292 Comments
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Eric Apricot's avatar

E1P coming Friday 6am. GSW comments can stay in this thread.

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cpt nemo's avatar

NBA wants to see alignment with the league MVP and winning the NBA - that’s what is happening this playoffs ! SGA is fine - but I would put him in slitherin house if I was the sorting cap in Harry Potter!

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Klaymatic37's avatar

Gonna be very surprised if OKC doesn't win it all.

Rooting for the pacers but wouldn't mind the Knicks also winning. Ant is amazing but for whatever reason I don't feel compelled to root for them

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Mr Teal's avatar

Boo refs! 👎 It's making me not like Shai with calls he keeps getting.

McDaniels finally had enough.

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DFiB's avatar

Just now, tho?!?!

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Mr Teal's avatar

Nah...it's been working that way for a while. Mostly I blame the refs, but more and more, he's becoming more like Harden and actively doing the stuff to trick the refs more than to trick the opponent. So now I guess I'm a Timberwolves fan?

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cpt nemo's avatar

this is heading to. blowout - likely a gentlemen's sweep - OKC might win in 5

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Ilikefoodtrucks's avatar

that was my prediction - OKC in 5.

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Ilikefoodtrucks's avatar

Not watching, just checked box score.1 FT for the wolves? 12 for OKC. huh.

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Ilikefoodtrucks's avatar

ok, now 3

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WO's avatar

Hating the whistle in both series.

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Captain Jack's avatar

Minnesota has one thing on OKC in this series and that's OREB so they have to pound them on the glass and kill them with second chance points

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belilaugh's avatar

> The Timberwolves are back to opting to play offense in front of their own bench for the 2nd half tonight, after opting for defense in Game 1. Asked Finch why the previous move to defense and he just said it was easier to make defensive calls.

https://x.com/ChristopherHine/status/1925711559206097327

My most obscure yet strong NBA take is that it should be mandatory for NBA teams to shoot on the basket near their own bench in the second half. Watching bench reactions when their teammate hits a big shot in the fourth quarter (shout out Apricot's audits) enhances the viewing experience and costs absolutely nothing for the NBA to do.

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Eric Apricot's avatar

CO-SIGN. Also need a camera on each bench all game

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Klaymatic37's avatar

Sign bazemore to a 2-way just for bench celebrations next year please

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SabWrites's avatar

Scott Foster really got kicked and hit in the face right now.

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fzwinter's avatar

CP3 (or his son) probably had something to do with it

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Sleepy Freud's avatar

Even with Moses’ *slump from hell* in this year’s playoffs caused (as we now know) by a busted thumb on his shooting hand, he still has a way better career playoff TS% than Klay (.589 to .555). 😊

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Arash's avatar
10hEdited

Maybe I’m too sensitive, but it does feel a bit disrespectful to make this comparison given the massive different in comparative volume/responsibilities/defensive attention/era.

Edit: Never mind, it’s Sleepy, he’s just fucking around.

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DFiB's avatar

That edit, tho… 😅

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Captain Jack's avatar

I don't know about you guys but I want nothing to do with Kristap Porzingis. He's a good fit for what we do but IMO he's just one of those guys you can't really count on to be available. I know injury luck is part of the game but I'd rather bet on a guy with a cleaner history.

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g8tgod's avatar

Don't see how you can have a guy who will only play in half the games. I guess they'd be betting on his playing in the right half...

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TwoRingTest's avatar

Ditto. I realize that people think that distressed assets are cheaper, so we can get them, but Zinger is on a big contract ($30.7 mil next year).

If we're willing to send that much in salary out the door (it would be JK + a couple of other players), then I'd like to aim a little higher. And in particular, adding a fourth significant injury risk is not my idea of a good move for a team that already has three guys with low probabilities of staying healthy through a playoff run.

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ChemKoala's avatar

Porzingis kinda feels like he'd be on the Warriors pareto front tbh. There can always be a doncic type black swan event (JJJ refusing to be coached by a Scandinavian and wanting to play with Draymond?), but I don't really know players who'd be 1) fit better than Porzingis (when he's healthy***) 2) are healthier and 3) are as likely to be traded. Do any names come to mind?

