Yet another instance of glowing praise for the Golden State Warriors from an opponent — third straight post I’ve mentioned this, I believe. Good stuff on Draymond Green from Josh Giddey below.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also mentioned that the Dubs have been doing what they’ve been doing for so long now, that they’ve gotten better and better at it. The next two matchups vs OKC coming up in the next month or so should be hard-fought battles again. Certainly plenty of mutual respect going around.
Everything else from Warriors-Thunder is in reverse chronological order, dating back to the day before at practice with Andrew Wiggins (still was sniffling on the podium at that point, actually) and Steve Kerr…
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.
0:00 • Josh Giddey postgame recap: “a bit different when you’re playing Golden State with so many different perimeter threats… not get back cut… they got whatever they wanted (Q1)… Draymond was kinda quarterbacking out of the high post… right there with them.”
1:21 • On the tight game: “A lot of Golden State fans there tonight… superstars, Hall of Famers all there on the court.”
1:50 • On the Warriors’ pace: “Five starters are all ball-handlers… find a man in transition… it took us too long to get us into that defensive mindset… gotta dictate terms from the start… it’s fun when you’re playing up and down.”
3:20 • On Draymond: “the things they do is second nature now… so under-appreciated for what he’s done… selfless… makes everyone better.”
5:40 • On the Warriors: “They don’t get rattled… they have so many counters to things… backcuts, slips… shooting gravity… a lot of it starts with Draymond… hard to stop, they got a lot of weapons… chemistry and the synergy… as a young team, that comes with time… in ten years, you never know.”
5:48 • Mark Daigneault postgame on going back to Shai early in the 4th: “I think it sends a bad message to the team if every time you get into trouble you put Shai back in. It communicates a lack of trust and I don’t have lack of trust.”
6:48 • On the Warriors: “Really really unique offense, they’re a help oriented team… better than the sum of their parts… great admiration for, that’s certainly the type of spirit that we’re trying to build… you gotta take it to them and go at them.”
10:00 • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander postgame on the Warriors shooting so many threes: “we were too worried about it (in Q1) They’re really good at shooting threes and teams have guarded their threes for how many years they’ve been together now, so they’ve become even better at capitalizing when you’re aggressive with the threes.”
14:47 • Jaylin Williams postgame on seeing former Arkansas teammates Isaiah Joe and Moses Moody after the game, then on a comparison with Draymond Green.
• Steph Curry postgame recap: “Polar opposite where we fight our way back and don’t have enough to get over the hump… give yourself a big cushion, we lost a little focus… too much fouling. Slowed the game down… learned a little bit about maintaining our composure.”
• On how they closed out: “We still had a couple turnovers but it was more about getting good shots… made them take a couple contested twos… they got to the basket, we didn’t foul, they missed… Loon got that dunk, we connected the game… we haven’t necessarily done that.”
• On if this is a turning point: “Yeah, but we’re saying that with a sample size that’s still small… maintain positive vibes… since the Boston game, you understand how to create offense… assists come from a great space… fun way to play when you put it all together.”
• On the defense closing out: “They hit some big threes early… keep them off the free throw line… heavy small ball… cross-matching… get in transition and that’s when we’re at our best.”
• On Shai: “Always been a tough scorer… he’s shifty… plays at his own pace… we knew coming into the game he was gonna make some tough shots… ended up having 32… 2 in the first quarter.”
• On OKC: “They’re probably playing above what people predicted… a lot of talent… youthful energy… tough team to beat.”
• On Taylor Robertson: “Timing was great… celebrate her accomplishment… she made 8 threes in her first college game and I had 8 tonight… cool connection.”
1:06 • On what he said to Taylor Robertson: “Finish the year strong… I’m rockin’ with Cam Brink and Azzi Fudd all day but Oklahoma’s probably got a good shot at having a nice tournament run.”
1:45 • On the tight standings: “we moved up and we didn’t even play yesterday… can’t get too wrapped up into that… start building momentum, that’s more important because the standings will work itself out… can’t really obsess over the swings because you’re one loss, two losses away from being 10th.”
