According to a postgame interview Jonathan Kuminga did with Kerith Burke after the win versus Memphis, Chris DeMarco — his nickname is “CD” — yelled at Kuminga after he let Santi Aldama hit his sixth three in the first half to close a five-point Warriors lead to just two, with about two-and-a-half minutes left before halftime.
“I got yelled at, and I don’t know what was wrong. I was just like, ‘Alright, man, let me just go out there and just make a difference and just lock in and just play as hard as I can, so they don’t have anything else to say,’” JK told Kerith.
With head coach Steve Kerr assigning upcoming opponents to different assistants, one at a time in rotation, DeMarco analyzed the Grizzlies’ game film as preparation for the matchup. “Because that was his scout, he didn’t wanna lose,” Kuminga reasoned.
But don’t worry, JK had it under control.
“He was kind of far, but he made it,” Jonathan said of Aldama’s official 30-foot catch-and-shoot launch. “And they really went off on me, and I was like, ‘Aight cool. I got you.’”
That’s the interesting thing about JK. Like Andrew Wiggins, he has a very calm demeanor. And so you can put all the pieces together all season long (just search “kuminga” on this website or simply scroll through the headlines, as every now and then there’s something about him), as well as Kerr recently describing after the Lakers game how they’ve had to iterate and reiterate over and over again the importance of something as seemingly innocuous as running hard.
You can envision how long that would take to sink in for a really young, generally non-confrontational guy (at least in public) with that super-calm demeanor. As JK has said many times, he’s the “sponge”.
Offensively, Kuminga has seemingly checked the box next to “Are you sprinting up and down the court?” Against Memphis, he’ll be remembered for his show-stopping steals and dunks. Yet he still tends to coast in the half-court defensive sets. On our play-by-play livestreams, I categorize these under “brain farts.”
Observe him below initially watching the pinball to Aldama on the Grizzlies’ offensive boards, but then JK gets away with a reach-in (apparently there was a memo to refs by the NBA to not call those ticky-tack ones, as we’ve discussed), which leads to racing down the court for one of his dunks.
But right after that, he gives up the deep triple to Santi. Steve calls timeout and gives Jonathan the “(Dude,) he’s hot!” shrug, which went over JK’s head because CD, whose disgust is evident in the second row behind the players — he’s the bearded one wearing glasses, if you pause the clip and squint your eyes — was the one yelling at Jonathan. See also second-to-last transcript near the bottom of this post:
And, yeah, that’s a really pissed-off-looking Kenny Atkinson at the end of that clip. Atkinson is the team’s defensive coordinator.
So the problem is, when you stand there on defense and watch the ball carom like that, you’re coasting and you’re not using your brain in that moment for basketball IQ. Therefore, it’s not surprising that Aldama eventually finds himself with the ball. He’s two yards beyond the arc and you forget for just a split-second, because you’re still coasting, even just a possession ago despite the fast break dunk. You forget that he’s made five of them already. So when you literally don’t have that mindset of actively engaging the ball, you fall into your bad habit. And these days, guys you’re playing against are just too talented and they’ll make you pay.
Of course, as JK said, he did a better job of engaging himself after the timeout, got another steal, and made another SportsCenter-worthy highlight:
Just kinda neat how a little yelling at JK woke him up. This stuff and his footwork and really just learning how to go get the ball, all of these are reasons why Kerr said postgame on the podium, “We’re going to keep coaching him hard because he can get a lot better.”
Even Draymond Green in his latest game recap on his podcast made that comparison to Kawhi Leonard — I’ve done that, too, just because Leonard and Kuminga’s jumpshot forms are so similar, but I’ve tempered that praise because JK has a long, long way to go on defense before he reaches what Kawhi’s impact is on that side of the ball.
Even Green knows this, but to hear him put them both in the same sentence, albeit really only about offense, is still exhilarating. Here’s the full diatribe, which is borderline comedy because there’s an anecdote from an old Michigan State win at Gonzaga regarding Draymond’s mom, Mary Babers [WARNING: This is a huge and only lightly edited excerpt, so be prepared to do some scrolling if you want to skip it!]
Jonathan Kuminga last night was insane. 26 points, 12-for-17 from the field, two for three from three, five boards and four assists. the five boards is what I love the most.
Although that still should be around seven or eight boards. a few games ago, Kuminga had like 24 and he had two rebounds and I let him live. I didn’t say much to him about it, but I wanted to really go at him about it. Like, bro, you had two rebounds. I remember my mom did that to me when I was playing at Michigan State.
I had maybe 33 at Gonzaga, something like that. 31, 34, something like that. I scored at Gonzaga. And we played at the pit, which, when big teams go to, to Spokane, Washington to play Gonzaga. They don’t play at the pit. They actually play at the downtown Gonzaga arena. No one really go. Well, I play for Tom Izzo.
Shout out to Michigan State… Tom Izzo running up your chimney. He coming to your gym. He playing you wherever it don’t matter. His thing is anytime, any place will play you. And so we go to the pit. And they’re yelling, Oh, overrated, trademark, you’re overrated, it’s my scene, you’re overrated, you suck.
Okay. Gave them boys 30-something. You can look it up. I had two or three rebounds. And I got my mom, at the time, my mom was my biggest critic. Like, she’d go crazy after every game. Just like, oh, that was terrible. You did this bad. Like, biggest critic. And so I’m like, yes. Like, I just went off. Like what’s she gonna say now and I called her right after the game like hello mom.
What’s up? She like, ‘You had two rebounds. What were you doing out there?’ At the time my mom cursed. She don’t curse anymore. She’s a totally different person. She used to be like, ‘What the hell were you doing out there? Like, you had two rebounds. Hey, were you sleepwalking out there?’ And I’m just sitting there on the phone like, I just had 30-something points on a big road game at Gonzaga.
Like what are we talking about? That’s how my mom, I wanted to hit JK with one of those the other day, but I let him live, but five rebounds last night for us and a couple steals as well. I’ll take the five rebounds over the two. We’re going to make sure JK get the rebound more and more because he’s more than capable.
And if he’s rebounding and then pushing the ball on the break, did y’all see a couple of those breakaways? He ran right by Jake LaRavia on one of those plays. He ran right by somebody else on a couple like, JK is shot out of a cannon when he decides to run. So with him getting more rebounds and just starting the break and pushing the break, then you have to account for a totally different thing. So we definitely will be chopping it up about that, but like I told y’all before, the young boy is a star. So buy your stock now as if there’s a stock market.
