My Top Three from the last few days:
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Draymond Green isn’t changing. Exactly what I would’ve recommended Green do. From this point on, every time he gets suspended the way he got suspended for Game 3, it makes the person suspending him look bad (Adam Silver), as I alluded to in the previous article entitled “Too Many Refs?”.
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Steve Kerr explained Moses Moody’s player development pretty succinctly, And yet, people will still blame Kerr for not playing Moody more in the regular season. Why? Because, as is the raison d’etre for everything that I do with LetsGoWarriors, people use social media to spread the negative energy from their lives, which is caused by stress, from which there is very little gratitude, creativity, and quest for learning because stress isn’t a time for those things, it’s a time for survival and fight-or-flight responses — guess which one the Average Twitter Joe picks? That’s right, let’s go get combative on the bluebird app! Suddenly random people on the Internet think they are smarter than the actual people who are actual leaders in their field in executing actual basketball matters with actual IRL experience in doing things such as player development. But that’s okay, LGW will still just cater to the 1% of the 1% of higher-IQ fans — or, if they’re fairweather fans, then positive-thinking fairweather fans, as I’ve been saying on every game livestream.
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Kerr acknowledged that the performance from Game 3 needs to be repeated, quite simply. Which implies that they have not necessarily shown the ability to do that during the regular season. So… we’ll see! That’s the beauty of embracing the unknown and just letting things happen. A friendly reminder that we don’t do CRAP (comparisons, rankings, awards, predictions) on LetsGoWarriors — I should say that Draymond shot down a reporter’s question comparing the 2016 suspension to this one; good on ya!
Without worrying too much about finding the needles in the haystack, the above topics can be found in the transcripts below. They are directly from Steve and Draymond’s interviews from practice Saturday. Everything below is listed in reverse chronological order, with the exception of the behind-the-scenes video, picture gallery, and livestream notes occurring before the postgame interviews…
“The Draymond Rules” + Donte DiVincenzo & Green on Steph Curry “master at work”;Brown/Sabonis/Murray
PICTURES FROM PRACTICE AND MORE
Friendly reminder: There may be more pictures on our YouTube Stories which is only accessible on the YT mobile app.
DISCLAIMER: These are all just notes for my main workflow of YouTube videos, mostly transcribed by me shortly after the interviews and during my coverage of postgame on our livestreams (!). Sometimes I’ll just use what’s tweeted by beatwriters, as listed. The links to the tweets are not available because sometimes I don’t use the full tweet and just having a ton of tweets on this website imo isn’t aesthetically pleasing and gets away from the main goal: transferring information (not so much entertainment) to the brains of DubNation asap.
• Draymond Green after practice Saturday on how he’s been feeling: “always great after a win… only objective was to win the game, not anything that’s going on around that… executed the game plan to the T… beautiful to watch. Very refreshing. We’ve never been down 0-2… backs against the wall. To see guys respond like that.”
• On his reaction to the suspension: “My feelings about it is irrelevant… strongly agree with Doc Rivers (not enough action taken by the league on instigators)… we channeled it the right way… a lot of credit to my teammates… standing on it. We pride ourselves on not being front-runners… when the going gets tough, we get tougher.”
• On Moses Moody: “He prepares like he’s gonna play every game… Moses Moody is probably the most professional guy I’ve ever played with next to Levon Looney… like a 10-year vet… extra shots up, extra lifts in when there’s no scheduled lifts… not surprised by him answering the bell… every now and then it’s not gonna go your way, but it’s gonna go your way more often than not.”
• On watching the game at home: “No, it’s a different feeling. 2016, we were up 3-1… being in a dogfight and not being able to participate, that’s tough. Not the suspension. I’ve been suspended from Game 5 of the NBA Finals, there’s not a suspension that would bother me… doesn’t move me one way or another… backs against the wall and to not be there for them, that’s a letdown… I’ll get suspended again at some point. It is what it is.”
• On struggling when he’s on the court with Looney: “last game we were up 29-20, so I think it’s a good theory but I don’t think it’s actually played out that way… we move the ball, we took care of the ball… great decisions… handled their pressure really well… pretty good offensively all season, all series… we were shooting 64% from two… our turnovers are killing us… offensive rebounds… our halfcourt offense has been strong all series.”
• On comparing Oracle to Chase: “I don’t really get caught up into comparing two different places… Oracle just had a totally different vibe… when you’re in Los Angeles the vibe when you play the Lakers (versus Clippers) is a totally different vibe… we’ve created a home court advantage here… that’s what we like to lean into… not apples to apples (comparing Oracle to Chase)… homecourt at Oracle was built over 50 years.”
• On Steph being the master at work, per his podcast: “seen it in spurts… 2021 you really saw it… dominate… what about the respect of saying he’s getting better?… 2021 he took that next step… picking and choosing his spots… off the ball… on the ball, just figuring out different things… playing this game together for so long there’s always constant communication… the dialog that he has is totally different than it used to be… in the Finals last year it was that… I won’t get sped up… make sure I get to that… special to watch… he dominated the game in every facet and it was total control… his intent on everything l, it was very loud.”
• On a favorite story of Barbosa: “I don’t really give a damn about no memory with Leandro Barbosa… we won a championship… who cares.”
