Imagine my surprise when perusing the Steve Kerr pregame interview today (I’m usually a tad late to those due to the game livestreams), it turned out that Kerr actually talked about the modern NBA defense before the loss to the Clippers…
Protecting the rim, protecting the paint, taking away the easy stuff is still the number one priority, the way the game is played now. There’s so much more court to cover that it’s really become a game of multiple efforts. And so you’ve got to go from protecting the paint, being on a string, all five guys, and then rotating and flying out to shooters. And then It’s a real challenge. Boxing out and getting the rebound and when somebody gets an offensive rebound and kicks it for another three, you’ve got to fly out at that guy. You really have to be determined to challenge every shot. But at the same time take away the easy stuff in the paint. That’s why it’s so hard. Everybody can shoot now. And so it’s a huge challenge. But like I said, if you don’t protect the rim and the basket it’s really hard to have a good defense.
…which was one of the main reasons why they lost!
I’m also going to excerpt some of my conversation(s) with people about the loss. One thing I’ll stay away from for now, although you can see in the Game Notes at the bottom, we talked about him plenty: Klay Thompson. I’m saving an article dedicated to his “paradox” for next time I have a free day, which is likely this Sunday. But here are my thoughts from the loss to LAC (I do have more that I always talk about on the livestreams):
Yeah overall they definitely went away from JK for the meat of it. I thought Loon [discussion about Kerr not going to TJD due to his issues on help defense — to be explored later on this websute] came in because Dray got his 4th. Also think Steph deserves a tiny little bit of blame for JK in that there were too many hero shots, which then takes away from JK. Do that to close a game instead. On the Wiggs foul of Coffey chasing the long rebound, which was crucial, JK in the corner was watching Steph shoot it. Ball came nearby. Had JK crashed, maybe the ball doesn’t pinball to Coffey. But for JK to crash you should feed him prior to that. And so I do blame Kerr, but then again half the coaching staff just flew back from Serbia and I do think their adjustments looked rusty. They went back to stubborn ways after PG fouled out. I kinda want to say the same old “got complacent” mentality. I’ve not often criticized Kerr for any particular loss, because as a former coach I lean more towards “play better, dammit!”, but I’m inclined on this one. I usually am very forgiving, but I took that loss with oddly more disappointment than possibly at any point this season — keeping in mind that the “bad losses” this season have all come at a time when I did not think the team was truly “whole,” for lack of a better word.
We shall see what happens tonight at Utah, even though no one I talk to thinks the Warriors won’t make the play-in. On Monday it really seemed like Utah was tanking. They have no system around Lauri Markkanen. It was like an AAU game. I’m sure they’ll implement one next season, though. Danny Ainge be scheming!
Videos and transcripts below from Steve, Brandin Podziemski who had himself a whale of a game, and Stephen Curry. I’ll also be writing that Podziemski article soon and include some of the game plan details, particularly against James Harden, who although had that airball versus BP, also got him leaning the wrong way for one of those kick-outs to Norman Powell that sank Golden State last night…
0:00 Hi Steve. Welcome back. What kind of memories are you bringing back from Serbia?
STEVE KERR PREGAME LAC-GSW: “Yeah it was very emotional and very powerful to be there. I’m thrilled that we went, just to be there for the service and to pay our respects to Deki (Miljoevic) and his family and to all of Deki’s fans in Serbia. So it was wonderful to be there and to be part of it, but also very emotional and very difficult. But yeah I’m happy to be back with the team and we shared our experiences there with the group and told everybody about the service and it was very very meaningful to be there.”
0:54 Coach, welcome back. Ty Lue, why did you want him on your USA staff and how does he help you with everything, like what was his main duties as one of your assistants?
“Well number one, he’s one of the great coaches in our league and having competed against Ty for so many years and especially in the Finals, it’s easy to recognize what a great coach he is and how smart he is. So I wanted him on the staff. He handled our defense this past year. He’ll take the defense again this coming summer. We had a great time. The camaraderie in that room just every single day. I looked forward to seeing Ty and Spo and Mark Few and the whole group. So it’s an amazing experience being part of USA Basketball and I wanted Ty to be part of not only the staff, but the program going forward. So he’s a great coach and he’s become a great friend and got the utmost respect for him.”
