I watched the second half. Relative to G-Leaguers, Moody at 27 points and Kuminga at something like 20 played well. But surprisingly, they weren't very dominant. Arguably, two opponent players looked better. It's not that our rookies were bad, but they did look lost a lot. Especially Kuminga. He gets points off of athleticism and the occasional made shot, but he doesn't do anything decisively. Of course it's hard to just drop in on a team and fit well with it. But that would be true for their fit with Golden State, even more so. So I came away a bit disappointed, or at least not blown away. They have a long way to go if they're going to get there, was my take. Fwiw
This actually makes a lot of sense. The SC Dubs run the Kerr offense, right? It should take them most of a season to learn it if not more. That means they’re exactly where they need to be.
I mean, yes, they are supposed to be running the same offense. But it sure looks different without Steph or Draymond. Plus both sides are just sloppy, lots of careless turnovers, missed shots, or missed opportunities relative to watching the NBA. But as I asked in a thread elsewhere: if Klay had been sent down to the (D-League) in his first year, isn't it likely he would have had that sweet shot killing the place already? I'm just a bit worried, I suppose.
But if you're right and they learn what they need to this season and come in strong next season, then all is quite, quite rosy.
"if Klay had been sent down to the (D-League) in his first year, isn't it likely he would have had that sweet shot killing the place already?" Yes, he had the shot but also Klayups and he hadn't developed as a defender yet.
Yeah, it looks like the warriors system but if you only had Wanamakers and Oubres or something. I’m most curious what’s up with Moody’s shooting. That’s like the one thing I was confident about between him and JK.
Hard to know. Maybe Klay's inability to get his own shot would mean that people (including coaches) wouldn't get the chance to see it much, and he'd seem /less/ consequential.
It certainly didn’t look like it was Spurs schemes that troubled Curry’s shot, his worst misses seemed to come off his best looks, I’m a huge Federer and Nadal fan and after watching almost every set they’ve played over their careers and as they’ve aged I’ve witnessed breakdowns in their games that I never thought I’d see, still performing at an an elite level but inevitably the cracks appear
Yeah I think these games will be more occasional now sadly. Papa Steph is getting up there but clearly he still has incineration mode within him, as we’ve seen a couple times already this season.
The last time I asked, a few weeks ago, if it was time to debate whether Steph may have lost a smidge as he ages, I was met with nothing but hostility from this friendly crowd. I expect nothing less in a friendly but fan-centric environment. All good. But I still think it's a question and someone was posting about lower 2-point FG% as being a sign of aging.
NOTE: I am not saying that because there is a question as to whether Steph is losing some of his mojo as he ages necessarily means that the answer is yes. That's why it's a question. As Daniel points out about shooting 25% on 20+ shots: "The odd thing is three of them have occured this season." Well, maybe that's not so odd.
I suppose I have to caveat this or I'll get chewed up and spit on the pavement outside Chase: obviously he's still the greatest shooter in the world and league MVP right now, obviously the Dubs are playing great ball, obviously small sample size doesn't tell us everything, obviously teams are keying on him more than ever, obviously if you had Klay in there it would be different. I hope that's sufficient caveating. So the question is: has Steph lost a smidge from his peak?
Is it possible that his higher level of defense is slowing him down just a touch on the offensive side? I don't know if there's a "usage" stat for D but it feels like it'd be much higher this year for Curry.
I think he's maybe a half-step slower blowing by people compared to his 2015-2016 peak. Hard to evaluate his separation on stepbacks, but I'd guess it's slightly less? On the other hand, he also doesn't have the same floor spacing compared to 2015-16, at least until Klay comes back.
In any case, this is Stephen Curry we're talking about. When he eventually becomes less effective or less interested with layups at the rim, he'll probably just turn to his floater more, and add a midrange jumper - like Chris Paul, but infinitely better.
I dunno I think that's a bit reactionary -- when Steph starts to show his age will be when he can't get open as easily on his step backs, or when he can't blow by his guy and get to the rim -- what we're seeing in these past three games is Steph bricking wide open shots and missing layups and bunnies... I think he's just in a slump and will pull it together shortly.