• On what he saw from the team in Game 3: “The attention to detail… rebounding the basketball… I didn’t go back afterwards to check the numbers because I didn’t feel like I needed to… (didn’t allow them to) get to the paint at will… total team effort. We were great at the point of attack (includes Poole in naming list of players).”
• On Looney’s communication: “to see a guy that didn’t used to say a single word dominate through communication, you just have to appreciate the growth. When Loon came here he was a mute… very much so the reason he’s become the leader that he’s become… anchor… you have two (when I’m out there)… he took it up several notches (without me)… they could hear Loon’s voice… that voice that Donte’s crediting is seven or either years (in development)… always a stabilizing force… every day… very even-keeled. Very rarely do you see him get upset… get sad.”
• On Doc Rivers saying the league should be looking at instigators, on if the suspension set a dangerous precedent with the “Draymond Rule”: “They created Draymond Rules before, they don’t work. Here I am still sitting here, still winning… they still don’t work… Draymond won’t be moved by no Draymond Rules… continue to play the game… operate how I operate… be exactly the same… if I didn’t they wouldn’t have created Draymond Rules… we’re winning… that’s beautiful… won’t change Draymond.”
• On teammates’ message to him: “they got my back. My message to them was none of it matters… to know and feel that they got your back is a great feeling… wanted to be involved in every way that I could for them… this team has been building all year, to come to a situation like that where it could go right or left.”
• On if there are unspoken words with Steph and Klay: “We all talked… but… been through everything that you could see… it’s everyone else… me, Klay and Steph have been through everything… look at each other… say the same exact words… true definition of champions… it’s a cast of guys that’s making sure everyone’s ready.”
• On holding the Kings to under 100: “we’ve been defending well, we’ve just hurt ourselves a lot… clean the things up… give ourselves a much better chance of winning… encouraging… I can do that to help these things.”
• Steve Kerr after Warriors practice Saturday, on GP2: Gary Payton II (general illness) was back at practice today and in “good spirits”, on track to play in tomorrow’s Game 4 against the Kings. (CJ Holmes, Dalton Johnson)
• On holding the Kings under 100 points: “great example of why the game has to connect… execute offensively and you rebound and you take care of the ball, it sets up your defense… a few possessions where we got lost in transition… rarely turned it over… forced them to play more halfcourt… they missed some threes… so did we… make or miss shots… take away the basics.”
• On if it’s fair to say Moody played better because he waited until the right moment: “the entire season was about development… he had a lot to work on… over the last six weeks of the season, in practices, in his individual work, in scrimmages with the younger players, he took a big step up. Now he’s being rewarded and he’s rewarding us, too… he’s earned this but that’s how it’s supposed to go… you just have to earn everything in this league… everybody league-wide is trying to sort through. If you’re a rebuilding team you can afford to throw your young guys out… (we are) trying to develop without playing much.”
• On why it works with the Warriors: “It’s an issue that everybody in the league has to figure out for themselves. What we’re seeing organizationally… put him in the G League his entire rookie year?… they’re gonna develop faster if they play 50 real games… with more and more players in the league coming in at 19… better and better synergy with G League teams… maybe drafting a player and just putting him in the G League all year… roster balance.”
• On Kuminga: “He eventually made some big plays at both ends… came out of the corner for a dunk… Putback dunk on a Steph miss… Monk, where he was draped all over him… it’s all development with these young guys… when the playoff come… everything is magnified… the tendency is to play young guys less… we’ll see how it plays out.”
• On Klay’s looks: “much better second half… first half we were all a little jumpy… Klay helped break the game open with his drive and kick… we need more of that.”
• On the guys having Draymond’s back: “wasn’t going to keep him from accomplishing what they wanted to do… JaMychal was really good. Donte… Moses… a lot of guys that really contributed but that’s what it takes in the playoffs.”
• On if it’s easier to continue momentum without Draymond: “regardless of what lineup is out there, we gotta take care of the ball… one of the best parts of Steph’s game… four or five possessions where nothing was there… impressive to see him control the game… all of our decision-makers on the ball, gotta be rock solid… can’t be like (first two games where they were wild).”
• On Steph: “breathing during timeouts, closing his eyes, focusing on… relaxing his body… really been helpful for him… first play of the series… throws the ball to Harrison Barnes for no apparent reason. That’s just focus… can sometimes cost him a possession or two… he just doesn’t think a whole lot… the other night he realized he had to think.”
• On if it’s about getting out of their own way: “my biggest challenge as a coach… when to step in and when to leave them alone because often times they play their best when I leave them alone… I don’t want to snap them out of it… on the other hand, take care of the damn ball.”
• On Kenny Atkinson: “Yeah, he doesn’t walk the line… you want both, that’s why you need different personalities on the staff… Mike Brown… fiery… Kenny’s been the same way this year… ultimately you want the guys relaxed but alert, on point.”
• On desperation combined with meticulousness: “Yes. We did it in Game 3 so we can do it in Game 4. They just proved it. So we gotta do it again if we wanna win the series.”
• Donte DiVincenzo after Warriors practice Saturday, on the vibe of the team today: “Always a good vibe when you come off a win… level of focus is definitely there… a lot of things we can get better at.”
• On folding Draymond back in: “That’s easy… it’s odd but even though it wasn’t there you could feel his presence… wanting to coach and critique and get us better… He was missed but the voice wasn’t missed.”
