Dub Nation HQ Comments of Week, plus open thread
Helpful hint: Every commenter’s name is a link that leads back to the original comment.
Helpful hint: Every commenter’s name is a link that leads back to the original comment.
Wembanyama's Spurs draw first blood against… — OCT 21
Kuminga and Moody acquitted themselves well in the loss!
Shimmy (15 ♡):
I am so freakin’ excited for this season! Last time i was this excited was 1994. I was a young knicks fan growing up in NY and the DEMON Michael Jordan had retired - what sweet mercy! Finally our one true road block to victory was lifted! But The Dream had the strength of Allah on his side and my inspiration John Starks went 2-18 in Game 7. Many heartbreaks and one Dolan takeover later I moved to The Bay in 2010, having left the NBA for good! Keep your shaqs and kobes and manus and duncans i dont wanna watch! But when i was given $20 tickets to the warriors games at Oracle Arena in 2011 by my job and I saw the iso Steph Show I was converted. What a magical run it has been. The Beautiful Game played like never before and one Dynasty has changed the way we all play basketball. The current level of skill and parity in the league is such a joy to watch. This is a special year Dub Nation! We play with Joy! One last ring!
DubsNerd (9 ♡):
Nate Duncan praising Podz on Warriors Plus Minus with Slater: "He leaves the possession in a better place than he found it". Yeah, that's it.
Preseason 5: GSW vs San Antonio Spurs. Will… — OCT 20
Will definitely test the "Too Small, Ernie" hypothesis
SabWrites (19 ♡):
Officially official.
https://www.reddit.com/r/warriors/comments/17cafte/after_nearly_20_years_andre_iguodala_is_retiring/
ServantOfLuna (11 ♡):
Andre Iguodala has retired. Well, farewell to him. Thanks for everything you've done for the Warriors franchise in the past several years.
Mr Teal (14 ♡):
[On Poole’s bad shooting] He was probably putting all his effort into the defensive end, causing his offense to suffer.
DubsNerd (14 ♡):
Nice article on Podz by Conor Letourneau in the Chronicle (might be paywalled, I'm not sure what they make avail vs. restrict). Talks about how he got buried in his freshman year at Illinois, and suggests that maybe the coach there wasn't the best judge of talent. They did note:
No other player in recent history had become a first-round draft pick just one year after swapping a high-major program for a mid-major one. Almost everyone who has had a trajectory like Podziemski’s washed out of the NBA quickly, which made some scouts wonder whether his production at Santa Clara was more about inferior competition than his skills.
and
Mid-major coaches throughout the country have started pitching transfers on what some call the “Podz Model”: parlaying a stint at a lower level college into a seven-figure NBA contract. Just look at Santa Clara, which used Podziemski’s story to help it ink a five-player transfer class headlined by highly touted Arizona forward Adama Bal.
Also had this interesting note about the GS draft board:
His competitiveness, deep shooting range and versatility made him a favorite of the Warriors’ analytics department. Though most mock drafts projected Podziemski to go in the late first round or early second round, Golden State had him 11th on its board.
AttilaTheHun (12 ♡):
We're not even talking about our second-leading scorer tonight: Saric with 17 pts and efficient shooting. Add in couple of dimes and a couple of boards, even a steal.
Abaddon (11 ♡):
Wemby has been jaw dropping, yes, but Kuminga has quietly played very well so far.
Captain Jack (11 ♡):
Fun fact: GP2 was on the "bigs" side of the court during a drill that separated the guards from the bigs during yesterday's open practice.
belilaugh (10 ♡):
I just know that Dunleavy would have traded down and taken Haliburton lol
tempprofile (10 ♡):
I still have my doubts about his [Wemby] staying healthy. Those long limbs are also long lever arms that apply force to various joints. But that aside, the guy is a total basketball freak.
belilaugh (9 ♡):
Defensively he [Wemby] might be the best prospect I've ever seen, but for what it's worth he had 19 points on 49% TS tonight. He definitely has a chucking tendency and as of yet has not proven he can shoot consistently although the flashes are there and terrifying.
Sleepy Freud (9 ♡):
I think I might have been off on the over/under for when Moody becomes a better player than Klay. I thought maybe a year ... I think it might be right now.
Explain One Play: Steph Curry game winning… — OCT 19
Never gets old
Captain Jack (25 ♡):
Just left open practice and the vibes of this team is top tier. Podz is just dripping with confidence and swagger even during the rookie hazing. Steph had to tell him to chill out so he can host. It feels like Rudy is already a part of this team with the way he’s talking/joking with the guys.
g8tgod (21 ♡):
Thank you, Eric. The joy of this season has officially started!