Buy your stock now. Buy low because the stock will be high. So, when he’s playing downhill with that type of force, we’re a very tough team to beat. I don’t care who we play against because it just brings a different dimension to our team. And not everybody can provide that dimension because not everybody has that freak athleticism, has that skill.
So, one thing JK — no one ever talks about is his handle. He has a very underrated handle, and it suits him well, and it allows him to do more with the basketball, which a lot of guys that jump and leap like that can’t handle the ball like that, and it limits them. JK can handle the lights, handle the ball.
He can shoot the mid-range very well, which again, when you’re going to be an elite score and you can get to your spot and raise up over people a la Kawhi Leonard. And Kawhi is the latest, you go back to Kobe and MJ. Like, those guys, ‘Melo. They get you to a spot. They just raising up and it’s money. And Jonathan Kuminga has the potential to master that shot as well.
But let’s go back to defense just one last time. Kerr and Festus Ezeli did a meet-and-greet at Peet’s Coffee down the block from Chase Center on Thursday. The legendary Vern Glenn of KPIX did an interview (clip is embedded below) and here’s Steve on team defense:
When we’re really good defensively, we’re tough to beat. And our defense just has to become more consistent. If we can find stretches in these games where we can string together a bunch of stops, our talent really takes over offensively and we can put ourselves in a great position to win. But our defense has to be more consistent to generate the results we want.
Makes me wonder if my old high school coach’s drill, a game of boxing out five-on-five where the winner is the first team to 11 rebounds with the ball never touching the floor, has just been lost in the wind. I mean, in this generation of AAU ball, 99.9% of all Instagram Reels from basketball trainers seem to only show offensive moves.
If I remember correctly, the first couple times doing the box-out drill were super-intimidating, especially as a sophomore JV member practicing jointly with varsity juniors and seniors during one preseason. I remember one guy was a lanky 6’4” center with sharp elbows. It was borderline frightening.
But you do this over and over again, your body starts to welcome the thrill of getting a great box-out. You learn to just go after the ball. You figure out how to maneuver around the dude with the death elbows. Your timing obviously gets much better. After some seasoning, you become the junior or senior and your thirst for the rebound becomes something that new sophomores fear, looking at you.
That’s what Jonathan and a whole host of other young players in the NBA need in the off-season. But whether or not there’s the dedication to build on this unsung basketball habit remains to be seen. It’s just too easy to coast and find JK in the game film, standing there, watching the ball bounce away from him, slow to anticipate, lacking that hunger for the ball.
Below are all the transcripts from pregame and postgame versus Memphis, including Kerr, Chris Paul, Klay Thompson, Draymond and JK, as well as the game notes from the livestream.
And congratulations to Trayce Jackson-Davis, CP3, Dray, and Klay for being part of the “unsung play of the game”, see Game Notes at the bottom, when TJD made a block, CP saved the ball in the corner to Draymond on the baseline, who then saved the ball as well, with the sequence ending as a Klay assist to Trayce for the bucket (no video available, sorry):
…I think within two or so. And then you guys had a 10-0 run and then started the third with a 12-0 burst. I mean, how key was that stretch and what was working to get stops and also just take it aggressively to them offensively?
STEVE KERR POSTGAME MEM-GSW: “Yeah, I thought those last few minutes of the second quarter were really key just to give us some momentum and a lead at halftime. But they scored, what’d they get? 58 in the first half. So what we talked about at halftime was trying to take control of the third quarter and find a stretch where we could get five or six stops in a row and open up a lead. And the guys did that right away, which was great. And I just thought everybody played well. The ball was moving beautifully. A lot of great individual performances, and it was a fun game to watch because we took care of the ball. I mean, 43 assists and 7 turnovers, you just don’t see that very often.”
Jonathan with 26 points, several emphatic dunks. When he’s going to the rim of force and power like that and finishing like that — I think he has a franchise record for dunks in this season now… What does that do for you guys as a team?
“Yeah, it gives us a different dimension, just those easy baskets. But it’s the force that he played with tonight. I thought it was maybe the best game I’ve ever seen him play at both ends. Just, he was playing with intensity defensively, got deflections. He was guarding the ball, but the way he played downhill, sprinting the floor, he is so fast, he’s electric and he’s really learning to use that more often, and in key times — and I thought tonight he was just brilliant — he mixed in along with that just several plays where he caught it and immediately swung it because he recognized we had the advantage. So it seems to me like the game is really making more sense to him now and slowing down a little bit, and it was really fun to watch Jonathan tonight. He was brilliant.”
Steve, it seems like the intensity really picked up shortly after that little dust up, you want to call it or whatever. Were you surprised to see that? Because sometimes that’s what happens when players get into it and the game changes a little bit. Were you surprised to see that at all, the intensity shift rise like that?
“No. No, I mean, we have a history with this team and it’s always been very competitive. I talked about it before the game. They’re just tough, physically tough. They never back down. So when we play them, there’s usually some kind of a dust up. I hated to see what happened because it looked like Taylor (Jenkins) was really hurt. And I talked to him after the game briefly and he said he was fine. So, no harm done. But it was a kind of a scary moment. And I know it was inadvertent; someone got pushed and fell into Taylor. Yeah. So, but the intensity like that against them is not unexpected because we’ve played a lot against them and we know what kind of team they are and how tough they are and competitive. And so that’s all part of it.”
Hey, Steve, you’ve talked a lot about how you always have belief in this team, this team’s ability to win big games, I guess, until it’s eliminated from the playoffs. Just how much does the way JK and Wiggs played simultaneously factor into that belief for you?
“Yeah, yeah. I mean, and it goes back a couple of months now, it’s, you see a game like tonight, we’ve come so far just in terms of figuring out lineup combinations and those two guys individually playing well together. We didn’t have that early in the season, but I think where we are right now, we’re in a good place. We’ve got a lot of guys who are playing extremely well in their roles and the combinations all make a lot of sense. Trayce has added a dimension to our team with his finishing, which is really exciting. Klay has embraced his role off the bench and is playing his best basketball of the year. So there’s a lot of good stuff going on. And obviously, we’ve got to keep getting better and we’ve got plenty to prove. But tonight was a good example of why I believe in this team because we do have a lot of talent and they’re starting to really put it together.”
Steve, over the last five games, I think Wiggs is shooting almost 60 percent and tonight he obviously had a big game. Didn’t look like he was forcing anything. Looked like everything was nice and in the flow of the offense. What have you seen from him lately?
