Helpful hint: Every commenter’s name is a link that leads back to the original comment.

On Anthony Lamb

Eric Apricot: The whole Anthony Lamb situation is distressing. He’s not accused in a criminal court where facts can be established and arguments made and rebutted, so it is hard to say that he definitively must not be on the team. But the current state of what is known makes it impossible for me to pull for him. I don’t have any good solutions for anyone.

My own reaction has been a soft boycott on covering him. I only include him in play analysis and articles when I absolutely have to and I have not done any videos or articles focusing on his play (everyone else on the team has headlined a video). This is a pretty ineffectual stance, but I don’t have a better one.

• MyŠarūnas (15 ♡):

  This is fair and thoughtful. I have a lot of strong feelings here - I am a sexual assault survivor and feminist, but also my son was charged with sexual assault in Canada. It was a really dark year, but the government prosecutor (female and well-regarded feminist legal leader) dropped the case days before trial. I won't go into the accuser's b.s., but it was also centered on post-breakup sex with very different feelings and perspectives from the two afterwards. I can't know about Lamb's behavior, but it's healthy practice to keep in mind that there are at least some false or confused accusers. (tldr: Innocent until proven guilty)

• GlueAndBold (12 ♡):

  He is accused of rape. He has denied it. I think we are all against rape, so it’s understandable that when seemingly credible allegations emerge about one of our team’s players, many fans will be revulsed by that. Not trying to start something. Just defending BB’s words as not just being a “personal moral itinerary.” I think Lamb is a good player and for basketball reasons understand this decision. I also wish he weren’t on the team. Those two realities can co-exist.

• GreenDray (8 ♡):

  Agree with the sentiment, but he has not been accused of rape in the legal sense, instead he is named in a lawsuit against a 3rd party. If he were accused, he would have the right to defend himself and prove (or fail to do so) his innocence in court. He would also be off the team in meantime while the case against him is pending. If not convicted, he could then resume his career.

  As it stands, the only recourse he has is to deny the alleged facts, and that's what he has done.

• Duby Dub Dubs (11 ♡):

  Much love Sleepy.

  Lamb is fine on the court. My main issue is off the court. Seems like an odd fit with the Warriors supposedly strong culture of values

  • Sleepy Freud (9 ♡):

    Ahhhh, that makes total sense. I was going to say I totally understood if that was the reason, but since you didn't mention it explicitly, I didn't want to infer too much.

    Personally, I'm on the "innocent till actually charged" train, partly cos Tony seems like a sweet and softspoken dude and I like his cerebral and unselfish game, but also I'm sure because I'm just a shameless and immoral Warrior laundry-supporter. I'd still quit him if the details were more clearly inculpatory, but from what I've read they seem just uncertain enough for me to presume innocence. If I can still root for Dray with his history of homophobic tweets, infantile on-court behavior, and a dangerous physical assault of a teammate, I think I can be similarly, er, morally flexible for Tony. (Which I guess just makes me doubly immoral, but...)

Warriors still on track in “Killer Eight…

The slightly bigger picture

• Asher B. (10 ♡):

  Dear Warriors players,

  I'm not mad, honest. I know that I said some things, and now we haven't really been talking for a little while. And I just kind of wish we could go back to the way things were when we were winning a lot and playing defense, and like, not being putrid turds on the road. Damn, I'm sorry, I think I maybe just did it again. My therapist told me to write this letter to you so I wouldn't be so impulsive when we talk, but the frustration just boils up. It's YOUR faul-- no, no, no, I'm trying to learn better. It's *my* fault. I have to learn to control my own frustrat-- BUT ALSO COULD YOU JUST WIN A COUPLE ROAD GAMES IS THAT SO MUCH --

  I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Don't you remember how it used to be? You would win a lot, I would root for you, I would bore my family about you, I adored you and I think you had a special place in your heart for me. It was all so simple back then, you know? I just wish I knew where it all went wrong between us. Also I'm sorry for when I threw things at the screen and called you the worst road team in history, and said that the worst road trip ever would be with because you'd hog all the best snacks and then get lost and blame me. That was also not cool of me to say. It's not entirely true. I don't know. I just wish we could just go back to the way things were.

