Even if he’s close to 7’-0” in head height (guessing he’s more like 6’-9.5” in bare feet?) he’s got a relatively stumpy 6’-11” wingspan. Gotta think Loon’s five inch edge in wingspan was a big part of his ability to own Domas in last year’s playoffs.
Yeah… no. Dray can’t start and finish at center. Kerr is definitely speaking to his team in those comments, they’re not meant to be understood by the likes of us.
They're not including Garuba, I guess, just Kevon, JK, TJD, Dario.
We had 5 on the regular roster last season. We were pretty small for a couple of seasons before that. If you go back to 2018-19, we had 7 at 6'8" and over (KD, Jerebko, Kevon, Cousins, Bell, Bogut, Damien Jones) but Bogues hardly played. The season before that, we had 9 (KD, Zaza, Kevon, Bell, Boucher, Casspi, JaVale, DWest, and DJones). But Jones and Boucher rarely played.
Yes, I see. However, it’s most of the teams in the west have collected taller and taller players, except for the Warriors. I don’t know if it’s meaningful.
I saw some conflicting reports about DG being cleared to practice tomorrow vs. actually practicing today. He did practice 5 on 5 according to SF Chron's CJ Holmes:
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green participated in 5-on-5 drills on Sunday for the first time since suffering a left lateral ankle sprain in an offseason workout.
“We didn’t scrimmage for long, but he did play and it’s good for him to get out there and great for us to have him back,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He just adds such a competitive force to our team and his IQ is just off the charts. So even having him in practice, going through all the drills, the team benefits from his presence.”
He will be listed as questionable for Tuesday’s season opener against Phoenix at Chase Center and the team said his return to action will be based on his continued progress as he works his way into game-like conditioning.
“I do feel good,” Green said. “I don’t feel all the way 100% myself, but I’m getting there. To be 3½ weeks or so removed (from the injury), I’ll take it … If I’m ready on Tuesday I’ll be ready to go. And if not, I don’t think it will be much longer after that. Right now we’ll see. It’s up in the air depending on how I come out of today.”
I would rather JK start the opener but expect it will be CP3 given the preseason starters. Once Draymond is healthy, I hope to see the same starters as last season (with Wiggs). That gives us a damn good bench.
"Before last season, Poole had a sibling-like bond with Green, who enlisted himself as Poole’s mentor and fiercest defender soon after the 28th pick in the 2019 draft arrived in Golden State. “It’s really a big brother, little brother relationship,” Poole told me in the fall of 2021. When veterans complained about Poole’s shot selection or propensity to trash talk in scrimmages (who felt he hadn’t earned the right to be brash), Green, sensing a kinship, would come to his defense."
I must admit, if this is true, the vets are acting like absolute bitches who can't take trash talk. That is part of the game, and just because you are the top dogs in an organization doesn't mean you should try and control how others express themselves. With that being said, complaining about his shot selection is fine even though I wish they'd sit down and have that same talk with Klay.
"In the days, weeks, and months after Green and Poole’s training-camp scuffle, their relationship changed . . . Green released a mini documentary in which the forward expressed regret about the situation, but didn’t offer an apology. The divide widened as Green, who declined comment for this story, accepted several invitations to speak on the situation during last season, but never spoke with Poole directly, angering many within Poole’s inner circle. According to Warriors officials, head coach Steve Kerr made several attempts to convince Green to take Poole to dinner, to smooth over their relationship, but Green declined. Those around the situation now believe the lack of disciplinary action—other than an undisclosed fine—and the inability of anyone on the Warriors to repair the fractured relationship soured the team’s season. Poole became isolated, left to balance his personal goals with the team’s, widening the chasm between the Warriors core and the young prospects tasked with prolonging the dynasty. Poole’s determination to prove he was worthy of carrying the torch led to on-court mistakes that left teammates and coaches befuddled."
If Draymond can't take it when guys talk trash, maybe /he/ should stop. It's ludicrous that he gets under other guys' skin as a matter of personal policy but can't deal with it when someone does it to him. The guy is a great player and an important one to this team, but being so brittle does not reflect well on him.
Draymond has been trash talked by some of the best trash-talkers in the league, such as Pat Bev and KD. He was able to take it as well as dish it out. There had to be a lot more to the JP situation than trash talk.
If you're going to take issue with what I said, how about we not make up stuff and stick to what was reported?
What was reported was "veterans complained about . . . (Pooles) propensity to trash talk in scrimmages". There is nothing there about being annoying and sometimes saying so.
Talking trash is a time honored tradition in basketball and to complain about it, especially using as crappy a justification as "he hasn't earned the right to be brash" would be the height of bitchery.
What was reported is a vague description. We don’t know what was said, to whom, and what they said back.
So you should really unstick yourself from the assumptions you’re building based on that vague description.
By the way it’s described I think my guess is much better than yours, but more importantly, I know I’m just guessing. Because there’s no real info here
I think the Warriors made the right decision getting rid of Poole because him/Dray on the same team would have destroyed chemistry and Dray is the second most important player on our team by far who carries our defense. Draymond has always been my favorite player on the Warriors (I love Klay as well). However, the more I learn about Dray and this situation, the more I realize he's just a fucking asshole.
Also, it sucks seeing DubNation HQ doing the player/character assassination it often does to former players. Y'all do it to KD downplaying the time he spent here, shitting on how good he is, and disrespecting a man who played/got injured trying to get us our third final and y'all act as if he aint deserving of a statute. Now you guys are doing it to Poole, acting as if he was a cancer on this team when it was the team who failed him. Sure, he didn't always put 100% effort on defense but Klay also jacks up insane shots on the regular and y'all don't castigate him. I hate this fan mob mentality that shits on players when they leave. It happens far too often imho.
I don't think KD comes in for much criticism here, certainly not for his game. Maybe there's some whining about the 1+1 contracts but I think most of us wish it had been otherwise but figure that's his business. He was awesome to watch, still is. KD gets a lot of love at DNHQ. Some looked askance at his going to the Nets to play with Kyrie because Kyrie is a piece of work. Had he gone there to play with a less controversial teammate, it wouldn't have been such a big deal. Now he's with the Suns, he's just a division rival, and I don't see personal criticism at DNHQ, other than commenting that the guy is kind of thin skinned in his social media posts (which he is).
JP still has a lot of fans here. He was a lot of fun to watch when he had it going, and he saved our bacon at times. On the other hand, he was a frustrating player because he didn't play defense and he did some dumb things on the court, like dribbling 1 on 4 and turning it over or falling down because we was out of control. He won't do that dumb stuff when he matures but that's the JP we had.
I can't know what really happened between JP and Draymond or what went on between him and the vets in the locker room but it's over now. Continuing to argue about that whole mess is flogging a dead horse. CP3 brings us different things than JP, and maybe he's a better fit this year, but we'll miss what JP might have become here in time. I wish JP all the luck as long as he's not playing against us. As Timpf said, Wizards games will be fun to watch even when they lose.