2:42 • On if he’s both ends of the back-to-back coming up (MIN-DEN): “I campaign to play every game. That’s the misconception about load management. It’s never the player saying, ‘Hey, I want to sit.’… So yes I will campaign to play… I do, actually. I do (think he’ll be successful in his campaign to play).”
• Draymond Green postgame recap: “we kinda held off that run the entire first game… got the pace back to where we wanted it… had a flow.”
• On if there’s momentum coming: “Ah we’ll see. Every time we talk about that it goes the other way.”
• On what he liked: “Definitely looks like our brand of basketball… roles… rotations… but like I said, one game at a time.”
• On their first b2b road wins: “Man, yeah, that’s tough. But we got it now so no more firsts… the past is what it is… just gotta win from here.”
• On the road trip: “it’s a tough back to back but I think they’re two winnable games… a win is a win and it’s important but now we gotta go play our brand of basketball.”
• On how much they’ve missed Wiggins: “good to just see him back aggressive. When he first came back he seemed a little timid… idk if timid is the right word… find your legs… find your rhythm.”
• On OKC: “they got some good young players… Shai is a great player… Josh has gotten better… both Jaylins/Jaylens… they’re right in the thick of all the stuff in the Western Conference.”
• Klay Thompson postgame recap: “Muscala’s three at the end of the quarter gave them momentum. That big fella Jaylin Williams… they shot a great percentage. Luckily the volume wasn’t as much as we did.”
• On what clicked: “That first quarter was beautiful… ball was humming… 51 and 43% was special… 37 assists, I can read, Ray.”
• On their first road b2b wins of the season: “Wait wait wait, say that one more time? Well, man, hopefully we can make it three in a row… I still think we have magic in us to make us road warriors.”
• On the eight standings race: “Slots three through nine, that was a big win for us.”
• On if these two wins means they’re gaining momentum: “Yeah, I think so. We’re whole. I absolutely believe that big nights are on the horizon.”
• On the win: “The assist to turnover ratio was special tonight so that could be an indicator… 38 &12 and passing Wilt… what a legendary accomplishment. Wilt Chamberlain is one the greatest athletes to ever walk this Earth. So the fact that Steph was able to do that and a foot shorter than him, that’s special.”
• Steve Kerr postgame recap: “They’re scrappy… fouled a little bit too much in the third quarter… we closed the game really well… made big plays.”
• On giving up threes in Q3: “they stepped up and made shots… I’m actually happy when somebody only makes 11 threes against us… play the full 48… the start that we got off to set the tone… they had to swim upstream.”
• On Wiggins: “Andrew looked great… like himself… had a rough go… being sick a couple of times. He lost some conditioning, lost some rhythm… had a great practice… you could see this coming.”
• On Steph Curry: “looked just as fast and twitchy tonight as he did the other night… rebounding… quick to the ball and looked fantastic.”
• On the history of the building: “I didn’t think about it… different era, totally different team that OKC has put together.”
• On Shai: “gets any shot he wants… can’t speed him up… calmly rises up and shoots that little 12-footer… he really feasts on the midrange.”
• On the remaining road trip: “This was really a key game for us… start out with a win… get some rest tomorrow, prepare for Minnesota, go attack that game… back to back… difficult… get greedy.”
• On the identity for closing out this game: “You have to secure on the road down the stretch for the win… we’re getting some key buckets at key times… corner three (by Poole) was probably the biggest shot of the game.”
• Steph Curry postgame on-court on his assists (12 this game, 11 last): “Predicated on our starting lineup… moving the ball… track meet in the first quarter… creating easy shots… Draymond had a bunch of assists… guys gotta make shots… it’s a fun way to play.”
• On losing a 21-point lead and their defense: “first half was great… shell defense… late 3rd, early 4th we started fouling… pretty predictable when a team gets on a run… get their crowd involved… we settled down in the 4th… showed some composure.”
