You can also infer the opposite from Steve Kerr saying on the podium that Gary Payton II does “little things you can trust”: if you do little things that Coach doesn’t trust, you’re likely to get fewer minutes. And so that’s why you see guys lower in the rotation; it’s really that simple. Memo to the tweeters who keep wanting Kerr to play X, Y and Z.
Other things I noticed from the behind-the-scenes clips from the Golden State Warriors’ win over the San Antonio Spurs:
• Not only has Donte DiVincenzo been not coming off the bench during player intros, but same for Jonathan Kuminga. I think that’s their way of saying that they get their role on this team; namely Andrew Wiggins (and Kevon Looney) are still cornerstones of this franchise whether or not they happen to be in the starting lineup.
• Jordan Poole might be mimicking Stephen Curry’s free throw routine by aiming his right foot on the center notch then drifting it back to the right such that his release point is in the middle (above the notch). So in case you didn’t know, there’s a notch at every free throw line in pretty much every gym which is the geometric center of the line. Michael Jordan used to use it to aim his toe on that, although for the life of me I can’t remember if he left his toe there or not; I’m thinking he did. I used to emulate Jordan on the free throw line because you could see from the up-close camera angles when he shot the ball just how locked in he was. Didn’t always work for me, though, as FT shooting has always been more mental than anything. Here’s hoping Wiggins, Looney and Kuminga all figure that out by playoff time. Anyways, Curry has his own way and I wonder if Poole borrowed his way from Steph or they coincidentally do the same thing — it’s in the behind-the-scenes video below.
• For those keeping score, Klay Thompson actually did finish making his paper airplane (see the end of his interview below), returning to the podium to get it, specifically for the purpose of giving it to a guest media member who is legally blind and deaf (not seen in the video).
Below are the notes, quotes and video from the Spurs game with the quotes last, so only the quotes are technically in chronological order. We’ll start with the courtside and livestream commentary videos, plus the picture galley — remember, there’s more pics on our YouTube Stories which can be accessed via the YT mobile app…
Warriors-Spurs bts: Poole push-ups, FTs a la Steph Curry; E-40 🤝; GP2; Draymond/Cash; Oakland Tech
WARRIORS-SPURS PICTURE GALLEY
JP getting a selfie with two-time girls’ basketball state champs Oakland Tech, first look at Andre Iguodala’s wrist brace, first pic I’ve ever seen from inside the dining room next to the tunnel right when Steph leads the “Just us 1-2-3!” run to the court, Curry wishing James Wiseman happy birthday on Instagram, a nice shot of E-40 in Steph’s backdrop, floor angle of JK dunking, Draymond Green happy after the win which is an indication his banged knee might be okay, another JK dunk and GP2 with his smothering block. Substack galleries are limited to nine pictures so be sure to check our YouTube Stories for more and in a timelier fashion.
2:00 Brett Nansel is 3rd ref, normally I’d say watch out Draymond, but tonight should be a cakewalk
2:45 hot take: I’m more concerned about focus for Steph and Klay and JP than anybody else, unlike the rest of the Internet that’s gonna be more focused on the team
4:45 JK wins tip, saves Steph’s turnover and first laup miss for a layup
5:15 Klay bad shot 11m10
7:00 3 missed 3s in a row, still no tiki-taka
7:45 9m00 finally tiki Steph via Dray
8:15 Dray 94 feet 8m30 JK flies in for reb
8:45 Steph definitely not focused
9:30 7m45 JK loses the ball but that’s something he can work on in practice
10:45 6m45 Steph falls asleep, then shoots a 3 — come on!
14:15 Steph’s in his 13th year so this start should not be a surprise to anyone although Blasian says he’s confused
16:45 5m00 Lamb says my bad on the wide open miss
19:00 Bruce: “Draymond says on podcast he’ll play until Year 15 and he’s done to Candace Parker” — 4-year extension coming!