2:11 I’m sure you watched either the entire game or film back from the Utah games. What did you like from that? And kind of some themes throughout these recent wins, what do you guys think? You guys are being able to thread together to build some momentum.
“Yeah I just like the momentum that we have. I like that our confidence is growing. That’s the biggest thing that I see, to go into Utah and win a game like that. I’m not sure we would have been able to do that a month ago. So we’re on a good path. Our defense has dramatically improved. Our chemistry has been great all year. The connection between the guys has been great all year, but it’s really starting to click and hopefully we can keep it going tonight and tomorrow before the break.”
2:58 Hi Steve. You talked about the momentum, how you finally sort of got some going here and now you got a week off coming up after today and tomorrow. How do you sort of maintain momentum given that long break?
“Well, the best way to maintain the momentum is to take care of business the next two nights and go into the break on a real hot streak and feeling really good about things. The guys need the break and I’m happy for them and for everybody that we’re about to get some time off. We just gotta go take care of business tonight and head to Utah.”
3:38 Draymond mentioned the other night that he thought his suspension kind of helped in some ways. It’s probably not the exact way that you guys view it, but in some ways do you agree with his assessment that his absence forced you guys into various things arising, all that have kind of led you to where you’re at right now?
“Yeah I do think anytime there’s an absence, whether it’s from an injury or a suspension, it opens up opportunity elsewhere. While we struggled without Draymond, it did give more opportunity to JK, probably Dario, and others. And since he’s come back, we’re playing our best basketball. And a big reason for that is not only his defense and his presence, but just the fact that JK has clearly broken through and is playing at a different level than he was earlier. So there is some validity to that, but I would like for him to stick around now for the rest of the year. We don’t need to help anybody else.”
4:45 First of all send condolences. First time I’ve seen you since the passing of Coach (Deki). And then I know you’ve probably taken a lot of questions about three-pointers as far as your team and offense and NBA. Over the years you’ve had your opinions on defense a lot. But what’s your team’s philosophy? What’s your philosophy on defending the three-pointer, from a personal standpoint, like removing the make-or-miss aspect of defending that particular shot?
“I still believe that you have to protect the rim first. Milwaukee the last couple of years has been a really interesting team. They’ve been, at least I don’t know about this year but the last couple of years, one of the best defenses in the league and they gave up a lot of threes. Protecting the rim, protecting the paint, taking away the easy stuff is still the number one priority, the way the game is played now. There’s so much more court to cover that it’s really become a game of multiple efforts. And so you’ve got to go from protecting the paint, being on a string, all five guys, and then rotating and flying out to shooters. And then It’s a real challenge. Boxing out and getting the rebound and when somebody gets an offensive rebound and kicks it for another three, you’ve got to fly out at that guy. You really have to be determined to challenge every shot. But at the same time take away the easy stuff in the paint. That’s why it’s so hard. Everybody can shoot now. And so it’s a huge challenge. But like I said, if you don’t protect the rim and the basket it’s really hard to have a good defense.”
4:56 Hey, Coach. In the past you’ve talked about when things maybe weren’t going so well, how difficult it is to fit 12 into nine spots or 10 spots. Now that you have that momentum and it looks like there’s more clarity, you’re getting whole, are those decisions easier or more difficult?
“Well, they’re easier when you’re winning because the tendency is to just stay with what’s what you’ve been doing once you get some momentum. And this is the first first time that I’ve felt this kind of momentum since the very beginning of the season, when we got off to that great start. But in between, we’ve had so many injuries and suspensions and guys going in and out of the lineup, it felt like we never really captured the momentum that we have right now. So now that we are where we are, we’re going to continue to do the same thing and play the same guys and stay with them and hopefully carry the momentum forward.”
7:31 FESTUS EZELI: Speaking of momentum, Coach, defense has led the way as this team has won five games in a row. The visible difference between early in the season and now is guys flying around, it’s boxing out, rebounding. What do you see as a coach? What’s the difference right now?
