Wow, Brooklyn seemed fun. Has it vaulted up the charts in terms of great destinations for Warriors fans, has it always been there, or does it take the (new) identity of Jonathan Kuminga carrying the team for the meat of the game (4/22 on team threes 😱) with Stephen Curry closing in GOAT fashion — and digest the behind-the-scenes video below, he truly did carry an aura of Michael Jordan closing a game?
Gonna leave it short for now, due to the long time it took to publish the Andrew Wiggins third timeline article today and the imminent tipoff in Philadelphia. I’ll talk about the Klay Thompson stuff in due time…
FROM PRACTICE IN PHILADELPHIA
The way this season’s gone, Steph, you’ve had so many games where you’ve been, it seems like every game, Steve said, it feels like it’s been five more games either way. Five or six wins to go. How does that wear on you and the team as the year goes along?
STEPHEN CURRY POSTGAME GSW-BKN: “Even if you are winning, winning some of them, it’s just like every game is like that, night after night after night. It is if you let it, but you can turn it on its head to convince you that if we do these little things differently, you know. Take care of the basketball, don’t foul at a high rate, rebound at a high rate. Those are usually the three things that kind of kill us in games. If we can do those, then you can get over the hump and win more of those games, or, create a little bit of separation through the meat of the game where you can not have to win the game twice and I have to make some crazy come back or not go down to the wire every night. So it’s one of those motivators to say we’re not that far away, even though our record is what it is. but you again, you have to go out and do it kind of a hangover from that game the other night where sort of what was wrong with the end of the game today. That kind of linger or no, that was me. Brooklyn, they’ve been playing pretty solid as of late, and they played a certain style of defense that tried to take away our, we only had like, took 22 threes, I was the only one that made one, but we had 72 points in the paint, so it was just a matter of adjusting to the different style of play. It was ugly on both sides, but it was, everybody was trying to execute and trying to settle into the style of the game. And then thankfully, in the second half, we made the right adjustments and took control and never looked back.”
What kind of growth or improvements are you seeing defensively?
“It helps to have Draymond back. But overall, I was talking about it with Tim (Bontemps), it’s like not fouling, being mindful about. we’re obviously most of the time undersized and Draymond is really our true rim protector. So you have to have a five man unit that’s in unison and having a sense of trust that you’re going to give up something. But if everybody’s flying around, you can still make it tough on the opponent. We did a pretty solid job of that tonight besides Royce O’Neal going crazy in the fourth, but that’s good. That’s as good of a 48 minute performance that we’ve had in a while.”
Steve said that he thinks you guys are starting to build some momentum. Now that you’re going back, he’s sort of see you making strides. You just mentioned how we’re seeing that the Atlanta games chance that real momentum. If you won that game, do you sense that you are starting to put some things together after the way things have gone? Or is it still not quite?
“It’s been such a tease because you feel it, like we’ve come to every game has been a Laker game, the Sacramento game, Atlanta game. You could say, Oh, half of those go our way. Our record is whatever. And the vibe is a little different. So it’s a tease for sure. But I’ve kind of resorted to literally just saying, How can we win tonight? And I’ve said that early in the year. It’s literally the only way for us to approach this year because it’s been such a unique year. We’ve dealt with so much on and off the court and the revolving door of players that we’ve had. We’ve missed so many guys, lineups that nobody thought would be closing lineups coming into the season. It’s like, you name it, it’s happened to us, so we have to just stay in the moment. And Just try to win one game at a time. I hate saying it. Sports cliche, one on one.”
Does that apply to Klay, in terms of just trying to stay focused?
“Yeah, it’s a challenge for everybody. Yeah. him included. Like, different circumstances that we’ve never really experienced before as a group. And but we got to be all in it together, because, like you see, we can still make something out of this year. And I don’t think anybody wants to let go of the rope. Ooh, another cliche. I’m going to keep going. See how many I can get in.”
How did CP3 look shooting around?
STEPHEN CURRY AFTER PRACTICE, DAY BEFORE GSW-PHI: “Oh, we always love his energy. I haven’t got many reps with him just because of the schedule, but I know he’s getting close and it’s excited to know what he brings our team. So, ready to get him back. Hopefully as soon as possible. It’s trending up a little bit with Draymond back.”
How do you imagine his return?
“We’ve consistently been better on that end of the floor with our defensive minded guys that can change the game on the floor. So what he does is easy to plug into really any lineup. So you That’s been a huge weakness of ours all year, and he can definitely do something about it.”
The 65 game rule has kind of caused some controversy around the league. What do you think of it? Do you think it puts players who are kind of like right on the border of games missed into a position where they might have to play when they’re hurt?
