121 Comments

Damn.

Damn.

Guys, there’s something that we have to put in our mind. There are a lot of factors that are required for a team to compete. D, O, motivation, energy, supporters, grit, momentum.

But to win, you need luck.

In ‘19, Toronto wins because of a clutch shot of Kawhi that bounces 4 times before going in. ‘21: Milwaukee wins because of Durant’s toe caressing the arc.

Sorry friends, it seems that our luck has ran out. Let’s enjoy a team that plays good basketball and a bunch of fantastic kids.

We will win another time.

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Wise’s knee is really starting to worry me. If he can’t even hold up in tune up games this might be a bad omen.

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Or a bad Oden.

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I tore my meniscus, never got it fixed. I don't know what pain is because I haven't had a day without it for 30 years. Wiseman is a big kid, probably put on 10 pounds upper body muscle, and there is this tiny bit of tissue between bone and bone. The surgery was playing the long game. By next year and after, this shouldn't bother him. The sacrifice is, for a guy of his size, with all that weight and power, taking a much longer time to get back. It sucks because we all want to see him play, good or bad, just play ball. But this recent setback shouldn't equate to him never really being able to play reliably. Looks like we just gotta wait some more. Total drag.

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Mar 19, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

Did anyone think prior to the season, that a starting 5 of Curry-Klay-Wiggs-Dray-Looney with Poole as a Sixth Man and heavy rotation minutes for Andre, D Lee & JTA was a Championship level team? Remember, GP2 was still a question mark to the entire league and OPJ & Beli only got the Vet Min for valid reasons. Adding Klay & Andre to last year's team that finished 15-5 before running out of gas in the Play-Ins was going to be a playoff team, a good playoff team. But it's a really really really long way from losing the Play-In to winning a Chip. The plan from the start was to have Moody and JK replace D Lee and JTA on the depth chart. Mission accomplished. In addition (whether this year or next), the plan was to have Wiseman replace Looney on the depth chart. [ok everyone, settle down, I know Looney's true value, but we are a better team if that value is moved to the reserve role. Or is someone going to argue that Beli is a better back-up at the 5?]

Despite all the injuries, I think the Dub's plan, on whole, has been a resounding success. The rapid growth of Poole, Moody & JK far outweigh the delays in Wiseman's development. Klay looks like Brick-Laying Klay on occasion, but has shown everyone that the Real Klay is still in there. Draymond's greatest contribution has been his absence, such that those who have denigrated his game in the past can now all put a sock in it. Kerr, after a dismal 1st season as a developmental coach, looks like he is ready for the finals Texas Hold 'Em Poker table. Meyers has shown that the roster belongs to him, and despite the HoF talent that inhabits this team, he is the adult in the room and willing to bear the weight and responsibilities of the hard decisions without kowtowing to his stars.

After 70 games, if someone told you that Steph-Klay-Dray had played a total of 11 minutes together and that those 3 and Wiggins had not played a single minute together, what would you think their record would be? Certainly not the 3rd best record in the entire league.

I'm damn proud of my team today. Chip or not, I'm tipping my hat. Well played, Dubs. Well Played.

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I really need to watch a Suns game, their consistency is so impressive, and I regularly see them break 125.

Maybe no real superstar outside of Booker, but they’re so balanced, and I regularly see them have 7 players score double digits.. We may have a higher ceiling, but our variance is too high, when we can’t even reliably count on Klay and Wiggins to break 15 pts. On a decent day, without Steph maybe we can have 4 players in Double figure (Poole, Klay, Wiggins, Kuminga), but the rest of the team is a big question mark. I miss when OPJ and GPII regularly each dropped 15 each night!

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They have a very deep team who essentially are in their second season of consistently playing with each other. They haven't faced any serious injury problems (outside of Chris Paul, but that almost needs to be expected at this point). They have outside shooting and inside bangers. They're a well constructed team.

The major question at this point is are they just a regular season team (similar to last year's Jazz team) or are they built for success in the playoffs? Yes, they made it to the Finals last year, but fell apart pretty spectacularly when actually facing a really good team who made adjustments in the Finals (their path of Lakers, Nuggets, and Clippers was probably one of the easiest paths to the Finals in recent memory).

They're a very good team. They have a great chance to win it all this year. I do think that the Warriors have a higher ceiling than they do if they're able to put it all together in time (i.e. get healthy), but staying healthy is a skill and their consistency is impressive.

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Mar 19, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

Is it wrong to feel strangely elated that I “made it “ into the comments of the week? This must be what a 13 year old feels like with 50 likes on social media? Okay, I’ll slink back into the shadows and keep reading the basketball comments now :)

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Welcome to the big times!

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Mar 19, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

I remember my first time I made it into the comments of the week... this is probably mostly because I took a screenshot and had it framed, matted and hung in the hallway.

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So does Steph need to wait until he's back to dress up as Sparty?

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Mar 20, 2022·edited Mar 20, 2022

If I was Steph I’d show up in a refs uniform and a halo wearing a sign that said “Refs’ Plan.” Because Davidson got absolutely hosed by the stripes at the two minute mark.

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I wonder if Steph's injury might cause Kerr to take the bubble wrap off of Andre a little earlier than anticipated, assuming Andre's health is OK. With four B2Bs left on the schedule, this could mean that Andre might play in a maximum of eight games in the regular season.