  Signed,

  Your Ex

• Alas Phood Fight (9 ♡):

  I actually thought last night's game was a good game. They lost, but they are obviously competing for 48 minutes which seems to me a recent development. Then again, one key member thought it was more important to compete with Russel Westbrook's head than play in Atlanta. I think we win that game with Dray in the lineup. The Dubs are playing with fire. Anything can happen at this point. I'm guessing they get in, but stranger things have happened. If Looney turns an ankle, we could be looking at a quick exit and the 14th pick in the draft. Fingers crossed. This is gonna be a bumpy airplane landing.

• TwoRingTest (8 ♡):

  Dear Asher,

  While we are sorry for your frustration, we feel this is not entirely our fault.

  We have tried winning games in many different styles. Recently, in order to get more practice on defense, we have started giving the ball away to the other team. Really, it's just an attempt to get better by getting as many reps on our weak point (transition defense) as possible.

  We feel this learning experience has already paid dividends, as we were able to cut the number of points we gave up to Atlanta from 71 in the first half to a mere 56 in the second half! That's a 22% improvement in one half. Our stats guy is predicting that by the end of the season we will be giving up 0.64 points per half. He figured it out on his abacus.

  And while you may feel that you are on the rebound, we have also felt that we needed more rebounding practice. Hence we enacted a 'thou shalt jack up shots from random points on the court' policy. This has resulted in a much larger volume of rebounding opportunities, and we feel has already paid some dividends. We do admit, however, that this is a work in progress.

  As far as being the worst road team ever, we very politely point out that you and your DNHQ brothers and sisters are currently sporting an 0 for 3.5 million record while throwing things at the TV. We have not seen one spitball even make to the floor at Chase, much less touch the rim.

  So, glass houses, stones ... speaking of which, where did Klay leave the rolling paper?

Can the Warriors fix it in Atlanta?

Also: Ugh. Lamb?

• Eric Apricot (13 ♡):

  A bunch of teams plummeting to their doom and some of them hit awnings and trees along the way and end up higher than others. THAT’S THE DREAM

• AttilaTheHun (10 ♡):

  "Wasting Looney's prime."

• Abaddon (10 ♡):

  I'm mildly optimistic that because the game is early, even if it ends poorly I have time afterwards to do something I will enjoy and not just go to bed sad and depressed :p

• Goofus (10 ♡):

  Given the statistics about false rape accusations (VERY low) and the subsequent actions by the accuser (suing the school for a coverup), this doesn’t stink of a money grab. I’ve been really uncomfortable with this whole situation and it’s hardly a proud moment in Warriorsland.

• ServantOfLuna (8 ♡):

  Strong quote from Donte DiVincenzo: "On the road, we get down on ourselves a little too quickly because we don't have Chase Center behind us... I think we're trending in the right direction, but we need to speed it up because we're running out of time."

C.J. Holmes 🚀 @CjHolmes22

Strong quote from Donte DiVincenzo: "On the road, we get down on ourselves a little too quickly because we don't have Chase Center behind us... I think we're trending in the right direction, but we need to speed it up because we're running out of time."

3:19 AM ∙ Mar 18, 2023

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1,975Likes166Retweets

• Ilikefoodtrucks (8 ♡):

  I'm ok with not winning a chip or not getting very far in the postseason IF DUBS PLAY GOOD BASKETBALL. Watching stupid shit is frustrating. And I don't mean a few bad games for the team or an individual player, it is the pattern of dumb that is killing me. Plus the shit calls, I admit that irks me too.

• Sleepy Freud (7 ♡):

  So, Duby, my friend ... Steph, who currently ranks #143 in the league with 1530 minutes played, and looks as strong and spry physically as we've ever seen him (knocking wood!), is "wearing down" because, sore left thumb?

  @okay.@

  I also don't get the Tony Lamb hate (or indifference?) In over 1000 minutes, the dude is averaging 12.6 pts / 6.1 reb / 3.1 ast / 1.7 tov per 36 minutes on .616 true shooting, with a net +0.2 on-off — the only Warrior rotation player who hasn't been a net negative this season other than the five starters and Donte. Understands Kerrball, sets great screens with his widebody, makes smart/unselfish decisions with ball, knocks down open threes, is reasonably switchable #2-4, and gets after on D and on the glass.

  So ... what's the issue? If it's annoyance that they held off guaranteeing him earlier in order to save a few bucks, I totally get that, and have expressed same — but that issue has now been resolved, so we should be happy ... right? Can we get a "Welcome Back, Tony!!!"