“Yeah I see the multiple efforts. I see the extra efforts. The transition defense is still spotty. It starts there. Our transition defense for most of the season has been bad. But because we are playing a little smaller and faster we have much better potential in that area and we’ve had some good games. But the multiple efforts have to be there from the very beginning. As soon as we’re sprinting back, finding those dangers, protecting the rim, and then hitting bodies and boxing out at the end of every possession. So I just like the effort. I like the multiple efforts we’re getting.”
0:00 Just what went wrong in the last eight minutes?
STEPHEN CURRY POSTGAME LAC-GSW: “Started with my turnover and they got an and-one. And then every possession felt a little kind of congestion offense. And then that fed into our defense. That definitely didn’t help the situation. We gave up too many corner threes, too many offensive rebounds. It was just a quick momentum change that they took advantage of. Obviously, they hit shots. They hit five threes, I think. Norm (Powell) had four, (Paul) Coffey had one, I gave up one coming off strong-side corner. So It was a tough one. Just played really well for 42 minutes. And then they’re a really good team that has some confidence and we’re still trying to prove that we’re that type of team and didn’t get it done.”
1:07 Steph, why is the helping out on a strong-side corner like a perennial thing? Is it scheme? Is it players just kind of falling asleep and is it as prevalent as it looks like when you guys are going over film, do you figure it out more times than not? It just feels to us like you guys make that same mistake a lot.
“Tonight I came up strong-side on Coffey. They had Zubac running off their pick-and-roll. He was getting in the middle and kind of spraying it to either side, really. That’s kind of a symptom of feeling like there’s threats all over and you’re overreacting to certain things and trying to do the right thing and you’ll be in a spot to help but i may be a situation where it help’s not needed and then the quick pass to the corner and I take advantage of – obviously we’re undersized at most most nights. And so the tendency is to try to crowd the paint, to give help, but tonight they made space. Sometimes you can close out and late contest and it doesn’t hurt you, but if the team’s making them on a night like tonight, it can happen.”
2:31 Steph, how much can you say about Brandin? This first half and just tonight, getting up there and rebounding against Plumlee and taking charges and all the little things he does that have made his first half of his rookie season pretty spectacular.
“He knows how to play. He’s fearless and does a lot of the little things that impact winning. He had 25 tonight. It was amazing on both ends of the floor. Even when he doesn’t have the stat line there’s still a connection on both sides of the ball, that he just finds a way to make the right play. So some of the stuff you can teach, some you can’t, you just have a feel and he sees the pictures really well this early in his career and it’s pretty impressive what he’s been able to do.”
3:22 Steph, you guys have one more game coming up on the road. But how would you evaluate how you guys have done at home in the first half of the season?
“If I’m not mistaken, we’re probably like .500 at home. Huh? (Raymond Ridder tells him they are 14-14.) So we’re very average. Very average doesn’t get it done in this league. So we need to make a run. Hopefully, bounce back tomorrow. And then after the All-Star break, hit a stride that you win every game here, and steal some on the road. That’s the formula. But we’ve been very average so far, so we’ve got to regain that home court fear that we’ve been accustomed to in the past.”
4:08 Steph, you mentioned tomorrow night’s game and Brandin said earlier that losing tonight makes it even more important to get tomorrow night. You guys have obviously had some moments, a surge here going. How essential in your mind is it to regain that tomorrow as opposed to going to the break with two losses?
“Either way, tonight we would have said the same thing about tomorrow. Like, either you’re trying to keep the streak going, not have any missteps down before the break and now it’s the same mission, but a different mindset of bouncing back and feeling good going into a six-day break or whatever it is, it’s a very, very, very, very important game, to say the least.”
4:53 Steph, you and James (Harden), obviously were in the same draft. Russ (Westbrook), PG (Paul George) was 2010. I know you don’t have a great feeling after a game like this, but what’s it like to still have battles like this with guys you came into the league with, or came into the league around the same time as you?