“I’m under the opinion – I understand why it was implemented. I don’t think it was necessarily right for all the awards or for it to be like that, black and white kind of blanket over all-NBA. Because that affects people’s money to like MVP. How you could talk me into being a part of the definition of what an MVP is, availability. but for a lot of guys who’ve been in positions where you’re playing for championships and you’re trying to lead your team to that level, the individual accolades that come with that, you’re always trying to play. Like there’s always a mindset of get back as soon as possible, not put yourself in jeopardy, but get back as soon as possible because that’s the competitor or competitive nature of most guys who are, in that, in that bucket. So with new rules, there’s always controversy because it’s new. So no, I know Joel’s situation, the standard for this year, but it’s tough, obviously, nobody wants to see him get hurt or have to push it. But kind of a freak injury to would you have cared about in the 65 games for mark for whatever reason, if that was like last year, this year, you would, you would like try to go out there and hit it for sure. But that’s also too, the trust of the medical staff to save you from yourself at times, too. It’s not just a, what’s up to the player, but I would definitely be pushing. I’m always, I’m always trying to petition to come back sooner than I probably should.”
As a leader on the team, how do you kind of approach this week with the trade deadline looming on Thursday and just kind of the uncertainty league wide that comes with that?
“You don’t really do anything, to be honest. Like, we as players, you, you hope, you try to win. You, you’re already having to do so much to prepare yourself for games, so it kind of distracts you from all the noise anyway. nothing really changes. especially, I’ve been, you’ve been all, every, like I said, leading up to that, every year it’s the same conversation. Whether you’re the number one seed team, like, oh, can you do some things around the fringe or the roster to make it, make it better. If you’re middle and team is like other moves that can make you better, how aggressive you want to be and all the way up and down the roster or me and the standing. So wherever you sit, there’s always gonna be conversations. You learn how to kind of block it out.”
Steph, you’ve been very complimentary in the past about Caitlin Clark. She’s breaking, she’s on the verge of breaking the scoring record. Do you see any comparisons in the way like she shoots to your people?
“I saw somebody break down the release time, which is pretty much identical to mine. And then her just confidence. You can’t help but watch when she plays where she’s shooting from the range, the confidence. The flair, like, she’s a performer. It’s crazy though, just cause her shot is, It’s like that, it’s at that level. If you really watch, like her floor game is as impressive, so. It’s kind of the total package. And her being the, French breaking that record, and the amount of attention that she has gained over the course of these last couple years. Every building she goes into, there’s a different energy. Like, it’s great for, great for her, great for women’s basketball.”
Have you reached out to her at all?
“I have, but – Yeah, I’m always supporting and rooting on the next greatest talent. Be a resource if, if ever, if ever needed.”
On if he saw the Mahomes interview clip of being the Steph Curry of football:
“He did what? I didn’t see the clip, so I don’t know what to say about it, so.”
How do you feel to be back out there?
GARY PAYTON: “Ah, it’s good. Trying to get my body back under, feel normal. It’s possible so I can, get back to what I do. What was the most challenging part of just kind of the recovery and having to sit out the last few weeks? Ah, it’s just watching really. mentally just, I can’t do nothing. So just watching and I just want to be out there, so. Just going through rehab after another one, back to back rehab, so. It’s just challenging mentally, but. I feel good.”
Do you have any idea of when you’ll be able to play? Is there a chance tomorrow?
“Deep down I wish, but I don’t think so. So hopefully we’ll just take it day by day and continue to progress and get better.”
What have you observed just in your time out in terms of the way the defense has evolved and how you can, fit in to how things are looking right now?
“I always got to be aggressive. Be more aggressive. Just be locked in. know what we’re doing and just hit first. a lot of teams are hitting us first and we just got to come out and just hit first and be aggressive.”
Pretty interesting experience at the trade deadline last year and coming back and physical and stuff like that. What is this time of year like for players? A little bit of uncertainty, but then also just everything that kind of comes after a trade is made or the anticipation of it.
“It’s just, a lot of stuff happens quickly and you can get a call or text or whatever and you can be going somewhere in the next couple of hours. So for guys like it’s my position, just be ready, stay ready, be ready and Just go out there and wherever you at or whatever happens, just you got to move So it’s kind of like G League, you go one team to another so you never never really know But you just stay locked in and ready to do what you got to do. Thanks guys.”
0:00 Gary went through everything today?
STEVE KERR AFTER PRACTICE, DAY BEFORE GSW-PHI: “Yes. Yeah. He’s unlikely to play on the trip but he’s really coming along well.”
Do you know about Wiggins yet? He was out there shooting.
“Probable. Yeah.”
0:15 How’s Chris Paul been progressing? He’s taking some shots out there.
“Yeah. He’s still a ways away because of the process of the hand healing but he’s getting a lot of work in. He’s trying to get his conditioning up as best he can without being able to actually play. But yeah Chris is in good spirits. It’s great having him back with the team.”
0:41 What does he providem just from the sideline?
“His presence for the whole team is great. He’s got good advice for guys coming off the floor. Good support for the whole group. We love him, Chris with us.”