Now, about "Klay also jacks up insane shots on the regular and y'all don't castigate him." Surely you cannot be serious! Klay comes in for heavy criticism at DNHQ for his shot selection. Nobody is criticized more for that, not even JP. Of course when the crazy shots are going in, people will say it's "a good shot for Klay or Steph and a bad shot for other players." That's how fans are everywhere. But Klay is beloved even when he's missing because he's Klay, and he has earned it.
> Reposted from the other thread since the discussion is here:
I think people here are mostly keeping an eye on Poole because they like him. Certainly that's the case with me.
You can still be fond of Poole, and realize that he may not have been the best fit on the team. There is no question he was an offense-only kind of player.
I think he'll be a lot of fun on Washington, which has no real title hopes. It's an open question to whether he can be the number 1/number 2 guy on a team with title aspirations.
Beyond that, there are a few people who feel he may very well have said something unforgivable, that led to the punch.
I really haven't seen Poole getting trashed much just for being gone. Some, yes, but a very small amount. Mostly, the criticisms are specific and justified.
> Reposted from the other thread since the discussion is here:
"I think people here are mostly keeping an eye on Poole because they like him."
With all due respect, I think thats BS. The vast majority of time, whenever people mention Poole, I've almost always seen it within a negative context.
Even when Poole had his 40 pt game in the preseason, people rushed to criticize/downplay it. I even saw one person mentioning him having a meh plus minus (as if single game plus minus means absolutely anything). Then, when he has poor games in preseason they use it as evidence of his inefficiency. Yet, those same people rarely if ever talk about Klay's TS% being 3% lower.
"Beyond that, there are a few people who feel he may very well have said something unforgivable, that led to the punch."
I also think this is also BS. Firstly, it don't matter what he said, there is no justification for getting punched for it. Secondly, we know what he said to Draymond ("You're an expensive backpack for 30"). That is in no way bad enough to make Draymond's punch at least understandable. Anyone who punches in reaction to that has the emotional control of a five year old.
"I really haven't seen Poole getting trashed much just for being gone."
Then you've not been paying attention. I have, because its a general trend I generally see with fans. Saw it back when I was a Raiders fan, and I see it here as a Warriors fan.
I agree that what Draymond did was unacceptable. I would have rather they kept Poole, and let Draymond go (realizing that would probably mean no more titles).
I don't think we know for sure what Poole said ... I just saw that one report about it. But, it kind of doesn't matter, to me. To others, it does!
The rest of this, I don't really agree with (obviously).
If you had some specific evidence of where people had done Poole wrong, then we could discuss that. But, I doubt it would add up to general condemnation of Poole.
Some irritation, yes, some stuff over the line, undoubtedly. But, along with it, far more measured comments that are largely true.
With all due respect, I'm not going to search through every article to find/document instances of mentions of Poole and the negative framing/responses they entailed.
What I can tell you, is that this is a trend I've noticed from my time as a Raiders fan so I've become very sensitive to it. Then, I saw the same thing happening to KD and became even more sensitive to it. As a result, when I saw the same thing happening to Poole, I just began clocking it more and more where the vast majority of times mentioning Poole on this site have been in a negative light.
Who is the "Y'all" you are referring to here? Saying "you all" implies that these are at the very least consensus opinions, and they are anything but that.
I think Dray was an asshole about it but also think Poole had a bad case of the “Disease of More”. It’s hardly surprising for a 23 year old scorer, coming off a championship and getting the big deal.
I dont think it’s fan mob mentality to notice that.
Dude, you have to realize ridiculous framing of this.
Dray wasn't just an asshole, he physically assaulted a teammate, brought it up consistently in the media and trying to lowkey shift blame from himself, refused to have one on one chats with Poole to apologize. That goes beyond being an asshole, but a fully toxic human being in our locker room. The very opposite of being a leader.
However, instead of focusing on that, you focus on Poole having "the Disease of More". This is exactly an example of what I was talking about in my og post.
You’ve made up your mind. Cool. Not everybody sees things as black and white as you do. When you come on here to denounce people with differing opinions as “character assassinations”, it isn’t positively contributing to our culture, imo.
Yeah, because me saying trading Poole and keeping Draymond was the right thing to do from a winning perspective BUT thinking that the team/Draymond handled that situation absolutely terribly is a "black and white" position.
But please, continue to disingenuously try to dismiss my opinion by claiming its not nuanced.
There are ALWAYS more than two options. The excerpt says Steve Kerr tried to cajole Green into taking Poole to dinner. If Poole would have accepted the invitation he would have shown himself to be by far the bigger person. But the invitation never came.
Another option? Instead of Steve Kerr trying to cajole Green into taking Poole to dinner, Steve or Bob or Steph could have simply said this: "Dray, if you are going to be a man on this team, you have to be a big man hear and smooth this over. Everything you've earned here is on the line. Do it."
What is leadership if you can only lead when you are winning and you collapse into hysterics when you don't? That ultimatum would have been leadership. And that's a third option that for the Dubs was not just off the table. It was completely outside of their ability to imagine.
I agree with this, and unfortunately, no one is willing to take on Dray. Not Myers. Not Kerr. Not even Curry.
I can live with that. These are human beings with strengths and weaknesses, not superheroes. But it's sad, and it taints the team a bit for me. I'm still a fan. But I used to think this organization was a cut above other NBA teams. The handling of this incident and the signing of Lamb have been a cold splash of reality that has put the lie to the cut-above myth.
Yeah, I should know better at my age. But it still saddens me.
As for Poole, I wish him well. I had hoped that he would return to his best self in DC, but so far, I'm not seeing it. He's young and has time to steer a new course. But he also needs to.
Regarding Green, I want the best that he has to offer for this team, and I'll root for him to do it. But he's a sort of Dennis Rodman figure to me now. Brilliant on court and contributes a lot to winning but an enigmatic and ultimately unattractive figure. I won't be sorry when he hangs them up.
I think he's much worse than Rodman. If I recall correctly, Rodman never harmed a teammate or an opponent. He never blew a gasket and cost his team a title. He never barked and barked and barked at a key teammate so much tha he contributed to the teammate leaving in free agency. Rodman was colorful and odd, but he was no dummy, and he CERTAINLY was no "dish-it-out-but can't-take-it baby" like Dray is.
Poole thought he was ready to take a lead role in the organization… we’ll see how he does in Washington… he can work all he wants, be in the gym first, take this “military” approach that he’s talking about. He’s trying to say the right things over there, and we’ll see if it works out for him.
I suspect that for some Warriors fans, the memory of his play on the court this past year weighs in their mind. His play was not great.