21:30 3m30 GP2 unfair steal vs Keldon, then GP2 celebrates rather than rebounds
24:15 Spurs doing well, not worst in the league, with a bunch of no-names (literally, compared to Houston Rockets, let’s say)
29:00 there is no conspiracy theory for LAC to try and go down to 6th seed, it’s too hard to game-plan for esp when everyone is trained since AAU to win
30:00 JP dumb foul at 0.1 then he and Steph are arguing with Zach Zarba?
32:00 I’m so all-in with Steph that I also know his warts and one of them is along the lines of, you can’t bring in MJ or Kobe to give guys angry stares, but find SOMETHING to get guys going; very hard to change personality — from the other side of the spectrum, Draymond could use more Zen
34:00 11m35 Q2 Lamb jump hook
34:45 10m40 JP missed the JK cut, gotta learn how to know where everyone is as a playmaker
36:15 9m45 Dray loses the ball, says my bad, can we get Bob to come down from the stands? Then JK falls asleep and lets Kelta Bates-Diop slip in their tiki
38:45 blowing away another conspiracy theory: Denver losing the No. 1 seed would be more embarrassing than any other advantage you could get by falling to No. 2
41:15 8m10 easy cut for Steph’s guy
42:00 7m30 Steph points for JK to go away from him, gets a curl 3 and-1
45:45 5m30 Wesley gets downhill vs Donte
48:45 3m45 good ball movement in transition: GP2 reb to Klay to Donte to Loon to JP or something like that
50:00 KM Johnson: “Spurs tank against everybody but us smh”
54:00 JP and-1 vs Mamu 2m20 got downhill again
55:00 JP 3 in transition, can we call him a SplashBrother yet? 1m40
55:39 Dray bangs his knee vs Tre Jones 1m05
57:00 Donte not a good 3 with 26.5 sec left after good tiki by Klay-Loon
59:00 JORDAN POOLE ON-COURT AUDIO
1:02:30 one good thing about J-Mike being out of the rotation is, we might get him back for next year — it’s hard to find to mobile 4s who can shoot 3s
1:17:30 9m40 JK gets tiki
1:18:45 9m10 Dray dribbles the ball out of bounds, 5th tov
1:21:15 thinking back to the Draymond knee injury, they’re really abandoning the take foul, maybe see it again next pre-season
1:22:00 Steph has zero tov
1:23:15 Mamu charge, poor Draymond has taken so many blows the last 3 games
1:25:15 JK blows another layup at the rim, needs pointers from Loon 7m30
1:25:30 JK and-1 PNR via Steph, there ya go! No more lessons from Loon, ergo was two blips
1:27:15 JK tiki wit Steph again 6m05
1:27:45 5m50 JP and Loon come back in, that’s our rotation, but do we go back to the big lineup at Denver?
1:28:15 5m30 Champagnie two straight corner 3s
1:31:15 analyzing the corner 3 and mentioning Coach Nick’s video, JP doesn’t know to back up on the fast break
1:32:15 Dieng going crazy from 3 4min30
1:32:30 Klay layup good tiki via Loon 4m10
1:33:15 3m45 Steph throws the ball away
1:37:15 2m30 Klay misses wide open 3, claps away in frustration, quips “gosh darn it”
1:39:30 hot take: if Wiggs is out and it’s G6 of the WCF, gotta start GP2 who just checked in, instead of Donte
1:40:45 0m20 Loon embarrassing missed layup fb
1:45:30 11m10 Dray tov given to Lamb kick ball
1:51:30 8m30 Steph uses own gravity for the backdoor
1:55:30 6m56 Klay in for Steph, both at 29 mins, let’s see if there’s one more sub for Klay
1:55:45 JP 3+1 amazing 7m00
2:00:15 give Lamb credit on the steal under the hoop via Dieng 6m15
2:01:15 inbound play JP to GP2 corner 3 with Klay as a decoy 6m00
2:00 Brett Nansel is 3rd ref, normally I’d say watch out Draymond, but tonight should be a cakewalk
2:45 hot take: I’m more concerned about focus for Steph and Klay and JP than anybody else, unlike the rest of the Internet that’s gonna be more focused on the team
4:45 JK wins tip, saves Steph’s turnover and first laup miss for a layup
5:15 Klay bad shot 11m10
7:00 3 missed 3s in a row, still no tiki-taka
7:45 9m00 finally tiki Steph via Dray
8:15 Dray 94 feet 8m30 JK flies in for reb
8:45 Steph definitely not focused
9:30 7m45 JK loses the ball but that’s something he can work on in practice
10:45 6m45 Steph falls asleep, then shoots a 3 — come on!