“Well, this has been going on for a couple of months… it’s quite the level of shooting you’re talking about over the last five, but Wiggs has had a really good stretch here in the last couple of months after the slow start to the season, and he’s such an important player for us. And tonight, I thought we did a better job of getting him the ball in some situations, whereas there are games where he gets a little lost in the shuffle, and I’ve got to do a better job of putting him in positions where he can attack downhill. So I thought that happened tonight, and he did a great job of recognizing what the defense was doing. He made several really nice passes. He rebounded well, just a great, great night from Wiggs.”
Steve, in the beginning of the season, you and Kuminga obviously had your back and forths and just, you wanted him to just do the little things. That was one of your arguments. Now you’re seeing games like this. What is it like for you to see him on the other side of that, where he’s doing everything that you want him to do? You have asked of him and what do you see from him going forward?
“It’s incredibly gratifying to see JK taking these steps. That’s the whole point of coaching; we as a staff, we’re trying to help all these guys become the best versions of themselves. And JK has worked so hard and I think he’s really had a breakthrough this year and he’s earned it. He’s earned everything. I didn’t hand anything to him, obviously. And there were times I probably should have played him and I didn’t… And a great teammate. His teammates love him. Just feels like he’s starting to get very comfortable, just with his position on the team and his place in the league, all of that. And we’re going to keep coaching him hard because he can get a lot better. And you saw that tonight. I mean, when he plays with that kind of intensity and he sprints the floor that hard, both ways. He’s a force and so I couldn’t be happier for him, but I’m gonna keep coaching him hard. Thank you. By the way, Chris Paul’s really good. I don’t think I mentioned him, that guy. Yeah, that was a clinic tonight. Thank you. Please ask about Chris Paul.”
So he had about nine assists, I think, the last time I checked, I don’t know if he finished with — what 14? 14 assists. To be able to dish the ball out and get it to people in scoring positions the way he did not only tonight, but then it just seems like he’s been able to do that the last few games. How big is that for this team to facilitate in that way?
“It’s huge. We’ve never had this dynamic with our team where we can put stuff on the bench and have someone who just can completely control the game. To me, Chris has been in his best rhythm here the last couple weeks shooting the ball… He and Trayce are running the pick and roll to perfection. What a luxury to have Chris playing the backup point guard role. And then obviously playing with Steph at times too. There’s a reason they call him the Point God.”
As a follow up to that question, you have Podz (Brandin Podziemski), who’s just taken on the role of doing the little things. You have Kuminga who’s taken on the role of playing the way he’s playing now… Klay, who’s accepted his role on the bench. What would you speak to when you say what the identity of this team is compared to this time last year, what the identity of the team was then?
“Well, we were playing different combinations this year. I think we’ve found a starting group that we’re comfortable with, and we’ve got a bench unit that’s coming in and impacting the game every night. So I like where we are. I like our identity, but we’ve got to keep getting better. We know we have a lot to improve.”
DRAYMOND GREEN POSTGAME MEM-GSW: “Damn, GG (Jackson) had 35. I remember he was shooting that thing. Jesus.”
Yeah, that’s a career high for GG, by the way.
“He seems to have those against us.”
That’s true. Can you take me through what happened, I guess that sequence between you and Desmond (Bane) on the court?
“I didn’t really think there was a sequence. I got grabbed and I snatched my arm away and I got attacked… kind of woke our team up and we got going from there and never looked back, so shout out to them. Maybe they was trying to get me thrown out the game or something. It didn’t work. It actually worked against him. So I don’t know though, you gotta be careful when you do stuff like that because they were playing pretty well. And I think at that point, what were they down, one or two? And then they were done after that. So you gotta be careful.”
How much more, or not, physically taxing is playing the five as much as you are, compared to if you were playing the four more?
“Oh, it’s definitely more taxing because at the five, you’re involved in every possession. Like, like at the four, fours don’t crash every time, so you may not have to box out every possession. At the five, you gotta box out every play, like fives are trying to get the offensive rebound every play. And so even if something as simple as that, call it 20 more box-outs a game. Like, that’s contact, that’s a battle, and so it’s definitely more taxing. But I’m cut out for it.”
I mean, you’ve popped up on the injury report again today with the back soreness, I would assume boxing big people out probably —?
“Yeah, for sure. But I think there was other issues more so than just boxing guys out. I don’t attribute it to just playing the five. Like I said, the other day, it’s kind of around the same area that I had something before. And so, number one, want to be aware, but also, you know, we have to report to the league and all that stuff. So I would hate for — it’s something that I’ve been dealing with, so I would hate to say, I’m good, I’m good. And then last second, I can’t go, and so also a little precautionary as well. I worked a lot with Rick (Celebrini) over the last few days and he crushed me this morning. Like, we did a full session this morning, and I think his idea was more so like, if you can come out of this session good, great, you can play. But I’m going to put you through this session, and if you come out of it not great, then you’re not playing. And like, I tried to stop it early, like, alright, Rick, I’m good, and he’s like, no, you should do this now. And it was another 35, 40 minutes of stuff that I had to do. It was the right thing because I felt extremely active. I felt great, legs were a little tired from all of it, but as a basketball player, you know how to get through tired legs. So it was great.”
You seem to think playing the five is sustainable though, physically and for this team as much as you are, or do you think there should be more lineups mixed in with you at the four?
“No, I mean, it — Hey, my love Oh, he hit you with the ball (daughter Cash interrupts). Y’all was playing basketball? Okay. Y’all fighting a little bit? Okay. Go give your brother a hug. Give your sister a hug. Give your sister a hug. Like a real hug. Thank you. Yeah, I think it’s sustainable. I can do it. Like I said, I’m cut out for it. I think we, I don’t overly worry about it because I also know that we have fives that are more than capable of taking it and doing whatever it is that we need them to do. So, yeah, it’s not something I think about, like, whether I’m at the four to five or any other position, just got to be ready to go. So I think it’s sustainable.”
Draymond, Wiggins did have an up and down start to the season, but lately he’s been playing really well, shooting. Well, obviously it’s not his biggest game. What’s the domino effect when you guys are getting the kind of game like you got from him tonight? What’s the domino effect on everybody else?