“It’s always special, especially me and James. Like you said, the same draft and it’s been a lot of time with him at the Naismith thing we did in college, at the Final Four. We went up there, hung out a lot. Obviously, the draft experience, had a lot of battles back and forth over the years. Russ in there, like you said, PG. So we’re all still trying to play at a high level. Talked about it with Bron (LeBron James), KD (Kevin Durant) and guys that have been around for a very long time and names in this league that are still trying to play at a high level. So there’s a lot of mutual respect. There’s a lot of competition to hate losing to them. They feel the same way. So we’ll keep doing it.”
5:55 Kuminga didn’t have a bad scoring night, but it was maybe a little less dynamic than others. Are you seeing defenses play him differently? Is it a little more focus on him? And how have you seen him? Or do you see him kind of adjusting to that?
“That’s the natural progression of becoming that guy that instills a little fear in the coaching staff when they’re scouting the team and trying to understand your tendencies. They have a very unique defensive style. Ty Lue’s great at in-game adjustments and does a lot of things to try to mix up the game and different looks. So I’m not surprised that there was a kind of a slower type of night, but he’s done an amazing job JK has of staying patient, staying aggressive, though at the same time and finding his spots. And continuing to build that confidence that he’s that guy, that he can change a game for us on both ends of the floor, but especially offensively. One night’s not going to get him down. It’s just a matter of continuing to get better.”
7:11 Hi Steph, Happy Valentine’s Day. And the love between you and Ayesha that’s just always admirable. And that lets me know that love is not like the result. Love is the process.
“Come on, you’re preaching out here!”
Like the basketball game right? And do you have any suggestion, like how can we have the relationship like you and Ayesha?
“That is – nah, I love my wife for sure. We’re not up here trying to preach to anybody about what relationship goals really look like. We just live our lives and support each other. So yeah I appreciate the compliments. Hopefully we keep doing it.”
7:30 You are up to about 14 threes this month. It feels like taking attempts, it feels like you’re taking a lot more. Is this a product of fresh legs? And do you remember at all the post All-Star break turn up, where that used to be your thing? And is it done now?
“The uptick is – obviously this confidence because it’s going in, but it’s also figuring out where I can get those looks because there’s a period where, especially without Draymond, defenses were trying to take that away and send a crowd and we’re going to do that. We’re trying to figure out how we’re going to do that. We have a lot of counters for that when he’s out there, especially with our team trying to figure out how to get the ball moving when I draw attention like that. But if I get good looks the numbers say shoot. That’s what I’ll do. Thankfully, I’m hitting them at a high clip and whatever. Again, each game is different and you approach it by seeing what the defense is going to give you. And again, if it’s shoot 14-plus threes, I’m gonna definitely do that. Hopefully you make your fair share of them. Obviously, I like to be efficient when I’m doing that. So that’s always a standard. But I don’t know about the patterns of the season. I always have a little down period in December-ish and usually come back. We did have a long break, unfortunately, in there where we might have gotten a little fresh physically but it’s a long season. You just take the ebbs and flows and stay even-keeled throughout the whole process, shoot shots that you normally shoot.”
9:55 You might have heard or seen the report this morning that your owner made a bid for a fairly large big name player. Not asking you specifically about that, but does it ever surprise you when you hear about your team, fishing in the deep water here for anybody they can get at the top of the game?
“No, I’m never surprised. It’s always a surprise that stuff like that gets out because I’m assuming that every team is making calls that if every fan or every fan base or media group would know about, it’d maybe normalize the conversation that happened in the front office, especially around the trade deadline, when you’re exploring around the league, who’s available, who’s not and gauging interest on that. So obviously a guy like Bron who’s – I don’t know what the depth of those conversations were – but it was a nice little surprise this morning for sure.”
11:06 I know before the game, you finally were able to make your opposite tunnel shot. Despite the loss, it was kind of a viral moment before the game. Was that a pretty cool moment for you? Would that break towards the top of your kind of pregame warmup moments there?
“I shoot that shot once whenever the opposing team switches onto the floor. First time I’ve ever made it. So it’s nice to get the juices flowing before the game. But I don’t really think about it after that.”
0:00 Steve, what do you think happened defensively in the fourth quarter? They’re giving up 42-43 points. So what was what was going on with your defense?
