Klay Thompson stating in the postgame that he’s been asked by Steve Kerr and assistant coach Bruce “Q” Fraser to be more vocal and evolve his game a la Michael Jordan going down to the block or Magic Johnson developing a three-point shot later in their careers is music to my ears, especially in the absence of Steph Curry.
In the first minute of the second half, Thompson made another behind-the-back pass that went nowhere, leading to a fast break for the Houston Rockets. It was the second time in 24 hours he had done that, committing the exact same AAU-level turnover at Crypto.com Arena the night before against the LA Lakers.
In that moment of the Rockets game, pulled from the notes of the livestream below, here was my criticism of Klay as I watched the Golden State Warriors unravel yet again at the start of the second half at Chase Center: “Is it a cultural thing with Steph’s carelessness?” (We all know that the behind-the-back pass turnover is a Curry-type turnover.)
Shortly thereafter, Kerr called a timeout at the 8:25 mark and I lit into Klay: “No leadership on the floor, Klay taking bad shots, but made one of them … People want to blame Kerr for not adjusting, where’s the blame for Klay for not adjusting? You can’t keep playing as if Steph is on the floor when he’s not, you make a mistake with Curry around, he can make up for it, but when he’s not around then there’s more risk. In a perfect world, Klay would play more unselfishly, stop dribbling so much, stop with the early shots — same criticisms for Jordan Poole — but then again, it’s hard to change suddenly, because your whole career you’ve played alongside Steph. Tonight we’re getting away with it because Houston really is that bad.” Note: the Warriors still led at that point and went on to win decisively behind an eventual 12 threes from Thompson, waking up from that usual halftime trance.
So when Klay took the podium and said he was asked to be more of a leader, I threw my hands up (literally, you can see it on the livestream) and exclaimed, “Hallelujah!”
Now, I don’t know exactly in the game when he tried to be a leader, but that’s not the point. The point is, despite that turnover and some rushed shots which by the way are different scenarios than the late shot-clock, desperation splash which ignited his hot hand, he’s got leadership on his mind. It’s the inception that I’m looking for, not necessarily the result. A journey of a thousand steps begins with one.
“I just try to use my voice tonight. I try to be loud on defense. I try to be encouraging on the bench,” Thompson told reporters. “This year I’d be in my own feelings, because I wasn’t shooting the ball well or I didn’t feel like myself…
I’ve been here so long. I’ve got to lead. I’ve got to use my voice. It was a great challenge for me tonight. I thought I took a good step.”
There was also the reference to the Geno Auriemma Instagram Reel, which we on the livestream and eventually in the comments of our YouTube channel found kind of funny (that he was inspired by Instagram).
Anyways, it’s music to my ears that Klay is aware he has to lead these guys in the absence of Steph, but also with Draymond Green questionable with that right knee contusion. Let’s hope, now that he’s verbalized it, there’s no more behind-the-back swing passes into the hands of the opponent, and a renewed commitment to the “Tiki-taka” unselfish style of cutting and passing.
That was my main takeaway from the Rockets win, although I do have a lot to say about the people throwing Kerr under the bus for not playing Patrick Baldwin, Jr. earlier in the season (when the rotation was shortened!). I would just ask fans to avoid the addiction to outrage and merely celebrate PBJ’s ascension. Hindsight is always 20/20, but analysis of that hindsight improves your vision for the future. There are reasons why the young guys stopped playing early after the 0-5 road trip and chief among them is the subpar performance of the Foundational Six. I’m sure we’ll get into that, eventually.
My takeaway from the loss at the Lakers was disappointment in the lack of execution, although the absence of Andrew Wiggins — who, by the way, deserves privacy for his “personal matter” — certainly was a factor against a more athletic LeBron James-led foe. And then Steve took the podium and alluded to that, saying that they’ll just “keep coaching”.
At that point I did wonder if perhaps the team had started to tune him out. But this season has been rife with complications, one domino after the next. In any case, if the team has begun to tune him out, that’s not necessarily his fault and I’m sure the staff is aware of all the problems this season and will adjust accordingly for their programs of future seasons. I think it would be a mistake to dismiss Kerr’s program and culture, and install a new one. But, as I said, we’ll get into that on this website at some point, I’m sure.
