Here is my take for receipting purposes - Dray will be fine. He will shed his regular season skin and start moving around in the post season with purpose. Steph will have a huge impact on O and he will settle back in.
Now, will the guys have enough continuity to make a deep run?? I’m not sure but I really hope so!
I love Draymond, but I'm not feeling confident about him right now. He doesn't seem right physically or mentally.
Physically, I worry that he's worn down at this point in the season from being matched against bigger opponents; I don't know if his physical problems are permanent. He may improve with some rest. But he feels like an old 32.
Mentally, he seems off his game right now. Maybe it's just Steph's absence; maybe it's his inability to perform at his expected high level. But he's not a plus player since his return, and time is running out for the playoffs.
I do think this team still has a chance if everything falls just right. But it requires so many things to fall into place. They have to be behind teams like Phoenix and Memphis, not to mention the best in the east. Those teams look like a contender should look. Guys bring it most every night, even with key players missing. They know their roles and they play 'on a string.' The Warriors were there in the first half of the season, but they aren't anymore. I hope they'll get there, but they've only got a few games to find themselves unless we think they can do it in the first round of the playoffs.
The topic of good or bad broadcasters arises occasionally. I would like to put in a plug for Tim Legler. He's always at least tolerable and often really good in his postgame or next day analysis. How about putting him in games? You pair him and Mike Breen and you'd get something worth turning louder, not muting.
If Steph comes back, Klay keeps up his slow progress, Dray recovers his timing/endurance/energy, and Andre, Loon, Wiggins, Poole, Otto, and GP2 stay healthy, I have every confidence we'll be fine in the playoffs. That's a legit 9 man rotation with defensive fundamentals and some offensive oomph.
There are no back-to-backs in the playoffs, and there's a bunch of time off between games in the first round. Only challenge will be knocking off the rust in the first round, and having to win a few road games.
Ugh, heard that. Maybe just PTSD from the Wiseman experience, but isn’t that massively wishful thinking? Seems like they always opt for repair these days rather than simple scope/removal — especially in young players, since the long-term prognosis with repair is much better. The downside is the short term timetable — at least with Wiseman and Jaren Jackson Jr. — seems to be much longer and less predictable.
Without knowing any details, I’d assume a return next season if I’m a Cs fan. Which sucks, cos he’s been playing great — probably their 3rd or 4th best player — and the Cs have been the best team in the NBA by far over the past three months.
There are some teams playing really well in the NBA right now that seem to be in contention for the championship. Then there are the Warriors, who are in a lower tier and will stay there unless something changes. That hurts, and may change, but I think it would be inaccurate to claim otherwise. Not only am I worried about Draymond, I'm worried about Steph, I'm worried about Klay, I'm worried about Wiggins, I'm worried about Kuminga, I'm worried about Iguodala, I'm worried about Kerr pulling it all together, I'm worried about cohesion, I'm worried about defense, I'm worried about offense, I'm worried about special teams. And yet the sun is shining outside and I was told it would be raining right now, so who knows?
It feels right now like too many worries at once. That's true to some extent for every team, but the Warriors feel like they're walking a very thin tightrope with almost no margin for error. That's the difference between feeling confident in their playoff chances and half-expecting them to get bounced in the first round. Let's hope they get healthy and cohesive in time and manage to stay that way.
Honestly, I really like his clear diagnosis of the game being too fast for him right now, and his holding himself accountable. This is why longterm I tend not to worry about Draymond.
FWIW, going by BBall Reference "Game Score", within the last 6 games, he's had 4 out of his 5 best games since the beginning of February. Admittedly, the bar is low, but it's something. And he's made 19/26 FTs (73%) in those 6 games.
I'm not worried about Draymond. He's playing... fine? Which maybe it's "terrible" by his own standards, but that's why I know he'll sort it out soon enough.
I'm more worried about Wiggins, who has shown flashes of his earlier strong play, but hasn't looked as consistent, especially on defense.
I am also worried about Steph's foot, Andre's whole body, and a little bit about Wiseman's knee.
Are we not supposed to give Draymond time to return from the longest injury-related absence of his career? Is there a different set of rules that applies to him vs. a Klay or any other NBA player trying to play their way back into NBA game shape? Draymond's entire game, indeed his entire career, is predicated upon playing with an energy and passion above and beyond the limitations of his physical tools. Draymond doesn't have to just get into NBA game shape, needs to play at Ludicrous Speed and that doesn't show up in the first scene. I'm gonna pop some popcorn, and when the Warriors go Plaid (uniforms), I'll know he's back.