• On what they did well in Game 3: “taking care of the ball… limit second chance opportunities… take a bigger step in those two categories.”
• On Looney: “That was Kevon Looney all throughout the season… Draymond gets all of the attention against the main big.”
• On if Looney had a greater sense of purpose: “All of us did… communication factor on the court… stepped up Game 3.”
• On if he sees anything click while going through a series: “we really haven’t had this team whole… getting GP then getting Wiggs back… even Game 3… how amazing it is to see guys adapt and be willing to step up… coaches trust everybody on the team… continuity… we’re gonna keep getting enter throughout the playoffs. We gotta just keep getting wins.”
• On the Kings struggling from three: “playing fast being physical… we just have to match that… having your legs being ready to shoot… keep making them work. They’re gonna make some… just make them work.”
• On Steph being a master at work per Draymond, when he saw it: “Training camp… dissects the defense… super-fun to play with him and I can’t say it enough, how unselfish he is.”
• On controlling the pace and offensive rebounding affecting that: “taking care of the ball… get out and run… even when we miss we have to get back… offensive rebounds… hit or miss game of everybody going and nobody going at all… if we don’t… they just kick ahead… figuring it out throughout the game.”
• On Iguodala’s value: “he’s the voice… OG on the team… knows when to be serious and when to be light… doing it all year… we’re gonna lean on him.”
• On what age he would guess Moody is if he didn’t already know: “Old as hell… remarkable… maturity… you know what type of Moses you’re gonna get… like 50 (years old).”
• On his aggressiveness: “Taking shots and being aggressive are two different things… tentative, the passive Donte is not what I need… get rewarded with open shots (being aggressive).”
• On the homecourt advantage: “We’re not paying attention to our road record throughout the regular season… Chase… super-loud… take care of business.”
• On GP2: “Gary does what Gary does. It’s hard to explain. Similar to Draymond… may not be textbook-wise… allows you to gamble a little bit… play off of other guys… read him well… adapt and read off of him… different dynamic. It kinda messes with their game plan… some of us go off the script… keeps them on edge… they have to react to what we’re doing as well.”
#GoldBlooded Jumbotron; Warriors fan to Sabonis: “Ankles have rights!”; Donte/SVG; E40;JP 🗣️; JK 🔨
PICTURE GALLERY FROM G3 SAC-GSW
Any questions about any of these pics, ask in the comments at the bottom of this article, thanks.
0:00 Draymond and pregame stuff
35:45 tipoff! Huerter stole the tip but then tov
11m20 Looney foul on Fox putback
11m05 Steph bad tov sheesh
10m30 two bad shots but Steph steal
10m10 great attack by Klay to draw foul on Keegan
9m45 JP steal, Klay 3
8m46 Wiggs should fake pass to Klay
8m40 Steph 3, Kings fell asleep but Fox to easy
42:00 Oakland A’s are gone to Vegas
8m05 Sabonis vs Looney like pickup, we should stop doing that
7m50 Wiggs 3 via Klay gravity via Looney inside
6m20 JP TD to Wiggs
47:15 J: “spacing looks amazing”
47:45 confirmed via Google that mandatory TV timeout (2 per quarter) occurs probably at 6m00
50:15 Sabonis is handing off at will and getting the screen he wants, maybe not sag on him?
3m45 Donte great individual, then Klay with the 0.2 catch-and-shoot (according to Charlie Torres, his trainer)
53:15 Klay is actually faster than the rulebook of 0.3
54:00 I’m proud of our defense in terms of we’re taking almost everything away except the Sabonis screen hand-off and Fox forcibly getting into the paint
56:15 the only thing that was bad focus-wise with us getting hit with the Draymond suspension was that we had one day to simmer over it
1m55 great team D
1m05 Moody 3!
0m55 Donte steal! Take foul not called!
1:00:30 if you were an AAU player it’d be worth your while to watch tape of Donte
0m00 DONTE AT THE BUZZER, J-Mike playing well btw
1:03:45 can we keep this up for four quarters? (expunge Draymond from your memories)
1:05:15 I go back on what I said earlier: keep the same game plan defensively
11m40 Q2 great rebound J-Mike
10m52 JK and Lamb come in for Moody and J-Mike
10m20 Kerr yells “away” as the play and Wiggs makes a J
10m10 JK foul on Len rebound, but it’s ticky tack
10m00 Steph says my fault on tov laser by Donte
9m25 good screen Lamb to Steph 3
8m55 slow whistle for something obvious: Steph fouled by Len in 2 ways
1:12:30 if Fox is gonna do this clutch stuff all game then he’s better than Dame Lillard, no cap to Dame
8m30 Lyles swatted by Wiggs who had a great close-out, helped by Lamb
7m57 when Len’s in there he’s always the worst player on the court so remind him of that!
1:15:45 maybe the mandatory timeouts come at 8m00 and 4m00
7m15 Robby Bautista says the announcer said J-Mike got mad (at Atkinson?)