STEVE KERR POSTGAME LAC-GSW: “Yeah they picked us apart in the pick-and-roll and we didn’t adjust to it well enough. They got the ball into the pocket. Norm Powell got several threes out of that, the pocket pass and then we fouled him. I think they shot 15 free throws in the fourth quarter, 37 for the game. So I thought we had a really good first three quarters defensively. For the most part, the third quarter was better, was okay. Last couple minutes of the third, it felt like they got loose a little bit and then they just dominated the fourth.”
0:46 Seemed like the offensive rebounds, I think they had six in the fourth also, they seemed pretty timely. How much did those kind of –?
“Yeah, those hurt for sure. When we did get stops, we just couldn’t come up with the ball. So disappointing because our defense has been very good for the last few weeks and we let our guard down.”
1:04 You did not want the foul when Klay committed the foul?
“Yeah we didn’t want to. We’re down three with 38 seconds. So it’s an obvious defend and just play it out and get a rebound. And then it’s a one possession game.”
1:17 So you’re a shooter in your career and you have some incredible moments in your career. So you definitely understand mindset and confidence as a shooter. So when a player goes through such a career challenge, what kind of role should a coach play?
“Yeah, that’s my job to help our guys be the best versions of themselves. And there’s different ways to do it. But it’s mostly communication and perspective and then trying to put players in the best position to find their rhythm within the game.”
2:00 Steve, given that we’ve seen this kind of thing happen before, does this feel like a little bit of a relapse to what happened earlier, or is this just a one-off, you think?
“I think this is a one-off. We played a really solid game, 34 assists and nine turnovers, but the game got away from us defensively there in the fourth. And I’d like to watch the tape and see how we can adjust better. And because they picked us apart in that high screen, James Harden was fantastic tonight. And we just couldn’t corral him in that fourth quarter. And as I said they took advantage in every way, offensive boards, getting to the rim, we fouled them, we fouled James on that three-point shot, which was a big play. And so like I said, we lost control of the game defensively. And I don’t think we adjusted well enough either as a coaching staff.”
2:58 What do you think about the play that Plumlee, he got the flagrant on and Podziemski and just how Brandin kind of played over the course of the night?
“Brandin was great. He’s one of our best players. He took a couple charges, obviously shot the ball really well tonight. He was really, really good.”
3:21 You seem to be kind of settling into a closing lineup recently, but Gary is back now and obviously he provides something different defensively. How will he factor in, potentially, in closing lineups? And did you think about going to him tonight, late?
“I did put Gary in kind of mid-fourth for JK for a few minutes and then went back to JK. We felt like we needed the size out there, but Gary absolutely has a chance to close games in that spot.”
3:51 You mentioned Podziemski’s shooting. If he makes threes, how does that sort of change the dynamic? I know he does other things for you, but when he can shoot threes like he did tonight, how does that sort of change the equation?
“I think one of his best skills offensively is driving closeouts. When the ball swings to him, people are closing out. He attacks the closeout, gets the ball right to the front of the rim. He has a Eurostep layup. He’s a good passer. So the more he’s making the three, then the more teams have to close out on him, attack that closeout and generate a shot for him or someone else.”
4:28 Pretty difficult turnaround travel-wise tomorrow, but is the plan still all the veterans to make the trip and play?
“Mm, hmm. Yeah.”
4:40 Brandin, you’ve got 26 charges which is the most in the league. How do you see this number? And how significant is this for the team?
BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI: “It just kind of describes me as a player. If you could sum it up in a stat probably that, just kind of do whatever it takes for the team to win. And I also saw a stat today that says me and Draymond combined are better than 28 of the other NBA teams in terms of total charges drawn. So I think it’s just a testament to what we bring to the team and then guys like Moses (Moody) and Lester (Quinones) follow suit with that too.”
4:52 Steve Kerr said this game got away from you guys defensively, especially in the fourth quarter. That has not been the case lately with the defense. Why do you think the lapses happened tonight?
“I’m not sure. When the score was 106 to 96 ,it kind of felt like we just stopped playing and kind of felt sorry for themselves. During that stretch they made some tough shots and I think we kind of gave up a little bit. And then they started making the easy ones, just a combination of that from that point on the game, I think, definitely pivotal and we try to get back on offense but against high-level teams you got to find a way to get stops on defense.”