Below are the detailed notes, quotes and video from the Rockets and Lakers games, in the usual reverse chronological order. I didn’t think I’d get around to this but it turns out the latest video I’m uploading is having serious issues, so here I am filling in some time as technology works itself out. This, unfortunately, will cause delays in the behind-the-scenes Warriors-Rockets video from Chase Center. All the raw footage for that is ready to go.
Hope to see you on the livestream tonight. Come see why people have actually become addicted to our positivity (I have screenshots of live chat comments to prove it)…
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.
• Klay Thompson postgame on getting back to form: “Incredibly gratifying… always reflect on the years I was not playing… weird time and now it’s easy to put everything into perspective and appreciate nights like this… play with great pace… not even hesitate or think about anything… give our performance staff credit.”
• On not shooting twos: “getting good looks from beyond the perimeter we… I had the hot hand… it felt great I can’t lie to y’all.”
• On why he always is hot against the Rockets: “They’re a young team… I just think it’s coincidence.”
• On being asked to have more leadership: “I just try to use my voice tonight. I try to be loud on defense. I try to be encouraging on the bench. I actually saw a great video of (University of Connecticut Women’s Head Basketball Coach) Geno Auriemma talking about his players, and how he might not let the girls get in if they don’t show great body language, and how he watches game film and he observes his players if they are engaging on the bench, and if they’re being a great teammate, and that resonated with me a lot. This year I’d be in my own feelings, because I wasn’t shooting the ball well or I didn’t feel like myself, and after hearing that you know, Geno’s been around so much greatness I just reminded myself to be a leader. I’ve been here so long. I’ve got to lead. I’ve got to use my voice. It was a great challenged for me tonight. I thought I took a good step.” (Warriors PR)
• On where he saw the Auriemma video: “I saw that on an Instagram Reel this afternoon and it was really great… I’m not the most comfortable using my voice but you’ve got to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”
• On when the conversations about rebounding happen: “Steve and Bruce Fraser, Q… used Michael Jordan as an example… mid-30s… low-post… not saying I’m Mike… Q told me I’m gonna go down as one of the greatest shooters ever… go for triple-doubles and round out my whole game… they’re straight shooters… they wouldn’t tell me those things if I wasn’t capable.”
• On when he had the conversation with Q and Kerr about evolving: “I had that conversation with Q last week and me and Steve… this afternoon.”
• On pushing Poole aside on the technical foul shot: “I told Jordan when he gets to my colossal age he can have my seniority, he said that was a bad excuse but that’s how the cookie crumbles… I’m gonna keep continuing to do that. Sorry young fella.”
• On if he’s at his pre-injury or his old self: “I don’t like to talk about vintage me or am I my old self… I was capable of these things in the past. As long as my wrists still work, my feet still work… hunting great shots.”
• On if he’s watching his percentage from 3 and 2: “I’m aware of it because I take my job serious… efficient rate but it doesn’t make or break me… high volume hit efficient scorer but who doesn’t, but I would like to improve.”
• Donte DiVincenzo postgame recap on Klay: “when he gets it going, feed the hot hand.”
• On 26 threes, one shy of franchise record: “I didn’t know that… third quarter took a few tough threes. Once we started touching the paint… adjustment… two feet in the paint, kick out, swing swing.”
• On PBJ: “He’s confident. It’s not easy to be a rookie and be thrown in randomly… not easy to do especially when you’re not playing consistently… to have that mental strength… much needed and much appreciated.”
