How much losing can Maple Jordan take before he demands either more help...or a ticket out of the Bay? NO I AM NOT OVERREACTING TO A RANDOM JANUARY LOSS.
Like the Hornet & Sixer losses to Open up rOad trips, I think that at times it may take da Dubs a game out on the road to re/calibrate before they flOw into their “beautiful game.” Dat was duh Dallastinker...
Well, Daniel, I do think you are over reacting. All of us are. But to bring up Wiggins as a disgruntled player becoming a demanding one is a stretch, a very beg stretch. All those years in Minnesota are testament to his loyalties and perseverance. The Warriors 'saved' him from that fate and his best chance for a title lies right here because the Warriors did bring in help and more is coming. Did you expect to us to break our 73-9 record this season? Personally, I was hoping, but I think we can all see how hard that really is to do over a full season. The fundamentals are there for us to continue winning, but not every game. No team wins every game either at home or on the road. The good news is that both Curry and Green are healthy. Those are two very promising signs for our team amidst a season that the floor may drop out from underneath them with Covid exploding once again. Health is #1 concern, not whether Curry is shooting lights out. Cream rises to the top.
Steve Kerr asked about Gary Payton II’s upcoming contract guarantee date: “I’m gonna make that decision right now. We’re going to guarantee him the rest of the year.”
TBH, if Wiggins really took over as the definitive leader of this team and lived up to his potential as the #1 overall pick I wouldn't hate it!
Could you even imagine having Wiggins as the focal point of defenses with Klay and Curry raining bombs down from the outside and Green shredding apart defenses and finding the open man like a grater on cheddar? If we saw aggressive Wiggins every night it could very well happen.
Curry-Klay-Poole-Wiggins-Green could legitimately be our new SMDS.
I don’t think the sky is falling, nor am I irrationally concerned about Stephs abilities. But I do think for this team to be championship we actually need Klay to come back at 90%+ of his form. In the playoffs, when people are scheming Steph like crazy, we should expect for him to have tough nights. And we just don’t quite have enough shooters in the core rotation to punish those schemes. Fingers crossed.
OK, I get the tongue in cheek. I get that Steph is not going to go 0-for-January. I get that I ought not to overreact to a random January loss. But ... when *would* be a good time to react? What are the conditions that would make a coach say, "Things have changed in Steph's abilities and we need to adjust accordingly?" I certainly don't know the answer, but I think this site is capable of a rational discussion of the subject. Steph isn't immortal and at some point he will not perform at the supernova level we've come to take for granted. He's been carrying the team for a decade, his shoulders are tired. Of course: it's entirely possible that after a few days of r'n'r he regains energy in a backcourt with Klay and returns to his historic shooting levels and runs away with the MVP. But what if not? Do any changes make sense? Like reduced minutes?
I wouldn't mind if this slump is just Steph's way to get rid of all that bad juju in the regular season before going on a historic streak in the playoffs
The Warrior starting lineup defense with GP2 in there for Poole looks astonishingly good so far. Right now they have a defensive rating of 92.9 in 33 minutes (to go with an offensive rating of 113.8 for a net rating of 21). Last night they were +14 when they shared the floor. Earlier in the season, Kerr was only comfortable playing GP2 when there was a stretch big on the floor like Bjelica or Porter, but he has really blossomed into a "general usage" player.
If the unthinkable happens and Klay gets hurt again, I would argue that they should keep GP2 in the starting lineup over Poole regardless. I think he's a better SG.
Also I think when Draymond says they need to get Curry "off the ball more" that is a tacit recognition that his issue right now is fatigue. I don't think the running around endless screens stuff is tiring for Curry, I think he's built for that. I think constantly trying to navigate multiple defenders when he has the ball in his hands who are often larger than he is gets very tiresome.
I've seen a need to get Wiggins more opportunities in 4th quarter
Like the Hornet & Sixer losses to Open up rOad trips, I think that at times it may take da Dubs a game out on the road to re/calibrate before they flOw into their “beautiful game.” Dat was duh Dallastinker...
Hilarious. You made the best of a crap game. Well done.