14:15 Steph’s in his 13th year so this start should not be a surprise to anyone although Blasian says he’s confused
16:45 5m00 Lamb says my bad on the wide open miss
19:00 Bruce: “Draymond says on podcast he’ll play until Year 15 and he’s done to Candace Parker” — 4-year extension coming!
21:30 3m30 GP2 unfair steal vs Keldon, then GP2 celebrates rather than rebounds
24:15 Spurs doing well, not worst in the league, with a bunch of no-names (literally, compared to Houston Rockets, let’s say)
29:00 there is no conspiracy theory for LAC to try and go down to 6th seed, it’s too hard to game-plan for esp when everyone is trained since AAU to win
30:00 JP dumb foul at 0.1 then he and Steph are arguing with Zach Zarba?
32:00 I’m so all-in with Steph that I also know his warts and one of them is along the lines of, you can’t bring in MJ or Kobe to give guys angry stares, but find SOMETHING to get guys going; very hard to change personality — from the other side of the spectrum, Draymond could use more Zen
34:00 11m35 Q2 Lamb jump hook
34:45 10m40 JP missed the JK cut, gotta learn how to know where everyone is as a playmaker
36:15 9m45 Dray loses the ball, says my bad, can we get Bob to come down from the stands? Then JK falls asleep and lets Kelta Bates-Diop slip in their tiki
38:45 blowing away another conspiracy theory: Denver losing the No. 1 seed would be more embarrassing than any other advantage you could get by falling to No. 2
41:15 8m10 easy cut for Steph’s guy
42:00 7m30 Steph points for JK to go away from him, gets a curl 3 and-1
45:45 5m30 Wesley gets downhill vs Donte
48:45 3m45 good ball movement in transition: GP2 reb to Klay to Donte to Loon to JP or something like that
50:00 KM Johnson: “Spurs tank against everybody but us smh”
54:00 JP and-1 vs Mamu 2m20 got downhill again
55:00 JP 3 in transition, can we call him a SplashBrother yet? 1m40
55:39 Dray bangs his knee vs Tre Jones 1m05
57:00 Donte not a good 3 with 26.5 sec left after good tiki by Klay-Loon
59:00 JORDAN POOLE ON-COURT AUDIO
1:02:30 one good thing about J-Mike being out of the rotation is, we might get him back for next year — it’s hard to find to mobile 4s who can shoot 3s
1:17:30 9m40 JK gets tiki
1:18:45 9m10 Dray dribbles the ball out of bounds, 5th tov
1:21:15 thinking back to the Draymond knee injury, they’re really abandoning the take foul, maybe see it again next pre-season
1:22:00 Steph has zero tov
1:23:15 Mamu charge, poor Draymond has taken so many blows the last 3 games
1:25:15 JK blows another layup at the rim, needs pointers from Loon 7m30
1:25:30 JK and-1 PNR via Steph, there ya go! No more lessons from Loon, ergo was two blips
1:27:15 JK tiki wit Steph again 6m05
1:27:45 5m50 JP and Loon come back in, that’s our rotation, but do we go back to the big lineup at Denver?