Is it just shooting, mostly light work still?
“And running. He’s running on the court.”
1:11 What can be done to get the influx in NBA scoring to a more manageable point across the NBA?
“Yeah it’s I don’t think we’re going to do much about the style of play. The three-point shot is just so valuable. Teams are smart, spreading you out and the way offenses are now, most teams put at least four shooters on the floor, sometimes five. It’s just hard to cover all that ground. So the obvious fix is how we officiate the game. And the league has always been really progressive about fixing the game if it sways in one direction too far. My last year in the Finals in ‘03, that was my last season playing, the games were like 73-68. It was ugly. And the league did a great job. They loosened up the rules. They created a game that was much more fun to watch. Now, the game has evolved so far in the other direction that we need to take a good look at how we interpret all the rules. The fact is, we allow traveling in the paint. We give every advantage to the offensive player who’s driving into the defensive player. If you try to use an arm bar defensively, the offensive players are smart. They grab it and they draw a foul. So the biggest thing we can do to balance out the game and create a better game is to just fix the rules. Our officials are great. They’re really good. They communicate, they work hard, they know the game but we need to help them by readjusting the rules. And like I said the league has done that in the past so I have no doubt they’ll do that going forward. And that concludes my lobbying session for today.
3:30 Has Gui surprised you? When he was added to the back of the roster it kind of seemed like a guy who’d be buried. Obviously there’s a reason for this, but has it surprised you like he’s helped really?
“He has not surprised me. He reminds me a little bit of Juan Toscano-Anderson in that he sprints the floor every single time. He makes the hustle plays that frankly other guys don’t make and just understands where he should sprint. He knows his minutes are gonna be limited. So every possession he goes all out and he ends up generating all these extra possessions. There was a play yesterday where he crashed the glass, tried to get the board, sprinted past everybody and challenged a shot at the rim without fouling and forced a miss. It was incredible. It’s like an instructional tape, you know? And so we saw that from him in camp. We see the hustle, the feel, the cutting. So he’s a guy who can give you a burst of energy and help you win a game like we did last night.”
4:36 Specifically on the defensive end with his I guess size and versatility, how can he profile on that and impact you guys?
“Yeah you can switch. He’s just smart, like when the shot goes up he’s the first guy looking to box out. There’s never a hesitation on a cut, on a box out, on a rotation. So the players like playing with him because they know he’s going to be in the right place. And he just plays with a pure heart. Just just trying to win. Nothing matters. Just bring energy. At one point one of our coaches praised him when he came off the floor and he said I’m just looking for Steph and Klay, to set a screen. We’re like yes, yes that’s the deal. They’re the two greatest shooters of all-time. It’s like, go set screens for them. But it’s amazing how many young players don’t feel that and see that and recognize it. But that kind of feel and awareness for the game is one of the reasons he’s made it this far.”
5:31 What do you think about how Brandin has evolved, even just in the last few weeks as a passer? He had no turnovers last game and maybe the game before.
“He’s playing great. The game just makes sense to Brandin. He’s a connector. Every lineup we put him with, he connects. And so the ball moves and he attacks at the right time. He cuts at the right time. Biggest thing is, he’s fearless, like he is not afraid out there. But he’s aggressive without being reckless. And that’s really key. Early in the season he was a little reckless at times. He still makes some mistakes, maybe not swinging the ball quickly enough. I thought in the first half last night the ball got stuck with him a couple times because he knows he can make a play. But all in all he’s come so far so fast. It’s remarkable. Halfway through his rookie season he’s playing 38 minutes and finishing games. We’re lucky to have him.”
6:39 Have you come here before to The Palestra?
“We practiced here with the Spurs when I played, and we’ve been trying to come here the last few years. It’s just such a great venue, historic basketball venue. So I’m excited to get our guys here today for them to see it.”
7:01 KERR ON KNBR WITH TOM TOLBERT: “Yeah, yeah that was a fun one. Fun to see the young guys out there closing a game. It really was.”
TOLBERT: I love Podziemski. He’s just so much fun to watch. It’s almost like a little bit of youthful enthusiasm, a little bit of F-U, a little bit of ‘I kind of know my role, so I’ve got to do this and do that, do this, but if I can have a chance to take it, I’m going to take it. And if you don’t block me out, I’m going to get a rebound.’ He is just fun to watch, plays like in hockey, they call him pests. And he’s just like a pest man. He just keeps coming, doesn’t he?
“He does. He’s a great rebounder. He just constantly is reading the game and he’s kind of a step ahead of everyone. He’s definitely over-helping, like we’re trying to get him to just at times, just do his job and not try to do everyone else’s at the same time. But I’d way rather have it this way than the opposite, where he doesn’t see anything. He sees everything he’s but he just tries to cover every rotation, every angle, every lane. And he’s always flying around. He’s really a fun player to watch.”