As for KD, he left us. I’m not going to begrudge anybody feeling hurt by that. I was happy he was here, and sad he couldn’t find what he was looking for here. Wish him the best.
As the U2 song says, he still hasn't found what he's looking for. Sadly, I don't think Durant ever really knew what he wanted, and despite his considerable talent, fame, and money, isn't really all that happy. Hope I'm wrong.
The Wizards are nowhere near title contention and the management is highly suspect. So, its gonna be hard to see effective leadership there. Doubt that? Trade Steph for Poole straight up and then tell me you'll see if Steph is ready to take the lead in the organization by seeing how he does in DC. That would be an unfair way to judge Steph, just like it IS an unfair way to judge JP.
Having patience is a good idea. But WAS has been a questionable franchise for decades. They were last relevant in the 70's. Thus, even the most prodigious patience possible may not be enough.
"But WAS has been a questionable franchise for decades. They were last relevant in the 70's." Having grown up as a Baltimore/Washington Bullets fan from the franchise's move from Chicago (the Zephyrs) to Baltimore in 1963 until I moved west for good in 1980 (I lived in the west for several years before that), I will testify that this is the bitter truth.
Oct 23, 2023·edited Oct 23, 2023Liked by Eric Apricot
> Also, it sucks seeing DubNation HQ doing
Most people here, myself very much included, love KD and Poole from their respective times here, and wish them well when not playing us.
As with any website, anyone is free to sign up and comment, and some really terrible views have been shared at times. Calling that “DubNationHQ” as if that is broadly representative of the readership or staff is disingenuous.
Agreed. I don't like the continued use of "y'all" when there are clearly multiple opinions around here about everyone except Steph Curry. KD and Poole have plenty of fans here (I still like both guys quite a lot, they are Warriors champions) and Draymond has his share of detractors, and they are vocal.
Sorry, I know y'all (YEAH, I SAID IT) love him but I'm here to tell you, there's not even unanimity on Steph. For one, how many here believe he should become a professional golfer once he retires from the NBA? Betcha there will be anything from a few outlier opinions to a full on 50/50 split on that.
If someone doesn't believe Steph Curry is the greatest thing to ever happen to this franchise, I know I don't need to waste my time talking to them lol. Whatever he does post-playing career doesn't factor into my estimation here.
Oct 23, 2023·edited Oct 23, 2023Liked by Eric Apricot
> toxic loyalty (disguised as ‘fandom’)
Or you know, just slightly different opinions from yours or Arash’s?
Personally, I loved both JP and KD when they were here, and have rarely cast aspersions on either (I’d guess far less often in both cases than I have cast them on Dray). But I wouldn’t call anyone who thinks differently a toxic homer. DNHQ is not a monolith; people’s opinions tend to be nuanced and varied. If anything seems “toxic” to me, it’s the implication that anyone here is more of an independent thinker than anyone else.
Okay, maybe I misinterpreted then. To me “toxic loyalty disguised as ‘fandom” sounded close to “toxic homerism” and Arash’s comment (not yours) that “it sucks seeing DubNation HQ doing the player/character assassination” seemed to imply that “DNHQ” held monolithic beliefs.
I’d actually be more interested to know which posters in particular we’re talking about here, so they can defend themselves or add nuance as needed! 😊 But I agree, hating on KD and JP (to the extent that Dubs fans do it) is mean.
In related news: I expect we’ll see a big outpouring of love for KD on Tuesday night before tip-off.
Draymond Green, who suffered a sprained left ankle during off-season workouts and missed all five of the team’s preseason games, continues to make good progress.
He has been cleared to begin practicing with the team (5-on-5) and his return to game action will be based on his continued progress as he works his way into game-like condition.
Ive got the Warriors down for 48-54 wins and a top 2-3 seed in the West.
Slater said something on a pod that I agreed with, West is overrated. Maybe two other good to great teams in Denver and Phoenix and both with big question marks.
A bunch of average to good teams if everything works out, but who’s bottom drops if anything goes wrong.
I don’t think NOP will be very good even given good health. With a healthy Trey Murphy, they might get close to “pretty good,” but he’s apparently out for at least a couple more months. Their nominal primary creator CJ McCollum was pretty bad last season and pretty bad in preseason. Ingram looked like the worst player on Team USA. Zion doesn’t really play D.
In some other years I could see them as a solid #5-8 playoff seed, but given the depth of talent in the West this year, they look like an also ran to me.
Zion is the big question mark for them, and I’m not sure about their roster turnover from last year, but they did have the best record in the conference in December before injuries derailed them a bit…
Isn’t that just listing a bunch of average teams who could be good if everything works out?
I don’t think any of those teams are gonna win 49 games. So maybe there’s not a huge buffer but I don’t see how it’s harder to get to a top 2-3 then any other year?
It’s a bunch of good teams, it’s not really over rated, imo… if you want to be pessimistic on some of these teams, you can, but I can easily see at least 10 Western teams with 45 wins or more… l don’t agree with calling the West overrated. Every night is going to be hard. Maybe the WCF isn’t gonna have a juggernaut to go through, but there’s a bunch of good teams.
45-37 is usually a 5/6 seed… it’s not world beating, but it’s pretty good. There’s going to be injuries that derail somebody’s season, but I still think there’s going to be teams in the 9/10 play-in with 43 wins. It’s not top end talent in the west, but it’s a lot of good teams.
We can diverge on what makes a team good vs average, but if we can agree that they’re basically all 43-46 win teams then I still don’t see how that makes for a daunting conference. There’s been many years the West has been tougher then this.
Anyone else having trouble with DNHQ and Safari for Mac? Suddenly, I'm only seeing the "Continue Thread" button below each post (with no replies visible) and then when I click on the "Continue Thread" button nothing happens. I've cleared my cache, and restarted my computer to no avail. DNHQ works fine on Firefox.
Timpf new video: His breakdown of MVP odds has me considering putting money on Steph at +1500. He makes the point that players who player with another superstar, it’s really hard to win. https://youtu.be/ef4GF5xga9I?si=4X_LlJkyW6fvAoyo
Side question: is Hoops Tonight no longer with The Volume? Not seeing any of the branding and it doesn't appear in their list of channels anymore. Just curious.
[EDIT] Answering my own question, I missed it on The Volume's youtube page because it's at the top above all the rest. So apparently still with them.
I don't really agree that voters will "penalize" Tatum due to roster excellence. The historical issue is that superstars on teams split votes, but I don't see anyone else on Boston getting MVP votes unless Jaylen Brown has an unexpectedly excellent year. I'd say Tatum has to be the favorite, best team with the best record and nobody else on the team to split MVP votes with.
You think they'll go Jokic three years in a row? He's deserving MVP, but this seems to be an age in which they don't want someone to win more than twice in a row.
I don't think Tatum wins it unless Boston wins it all. Yeah, I know the MVP is supposed to be a regular season award. But it seems hard for performance in the playoffs to not influence in any way.