Goldarn Staid Worrier (11 ♡):
Oh E1P yes it’s a Dubs season!
I think my favorite moment of last night’s sweet, feverish, Stephtastic, and utterly meaningless win was at the 5.5 seconds to go mark in Q4. After Steph brilliantly throws the ball against the Kanged leg to ricochet out, 5 (or was it 7?) teammates rushed over to help him up. Team spirit, sure, but also the obvious move to rush over to help the boss up, so everyone moved as one. So charming and kind.
And yea I know it was a meaningful victory. Team cohesion so damn important. Come together early to prepare for future trials.
Janet (11 ♡):
Perfect E1P for a perfect play. I loved this step back more than all of last season.
TwoRingTest (9 ♡):
Gay had the best celebration.
Walked off screen at the bottom, went to the locker room to switch the whirlpool tub on, and then came back. Vet move.
SabWrites (8 ♡):
OT: TJD singing Bey's "Halo" at center court. 😅😏
https://www.reddit.com/r/warriors/comments/17c0eqv/tjd_singing_halo_by_beyonc%C3%A9_at_center_court/
Eric Apricot (7 ♡):
Heh heh… no, I’ve done preseason games in the past. I planned to sit out this preseason, but that game was too wild to resist
Prime Looney (7 ♡):
“And then through my work, through my diligence, through my curiosity, that’ll just continue to grow.”
-Poole
Might not have loved his D or his usage, but this is a great quote!
WastinDaDa$1357 (7 ♡):
And so it has begun!
Finally
💜 dnhq 💜
Goofus (7 ♡):
TJD’s launching arrows could indeed be to honor Usain Bolt or a tribute (SWIDT?) to The Hunger Games. Other candidates:
* Legolas
* Hawkeye
* Ramsay Bolton
Warriors own Kings again on Curry's game… — OCT 19
NEVER DOUBT STEPHEN CURRY.
mDuo13 (14 ♡):
There was one basket, Steph had the ball, TJD rolled with him, and Steph could've pulled up for the short range floater but instead he dumped it off to TJD for the dunk. And I said, I'm glad TJD was ready for that one and his hands didn't bobble or drop it. It was smooth. I have a good feeling about this kid.
Chasing Rings... (13 ♡):
So I flew to another country to revisit a development course I did back in 2016. I just saw in the workbook corner I jotted down, "I need to find a healthy drama hook (to keep drama out of business or relationships)... Maybe NBA?" And on reflection: it's a resounding YES! It's been SUCH a blessed journey so far. And it's in no small measure thanks to this rarified community 🙏🏽
DFiB (11 ♡):
TJD impressed last night to make me much, much less worried about Loon getting in foul trouble. TJD looks like he can handle a 3m stint to finish out a quarter to bridge Looney foul trouble and help keep Dray & Saric a little fresher...
Loonatic (11 ♡):
Calloo, Callay! We already have ourselves an EA E1Play!
For those who prefer premature preseason celebration to waiting for the dnhq post.
DFiB (11 ♡):
So, here were JK's TOs:
1. Easy handoff to Klay that got bobbled. I put that one more on Klay, but I suppose JK could have been a bit more forceful to make sure the defender didn't get a hand in there.
2. Stepped out of bounds under the basket. Made a great cut, but barely had a foot on the end-line when he received the pass.
3. Bad transition pass trying to push the ball ahead. Needs to better know who's where.
4. Unforceful pass in traffic to a cutting Saric, which let the defender get a hand in there. Maybe could have held onto the ball a moment longer and made it a bounce pass or something, but this is kind of an acceptable TO to me.
5. Bobble trying to dribble drive in isolation attack. He does this too much, but it's part of the learning experience...
All in all, to me it was 2 TOs that aren't very bad at all, 2 bad ones, and a "the right pass" that could have been better executed. I'm not too mad at these, to be honest.
DFiB (11 ♡):
Murray looked really good during the game... his box score was fine, but he looked a lot more threatening & impactful watching the game.
SabWrites (9 ♡):
Kings play again today at home. It's nuts to schedule a pre-season back to back. I know it's just SF to Sac but still.
GlueAndBold (9 ♡):
I pay the exorbitant amount ($70+) for Youtube TV and justify/rationalize it thusly:
1) Going to the game costs massive amounts of time and money, not including food and drink and parking.
2) I have nearly as much fun watching in my living room as I do when I am at the game.
3) I watch pretty much all the games on TV, around 10-15 per month, basically a season ticket.