  Generally, it seems like there's a lot of free floating anxiety in the OP being directed in odd places. By far the biggest issue with the team right now is the absence of Wiggs, which no one could have foreseen. The OG starting five remains the best in the league statistically (+23.4 points per 100 possessions), and a core bench of JP, Payton, Donte, Kuminga, Lamb, JMyke is .... not that bad? Honestly, the weakest link this season might be JP, who has regressed significantly from last season, but that was also unforeseeable. And you also never know when he's gonna catch a late-season heater and start to resemble the dude who lit up the play-in games two years ago, and put up a ridiculous .654 TS in last year's playoffs.

  The home-road splits remain hella weird, but I mean, stop the presses? With all due awe for the greatness of you and SoL, the detailed stats breakdown is also just a long way of saying "29-7 at home, 7-27 on the road." In graphic form, the chart reinforces the exact conclusion great Ringer piece from a couple days ago — it's the crazy 3FG% variance. All the other numbers flow naturally from that. I mean, NBA teams almost always have a fairly pronounced home-road split (even in Kerr's halcyon first two seasons, the team was only a modest 62-20 on the road, and ... wait for it ... 78-4 at home, lol). But the extremity of the split this season can be traced largely to being #2 in opponent 3FG% at home and #29 on the road, despite (according to second spectrum data) substantially similar shot quality.

  https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/3/15/23640401/golden-state-warriors-2023-home-road-splits

  Anyway, TLDR: this one ain't gonna be easy with no Wiggs or Dray and the Hawks chasing a playoff spot, but LGW!

Warriors fall to Clippers despite Curry's 50…

Get these dudes back to Chase Center ASAP!

• Truckeeman (8 ♡):

  Thanks, Daniel, for a balanced perspective after a tough loss. You and your pals do a great job with these regular write ups, when I am curled up whimpering for hours after....

  Watching the game, I didn't think our defense was terrible. I thought our defensive rebounding was terrible, giving up too many 2nd and 3rd opportunities, which often got cashed in. Westbrook regularly got into the lane and out-positioned and out-jumped three or four Warriors.

  Our dumb turnovers (12 in the first half alone!) were also problematic.

  Last, our failure to pay off the officials in the third quarter was also a source of our woes. Bob and Steve have to figure out how to get them to call the same fouls for our team that they do for the other.

Kuminga probable, and Warriors need all the…

Still trying to figure out their issues on the road, Golden State heads into an important game against the Clippers

• Dilly (18 ♡):

  The Warriors need road wins so the kittens don't learn more bad words. Simple as that.

• Captain Jack (16 ♡):

  At least Andre's last game of his playing career ended in a win where he played well.

• Captain Jack (12 ♡):

  " Fans are always saying if they can do this, or if they can do that. Talk, talk. Fans love to talk. "

  Kind of the point for a platform like this IMO...

• belilaugh (11 ♡):

  The toll that a game like this must take on Draymond is huge. Can't believe the way the Warriors have handled the big position as he ages.

• TwoRingTest (11 ♡):

  > The league did not conclude the gun at issues was belonged to Morant, was brought by him into the nightclub or was displayed by him beyond a brief period. The investigation also did not find that Morant possessed the gun while travelling with the team ...

  The league in fact believes that an NRA gun fairy named "Tinkerbell Ted Nugent" brought the gun to the club and gave it to Ja in exchange for a warm handshake.

• DFiB (10 ♡):

  Not to look ahead too much, but I discovered that Steph, Dray, and Klay have won 22 playoff series together. Duncan, Parker, Ginobili won 27 together. Here's hoping our Dubs can stay together and have another few deep playoff runs together to get our guys past those guys as the winningest playoff trio in NBA history.

• Abaddon (10 ♡):

  What in the World Is Going on With the Warriors’ Home-Road Splits? | The Ringer: https://www.theringer.com/platform/amp/nba/2023/3/15/23640401/golden-state-warriors-2023-home-road-splits

  • Eric Apricot (5 ♡):

    This is a good breakdown. A lot of it can be explained with bad luck (and good luck at home), some by personnel absences, some by worse play…

    Six road losses at the season start were with the disastrous bench squad.

    We’ve had a lot of annoying blown endings this year, but I can’t remember how many were on the road (sorry I try to recall but just see a white light)

• DFiB (5 ♡):

  I was writing the same thing:

  Looney is a much better comp for PBJ. PBJ is probably still somewhat recovering from the ankle injury and is also still growing into his body, so his athleticism may improve somewhat, but he is NOWHERE NEAR Dray's (or KD's) athleticism. Dray can still stay in front of the fastest guards remarkably well. His speed, balance, and lateral movement is elite. PBJ will never be able to do that.