This is a safe space for discussion of Klay Thompson.
Here are the arguments you may offer, select up to five:
1. He’s a HOFer I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.
2. He’s fine. Preseason doesn’t matter.
3. He always starts slow.
4. But he’s just a bit slower every step. His defense looks worse every game. The eye test is worrisome
5. Then use your eyes to watch threes go in. Did you know last year was his best shooting year percentage wise? OK not exactly by the numbers but come on it's Klay.
6. Playing him a lot doesn’t leave space for younger player who could bring a jolt of energy and skills he doesn’t have. Moody GPII Kuminga could all play more.
I said they were arguments. I didn't say they were accurate.
I wasn't just trolling. What happened was that for a moment as I was posting I had that thought, then realized it was false, then went ahead and posted it anyway since I figured someone would. I'll edit though, you're right.
Happy "does Draymond make it through a 5 on 5 practice?" day. I'm not at all optimistic about them beating the Suns if he is out, but maybe JK will go out and dominate.
Patrick Baldwin Jr. — Baldwin had the chance to put some positives on film and force the coaches to make a difficult decision about whether to keep him on the 15-man roster or send him to the G League. He made it easy — 0-5 from the floor. For a guy reputed to be an excellent shooter, he doesn’t make many shots.
Me too. I'd like them all to succeed -- just not as much as the guys we have now. I'm rooting for Wiseman too but increasingly pessimistic about his chances.
Blech. I finally took a look at our schedule. We did not get any favors from the schedulers at the end of the season.
Starting on March 24, we have a seven game road swing (Minn, Miami, Orlando, Charlotte, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston).
Then one home game against Utah.
Then a two game road trip (LAL, Portland) ... that finishes on April 11.
And then the first game after that is the back end of a road/home back to back (on April 12, against NOP). In case you're counting, that's 20 days with either travel or a game!
After that, we have two whole days (count' em) to recover before the end of the season.
I know every team has at least one of these death marches, but I like it when we get them out of the way early, and can rest up in March and April.
Hope we can stay out of the play-in tourney and get a few extra days of rest before the playoffs.
Denver plays in a different city for 16 games in a row between 11/8 and 12/14… and that’s not counting the tournament games that will come in here. Portland doesn’t have such a bad stretch, but it’s I’m sure more common than just a few teams. LAL have a similar stretch…
Tough in terms of miles but likely only 3-4 of those teams are making serious playoff pushes. That doesn't guarantee any easy wins but it is not as bad as finishing against the elites teams in either conference.
I’m much more worried about the beginning of the season… tough home opener and a long road stretch against good teams… getting to 5-5 is gonna count as a big win in my book.
Yeah ... thinking about it some more ... at least that gives us most of the season to integrate the new guys completely. Barring injuries (knock on wood), we might have a lot of effective depth by March. Still, I'd rather have the rest.
100% agreed with CP3 off the bench, for all the reasons noted. If they’re going to tinker with the OG starting lineup (which I’d tread carefully with), I’d sooner start Jon, Moses, or even Dario than Chris.
Agreed - barring injury he needs to be coming off the bench. And if a starter is hurt that plays a different role, it would be nice if he understood that ... he's still coming off the bench. Only want to see him in the starting lineup if Steph is sitting.
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...
For some reason I just cannot believe Domantas Sabonis is 7'0.
Ok, from 5'0 down he seems like a typical 7 footer, but those top 2 feet just look like your average middle schooler.
How do we really know he is not just some Iron Man Science Fair product of a really intelligent 14 year old?
Even if he’s close to 7’-0” in head height (guessing he’s more like 6’-9.5” in bare feet?) he’s got a relatively stumpy 6’-11” wingspan. Gotta think Loon’s five inch edge in wingspan was a big part of his ability to own Domas in last year’s playoffs.
If
Wiggins - 2
Klay- 4
Draymond-5
So CP3 and Steph-1 or 2
Which position will Kevon Looney play?
5
Yes of course!
(It’s right there on his jersey!)
CP3 will probably swap in to start for Steph or Klay occasionally, but the core starting lineup will be: Loon, Dray, Wiggs, and the guards.
Finishing lineup: probably swap CP3 for Looney (though I'm hoping not, just to avoid wear and tear on Dray).
Egyptian pharoah.
Yeah… no. Dray can’t start and finish at center. Kerr is definitely speaking to his team in those comments, they’re not meant to be understood by the likes of us.
Then I agree with NightNight better to keep last year’s starting line up. The team needs Kevon.
NUMBERS OF PLAYERS 6’8” OR TALLER…Meaningful?
Nuggets 10
Raptors, Jazz, Suns, Spurs, Lakers 8
Clippers 6
Portland 5
Warriors 4
We'll see if the Ws can run some of their tall guys off the court.
If we correctly count Wemby as equal to three players over 6' 8", then the Spurs are up to 11. #spinaltap
They're not including Garuba, I guess, just Kevon, JK, TJD, Dario.
We had 5 on the regular roster last season. We were pretty small for a couple of seasons before that. If you go back to 2018-19, we had 7 at 6'8" and over (KD, Jerebko, Kevon, Cousins, Bell, Bogut, Damien Jones) but Bogues hardly played. The season before that, we had 9 (KD, Zaza, Kevon, Bell, Boucher, Casspi, JaVale, DWest, and DJones). But Jones and Boucher rarely played.
NBA lists Kuminga at 6’7”, so it’s likely him that’s not being included.
Ah, okay, Basketball Ref lists him at 6'8". But we all know he's really 7'3", right? 😉
Yes, I see. However, it’s most of the teams in the west have collected taller and taller players, except for the Warriors. I don’t know if it’s meaningful.
I saw some conflicting reports about DG being cleared to practice tomorrow vs. actually practicing today. He did practice 5 on 5 according to SF Chron's CJ Holmes:
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green participated in 5-on-5 drills on Sunday for the first time since suffering a left lateral ankle sprain in an offseason workout.
“We didn’t scrimmage for long, but he did play and it’s good for him to get out there and great for us to have him back,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He just adds such a competitive force to our team and his IQ is just off the charts. So even having him in practice, going through all the drills, the team benefits from his presence.”
He will be listed as questionable for Tuesday’s season opener against Phoenix at Chase Center and the team said his return to action will be based on his continued progress as he works his way into game-like conditioning.
“I do feel good,” Green said. “I don’t feel all the way 100% myself, but I’m getting there. To be 3½ weeks or so removed (from the injury), I’ll take it … If I’m ready on Tuesday I’ll be ready to go. And if not, I don’t think it will be much longer after that. Right now we’ll see. It’s up in the air depending on how I come out of today.”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/warriors-draymond-green-slowed-ankle-injury-18441302.php
Also, as expected, it sound like the issue is getting into game shape, rather than any issues with the ankle at this point, which is good progress
Sounds like he would be coming off the bench, then… JK or CP starting, then? I have to think it’ll be JK…
I would rather JK start the opener but expect it will be CP3 given the preseason starters. Once Draymond is healthy, I hope to see the same starters as last season (with Wiggs). That gives us a damn good bench.