5:54 How frustrating or disappointing is it? I guess given the way you guys have been playing lately and it seemed like you had control, like you said, most of the game.
“Very frustrating for sure, kind of what happened in that last quarter, it’s the complete opposite of what we’ve been doing the last seven games. So it’s just really disappointing to see that we just got to everyone, just got buy-in for the team and it’s got to be on the team’s terms. And when everybody does that, you’ve seen that the last five, six games, no matter who’s out there, everybody’s just kind of giving it their all. And we’ve been successful doing that. And tonight and the last quarter it kind of flipped on us.”
6:32 Had there been anything with Plumlee leading up to that incident or did it just, he turned around and decided to whack you a couple times?
“I honestly think he was just kind of frustrated throughout the game, just battling with Draymond and Draymond being physical with him and him not kind of getting any calls around the rim and so he probably thought he got fouled and I got the rebound and so he kind of just tried to take his frustration out on me, but I guess it was worth it because I missed the two free throws.”
6:58 How was the shot feeling? You certainly made a bunch of them tonight.
“Feels good. Like I said, I’m just gonna keep shooting, not really a results-oriented player. Just trust what I put into it. And some days the results will be good. Sometimes they won’t and just kind of move forward with it.”
7:23 You guys are about to get on a plane for the second night of a back-to-back, then you get on another plane to go play in the Rising Stars game. That’s three games in three days, ultimately flattering, but not easy. How are you feeling about this span?
“I feel amazing. Three opportunities to get myself better, get the team better and then you know a lot of rookies don’t get to experience and the team that Pau Gasol drafted us is really good. And I think we can win the Rising Stars challenge. But in terms of tomorrow, it’s just like we let this one slip away. So we for sure need this one tomorrow, just because we’re neck and neck with Utah in the standings. So head-to-head might come down to it. And we beat them obviously on Monday. So they’re going to want to come back and beat us after losing to the Lakers tonight.”
8:13 We’ve seen a lot of leads slip away the first half of the season. But given the way you guys have been playing the past couple weeks, three weeks does this feel different the way this game slipped away? Or does it feel like the same old feeling?
“No, it just feels a little bit different. Obviously the result is the same and the loss, but I feel like we just – after the game we kind of just talked as a team and just kind of cleared things up and I think we’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
0:00 Steph finally hit the full-court heave
1:45 refs: James Williams (14th season), Scott Twardoski (13th), John Butler (5th) — btw, Jacyn Goble in trouble, Knicks protested that game, I wrote about Goble: https://www.letsgowarriors.com/p/basketball-gods-jacyn-goble-nurkic-draymond …Cholo says Goble ended the game with 0.3 seconds remaining
5:00 on just ignoring the LeBron trade deadline story
6:00 PG is the 4 tonight for LAC without Kawhi, Coffey, Zubac, Harden, Mann will start
12:45 Jenny Cavnar is doing pbp on radio in the absence Tim Roye
13:55 tipoff!
11m20 Q1 Klay passes up an early 3 yay! gets an assist to Dray 3
10m21 Q1 Klay good knock out of PG, Steph good help Zu tov
9m22 Q1 JK assist to Klay 94ft after dreb, PG not happy
8m51 Q1 Klay JK good reb vs Zu
8m09 Q1 Steph 3 via Dray P&R (Zu unhappy)
7m47 Q1 Wiggs crashes, gets call for push in back
7m07 Q1 JK should’ve just rose vs Mann mid-post, but passes away, Dray miss 3
6m18 Q1 JK cockback putback, great move by Steph past Zu
5m45 Q1 GP2 roll handoff via BP (was there a timeout so that BP could be subbed in?)