Maybe it's a good time for a break. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
Maybe we are blessed with high value content and analysis on this site, but I was genuinely surprised by the Andy Liu inspired fire Kerr sentiment all over twitter. You'd think Kerr is one of the worst coaches in the league, ala Keith Smart in 2011. I really had no idea some people genuinely thought that.
Mar 28, 2022·edited Mar 28, 2022Liked by punk basketball
Andy Liu is a hot take artist extraordinare. It’d be less annoying if he didn’t appear to take himself so seriously.
On a related note, I find myself listening to Warriors podcasts a lot since I moved out of NYC and am now a car person; and the most consistently thoughtful and smart one I’ve found is “Oakland Warriors podcast” by Patrick Epino. He’s one of the few I’ve found who doesn’t wet his diapers after every loss and scream “championship” after every win; and he has great diction and a super-soothing voice to boot. Basically, the opposite of Mr. Liu, who seems to think hyperbole is the only acceptable form of sports discourse, and that saying “fvcking” every other word makes him sound smarter and cooler.
It’s no wonder he hates a wry, understated, deep thinker like Kerr.
Even if he didn't state it, you can tell Draymond is frustrated right now and it may be in part to the lofty expectations he put on himself when talking about his return. Saying he would come back, dominate and lock up the the DPOY award and right the ship with the team. Then Steph gets injured almost immediately.
Just hoping he is truly healthy. That run at the end of last season, the Olympics and the beginning of this season, a lot of wear and tear on his body.
While according to him, his play may be a negative right now, he has to make sure he doesn't compound that, with techs and ejections.
The Dubs will seemingly be going into the playoffs trying to figure it out on many fronts. Just hope they get a first round match up that allows them to do that and still win.
You all may think I'm crazy, but I see a lot of parallels between the Dubs and Derek here. The Dubs are even gonna get all splashed with dirty water by the "so hot right now" Grizzlies while trying to figure out who they are after embarrassing themselves again trying to reclaim their old glory.
I've been seeing people tweet about Steph getting reevaluated in a few days like they're expecting him back the next day. That's not how it works, not with the Warriors. I hope I'm wrong this time but we'll probably see another "Progress has been made but he will be reevaluated again in another week" post. As far as Draymond goes we'll gladly take the bad with the good. He'll bounce back like always.
I saw him grabbing it and wincing... then he goes back in the game and didn't really come out after it at all. Hope he just got an elbow or something, and his youth can overcome. He's not on the injury report today, so I assume it's fine.
Not all injuries are repetitive stress issues resulting from heavy minutes. Sometimes you just tweak stuff, or get kneed or elbowed somewhere unfun, regardless of how much or how little you’ve been playing.
I definitely remember him grimacing early last game and rubbing his lower back like he had tweaked something; but there’s no way to know to what degree the cause was heavy minutes v. just bad luck.
I was as critical of Dray as the next guy after Hawks game. He looked dramatically better than that in Wizards games. He will be fine by start of Playoffs. He is still working through removing the 3 months of cobwebs from his head while playing with line ups he hasn't played with ever.
Also I feel like Kerr is searching for line up combinations instead of chasing wins at this stage.
As for JK vs Loon in the starting lineup, JK is a single man army who can gets us buckets in a hurry like noone else on this team and that does open up the floor But he can't set screens for Steph and Klay like Loon can. So you loose bit out of offensive gain that JK provides. As for defense and rebounding, Loon is at a different level vs JK. That would no longer be so next year.
I don't think there are any answers this year if OGs can't play like a single unit as they have done in the past and Wiggins plays like Ender.
Here is my take for receipting purposes - Dray will be fine. He will shed his regular season skin and start moving around in the post season with purpose. Steph will have a huge impact on O and he will settle back in.
Now, will the guys have enough continuity to make a deep run?? I’m not sure but I really hope so!
I love Draymond, but I'm not feeling confident about him right now. He doesn't seem right physically or mentally.
Physically, I worry that he's worn down at this point in the season from being matched against bigger opponents; I don't know if his physical problems are permanent. He may improve with some rest. But he feels like an old 32.
Mentally, he seems off his game right now. Maybe it's just Steph's absence; maybe it's his inability to perform at his expected high level. But he's not a plus player since his return, and time is running out for the playoffs.
I do think this team still has a chance if everything falls just right. But it requires so many things to fall into place. They have to be behind teams like Phoenix and Memphis, not to mention the best in the east. Those teams look like a contender should look. Guys bring it most every night, even with key players missing. They know their roles and they play 'on a string.' The Warriors were there in the first half of the season, but they aren't anymore. I hope they'll get there, but they've only got a few games to find themselves unless we think they can do it in the first round of the playoffs.