FWIW, JK started the "dry run" game against the Kings, with CP3 moved to the bench.
True, and a hopeful sign.
Very interesting article on the Poole/Draymond situation . . .
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/10/19/23922747/jordan-poole-washington-wizards-2023-nba-season-draymond-green-warriors
Some interesting tidbits . . .
"Before last season, Poole had a sibling-like bond with Green, who enlisted himself as Poole’s mentor and fiercest defender soon after the 28th pick in the 2019 draft arrived in Golden State. “It’s really a big brother, little brother relationship,” Poole told me in the fall of 2021. When veterans complained about Poole’s shot selection or propensity to trash talk in scrimmages (who felt he hadn’t earned the right to be brash), Green, sensing a kinship, would come to his defense."
I must admit, if this is true, the vets are acting like absolute bitches who can't take trash talk. That is part of the game, and just because you are the top dogs in an organization doesn't mean you should try and control how others express themselves. With that being said, complaining about his shot selection is fine even though I wish they'd sit down and have that same talk with Klay.
"In the days, weeks, and months after Green and Poole’s training-camp scuffle, their relationship changed . . . Green released a mini documentary in which the forward expressed regret about the situation, but didn’t offer an apology. The divide widened as Green, who declined comment for this story, accepted several invitations to speak on the situation during last season, but never spoke with Poole directly, angering many within Poole’s inner circle. According to Warriors officials, head coach Steve Kerr made several attempts to convince Green to take Poole to dinner, to smooth over their relationship, but Green declined. Those around the situation now believe the lack of disciplinary action—other than an undisclosed fine—and the inability of anyone on the Warriors to repair the fractured relationship soured the team’s season. Poole became isolated, left to balance his personal goals with the team’s, widening the chasm between the Warriors core and the young prospects tasked with prolonging the dynasty. Poole’s determination to prove he was worthy of carrying the torch led to on-court mistakes that left teammates and coaches befuddled."
The vets are being bitches?
If Draymond can't take it when guys talk trash, maybe /he/ should stop. It's ludicrous that he gets under other guys' skin as a matter of personal policy but can't deal with it when someone does it to him. The guy is a great player and an important one to this team, but being so brittle does not reflect well on him.
Sure, but he wasn't referring to Draymond here. NO ONE is defending Draymond for punching Poole.
He's referring to the unnamed vets (as bitches) who reportedly complained about Poole's trash talk in practice.
Draymond has been trash talked by some of the best trash-talkers in the league, such as Pat Bev and KD. He was able to take it as well as dish it out. There had to be a lot more to the JP situation than trash talk.
Absolutely, if they can't take trash talk and complain that he hasn't earned the right to be brash, than they are being bitches of the highest order.
Of the highest order!
Maybe he can just be annoying and sometimes they say so.
If you're going to take issue with what I said, how about we not make up stuff and stick to what was reported?
What was reported was "veterans complained about . . . (Pooles) propensity to trash talk in scrimmages". There is nothing there about being annoying and sometimes saying so.
Talking trash is a time honored tradition in basketball and to complain about it, especially using as crappy a justification as "he hasn't earned the right to be brash" would be the height of bitchery.
What was reported is a vague description. We don’t know what was said, to whom, and what they said back.
So you should really unstick yourself from the assumptions you’re building based on that vague description.
By the way it’s described I think my guess is much better than yours, but more importantly, I know I’m just guessing. Because there’s no real info here
I think the Warriors made the right decision getting rid of Poole because him/Dray on the same team would have destroyed chemistry and Dray is the second most important player on our team by far who carries our defense. Draymond has always been my favorite player on the Warriors (I love Klay as well). However, the more I learn about Dray and this situation, the more I realize he's just a fucking asshole.
Also, it sucks seeing DubNation HQ doing the player/character assassination it often does to former players. Y'all do it to KD downplaying the time he spent here, shitting on how good he is, and disrespecting a man who played/got injured trying to get us our third final and y'all act as if he aint deserving of a statute. Now you guys are doing it to Poole, acting as if he was a cancer on this team when it was the team who failed him. Sure, he didn't always put 100% effort on defense but Klay also jacks up insane shots on the regular and y'all don't castigate him. I hate this fan mob mentality that shits on players when they leave. It happens far too often imho.
I don't think KD comes in for much criticism here, certainly not for his game. Maybe there's some whining about the 1+1 contracts but I think most of us wish it had been otherwise but figure that's his business. He was awesome to watch, still is. KD gets a lot of love at DNHQ. Some looked askance at his going to the Nets to play with Kyrie because Kyrie is a piece of work. Had he gone there to play with a less controversial teammate, it wouldn't have been such a big deal. Now he's with the Suns, he's just a division rival, and I don't see personal criticism at DNHQ, other than commenting that the guy is kind of thin skinned in his social media posts (which he is).
JP still has a lot of fans here. He was a lot of fun to watch when he had it going, and he saved our bacon at times. On the other hand, he was a frustrating player because he didn't play defense and he did some dumb things on the court, like dribbling 1 on 4 and turning it over or falling down because we was out of control. He won't do that dumb stuff when he matures but that's the JP we had.
I can't know what really happened between JP and Draymond or what went on between him and the vets in the locker room but it's over now. Continuing to argue about that whole mess is flogging a dead horse. CP3 brings us different things than JP, and maybe he's a better fit this year, but we'll miss what JP might have become here in time. I wish JP all the luck as long as he's not playing against us. As Timpf said, Wizards games will be fun to watch even when they lose.
Now, about "Klay also jacks up insane shots on the regular and y'all don't castigate him." Surely you cannot be serious! Klay comes in for heavy criticism at DNHQ for his shot selection. Nobody is criticized more for that, not even JP. Of course when the crazy shots are going in, people will say it's "a good shot for Klay or Steph and a bad shot for other players." That's how fans are everywhere. But Klay is beloved even when he's missing because he's Klay, and he has earned it.
> Reposted from the other thread since the discussion is here:
I think people here are mostly keeping an eye on Poole because they like him. Certainly that's the case with me.
You can still be fond of Poole, and realize that he may not have been the best fit on the team. There is no question he was an offense-only kind of player.
I think he'll be a lot of fun on Washington, which has no real title hopes. It's an open question to whether he can be the number 1/number 2 guy on a team with title aspirations.
Beyond that, there are a few people who feel he may very well have said something unforgivable, that led to the punch.
I really haven't seen Poole getting trashed much just for being gone. Some, yes, but a very small amount. Mostly, the criticisms are specific and justified.