4m45 Q1 Russ attacked, blocked by Wiggs
4m30 Q1 btw we have 0 fouls and 0 tov, Loon fouled, generous shooting foul, bball gods shine on those who commit 01 fouls and tov
4m13 Q1 BP wins footrace to long reb vs Powell
3m37 Q1 Steph near-TTBTTOT but Coffey called for holding Loon screen
3m02 Q1 BP great lead pass early O to Les
2m57 Q1 on FT: GP2 out as PG checks out ******
2m48 Q1 Klay beaten to the spot by Russ, and1
2m33 Q1 JK initiates, Klay pick, rises, swing swing to BP drive reverse
2m05 Q1 PG bad shot vs Loon and BP
1m51 Q1 JK baseline spin fade vs Plumlee
1m16 Q1 BP great help
1m00 Q1 James Williams gives Klay the call after Klay slaps Plumlee in the face
0m27 Q1 Klay Kobe fade with 7 on the shot, brick (JK got help from Plumlee) — JK should’ve shot it, as we analyzed later before a timeout ended, if JK can do base spin fade on Plum might as well pull up 15ft
43:45 Nicole: the league found out the Warriors tried to get Bron and automatically started the refs started giving us calls!! 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
11m05 Q2 JK shows off the hops for no productive reason, goaltend vs Harden short shot
10m50 Q2 BP 3 splash over Plum
10m38 Q2 Dario wants a challenge on a kick ball
10m10 Q2 BP boxes out Zu great, Klay flat foot reb
9m35 Q2 JK base past Powell
8m07 Q2 timeout to get Steph in, we’ve been doing that a lot since Dray came back
53:30 @Jimbo no sense of urgency — I disagree. Guys are off: Les, Wiggs, Klay, they’re waiting on JK to go downhill
7m33 Q2 BP 3 open
7m05 Q2 JK oreb, finds Steph 3
6m59 Q2 BP could’ve taken charge, Dario fouled Plum on roll with Harden
4m55 Q2 Dray miss bunny
4m38 Q2 BP forces Harden to airball, 94ft reverse
3m52 Q2 GP great pass to Steph 3
3m13 Q2 Dray post up is really a screen for Steph
2m38 Q2 Wiggs putback
1m58 Q2 DPOY pick, PG and Harden leak out to Steph and Klay, red sea dunk Dray
1m41 Q2 JK bad box out, fouls Russ
1m08 Q2 Klay fist pump on Zu miss FT
1m00 Q2 Steph bad play vs Harden, faked him out on cut to handoff to Dray
0m14 Q2 JK too many spins, miss
0m06 Q2 Klay should maybe just crowd Harden
1:15:45 DVDV says LAL will beat UTA, the other night it was clear they don’t utilize Markkanene the right way, i.e., they’re tanking
1:17:45 JK needs to understand the meat of the game is “your world”
12m00 Q3 JK pays for top-blocking PG on lob
11m30 Q3 Wiggs good 3 catch
11m10 Q3 Mann knocks reb out of Klay’s hands, but our ball
10m40 Q3 Steph TTBTTOT
8m56 Q3 Dray hit in head, Klay looks at him, LAC runs away (just foul somebody!)
8m41 Q3 JK loses ball, they dunk
8m30 Q3 Steph hero 3 good
7m28 Q3 Klay super-confident “out on them”, gets the call
7m11 Q3 Wiggs bail out spin J
6m51 Q3 BP doubled PG, shouldn’t have, GP2
6m19 Q3 Steph chaos 3 didn’t look like it was going in
6m00 Q3 Loon good close on PG 3 corner miss
5m43 Q3 Loon didn’t see the entry but smothered everyone in the paint good
5m27 Q3 Steph brain fart def 3 sec (Zu had one earlier)
5m09 Q3 Loon fake HO to Mo fouled
4m40 Q3 BP answer 3 on Harden, trickle
4m21 Q3 Steph GOAT and1 split the double, footwork a la MJ
HERE
3m48 Q3 BP 3 again! keeps making your jaw drop!!!!!!
1:52:15 btw BP now tied with Brunson for league lead in charges taken, prob played far fewer mins
3m05 Q3 Mo oreb leads to Steph 3, dances (GP2 was already dancing on slow replay later) — is Steve sticking with Steph no sub bec he’s hot?