7m00 Klay great post D vs Sabonis
6m56 Donte steal on the inbound (two of them!), that’s worthy of All-Defense
5m35 great team D again, Lamb block, Sabonis little dirty stuff down low
5m20 Wiggs offensive post vs Fox, bad call
4m55 box-and-1 on Steph, good hustle Loon
3m55 no help on Sabonis vs Wiggs good
3m30 Loon putback, I was worried about another miss
3m10 Steph’s been drawing that foul all year on Huerter finally gets called, all year! Remember the Bill Kennedy high-five atrocity? We’ve been talking this foul all year and it finally happened
1:28:45 Parth: “We should aim for atleast 15 points lead before 4th quarter to be safe !!” — No, focus on the process, the moment, not the result, which is the future
1:29:45 Bruce: “first half mvp loon” — yes but it’s the team defense so far, esp without Draymond although that is the absolute last time I’ll mention his name tonight
1:31:00 Fox may have won the Clutch POTY award, but Sabonis deserves an Oscar
3m00 another DHO via Sabonis on KH 3
1:32:45 I can’t really complain about the O because it’s a grind it out game
2m00 during the regular season Klay did not hustle back for a steal like that
1m30 what a steal by Steph, what a steal, what a finish by JP
0m40 Klay should’ve shot it vs Keegan
0m01.4 Steph all heart, talent, skill, execution, physicality
1:37:45 this is the best we’ve played even more so than the Pelicans 2nd half, mainly because the Kings are so good, they could be considered a shoo-in for WCS from this point forward, if you’re ever predicting playoff brackets, you’ll probably have the Kings going at least that far next year and long-term
1:47:45 Dean: “the team we knew they could be”
1:48:15 me: “seen 84 games, hope they can replicate in 2nd half”
1:52:30 Dean: take the ball out of Sabonis hands
1:54:00 Wiggs should’ve been and-one, Loon great oreb
11m05 Wiggs gets called for hand-on-hand vs Fox
10m10 JP baseline, Steph not back on D, if JP is scoring a layup you MUST get back
9m50 JP great lead pass to Steph
9m40 KH baseline reverse, Klay wanted to guard HB and Steph was guarding HB, therefore left KH completely open
2:00:00 the last two plays are very bad plays by the SplashBrothers
9m00 Steph isn’t looking at the outlet from Loon! (HB scores)
7m45 Klay does not rebound as Wiggs leaps twice (HB scores)
7m05 Steph superstar drought end, G4 layup
6m08 Steph comes out, Donte in
5m30 leave Davis twice good gamble
5m00 great help by Klay vs Sabonis
4m00 Moody and-one fills the exact role, HB sells out on Klay
3m20 Donte tiki dribble, Moody layup, perfect game by Donte
2:15:45 good mins for Steph so far (24), puts him at 39 mins even if he played the rest of the way
2:16:15 for this series, seems like Moody has earned a leap frog of JK
3m10 Steph checked back in, got an almost-steal
2m45 great D vs Sabonis who used the ball as an attack!
2m30 ticky-tack post foul on Moody vs Sabonis, wish they would call these like the Finals
1m45 Steph fouled twice G4 scoop and-one, justice prevails, high IQ directing guys around with the ball in his hands, come here Wiggs, forces a switch with Keegan, give Kerr credit
0m30 great job by Moody to draw fouls
2:28:00 you have to coach to understand the process of not nitpicking Kerr, you have to gone through staying up at night regretting little decisions, don’t be judgmental like that on my channel!
11m35 Eric Lewis finally came through with a foul on a rebound call on Lyles vs Wiggs
10m55 what a cut by Steph
10m05 Donte athleticism on the cornerback tap
9m50 Loon and JK help on Sabonis steal!
9m15 JK floats again
2:36:45 JK “come fly with me” dunk
8m10 Donte 3 then almost-steal!
7m55 KH hit backboard out, but look at our box out position
2:42:30 TRL” DG rooting at home” — I thought he said “groot” and today’s performance is like “I am Groot!”
2:43:30 DVDV: “Defense-enzo that’s excellent!! 👍👏🔥🔥❤❤”
7m10 JK putback dunk!!! saves the day
6m35 Klay 3 dagger!!!! shotclock low
6m10 Donte laser pass to Klay
4m45 Loon 20th rebound!
2:59:45 they’re chanting “Draymond Green!” at Thrive City
3:10:00 Steph only 2 assists, team got 31 on 40/100
3:30:30 Dean: Looney is “Duncan, Jr.”
3:32:30 Dean: “Loon a Top Ten big”
3:38:30 Ryan B: “Loon got a 4-20 on 4/20”, Dean: “he smoked em”
3:45:00 LOONEY POSTGAME AUDIO, EARLIER HAD LOONEY ON-COURT AND STEVE PODIUM AUDIO (oops!)
3:53:00 MOODY POSTGAME AUDIO
4:07:00 Dean: “I think some people have a cortisol addiction”
4:08:00 Dean quotes Kobe: “Play as one or your season is done”
4:09:00 Dean: “Dillon Brooks is a warthog”
4:18:00 SOME MOODY AND ALL OF WIGGS POSTGAME AUDIO
4:40:00 ENTIRE STEPH POSTGAME VIDEO AFTER ENTIRE MOODY POSTGAME VIDEO
5:05:00 JTA POSTGAME
5:10:00 Dean: “Juan Testosterone”
5:14:00 Dean: “I’m feeling a Klay game” for Sunday
5:33:00 Dean: “I don’t think we have a second-best player”
5:46:00 Dean: Harden has 1,000 more FTA made than FGM, but Steph Curry has 4,000 more FGM that FTA
5:54:00 on Moody saying Draymond’s speech before practice was like a movie, like Rocky — Dean: they’d have to have privacy to make that work
• Stephen Curry postgame on when he’s on the floor they’re the better team with his high +/-: “you gotta go out and execute it consistently… still… self-inflicted wounds… when I’m out there be assertive, aggressive… we all did that a lot better… can shoot the ball better as a whole… I like the momentum we created tonight.”