  If PBJ can develop his BBIQ and learn how Looney consistently stays in front of guys well enough, he's gonna be a real force in this league as a "stretch 5" that can open the floor for Kuminga.

Warriors knock off Suns to stay in the thick…

HERE WE GO WARRIORS, HERE WE GO!

• stopnpop (19 ♡):

  Dalton Johnson

  @DaltonJ_Johnson

  Donte DiVincenzo says he and Gary Payton II talk during almost every timeout about what GP2 would do defensively

  “It’s going to be super fun playing full court with him.”

  -----

  I may or may not have secreted extra bodily fluids...

• Aaannnd1 (18 ♡):

  Damian Lillard just gave an interview to JJ Redick in which he said he is tired of the NBA which is so focused on winning a championship rather than focusing on the efficacy and enjoyment of play during the regular season. Of course, he said, everyone wants to win a championship. But to dismiss the regular season and all that can happen, to him, is spoiling NBA for him. Interesting perspective on living in, focusing on, the now rather than only focusing on the then. He also said he hasn’t been interested in what people say about him. He said part of the reason for this is that he has a life. He said again…..I have a life. And then he went on to focus on stability of his relationships in the generations of his family, and in the types of friends he has.

• Alex (17 ♡):

  the mischaracterization of koalas as bears and their subsequent use in awful puns is truly a global panda mick

• stopnpop (10 ♡):

  > overreact to some grisly losses

  I can't bear the losing anymore. We will not koala-fy for the playoffs at this rate.

• Captain Jack (10 ♡):

  People are forgetting Wiggins is really good at playing his role and complementing the team perfectly. He doesn't get in the way, he just does his job at a super high level and never makes mistakes. We don't have his full time replacement right now. JK will be super good in the future IMO but he's not ready for a big role in the playoffs yet. You can't get away with young players mistakes on the big stage. We need Wiggins back and rolling to beat the truly elite teams.

• fzwinter (9 ♡):

  Loved Andre's aggressiveness last night on offense. He's much more valuable out there if he is seen as at least a potential threat. The hard drive to the hoop with the look of a dunk attempt that turned into an and-1 layup when he lost control of the ball was pretty hilarious. As long as the defense has to pay some attention to him, he can help on that side of the court. And it was great to see him check into the game to stabilize the guys when things were looking a little shaky out there.

  Along with the extra minutes given Moody over the past two games, I think we see why the Dubs are not planning to give a regular roster spot to Lamb, at least not until the end of the regular season (barring injuries).

Explain: Andre Iguodala turns back the clock…

I hope Andre got placed back in the stem cell chamber after the game

• Truckeeman (18 ♡):

  Nice clip of Chris Paul fouling Steph 3 times on Steph's drive to the hoop. There's a reason Paul is not beloved by Warriors' fans.

• Ilikefoodtrucks (18 ♡):

  That clip. This is why I go bonkers when they call soft fouls on Steph. Sure, yes, NBA refs, they are fouls he commits and your little 2minute reports can name them, but man does he go through the 36 chambers of Shaolin to get to the hoop.

• b.p. (18 ♡):

  I think Andre learned his lesson after that last one; he's still allowed to dunk, but now he has to hang on the rim until All his momentum is gone.

  And I think we'd all appreciate it if he let Kevon help him down from there, too.

• TwoRingTest (13 ♡):

  > Chris Paul managed to be voted head of the Players Association

  I think they just figured that if he's that annoying on the court to us, how annoying is he going to be to the owners in a boardroom?

• Asher B. (11 ♡):

  1. I don't know how Chris Paul managed to be voted head of the Players Association and simultaneously piss off every player in the league.

  2. I thought Eric said "Steph-back," and when you think about it, WHY IN THE WORLD do we not call it that yet??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH US????

  3. The Warriors keep getting asked why they suck on the road so much. How come no ever asks them, "Why are you so dominant at home? Only Denver has a better home record and they play without oxygen. How are you doing it? You're a GREAT TEAM!"

  4. Eric is the greatest play breakdown analyst ever; but I think we can figure out the intricacies and team concepts involved in a wide-open dunk all by ourselves. Only Iguodala gets this kind of treatment and BY GOD HE'S EARNED IT.

• crusty quips (10 ♡):

  Nice to see Andre kick off the "making his detractors look foolish" tour, just in time for the final handful of games before the playoffs. Very glad the team learned last year's lesson and didn't over-exert him early in the season.