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TwoRingTest's avatar

This article indicates that the Dubs might be targeting Derrick White.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2025/05/20/boston-celtics-nba-derrick-white-trade-rumors-golden-state-warriors/

I'd rather have White than KP.

That said, I'm guessing it would take a fortune in assets to get him, so I'd probably rather have JK than mortgage the farm for either player (with the understanding that JK is roughly half as good as either of them).

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ChemKoala's avatar

I don't know if White will be traded unless Boston fully tears it down and does 2 year rebuild while figuring out what Tatum will be able to sustain. They gotta dump payroll, but I imagine Jrue and KP are the first priorities, then Brown and White.

Edit to replace a naughty word I use wayyy to much on my personal messages, but wasn't the word I had in mind here lol

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belilaugh's avatar

If we are talking distressed assets, Michael Porter Jr? I don't know if he's a better fit than Porzingis though. Also I am concerned Porzingis has Long COVID and needs to spend some time resting but probably won't because it doesn't seem like anyone has diagnosed it as such for him.

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ChemKoala's avatar

There's a lot of players I'd prefer if Porzingis has long COVID lol. MPJ is scheduled for 38m, right? At that point the Warriors would need to deal one of JB or DG I think although I'm not a cap aficionado. If that's the case, the trade feels lateral to me at best?

Edit: honestly, the best move is to hope someone is randomly available, since that seems to be happening at increasing frequency. I'm not lying about hoping JJJ decides out lol, or someone like the Knicks decide it's easier to be dumb and mediocre and MB is available

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belilaugh's avatar

Good point, MPJ doesn't sound feasible I hadn't actually looked up his contract size I just saw something about betting odds on his next team pointing at the Warriors.

I do think he gets traded though.

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Nellie's avatar

Budget MPJ ($10M/yr):

https://youtu.be/_UwSc1dR6is

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ChemKoala's avatar

Agreed. He actually might make sense in Houston for FVV, particularly so if Hou figured out what to do with Jalen Green and their offense.

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

He gets $30M for a half season (more or less) and is injured the rest of the time. But he IS damn good when he can play. He has one more year on his deal too so he'd be a one-year rental. Still, he'd be the best true big we've had at least since Bogut (and a better scorer).

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Captain Jack's avatar

I'm just not trying to give up assets for him and then have Looney play 30 minutes in April because he's sidelined with some obscure ass injury that doesn't have a name yet. Boston was able to survive that last year. It's going to be super tough for us

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

I think if we had Zingis, Looney might be gone. TJD and Post are on cheap contracts, and Loon is UFA. But your point's the same.

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Eric Apricot's avatar

https://bsky.app/profile/daltonjohnson.bsky.social/post/3lprv7rk5ic27

[[ The Warriors earlier today announced Moses Moody underwent successful UCL surgery for his right thumb. Moody is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp

Injury was never talked about. Certainly could be a big factor to some tough shooting late ]]

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g8tgod's avatar

That is actually encouraging. Hard for an injured human being to continue to shoot well. Steph Curry doesn't count because his Kryptonian DNA gives him superpowers due to the yellow sun...

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belilaugh's avatar

I appreciate that the Warrior young guys go to the Steph Curry school of never acknowledging injuries/ailments in the playoffs. A sign of prioritizing winning over looking good, shout out LeBron and Embiid.

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ananthd's avatar

That would explain the precipitous drop in shooting and mis handles and even a couple of missed dunks. I have a feeling this might have happened on the defensive end where he was routinely stripping guys picking them up near half court. Get well soon Moses!

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SabWrites's avatar

Slater alluding to this being a injury from the regular season.

https://www.reddit.com/r/warriors/comments/1ksztlw/slater_moses_moody_had_surgery_on_a_torn_ucl_in/

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AJ's avatar

All of us living on Moody Island are feeling better today.

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belilaugh's avatar

It's a big setback for him getting better over this offseason though depending on how long it takes to recover

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Alex's avatar

Or the gods are telling him to learn to play with his left....

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belilaugh's avatar

Hmm...