8:23 I could make the argument and it’d kind of be a dumb argument to make because I haven’t seen every guard in the NBA, I haven’t watched him enough, but of all the games that I’ve watched, this guy’s a rookie and I’d put him in top five in the NBA in terms of rebounding guards. And he’s not that big but he’s as tenacious as anybody I’ve seen out there. I don’t know what the numbers suggest as far as his rebounds per possession per minute and all those stats and how they stack up against other guards but I would say very, very favorably with the eye. Did the numbers say any different or have you even looked at those numbers?
“I haven’t even looked but one of the reasons we drafted him was that he averaged eight rebounds last year at Santa Clara. So eight boards a game as a guard, that’s insane. But we saw it pretty quickly in camp. He’s just got a nose for the ball. If you watch on tape, like he’s moving before everybody else, like on every shot he just has a sense of anticipation and has a knack for squeezing by people who might be trying to block him out. And then he’s much more athletic than he gets credit for. He’s strong and he’s tenacious like you said and he’s got great balance but it’s amazing watching him rebound.”
Yeah he’s more athletic than he gets credit for aka he’s white.
“I wanted you to say it, Tom. I didn’t want to say it.”
9:58 Well no, you knew I would say it, so you just laid it out there for me. Sort of sneaky athletic boys. Yes, sneaky hops. He’s white and he can jump. And Kuminga’s really starting to kind of figure it out, like It’s funny Steve, it almost worked in inverse order. ‘Cause we’d been saying forever just run the court, just rebound, play defense, everything else will fall into place. It’s almost like everything kind of started to fall into place. And then he decided, ‘You know what? I can rebound and run the court along with it. Like he had 10 rebounds last night. The way he ran the court last night especially to start the second half was what I thought was a huge boost for you guys. It was just immediate energy, immediate scoring and kind of set the tone for the second half. And once he gets up in the air he’s like magic. He just kind of levitates and people fall. It seems that almost people come down before he comes down, like he gets in the air. He’s a special athlete but it seems like he’s kind of figuring it all out at once. Like, you know what I can do, all these things. I don’t have to like pick and choose.
“I guess it makes sense because it is year three and he came to us so raw; he only played 10 G league games in the bubble before he played his first NBA game. And so I know there’s been plenty of frustration from our fans wanting him to play more and but there really does have to be a process of learning the game and understanding what wins and so the last a couple of years we’ve been working with him, he’s worked really hard but we couldn’t get him to run the floor. We couldn’t get him to attack the rim and we’d show him tape and he would have a lot of games where he would just settle for a bunch of threes. And it’s like, we know you can make that shot but that’s kind of what Steph and Klay do. Like, we need you to attack the rim. You’re probably the best athlete in the whole league. And it’s finally clicked and the last month it’s just been, he looks like a different guy because he’s attacking constantly and he’s cutting behind the play. There was a play late in the game last night where Podziemski cut to the rim, caught it and then just turned around hoping that JK would be there. And he was, and he was right behind him on a cut and he dunked it. A month ago he would have been standing at the three-point line. And so he’s made these leaps in a few different areas. And then that has coincided with a lot of our injuries and changing our starting lineup. We’re putting him in a lot more actions handling the ball and it’s all really coming together. So it’s really exciting. I’m happy for him because he’s a great young guy and he’s worked really hard for this.”
12:57 Well it’s funny cause I thought it was a good thing I wasn’t sitting there with you when you said, ‘We know you can make the threes, because I would have said, ‘Do we know we can make those threes?’ Because me, I don’t mind the corner threes. Anything above the break, it still gets me. I’m just like, ‘Why?’ Because we’ve seen what happens when he drives. He drives, he fends them off with the shoulder, creates space, then he jumps up over them. How many times has this guy gotten fouled on a jump shot? It happens two or three times a game where people think they can get to it and they don’t, because he just keeps going up and he holds the ball so high and what happened ultimately, was he had two or three games where he had a lot of success and he realized like, ‘Damn, like I can do this and I can do it consistently and this can be kind of my meal ticket.’ And you’ve seen the threes go down, you’ve seen the good threes come up and it’s just been because he’s almost at the point now, Steve, where anything inside like 14 feet, I’m like, that’s good. Like that’s how money he’s been.
“Yeah he’s got a nice mid-range jumper. But it’s just the process of all this and like I said, it does kind of make sense because NBA coaches are now, we’re having to do the job that all the college coaches used to do where you’re taking a freshman and you’re teaching them fundamentals and you’re watching him grow and the old days in college, other than the outliers who were guys who came in and started as freshmen, it was like it took guys a year or two to crack the starting line up. It wasn’t until their junior year that they became the All-American whatever, so this stuff takes time. And half the league now is like 19 or 20. And so there’s just a different sort of coaching job that we all have. It’s much more development-related. The only difference is we don’t get any practice time like the colleges do. So you’re trying to develop when you have three or four games in a week and then a couple walkthroughs. So you just have to be patient and I just think that two-and-a-half years into his career it’s all really coming together for JK and it’s like I said, it’s really exciting for him and for us.”