• On the two sub outs in Q4: “just wanna keep you all guessing with my rotation… I might switch it up again in Game 4 we’ll see.”
• On not having Draymond and GP2: “This is what we’re supposed to do… glad to have guys step up… understood the consequences if we lost tonight and nobody wanted to feel that… the defensive numbers were amazing tonight and it might be a surprise… galvanize the effort… Donte… Mo… JK… J-Mike, A-Lamb… understood their assignments… continue to do that… great opportunity to even the series on Sunday and take it from there.”
• On making quick decisions: “even with twenty-plus turnovers, still a chance to win… eight more shots than they did, five more offensive rebounds and the turnovers… not giving them easy points because they’re extremely fast and athletic… good lesson for us on how to control each offensive possession… win the possession game… how highly potent we are offensively.”
• On Looney saying he can get in the zone: “He’s relentless… see the ball, angles, your effort, knowing it’s gonna be physical… has to guard a tough matchup… knows how to be effective… nine offensive rebounds is huge for us… we were getting pretty solid looks, just weren’t hitting them… gets the crowd into it… amazing to watch.”
• On the late three before half: “we needed every bit of it and he relishes those opportunities.”
• On Looney’s assists: “pattern of basketball at any level… usually gonna be somebody open because everybody is scattered… everybody’s kinda in rhythm.”
• On hearing the dynasty over and they’re too old, having something to prove: “you bottle up all of that noise… distractions… narrative… all it is is just a sense of pride… the right energy… create some life for us… pretty bluntly if we lost this game it’s pretty much over… we’ve been in a situation where momentum doesn’t necessarily carry over.”
• On not having Draymond: “How bad of a decision the league made… nothing we can do about it… lock in… we’ve accomplished a lot on this stage… dig into that identity.”
• On Strength in Numbers over the years: “harder for those guys chomping at the bit… our core together for a long time… you don’t really know when your number is gonna get called… Coach… a lot of options… message from training camp to know is be ready for your moment… run through the names… had a moment here, a moment there and it’s all mattered… things change really quickly… gotta keep doing it.”
[Zoom call got cut short]
• Moses Moody postgame on any conversations about his role: “nothing necessarily certain… Draymond did come to practice yesterday… step up… play more minutes.”
• On their energy: “some of that gotta go to the fans… we fed off of that all game.”
• On always being prepared.”Humbly speaking, I’ve always been a winner.”
[sorry, skipped a lot of questions, busy multi-tasking and uploading more]
• “Winning is a skill.”
• More Moody postgame on goals: “Draymond came into practice yesterday passionate… it’ll be a loud game to win… take on our role and some extra.”
• On how many times he swore: “he just has that passion and energy… inspirational movie… like Rocky coming out before the fight.”
• On bench support when shorthanded: “that’s what the playoffs is all about… Giannis (injured).”
• On rolling into Sunday: “win… keep doing it, not trying to change… keeping the main thing the main thing.”
• Andrew Wiggins postgame on if he felt like himself: “ball was moving… sharing the ball, playing Warriors basketball.”
• On feeding off of big defensive plays: “We need it, that’s what’s gonna fuel us… depend on is the rebounding, the defense, the hard work… make the other team feel uncomfortable.”
• On how he feels after missing time: “feels great being back… in this atmosphere… best fans… every time you step on the court they make you feel appreciated.”
• On where he is physically and without Draymond and Gary: “fill in those shoes together… rebound the ball… I’m just getting back to myself… keep it going up.”
• On the pace: “We played fast but we were moving the ball, playing together and not playing as fast as before… going from good to great.”
• On feeling the space with Steph: “gonna take like three guys to guard him because he’s that special… the floor opens up.”
• Juan Toscano-Anderson postgame in-studio: “Oakland first, though… come home, handle business. Shout out to Donte… Moses as well… Steph gonna do what he’s gonna do… one game at a time.”
• On the Chase energy: “It’s amazing, playing in arenas all over the league, Chase is different… I might be a little biased.”
• On role players being ready: “you just stay with it… stay in the gym… scouting report… watch the game closely… Moses… came in tonight and handled business.”
• On Looney: “I’m glad he’s getting the recognition… dominating the boards… so many facets to the game… dominate a facet of the game… Dennis Rodman.”
• On Wiggins: “Two-way Wiggs… I’m a huge fan of Wiggs. When I was here I always tried to have him take it up a level… 20 on a quiet night… defending one of the better players in the league in D.Fox.”
• On forcing turnovers: “Really impressive… Sacramento had the highest offensive rating.”
• On the experience playing at this level: “We’ll find out Game 4. Tonight was very pivotal… capable of running of four in a row… I’m not just gonna say the Warriors are gonna do it… lost Game 1 in the Finals and Draymond and Steph came into the locker room and said don’t worry.”
• Kevon Looney postgame on-court on the mindset: “We all knew we had to step up missing two of the best defenders in the league.”