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Guifus's avatar

This would explain not only his shooting woes, but some of his reluctance to attack in the playoffs.

I’d really like to know when he got hurt to see if it aligns with his drop in play.

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GlueAndBold's avatar

Tracks so perfectly with Moses' humble personality that this is the first we're hearing about this. He's like the anti-Lebron.

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dinohealth's avatar

Yep, that may be the reason for some shooting inconsistency as the playoffs progressed, as well as some ball-handling issues...

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Asher B.'s avatar

Huh. Someone needs to tell the fan base these things earlier, we could wipe some of the froth off our mouths during the series.

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

The team might not have wanted the competition to know it. They couldn't hide Steph's hand injury but apparently they could hide MM's and did.

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belilaugh's avatar

Yeah that's why I say it's a sign of a winning mentality. Maybe role players don't have the option regardless but it's something I've always appreciated about Curry, more concerned with getting every competitive edge possible than preempting fan backlash.

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DFiB's avatar

That’ll do it…

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SabWrites's avatar

Draymond has made all defensive first team. I 'm looking for a good link to share that's not reddit.

There's only the reddit link right now. Sorry y'all.

https://www.reddit.com/r/warriors/comments/1ksxj9p/draymond_green_officially_makes_his_5th/

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SabWrites's avatar

They sure took their time posting that. Haha.

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belilaugh's avatar

Hard to say the voters don’t like him if he’s making first team all defense imo.

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SabWrites's avatar

He's the oldest guy on the team by a country mile. Which says something yeah.

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dinohealth's avatar

Kinda hard to exclude him as a top 3 DPY vote-getter...

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cpt nemo's avatar

oh maan - JK’s fit really being roasted big time by Kerr - is this a direct message to the FO!

https://www.reddit.com/r/warriors/comments/1ksghwh/tk_show_kerr_ive_been_asked_to_win_and_right_now/

“ And, you know, for me, it's like, this is a, I***'ve been asked to win. And right now he's not a guy who I can say, I'm going to play 38 minutes with the roster that we have, Steph and Jimmy and Draymond and put the puzzle together that way and expect to win. Doesn't mean he's not a really good player. Doesn't mean he's not talented. It just means the fit. And with the roster that we have, it's, it is tricky.*** There's no question.”

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Eric Apricot's avatar

I think Kerr can directly tell this to the FO since he collaborates closely with them every day, this isn’t middle school.

In the actual interview, Kerr lists a number of specific ways that JK can succeed and help winning with this team, and gives several role models. He basically says that JK isn’t doing those things and that for a lot of players, they won’t accept a role like that until later in their careers until after they’ve tried to be the big scorer.

Whether you think Kerr’s right or wrong, it’s reasonable and plausible.

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dinohealth's avatar

Methinks, if it is true JOE LACOB thinks highly of him, he will trump them all. Personally, I think he has the greatest potential to be a star of any of the young uns on the team...developing his skill set and utilizing his ATHLETIC attributes to fit the DUBS BALL system in a manner that maximizes his contribution to the success of the team is what coaching is about...

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cpt nemo's avatar

agreed. He is actually as good or better payer statistically than Aaron Gordon if we compare their first 4 years. But AG did not become the player he is till he moved to Denver - any maybe thats what JK needs too!

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

The player has to want to fit the system too. It's not all on the coaches.

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dinohealth's avatar

No doubt…important to utilize him with consistency, develop him, and win his confidence and belief in his role….encourage him…losing his trust is not the way to go about getting him there…

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

Well that's fine but unless he's a child, the player has to be responsible for his own attitude and willingness to adapt. The coaches need to do their part but if the player's not doing his part, the player can lose the coach's trust. That's not necessarily the coach's fault - sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. If Kerr is telling JK to rebound more, and JK is not consistently trying to rebound more... well you get the idea.

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Guifus's avatar

I’d say he has the potential to be the biggest star among the young guys, but not the best chance to be a star.

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belilaugh's avatar

I don't think he does have that star potential tbh, too small for his skillset. And speaking of star potential, I remember they were saying that Haliburton was a high floor low ceiling pick. Oops, turns out athleticism isn't the only or even the best determinant of potential.