15:26 No doubt about it. Let me real quickly ask you. Klay, I thought Klay handled it about as well as he could last night. Like, he wasn’t thrilled on the bench. I expect that to happen. It’s harder. You’ve said it, I’ve been saying it, it’s harder for guys that have been to the top of the mountain to kind of see the other side and the descent because that’s not what their career has been. For the most part, it’s been success. It’s been All-Star Games. It’s been the best two-way guard in basketball, maybe a period of three to five years. He has the rings. And now it’s like the realization that like he’s just not that player anymore and they are gonna be nights where he’ll have to cede the last five, six minutes, maybe to to somebody else and he’s not used to doing that. I thought he handled that well last time, like you could tell he was hurting and he’s got a lot of pride. But he was genuinely happy for the guys. How do you balance that out as a coach knowing that you’re responsible for the 15? It’s not one guy that you’re taking care of. You’re doing what’s best for the team. And ultimately those are the decisions you have to make. But you also recognize this is a guy that’s won the rings there. And if they have statues he will get one of them. And he has a lot of pride. How do you handle that and the balancing act that goes with it?
“Well, it helps when you have a 10-year relationship with someone and you’ve been through a lot together. And so there’s definitely a trust factor that Klay and I have with each other and obviously Steph and and Draymond as well. But coaching is really about the communication that happens every day. Sometimes it’s something just minor. Sometimes it’s something bigger to communicate but as long as there’s an established relationship then these are the types of conversations you have during the year. And that’s how I approach it and and Klay’s always very receptive to anything any thoughts that I have and I’m always very open to any questions or any thoughts that he has and and I have these conversations with all of our guys like all year long, just as circumstances change the conversations have to adapt and and you just kind of go from there.”
17:49 Got it. Talking to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on the UMA Guest Line. Steve, do you have a pick for the Super Bowl? You have a feel?
“Yeah. I got the Niners but you want to know the score don’t you?”
Yeah I want to like an actual pick and then we’ll get into some of the props. I want Gatorade color. I want National Anthem length. I need all the good stuff. He wants all the props. I want all the props. I’ll settle for a score though.
“I got 24-23, Niners. And so yeah so I I apologize to you and Tom and everyone else who thinks they’re going to cover.”
Yeah that puts it right on the spread, right on the total. Well done.
“I really like to go out on a limb.”
11:24 Yeah. I can see you, too. Wow. That’s impressive. Yeah. I’d like a one and a half point victory, at least two, would be preferable. One and a half. I will tell this story because it happened a long time ago but it’s Super Bowl week. Where were we Steve? Sacramento, weren’t we?
“Sacramento, yeah.”
Sacramento. So we’re playing in Orlando together. And we’re in Sacramento for the Super Bowl. And back then the teams didn’t have gatherings for people that wanted to go, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have a viewing party down in this ballroom. We’re gonna go to rent out this restaurant.’ it was just, ‘Hey, you’re on your own.’ So Steve and I were sitting there in the room and we’re just gonna watch the Super Bowl in the room. It was Cowboys-Bills. So we took out the USA Today back when people read papers. And Danny shared it and had the props. And there was like 50 props that he put up there for the Super Bowl. And Steve and I said, ‘Okay let’s just bet; we’re gonna bet 5 bucks a prop. And you get to choose the first. I’ll choose the second. You choose the first, I’ll choose the second. We’ll order a pizza, we’ll get like a 12-pack of beer. We’ll just sit in here and watch the games. And what did we end up? Somebody I don’t even know who it was but what one of us won or lost like ten bucks after it was all said and done, I believe, didn’t we?
“Yeah but what I remember the most was you had the big one which was like Sheridan had the odds of a Cowboys touchdown at like 20 to 1. And so that would have been a hundred bucks.”
Oh, defensive touchdown or something like that. Or whatever it was. Defensive touchdown.
“Yeah. Cowboys defensive touchdown. Twenty to one. And that was the Super Bowl when what was the defensive player? Leon Lett. Was it Leon Lett? Leon Lett. Don Beebe. Yeah. And you were going crazy as he’s racing down the sidelines. You’re like a hundred bucks. I got a hundred bucks. And Don Beebe, my personal hero from then till forever, chased him down and saved me a hundred dollars at the one yard line. That was amazing.”
The other thing I remember too is we’re sitting there. So we had all these, we had 50 prop bets. So you get to like the third or fourth quarter where some of these things start coming in where it’s like rushing yards or receiving yards. Receiving receptions or first downs or penalties or whatever like that. And I remember Steve and I were watching it and you get to the point where in the game where you’re following one wager. And you see it and you’re like yes. And then you look down at the sheet. You’re like no, yes, no; it’s like everything that happened had about three different prop bets that were decided on that and you would win one and then you’d lose. be like Oh unbelievable. I can’t believe I lost that.