• On why he’s a good rebounder: “I can’t tell you the secrets… using my size, my length… I know where they tend to miss out… work with Decky.”
• On the 9 assists (did those at UCLA and HS): “always been pretty good as a passer… learning from Draymond and Andre… facilitator… connect with JK on a dunk is always a good feeling.”
• On the turnovers: “been talking about the whole series… Draymond challenged us not to do.”
• On having two days off mentally: “benefit for us… time to prepare and plan, we’re hard to beat… pretty good every other day too… just got older guys.”
• On the physicality: “I try to encourage to get in there… as a big man it’s more my job to set the tone early… feeds off my energy… Donte… JK.”
(Laughs at JP’s offensive rebound)
• At podium postgame Game 3 on things clicking, this game basically starting yesterday: “game plan… we didn’t execute it (first two games)… locked in… our focus grows even more.”
• On his rebounding being Rodman-like feeling like all the rebounds were coming to him: “you can get into a zone… know where the ball’s going… tips going my way… me and Decky talked about it… not just pushing and shoving, using the skill that I have.”
• On Moody and Kuminga and the bench, getting contributions in the past: “Donte flying in… Moody… J-Mike… setting the tone physically… Steve usually gives everybody a shot.”
• On balancing turnovers vs quick decisions: “we all practice this every day… Steph and Klay draws so much attention… slowing down… our guys were making shots so I was able to get a lot of assists tonight.”
• On Steph saying Draymond has a history, so do we: “we’re a team with a lot of pride… backs against the wall… hold down the fort… just one game… continue to take care of business.”
• On Steph’s 36 and 1 turnover: “his focus level was instance tonight… Steph was able to manipulate all of them (Kings defensive strategies).”
• On Draymond: “gave us a pep talk (at practice)… definitely was a good one.”
• On the defense: “locked in.”
• On how wide open the court is after an offensive rebound: “best shooters in the league… when you get an offensive rebound… I remember Ron Adams yelling at me, we got Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on our team.”
• On knowing what to do in the paint after a rebound: “If I got two feet… I usually go back up.”
• On their pace: “Get out in transition… pretty tough in space.”
• Looney to Sam Amick of The Athletic [no video]: https://theathletic.com/4435833/2023/04/21/kings-warriors-scouting-report/?source=nbatw
(Sabonis) is a unique big man, and their offense is kind of similar to ours. They play with a lot of speed. They’ve got a lot of shooters. And they play with a lot of space. When you’ve got a big man like Sabonis, who’s a great screen setter, but also a great finisher — and with De’Aaron Fox coming downhill — you’ve kind of got to pick your poison and give up something. De’Aaron Fox (26 points on nine of 22 shooting, nine assists, nine rebounds, four turnovers) was killing us with the midrange, but you’ve got to give up something. It’s been a tug of war, back and forth. I feel like we have good stretches and good quarters, where we’re locking them down, but then they have stretches and they look like the Kings and look like a historic offense.
On the Sabonis matchup…
I know how it feels to be a big when they’re kind of mixing it up, and they’re holding you, sometimes they’re pressuring you. You can’t really get a rhythm. They’re top blocking. Me and Draymond see those defenses all the time, so we know how uncomfortable it is to get a rhythm and a flow. We’re doing a good job taking away his assists. Sometimes he got it going a little bit on the scoring. I think he had 20-something in Game 2, was 8-for-12. But you’ve got to give up something. We would rather let him beat us scoring than with his passing. We know that as a big man, and as a great screener, you feel really good about yourself when you make plays for others. You feel good when you make plays for others in that system, so you want to try to make him uncomfortable, make him a scorer. It’s tough as a big to come down and shoot every time. You feel like you’re not doing the right thing. I think we’ve been doing a good job so far but we’ve got to keep doing it.
On whether the matchup with Sabonis was intensified by the Green-Sabonis saga in Game 2…
I wouldn’t just say it’s the Draymond thing. When you’ve got another guy who’s probably gonna make All-NBA, you’ve got to raise your game. If I don’t come out here and play my best, he’s gonna embarrass you. So you’ve got to go out there and meet him physically. It’s a good matchup for me to see where I’m at. I take pride in being the best offensive rebounder — or one of them — and he’s the best rebounder in the league. So to get to go against him, and measure yourself, and prove that you’re one of those guys is exciting.
KLAY POSTGAME LOCKER ROOM (NO VID)
• Tim Kawakami postgame quote from Klay: https://theathletic.com/4435700/2023/04/21/warriors-kings-draymond-green-game-3/
“(Draymond’s suspension) was upsetting,” Klay Thompson said. “But you accept it, you move forward. Strength in numbers. We know we can all pick up the slack with Dray out, and we did that tonight.”
…
Kerr had to make some strategic adjustments, too. He put Jordan Poole into the starting spot vacated by Green, which was not surprising. But it was presumed by many, including Kings coach Mike Brown, who spent six years as Kerr’s assistant, that the Warriors would have to play mostly zone defense to make up for that huge drop-off in defensive firepower. Throw in the absence of Payton, their best man-to-man defender and the Kings’ lethal combination of creative scorers and of course the Warriors had to play zone, right?
Nope.
“You were wrong, Mike B!” Thompson said with a smile. “We did sprinkle it some from time to time, (but) I think we played well tonight, especially man-to-man.”