• Ty Jerome postgame on Klay’s threes: “Oh, man. That’s kind of who he is. I don’t think anybody on the team is really surprised when he does that. No matter if he’s coming off a bad game or a good game, he’s always capable of that. That’s who he’s been his whole career. Four championships, Hall of Famer, and multiple All-Star for that reason because he’s one of the greatest shooters ever.” (GSW PR)
• On the other threes: “How many did Donte (DiVincenzo) hit? Five? And Klay hit 12? He (Patrick Baldwin Jr.) was great tonight too, but he’s been great all season. What is he shooting from three? 46, 45 (percent)? That’s crazy. Especially for him and he never knows when he’s going to play. He comes in the game at random times he’s always locked and loaded and shooting at a really high clip. That’s super impressive for a guy his age as well.” (GSW PR)
• On if he knew they were close to breaking the franchise record for threes in a game: “No way. Damn, no, I didn’t know that. If I knew that I would’ve shot some at the end.” (GSW PR)
• On if he’s thinking about his two-way status: “Honestly, not at all. I’m obviously far from satisfied, you know, as a team we have a lot of ground to make up and we’re heading into a super important part of our season, but individually this year, you know, I’ve gotten an unreal platform, so I’m really not thinking too far ahead. I’m just taking it one game at a time. I’m enjoying myself. I’m playing on a team this year that we’re fighting for a playoff spot. Just that piece alone, just doing what I can and really enjoying that part.” (GSW PR)
• On his good assist-to-turnover ratio: “Just who I am as a player. It’s who I’ve always been as a player, I had two today though. Just taking care of the ball especially when you’re the backup point guard. That’s your job. We have guys on this team that are more aggressive and they’re going to have a few more turnovers and I got to be the kind of guy that’s kind of stabilizing us.” (GSW PR)
• On PBJ staying ready: “He’s super mature for a guy his age. He’s like I said, every time he’s up here with us, he never knows if he’s going to play. He comes in and you know what you’re going to get from him. Like that’s super impressive for a rookie let alone what is he 18, or 19? For a 19-year-old rookie to know what you are going to get from him is super impressive to be like reliable. He’s shooting the crap out of the ball. I kind of just, you know, I don’t have to tell him much.” (GSW PR)
• Patrick Baldwin, Jr. postgame in-studio on being back at Chase: “always great to get back here, get with the big club… Klay had his big night, everybody contributed.”
• On other aspects of the game: “Building all around the game, in the paint, defensively… three-level scorer.”
• On getting through the trade deadline: “My agent told me just stay level-headed… every year it’s gonna come up, there’s gonna be rumored… does wonders for a player’s confidence (getting past it).”
• On being ready for read-and-react: “Just comes with being a coach’s son… Chris Collins… Brian James.”
• On how hard it is to get through social media: “I have a great backbone and a great family… inner circle… would’ve known there was a great challenge ahead of me.”
• On going down to SCW and coming up: “To me, it’s just more basketball. I just wanna play basketball 24/7… get proper sleep… an added challenge to myself.”
• On what it’s like not having Steph: “The mood of the team is great. We know we have enough… gotta watch out for that wounded dog… it’s gonna fight and we’re gonna fight.”
• On adding the PB&J: “if we’re at home… I’m more of a raspberry.”
• On being part of Steph Klay Dray: “to be able to get to that level takes a lot of work.”
• On moving without the basketball: “creates more offense and opportunity… Steph has shown throughout his career and so has Klay… make sure your teammates are engaged.”
• On wearing the Air Force 1s: “definitely stepped the game up.”
• Steve Kerr postgame on Klay: “brilliant tonight… at the point where he can do this… second back to back… that night we limited him to 25 minutes… his rebounding was a factor, his defense and playing 35 minutes second night of a back to back.”
• On his many threes: “It’s Klay, so yes… I like the midrange for Klay because he’s a great shooter… gonna have to hit from time to time… if the threes are there we’d rather have that but depending what the defense is doing… we need our best shooters shooting from the midrange because it’s often the best shot we’re gonna get.”
• On if Klay had a minutes restriction: “There really wasn’t a minutes restriction… all-star break.”
• On if PBJ was expected to be part of the rotation: “Yeah. When Draymond went out, Baldwin was automatically elevated into the rotation.”
• On Draymond: “I thought he was gonna play but he was pretty sore… clearly the right decision. He’s been playing night after night… we have tomorrow off and he should be ready to go Sunday.”
• On PBJ: “Patrick has been getting better and better… lot of time in the G League… I was thrilled just to see the other areas in the game. He had great verticality at the rim… thwarted a layup… used his size… really good prospect… game kinda clicks when he’s out there. The ball moves… but he’s a young guy and he has a lot to learn… on a great path.”
• On PBJ playing at the 5: “I would say he’s more of a 4 where he could slide down to the 3… I look at him more as a 3-4 playing with Draymond, with Loon, potentially both of them… spaces the floor.”
• On Moody: “competed and played well.”
• On Kuminga midrange: “We like for JK to really attack the rim… he’s got that pump fake… turnaround ten-footer… coming along well.”
• On Looney with 13+ boards in five straight games: “It’s who he is now. He’s one of the elite rebounders per minute in the game. I’m so happy for Loon because of the work he’s put in to get himself healthy… learned a lot from Andre Iguodala… I took the coaching staff, Loon is the most mature person in the organization including the coaches… there’s no drama… when we take him out he understands we’re just taking him out. It’s a joy to coach Kevon… we’d be in huge trouble without him… incredible rock he’s been over the years.”