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dinohealth's avatar

hmmm…anything is possible, I guess…

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

Guifus has a good point. Possibly Podz has a better chance to be a star but not as big a star. He doesn't have "jump out of the gym" athleticism but he fits perfectly with Kerrball, and if he can score more consistently and hit his 3s, he could be an All Star at least once or twice.

JK has elite athleticism, so if he gets it together, he can be a bigger star, but has more work to do and needs to adapt his mindset. I liked Kerr's Shawn Marion comp: Marion was a mediocre shooter from distance (33.1% career) but a great athlete, could get to the rim, good defender who led the league in steals twice, very good rebounder, and was a 4x All Star. He was approximately the same size as JK too.

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dinohealth's avatar

Well, sure, if PODZ ''...can score more consistently and hit his 3s...'' he would not be a scoring liability at SG, and have an opportunity to be a star...JK is NOW showing the ability to dominate and be a scorer, albeit, in the interior...imagine if he develops/adds and ''hits his 3s''...not to mention, defensively, PODZ is a bit short at SG than JK is at SF, though both are showing defensive tenacity to improve/develop...I would still give the edge to JK developing to stardom...

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Asher B.'s avatar

Agreed. This isn't Kremlinology where we have to somehow decode the messages that the insiders are sending, but will never know the real truth.

The real truth will be delivered through signed contracts. The rest is sound and fury signifying nothing.

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TwoRingTest's avatar

You mean I watched for smoke from the Sistine Chapel for nothing!

yikes.

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dinohealth's avatar

LOL....WORD.

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

Interviews are for the fans, not the FO, and not the players. Kerr has told JK all this before, probably MDJ has too, and the FO obviously knows the score.

The real truth will not only be delivered through contracts but through what happens next season if the Dubs decide to keep JK.

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

BTW I thought the Shawn Marion comp was pretty interesting. (Aaron Gordon too.)

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hammystyle's avatar

It was eyebrow raising, but not a roast. It's just a pretty straightforward explanation of why JK was not in the lineup to start the playoffs.

I didn't agree with it, but there wasn't much mystery to why he was not in the lineup.

In another interview he said if JK is back they'll need to experiment with getting him into the lineup with those guys.

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SabWrites's avatar

"And, you know, for me, it's like, this is a, I***'ve been asked to win."

?

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dinohealth's avatar

lol Yep, I need a translation to understand that comment....

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belilaugh's avatar

Kerr goes on to make the Orlando/Denver Aaron Gordon comparison for Kuminga which makes me happy because that’s been my go to Kuminga comparison for years.

Also I don’t care if Kuminga mg a sat next to Lacob at a Valkyrie game, I don’t think Kerr is talking like this if a reunion is likely.

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DFiB's avatar

Agree... but also: Kerr & Steph were talking about how they weren't interested in Jimmy, back before we traded for him, too.

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belilaugh's avatar

Difference between sources and on record though

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DFiB's avatar

And on tampering rules for making public comments... during the trade deadline season, players/coaches always have to talk "around" potential trades and/or have it be reported that "sources close to..."

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GovernorStephCurry's avatar

Did they actually say that publicly or was it just reported by "sources"?

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Captain Jack's avatar

We all know how calculated Steve is when putting stuff out there in the media too. I think he's past the point of trying to make JK work with the Dubs because tbh this is a pretty harsh comment to make publicly about your 22 year old

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vignette17's avatar

If there's a reunion, I have to think it's only until December. The writing has been on the wall since Kerr benched him vs the Clippers. And 4 games that were all blowout losses against Minnesota where JK admittedly played well won't change that.

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GlueAndBold's avatar

This past season including playoffs IIRC in games where JK scored 20 or more the Warriors were 6-8. Ergo, his "good games" don't seem to correlate with winning, which is part of what Steve seems to be saying.

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dinohealth's avatar

You are mixing apples and oranges; season and playoffs, before JK injury and post-injury, with and without STEPH playing, before and after JIMMY...

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SabWrites's avatar

Steph: 11 FTA in his last 5 playoff games

FTA: 14 FTA attempts in game 1 WCF

https://www.reddit.com/r/warriors/comments/1ksvbhx/had_to_check_twice_yes_this_is_real/

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Steph's Kicked Chair's avatar

That's insane and disgusting.