Warriors knock off Suns to stay in the thick…

HERE WE GO WARRIORS, HERE WE GO!

• stopnpop (19 ♡):

  Dalton Johnson

  @DaltonJ_Johnson

  Donte DiVincenzo says he and Gary Payton II talk during almost every timeout about what GP2 would do defensively

  “It’s going to be super fun playing full court with him.”

  -----

  I may or may not have secreted extra bodily fluids...

• Aaannnd1 (18 ♡):

  Damian Lillard just gave an interview to JJ Redick in which he said he is tired of the NBA which is so focused on winning a championship rather than focusing on the efficacy and enjoyment of play during the regular season. Of course, he said, everyone wants to win a championship. But to dismiss the regular season and all that can happen, to him, is spoiling NBA for him. Interesting perspective on living in, focusing on, the now rather than only focusing on the then. He also said he hasn’t been interested in what people say about him. He said part of the reason for this is that he has a life. He said again…..I have a life. And then he went on to focus on stability of his relationships in the generations of his family, and in the types of friends he has.

• Alex (17 ♡):

  the mischaracterization of koalas as bears and their subsequent use in awful puns is truly a global panda mick

• stopnpop (10 ♡):

  > overreact to some grisly losses

  I can't bear the losing anymore. We will not koala-fy for the playoffs at this rate.

• Captain Jack (10 ♡):

  People are forgetting Wiggins is really good at playing his role and complementing the team perfectly. He doesn't get in the way, he just does his job at a super high level and never makes mistakes. We don't have his full time replacement right now. JK will be super good in the future IMO but he's not ready for a big role in the playoffs yet. You can't get away with young players mistakes on the big stage. We need Wiggins back and rolling to beat the truly elite teams.

• fzwinter (9 ♡):

  Loved Andre's aggressiveness last night on offense. He's much more valuable out there if he is seen as at least a potential threat. The hard drive to the hoop with the look of a dunk attempt that turned into an and-1 layup when he lost control of the ball was pretty hilarious. As long as the defense has to pay some attention to him, he can help on that side of the court. And it was great to see him check into the game to stabilize the guys when things were looking a little shaky out there.

  Along with the extra minutes given Moody over the past two games, I think we see why the Dubs are not planning to give a regular roster spot to Lamb, at least not until the end of the regular season (barring injuries).

Post game party thread: Warriors win a wild…

Golden State pulls off an exciting home win - a badly needed win

• Eric Apricot (28 ♡):

  I just wanted to tell you that I love you

• ServantOfLuna (27 ♡):

  Steph Curry on Andrew Wiggins' absence: "Friend-to-friend, teammate-to-teammate, sending him support. Tough situation in terms of him being away for so long but necessary, life is bigger than basketball. Whenever he's ready to come back, I'm sure he will, that's how he's built in terms of being available and I know he's missing the vibe of being with us."

• Alex (18 ♡):

  Watched the game after reading all the Poole hate and expected something other than the game-long contributions I saw. I hope this young man does not have anyone in his life exposing him to this thread. Yikes.

• BornInDaEB (17 ♡):

  No more boot on Kuminga! Whoo-hoo!!

• fzwinter (16 ♡):

  Give it up for Loon. 15 boards, 4 assists, 5 steals.

• jeckyllhouse (15 ♡):

  another one of those games where we had a Steph, and they didn’t

• ServantOfLuna (13 ♡):

  Kevon Looney is the first Warrior since Joe Smith in 1996 to record 15+ rebounds and 5+ steals in a single game.

Golden State Warriors @warriors

Kevon Looney is the first Warrior since Joe Smith in 1996 to record 15+ rebounds and 5+ steals in a single game.

6:10 AM ∙ Mar 12, 2023

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8,696Likes506Retweets

• Alex (12 ♡):

  No one is. If that is the measuring stick, no one is good enough to be on this team. But this (often-frustrating) dude has won us games and can be a good contributor to a championship, empirically.

• pooryorick (12 ♡):

  I didn’t realize how badly I needed this win until we won.

• Klaymatic37 (12 ♡):

  I kinda of just don't care what happens this season, but i just want to see them with GP2 and Wiggins this post seaosn.

  If those two are healthy, they can win the chip and I won't be surprised. They could flame out in the 2nd round and I wouldn't be surprised.

  I just got see them healthy to live with the results.