“We just like the action, Tom.”
That’s all. We just like the action. That’s all we want is the juice. That’s all. That’s all we want. So are you guys in Philly as we speak?
“We are. Yeah.”
Very good. Well, enjoy the game. What are you guys doing for – you guys will be back for Super Bowl. So you get to watch it here, hang out with the family. And Lulu. You’ll be doing the same thing I will. You’ll be at Lulu.
“That’s right. That’s right. Yeah we’ll be home Thursday night but we practiced at the Palestra today which was pretty cool.”
Did you really?
“Yeah. Yeah. Really fun. So the Penn coach Steve Donahue invited us to practice there and pretty cool because it’s one of the great venues in the country for college basketball. So that was a fun day.”
Oh that’s pretty cool. Well, have a good rest of the trip, see if you can get a couple of wins and come on home. And we always appreciate the conversation, Steve.
“Sounds good. Thanks guys.”
FROM GSW-ATL AND MOSTLY GSW-BKN
[No transcripts yet for the above videos.]
GAME NOTES FROM GSW-BKN
0:45 refs: Mark Lindsay (17 years of exp), Nick Buchert (14), Nate Green (5)
1:30 nowadays I’m also worried about Kuminga fouling along with Draymond
2:15 we get Moody and Saric back
3:00 Slater with Kerr pregame on Dray sustaining at the 5 (also TJD): ATL had some big guys, “if we had more size and physicality around, it would make things a little bit easier on him… the 5’s the perfect spot for him (the way the NBA is trending)”, “we’ve played Draymond with Loon a long time… that lineup hasn’t clicked… harder to play without spacing… spread defenses out in today’s game… we do want to look at Draymond and Trayce a little bit because of Trayce’s lob threat… it is a possibility but it’s not anything we’re super-comfortable throwing out there yet.”
6:15 on Anthony Tsai getting credentialed for ASW in Indianapolis
7:45 on Wiggins being out, maybe back next game or after that
8:30 tipoff!
11m40 Q1 JK great help on Clax vs BP
11m16 Q1 BP bites on Cam fake, foul
11m08 Q1 good foul by Cam on tic tac toe
11m00 Q1 JK stripped on lead pass by BP
9m51 Q1 JK no call downhill vs Cam
9m05 Q1 Steph bad BLOB tov
8m20 Q1 JK ends drough Kawhi fade J
8m07 Q1 Klay bad layup attempt
7m56 Q1 JK downhiil bucket again with help from Dray
7m31 Q1 Dray bad tov, Kerr not happy, Let’s Go!
6m52 Q1 Klay couldn’t catch the ball
16:15 last 3-4 plays: Steph tov, Klayup, Dray tov, Klay can’t catch it — are we getting old, is it solvable with the return of Wiggs later?
6m31 Q1 JK close on Mikal
6m11 Q1 MB guards JK that’s respect
5m39 Q1 Dray can’t catch a pass
5m27 Q1 CJ wide open 3 good, Kerr timeout and wants them to speak up
23:00 analyzing the last play
5m05 Q1 dribbling tov by Steph
25:00 POLL RESULTS: Are the old-looking tov, general bad play solvable w/ Wiggs back in starting five? (no angry votes!)
Maybe (40%)
No (34%)
Yes (25%)
Poll complete: 20 votes
4m05 Q1 JK downhill, spin, could’ve shot it, pass to Les miss
3m55 Q1 JK bites on O’Neale 3, miss, Kenny not happy
3m50 Q1 after a zone, JK downhill 94ft lay in dunk via Euro power, Kenny talked to him at timeout BKN
3m05 Q1 Mo bad entry to Loon
2m40 Q1 Klay curl layup
2m10 Q1 Loon doesn’t roll quick enough, BP euro smothered
1m52 Q1 Loon deflected by Clax, BP hook shot shut up Tolbert!
1m31 Q1 Loon good help Klay good close, wedgie by Royce
0m49 Q1 Mo good runner via Les oreb
0m36 Q1 good D by Les
0m10 Q1 Klay fouled maybe? airball though on the drive
11m50 Q2 Dario steal on entry
11m00 Q2 JK tons of moves, fouled, challenged by Vaughn
40:30 analyzing Klay’s airball looked like good D by CJ
10m16 Q2 JK manufactures FTs on J Kawhi style — Steph Klay Dray not playing well fyi
10m00 Q2 Klay late on close, helped big
9m47 Q2 Klay layup
8m49 Q2 Dario and1 vs CJ flop
8m20 Q2 Klay good box, JK and BP hustle
8m11 Q2 JK tov
7m48 Q2 Klay off-balance 3 no good
7m36 Q2 Dinwiddie Clax alley oop soft D BP and Dario
7M21 Q2 DRAY FINALLY IN, JK another tov
6m40 Q2 Steph late call on help by Klay on CJ trans 3
6m31 Q2 Klay brick wow
5m58 Q2 Drayup
5m37 Q2 Gui good screen for Steph in chaos, Steph didn’t see?