“It helps everybody because with Wiggs’ aggressiveness, with his athleticism, when he’s driving to the rim, he can make defenses collapse or he’s gonna go finish. And then, like you said, he’s been shooting the ball extremely well. And none of us look at that as a matter of, oh, he’s hitting shots now, he’s taking them. And so that’s the biggest thing with us for weeks is just making sure like, yo, he’s being aggressive. As long as he’s taking the shots, he’s a good shooter, he’s gonna make a good amount of them, so it’s just a matter of making sure he’s being aggressive and taking those shots. And when he’s taking those shots and playing with that aggressiveness, we’re capable of winning championships.”
Have you guys had to prod him to be more aggressive this year? Or is it that he just kind of naturally evolved into that over the year?
“A little bit of both. When you play on a team like this, there’s always — it’s funny because I talked to Chris (Paul) about it at the beginning of the year and he came back around a couple weeks ago and was like, yo, you right. Like it’s very easy to play on this team and stop shooting. Because with all our action, you’re going to find someone that can shoot, a great shooter in Klay or Steph. Like, with all the action, if you don’t shoot, you’re still going to find them and get a good look. And so, more often than not, it’s very easy to fall into that, ah, I need to look for those guys. And it’s something that you have to be conscious of and and try not to fall into that, because when we fall into that at times, it hurts us more than it helps us. And so, with him being aggressive that way, it’s just another option for us that we can go to, that can initiate offense, that we can run pick and rolls for, that we can go to in the block. You can just allow him to create something. He’s more than capable of creating offense for any team.”
When you said Rick took you through a full session this morning, what does that look like? Is that working out? Is that stretching? Like, what does that entail?
“It starts on the table. I was anticipating getting like 10-15 minutes of table work that turned into like 45-50 minutes. And then I was anticipating doing like a 10-minute core workout and that turned into like 35 minutes. And then I was anticipating getting like 10 minutes of shots up and that turned into about 30 minutes. And so I ended up being here for like three and a half hours this morning and I thought I’d be here for an hour and a half. In saying that, it was great because we got a lot of work done. I got stronger, which is great. And just got my body to a really good place. Like when I showed up this evening, it wasn’t even much to do on the table because of all the work that we had done this morning. So it was beautiful. Much needed. It’s funny because Long (Tran, assistant trainer) was telling me on the bench, like Rick’s the king of ‘one more’. One more and one more times and like six more, but it’s great.”
Draymond, for such a long time, you’ve been a key facilitator and playmaker for this team. But what added layer does having a true point guard like Chris Paul and 14 assists, zero turnovers tonight due for this group?
“…when you playing with a guy like Chris, I find easy buckets as well, like just run the floor. He’s looking ahead. Chris is one of the elite playmakers that this league has ever seen. One of the best passers we’ve ever seen in this league. And I think the most beautiful part about is, he don’t turn the ball over. 14 assists and zero turnovers. I’ll be in here jumping for joy and that’s just a normal night for him. And it’s absolutely incredible to have him on this team with the scorers that we have and not only adding another playmaker, but an elite playmaker. It’s absolutely incredible and it unlocks so many different lineups. Like, you put Chris on the floor, Chris can unlock a lineup as good as anyone. It’s absolutely incredible.”
How challenging do you view what’s ahead for this team, standings-wise and what needs to get done?
“No, we just need to win games. I mean, winning games in the NBA is a challenge in itself, but I don’t view it no further than just got to go win the game.”
The way you facilitate for this team, they’ve never had that before, especially to be able to put Steph on the bench for as long as they can. And you take control of the game. Just kind of speak to why that is. But then also how you feel like that impacts this team and where you all are trying to go.
CHRIS PAUL POSTGAME MEM-GSW: “I don’t know. It’s an easy game when you play with really good players, you know what I mean? And being out there on the court with Dray, who’s such a high basketball IQ guy, Klay and Steph with their shooting, it allows for so much space and JK, the way he’s been playing Wiggs, we just really got a complete team when we want to be.”
You had 14 assists the way you did tonight. Just kind of speak to like, why is it that you’re able to find the right guy that has the right opportunity to take the right shot? Do you get what I’m saying?
“Yeah. I done played a few games, you know what I mean? No, no. But seriously, it’s, I mean, when them guys to tell you, I watch this game all day, every day. You know what I mean? I’m on Second Spectrum. I’m watching clips. I know this game like the back of my hand. So when you’re playing out there and you’re knowing Klay has got it going. He’s shooting the life out of the ball. You know that the slip may be open. You know that all these different things, been playing this game since I was about four years old. I mean, and luckily over my career in my life, I’ve had some of the best coaches you could have. I was 11 years old running Utah’s old offense. I mean, my coach in Andy Poplin. We used to run the flex when I was 11 years old, you know? And so now when you get up to this point, it ain’t really much that you can show me that I haven’t seen.”
Chris, Steve also said that he’s felt these past couple weeks, really, since you came back from your injury and everything settled down, has been your strongest stretch with this team since arriving. Do you feel that that’s the case? And how much (…has…) the starting lineup established helped with that?
“I mean, it’s nice. It’s been a very up and down year for our team, every time we come to the arena. We’re not sure who is playing, which is unfortunate, but it’s part of the league, so I think we get excited when we see everybody in the lineup and it sort of gives you a comfort level, but it’s also just playing this league for so long. This time of year, what it means, we talked about it. We said this couldn’t be a game where we walk in the locker room after the game and say we should have won. We got to start not hoping we win and make sure that we win.”
Chris, you came back from the time off and it looked like you came back and immediately was, even better, like, had a good rhythm. How much of that was the preparation while you were away, kind of getting ready to just hit the ground running?
“Man, that’s the preparation while I was away. Rehab is hard. Guys don’t know that, like, rehab is really hard. It’s really hard on your mental. But I give a big thanks to our team, the training staff, to the guys in the video room who worked out with me during all star break. I hooped with a bunch of guys at my kid’s school. My son actually played pick up with his guy named Frank Nitty. Aaron Powell, a bunch of guys, like we hooped, and that’s the stuff people don’t see. And I just want them people to know that I’m grateful that they hooped with me. I mean, I just need to get to that comfort level and it’s still getting better, but it’s go time.”
How old’s your son? Just to follow up on that. How old’s your son?
“14. He’s actually out there with 130 of his classmates. They’re on a class field trip here to San Francisco. So I’m about to go see him right quick.”
Oh, that’s great. So you’ve seen a lot of basketball. What do you think about Steph Curry getting 300 threes? That happened in this game. There’s 14 games left in the season. It’s the fifth time he’s had 300 total in a season. But that accomplishment, to do it five times as well.