• BornInDaEB (12 ♡):

  REPORTS OF STEPH CURRY'S DEMISE HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED

• Alex (11 ♡):

  I'm here for criticism of JP's utter lack of understanding what constitutes a good 2 for 1 opportunity or his need to relearn legal dribbling, but plus/minus is perhaps the most mis-used stat in basketball, non-Westbrook category. Did Brook Lopez hurt his team today? Were they better with him off the floor? He was -12. So many variables at work with plu/minus as to make it nearly irrelevant in a single game analysis, and a bad career plus/minus has more to do with playing two lost years with the Ky Bowman/Kent Bazemore Revival than some irredeemable awfulness. JMG was -14. We probably are down 10 at the half without him and the 3 assists from Poole for 8 straight points. Cheers to you- we are 100% on the same page of wanting GSW to be championship. I'm just tired and saddened by the rage on fansites in general.

• BornInDaEB (11 ♡):

  Donte on playing his former team: “I take it personal. Love those guys over there but I also want to beat them.”

95.7 The Game @957thegame

Donte on playing his former team: “I take it personal. Love those guys over there but I also want to beat them.”

4:40 AM ∙ Mar 12, 2023

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1,237Likes77Retweets

• DFiB (10 ♡):

  One thing I haven’t seen in the thread yet: MOSES PLAYED AND PLAYED OK!

Explain: Stephen Curry's big block beats…

No Giannis? Who cares, GSW needs every win it can get

• Goldarn Staid Worrier (22 ♡):

  17 Thoughts on last night’s game. Or maybe 18, lost track.

  1. Steph. It starts and ends with Steph. Literally. The block, the clutch shooting, the game tying 3, the wow. Also: wow.

  2. What is going on with all the double dribble turnovers? I’ll call that game an anomaly of weird DD calls. Never again!!

  3. JMG. I was calling for his head earlier this year, and I was wrong. He’s decent. Some great shooting last night. I don’t see him as #7 on the depth chart but 8 or 9? Ok.

  4. I loved Klay’s game. Smooth on offense, solid on defense, hit shots at a fair clip, always taken seriously by defense. I don’t remember as many poor decision shots this game.

  5. Holy hell but the Bucks are good defenders. Is there another team with as many good defenders up and down the line up? They have 3 (Jrue, Javon, Grayson) that are excellent point of attack defenders, and Portis, Lopez, and Crowder are solid front court guys. Plus Giannis. Damn that’s a lot of defense. Watching Holiday switch between Steph and Klay was pretty cool - I was like, how the hell can that guy defend all our shooters??!?!

  6. I liked Quinones’ sweater. I wonder if Andre is sitting him down and advising him on what to wear when Andre has to suit up? “Young man, someone has to uphold the Dubs’ fashion sense. Tonight this awesome responsibility is yours.”

  7. DDV is good, but there’s no better good than the boost playing your old team gives you. DDV was going all out and more - some amazing rebounds, great aggressive shooting. He was absolutely on. Competitors love to stomp their old friends more than anyone. This is true pro sports love and far purer than the hate driven energy that comes from stomping punks (ahem Grizz).

  8. I love Looney. Yes he and Dray both crushed the boards, but Looney’s game - stuffing PGs, SGs, Forwards of all stripes is just so damn much fun. Kevon if you’re reading this I want to adopt you and make you part of my family forever. I have one son already but we have room at the holiday table for another.

  9. That play for Dray to shoot the 3 at the end of the game was pretty gonzo. I love the trickery of it - he was wide open and if he hit it, yea, would have been insane. But with Steph, Klay, DDV, JMG all hitting 3s you still think they’d give the ball to someone else.

  10. Did you notice how there were periods in which the Dubs were up 9, 10, or 13 points? Against a good team. Never down by more than 8. A rock steady showing and it felt good. Not relaxing, and ofc the 4th quarter was a nail biter, but still, felt good.

  11. Jordan needs to spend the whole summer practicing his dribbling. What a mess this is right now. If he fixes only that he’ll be so much better.

  12. Moody didn’t get much time, and missed his corner 3, but he hustled HARD every second he was out there. He will be decent, in a few years.

  13. Winning is good. Steph is good. Winning Steph is hell yea good.

• Nellie (19 ♡):

  Absolutely sublime. One of the most thrilling regular season performances I can remember from Steph. Giannis called it a work of art, and he's absolutely right. To finish the game that way, against that level of defense... masterpiece.