• On passing Wilt on all-time FGs for GSW: “means I’m getting old… breaking a Wilt record… certain ones that nobody’s gonna touch… 14 years representing DubNation.”
• On meeting Taylor Robertson: “she’s done it… volume and efficiency… 44%… timing was crazy… idk if she’s a Thunder fan or not but tonight she gotta be a part of DubNation.”
0:00 • outside Paycom Center
0:06 • PBJ to Wiseman dunk
0:15 • Wiggins returns!
0:17 • Jordan Poole still wearing the neck warmer from practice yesterday
0:42 • Steph Curry logo shots
1:06 • Steph x Taylor Robertson
1:27 • inspirational words from Curry
2:52 • autographs!
3:00 • JP dancing
3:15 • Wiseman at warmups
3:26 • Draymond, JP
3:45 • ritual: Steph corner 3 then Klay alley-oop
4:15 • Dray hugging teammates
4:24 • Warriors intros
4:45 • lights out!
4:53 • OKC mascot Rumble
5:14 • Wiggs jumps at tipoff
[GAME LIVESTREAM LINKS ARE NO LONGER PREVIEWING IN SUBSTACK 🤷🏻♂️]
https://youtube.com/live/1q4P6dvKywI?feature=shares
0:00 Wiggins is still sniffling, so imo he’s not totally 100% decongested
4:00 MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE FREE KLAY KT8 ANTA KOI COLORWAY
8:00 Wiggs won the tip!!!
25:30 some notes I forgot to type before this: Giddey nice use of body to finish reverse layup, Warriors really doing Tiki-taka well, Kuminga was late to his spot and Steph Curry wasn’t happy, even though Steph himself has been turning the ball over twice now carelessly
28:00 Donte re-cocking the backdoor pass to Lamb and Steph’s 0.2 touch on the corner three, assist by Lamb
31:00 Steph dancing, did not appear to land on Muscala’s foot to end the quarter, but Shai went 94 feet in 5.9 seconds
34:00 I had to throw Isaiah Joe under the bus on Damion Lee’s behalf once
34:30 Jordan Poole dribbles off his foot and stared at the ref as if he wanted a foul call lol smh
47:45 Lamb POA mistake after a JP low-center-of-gravity attack, timeout, at least it’s good to see everyone taking ownership of their mistakes tonight
50:15 Wiggs missed the attack but good to see him looking like his old self
52:00 3min15 even Klay is playing hot potato out there as Lamb hits a fade-away
53:30 great use of the body to score by Looney vs Jalen Williams
56:00 will Wiseman play tonight? Maybe if Muscala goes back in?
56:30 21 assists on 23 field goals, we haven’t seen Tiki-taka like this all first half all season long
57:30 we’re taking OKC seriously because Warriors know this franchise is for real (i.e., not Detroit)
1:00:00 Donte steal before the buzzer, I had thought he was gonna go off backboard for a JK trailing
1:07:30 Yes, DiVincenzo should have stopped at the 3pt line a shot a 3 before the buzzer!
1:35:45 Extra notes so far: Wiggs wanted an elbow on Shai, Steph with another GOAT need bucket to stop bleeding, Donte a couple of mental errors (early corner 3 and bit on Jaylen 94-feet bucket letting him get downhill)
1:48:15 Wiggs extension is $24, 26, 28, 30: better to back-load that deal because the salary cap is going up anyways, especially with the new CBA coming up
2:05:30 JK only 12 mins because he was fouling Shai (at least 2x) and these days, you can’t make any mistakes as a young player
2:09:00 closing out this game we had our All-Stars involved, but it was almost like we were playing that way with the second rotation before this last rotation (we shouldn’t be playing that way until the last rotation), JP in for Wiggs for foul shooting
2:12:00 in thinking that through, I think maybe tonight Steph Klay and JP in Q3 tried to deliver some daggers and we just can’t be doing that, I don’t think we’re good enough this year for daggers
STEPH ON-COURT INTERVIEW, KERR PODIUM
2:52:00 We’re 3–0 since Steph’s haircut!