“He gonna do it again next year. You know what I mean? I’m not surprised. You watching him every night.”
It doesn’t mean it’s easy though.
”Oh, I aint say it’s easy. I mean, it’s easy. It is easy for him. Yeah. You know what I mean? He shoots the life out of the ball, you know what I mean? Takes care of his body. And I mean, that’s a unbelievable achievement. But I mean, even if you ask him, he not surprised.”
So Chris, when you were out, a lot of the guys were like with Draymond, really dependent on you and just how you run the floor. And well, clearly you were a marquee player back in your time… Where do you see the development from the start of the season with the younger guys versus now? Because you have such a good flow then, but it just seems to get better.
“We just got a good group of guys and anytime you change teams or mix guys up, it’s different rotations. Like I said, we done had a number of different guys in and out the lineup all year long. So I think everybody just been trying to find their comfort level and just because we won this game… we still figuring it out and we’re gonna keep building and keep trying to play the right way.”
Building off that, beginning of the season, Kuminga was like your project. you were somebody that you were just always giving notes to, always trying to get him to a point. How has it been to see his growth throughout this season?
“It’s super dope to see. And with anything, man, we always talk about stacking days. You know what I mean? And JK is the guy who puts the work in. And so when the guys on the team see you put that work in, that gives you the confidence, too, to take the shots, to drive, to do this and to do that. And probably early he was tired of us yelling at him and whatnot. But now we yelling at him to be aggressive. Because we know we need him to do what he does in order for us to be successful.”
Now stylistically, the Warriors have historically played a specific brand of offense at least, with free flowing read and react kind of thing. And then you’ve played in a bunch of different systems, but you’ve typically liked to run a lot of pick and roll. How have you fit into the system compared to what you thought you might have?
“Yeah, it’s a little bit of both. And initially when I got here, I thought I was trying to fit in as much as possible and still am, I mean, depending on what units we have, but I remember Draymond and all them saying, like, be you too, and I know. And that pick and roll and Steph, like that is just, it’s a different dynamic, but you can do that and still find the shooters. And like I said, we’ve been an up and down year for us and we just figuring it out.”
Draymond is pretty much playing exclusively at center for you guys, obviously. At his height, how challenging and physically taxing do you think that is for him?
“It’s a lot. It’s a lot. I talk to him about it all the time. It’s a lot on Dray, but that’s why I think it’s been big for us to get Trayce going and make sure Trayce is learning because in order to get to where we want to get to, we got to be able to play different ways and Loon is going to be a big force. But Dario too. I think we have a great mix of guys and yeah, we have a number of ways that we can play.”
You mentioned Trayce there. Do you like potential two-big lineups with Draymond? …Do you think that the league is all about matchups?
“It all depends on who you play; some teams play five-out like tonight, some people play two-big. You just got to be able to change and adjust. You know what I mean? I’m sorry. Yeah. Alright, last one. I gotta see my kids.”
Like you mentioned, you’ve been playing a long time. What’s the most fulfilling thing for you about nights like tonight?
“Honestly, I’ll tell you the most fulfilling thing about tonight was GG Jackson. GG Jackson was on my AAU team. I was his coach two years ago. Two years ago, GG was on my AAU team with John Adams coach, some great players, Rob Dillingham, Aden Holloway, a lot of great kids and GG is an unbelievable kid. We done played at Memphis twice this year. And I was hurt both of those games. So going into the game, it’s crazy. It’s crazy. Sometimes he still call me Coach and he had a three in my face early in the game. I was pissed because our AAU program is really like a family. And so to see him to be out there on the court, playing against him. It’s something I never get used to. It’s kind of a surreal moment. So, I won’t hear the end of that. Damn, what, he had 30, what, 35? That was a career-high. That’s some bullshit. But man, him along with all of the other guys that came through our program That’s probably most fulfilling, to know that he’ll have a long career in this league.”
First of all, Klay, tell me how you guys were able to go on that 22-0 run, spanning the second and third quarter.
KLAY THOMPSON: “I think it started with Jonathan’s defense on the ball, his ability to get in the passing lanes, and then excite the crowd with his acrobatics above the rim. I think that’s what really got the ball rolling.”
What does it do for you guys to have a playmaker like Chris Paul?
“It makes my life way easier. He’s unlocked TJ’s ability to elevate above the rim, and it’s just a joy to play with him. He’s such a great player, and we are really lucky to have him on the team. I mean, 14 assists, it’s clinical to what he did tonight.”
What’s it been like seeing JK’s development this year, and in what areas have you seen him grow most?
“It’s been awesome to see. I mean, I expected because he’s such a great athlete and he loves the game and his mid range shot is really nice. He’s got great form. His shot selection, as far as attacking the rim first, then settling for those jumpers that he’s been hitting and just his ability to be himself. I mean, JK has got an incredibly bright future.”
You just mentioned Chris Paul and his ability to kind of unlock the lob threat when it came to TJD, but you’ve kind of done the same thing with TJD. You and him have a lot of chemistry and connection out there that just seems to click and work well. Is that something that you guys are working on in practice as well? Is he kind of under you trying to figure out how to learn from a vet? Like, what’s your relationship that kind of plays over onto the court?
“Well, he’s Trayce, Jr. for a reason. Because I’ve been playing with Trayce my whole life, for my little brother now to Trayc, Jr. So it’s really cool and he is great at getting me open off the ball screen and then his ability to get out and roll to the basket is one of the best I’ve ever seen for a rookie. So you’ve got to give Trayce credit, coming in NBA-ready, 50-something pick or whatever, playing the years he did at IU as a go-to player obviously helped him develop his skill and be NBA -ready. So he’s been a joy to play with.”
You gonna watch the NCAA tournament?
“Of course! The Cougs are playing. I’m so excited. And Mr. Obama picked us to win the first-round game. So, there’s a watch party at my residence tomorrow. I’m very excited. Very excited. Great question. Yeah. Great question. Is that it? Nice. Let me make a point of that.”
HHH
16 lead changes in that first half, and even though you guys had a 10 point lead at halftime, what did you do to step on the gas in the third quarter to make sure the Grizzlies never got in contact again?
JONATHAN KUMINGA POSTGAME: “I think we called a timeout, and I got yelled at, and I don’t know what was wrong. I was just like, all right, man, let me just go out there and just make a difference and just lock in and just play as hard as they can, so they don’t have anything else to say. And I think that’s where we changed the game.”
Steve Kerr had words with you?