1:28:15 5m30 Champagnie two straight corner 3s
1:31:15 analyzing the corner 3 and mentioning Coach Nick’s video, JP doesn’t know to back up on the fast break
1:32:15 Dieng going crazy from 3 4min30
1:32:30 Klay layup good tiki via Loon 4m10
1:33:15 3m45 Steph throws the ball away
1:37:15 2m30 Klay misses wide open 3, claps away in frustration, quips “gosh darn it”
1:39:30 hot take: if Wiggs is out and it’s G6 of the WCF, gotta start GP2 who just checked in, instead of Donte
1:40:45 0m20 Loon embarrassing missed layup fb
1:45:30 11m10 Dray tov given to Lamb kick ball
1:51:30 8m30 Steph uses own gravity for the backdoor
1:55:30 6m56 Klay in for Steph, both at 29 mins, let’s see if there’s one more sub for Klay
1:55:45 JP 3+1 amazing 7m00
2:00:15 give Lamb credit on the steal under the hoop via Dieng 6m15
2:01:15 inbound play JP to GP2 corner 3 with Klay as a decoy 6m00
2:02:15 Lamb swat 5m10 — as I’ve said for the casuals to have a comp, Lamb has contributed more this year than Damion Lee last year, JTA any year
2:02:45 Klay commits to tiki, layup 4m50
2:06:00 Dray fouled on the outlet 4m22, again the take foul has been abandoned by the NBA
2:10:00 GP2 closing the game instead of JK
2:13:00 GP scrambles for his own rebound! 2m00 leads to Klay dagger
2:14:00 Pop calls timeout to get the Warriors’ starters out lol 1m28
2:17:45 Does Les Quinones have potential? Too early to tell, let’s see how he does in Summer League
2:24:00 GP2 POSTGAME ON-COURT AUDIO
2:42:00 STEVE POSTGAME PODIUM AUDIO
JP PODIUM, GP2 IN-STUDIO
3:13:30 KLAY PODIUM AUDIO
3:27:00 STEPH PODIUM AUDIO
JP FULL VIDEO, KELDON JOHNSON FULL VIDEO
3:52:45 asking if we should go live for the play-in games
3:56:00 didn’t want to jinx it, looking at SAC roster, could mold their own structure and identity, Keegan Murray ROTY? I want his brother Kris as our Draft pick
4:02:00 remainder of KERR PODIUM VIDEO
4:13:30 entire STEPH PODIUM VIDEO
4:25:00 entire KLAY PODIUM VIDEO
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.
• Steph Curry postgame on having two other guys making 200 threes: “It’s awesome… try to be efficient with it… nice to accomplish feats that are rare… stretching the defense out.”
• On what they need to clean up: “we have to get off to a better start… rebound… mindful about the turnovers that can lead to easy offense… solidified in the rotations… how we need to execute on both ends… team we could face down the road… I kinda wanted to say everything… as complete a 48 minutes as possible.”
• On the game breaking open: “give credit to San Antonio… guys out there competing for their NBA lives… have jobs next year… they play hard… had to match that energy but over the course of 48 if you stick with it… doesn’t happen like that (blowouts)… turn it into momentum at the other end… stick with the program.”
• On GP2: “he just knows how to make winning plays… in the right place… doesn’t show up in the stat sheet, his ball pressure, his overall presence… little things that you can trust… gets the crowd involved.”
• Klay Thompson postgame on his better second half: “Just getting open looks and knocking them down and staying patient… spring free and get a lot of good looks.”
• On having three 200-3s guys: “Yeah it’s not easy… credit to Jordan, he worked his tail off every day. Same with Steph. Really cool… I get to play with two guys who shoot it so well.”
• On Poole evolving: “thinking back to his rookie year… he’s got All-Star Games in his future… we got so lucky… at the 28th pick, that just doesn’t happen so often… he’s our future… so much greatness ahead of him.”