MORE PODIUM: KLAY, DRAYMOND, STEPH
3:48:00 on the NBARefsOfficial account trolling LeBron, Ryan B says he thinks Euroleague refs can be suspended (?), in the NBA I think they keep things hush-hush, one example is Ed Malloy being demoted from the Finals (someone should do a L2M research on Finals games to see if he made a lot of mistakes)
3:53:00 any given night of refs, for the playoffs we’ll have the cream of the crop, it’s even taken Scott Foster years to understand that Draymond has passion for the game not to be mistaken for being angry
3:49:45 on the Warriors Poker Tournament on 1/28
GRATITUDE FOR THESE LIVESTREAMS (AMY, DEAN, BRUCE, ETC)
4:01:00 explanation for the Anta Klay KT8 KOI colorway (to Bruce), Japanese legend: “Koi fights upstream and peacefully accepts death”, Chinese legend: “This is the carp that tries to jump over dragon gates in the hope of making it and thereby becoming dragons鯉魚跳龍門I e inspiration for putting in efforts to become something.”
DAIGNEAULT POSTGAME (replayed Steve and Dray)
4:30:00 what if Harrison Barnes comes back to the Warriors as vet min? Something to ask Keith Smith next time (and Festus Ezeli)
4:33:45 looks like Minnesota has a big slow lineup without KAT but with Gobert and Kyle Anderson (“Slo-Mo”) and so I think it will be a good opportunity for our small-ball team to run circles around them
4:44:00 SHAI, JAYLIN POSTGAME, on not knowing a teammate’s last name and Jaylin being compared to Draymond (I don’t see it)
• Steve Kerr at pregame OKC: “Excited about having him out there… extra level of ball pressure and athleticism.”
• On Taylor Robertson meeting Steph later at the arena: “Amazing how many she’s made. Must’ve played right away as a freshman… really cool that they’ll be able to connect. That’s one of the things I love about Steph is connect and inspire.”
• On the right Western Conference standings and the importance of this game. “The way this season has unfolded with so many teams bunch together… I’ve never seen it bunched together like this… 30 (games) left… haven’t been able to really put together a sustained stretch… only way to break free… we feel like we’re headed in the right direction.”
• On what OKC does well: “They put the ball on the floor and attack you from multiple spots… really good players around him, too. The rookie Williams… downhill… Josh Giddey… attacks close outs, hits guys on backdoor passes… they have a real identity… space you out.”
• On Shai Gilgeous-Alexander making a jump this season: “I’m not sure he already made the leap… healthy all year… ever since his rookie year with the Clippers, we saw… we knew how hard he was to guard… supreme confidence in his midrange game… pump faking… the game looks really easy for him.”
• On the progression of OKC: “I could see last year what a good job they were doing. It’s hard to tell when everything’s gonna come together… both Jaylen and Jaylin, the fact that they’re playing really well, both guys with a lot of college experience… that’s sped up the process… along with the development of Dort and Giddey.”
• More on OKC’s current status: “A lot of lengthy at every position. Not many weak spots… good scheme… will switch with a lot of guys… throw different looks at you, they’ll play some zone… smaller lineup with your big lineup… Capella was out there but they stayed home with their guys… impressive.” • On the Warriors embarking on this road trip: “This is an important road trip and the next week because really important… everything’s gonna be crucial… hard for teams to separate themselves from the pack… when you go out on the road for three games… chance to gain some momentum… try to approach each game with a sense of preparation and urgency… over the course of 82 maintain some poise and consistency.” • Warriors starters vs Thunder are Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green.: “You can tell Mark (Daigneault, OKC head coach) and have him text me who they’re starting.”
I noticed from pictures from practice and boarding the flight to OKC that Jordan Poole was wearing a neck-warmer, which he later wore in his pregame routine at Paycom Center (see behind-the-scenes video above), JP brought popcorn on the plane and Andre Iguodala, the athlete with the Greek god body, has Twizzlers as a snack.