“It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him at all. I think he looked at me and he says something. Somebody who was really, like yelling at me the most, it was CD (assistant coach Chris DeMarco). Because that (Memphis) was his scout. He don’t wanna lose, I think Aldama hit a three, (we) called a time out. Because he was hot at some point. He was kind of far, but he made it. And they really went off on me, and I was like, ‘Aight cool. I got you.’”
0:00 This season, I noticed that Andrew Wiggins, his point totals have been down from what he’s been doing historically. Why do you think he’s had a kind of a tougher season this year?
STEVE KERR PREGAME MEM-GSW: “Well, he got off to a slow start. The absence last year took its toll. He’s a rhythm player and he didn’t appear to be in rhythm when the season started. And then our team’s struggles have had an effect on him. We’ve moved him to the bench. We’ve moved him in and out of the lineup. We’ve put him with different people. So as we’ve searched for our team, he’s gotten lost in the shuffle a little bit. I can do a better job of getting him more involved, calling more sets for him to get him downhill. He’s still a very important player for us. He always guards the toughest guy. He’s a great teammate. He’s still a young guy; Wiggs has plenty of basketball left in him, and he’s been much better here the last couple months.”
1:03 Coach, the Grizzlies are on a six-game losing streak, trying to get a win. They’re thin though. What level of importance have you guys placed on taking advantage of that, being that they are so understaffed, but then also winning, given the standings so far with your seeding?
“Yeah, we know we’ve got to win every possible game to get where we want to go so that message doesn’t change, whether it’s the Knicks or Memphis or the Pacers, we know the importance of every game. The thing we know about Memphis is they play hard. It doesn’t matter who’s out there. We lost to them in Memphis, the first game we played them this year. They were missing everybody and they made a million threes and spread us out and turned us over and just played extremely hard. That’s their identity. Taylor (Jenkins) does an amazing job. They have a culture of, they call it ‘grit and grind,’ and it’s real. So that’s the warning to the guys, before the game. Every time we play them, we give them that qualifier. But at the same time, even though they’re missing people, they got some horses. Desmond Bane is back and Jaren Jackson’s playing at a high level. And we know what (Santi) Aldama can do. And so they’ve got plenty of talent. We’re going to have to play well to win.”
2:26 What have you seen from Brandin (Podziemski) offensively the last couple of games? And what do you think he needs to get going again?
“Brandin, nothing. It’s the ebbs and flows of the season. Everybody goes through stretches where the ball goes in, stretches where the ball doesn’t go in. The thing I love about Brandin is, he plays at a really high level even when he’s not scoring. He does so many things for us that are important, that we still need. So, in my mind, he’s playing fine. He’s just not scoring right now, but that’ll turn.”
2:58 Steve, you said that you will be calling on (Kevon Looney) periodically over the course of the season and certainly in the postseason. How do you dictate when to use him and how much of it is matchup-based?
“Yeah. We miss Loon right now. We miss his competitiveness, his grit, his toughness. What changed this year was we just have not been able to play many too bigs. And so with Trayce (Jackson-Davis) playing as well as he is and us playing Draymond at the five, it’s left Loon out of the rotation. So, you guys know, that’s my guy; I’ll go to war with Loon any day and vouch for him my whole career, his whole career. He’s going to get another opportunity, but I don’t know when that’ll be exactly, because there aren’t any minutes right now, because both Draymond and Trayce are very important to us and they’re taking up the five minutes, but it always turns; something happens and Loon will be back out there.”
4:12 You mentioned just now when you said that BP is doing things you need him to do, but his scoring totals have been mostly single-digits. Can that keep going if Draymond is not going to give you much and if Wiggs is not going to give you much scoring and just JK and Steph, JK and Steph?
“Well, no, we definitely need him. I’m not worried about additional scoring from other people and from game to game that usually changes when you’re talking about 3rd, 4th, 5th scorers. So again, I’m not worried about it. But yeah, we need some balance to our scoring. You saw Sunday in LA. You know a lot of guys chipped in and played really well. And that’s what it takes.”
4:52 Part of that Looney answer… I wouldn’t necessarily refer to Draymond as a five. Can he be a four for you guys moving forward, or is it just kind of he’s a center now?
“He’s best-suited at the five in the modern game. Everybody spreads you out and makes so many threes. We are playing Draymond with Trayce for a handful of minutes a game. We like that defensively. We like the idea that Trayce can be the lob guy and Draymond can space the floor and make an occasional three or run a dribble handoff. So he can definitely still play four, but his best position is the five.”
5:34 Steve, after Monday’s game, Steph referred to the standings as not really mattering as far as the seeding, you’ve got to play better. Where do you see his leadership show up, maybe in practice, off-the-court, during a game? Where does Steph kind of step up in that game, not just obviously his play, but his leadership?
“Steph’s leadership is just ever-present; it’s just the tone he sets every day. He’s not going to give us a big speech about the standings or what we have to do or how much better we have to play. He’s just here every day, putting his work in and being an example for everybody and bringing that great balance of the competitive fire, but the joy for the game. Steph’s our guy. He’s our leader, and he sets the tone every day, but again, he’s not the big speech guy, so his leadership is constant.”
6:28 Hey, Steve. It seems like you guys really turned a corner containing the ball defensively after Draymond came back towards the end of January. Then you put Wiggs and JK in the starting lineup. Just how would you assess your point-of-attack defense here more recently over the last couple weeks?
“Yeah, it’s overall, over the last six weeks or so, dramatically improved. We’re just staying in front of the ball better. It’s probably mostly personnel-related. But Draymond behind the play is so good, also that he gets guys in the right position before they sometimes recognize it, and that’s helpful, too. So our defensive rating since Draymond has come back is dramatically better. I don’t know exactly what the numbers are. Yeah, he (looks at Raymond Ridder) doesn’t either. He’s up playing GameBoy, up in the office… But Draymond’s one of the greatest defenders of all-time. He’s brilliant. And so the impact he’s made has been dramatic. But he allowed us to play Wiggs and JK together. And so now you get the three of them… across the board, we get better. Better speed and ability to stay in front.”
8:02 FESTUS EZELI: Coach, watching the game back last game, it’s little defensive errors. It’s leaving the guy open in the transition. It’s letting a guy drive by you, go middle. How do you teach that part at this point in the season with no practice? As a coach, how do you instill those principles, especially as you need those things going into the playoffs?