• On the Oakland colorway: “special place for the Warriors… Oracle… pay homage to those times… shout out to Oakland Tech girls team for going back to back… so hard to do… I remember I was able to win one in high school and I still cherish those memories… they got two.”
• On confidence going on the road: “I’m very confident that we can we a couple… three, even… rely on our experience and just our hunger… no easy task.”
• Gary Payton II postgame in-studio on Kuminga: “get him going downhill and let him take off… he’s been improving… Iggy’s on him… living up to it.”
• On what the team needs to do: “Turnovers, try not to foul… be locked in to the game plan.”
• On getting back into rhythm: “get my legs back under me… conditioning… once I get here it’s easy.”
• On the defense on the road: “it starts the fire… me on Donte, Jonathan, Dray, with that unit, we can get some stops.”
• On the momentum of the team: “the role players are starting to understand… less is more… let the (main guys) do the heavy lifting.”
• On the difference between this year and last: “Just age. We got a lot of young guys on the bench mob… their time will come.”
• On how easy it is to integrate with the guys: “Guys really play basketball the right way… easier… ball doesn’t stick… try to get them back the ball.”
• On GP talking to Dray after the pelicans game: “I don’t know what they said… probably said pick and choose the battles… just relax and probably do it in a discreet way.”
• On trash-talking Draymond or GP Sr.: “right down the line.”
• On how competitive his father is: “Night and say, we could be playing Uno… jacks… Gary (Sr.).”
• On the locker room vibe: “Just be locked in… stick to the game plan… solid on both ends especially on defense… get these last few road wins.”
• Jordan Poole postgame on combining for 20 threes with Steph and Klay tonight, the 200 threes each: “second team in history to do it… and we still got a couple games to go so shout out those guys for raising the level of competition in practice… the four years that I’ve been here… really special to be a part of.”
• On the 4th quarter surge: “Picked up our defense… fourth quarter we kinda got it rolling… easy actions, easy looks for Klay, Steph and once we get our momentum it’s hard to stop.”
• On their momentum: “We’re just taking care of business… how the close the win-loss ratio is in the Western Conference… tapping into playoff basketball… limiting unnecessary mistakes.”
• On GP2: “(also having) offensive rebounder in Loon… feels more natural… glad to have him back.”
• On GP2’s impact: “The entire league knows what he’s capable of defensively. He put that on display last year… he gets our cadence… he gets our flow.”
• On missing 13 threes then becoming an avalanche: “Most definitely.”
• Steve Kerr postgame on GP2: “he affects the game in so many ways… ability to rebound, get loose balls, make impact plays.”
• On GP2 getting the loose balls: “we need that energy… athleticism. We have not been a team that has been great getting to loose balls… it’s actually a stat, we’re near the bottom of the league… Gary can… make big plays for us.”
• On Klay: “the way he stayed patient… didn’t chase anything… wasn’t taking bad shots… 4 shots up in the first half… game opened up in the second half… when we can string together stops without fouling… (Steph Klay JP) can get loose.”
• On the struggles until Q4: “Tonight it was our focus. We let our guard down early…. We gave them life… our focus at the beginning of the game has to be better for sure in Denver on Sunday.”
• On Poole: “been a really good stretch… had good stretches for us in the past… good groove.”
• On building good habits: “I didn’t think our habits were great tonight… we did enough to win and sometimes that’s what it’s about in an 82-game season. The other night was an emotional win… huge game on Sunday.”
• On JaMychal not playing again: “Gary’s addition… those have to come from somewhere… doesn’t mean that’s gonna be forever.”
• More Steve Kerr postgame, on the Kuminga and GP2 dunks or near-dunks: “Needed those to get the crowd more engaged.”
• On Anthony Lamb: “does a lot of things well. He was a +17… can handle the ball, he had six boards… plays underneath the Spurs basket where he dug out loose balls… guard multiple positions.”