2m36 Q3 Steph subs out
2m15 Q3 Mo oreb dunk putback on miss 3 by Klay
2m02 Q3 BP takes a charge (challenged)
1m50 Q3 Klay sets a pick for Dray, miss layup
0m42 Q3 BP slow-mo Euro 94ft
0m05 Q3 Dray misses another layup (2/9 overall), Mann swishes at buzzer
2:03:30 Steph first in NBA history to hit 7+ threes in 4 straight games — insane stat, most guys don’t even shoot 7 attempts, you have to shoot volume and the only way you have volume is if you’re hot because you can’t hurt your team
12m00 Q4 designed Spain pick for Klay
10m28 Q4 BP single split action off Dray miss layup, 94ft later Dray foul Plum (4th)
10m18 Q4 Twardoski T on Lue — refs sticking up for Dray?!?! ****
9m41 Q4 Dray blocks Plum, Plum goes nuts, FF on BP, Rick Celebrini
9m36 Q4 Lue ejected — we are usually the recipient of these — Klay told BP to stay down, then helped him up
9m34 Q4 good play to free up JK via Klay gravity (and1)
9m22 Q4 BP takes a two-charge lead on Brunson
9m00 Q4 Klay brick yikes
8m46 Q4 Russ athletic oreb over Klay
2:21:00 Nicole: Im sorry but Dray keeping his composure is growth for me, DVDV: 💯 % agree. And JK taking one for the team just shows the cohesion as well. ☺☺
8m32 Q4 Steph TTBTTOT, Klay and1 foul on PG
7m51 Q4 Klay def3 sec not that bad, barely 3 sec — oops it was on Loon
7m45 Q4 PG post up GP, fouled, gotta do your thing GP
7m21 Q4 Klay brick
7m06 Q4 Powell 3, 10-0 run
6m51 Q4 Dray fake HO layup!
6m33 Q4 JK beat backdoor again
6m21 Q4 bad timing alley oop Dray to JK
5m49 Q4 Steph hero 3 no good
5m21 Q4 BP base runner good wow
5m13 Q4 PG bad push off on JK
4m58 Q4 Zu gives us the ball (credit Wiggs) after bad Steph Dray exchange, Steph 3 open
4m11 Q4 BP assist Euro to Dray
3m11 Q4 two slow passes to Dray roll by Steph in a row (PG fouls out though) — our POA defense just improved
2m59 Q4 JK watches the ball, ends up can’t reach it, Wiggs fouls
2m10 Q4 good close Powell, Steph creates a 2
1m18 Q4 Steph blows a layup after burning Zu
1m00 Q4 BP steal to Steph 3
0m53 Q4 JK bad foul after Coffey got by him, tough layup with nobody there (freight train)
0m44 Q4 BP 3 corner ready
0m39 Q4 Klay mindless foul on Russ
0m08 Q4 Klay ouboarded by Mann
2:47:45 analyzing the Klay outboard — probably need to work Mo into the rotation
2:54:00 analyzing JK watching the ball in flight from the 2m59 mark — Powell wanted the ball
2:58:00 @IHaveNoEnemies (BloomerVibes) buyout market is in March? — I feel like Play Better > Any FA rn
3:03:00 Steph could do better to get JK involved (do inverted screens earlier)
3:06:45 STEVE POSTGAME AUDIO
3:11:00 I wonder if Klay gets the day off tomorrow and, if so, opportunity for Moody
3:17:00 I’m thinking JK watching the ball is a result of Steph taking too many hero shots — the dark side of 41 points, very MJ-like
3:21:30 BP POSTGAME AUDIO
3:27:45 @Dean Agan: TJD? — I’m just starting to think we need more athleticism (in the regular season, game to game), it’s almost like we need more athleticism during the regular season, then playoffs need exp with CP3, Dario, Loon, Klay
3:33:15 Dean Chambers now on, wanting Klay to come off bench to go against the other team’s bench guys
3:48:00 Steve had to fly halfway across the world
3:53:45 Do you think Klay should come off the bench so as to play vs their 2nd unit?
Yes, come off the bench (72%)
No, keep starting, could start hot (27%)
Poll complete: 33 votes
3:55:30 STEPH POSTGAME AUDIO
Bruce: The warriors can beat any teams. They get a lead and stop playing; Cholo: dubs lose games when they get cocky, complacent, and lose their poise.
👍👍💛💙