“(Looks at Ridder again.) You let Fezzy in here? Man! No, it’s a good question. It’s the challenge that we face throughout the season. Now, we just don’t have a ton of practice time. So we watch a lot of film. The younger guys go through kind of the pre-practice work, where we try to drill that stuff in. But the biggest thing is, our team is much more vulnerable now than we’ve ever been. And so those mistakes are exposed. We were still making those mistakes over the years, but we were able to overcome them. And now we’re just not as easily able to overcome little details. That’s why we are where we are. But I have a lot of faith that we can clean that stuff up and win a lot of close games. And that’s what we’re going to need to do.”
9:17 Where are you seeing Draymond physically right now? He’s obviously popped up on the injury report a few times with the back. He had like four days off, played really well in LA. Wasn’t that great the other night, back on the injury report. Just where do you think he’s at physically?
“Yeah, he’s a little banged up. He’s been playing a lot since he came back, whatever that was, six weeks ago. Played every game, or no, just missed the one in Dallas, but a lot of minutes and a lot of wear and tear over his career. So, he’s just at a place in his career where he requires more maintenance and there’s going to be more bumps and bruises, but he takes great care of himself and he was in here this morning with Rick (Celebrini) and told me that everything went well and he feels good. So he’s ready to go tonight.”
10:08 The rest of the way, it’s either one day of rest in-between games or back-to-back. Just how do you manage that kind of sprint, that kind of pace?
“We do have a lot of depth. That’s the strong suit of this team. We’ve got a lot of bodies, a lot of good players, guys we can count on. And so we’ll lean into that.”
0:00 KERR PREGAME AUDIO
4:45 refs tonight: Ed Malloy (crew chief, 22nd season), Phenizee Ransom (6th season), Derrick Collins (23rd); replay: Courtney Kirkland, John Conley, Mousa Dagher
5:30 my diatribe on timeouts, see article above
11m45 Q1 Wiggs patient 2 yay
11m13 Q1 JK misses open 2
10m51 Q1 Dray doesn’t rebound, they
10m00 Q1 JK 3
9m40 Q1 BP TTBTTOT
9m26 Q1 BP draws charge
8m17 Q1 Steph TTBTTOT
19:00 put pressure on the rim early ie shoot 2s to start the game, you want to set the tone as “this is not a 3pt contest and we’re putting force on you”
7m30 Q1 JK a little late to the help of GG vs BP who stayed in front
6m02 Q1 JK pull up 12ft ala Kawhi
5m39 Q1 Dray telegraphs to Steph TTBTTOT, leads to 3 by GG, BP doubled with Dray there
25:15 analyzing the last play: BP bad help
3m39 Q1 JK bad steal attempt vs Aldama, Jemison easy post-up on switch, maybe TJD should recognize helping small guy vs big
3m00 Q1 TJD out of picture as Konchar gets long oreb
2m47 Q1 Steph TJD JK dunk tic tac toe
2m20 Q1 Steph 3 no good, no foul on Jake LaRavia
2m10 Q1 GP2 called for and1 vs GG — always starts slow
1m47 Q1 JJJ and1 vs BP sulks
1m38 Q1 JJJ miss FT Konchar reb over Klay, GG 3 sheesh
1m15 Q1 GP2 should’ve gotten an and1
0m57 Q1 MEM team oreb Klay can’t get to it
0m42 Q1 BP to TJD and1 pushing the ball, TJD makes FT ——
38:00 analyzing JK’s bad D at 3m39 — see above
11m47 Q2 Dray DPOY vs JJJ
11m36 Q2 CP patented 2 ball base in n out
42:30 analyzing BP getting bopped in the face by LaRavia — inadvertent but CP watched
10m00 Q2 TJD underestimates JJJ, can’t do that, pretend he’s Wemby
9m34 Q2 TJD block of Bane but deflect, pass to JJJ corner 3
9m12 Q2 TJD pass from Dray deflected, TJD says my bad yup
8m54 Q2 Klay 3/5 on 2s after double fly-by ——
8m29 Q2 JJJ and1, Mo needs to learn how to flop
8m17 Q2 CP to Dray 94ft off made bucket
7m55 Q2 Wiggs POA no good vs Bane attack
7m13 Q2 CP to Dray again
6m52 Q2 no tech or call on Dray vs Aldama
54:00 analyzing the last play: Aldama elbowed Dray
5m42 Q2 CP two straight physical plays
5m31 Q2 Wiggs oreb 2x
4m58 Q2 Steph jump ball vs Aldama great physicality
4m18 Q2 CP fake pass base J wow
4m08 Q2 good close Wiggs vs LaRavia
3m56 Q2 JK has seam, fades away instead of attack — CLIP THIS, 3 ball LaRavia
3m12 Q2 JK poke good, 94ft dunk
2m35 Q2 Aldama 6th trey, JK exasperated, Kerr timeout, tells JK it’s ok he’s hot — stop it with the exasperate
2m19 Q2 Steph can’t hit the nice ball movement
1m55 Q2 JK 3
1m45 Q2 JK steal dunk 94ft
1m35 Q2 JK momentarily fell asleep on what would’ve been a steal
0m56 Q2 Klay inbound 3
0m40 Q2 Dray DPOY deflect lob, then runs, in n out fake pass dribble to Klay — totally agree that Jenkins called timeout here with only 32.1 left, see website article above
0m05 Q2 Steph gives up the ball to Wiggs, handoff doesn’t happen, poor execution at buzzer
1:09:30 TJD HALFTIME AUDIO
1:11:00 JD JOHN DICKINSON: maybe too many specialists on the squad, have to make two moves everytime
11m49 Q3 JK gambles but Aldama near airball
11m01 Q3 Aldama passes up a 3, then misses again
10m32 Q3 Dray inside push shot as JJJ shifts to Steph
10m10 Q3 Wiggs TD catch via Dray a la All-Pro
9m55 Q3 BP blocked on TD pass from JK but Wiggs dunk
9m20 Q3 Steph relocation 3 vs GG base
9m00 Q3 Wiggs block wow
8m31 Q3 JK shake and bake pull-up wow! 2ball
8m13 Q3 Wiggs push shot, Jenkins 3inarow timeout
1:35:30 only 3 tov drink! Dray 10-10-6, Wiggs 19 pts on 8/9 fg 3/3 threes, JK 20 on 9/12 fg and 2/2 threes
7m53 Q3 JK flies by everybody
7m38 Q3 Dray good tip after JJJ miss
7m25 Q3 BP 3 no good with 15, oreb layup blown
6m42 Q3 JK 3 no good, 3 guys standing there
6m07 Q3 GG Euro, timeout Kerr, TJD consoles BP
5m51 Q3 ATO: Klay baseline, then pick for TJD 1v1 dunk
5m10 Q3 Steph my bad after LaRavia drives base
5m05 Q3 GP2 bad pass — again, always makes a mistake coming in the game
4m33 Q3 Steph oob, Kerr challenge, why get trapped so easily?