4) I'm getting a season ticket for the equivalent of $5/game. Plus I can eat what I want.
Giants baseball (and a limited amount of Niners football that I won't officially admit to because the NFL is a crime) makes it even better- same justifications/rationalizations apply.
vignette17 (9 ♡):
A couple thoughts:
*That was incredibly entertaining. Both teams obviously cared and that makes all the difference.
*Steph was Steph near the end. He was hitting absurd shot after absurd shot, trying hard, being in the right place at the right time. Steph was Steph at the beginning. He had 4 completely careless turnovers and caused turnovers for his teammates.
*Steph also flopped a little too much for my liking today. Very minimal contact on that dive to the corner. Flopped on one of those 3Ps near the end (maybe the banked in one?). I wish floppers didn't get rewarded, because it's one of the only non-aesthetic parts of his game.
*Kuminga was hitting shots today. But he had 5 turnovers and had a couple other 50/50 balls that could have been. He's going to have some major growing pains this year, but they need to keep playing him. He's still the changeup they need.
*One of a couple reasons I'm still a Kuminga skeptic popped up in this game. He consistently drags Curry lineups down. In the two major stretches JK and Steph played together, they were -14. It absolutely has to be something JK figures out, because it's the surest way to the doghouse. Steph minutes are precious. I don't exactly know how, but I would start with minimizing any turnovers while those two share the floor.
*GPII and Wiggins both looked incredible. If we get those two playing like that, the Dubs will win a lot of games. We had 40+ games last year with neither of them.
*Goofus already knows what's coming: Klay was 1/6 on 2PA. I think it's time to retire any long midrange 2Ps unless they're end of the shot clock. Layups and short open 2's only, Klay.
*The return of Casspi. Saric needed to shoot about 10 3PA this game. He only shot 5 and we had 5 possessions become either turnovers or heaves because the open shot created was not taken.
*CP3 came off the bench and played nearly 30 min. It's a bit too many minutes, but boy was he good. Felt like the Dubs even when they were missing were getting good looks out there.
*When Steph/CP3/GPII are healthy and performing, CoJo only got 9 min, Moody 7.5, and Podz 0. In an optimal world I think you bump up Moody and bump down CP3, but that's about managing egos and letting go of safety blankets.
Preseason 4: GSW vs Sacramento Kings. Plus… — OCT 18
Praying for no injuries
Eric Apricot (24 ♡):
That whole ending was so wild that I temporarily forgot that Saric muffed the game winning free throws. But all is forgiven in a good random ending
Asher B. (24 ♡):
The Dubs may not be in regular season form, the Kings definitely are not but DNHQ IS BABY 490 COMMENTS ON A PRESEASON WEDNESDAY LET'S F'N GOOOOOO
Arash (18 ♡):
You know, in a way TJD just outplayed Sabonis.
TJD had 19 pts/14 rbds on 43% from the field per 36.
Sabonis had 13 pts/11 rbds on 40% from the field per 36.
Sure, Sabonis had 8 more assists but TJD played better defense. Just saying, I got an irrationally good feeling about TJD!
Abaddon (18 ♡):
CP enjoying a Steph Curry game winner for the first time in his career. Feel good don’t it?
Sleepy Freud (17 ♡):
4-0 Warriors
0-4 Kings
They wanted this one BAD, which made us want to deprive them of it BAD. :-)
kinbote (16 ♡):
Warriors have a real you're-going-to-have-to-win-every-fucking-quarter-because-we're-not-going-away vibe about them so far.
Asher B. (16 ♡):
Steph out there piling up preseason points like he's the next Kuminga.
Abaddon (15 ♡):
Or maybe Kuminga is actually improving and Kerr has known how good he was all along?
Shocking, I know.
BadlyBrowned (14 ♡):
TJD 13 pts 10 reb in 25min.
Kinda looks like he could use a Looney pump fake every now and again at the basket, only 6-14 from the field, but doesn't seem massively lost on defense so far, which for a rookie big is great.
fzwinter (14 ♡):
Wiggs (16 points) was one FT away from a true Wiggs tonight.
Captain Jack (14 ♡):
The Kings have got to be livid right now. We won't even let them win a preseason game LOL
Shawyer (14 ♡):
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED
crusty quips (13 ♡):
Or maybe is it Kuminga maturing from his second year to his third year and becoming a more complete player, making Kerr more confident in playing him more?
Night Night (12 ♡):
Using a proprietary blend of ironclad logic:
a) Either Looney isn’t very good, and it’s rather easy to stifle Sabonis.