• On Klay flourishing: “7 rebounds. We are challenging him to get on the glass. It’s part of his evolution… every great player as they get older, they have to evolve… Michael Jordan, it meant going down to the block… Magic… became a great three-point shooter… and just expect to be the same player five years later… better defensively and more vocal… within the team he’s now the elder… I’m excited about. I can see Klay starting to figure that out.”
• Coach Stephen Silas postgame on the Warriors: “When you play this team you have to be on it when it comes to your game plan. And often times it takes playing this team year after year, game after game, where you’re familiar with it. But our guys are so young that they’re not familiar with the little nuances and actions that they run for Klay to get those shots.”
• Klay Thompson on-court postgame after Fitz joked that he looked tired: “Fitz a comedian now, I love it.”
• On his 12 threes: “You usually see Steph and JP doing it… sometimes I gotta throw it back to my Wazzu and Santa Margarita days. I can get my bag open… rhythm dribble… let it fly.”
• On Andrew Bogut tweeting him during the game: “Bogues, man. Woah, don’t shirt change me… I wanted to get that 12 so bad… Steph… he got all the three-point records… our young fella stepped up… PBJ… shout out to the squad, we’re doing it together.”
• On trying to get to the FT line: “I did not start the game the way I wanted to… always gets you into good rhythm.”
• On the homestand; “It’s extremely vital… we have to treat every game like a must-win… better shape… our synergy is getting better… we owe the Timberwolves one.”
• On tonight’s game: “I enjoyed that.”
0:00 no Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins or Stephen Curry
11:30 tipoff!
16:00 8min39 Q1 Kerr timeout as it takes Donte 9 seconds to start the offense and Steve looks livid
17:15 James Warner comments about Myers and Dray: it’s hard to predict what Dray will do, but also I’ve said this before, Joe Lacob, Bob, Steve, Steph, Klay Thompson and Dray need to get in a room and hash out the future
20:00 7min39 on the rebound, Klay could get better with dribbling this off-season
20:45 Dean Agan: “GSW average age tonight is 25”
24:00 Warner: “Klay has moved up to 2nd in the NBA in 3PM”
24:30 if Dray had to miss a game, let it be this one
25:15 one more thing with Jordan Poole: his role has changed again, he has got to be more aware that his mistakes are going to have a bigger impact on us
27:00 4min45 Looney is awesome: rebound and lead pass to JK
28:00 4min30 Sengun “shoves” Loon on reb, Loon too tired to complain to ref
30:30 Warner says he’s had Klay’s Achilles and it does not affect offense, only defense
33:30 Steph no more Abe Lincoln beard
34:00 Vitor: “Lamb is a two-way, can’t expect him to have 4 good months in a row”
36:15 on playing PBJ: 1) Moody should get the chance first, 2) Kerr did say on the radio today that sometimes when things are stagnant you do have to search for a combination that works
37:00 Moody came in for the last play of Q1
38:30 Derwin Gaston: “I think Moody should run the point like in Summer League” — is there time to implement that?
40:00 I just think that journalists should give reasons and not complain like fans, Steve has implemented a championship system that hasn’t been knocked off yet officially, it revolves around Steph and that’s why it’s hard to adjust on the fly especially when Curry is out
48:15 PBJ checked in for Lamb, the five are Ty Jerome, Klay Moody, JaMychal
54:00 6min21 Moody loses Jabari Smith on POA, they just don’t teach shuttle drill anymore, we analyze the video
58:00 4min45 HUGE MOMENT: Sengun doubles JP leaving PBJ wide open, maybe you think about having PBJ and JP on the floor at the same time
1:05:00 this unit of Donte, Klay, JP, Lamb and JK is producing results!