3m21 Q3 GP2 gives up another and1 — can’t get a rhythm with the limited mins?
2m45 Q3 Klay 3 via TJD screen
2m23 Q3 too easy BLIB for MEM
2m06 Q3 GP2 backdoor cut
1m51 Q3 CP can’t stay in front of LaRavia
1m33 Q3 Klay hot, dribbles a lot, gets ball back for splash
1m05 Q3 JJJ fouls GP2 on FT reb no call, LaRavia 3
0m51 Q3 makeup call GP2 vs JJJ
0m46 Q3 CP stays in post too long, TJD watching, come on!
11m22 Q4 good close Dray vs JJJ
11m06 Q4 TJD block, CP save Dray save, Klay to TJD finish —–
10m31 Q4 Klay falls asleep on LaRavia oreb
9m57 Q4 TJD good close vs Aldama
9m50 Q4 TJD Klay P&R lefty layup Klay
9m13 Q4 CP TJD P&R TJD good finish
8m52 Q4 Klay soft vs LaRavia again
8m34 Q4 everybody watches
2:06:45 JK’s 2pt FGP has actually gone down each year for 3 years, currently at 58.1%
8m03 Q4 JK beaten easily off dribble by LaRavia
7m41 Q4 Klay 3
6m03 Q4 JK alley from CP near half, timeout Jenkins wave white flag
2m25 Q4 Spencer comes in, I like his POA defense
1m52 Q4 Lester drives and draws contact, love that
1m29 Q4 Spencer great POA
1m24 Q4 Gui good close out!
1m01 Q4 Spencer great close out, rewarded with 94ft TD dunk
0m40 Q4 GG Jackson possibly best player on court, we look it up, he’s signed for 3 years plus team option
2:25:00 137 points with only 2 FTs (2/6)
2:26:45 CP3 POSTGAME AUDIO (HAS GAME BALL FOR SPENCER?)
2:32:00 @Cholo Abenes: what are those on CP’s hand? — check my video on the magnets on CP’s hand:
2:33:15 Nicole Diaz: To me the turning point was the scuffle between Dray and Bane.. after that they came put with a different energy
2:35:45 oh yeah, credit Dr. Nirav Pandya for his insights on that, see https://www.letsgowarriors.com/p/la-was-a-movie-j-lo-x-ben-djokovic
2:40:00 Uday Kiran: Pacers have never lost to the GSW at Chase, Starman: Knicks have never lost there
2:47:45 STEVE POSTGAME AUDIO: 43 assists and 7 turnovers (6?)
2:50:30 JK POSTGAME AUDIO NOW ON: somebody yelled at him, it was Chris DeMarco (it was his scout), “Alright cool, I got you” after a long 3 maybe
2:54:45 Starman: Looney coming to play reserve minutes should explain how hard the rotation decisions on this team are — TJD averaging 1.0 bpg
2:59:45 TJD POSTGAME AUDIO
3:02:00 DEAN CHAMBERS IN THE HOUSE!: impressed with Wiggs
3:10:15 Steph only shot 10 times, Dean: “Warriors used Steph perfectly tonight”, Klay 23 points in 25 minutes, Dray plus-25, can’t remember the last time Dray got a tech, getting the tiny details right (good fundamental passes)
3:21:00 CP3 POSTGAME AUDIO
3:23:30 KLAY POSTGAME AUDIO
3:35:00 DRAY POSTGAME AUDIO: 5s have to box out 20 more times than 4s, they have a 4th child coming (a girl), Hazel Olive and Cash Green
3:50:00 ENTIRE STEVE POSTGAME VIDEO
3:59:00 Dean: CP3 only 6 tov since MIL, 6.1 assists, 0.9 tov
4:03:00 Dean: Warriors have been “playing with their food”, not a huge volume of threes, “TJD’s a great passer”, “give the ball to Steph and get out of the way” is great sometimes…”these guys need to be aggressive…everything comes from defense”
4:16:45 on the earlier Memphis game being a turning point. I wrote about it: https://www.letsgowarriors.com/p/memphis-steph-curry-get-ball-to-kuminga-kerr …the pick-and-BOOM
4:18:00 Dean remembers the boom situation from January 2021:
…Warriors have 2 kids who weren’t alive during 2022 championship
4:23:00 on next season’s excitement
4:25:00 on Klay being happy
4:32:45 ENTIRE DRAY POSTGAME
4:44:15 ENTIRE POSTGAME VIDEO OF CP3 AND KLAY: Kerith Burke with the answer to CP lol
4:53:45 (KLAY POSTGAME)
4:58:30 CP3 gave Pat Spencer the game ball (for his first bucket which was a dunk)
5:01:15 Dean: “Moody is the Looney of guards”
5:03:15 Vote for unsung play of the game:
TJD block,CP Dray save, Klay to TJD (38%)
Klay double-fly-by for a 2 (29%)
Spencer close-out, TD pass for dunk (22%)
BP to TJD late Q1 push and1 FT good (9%)
Poll complete: 44 votes
5:06:00 on LeBron calling Steph “light skinned f-er” changing the game where no 17-point lead is safe, as said on his podcast with JJ Redick:
https://twitter.com/mindthegamepod/status/1770164587524247699
— Dean: Jordan to Kobe to Steph lineage, maybe even Jerry West, on MJ with the Wizards (announced on 9/11/2001 and also Bob Dylan released a record, both of which is crazy), MJ donated his salary to 9/11 victims’ families
5:13:00 Kevin Garnett said Ant Edwards reminds him of 1984 Jordan
5:20:00 on Dr. Jekyll vs Mr. Hyde for Pacers: trust this team against teams that are really good, i.e., we underestimated the Knicks with their injuries
5:24:00 on us playing fast or slow, regular season vs playoffs, Wiggs being more hype for the playoffs
5:30:00 on Draymond’s availability or lack thereof being 12-18, is 24-14 pretty good? Gets you to 50 wins in 82-game season, DEAN AND I BOTH THINK GSW CAN FINISH 12-2 FOR PROBABLY SIXTH!
👍👍💛💙