Well, Daniel, I do think you are over reacting. All of us are. But to bring up Wiggins as a disgruntled player becoming a demanding one is a stretch, a very beg stretch. All those years in Minnesota are testament to his loyalties and perseverance. The Warriors 'saved' him from that fate and his best chance for a title lies right here because the Warriors did bring in help and more is coming. Did you expect to us to break our 73-9 record this season? Personally, I was hoping, but I think we can all see how hard that really is to do over a full season. The fundamentals are there for us to continue winning, but not every game. No team wins every game either at home or on the road. The good news is that both Curry and Green are healthy. Those are two very promising signs for our team amidst a season that the floor may drop out from underneath them with Covid exploding once again. Health is #1 concern, not whether Curry is shooting lights out. Cream rises to the top.
https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1479235521738067968
Anthony Slater
@anthonyVslater
Steve Kerr asked about Gary Payton II’s upcoming contract guarantee date: “I’m gonna make that decision right now. We’re going to guarantee him the rest of the year.”
---
More than a year, hopefully?
What a fun article to read! Loved it. But this needs Daniel's animated talking head video treatment.
I was going to ask what are the chances for an Explain One Phase but I think you just summed it up nicely :)
Not much joy here in the Kingdom after last night's game. Two klunkers in a week, bleh.
Add the klayups and klanks on the horizon, and we're doomed. Play-ins, anyone?
TBH, if Wiggins really took over as the definitive leader of this team and lived up to his potential as the #1 overall pick I wouldn't hate it!
Could you even imagine having Wiggins as the focal point of defenses with Klay and Curry raining bombs down from the outside and Green shredding apart defenses and finding the open man like a grater on cheddar? If we saw aggressive Wiggins every night it could very well happen.
Curry-Klay-Poole-Wiggins-Green could legitimately be our new SMDS.
I don’t think the sky is falling, nor am I irrationally concerned about Stephs abilities. But I do think for this team to be championship we actually need Klay to come back at 90%+ of his form. In the playoffs, when people are scheming Steph like crazy, we should expect for him to have tough nights. And we just don’t quite have enough shooters in the core rotation to punish those schemes. Fingers crossed.
OK, I get the tongue in cheek. I get that Steph is not going to go 0-for-January. I get that I ought not to overreact to a random January loss. But ... when *would* be a good time to react? What are the conditions that would make a coach say, "Things have changed in Steph's abilities and we need to adjust accordingly?" I certainly don't know the answer, but I think this site is capable of a rational discussion of the subject. Steph isn't immortal and at some point he will not perform at the supernova level we've come to take for granted. He's been carrying the team for a decade, his shoulders are tired. Of course: it's entirely possible that after a few days of r'n'r he regains energy in a backcourt with Klay and returns to his historic shooting levels and runs away with the MVP. But what if not? Do any changes make sense? Like reduced minutes?
I wouldn't mind if this slump is just Steph's way to get rid of all that bad juju in the regular season before going on a historic streak in the playoffs
The Warrior starting lineup defense with GP2 in there for Poole looks astonishingly good so far. Right now they have a defensive rating of 92.9 in 33 minutes (to go with an offensive rating of 113.8 for a net rating of 21). Last night they were +14 when they shared the floor. Earlier in the season, Kerr was only comfortable playing GP2 when there was a stretch big on the floor like Bjelica or Porter, but he has really blossomed into a "general usage" player.
If the unthinkable happens and Klay gets hurt again, I would argue that they should keep GP2 in the starting lineup over Poole regardless. I think he's a better SG.
Also I think when Draymond says they need to get Curry "off the ball more" that is a tacit recognition that his issue right now is fatigue. I don't think the running around endless screens stuff is tiring for Curry, I think he's built for that. I think constantly trying to navigate multiple defenders when he has the ball in his hands who are often larger than he is gets very tiresome.
Steph has been missing shots he usually makes all year. He needs to clean it up, but it's January and there's a long season.
Now that he's taken that first step to acknowledge and accept that it's a problem, he should be able to face the problem and address it.
https://twitter.com/joeviraynba/status/1479152978174955524?s=21
Thank you - love the cheeky article!