5m20 Q2 Dray nice lead pass to Steph
4m11 Q2 Drayup again
4m08 Q2 Les takes charge on CJ, Vaughn challenge
HERE
4m03 Q2 NBA rulebook interpretation again
3m53 Q2 Klay off-target again on the pass to Gui, Dray
3m17 Q2 Klay catch and launch no good from hashmark
1m21 Q2 Gui not looking on the roll, Klay maybe don’t throw that
0m50 Q2 Steph misses Dray on the roll, Steph smacked by Clax no call
0m43 Q2 Klay mishandles a rebound but rebs airball
1:07:00 on the Klay issue not being relevant to him wanting to come off the bench, he’ll still close games, he hasn’t been patient, JK getting the ball downhill seems like it’s come at the expense of Klay, not finding him correctly
1:10:00 on TJD not having a slot, hard to be mad at Gui choice if thinking replacement for Wiggs esp with return of Dario, hard to just eliminate Loon
1:15:00 @Havok: Remember this is Klay Thompson! The man that can drop 37 pts in a quarter! Keep taking your shots Klay, we stand by them whether they fall or not
1:18:00 does Klay not play well in extension years? — Dean
11m45 Q3 JK hangs like MJ over Clax two-handed
11m22 Q3 Dray good stop
11m13 Q3 gravity on Klay to JK
10m51 Q3 JK great tap out, 94ft fouled
10m20 Q3 Clax dunk, stopped playing??
9m55 Q3 JK and Steph cut, but BP tap-in
8m55 Q3 JK downhill, everyone let him, spin on Mikal
8m35 Q3 Thomas past Dray
7m40 Q3 JK to BP banker
7m23 Q3 corner 3 over Dray, look slow
7m00 Q3 Steph scoop
6m40 Q3 BP 94ft elbowed him to create space
5m50 Q3 strange illegal screen on Steph on ATO
4m43 Q3 good cut Gui and1 Dray ast
4m10 Q3 Mo base attack
3m50 Q3 Les missed Steph corner
3m32 Q3 Steph throw away
2m30 Q3 Loon block
1m35 Q3 if the refs are this bad, you have to challenge, Dray right in front of Steve
1m10 Q3 Loon Robert Parish finish inside, JK ast
0m40 Q3 Les tap of BP 2for1
0m14 Q3 JK & Gui block vs Thomas, 94ft foul
1:52:30 on the Steph 60 bts: link here! Steph def should’ve made the game-winner vs ATL
11m51 Q4 JK flying like MJ or Kobe no and1 though, somewhere Klay passed up a corner 3 good
11m38 Q4 Loon oreb, JK Kawhi J fade over Mikal
, 11m05 Q4 JK tov on Klay open
10m56 Q4 Cam lost ball, JK threw the ball to Loon
10m39 Q4 Les draws charge, BP helps up other team
10m20 Q4 Klay cut, Loon ast
9m51 Q4 guys happy on the bench with challenge unsuccessful
9m13 Q4 BP stays in front, Thomas 3 though
8m30 Q4 Dray DPOY stop finally
8m14 Q4 Klay gravity leads to Dray layup
7m49 Q4 Les turns corner
7m30 Q4 Gui too loose on Royce
7m00 Q4 Steph vs Clax to Dray post, cut back oreb putback
6m28 Q4 DPOY Steph Clax island 3
5m50 Q4 Gui steal to Dray, BP nice catch reverse layup — stickum!