1:06:45 Lamb is essentially the de facto Draymond tonight, in terms of pace
1:24:00 Klay awful turnover in the first minute of second half, second one in two games, is it a cultural thing with Steph’s carelessness? The other thing is Kerr gets thrown under the bus and not Klay
1:32:00 8min25 timeout with no leadership on the floor, Klay taking bad shots but made one of them
1:33:00 you want to blame Kerr for not adjusting, where’s the blame for Klay for not adjusting, because you can’t keep playing as if Steph is on the floor when he’s not, you make a mistake with Curry around, he can make up for it, but when he’s not around then there’s more risk. In a perfect world, Klay would play more unselfishly, stop dribbling so much, stop with the early shots — same criticisms for JP — but then again, it’s hard to change suddenly, because your whole career you’ve played alongside Steph. Tonight we’re getting away with it because Houston really is that bad
1:46:15 let’s say Jacque Vaughn gets Kevin Durant traded away, or earlier this season, KD got injured. Does Vaughn suddenly implement read-and-react offense? Why doesn’t he get blamed for not adjusting in KD’s absence? Why does Kerr get blamed for not adjusting in Steph’s absence? (even though he is doing micro-adjustments)
1:48:30 1min50 PBJ random bad screen is why he doesn’t get more minutes
1:49:30 1min05 PBJ catch and shoot 3, maybe 3 is better than -2
1:53:45 analyzing Lamb last play of Q3 where he helped Moody, this is why I like him in terms of building off that defensive instinct
2:20:00 KLAY POSTGAME ON-COURT AUDIO (blocked by YouTube later)
2:29:30 Klay needs 12 more 3s to tie Paul Pierce
2:30:30 Jay Capinia: “After seeing PBJ play, Warriors is the team for light-skinned shooters”
2:35:30 Klay joins Steph as 2nd player ever with 8 seasons of 200+ threes, now 863 behind Ray Allen
2:40:00 would GP2 come off the bench? I think it’s matchup-based, so if we need to stop somebody, then it depends, but yeah if I had to guess, I’d guess he comes off the bench
2:42:00 DEAN JOINS US
2:44:00 KERR POSTGAME AUDIO, LATER KLAY, DONTE
3:08:00 Looney reminds Warner of Udonis Haslem
3:09:30 GSW is 4-0 when Klay scores 40+ this season
• Andrew Wiggins remains out tonight against the Rockets due to personal reasons. Draymond Green is questionable with a right knee contusion. Banged it during the second half last night. Houston will be without Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. (Anthony Slater)
• Opening statement from Steve Kerr at Rockets pregame: “I want to start by, I don’t know if you are aware that Raymond’s (Ridder) sister Kathy passed away and so Raymond is not here today. He’s at the service. I want to start by offering our condolences to Raymond and his family. I think you guys all feel the same way as we do about Raymond, what an incredible person he is and what an amazing ambassador he is for the Warriors, and what he means to us. So today is a sad day for Raymond and his family and by extension a sad day for us as well. So, knowing Raymond, he’s probably watching the press conference to make sure I don’t screw up, but Raymond, we’re thinking about you and the whole family.
• “On a basketball note, I want to congratulate Jim Boylen and Team USA for qualifying for the World Cup. It’s been a process. Jim and his staff have coached 52 different players over the last year or so in multiple competitions to get to this point. Two of our G League players, Dusty Hannahs, and Eli Pemberton are playing right now in the qualifiers. So 52 different American players who are all aspiring pros, who are trying to get their careers going, have contributed to USA basketball and helping us qualify for the World Cup. And Jim Boylen has done a great job with that whole group and they all go unheralded. I just want to take the time to say thank you as, as the coach of the team that will be playing the World Cup this summer, my gratitude goes out to Jim and all the players.”
• Draymond Green upgraded to probable for tonight. He went through the walk through and will warmup. Kerr is hopeful that Draymond will play tonight: “I think he’ll play.” Draymond went through walkthrough and is going to warmup. (Madeline Kenney, Dalton Johnson)
• No additional details on Andrew Wiggins’ absence. Kerr: “It’s too difficult to know, to tell. So, again with just to respecting his privacy, I think I’m not going to talk anything about it. It’s just when he’s ready to come back, he’ll come back.” Away from the team for a third straight game. (Anthony Slater)m, GSW PR)
• On Kuminga’s shot selection: “We talked about it at practice a couple of days ago and there was a play late in last night’s game where we moved it four or five times and then he got the corner three and he knocked it down. That’s the one we want. And this is part of being a young player. Knowing when to shoot, when to pass, and when to dribble and it sounds so simple it’s just not. The game’s fast, the defenses are all over the place everything is happening so quickly and it just takes reps. What I’ve talked to JK about is if you come down and you’re wide open immediately, move it. DHO, cut to the basket, get the ball swung and it comes back to you then you shoot that one, but you have to make the defense work before you just launch because there’s a strategy going on. There’s the game within the game. That’s a shot they want him to take. So let’s make them work first and get a little flow, make them have to navigate what our offense is doing, and maybe they make a mistake. And then there’s usually a better rhythm if the ball moves a few times before you shoot as well.” (GSW PR)
• “I’m going to play Moses tonight… Moses, he reminds me a lot of Loon. Incredibly mature, hard-working.” Says he has played great lately and continues to praise his maturity and work ethic. (Dalton Johnson)
• On Patrick Baldwin Jr: “I see a future rotation player.” (CJ Holmes)
• On Steph Curry, who is currently going through an on-court workout with Rick Celebrini on the Warriors’ practice court: “Things are coming along well. All good signs.” (Dalton Johnson)
0:30 • Darvin Ham postgame on the Lakers defense: “they play fast… great win against a great ball club.”