> Reposted from the other thread since the discussion is here:
"I think people here are mostly keeping an eye on Poole because they like him."
With all due respect, I think thats BS. The vast majority of time, whenever people mention Poole, I've almost always seen it within a negative context.
Even when Poole had his 40 pt game in the preseason, people rushed to criticize/downplay it. I even saw one person mentioning him having a meh plus minus (as if single game plus minus means absolutely anything). Then, when he has poor games in preseason they use it as evidence of his inefficiency. Yet, those same people rarely if ever talk about Klay's TS% being 3% lower.
"Beyond that, there are a few people who feel he may very well have said something unforgivable, that led to the punch."
I also think this is also BS. Firstly, it don't matter what he said, there is no justification for getting punched for it. Secondly, we know what he said to Draymond ("You're an expensive backpack for 30"). That is in no way bad enough to make Draymond's punch at least understandable. Anyone who punches in reaction to that has the emotional control of a five year old.
"I really haven't seen Poole getting trashed much just for being gone."
Then you've not been paying attention. I have, because its a general trend I generally see with fans. Saw it back when I was a Raiders fan, and I see it here as a Warriors fan.
I agree that what Draymond did was unacceptable. I would have rather they kept Poole, and let Draymond go (realizing that would probably mean no more titles).
I don't think we know for sure what Poole said ... I just saw that one report about it. But, it kind of doesn't matter, to me. To others, it does!
The rest of this, I don't really agree with (obviously).
If you had some specific evidence of where people had done Poole wrong, then we could discuss that. But, I doubt it would add up to general condemnation of Poole.
Some irritation, yes, some stuff over the line, undoubtedly. But, along with it, far more measured comments that are largely true.
With all due respect, I'm not going to search through every article to find/document instances of mentions of Poole and the negative framing/responses they entailed.
What I can tell you, is that this is a trend I've noticed from my time as a Raiders fan so I've become very sensitive to it. Then, I saw the same thing happening to KD and became even more sensitive to it. As a result, when I saw the same thing happening to Poole, I just began clocking it more and more where the vast majority of times mentioning Poole on this site have been in a negative light.
You can believe me or not, its up to you.
Fair ... I have no interest in going and wading through it either.
Who is the "Y'all" you are referring to here? Saying "you all" implies that these are at the very least consensus opinions, and they are anything but that.
I think Dray was an asshole about it but also think Poole had a bad case of the “Disease of More”. It’s hardly surprising for a 23 year old scorer, coming off a championship and getting the big deal.
I dont think it’s fan mob mentality to notice that.
Dude, you have to realize ridiculous framing of this.
Dray wasn't just an asshole, he physically assaulted a teammate, brought it up consistently in the media and trying to lowkey shift blame from himself, refused to have one on one chats with Poole to apologize. That goes beyond being an asshole, but a fully toxic human being in our locker room. The very opposite of being a leader.
However, instead of focusing on that, you focus on Poole having "the Disease of More". This is exactly an example of what I was talking about in my og post.
I didn’t really focus on it at all.
I just agreed with one part of what you said and disagreed with another part.
You’ve made up your mind. Cool. Not everybody sees things as black and white as you do. When you come on here to denounce people with differing opinions as “character assassinations”, it isn’t positively contributing to our culture, imo.
Yeah, because me saying trading Poole and keeping Draymond was the right thing to do from a winning perspective BUT thinking that the team/Draymond handled that situation absolutely terribly is a "black and white" position.
But please, continue to disingenuously try to dismiss my opinion by claiming its not nuanced.
Where does somebody say that Dray/the team handled it unterribly?
There are ALWAYS more than two options. The excerpt says Steve Kerr tried to cajole Green into taking Poole to dinner. If Poole would have accepted the invitation he would have shown himself to be by far the bigger person. But the invitation never came.
Another option? Instead of Steve Kerr trying to cajole Green into taking Poole to dinner, Steve or Bob or Steph could have simply said this: "Dray, if you are going to be a man on this team, you have to be a big man hear and smooth this over. Everything you've earned here is on the line. Do it."
What is leadership if you can only lead when you are winning and you collapse into hysterics when you don't? That ultimatum would have been leadership. And that's a third option that for the Dubs was not just off the table. It was completely outside of their ability to imagine.
I agree with this, and unfortunately, no one is willing to take on Dray. Not Myers. Not Kerr. Not even Curry.
I can live with that. These are human beings with strengths and weaknesses, not superheroes. But it's sad, and it taints the team a bit for me. I'm still a fan. But I used to think this organization was a cut above other NBA teams. The handling of this incident and the signing of Lamb have been a cold splash of reality that has put the lie to the cut-above myth.
Yeah, I should know better at my age. But it still saddens me.
As for Poole, I wish him well. I had hoped that he would return to his best self in DC, but so far, I'm not seeing it. He's young and has time to steer a new course. But he also needs to.
Regarding Green, I want the best that he has to offer for this team, and I'll root for him to do it. But he's a sort of Dennis Rodman figure to me now. Brilliant on court and contributes a lot to winning but an enigmatic and ultimately unattractive figure. I won't be sorry when he hangs them up.
I think he's much worse than Rodman. If I recall correctly, Rodman never harmed a teammate or an opponent. He never blew a gasket and cost his team a title. He never barked and barked and barked at a key teammate so much tha he contributed to the teammate leaving in free agency. Rodman was colorful and odd, but he was no dummy, and he CERTAINLY was no "dish-it-out-but can't-take-it baby" like Dray is.
"But he's a sort of Dennis Rodman figure to me now." Just so he doesn't befriend Kim Jong Un, I am okay with that. 😊
Poole thought he was ready to take a lead role in the organization… we’ll see how he does in Washington… he can work all he wants, be in the gym first, take this “military” approach that he’s talking about. He’s trying to say the right things over there, and we’ll see if it works out for him.
I suspect that for some Warriors fans, the memory of his play on the court this past year weighs in their mind. His play was not great.
As for KD, he left us. I’m not going to begrudge anybody feeling hurt by that. I was happy he was here, and sad he couldn’t find what he was looking for here. Wish him the best.
As the U2 song says, he still hasn't found what he's looking for. Sadly, I don't think Durant ever really knew what he wanted, and despite his considerable talent, fame, and money, isn't really all that happy. Hope I'm wrong.
The Wizards are nowhere near title contention and the management is highly suspect. So, its gonna be hard to see effective leadership there. Doubt that? Trade Steph for Poole straight up and then tell me you'll see if Steph is ready to take the lead in the organization by seeing how he does in DC. That would be an unfair way to judge Steph, just like it IS an unfair way to judge JP.
I’m not defining his success in WAS solely based on this year. if that’s how you’re reading my commentary, let that be a clarification.