OR
b) TJD had a really great rookie game against a motivated and capable Sabonis.
Because a) defies all laws of logic and physics (Loongod theorem), then b) must be true.
Warriors sign Javonte Green and Yuri Collins… — OCT 16
Roster shuffling getting serious as the season approaches
Goofus (10 ♡):
The Warriors waived their Johnson and it’s front page news here at DNHQ.
Eric Apricot (13 ♡):
I thought we dodged this bullet when Gradey was drafted before #19 but noooooo
DubsNerd (13 ♡):
New Warriors Plus Minus, mostly about JK. MTII said he has been hearing that JK is great in the practices, and his comment was "What he's doing is earning the right to play through his mistakes", which in my view would be great, because there are going to be mistakes but on balance I think he will help the team when they need more bounce.
They also had an interesting nugget, that the coaches have given JK the green light to crash the boards whenever he wants to, and not worry about when he is supposed to get back on D. The other guys with the similar guidance are Loon and Wiggs. Slater and MTII were guessing this would free JK up to not second guess what he should be doing when the shot goes up.
mDuo13 (11 ♡):
I guess I spoke too soon about the Klay contract things not becoming a distraction, but #11 himself has made things pretty clear that he's not worried about contract negotiations at the moment.
IMO the lack of progress comes from neither the team nor Klay having any urgency to resolve things. Especially after how Draymond's situation resolved itself this summer, I'm sure Klay can just point to that, say, "eh, we'll figure something out," and get back to thinking about stuff that's more important to him.
Goofus (10 ♡):
New Jason Timpf video. “Why Jonathan Kuminga is going to be huge for the Steph and Warriors”
(8 minutes of required listening)
Does a good job comparing and contrasting MM & JK; Moody’s game is a better fit with what the Warriors typically do offensively, but Kuminga brings a whole ‘nother dimension. He goes on to talk about JFK has been working his ass off and his preseason numbers, and what he needs to do to keep himself on the floor.
Closing: “No matter what, it plainly visible to everyone the kid is going to be a star. It’s just a matter of when? The tools are too insane and the leaps that he’s taking season by season…you can’t deny it. It might take another 4 or 5 years, but Jonathan Kuminga has All Star in his future.”
hammystyle (10 ♡):
Javonte Green has been a solid player when healthy. Not too far off from a Bruce Brown type when he's healthy.
Here's my stab at a rotation plan based on what we've seen so far.
Starters: Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Dray and Looney.
First subs: Saric/Kuminga in for Dray or Looney for shooting. GP2 in for Klay for defense.
New lineup: Steph, GP2, Wiggins, Saric/Kuminga and Looney/Dray
This gets GP2 minutes, and having Saric or Kuminga out there instead of one of the other starting bigs should hopefully help for spacing.
Bench unit: CP3, Klay, Moody, Kuminga and Saric
That's your top 10. CoJo, TJD, and Podz all have a chance to play 60-70 games and 10-15 mpg.
The roster has some 2014 Spurs vibes where they could really spread out the rotation. No one on that Spurs team averaged over 30 mpg. Play 9-10 guys about 65-70 games and 22-30 mpg. That's your core rotation.
Then you have another 2 or 3 guys who can play 60-70 games for about 10-15 mpg. Those are the guys who fill in the rotation during a lot of rest and injury time. (a 22 year old Cory Joseph played 68 games and 14 mpg. He might do the exact same thing again at age 32!).
The reason that was able to work so well is that you had a Tony Parker, Tim Duncan led starting unit that rolled teams.
But they ALSO had a Manu and Boris Diaw led bench unit that destroyed teams. Manu at 36 was the backup PG plus Diaw as a big who can space the floor but was also a good playmaker. That's what CP3 could bring with Saric.
belilaugh (8 ♡):
Imo the fundamental tension facing the Warriors this season is that the Curry/CP3/Klay trio is likely not good enough defensively against the top teams. Curry isn't going anywhere, so this means that either CP3 or Klay will probably need to be benched depending on what the situation calls for. I'm thinking Kerr will have to play sub-optimal lineups in the regular season to keep spirits up. But it will come to a head in the playoffs. If I'm Klay I might be kinda annoyed with getting benched because if CP3 was someone like Jrue Holiday (no I'm not saying that this trade was available to the Warriors, just using a hypothetical), playing together to close games would be very seamless and it's more a function of CP3 than my own ability. Curry/CP3/Wiggins/Thompson/Green can resolve that tension against lineups where they can get away with Klay playing the 4 defensively, but there are probably matchups where it won't work.