6:00 • On the third quarter: “getting stops… trying to guard those guys, Klay, Jordan. You just imagine when Steph gets back out there and Wiggs, they have a helluva ball club. Just come out with a focus, not to relax… stay aggressive… move the ball.”
9:40 • Anthony Davis postgame on their playoff chances: “Tonight was a challenge… even though they don’t have Steph there still a good basketball team with Jordan, Draymond, Klay.”
• Klay Thompson postgame: “our perimeter defense wasn’t great, allowed them to shoot 50% from three… I did not have a great shooting night and that’s a combination for disaster… right the ship.”
• On the bench play: “Patrick (Baldwin, Jr.) shot the heck out of the ball… loved the aggressiveness… we can learn something from that… continue that flow into tomorrow night.”
• On the defensive execution or lack thereof: “I agree with Steve… being loud on defense… we fouled too many shooters… being a dog, that lies on the older guys like Draymond and myself… play with more ferocity.”
• On the urgency: “With 23 games left we still have a great opportunity… play your hardest and have fun while you’re doing it… I know we still have greatness… I’m never gonna not believe in this team, done too many great things not to.”
• On the confidence level: “Very high, we’ll give it everything we’ve got… give maximum effort, you can live with the results.”
• Kevon Looney postgame recap: “We just gotta be better… played good in stretches then have a bad stretch… got another one tomorrow, gotta move on.”
• On expecting more burst at the the break: “having a couple lapses… fouling at the wrong time… we know what we need to do, we have the appropriate energy and the talent to win.
• On the fouling issues: “Since I’ve been here, fouling and turnovers have been the issue… don’t have two of our best scorers out there… more discipline… gotta figure it out.”
• On the stretch run: “As a group we know that we have a sense of urgency… can’t push too hard and gamble too much… can’t play hero ball.”
• On PBJ: “Showed a little bit of what he can do… gonna have a long career… Moses played well… especially on a back to back tomorrow.”
• Ty Jerome postgame recap: “we’re not getting stops so we have to walk the ball up the court… we don’t have Steph, we don’t have Wiggs… we can throw the ball into the mid-post and we don’t have that… they’re a very big team… AD sitting in the paint… it’s tough.”
• On the fouling: “We gotta stop reaching… playing small doesn’t have anything to do with reaching… cheap fouls… they just look worse… now we’re into the bonus in the first five minutes… the refs are gonna call most fouls.
• On the bench play: “Their shots fell… we missed some good looks… credit to PBJ, Moses, those guys came in… competed, played well.”
• On the lack of energy: “We gotta stick together… especially on the road.”
• Steve Kerr postgame: “I wouldn’t compare this team to teams in the past… we have to form our own identity… struggling with the same issues… fouling… disjointed offensive possessions… shot turnovers… several key stretches where we had a chance… couldn’t connect the game and make a run… all right there for us on tape… keep coaching and trying to get better.”
• On the key moments: “Cut it to seven… couple stretches like that in the first half… cut it to three… several stretches earlier than that… ambitious plays offensively… they had 34 free throws tonight to our 21… common theme… we’ll try to keep coaching, keep talking to them.”
• On if he expected more juice coming into the game: “We got a little demoralized… didn’t think we were poised enough… lost that energy… gotta find that quickly.”
3:30 Steph Curry will be re-evaluated next Wed 3/1. That means he will miss 4 games between now and next Wed 3/1. Until Wed 3/1 we don’t have any more information.