  That Bucks team, btw, in addition to being incredibly good, is just a class act from top to bottom. If this proves not to be the W's year, that's the team I'd like to see win it all. Seems like a lot of fans long for a meaner NBA, full of blood feuds of the kind we have with the Grizzlies, but I for one prefer what we got last night: two champions with abiding respect for one another (and for the game), competing as hard as they can, in good faith, to the last buzzer. Not only do I like the vibes, but I actually think that mutual respect makes for better basketball. It imposes a kind of rigor on the game, and exalts the sincerity of the competition (so, for instance, a player gets his shot blocked, and it's not about humiliation or revenge, it's about two athletes giving everything they have; you get up and go right back in, undeterred). This had a feel like last year's finals, where the effort and focus were just relentless. I loved it.

• Abaddon (13 ♡):

  The Bucks don’t scare me much because if we see them again we’re in the Finals and HELL YES. If we’ve made it that far, I like our chances well enough.

• alv66 (13 ♡):

  Per WarriorsMuse:

  "Stephen Curry is now shooting an INSANE 85% eFG (14-20 FG, 6-10 3PT) on game-tying/go-ahead shots in the last 3 minutes this season.

  This is the HIGHEST eFG for any player with at least 15 game-tying/go-ahead FGA in the last 3 minutes in the play-by-play era."

• Eric Apricot (12 ♡):

  I hadn’t seen JaVale’s comments…

  https://www.thescore.com/nba/news/2598740

• TwoRingTest (12 ♡):

  If Kellerman became an idiot, he'd actually get smarter.

• jeckyllhouse (11 ♡):

  MT2: "Golden State has a puncher’s chance to repeat as champions. It rests on them finding their quality in the nick of time. It might even be a delusion at this point. But [Steph] is that delusion. He is the reason what feels so impossible with this team still might be."

  https://theathletic.com/4299252/2023/03/12/stephen-curry-warriors-bucks-magic/

Aww, is it tough being a Warriors fan?

Step back for a second and look around. Yeah the team is struggling, but we have Curry, Klay, Draymond, Looney, etc.

• Eric Apricot (30 ♡):

  On the issue of psychology and burnout. I think people take for granted the weight of what the Dynasty is trying to continue.

  It’s well known the difficulty of winning the championship and then competing the next year. Between physical tear from 1-2 months of extra extreme wear and stress, hangover and reduced hunger, disease of Me, etc, just making it back to the Finals is a great achievement.

  Making three straight Finals was such a trial that Michael Jordan quit his team for a couple of years. TWICE.

  Making four straight Finals was such a trial that LeBron quit his team and rebooted with a superteam. Even in the relatively easy East. TWICE.

  So reaching five straight finals is an absurd achievement that has been achieved by… let’s see… only ONE other team in history, and that was BOS in the 50s and 60s in an 8-team league that was basically not televised and which had indentured servant players (no free agency). That’s just a completely different sport.

  And then to take a five finals team, and come back AGAIN for another Finals victory. In the big picture, there probably will never be an NBA fanbase with as much to celebrate and be thankful for.

  I get as mad as anyone at bad turnovers or fatigued play. But this is the time to keep in your mind that this team has already achieved more than any other NBA team and they are trying to achieve something never been done before. It’s HARD.

• Asher B. (23 ♡):

  It’s GOTTA be Sacramento, They have been crappy with a dynastic level of crappiness since Robert Horry found a ball tapped his way and sank a three to send the Kings not only to playoff defeat but to a Purgatory so immense we all thought it was permanent.

  But lo! They have a shot! They have a team! They have a star, perhaps several! DeAaron is a Fox! They have wins, they are entertaining, and when they win they LIGHT. THE. BEAM!!!

  Cowbell Kingdom has always had a rabid but disappointed fan base. This is their time to shine! Light the beam! THIS is the team!**

  ** Certain restrictions may apply. Offer may not be valid in the playoffs. Check local listings to see if team has been sold.

• Faye (18 ♡):

  Got last minute tickets to the game and headed to chase center soon! I’ll be bringing my 6-1 in-person record with me and can only assume they are still a little guilty about allowing me to witness a loss in the flesh and will make it up to me tonight.

  Also any time I have a notably good interaction with a stranger at the game I always think “should I ask if they’re DNHQ people?” So. Really. We need a signal or a logo or something… 😅

• Truckeeman (13 ♡):

  What's great about Steph, Klay and Draymond is their ability to do things that seem impossible. We're a little jaded, but who cannot wonder at Steph's crazy long-dlstance and fully guarded 3s, or successful work amidst the trees? Or Klay's occasional "I cannot miss" 3-point barrages? Or Draymond guarding 3 people on one play and racing up the court to start the break? All these things still bring hope and smiles.