• Steve Kerr postgame Game 3 recap: “the defense has been good all series… we didn’t rebound… didn’t complete the possessions and tuned it ball… tonight was about taking care of the glass and taking care of the ball… eventually that’s gonna lead to offense… broke through in the second half… the game went the way it did because we took care of the ball.”
• On how they felt when they got the news of Draymond’s suspension: “Our guys were locked in when the news came in… we turned the page pretty quickly.”
• On Moody and Kuminga, knowing they would play: “Yeah both guys were in the rotation plans… Moses really got us going with those two threes… JK with that slow start gave us some good minutes.”
• On Wooden and be quick but don’t hurry: “That was the key… wasn’t about the pace as it was about the decision-making… early crazy ones… guys understood what that decision-making was doing, forcing Sacramento to play in the half-court.”
• On Looney’s responsibility without Draymond: “The way we’ve been playing the two of them have been trading off on Sabonis after the first six minutes… JaMychal came in, did a really good job on him, but this is Loon… never makes mistakes, rebounds like crazy… the game is much simpler.”
• On Looney playing different with 20 boards: “the way we were playing… in Sacramento where we were ball-watching… spaced them out pretty well and then Loon was in the pocket… just going right to the rim… offensive rebounding possibilities.”
• On an unexpected big games like from Livingston, Ian Clark, Mo Speights: “role players need to step up and make plays… could be someone different next game… Donte was fantastic… all over the glass, handled the ball, he got 8 assists.”
• On Steph getting 25 shots being Steph being Steph: “nothing different schematically… controlled the game… rebounding… defense… he saw where he could attack… figures out the game pretty quickly.”
• On the 12 turnover mark, if he celebrates it: “I’m gonna have a marguerita right now but I was gonna do that even if we had 25 turnovers.”
• On how the crowd supplanted Draymond’s energy: “Bay Area is a basketball hotbed. They love basketball here… great basketball fans in the area… the roof is not sky-high… pretty intimate, you can feel the crowd.”
• On Steph having 36 with 1 turnover: “That’s been the message and that was the key and Steph is our point guard and it starts with him… just stacked good possessions… understood the value of even if we’re not scoring, control the ball… especially against Sacramento (and their pace).”
• On how this changes the series: “until someone wins a road game, everybody is just holding serve.”
• On their 27% from threes: “I’m not going to sit here and pretend we have forced every three… I’m sure they’re gonna have a game when they knock down some threes.”
• With Kerith Burke, on the team effort without Dray and GP: “they really wanted to do this… prove that they’ve got what it takes too… a lot of people but it was really just the whole group… intelligence of keeping possessions simple.”
• On Looney: “This is who Loon is… always locked in to the game plan… become one of the best rebounders in the league… attention to detail, his connection to his teammates… He’s a lunch pail guy… never misses a game… practice… coach’s dream.”
• On Steph being the showman: “I saw the look on his face… breathing, meditating during timeouts.”
• Tim Kawakami exclusive quotes [no video] with Steve Kerr postgame on Steph’s rotation: https://theathletic.com/4435700/2023/04/21/warriors-kings-draymond-green-game-3/
Kerr also made a pretty major tweak to Curry’s rotation. Instead of only subbing Curry out once a half (usually at the end of the first and third quarters before putting him back in a few minutes into the second and fourth), Kerr pulled Curry only six minutes into the first quarter put him back in to close the quarter then did it again midway through the second and third quarters. Which set up Curry to play all of the fourth quarter, which he did until garbage time.
Part of the benefit: It got Curry on the floor with the second unit to start the second and fourth quarters, which helped settle down Kuminga, Moody and DiVincenzo. That, of course, is usually Green’s job.
“We just felt like this was important, down 2-0,” Kerr said. “We felt like it stabilized different lineups. We liked the look of it on paper. And I went to him yesterday and of course being Steph, he said, ‘Nope, I’ve got it. It’s good.’ The one thing is we wanted to make sure … sometimes he takes the first quarter to feel the game out a little bit. I think (assistant Bruce Fraser) talked to him about being aggressive. ‘Because you’re coming out at the six-minute of the first quarter, don’t be shy in those first six.’ Typical Steph, though, he’s game for anything.”
• Jordan Poole postgame on-court with ESPN China, on leading the whole 48 minutes: “It was just good to go out there and get some momentum. I know we play really good when we’re at home and we got off to a fast start and guys were locked in. We were just locked into the game plan and it was a huge win for us.”
• On everyone’s effort: “It’s the playoffs, Everybody’s gonna have to step up. Moses had some big minutes, JK had big minutes, J-Mike had big minutes, so when we get our entire team to contribute, we come out with wins. We gotta lock in and do it again.”
• On fighting through his ankle injury: “Playing through injury is tough. I just wanna be out here for my guys and try to put them in a situation to win. When I’m out there on the court, I can be aggressive and space out the floor, so I’m going to try to be out here for my guys every night and try to help us win.”
MOODY HALFTIME ON-COURT (NO VID)
• Moses Moody halftime on-court on the team defense: “That’s what this game is gonna be about… Coach told us… Draymond told us.”
• On hitting the corner threes: “Basketball, I’ve been doing it my whole life… do my part… must-win… everyone’s got their role… do mine.”