I think the Warriors have the tools to win, but it's going to require a serious coaching job from Kerr to keep everyone happy about it. That is, unless this is a repeat of 2015-2016 where the closing lineup barely matters because the game is over by the end of the third quarter lol.
Public Service Announcement
brandinpodziem2 (14 ♡):
I'm having a crappy day today - doing my colonoscopy prep.
Seriously:
My father wouldn't go in for one of these until it was too late, and he ended up dying of colon cancer at a pretty early age. Colon cancer is highly treatable if you catch it early. If you're on the fence about getting a colonoscopy, JUST DO IT. The prep is a little nasty, but the procedure can be life saving. Your spouse, children, and other loved ones will thank you.
brandinpodziem2 (26 ♡):
The prep wasn't too awful, and my colonoscopy came back clean. No polyps!
So everything came out OK in the end.
Thanks Dubs Nation for your support, and please take care of yourselves.
Preseason 3: GSW @ Sacramento Kings. Plus… — OCT 15
Praying for no injuries
Abaddon (14 ♡):
A few Steph Curry facts from last year combined with a report about him that was shared during the game by the broadcast:
- He made a career best 55% of his 3-10 ft shots with those shots being a career-high 19% of his attempts. Steph's elite midrange game gets slept on because of his spectacular three point shooting, but exploiting the midrange is more important than ever.
- He made a career best 76% (!) of his attempts from 0-3 feet, albeit on relatively lower volume than is typical in his career.
- He shot a career-best (full season) 59.7% on corner threes
- Bruce Frasier (I think?) was quoted on the broadcast as saying he's never seen Steph shoot better in preseason than he did this year.
I'm crossing my fingers for Steph to make it through this year healthy. I have a feeling if he can do that, we're going to be well-positioned for another deep postseason run.
(Stats courtesy of BasketballReference.com)
TwoRingTest (10 ♡):
So, basically, Steph shoots like a center when he's within 3 feet, like Chris Paul in the midrange, and like no one else, ever, from 3.
Goofus (12 ♡):
I think we’ve all been listing “GP2 at full strength” among reasons the team will be better, but holy shit he looks spry and far more like his old bad ass self.
Seeing him out there bringing energy to pre-season games makes it pretty obvious a healthy Payton could have made a singular difference to the outcome of the Lakers, right up there with Wiggins at full health and Poole & Klay going tilt.
AJ (11 ♡):
I enjoyed Richard Jefferson calling out Mark Jones for being a blatant homer on a national broadcast.
Sleepy Freud (11 ♡):
Rebounds: Warriors 53, Kings 41
FT attempts: Warriors 42 (!!), Kings 17
They too small, Ernuh…
TwoRingTest (11 ♡):
The first half hour is officially listed as:
"Doris' ode to Damontis Sabonis, a long form poem in 16 parts"
TwoRingTest (8 ♡):
I'm not reading a ton into last night (both teams played their reserves heavily), but I really liked that win, because it was such a *non-Warriors* win.
Only 18 assists.
The eye test backed up the fact that they weren't really able to run their motion offense.
Really, they didn't set many screens.
The defense was sad for about 1/2 the game (though Sac went pretty cold anyway).
Ineffective play from the point guards, by and large ... Robinson wasn't effective, Podz was off ... LQ made a few good plays, but was probably close to neutral with his passing/team game.
Normally, that's a recipe for a game where Steph either saves us, or we lose. But, 1. not many turnovers, 2. TJD was really good on defense to close the game, 3. Kuminga just went at whoever was guarding him, 4. Wiggs and Moody had nice shooting games.
Good team win.
Being (8 ♡):
Just finished watching the replay. Exhausted. Long night, but I wanted to see the game.
Quick hit thoughts:
(1) Wiggs looked like 2022 playoff Wiggs out there. He and GP2 were the two main reasons why the Dubs won this game with Steph, Dray, and CP2 out.
(2) Jerome Robinson was horrid on defense, IMO. Got burned over and over. He made a couple decent plays on offense tho, and his playing time seems to hint that he has the inside track to keep the 3rd two-way slot. Color me unimpressed. I'll be sad if he nabs it. Should be going to someone with more promise and upside, IMO.
(3) Today I saw why LQ deserves a two-way. Played good defense, and had smart plays on offense with few errors. Sure, he's not a great creator, not flashy - but he's serviceable. Better than JR, at least.
(4) Didn't really get to see enough of DUG, but that jumper near the nail was nice.
(5) TJD looked pretty sharp out there. He gave me lots of reason to think that he'll get those 4th big rotation minutes this year.