The topic of good or bad broadcasters arises occasionally. I would like to put in a plug for Tim Legler. He's always at least tolerable and often really good in his postgame or next day analysis. How about putting him in games? You pair him and Mike Breen and you'd get something worth turning louder, not muting.
If Steph comes back, Klay keeps up his slow progress, Dray recovers his timing/endurance/energy, and Andre, Loon, Wiggins, Poole, Otto, and GP2 stay healthy, I have every confidence we'll be fine in the playoffs. That's a legit 9 man rotation with defensive fundamentals and some offensive oomph.
There are no back-to-backs in the playoffs, and there's a bunch of time off between games in the first round. Only challenge will be knocking off the rust in the first round, and having to win a few road games.
I'm with you, but that's a lot of ifs.
Robert Williams III apparently has a meniscus tear... they're saying he'll be out for "a minimum of several weeks"...
https://sports.yahoo.com/report-boston-celtics-center-robert-williams-iii-to-miss-several-weeks-with-knee-injury-155104584.html
Oh that sucks. He has been balling this year.
Ugh, heard that. Maybe just PTSD from the Wiseman experience, but isn’t that massively wishful thinking? Seems like they always opt for repair these days rather than simple scope/removal — especially in young players, since the long-term prognosis with repair is much better. The downside is the short term timetable — at least with Wiseman and Jaren Jackson Jr. — seems to be much longer and less predictable.
Without knowing any details, I’d assume a return next season if I’m a Cs fan. Which sucks, cos he’s been playing great — probably their 3rd or 4th best player — and the Cs have been the best team in the NBA by far over the past three months.
I had same reaction... but "minimum several weeks" leaves the door open to where "out until next April" is within the stated timeline.
There are some teams playing really well in the NBA right now that seem to be in contention for the championship. Then there are the Warriors, who are in a lower tier and will stay there unless something changes. That hurts, and may change, but I think it would be inaccurate to claim otherwise. Not only am I worried about Draymond, I'm worried about Steph, I'm worried about Klay, I'm worried about Wiggins, I'm worried about Kuminga, I'm worried about Iguodala, I'm worried about Kerr pulling it all together, I'm worried about cohesion, I'm worried about defense, I'm worried about offense, I'm worried about special teams. And yet the sun is shining outside and I was told it would be raining right now, so who knows?
There are more real worries in CA right now, like water. We should all be fans of cheer for rain.
It feels right now like too many worries at once. That's true to some extent for every team, but the Warriors feel like they're walking a very thin tightrope with almost no margin for error. That's the difference between feeling confident in their playoff chances and half-expecting them to get bounced in the first round. Let's hope they get healthy and cohesive in time and manage to stay that way.
Once healthy, the Worriers will be just fine.
It has started to rain here in Southern California after it was just all howling winds in the last couple of hours. So, life is good for now.
I remember the weather forecast being much more accurate years ago. Nowadays I just do the opposite of whatever they say will happen.
😂😂 global warming!
Honestly, I really like his clear diagnosis of the game being too fast for him right now, and his holding himself accountable. This is why longterm I tend not to worry about Draymond.
Player A: 48.1 FG% 41.4 3PT% 66.1 FT% 57.9 TS%
Player B: 40.9 FG% 30.0 3PT% 54.8 FT% 47.9 TS%
Same All Star player; just pre and post ASG split. It’s been a pretty epic collapse.
He's started to recover a bit!
FWIW, going by BBall Reference "Game Score", within the last 6 games, he's had 4 out of his 5 best games since the beginning of February. Admittedly, the bar is low, but it's something. And he's made 19/26 FTs (73%) in those 6 games.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wiggian01/gamelog/2022
I was wondering if that was Dr Ender and Mr Wiggs
Wiggins and Wiggouts.
I'm not worried about Draymond. He's playing... fine? Which maybe it's "terrible" by his own standards, but that's why I know he'll sort it out soon enough.
I'm more worried about Wiggins, who has shown flashes of his earlier strong play, but hasn't looked as consistent, especially on defense.
I am also worried about Steph's foot, Andre's whole body, and a little bit about Wiseman's knee.