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Maybe if they're fighting for seeding at the very end, but I'm thinking not. At this point we essentially are down to one shot at this thing: get healthy for the playoffs and hope everything clicks at that point.

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How come Memphis suddenly has a tougher schedule than us? They were supposed to have easy schedule all the way. If they indeed have a tougher schedule and we win tomorrow (tied but Mem has tie-breaker), it is possible to have one more win than them (all things being equal).

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I just looked at their schedule, and it is tougher than I thought. 11 games left including: Nets w/ Kyrie, Bucks, Dubs, Celtics, Suns, Jazz, Nuggets, and Pelicans possibly fighting for home court in first play in game. I'm giving them the Rockets (even though the Rockets just beat them), Pacers and Spurs games.

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Grizzlies' opponents in the past 9 games were: Spurs, Celtics, Magic, Rockets, Pelicans, Knicks, Thunder, Pacers, and Hawks. 7 of the 9 teams are ranked #10-15 within their conference.

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My prediction for the next seven games:

vs. Spurs- Win. This game will be a good test to see if the Warriors are capable of beating a team with a losing record without Curry. Warriors managed to do that in San Antonio, so I'm confident that they'll win this one.

@ Magic- Win. Magic aren't a good team, so this should be an easy win.

@ Heat- Loss. Second end of a B2B against a VERY good team = high chance of losing this game

@ Hawks- Loss. This is a hard game to predict. If the Hawks team that the Warriors will face next Friday is the same team that beat the Grizzlies and the Suns, Warriors won't be able to them.

@ Wizards- Win, but I don't think it'll be an easy one, since the Warriors will be a bit worn out by this point in the road trip.

@ Grizzlies- Loss. This is the fifth road game in seven nights straight for the Dubs. Warriors will be dead tired by this point. Unless a miracle happens, I don't think Warriors will win this one.

vs. Suns- Win. Yes, the Warriors don't have Curry, but the Suns don't have CP3. I think the Warriors will win one game against a good team in the final 12 games of the season, and the Suns game will be that game.

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I wonder how they will manage the back to backs in this stretch. Like will they sit everyone on restrictions against the Magic and see if the young ones can get the win on their own?

I was surprised to see the Hawks without Trae and Collins beat the Grizzlies by 20. I wonder about Ja's health too. He just came back today after being out due to back issues I believe, and was limping at the end of the game with knee issues. Yet, the Grizzlies have shown throughout this season they can win games without him.

Just hoping the Dubs can at least hold on to the 3 seed.

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Hawks must be in “every single game counts to try to climb out of the play in before the regular season ends” mode (it’s a long winded mode), or no?

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Yep, or if they can't climb out of the play in bracket, at least get to the 7th or 8th seed where you are guaranteed two cracks at it to get into the playoffs.

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Mar 19, 2022·edited Mar 19, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

My prediction for the past 9 games was:

@ Timberwolves- Loss (right)

@ Mavericks- Win (wrong)

@ Lakers- Win (wrong)

@ Nuggets- Loss (right)

vs. Clippers- Loss (wrong)

@ Nuggets- Win (right)

vs. Bucks- Loss (wrong)

vs. Wizards- Win (right)

vs. Celtics- Loss (right)

I got 5 out of the 9 predictions correct. Conclusion: I'm not good at predicting games.

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You got 5 while the Warriors took 4. So you’re doing better than the W’s?

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Warriors have 12 games remaining. As things stand after Ls from the Nuggets, Mavericks, and Grizzlies but a likely W from the Jazz:

6-6 from the Warriors locks up a top 6 seed and a playoff spot regardless of what any other team does.

7-5 from the Warriors locks up a top 5 seed regardless of what any other team does.

9-3 locks up a top 4 seed regardless of what any other team does.

10-2 locks up a top 3 seed regardless of what any other team does.

12-0 locks up a top 2 seed regardless of what any other team does.

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That’s actually scary that .500 is necessary

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Only if Minnesota wins out. They play MIL, @DAL, PHX, DAL, @BOS, @TOR, @DEN in their next 7 games. If they lose all 7 the Warriors clinch even if the Warriors lose out.

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It assumes all the teams behind us win all their games… it’s not that scary, really, it’s not going to happen.

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I think Memphis loses 5 more games given their schedule ( their April is brutal). Think we have to go 8-4 to pass them…

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Let's do that 12-0 thing. I'm on board with that. Is that an option?

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Cavaliers beat the Nuggets 119-116 in overtime. I thought the Cavs were toast, but they managed to outlast the Nuggets.

Also, according to the Nuggets schedule, they won't have any back-to-backs in the rest of their schedule. However, they won't get a two-day break until after the second to last game of their season.

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Also, that five road games in seven nights straight is madness.

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Yup, and 8 road games out of 12.

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Yes, unfortunately. Warriors get a two-day rest after the vs. Suns game and a three-day rest after the @ Kings game.

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Cavaliers-Nuggets game is tied 107-107 and will head to overtime.

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Nuggets lost

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Hawks beat the Grizzlies 120-105.

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Without Trae Young. Impressive!

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Westbrook saves the game!! 😂

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