19:00 no take foul 5min45 Q1 (2 defenders were back?)
19:45 5min07 did Kuminga fall asleep on the Vanderbilt putback?
21:15 4min30 tiki-taka! Draymond to Donte
22:00 3min35 DPOY block by Dray
24:45 Warriors PR on Wiggs: “family matter” (no clue when it will be resolved)
28:00 1min41 how did Rui Hachimura get low post position on Lamb?
28:45 1min32 good cut by Jordan Poole to draw foul on Mo Bamba
30:00 1min00 JP goes out of bounds after the pass to Lamb (horrible execution)
30:30 0min54 JP turnover bad pass (the micro roller-coaster rides of the youngsters)
33:00 on JP, everybody, even Steph, makes mistakes so hopefully we’re zooming in on just a few — always gotta zoom out after the game back to 32,000 feet and accept that he’s young
36:00 Kerr at the break with Chris Haynes uses same verbiage as Donte at practice yesterday: Keep it simple
37:00 good to see JP get downhill, a form of “defense” (after the LeBron dunk) 11min09 Q2
38:00 11min01 Lamb good defense on LeBron (Lamb’s been getting roasted on Twitter)
38:45 10min53 Lamb good POA D on LeBron, then oreb leads to 3 by JaMychal Green
39:45 9min45 Looney bad screen (vet committing critical turnover)
40:30 9min30 Mo Bamba missed 3, Steph smiles, they know each other from Under Armour
42:15 Ty, JP, Lamb, J-Mike, Loon (albeit 2 starters) was not a good combination, Dray checks in at 8min19+ (still only down 6 after the JP FTs)
44:15 7min53 JP ugly AAU turnover
47:00 as I said on the website https://www.letsgowarriors.com/p/post-break-goals-wo-steph-curry-play so far after the Clippers game, it only looks like our squad w/o Steph is a little bit better than the Wizards
49:00 7min28 JP subbed for Klay (wonder if that was an adjustment to the rotation)
51:30 6min00 JK and-one
55:30 LAL 51-38 4min35 JP went out -8 now we’re -13
56:15 I know we’re missing Steph and Wiggins but at least put your body in the right place on the floor and we also don’t have energy, earlier you saw Jerome motion to JK to fill the lane on the fast break and you just didn’t see the inspiration
57:45 Dray turnover (another vet making a critical TOV) 4min20 but good steal by Klay, Jerome finishes again
59:00 3min36 JP seemed frustrated that Klay couldn’t shake his man loose
1:00:30 good job by JK this time to run with inspiration with Klay on the fast break
1:01:00 3min05 AD down the lane, Donte out of position, are we simply this bad
1:03:30 1min50 JK good cut, but JP fouls again
1:05:00 1min32 right when I started to wonder if we’re really this bad, JP comes through with a clutch and-one
1:06:00 0min55 Beasley 3, Klay not happy
1:07:00 0min19 TNT does not have a shot clock!
1:08:30 Jerome buzzer drive vs LeBron, they’re not calling that, but 6th-year Ty won’t make that mistake again
1:10:00 showed Steph hitting pregame corner 3 in the white sweatshirt
1:14:00 Vitor: “Isn’t Moody available?” Problem is, it’s another guy that’s gonna have micro roller-coasters; you’d think if the game had stayed in double-digits deficits, then Moses would get a chance, also we don’t get access to practice so maybe he hasn’t been great on off-days?