• Mike Brown pregame Game 3, on guarding against being overly confident or sensing a letdown: “You don’t. You talk about it ofc but if we’re over-confident we’re gonna get our behind handed to us because these guys are multiple champions… play the game as best we can for 48 minutes and hope to get a win on their floor.”
• On if he got more Gucci shoes: “I’m gonna do this even though I don’t have a deal with him (puts foot on table and shows his shoes)… I’ve been rocking the Vans… I appreciate it, Vans… he wears Vans from six, seven years ago. Soon as I get a cuff I got a new pair on.”
• On having an advantage coming from the Warriors like Gruden did with Tampa Bay: “I don’t think it does… they have a really really great advanced scout in Scotty… they know my tendencies too… can we go out there and execute it for 48 minutes?… it’s more that than anything else… come playoff time everybody knows everything about each other.”
• On Mitchell vs Steph: “they do a good job of moving Steph around… pick and rolls and coming off a lot of screens… defensively the effort that he has to give all the time… not the same as when somebody has to guard him… as much as we can we’re gonna put Fox on somebody else… junk up the game… hope that he has to try a little bit harder to make shots… Davion is doing about as good a job… Steph still had 28… you don’t stop hall of Famers like Steph.”
• On how he feels about Draymond’s past being factored into the suspension: “You gotta talk to the league about that… I have no idea what they’re thinking or what’s behind it so you’d have to ask the league.”
• On maybe going zone having to do with the Warriors pushing harder on offense: “You sit back and try to guess… we feel they’re probably gonna play Jordan Poole, Wiggs, Steph, and Klay… Gary Payton might play some… get shots up… Steve is a guy that’s a great motivator… think outside the box.., turn it into a track meet… we feel like we’re prepared to go against or attack either one, but the game still has to be played.”
• On Keegan Murray: “chance to restart… clean slate when that jump ball goes up… to win four games in any series is very hard… you never feel out of it when you think of it that way and most good teams do.”
• On the Chase crowd tonight: “It’s gonna be tough. It’s gonna be a dogfight… they’re gonna really behind Draymond which they should… tough as nails to try to get a win.”
• On Harrison Barnes: “He’s our vet. He and Delly… their leadership is off the charts.”
• On rebounding so well now versus during the regular season: “We emphasized it. We have what we call crash zones… our crash zone rate during the regular season was pretty high, we just weren’t getting our hands on the ball…aggression.”
• On being poised: “I’ve said it a hundred times… they have a huge advantage when it comes to tough moments… we can only tell them what to expect… your parents can tell you one thing when you’re younger… go through it three, four times… to get over the hump… give a lot of credit to our players first and also to our staff… diverse… even guys like Bobby Jackson… Christie… Barbosa.”
[broadcast cuts out]
• Steve Kerr pregame Game 3 on how to channel their frustrations: “lock in on the game plan… a lot of guys excited (to play)… opportunity… something to be gained.”
• On the energy tonight: “I think our crowd will help cover that.”
• On the guys listed as questionable: “Wiggins and Poole are definitely playing. Gary is still questionable.”
• On Poole’s ankle: “He’s doing much better now. Game 2 didn’t really go his way… rhythm… when you’re dealing with an injury.”
• On where Draymond will be: “He’ll be at home.”
• On if Draymond was able to get some work in today: “Idk.”
• On describing being down 2-0:
“New territory for us… challenge… opportunity… kind of in and of itself an amazing accomplishment… we’ve been down 3-1 before… great challenge for us… we’re excited.”
• On Mike Brown getting unanimous COTY award: “not surprising… every coach in the league felt the same way… Mike and his staff hit a home run.”
• On helping his players focus on the immediate: “Players don’t really think about that stuff and I don’t either tbh… immediate focus is always on the next day. You have to live that way throughout the regular season… conditioned… to focus on just the next day… leave all that other speculation to everybody else, particularly to Larry (Beil, who asked the question).”
• On celebrities like E-40 meaning to the Warriors: “our guys love him… always got a big smile on his face… fun to share it with our fans… pretty amazing ride.”
• On limiting Keegan Murray and a rookie having a prominent role: “great shooter… good size… Huerter… Monk… Lyles… run through Sabonis… all capable… every game is different… lock in… scouting report… can’t give him any clean looks… very mature player.”
• On Kuminga playing limited minutes: “things just haven’t fallen for him… not a matchup for him in this series that’s a 100% requirement… on-ball defense… Ingram… Durant… LeBron… this is a different kind of series…. What I’ve told him is every series is different… stay ready and if you do that things tend to fall your way.”
• On Mike Brown: “Understanding our personnel… made a point of being very physical… Mitchell on Steph.”
• On Gary Payton II: “Yesterday he was sick and missed practice. Idk (if he’s in the building).”
• On going bigger without Draymond: “Definitely a possibility… feel the game and see where it’s going… Game 1 was a technique problem… Game 2… box-outs… Game 2 was a lot better but.., long rebounds.”
• On Davion Mitchell: “really strong… lateral quickness… older young player, he’s got experience… national champion… poised… Mike has given him a job… and it suits his skill set.”
• On the confidence vs urgency: “we show them tape… good possessions… bad possessions… Game 1 was mostly shot selection… Game 2 was turnovers and really poor decision making… greatest wuote… Wooden ‘be quick but don’t hurry’… be more patient, more poised.”
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