5m31 Q4 BP bad reach, says my bad
4m59 Q4 Lindsay Buchert Green not bad crew
4m55 Q4 Steph no and1 same play cut
4m20 Q4 JK no call wow
3m40 Q4 Gui putback thanks to BP
3m11 Q4 Dray tov
2m53 Q4 Steph Dray P&R to JK dunk
2m39 Q4 Dray close Mikal corner
2m19 Q4 JK mid-post Royce no chance
2m07 Q4 Thomas turns corner on BP
1m50 Q4 Steph turns corner on Thomas what a finish
1m30 Q4 Steph vs Thomas night night move, good Gui pass off
1m00 Q4 Gui can’t stop Thomas and1 but miss FT
2:32:00 BP POSTGAME ON-COURT AUDIO
2:37:00 Ray Yiu: everyone flaming klay when he’s forcing it but no one gives him credit when he chooses to just pass and play defence — really it was Gui Santos that replaced the Klay close out minutes
2:40:30 identity of JK be the meat of the offense throughout then close out with Steph (so many plays to get JK the ball)
2:43:45 wow we are not a SplashBrothers split-action team anymore, Steph and Klay are setting screens
2:45:45 Dean on 12 FTs by JK being like 4 threes
2:47:45 on the new Warriors basketball, Draymond saying after PHI-GSW about new identity with JK
2:55:30 STEVE POSTGAME AUDIO
3:02:00 on Klay showing information about a bad attitude
3:06:30 BP played the most minutes tonight! 38
3:09:00 we’re just seeing the old guys get old but part of that is the balance of the mental capacity of being super-competitive which got their young bodies to 4 rings, so this year is basically the ultimate for veterans like them, and nobody’s ever gone through this, esp with the NBA improving so fast the way it is
3:11:45 we were 4/22 on threes wow
3:13:00 klay from the locker room via Slater
https://twitter.com/anthonyvslater/status/1754711254269116696?s=46
after the attiude on bench after the buzzer
https://twitter.com/brickmuse/status/1754703883182772288?s=46
3:20:30 GUI SANTOS POSTGAME AUDIO
3:36:00 STEPH POSTGAME AUDIO
3:43:30 BP POSTGAME AUDIO: holding the ball too much in first half
3:46:30 on Klay having his birthday on trade deadline
3:49:00 Dean on being excited about “I can’t explain the deal with the dying although I can’t explain the lines” from Bob Dylan
3:59:30 on Draymond singing “I’ll do anything for you dear” from a Petsmart commercial
4:01:30 STEPH POSTGAME AUDIO WITH NETS TV: going away from pressure (72 points in the paint)
4:04:00 GUI POSTGAME RADIO
4:07:45 will they convert Quinones? — probably not until the last day of the season or as necessary in terms of the games played limit
4:08:30 Gui = Anderson Varejao or Antonio Banderas
4:13:15 GP2 update: on 1/22 he was supposed to get re-eval two weeks, therefore GP2 re-eval should’ve been today or so
4:16:00 Dean realistic trade scenario 6’7 long arms, 52.9% EFG, 91% FT, 20.2 ppg per 36, 1.9 tov, 4 rpg, 0.6 bpg, 0.7 spg — not Jerami Grant, not Bojan, not DFS, not Caruso (per Dek Tabz), not Mikal, not Alec Burks — KLAY THOMPSON
4:22:00 STEVE ENTIRE POSTGAME VID NOW ON
4:31:00 Leigh Ellis in ATL asking Steph about Sabrina then KD’s response
4:34:45 54 clutch games for Heat, 55 for Mavs last year — GSW has already played 34 clutch games (would’ve been 31 if we had the clutch rate), we’re a team that is better off playing 7-game series than game after game, our record now with a fully available Draymond is 10-7
4:38:00 @shivansh: Under Kerr’s coaching, we’ve only lost 1 play-off series outside of the NBA finals! he’s a great great coach man! when we make it in the playoffs… it’ll be hard for anyone to stop us!
4:42:00 we had three guys in double-digit rebs 60-38 w/o Loon and TJD, this is not your big brother’s GSW
4:45:45 on Keegan Murray, Bogdan and Bojan instead of Donovan Mitchell but he’s there for more star power
4:46:15 on Sabrina and WNBA/NBA at 3pt Shootout
4:47:30 Anthony Tsai got approved for credential for ASW
5:05:00 on Klay having anger or frustration and that being a part of what makes him great, Dean: like a great white shark eyes rolled in the back of his head
5:07:00 on Eric G of NBADraftdotnet loving Klay as his all-time fav Warrior past Mullin but also saying that Klay’s $43M has been the problem, which is what I’ll write about next on our website
5:11:00 Dean and me on Klay being the best 3-and-D player ever in 2019 Finals, Shivansh:
5:14:00 we can play vs any team
5:17:30 Makana: I think the expectation on wiggs was too high this year. To be the best poa defender, 2nd offensive weapon next to steph, and grab 8 boards a night. Thats like prime kawhi on the spurs — Dean: Wiggs is 28, not a peep coming off the bench, you can’t change how people are
5:20:15 Saric 3 pts in 4 mins so 27 ppg
5:22:00 on GSW being at $144M salaries without Klay or CP. Add $25M for Klay and you’re at $169M, $172M is the luxury tax threshold and $190M is the second apron
5:29:00 no first round pick for this summer unless top four, no 2nd Rdr
5:33:00 on IND/DAL Wiggins rumors, Grant Williams or Buddy Hield
5:39:15 on not doing the rental thing, on shooting for the moon aka Robin to Steph’s Batman ie Eric’s suggestion of KAT
5:52:45 Dean on Mikal being a good Robin but only making $23M so BKN will keep him
6:00:00 Dean says Kerr is loquacious, I say Dean is loquacious to end the stream
👍👍💛💙