed the world with his leadership and cold-blooded 43 points, Bjelica stopped Marcus Smart from attacking the rim, calmly but fiercely stood in the way for a Payton Pritchard transition three, switched on Jaylen Brown, and ignited him for an airball and even stole the ball during a crossover.

Professor Bjelica was everywhere.

But maybe most of all, he became an unlikely nightmare matchup for Jayson Tatum and brought his claim for the "all-time-best-club" stock down to humble levels.

But Game 4 wasn't an exception, as he showed earlier in the series how effective he could be as a Tatum stopper at the top of the perimeter during Game 2.

Both games were crucial, and the Warriors merely stopped the Celtics from creating a breakthrough in the series, chocking them while they were on their way to a two-game difference.

Tatum scored 51 points in these two games but was completely scoreless when Bjelica guarded him on the switch. There were a mere two 3-pointers made, but the Serbian was far off from the shot.

Basically, he disrupted Tatum's offensive rhythm and stripped the Celtics of their main primary shot maker/creator.

Despite averaging mere 5:57 minutes in the first four games of the NBA Finals, Bjelica proved his worth as a capable defender and a potential game-changer for the rest of the series.

It remains up to Kerr and the Warriors technical staff on how much more we would see such key moves, but so far, it worked all too well. Not the Finals MVP for sure, but Bjelica is going as much as he can as an impeccable role player.

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