Yeah. I don't think there's any question that he's in the best physical shape of his life. Look at him. He's beasting. I'm sure we're going to see a decline in another couple years, but not yet. He'll break out this slump, win another MVP, hit 400+ threes, and have the talking heads saying he's even better than Unanimous, especially when you factor in the defensive improvement.
I think there will be regression to the mean, which at this moment suggests he will play better than the last few games. Overall, however, having watched him for years, I do feel like his “mean” this year will end up slightly lower. Agree he’s the MVP. Also think his defense is better due to strength and smarter play, which may offset a decline in his 3 point percentage.
the one thing that seems missing this season are his patented early release high off the backboard layups that catch even his quickest defender by surprise, he coming in closer to the basket and waiting longer on the release
My jaw would literally drop as Steph came into traffic and almost casually tossed the ball high off the glass into the basket, I’d love to have a compilation of those to play on a loop, a surprisingly long loop
Yeah, age will catch him eventually, but all that matters is he be well rested before the playoffs. He is likely to go off at some point and bring some of his numbers back up. Warriors, I believe, pushed hard to start season to take advantage of easy schedule and pack some wins away. Wouldn't be surprised if Curry just needs a little blow (rest, not cocaine). Also, he has been a good sport about changing the pattern of his minutes played. This could very well throw him off his game a bit as he adjusts to it. I think all players need to have shitty games throughout the year, allow themselves to reset after pushing as hard as these athletes push themselves to be great.
As much as I preferred Steph's old rotation, I like having him start the beginning of the 2nd & 4th qtrs - not having to wait for him to come in after the team has been floundering for 6 minutes.
Yeah that's a very good point -- the different pattern of minutes. Really Kerr should say "whatever feels best for steph we will do, then build around that."
Do you even expect Steph to play against Orlando?
I'd rest him, agreed.
Lmao
Anyone got a G League report from last night? How’d the rooks do?
I watched the second half. Relative to G-Leaguers, Moody at 27 points and Kuminga at something like 20 played well. But surprisingly, they weren't very dominant. Arguably, two opponent players looked better. It's not that our rookies were bad, but they did look lost a lot. Especially Kuminga. He gets points off of athleticism and the occasional made shot, but he doesn't do anything decisively. Of course it's hard to just drop in on a team and fit well with it. But that would be true for their fit with Golden State, even more so. So I came away a bit disappointed, or at least not blown away. They have a long way to go if they're going to get there, was my take. Fwiw
This actually makes a lot of sense. The SC Dubs run the Kerr offense, right? It should take them most of a season to learn it if not more. That means they’re exactly where they need to be.
I mean, yes, they are supposed to be running the same offense. But it sure looks different without Steph or Draymond. Plus both sides are just sloppy, lots of careless turnovers, missed shots, or missed opportunities relative to watching the NBA. But as I asked in a thread elsewhere: if Klay had been sent down to the (D-League) in his first year, isn't it likely he would have had that sweet shot killing the place already? I'm just a bit worried, I suppose.
But if you're right and they learn what they need to this season and come in strong next season, then all is quite, quite rosy.
"if Klay had been sent down to the (D-League) in his first year, isn't it likely he would have had that sweet shot killing the place already?" Yes, he had the shot but also Klayups and he hadn't developed as a defender yet.
Yeah, it looks like the warriors system but if you only had Wanamakers and Oubres or something. I’m most curious what’s up with Moody’s shooting. That’s like the one thing I was confident about between him and JK.
Good shot. Gets it off from difficult angles or with contests.
Hard to know. Maybe Klay's inability to get his own shot would mean that people (including coaches) wouldn't get the chance to see it much, and he'd seem /less/ consequential.
It certainly didn’t look like it was Spurs schemes that troubled Curry’s shot, his worst misses seemed to come off his best looks, I’m a huge Federer and Nadal fan and after watching almost every set they’ve played over their careers and as they’ve aged I’ve witnessed breakdowns in their games that I never thought I’d see, still performing at an an elite level but inevitably the cracks appear
Yeah I think these games will be more occasional now sadly. Papa Steph is getting up there but clearly he still has incineration mode within him, as we’ve seen a couple times already this season.