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ChemKoala's avatar

Under current rules, I'm not sure SGA is getting preferential treatment? Most of the replays I saw looked like justifiable calls, even if the frequency is annoying. The NBA could fix that if they emphasized freedom of movement off-ball and shifted the on-ball path to be something closer to "defender deliberately initiates contact", and called chicken wing push offs. That'd reduce the number of calls SGA gets, and call him for something that's an actual offensive foul.

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SabWrites's avatar

You would have to compare the amount of justifiable calls that Steph doesn't get to the ones SGA gets.

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ChemKoala's avatar

And then we'd have to compare the non-calls SGA gets to Curry's. Just from watching both play, I don't think that ratio is particularly skewed. Their games are different right? Why isn't that a more likely explanation for their ft disparity?

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Run_TMC's avatar

Just to be clear, you think both Steph and SGA are getting the right amount of foul calls? and that, within the bounds of human error the refs are mostly giving them the same call for the same amount of defensive initiated contact?

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ChemKoala's avatar

Not sure what you mean by "right amount", but I think the rules are shaped so that SGA's play style generates more free throws than Curry's. I don't think there's a strong bias beyond that, and have hoped the league changed to call more of the off-ball stuff and allow more contact from the defender on-ball.

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SabWrites's avatar

Steph chose to not make foul hunting as part of his game. And the NBA has only punished him for it. Beyond gross.

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FooBar's avatar

I don't think Steph would as great as he is, if he were to hunt fouls. You can't shoot so efficiently, if your mind and body is contorted to draw fouls.

So he has chosen a path and the NBA fans are merrier because of it.

I don't think the NBA or the refs have anything against Steph or the Warriors. They are calling as the rules and "conventions" allow.

I'm guessing that the reason they don't call off ball stuff is:

1 they are not watching things off ball as much

Or

2. It is not conventional to call off ball stuff as much

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cpt nemo's avatar

i think the latter statement makes more sense

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belilaugh's avatar

Curry wouldn’t have survived, he’s not big enough to try to incorporate foul drawing in his game like that. He preferred using his preternatural touch in the paint to avoid contact while still scoring which was probably related to how he’s still playing so well at his advanced age now.

I’ve never bought that Curry is officiated differently, I think the distinction is that off ball stuff (like off ball big man paint stuff) is officiated differently and he suffers the most from that. Don’t see that changing unless the NBA adds an extra ref to the crew to watch for it, game has too much going on now to pay attention to off ball grabbing and shoving.

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dinohealth's avatar

Well, a lot of the ''off-ball stuff'' happens when STEPH is trying to get in position around screens to free himself for the shot; most of it is done in front of a ref, even if it is away from the immediate ball action, not to mention the action upon his receipt of the ball and while shooting. Hard to believe the refs do not see those or follow the action...they are keenly aware who STEPH is, what he is trying to do, and the aggressive physical manner defenses employ to try to stop him. Methinks he's been getting penalized his entire career...which renders his success even more extraordinary, and his greatness, singular.

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TwoRingTest's avatar

Pretty good point, really. All Steph would have to do is go up trying to draw a foul and land on someone's foot, and he'd be out half a season. The floaters and stepbacks are much safer options, injury-wise.

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belilaugh's avatar

I don't really understand why people think that certain players get better whistles arbitrarily and that there couldn't possibly be a basketball reason for it. There was all this talk about a "Warrior whistle" and did bringing Butler onto the team and seeing him continue to draw fouls at a normal pace change any of that talk? Not that I saw.

I think fans need to be a little more honest about the possibility that the refs don't have a conspiracy against their favorite team.

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Abaddon's avatar

I’ve seen too many times he doesn’t get continuation tons of other guys get, gets bumped and other guys get calls, etc to claim he doesn’t get officiated differently. I don’t think it’s a conspiracy…

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

What about all the grabbing and holding defenders do with Steph? He gets outright mugged on the court sometimes. Defenders do that with other players but I think it's done more with Steph, and it's not called.

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