(6) Speaking of bigs, Saric and Looney on a court together! It's great that we can play 2-big lineups with Saric, and not worry about opponents flooding the paint. Stretch 4 ftw.
(7) JK another 5 TO game. Man, he needs to work on reigning those in. But 13 of 17 on FTA? Amazing. If he can consistently do that in reg. season, that would be amazing, but I'm worried it's a "level of competition" illusion. He also got 6 boards, and it felt like 10, tbh. Against the Kings' starters, tho, JK was merely adequate. He didn't seem to be a liability in the starting lineup, but also didn't seem to be the "sparkplug" that he usually is.
(8) Pleasantly surprised by MM's showing. His defense was strong, and his 3-shot was accurate. His drives were... ehh. He needs to work on his handle and rim finishing.
(9) BP was impressive for a rookie. But, a rookie shouldn't be starting vs the Kings. He def. had trouble vs Fox, but also held his own a few times which impressed me. He shined more when he was playing against 2nd stringers, similar to JK, but even more so. Regular season rotation minutes I can see - not so sure about playoff rotation.
(10) GP2. How can I sing thy praises. His statline only shows 3 stocks, but it felt like he got 5-7.
(11) DUG and the DWill barely got any minutes at all. Hard to draw many conclusions from the few they did get.
(12) it felt like the second unit basically played 4-out ISO ball, where was the motion offense?
(13)I could not stand the Kings announcer - crazy homer. I'm so glad RJeff called him out on it. And I loved RJeff out there. He has such amazing insights.
mDuo13 (8 ♡):
In terms of the players available, the Dubs lineups tonight felt more "preseason" than the last couple… but in terms of tension/excitement and the players' desire to win, this one felt a bit like a regular season game. Respect to the Golden1 Center fans continuing to bring the energy—without resorting to gross stuff like some Utah or Boston attendees in the past.
Kuminga looks a *lot* more poised than this time last season. Like, yeah, he could always levitate to the rim, but he's gotten so much better about choosing the right times to go for it—earninga basket, a foul, or both pretty consistently (instead of risking turnovers). He had only one bad, "d'oh!"-type pass this game, which I'm happy to spot him—if only certain other all-time greats on the current team could be convinced to limit their stupid turnovers to 1 per game.
One of the things about Podz I'm loving is his looking to pass ahead for a fast-break every time he gets the chance. We definitely need someone to do that when Steph & Draymond aren't able to. We got some nice points off of it this game, looking forward to that being a highlight. It's great synergy with Kuminga, TJD, and others on the team too.
Klay took a very "Klay-esque" selection of shots tonight... Luckily, he made almost all the hardest ones, which I sometimes think is more valuable than just the points because of the mental damage. The disrespect inherent in those shots is like talking trash without speaking a word.
I think I want Moody to play just a little bit more aggressively, but he did some good work late in the game. Quiñones also looked like he got into a groove as the game went on and started contributing meaningfully towards the end, although still pretty borderline. Jerome Robinson didn't look like he brought a whole lot, but he didn't make any embarrassing mistakes and he was in the right place at the right time occasionally, so that's not nothing.
Not much of note re:Šarić, Garuba, or the other guys. I mean, GP2 only got credit for 2 steals and 1 block but I was pretty sure he singlehandedly forced at least 2 more turnovers and maybe more. Oh, did you realize Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points in 22 minutes of game time? Me neither
Warriors knock off Lakers in second straight… — OCT 14
UNDEFEATED!
brandinpodziem2 (19 ♡):
Stupid earworm, still can't get it out of my head.
Mission Bay. (with apologies to Mike Love, John Phillips, Terry Melcher, and Scott McKenzie)
Barbosa, Kuminga, ooh I wanna bring ya
Sarunas, Nemanja, come on pretty Mama
Chiozza, Vonteego, baby why don't we go?
(Kuminga)
Down in Mission Bay,
There's a place where the Warriors play,
That's where you wanna go
To get away from it all,
Joe Barely Cares,
Grab a beer and climb the stairs,
We'll be falling in love
Watchin' Steph together with Young Glove
Down in Mission Bay
Barbosa, Kuminga, ooh I wanna bring ya to
Sarunas, Nemanja, come on pretty Mama
Chiozza, Vonteego, baby why don't we go?