Having patience is a good idea. But WAS has been a questionable franchise for decades. They were last relevant in the 70's. Thus, even the most prodigious patience possible may not be enough.
"But WAS has been a questionable franchise for decades. They were last relevant in the 70's." Having grown up as a Baltimore/Washington Bullets fan from the franchise's move from Chicago (the Zephyrs) to Baltimore in 1963 until I moved west for good in 1980 (I lived in the west for several years before that), I will testify that this is the bitter truth.
That’s super defeatist. If he can’t make them into a good team, there’s a big part of “why not?” that’s on his shoulders
They’d probably make the playoffs w Steph. Leadership and HOF talent would be the two big reasons why.
Yeah… that was a weird one…
> Also, it sucks seeing DubNation HQ doing
Most people here, myself very much included, love KD and Poole from their respective times here, and wish them well when not playing us.
As with any website, anyone is free to sign up and comment, and some really terrible views have been shared at times. Calling that “DubNationHQ” as if that is broadly representative of the readership or staff is disingenuous.
Agreed. I don't like the continued use of "y'all" when there are clearly multiple opinions around here about everyone except Steph Curry. KD and Poole have plenty of fans here (I still like both guys quite a lot, they are Warriors champions) and Draymond has his share of detractors, and they are vocal.
Sorry, I know y'all (YEAH, I SAID IT) love him but I'm here to tell you, there's not even unanimity on Steph. For one, how many here believe he should become a professional golfer once he retires from the NBA? Betcha there will be anything from a few outlier opinions to a full on 50/50 split on that.
If someone doesn't believe Steph Curry is the greatest thing to ever happen to this franchise, I know I don't need to waste my time talking to them lol. Whatever he does post-playing career doesn't factor into my estimation here.
Yeah and honestly, Klay *is* getting railed here. This place takes all types, thank goodness.
Yep. Its definitely not Groupthink State of Mind. Betcha there are more than a few refugees from there.
> toxic loyalty (disguised as ‘fandom’)
Or you know, just slightly different opinions from yours or Arash’s?
Personally, I loved both JP and KD when they were here, and have rarely cast aspersions on either (I’d guess far less often in both cases than I have cast them on Dray). But I wouldn’t call anyone who thinks differently a toxic homer. DNHQ is not a monolith; people’s opinions tend to be nuanced and varied. If anything seems “toxic” to me, it’s the implication that anyone here is more of an independent thinker than anyone else.
Okay, maybe I misinterpreted then. To me “toxic loyalty disguised as ‘fandom” sounded close to “toxic homerism” and Arash’s comment (not yours) that “it sucks seeing DubNation HQ doing the player/character assassination” seemed to imply that “DNHQ” held monolithic beliefs.
I’d actually be more interested to know which posters in particular we’re talking about here, so they can defend themselves or add nuance as needed! 😊 But I agree, hating on KD and JP (to the extent that Dubs fans do it) is mean.
In related news: I expect we’ll see a big outpouring of love for KD on Tuesday night before tip-off.
> I’d actually be more interested to know which posters in particular we’re talking about here, so they can defend themselves or add nuance as needed!
Same… but I also kind of suspect it’s hard to identify specific comments aimed at assassinating JP’s or KD’s characters…
From Warriors Threads account:
Draymond Green, who suffered a sprained left ankle during off-season workouts and missed all five of the team’s preseason games, continues to make good progress.
He has been cleared to begin practicing with the team (5-on-5) and his return to game action will be based on his continued progress as he works his way into game-like condition.
https://www.threads.net/@warriors/post/CytvmsDSO88
Very specific without telling us much.
He’s playing on opening night, imo
Might as well keep it secret either way till opening tap. Strategic advantage.
Need JK&MM to force Kerr to find minutes for them
They are… but they’ll be getting the 10-15min spots until they force Kerr’s hand
May they play well enough to do that very soon. That's a problem Kerr -- and we all -- need to have.
10 min YouTube on Klay and Loon in China. It does feature a classic Loon pump fake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2mNh0AaX68
This takes me to: NBA Season Preview: Warriors & Lakers could BEAT Nuggets + Can Steph Curry win MVP? | Hoops Tonight
Oops, sorry, fixed. Good thing that wasn't something more embarrassing :)
Ive got the Warriors down for 48-54 wins and a top 2-3 seed in the West.
Slater said something on a pod that I agreed with, West is overrated. Maybe two other good to great teams in Denver and Phoenix and both with big question marks.
A bunch of average to good teams if everything works out, but who’s bottom drops if anything goes wrong.
LAL, LAC, and NOP will be good if they have health.
MEM, SAC, MIN, DAL, and OKC will be good if they gel.
HOU, SAS, PDX, and UTA are a year away, but all should be somewhat competitive…
Only PDX and HOU should be “easy outs”…
Take Memphis with sad news that Adams is out for season?
I don’t think NOP will be very good even given good health. With a healthy Trey Murphy, they might get close to “pretty good,” but he’s apparently out for at least a couple more months. Their nominal primary creator CJ McCollum was pretty bad last season and pretty bad in preseason. Ingram looked like the worst player on Team USA. Zion doesn’t really play D.
In some other years I could see them as a solid #5-8 playoff seed, but given the depth of talent in the West this year, they look like an also ran to me.
Zion is the big question mark for them, and I’m not sure about their roster turnover from last year, but they did have the best record in the conference in December before injuries derailed them a bit…
Isn’t that just listing a bunch of average teams who could be good if everything works out?
I don’t think any of those teams are gonna win 49 games. So maybe there’s not a huge buffer but I don’t see how it’s harder to get to a top 2-3 then any other year?
It’s a bunch of good teams, it’s not really over rated, imo… if you want to be pessimistic on some of these teams, you can, but I can easily see at least 10 Western teams with 45 wins or more… l don’t agree with calling the West overrated. Every night is going to be hard. Maybe the WCF isn’t gonna have a juggernaut to go through, but there’s a bunch of good teams.
45 wins is barely above average
Welcome to league parity
45-37 is usually a 5/6 seed… it’s not world beating, but it’s pretty good. There’s going to be injuries that derail somebody’s season, but I still think there’s going to be teams in the 9/10 play-in with 43 wins. It’s not top end talent in the west, but it’s a lot of good teams.
We can diverge on what makes a team good vs average, but if we can agree that they’re basically all 43-46 win teams then I still don’t see how that makes for a daunting conference. There’s been many years the West has been tougher then this.
Meaning the Dubs will come out flat against PDX and HOU for one or two games and make it interesting.
Anyone else having trouble with DNHQ and Safari for Mac? Suddenly, I'm only seeing the "Continue Thread" button below each post (with no replies visible) and then when I click on the "Continue Thread" button nothing happens. I've cleared my cache, and restarted my computer to no avail. DNHQ works fine on Firefox.