The last time I asked, a few weeks ago, if it was time to debate whether Steph may have lost a smidge as he ages, I was met with nothing but hostility from this friendly crowd. I expect nothing less in a friendly but fan-centric environment. All good. But I still think it's a question and someone was posting about lower 2-point FG% as being a sign of aging.
NOTE: I am not saying that because there is a question as to whether Steph is losing some of his mojo as he ages necessarily means that the answer is yes. That's why it's a question. As Daniel points out about shooting 25% on 20+ shots: "The odd thing is three of them have occured this season." Well, maybe that's not so odd.
I suppose I have to caveat this or I'll get chewed up and spit on the pavement outside Chase: obviously he's still the greatest shooter in the world and league MVP right now, obviously the Dubs are playing great ball, obviously small sample size doesn't tell us everything, obviously teams are keying on him more than ever, obviously if you had Klay in there it would be different. I hope that's sufficient caveating. So the question is: has Steph lost a smidge from his peak?
Is it possible that his higher level of defense is slowing him down just a touch on the offensive side? I don't know if there's a "usage" stat for D but it feels like it'd be much higher this year for Curry.
I think he's maybe a half-step slower blowing by people compared to his 2015-2016 peak. Hard to evaluate his separation on stepbacks, but I'd guess it's slightly less? On the other hand, he also doesn't have the same floor spacing compared to 2015-16, at least until Klay comes back.
In any case, this is Stephen Curry we're talking about. When he eventually becomes less effective or less interested with layups at the rim, he'll probably just turn to his floater more, and add a midrange jumper - like Chris Paul, but infinitely better.
I dunno I think that's a bit reactionary -- when Steph starts to show his age will be when he can't get open as easily on his step backs, or when he can't blow by his guy and get to the rim -- what we're seeing in these past three games is Steph bricking wide open shots and missing layups and bunnies... I think he's just in a slump and will pull it together shortly.
Look at how quickly he is moving on defense this year. That doesn't look like a guy who has lost a step - yet.
Yeah. I don't think there's any question that he's in the best physical shape of his life. Look at him. He's beasting. I'm sure we're going to see a decline in another couple years, but not yet. He'll break out this slump, win another MVP, hit 400+ threes, and have the talking heads saying he's even better than Unanimous, especially when you factor in the defensive improvement.
I think there will be regression to the mean, which at this moment suggests he will play better than the last few games. Overall, however, having watched him for years, I do feel like his “mean” this year will end up slightly lower. Agree he’s the MVP. Also think his defense is better due to strength and smarter play, which may offset a decline in his 3 point percentage.
the one thing that seems missing this season are his patented early release high off the backboard layups that catch even his quickest defender by surprise, he coming in closer to the basket and waiting longer on the release
My jaw would literally drop as Steph came into traffic and almost casually tossed the ball high off the glass into the basket, I’d love to have a compilation of those to play on a loop, a surprisingly long loop
Yeah, age will catch him eventually, but all that matters is he be well rested before the playoffs. He is likely to go off at some point and bring some of his numbers back up. Warriors, I believe, pushed hard to start season to take advantage of easy schedule and pack some wins away. Wouldn't be surprised if Curry just needs a little blow (rest, not cocaine). Also, he has been a good sport about changing the pattern of his minutes played. This could very well throw him off his game a bit as he adjusts to it. I think all players need to have shitty games throughout the year, allow themselves to reset after pushing as hard as these athletes push themselves to be great.
As much as I preferred Steph's old rotation, I like having him start the beginning of the 2nd & 4th qtrs - not having to wait for him to come in after the team has been floundering for 6 minutes.
Yeah that's a very good point -- the different pattern of minutes. Really Kerr should say "whatever feels best for steph we will do, then build around that."
Spurs players praying to a diety
Great shot!!