Down to Mission Bay
We'll go tonight
And watch the Warriors play
Looney and Steph and Klay
Way down in Mission Bay
(Hardaway, and maybe Rudy Gay)
Kerr and JTA,
Rocco boatin' on the Bay
By and by we'll smoke some weed
And get the second seed
Draymond Green's a trip
We gonna be championship
That dreamy look in your eyes
When Iguodala's on the rise
Way down in Mission Bay
Barbosa, Kuminga, ooh I wanna bring ya to
Sarunas, Nemanja, come on pretty Mama
Chiozza, Vonteego, baby why don't we go?
Down to Mission Bay
We'll go tonight
And watch the Warriors play
Looney and Steph and Klay
Are down in Mission Bay
(Poole, McCaw, there oughta be a law)
Everybody say they wanna see the Warriors play
Now go and follow your heart, hop on Muni and BART
Go down to Mission Bay
Barbosa, Kuminga, ooh I wanna bring ya to
Sarunas, Nemanja, come on pretty Mama
Chiozza, Vonteego, baby why don't we go?
Down to Mission Bay
We'll go tonight
And watch the Warriors play
Looney and Steph and Klay
Are down in Mission Bay
stickdog (16 ♡):
If you want to see the two biggest stories of the Warriors' young preseason, just click on the SEASON LEADERS tab: https://www.nba.com/stats
In my humble opinion, those who have watched the Warriors' first two preseason games and still not yet reevaluated their previously held opinion that there is no way that Podz will be getting consistent rotation minutes with the Golden State (and not the Santa Cruz) Warriors this season are somehow refusing to believe their lying eyes. While I was 90% sure that Podz would not get major rotation minutes for the Warriors 8 days ago, I am now almost as certain that I was dead wrong.
Of all the players who have played more than 10 total minutes, Podz has the best net rating. The Warriors are +15.7 per 100 possessions with Podz on the court so far this preseason, followed by +12.7 with Kuminga on the court, +8.7 with GPII, +5.7 with Moody, +4.8 with Looney. +2.7 with TJD, and dead even with Curry.
The NBA.com Player Impact Estimate ratings (these are per minute) so far are:
19.3 Curry
18.7 Kuminga
14.1 Podziemski
12.8 Saric
11.6 Looney
9.4 Moody
8.1 GPII
7.7 TJD
5.5 Klay
5.0 CP3
1.7 Wiggins
0.0 Gay
Floor Impact Counter (FIC) is RealGM’s version of PER and PIE. It was developed in 2007 and it differs from other all-in-one efficiency stats in that it assigns more weight to assists and shot creation, as well as offensive rebounding.
Rookie of the Preseason (so far)?
FIC of all qualified players : https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/stats/2024/Advanced_Stats/Qualified/fic/All/desc/1/Preseason
(Unfortunately, it looks as if feasting on the Warriors' defense really helps to pad this stat, with 3 Lakers in the top 5, 4 in the top 9, and 5 in the top 20.)
Moving on to NBA.com Assist Ratio:
41.2 Podziemski
33.3 Paul
26.7 Saric
25.0 Looney
21.7 Curry
16.7 TJD
15.2 Kuninga
NBA.com Assist Percentage:
37.5 Paul
33.0 Podziemski
22.7 Curry
20.0 Kuminga
18.8 Looney
17.4 Saric
NBA.com Total Rebound Percentage:
15.5 Looney
15.2 Saric
11.1 Podziemski
10.5 Kuminga
9.1 Thompson
8.2 TJD
7.9 Wiggins
6.8 Curry, Paul, and Moody
Most impressive of all is Podz's current 7 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. If you don't think this team could use a bit more of that, I am not sure what to tell you.
Just remember that Kuminga and Podz are the two youngest players on the team, and believe it or not, Podz is even younger than Kuminga by about 5 months.
While it is just two preseason games and I don't want to let the hype train get out of control, I seriously cannot remember the last time the Warriors had a guard who was 20 or younger who has ever impressed me more to begin the preseason as a winning player. Now Moody was 20 last season, and I really like Moody, but Podz has outplayed Moody by far so far this preseason. Obviously, not Ryan Rollins last season, who never impressed over his whole rookie season as Podz has right out of the gate. Nico Mannion was 20 his rookie season, but Podz already looks to be the better NBA point guard and certainly the better all-around NBA player of the two. Poole was 20 his rookie season, but Poole quite frankly sucked his rookie season. After that, we have to go all the way back to Monte Ellis's and Gilbert Arena's rookie seasons to find any guards this young who even made the Warriors' roster. And Ellis was never a winning player, so perhaps we are down to Podz and Arenas as the best guards this young in Warriors history?
