Warriors' Lee Is Key - NYTimes.com There's a smooth, lefty forward who recently starting playing center and has since been a boon to his team's offense and defense. No, not Chris Bosh; I'm talking about David Lee. Yes, the same David Lee who was long derided as one of the least obstructive defenders in the league. In fact this is the first in five seasons that Lee's team has played better defense with him on the court than when he sits. As Zach Lowe, Rob Mahoney and Justin Kubatko have detailed, Golden State's defense has improved dramatically despite Lee's reputation. Most importantly, the Warriors have changed their pick-and-roll coverage to a more conservative style that better suits their personnel. In past seasons, Lee would work to be in the right place, but he's terrible at changing directions and asking him to come out and aggressively hedge on pick-and-rolls was like sending World War I troops marching into machine gun fire. Aided by a smarter defensive philosophy, Lee has made strides on that end, but his play on offense is still what makes him special. Like Bosh, Lee presents a real problem for the defense because of his comfort away from the rim. He has a long, quick first step and an extremely reliable midrange jumper. Because his guards, especially Stephen Curry, are so good at shooting off the dribble, most opposing guards chase over Lee's screens. When this happens, Lee's man must sink into the paint to keep a ward against dribble penetration. This lets Lee float to his favorite spots near the top of the key and fire away. According the N.B.A.'s statistics site, he's shooting an outstanding 49 percent on those jumpers this season. Unlike some big men such as, say, Pau Gasol, Lee doesn't need much time to load up his release, which makes his pump fake a nasty weapon. Some guys just know how to score and Lee is one of those players. As he drives (almost always left) or maneuvers in the post, he will spin and jump into his defender and the whole process will sort of look like a mess -- until the ball rattles off the backboard and rim, then finally, improbably, falls in. And for the first half of his career, that's pretty much been his mode of operation: exuberantly snag defensive rebounds (occasionally stealing them from teammates) and getting buckets off of pick-and-rolls. This season the Warriors have made better use of his passing skill. Only three power forwards or centers--Joakim Noah, Marc Gasol and Greg Monroe--have more assists this season. The Warriors almost always have three strong 3-point shooters on the court, so the key is finding angles to get them the ball. Lee's ability to redirect the offense opens up just these opportunities. Curry may not be able to feed shooter Klay Thompson on the wing, but he can in effect ping the ball off of Lee and know it will end up at its designed destination. They are often simple passes delivered from the high post, but Lee delivers them crisply, on time, and right into the shooting pocket. It may not sound like much, but it's often the difference between a make and a miss. But Lee can also make the flashy play, and seems to revel in the opportunity to do so. He's especially creative passing out of pick-and-rolls. Against Charlotte a few games ago, Lee caught the ball at the right elbow after setting a ball screen for Klay Thompson. The Bobcats sent two players to keep him from taking the wide-open look, which left Carl Landry alone on the baseline. Lee saw Landry, but he also saw that Curry's defender had raced in from the corner to cover him Landry. Without taking his eyes off Landry, as he zipped a no-look overhead pass to Curry in the corner. Three points Warriors. In previous seasons, one could admire Lee's offensive capabilities but he was such an albatross on the defensive end that even when he scored it seemed a reminder of the fact that his opponent would soon do the same. His improvement this year on defense, coupled with a smart offensive gameplan that emphasizes his impressive ball skills, has made it possible to fully appreciate one of the most dynamic offensive talents in the N.B.A.