1:17:30 Jalen Green AND Kevin Porter Jr both out tomorrow for HOU
1:22:15 Shams says Hawks want Quin Snyder which means Kenny Atkinson off their table
1:23:45 feels like it has to start clicking now for one of our youngsters for us to break out of the Wizards-Clippers mold (the games we just played before the Break)
1:26:00 same old uninspired play, Klay didn’t want to rebound the LeBron misses, JP hurried a 3, Donte missed a 3, 10min01 Q3 JK fouls again at POA vs LBJ
1:28:30 JP POA pf vs LBJ 9min37
1:29:15 9min25 Donte POA leads to Austin Reaves 3
1:29:45 Dray fouls to get the refs attention but we suck so the young ref won’t call that 8min55, then Klay with another foul
1:31:45 8min12 Donte didn’t know where to go on the high post by Dray
1:34:00 JP gotta process that Anthony Davis is helping, go with a floater
1:34:30 Donte also sunburnt, went to Cabo
1:40:30 6min07 JP again POA foul
1:43:00 5min09 Donte POA pf
1:44:15 4min40 props to Loon’s fight, and Dray’s box-out
1:45:45 4min10 Loon saves the day again, good jobs by Lamb and Jerome to find Klay
1:46:45 love how Ashley the ref walked away from AD, I see some fight from GSW
1:48:45 3min14 another vet TOV by Klay
1:49:45 2min10 Beasley wide open
1:54:00 1min20 JP didn’t move on that Ty 3
1:58:45 strawhats100: “basketball nirvana by Loon”
2:00:15 LBJ/Beasley two-man game picking on JP 11min50 Q4
2:03:00 this challenge at the 10min48 mark should be obvious per Stan Van Gundy but you know damn well it’s a crapshoot
2:09:00 10min01 PBJ, Moody have checked in, wonder if that’s a white flag
2:12:00 pretty good POA defense by Moody 8min06
2:20:15 Moody baseline dunk 4min56
2:20:45 have the guys tuned out Steve Kerr? When you come to LA and you play uninspired, it just makes you wonder
2:22:45 young guys are moving the ball around better than Klay and JP 3min10
2:24:15 2min20 Lonnie Walker dagger
2:34:00 THANKS TO YOU ALL FOR MAKING THIS LOSS NOT AS BAD!! 🙏
2:35:00 Something we can look forward to: Will Kerr make any adjustments? (rather than just being mad at Steve)
2:42:00 Draymond punch, Japan hangover, Ring Night, extension hangover 2x, playing down to the competition… leading to “not as motivated” as Mac Mac says
2:49:00 good news: we get to see if there’s any adjustments tomorrow
3:33:00 “trade Poole”: you can’t make any transactions based on what you saw tonight
3:40:00 updates on Andre Iguodala: 1) shaved his head, 2) was doing windsprints at practice
4:03:00 Darvin Ham postgame says the Warriors play fast and the Lakers got a great win against a great ball club: just shows the respect for the Warriors across the league, they DO get up to play against the Dubs
4:25:00 Malik Beasley postgame video: was only shooting less than 35% 3PP but went 7/11 tonight, making a whopping $16 million!
4:33:30 at 245p on Sun 2/26, we will go into the pregame of MIN-GSW and figure out how we feel about Wiggins
4:35:15 for the purposes of analyzing Lamb and my notion that he has good defensive instincts, if we were to rank the players based on defense, it would go as follows: Dray, Loon, Donte, Klay, JK, and then that’s it, therefore Lamb is, in the absence of Steph and GP2 and Andre Iguodala, the SIXTH best defender on the team. Even with those three guys back, Lamb is the ninth best defender on the team, but I do think he has the potential to get better. So next year, Andre retires and Lamb is automatically the 8th-best defender. Dean Agan: “Lamb is 6th in defensive +/-“
4:39:00 on if we are signing a big via buyout: The main problem is that a big man isn’t gonna help us foul less, isn’t gonna help us with better POA defense, and can he set screens and run the tiki-taka offense?
4:40:30 Zamby, who had said that this channel makes him feel better, just made us feel better: “when 100% GP2 might be the best 1on1 perimeter defender in the NBA”
4:42:30 TRULY POSITIVE VIBES!!!! and gratitude, we’re reminding each other, but I’m also reminding you that when you follow the Warriors the way we do, there’s always a way to look at something and have fun with it, and feel good about it
4:45:30 the irony of my mega-30-minute behind-the-scenes All-Star video is that the Warriors had zero representation and yet it’s the best BTS ASW video ever
[NO GSW-LAL PREGAME VIDEO]
• Steve Kerr at Lakers pregame reiterates there’s no timeline for Andrew Wiggins’ return as he remains away from the team because of a family matter. (CJ Holmes)
• On the last 24 games: “I think it’s a sprint to the finish line… LeBron… we all feel a sense of urgency… precarious position… you sense the finish line. The grind of the season is behind us… refreshed and recharged… these are huge games and it’s gonna be exciting every single night.”
• On when the sprint usually starts “Usually teams have a different kick… a year ago we were thinking about getting healthy… different sense of urgency… so many of us in the same boat… just trying to make sure we get in.”
👍👍💛💙