Wracking my brain, I can't seem to come up with any NBA guard as young as Podz to even compare Podz's overall heady passing, rebounding, and pesky defense but limited scoring game to. The closest I can up with is either of the Ball brothers. Can anyone here do better?
DubsNerd (11 ♡):
[On new ESPN announcing team] Yeah, I thought they were not a great team, and I was far from a fan of JVG and MJ.
Two specific gripes - good color announcers know to pause their story when something amazing happens. There was that great pass to GPII cutting under the basket for a lay up, and they were talking about something else and didn't even acknowledge the play. That really irks me.
Gripe 2 is know your freaking facts. With 2 minutes left, Doc Rivers said something like "it is amazing to see Steve Kerr up off the bench, he really wants to win this since he lost the first game". Uhh, you mean the one they won by double digits, 125-108? So, I can't really trust anything Doc throws out there if he is going to confidently misstate something as basic as who won the last time they played.
Fantom (9 ♡):
I just read through all the comments. A lot of really good comments and it was a pleasure to read and interact. So glad basketball is back.
Sleepy Freud (9 ♡):
BP thoughts crossposted from the other place (TLDR version is that BP was the BPA):
If he keeps this up against NBA competition, he may obviate CoJo sooner than later. His talent, poise, and feel for the game at his age is almost shocking (esp. compared to that of poor Lester Q, who’s more than two years his senior).
Beyond the potential usurping of CoJo: CP3 is also on an expiring deal, and his combo of age and price tag may make the team ponder moving on from him after this season — leaving them no legit backup PG on the roster. Plus, perish the thought, but Steph’s not gonna be a young 35 forever. For all the talk of the team’s need for moaaarrr bigs, one could argue the biggest roster need following the Poole trade was a legit, young backup ballhandler and shot creator. Enter Podz.
I think with the #19 pick Dunleavy mostly went “BPA” — Brandin Podziemski, er, Best Player Available — but you could also argue that if he hits he’s an absolute perfect fit on this team, now and going forward. Remember all the moaning and handwringing this summer in Dub Nation over having picked BP over Cam Whitmore? Not only is BP probably gonna end up the better player — he’s also a MUCH better fit on a roster whose two best young players are versatile, athletic wings. Would anyone really want Cam Whitmore taking a single minute from Kuminga or Moody?
vignette17 (8 ♡):
A couple thoughts from the game last night:
*We thought CP3 was going to fix the turnover problem with the Dubs. Nope, turns out we'll just infect him with Dubsitis. 5 TOV in 19.5 min. And some were bad. Even Loon had it last night: 3 in 11 min.
*Klay needs to find his 2P shot. 1-6 on 2PA and none left me feeling confident.
*Wiggs felt good, but the boxscore is unkind, 4/11, -8. Still likes the long 2. He is what he is.
*GPII felt back and fully healthy. And that title year, he was a monster.
*JK. So much to say. Wow, that dude is hungry this year. He feels different than the rest of the Dubs. He played the most minutes on the team. And yet, he feels a bit like he isn't playing within the offense and people are crashing into each other. Even still, he gets the ball and he just puts it in the basket. 9/12 for 26 pts, so the results speak for themselves on offense. And when he was fouled in the clutch, he calmly sank both FT. But the "problem" is offball on defense. He's constantly getting screened away and leaving guys open for 3. He doesn't communicate well and he either overhelps or switches unexpectedly. And yet...he still might have been the best Dub on the floor. He's like 80% of the way to being a monster.
*Podz had 10 assists to 0 turnovers.He had 6 boards. Highest +/- on the team. Everything you could ask for even if he's yet to feel like a 3P sniper.
*DLo actually really impressed me on defense today. Very disruptive. Had a couple dumb turnovers, but otherwise was really solid.
*Both AD and Reaves were annoying today because they can give it but can't take it. If you're going to bait a foul on one end, you can't be mad and yell at the refs when the other team baits you to foul. As a fan, I did appreciate Reaves channeling his anger into the immediate fake handoff into a dunk after his tech though.
*Quinones was big-boyed a couple times. NBA athleticism is still too much.
Overall, this was a super high level preseason game through 3Q when the starters went out. The Lakers played their A game. The Dubs did well to keep it close.But ultimately the young Dubs have more skill than the end of the Lakers bench.
Very interesting vid about the evolution of size in the NBA from JxmyHighroller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfqTziAl3-k
As much as Curry has changed the game, I feel Draymond might not have been given enough credit as being ahead of the curve as a tweener...
If
Wiggins - 2
Klay- 4
Draymond-5
So CP3 and Steph-1 or 2
Which position will Kevon Looney play?