Timpf new video: His breakdown of MVP odds has me considering putting money on Steph at +1500. He makes the point that players who player with another superstar, it’s really hard to win. https://youtu.be/ef4GF5xga9I?si=4X_LlJkyW6fvAoyo
Side question: is Hoops Tonight no longer with The Volume? Not seeing any of the branding and it doesn't appear in their list of channels anymore. Just curious.
[EDIT] Answering my own question, I missed it on The Volume's youtube page because it's at the top above all the rest. So apparently still with them.
I don’t quite understand why they decided to break off Timpf into his own channel. I don’t remember him explaining why
I love it because The Volume pumps out tons of NFL crap that overwhelms my YouTube feed.
This. I had to unsubscribe for this reasons.
He also talks about why no NBA video in the Q&A section; I know that came up here so worth a listen for anyone who wanted to know why.
I don't really agree that voters will "penalize" Tatum due to roster excellence. The historical issue is that superstars on teams split votes, but I don't see anyone else on Boston getting MVP votes unless Jaylen Brown has an unexpectedly excellent year. I'd say Tatum has to be the favorite, best team with the best record and nobody else on the team to split MVP votes with.
It’s gonna be Jokic or Tatum, imo
You think they'll go Jokic three years in a row? He's deserving MVP, but this seems to be an age in which they don't want someone to win more than twice in a row.
I don't think Tatum wins it unless Boston wins it all. Yeah, I know the MVP is supposed to be a regular season award. But it seems hard for performance in the playoffs to not influence in any way.
Embiid win this past year, and the MVP is awarded somewhere in the first round, so they can’t account for winning a championship in the award voting.
This is a safe space for discussion of Klay Thompson.
Here are the arguments you may offer, select up to five:
1. He’s a HOFer I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.
2. He’s fine. Preseason doesn’t matter.
3. He always starts slow.
4. But he’s just a bit slower every step. His defense looks worse every game. The eye test is worrisome
5. Then use your eyes to watch threes go in. Did you know last year was his best shooting year percentage wise? OK not exactly by the numbers but come on it's Klay.
6. Playing him a lot doesn’t leave space for younger player who could bring a jolt of energy and skills he doesn’t have. Moody GPII Kuminga could all play more.
7. We’re not starting Moody over Klay u idiot
8. Your dumb
OK it’s not that safe a space
My fav is #8. It's just sitting they're and no one noticed.
Whomp they’re it is
I agree with items 1-8.
Safe space? You live within 300 miles of Sab.
I look forward to finding out your car is on cinder blocks tomorrow
Kuminga and moody might not start over him this year but could as early as next year
And that could very well explain why the team is reluctant to give him an extension with starter numbers.
5. Define “shooting”, because unless you’re only talking about 3P% (while ignoring 2P% and efficiency), it most certainly was not his best season.
I said they were arguments. I didn't say they were accurate.
I wasn't just trolling. What happened was that for a moment as I was posting I had that thought, then realized it was false, then went ahead and posted it anyway since I figured someone would. I'll edit though, you're right.
9. He made more threes than anyone last year.
Happy "does Draymond make it through a 5 on 5 practice?" day. I'm not at all optimistic about them beating the Suns if he is out, but maybe JK will go out and dominate.
I'm just chalking it up as an L, and (effectively) the last preseason game. :)
No big deal, really. Without Dray, it's tough to see us winning against big teams, like PHO.
We beat Cleveland at their place with our B team, so there’s always a chance.
Meanwhile, former-Warrior Wizards had a rough game.
Friday, v Toronto, Poole was 1/15 and 0/6 from deep. Rollins hit 1/7 and Baldwin 0/5.
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2023/10/21/23926139/nba-wizards-raptors-preseason-ends-with-a-dud
Yikes:
Patrick Baldwin Jr. — Baldwin had the chance to put some positives on film and force the coaches to make a difficult decision about whether to keep him on the 15-man roster or send him to the G League. He made it easy — 0-5 from the floor. For a guy reputed to be an excellent shooter, he doesn’t make many shots.
Yeah…maybe that ankle dislocation really hurt his athleticism…
Me too. I'd like them all to succeed -- just not as much as the guys we have now. I'm rooting for Wiseman too but increasingly pessimistic about his chances.
Poole is going to be fine. Rollins and Baldwin Jr are super young, way too early to write them off.
But nobody owes them anything, so if they fall out of the rotation, they become one step away from being out of the league
Blech. I finally took a look at our schedule. We did not get any favors from the schedulers at the end of the season.
Starting on March 24, we have a seven game road swing (Minn, Miami, Orlando, Charlotte, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston).
Then one home game against Utah.
Then a two game road trip (LAL, Portland) ... that finishes on April 11.
And then the first game after that is the back end of a road/home back to back (on April 12, against NOP). In case you're counting, that's 20 days with either travel or a game!
After that, we have two whole days (count' em) to recover before the end of the season.
I know every team has at least one of these death marches, but I like it when we get them out of the way early, and can rest up in March and April.
Hope we can stay out of the play-in tourney and get a few extra days of rest before the playoffs.
We’ve also got a stretch of 10 home games and one road game between 12/19 and 1/10… there’s ebbs and flows to everybody’s season
> I know every team has at least one of these death marches
I wouldn’t count on it
Denver plays in a different city for 16 games in a row between 11/8 and 12/14… and that’s not counting the tournament games that will come in here. Portland doesn’t have such a bad stretch, but it’s I’m sure more common than just a few teams. LAL have a similar stretch…
Tough in terms of miles but likely only 3-4 of those teams are making serious playoff pushes. That doesn't guarantee any easy wins but it is not as bad as finishing against the elites teams in either conference.
I’m much more worried about the beginning of the season… tough home opener and a long road stretch against good teams… getting to 5-5 is gonna count as a big win in my book.
Yuck. Hoping we go into that placed high in the conference and use it to get some extra run from young legs.
Yeah ... thinking about it some more ... at least that gives us most of the season to integrate the new guys completely. Barring injuries (knock on wood), we might have a lot of effective depth by March. Still, I'd rather have the rest.
Tim Kawakami explains why the Dubs are guaranteed to win another title this season. At least that’s what I remember reading.
https://theathletic.com/4974950/2023/10/20/warriors-title-contenders-chris-paul/
The athletics is letting me give away 5 one month passes so if anyone wants a free one month pass, lmk. Does substack have DM?
I thought it was a fair and balanced view. It is going to be a slog for everybody in the West this season. It will come down to health and luck.
100% agreed with CP3 off the bench, for all the reasons noted. If they’re going to tinker with the OG starting lineup (which I’d tread carefully with), I’d sooner start Jon, Moses, or even Dario than Chris.
Agreed - barring injury he needs to be coming off the bench. And if a starter is hurt that plays a different role, it would be nice if he understood that ... he's still coming off the bench. Only want to see him in the starting lineup if Steph is sitting.