Are we not supposed to give Draymond time to return from the longest injury-related absence of his career? Is there a different set of rules that applies to him vs. a Klay or any other NBA player trying to play their way back into NBA game shape? Draymond's entire game, indeed his entire career, is predicated upon playing with an energy and passion above and beyond the limitations of his physical tools. Draymond doesn't have to just get into NBA game shape, needs to play at Ludicrous Speed and that doesn't show up in the first scene. I'm gonna pop some popcorn, and when the Warriors go Plaid (uniforms), I'll know he's back.
Maybe it's a good time for a break. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
Maybe we are blessed with high value content and analysis on this site, but I was genuinely surprised by the Andy Liu inspired fire Kerr sentiment all over twitter. You'd think Kerr is one of the worst coaches in the league, ala Keith Smart in 2011. I really had no idea some people genuinely thought that.
Andy Liu is a hot take artist extraordinare. It’d be less annoying if he didn’t appear to take himself so seriously.
On a related note, I find myself listening to Warriors podcasts a lot since I moved out of NYC and am now a car person; and the most consistently thoughtful and smart one I’ve found is “Oakland Warriors podcast” by Patrick Epino. He’s one of the few I’ve found who doesn’t wet his diapers after every loss and scream “championship” after every win; and he has great diction and a super-soothing voice to boot. Basically, the opposite of Mr. Liu, who seems to think hyperbole is the only acceptable form of sports discourse, and that saying “fvcking” every other word makes him sound smarter and cooler.
It’s no wonder he hates a wry, understated, deep thinker like Kerr.
Even if he didn't state it, you can tell Draymond is frustrated right now and it may be in part to the lofty expectations he put on himself when talking about his return. Saying he would come back, dominate and lock up the the DPOY award and right the ship with the team. Then Steph gets injured almost immediately.
Just hoping he is truly healthy. That run at the end of last season, the Olympics and the beginning of this season, a lot of wear and tear on his body.
While according to him, his play may be a negative right now, he has to make sure he doesn't compound that, with techs and ejections.
The Dubs will seemingly be going into the playoffs trying to figure it out on many fronts. Just hope they get a first round match up that allows them to do that and still win.
https://giphy.com/gifs/ben-stiller-zoolander-vvNQ2ifhLxC7K
You all may think I'm crazy, but I see a lot of parallels between the Dubs and Derek here. The Dubs are even gonna get all splashed with dirty water by the "so hot right now" Grizzlies while trying to figure out who they are after embarrassing themselves again trying to reclaim their old glory.
Oh shit, you didn't?!!! LMAO That is such a dope pull.
I will continue to pull from the best movie of all time
I've been seeing people tweet about Steph getting reevaluated in a few days like they're expecting him back the next day. That's not how it works, not with the Warriors. I hope I'm wrong this time but we'll probably see another "Progress has been made but he will be reevaluated again in another week" post. As far as Draymond goes we'll gladly take the bad with the good. He'll bounce back like always.
I saw him grabbing it and wincing... then he goes back in the game and didn't really come out after it at all. Hope he just got an elbow or something, and his youth can overcome. He's not on the injury report today, so I assume it's fine.
All those heavy minutes must be catching up to him.
Not all injuries are repetitive stress issues resulting from heavy minutes. Sometimes you just tweak stuff, or get kneed or elbowed somewhere unfun, regardless of how much or how little you’ve been playing.
I definitely remember him grimacing early last game and rubbing his lower back like he had tweaked something; but there’s no way to know to what degree the cause was heavy minutes v. just bad luck.
I was as critical of Dray as the next guy after Hawks game. He looked dramatically better than that in Wizards games. He will be fine by start of Playoffs. He is still working through removing the 3 months of cobwebs from his head while playing with line ups he hasn't played with ever.
Also I feel like Kerr is searching for line up combinations instead of chasing wins at this stage.
As for JK vs Loon in the starting lineup, JK is a single man army who can gets us buckets in a hurry like noone else on this team and that does open up the floor But he can't set screens for Steph and Klay like Loon can. So you loose bit out of offensive gain that JK provides. As for defense and rebounding, Loon is at a different level vs JK. That would no longer be so next year.
I don't think there are any answers this year if OGs can't play like a single unit as they have done in the past and Wiggins plays like Ender.
Wiggins played better against the Heat.
Iguodala drops 74-17-9 in a win. You heard it here first.
So he misses the triple double? Bummer...
it's an issue for the Warriors that ~a third of their roster can't play back to backs (and another member of the roster can't play at all)
That's called "Strength in Imaginary Numbers"
One might think that would mess with continuity...
Interesting location for Andre to make his return. I'm sure he'll hear it from the Memphis fans.
If both GP2 and Iguodala play, I think we have a chance.