• On Oakland Tech having the same core: “continuity is huge in basketball… experience things together as a group, even now this team… struggling but you put Draymond, Klay, Steph out there together, there’s a synergy… know what each other is thinking.”
• On the road: “We won our last two road games… overall winning five out of six games, having a good home stand… everybody’s confident.”
• Gary Payton II postgame on-court on being back: “Like brushing teeth every morning… heavy load guys doing the heavy working… do it smooth for the first five.”
• On having hops: “starting to get my legs back under me… I wanted that for DubNation… but I’m sure we’ll have one sooner or later.”
• On talking to Kerr about POA: “that conversation, it wasn’t too much. He said welcome back, do what you do… go rogue sometimes like Draymond.”
• On getting defensive intensity going: “energy and effort especially with Donte… cause havoc… do the little things… box out… 50-50 balls.”
• On Klay Steph JP having 90 points: “I think I’m smiling most of the game… we swing-swing… 90% chance that’s going on… 50-50 balls, make hustle plays.”
• Jordan Poole halftime on-court (no video), on scoring 12 of the last 14 points: “Just trying to give our team a burst.”
• On drawing fouls: “been trying to earn my respect with those.”
• On finding Looney: “every time I pass to Looney I smile.”
• Steve Kerr pregame Spurs ON GREGG POPOVICH POTENTIALLY ENTERING THE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME: “It’s Pop. Of course, he’s going into the (Naismith Memorial) Hall of Fame and who cares that it’s not going to be announced until tomorrow? What am I not going to say anything about it? He’s amazing. The Hall of Fame was just a formality. Everybody knew he would be there, it’s just a matter of when. I just think there are so many people out there, like me, whose lives have been impacted so dramatically and so positively, by Pop. You can take all the accomplishments and the championships and the wins and everything else and it’s all meaningful, but it doesn’t come close to the meaning of his relationships that he’s built around the league and what he’s meant to so many of us. So he’s one of the most influential people ever in my life and I owe him so much. Yeah, he’s a Hall of Famer, and thrilled for him. It’s a no-brainer. He was a Hall of Famer a long time ago.” (Warriors PR)
ON POSSIBLY FACING GREGG POPOVICH FOR ONE OF THE FINAL TIMES: “Yeah, I mean the last couple of years, I’ve wondered. I think we faced the Spurs in San Antonio last year when it was their last home game and I thought that might have been it and I think it’s just going to be strange whenever he does decide to hang it up. It’ll be strange not seeing him on the sidelines. We’ve all sort of taken it for granted for a long time now but what he’s meant to the league and to so many of us, it will definitely be a sad day when he retires. So I hope he keeps going. I think he’s still got it. And he can do this for a lot longer if he wants. But obviously, it’s up to him and what he decides to do.” (Warriors PR)
ON BEING A PLAYER UNDER GREGG POPOVICH DURING THEIR TITLE RUN: “The first part of your question, I think one of Pop’s great abilities has been his willingness and eagerness to adapt and so I think he’s actually a very different coach now than he was when I got there in 1999. He was coaching a different generation at that time, at a different time in our history, so he had the hard edge to him that still will come out today, but I don’t think nearly to the same level. He could be scary Pop. But you always knew how much he cared about you and it was never personal, but the way he would challenge us back then, he put the fear of god in us at times. He adapted over the years, we were really stagnant, kind of, inside-out team at that point, and within five or six years, they had the most beautiful offense in the league. So he adapted to his personnel and as he really understood what was happening around the league. The speed, the pace, the ball movement, I think he was ahead of the curve all the time constantly looking down to make improvements and to stay ahead of the game. So that’s been a hallmark for him. Twenty years, that’s crazy that it’s been that long since my last season and in that championship season, but it’s one of my favorite memories that year to be able to retire going out on a note like that on a championship team with a great group for guys and have a couple of good moments in the playoffs was really the cherry on the top for me in my career.” (Warriors PR)
👍👍💛💙