[VIDEO FROM PRACTICE N/A]
• Andrew Wiggins on Steve saying he looked good today: “Got to play a little live action at the end… made some good plays, felt good.”
• On what happened with this illness compared to the previous one: “Just sick for real… regular cold, but it felt a little more unusual. Really couldn’t play like that.”
• On any frustration: “Oh for sure, for sure, because I feel like I was out for a long time with the adductor, so just being out from this is kind of annoying, just not being out there for my guys.”
• On how he deals with the absence mentally: “Seeing them win. I get happy. Everyone looks happy, we’re all looking out for each other.”
• On the commercial with Poole: “For the All World app. It was fun. Anything you do with JP is gonna be fun. He brings a lot of energy, he’s goofy, so it’s always a good time.”
• On how long it took: “It was quick. We our lines down. It was right to it.”
• On if Hollywood is next: “That’s a goal (chuckles).”
• On Wiseman: “NBA can be tough especially… championship-caliber team… gonna be a lot of ups and downs but he’s still so young. The sky’s still the limit for him. So much potential. He’s grown so much. Idk if he’s seen it himself, from me watching him from last year to this year, is unbelievable now much he’s grown. So he’s just gotta keep working, keep his head on straight… He’s a good kid and the sky’s the limit for him. He has a bright future.”
• On how small ball affects him: “set a little bit more screens, rebound, gotta be active.”
• On small ball and how Looney fits: “Probably a little bit faster… the court opens up a little bit more.”
• On how their defense is affected by small ball: “Loon’s a rim protector… Big body down there that can guard 1 through 5 so everybody just has to step it up. That’s what we’ve been doing.”
• On who he wants to win the football game: “(hesitates) Um, the 49ers. There you go (chuckles).”
• Per Steve Kerr after practice, Andrew Wiggins practiced and scrimmaged today and is upgraded to ‘probable’ Monday at OKC: “looked great”. (Monte Poole, CJ Holmes)
• On if he’s ready to announce his starting lineup vs OKC: “I’m not.”
• On the small-ball: “It’s been okay but I think the potential is there for it to be a lot better. That’s one of the things we worked in today… spacing… How we’re trying to attack.. The group hasn’t played together a ton… We have a chance to be really difficult to guard with that lineup.”
• On offsetting the lack of size: “Some of it is matchup-based… You may not do that against every team… Be alert, hit bodies… can’t lost the possession game. If to play small and you turn it over and you get beat on the glass you’re in big trouble.”
• On when Iguodala might become available: “You can ask Andre. I’m gonna let Andre handle his own media in terms of his return so I will no longer be addressing…”
• On what they worked on in practice: “just continued improvement… each individual player understands what he can do better and how that contributes to the team success… momentum and it’s gotta carry through.”
• On Shai: “he’s gonna be on the All-Star team so idk how underrated he is… hasn’t been on the national TV schedule… ability to get his own shot, to get to the paint, to knock down the three… difficult cover.”
• On if he’s seen the G League tape: “haven’t yet… I did talk to one of the coaches there who happens to be my son, so we had a good conversation… the more reps the better but I’ll take a look at the film today.”
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• On James Wiseman, who is coming off b2b DNP-CDs: “one of the things I told James today is things change quickly in this league and you just don’t know. I reminded him that JK had some DNPs early in the season and it’s tough… You always have to stay ready. I would love to get him out there. Right now JaMychal is playing really well. Obviously we’ve gone to a smaller lineup so that Loon and Draymond are not playing together as much, both playing the 5 so it creates a little bit of a logjam at that position.”
• On if he felt a need to pull aside Wiseman for the reminder to stay ready: “Yes. Yeah I did because it’s hard as a young player to have to go through this where you need reps and you haven’t been through the league for a long time. Always understand what’s happening. I try to explain these things to all of my players as I make decisions on playing time and rotations but especially the young guys. They haven’t experienced it before.”
• On Wiseman not getting reps with G League: “I think it’s a possibility but we haven’t made any decisions yet.”
👍👍💛💙