  In past years, we've been able to enjoy players around our big 3. Wiggins, Livingston, West, Bogut, JTA, JaVale, Lee, GPII, OPJ......lots more. This year, it feels our expectations were higher for our back-up group, and they failed to deliver (or failed to be given a chance to develop and deliver).

  Of course, winning solves a lot of problems I think if DDV had been healthy to start the season, Warriors' fans would be a lot happier, and the Warriors' record would be a lot better. But at this point, I'm planning on enjoying the play of the Big 3, hoping that Wiggins comes back strong and GPII can be what he was last year.

• Nadav (10 ♡):

  OK there may or may not have been gummies involved but I think I figured it out. Steph and Draymond don’t have anything to prove anymore. Even if they are still a high performance engine, the fuel is running low. You could tell that last year *mattered* to them, that they still had it, that they could win without KD. They worked hard and earned it. Now, though, instead of reinforcements that would let them ease up just a little bit they got some entitled millennials (JP) and kids who are gonna mess up a lot. And at this point in their careers they can’t just trot out there and dominate teams anymore. So they get frustrated and punch people who “got that bag” and can’t shut up about it and they throw the ball away because, like, whatever, man.

  My conclusion? Things might change in the playoffs (if they get in). Or they might not. Things might change next year. Or they might not. It wouldn’t shock me if we’ve seen the last championship with this core. But I’ve also seen enough from them that I’m not gonna count them out anytime soon.

• bloophero (10 ♡):

  Tough? You should try being a fan of a team that's almost terrible for 26 years or so and... Wait that's us isn't it?

Warriors gain ground in “8 Games To Make or…

Exceeding expectations in the most bummer way possible

• Eric Apricot (31 ♡):

  I would be cautious about ascribing simple models to how Kerr works. He doesn’t have the freedom to just jiggle the “give Moody more time to play through mistakes” knob without affecting the whole rest of the team.

  Say he wants to give Moody more minutes and let him play through some mistakes. The team might say (I’m just speculating for illustration):

  - DDV: why did my minutes go down? I’m flat out better than MM and I’m playing for a contract next year.

  - JMG: why did my minutes go down? I’m flat out better (editor: you may disagree) and I’m playing for a contract next year.

  - Steph, Dray, Klay: uh can we try this experiment next year when we’re not fighting for our playoff lives?

  - Loon: I guess my minutes went down. I accept all in the name of the team.

  - Poole: why did my minutes go down? I’m the only guy who can handle the rock besides Steph? I need to work through my mistakes too, and I have a bigger role

  - JK: why did my minutes go down? I’m the team’s second best defender and I should get the rookie-mistakes minutes

  - Ty: play me man, I’m playing for an NBA contract and I can handle the ball way better than MM

  - PBJ: play me man, I’ll shoot with no conscience

  - Andre: I told you to pull out of Silicon Valley Bank weeks ago

• Goofus (22 ♡):

  OT: Yesterday was hoof-cleaning, medical exams and inoculations for our ~50 goats and sheep at the shelter. My job as “wrangler” was to go out into the yard, catch one, and bring it to an inside area and hold them in place while they get worked on. Some notes:

  - Most of our goats have horns, which is a mixed blessing. If you can grab both horns, they make great handles, but they also won’t hesitate to try to use them on you to escape. (Of note: Most of their horns are about the same height as my genitalia, making it that much more harrowing.)

  - The first 2 or 3 were pretty easy to catch, but the others are no dummies and quickly caught on, doing everything in their power to avoid getting caught.

  - Spirited, 250+ pound goats are REALLY strong, but I had one of our younger, smaller goats by the horn and he said, ”Hey dude, how’s that messed up shoulder of yours?”, then threw a spin move on me that twisted my arm like a pretzel. My reply was, “Pretty good until just now.”

  - On the plus side, some of goats had never been named, and I ended up with one being named after me. Such an honor! (We already have a goat named “Goofy” and we didn’t want to confuse them, so they used my birth name.)

  - On the plus side part 2, I missed yesterday’s game.

  Someone asked yesterday how sheep and goats (and deeer) end up at a shelter. Some of them have birth defects (like a missing leg) or injury or needed extra medical attention that an owner couldn’t provide, but most arrived as orphans. We’ve had four babies arrive over the last couple of months that we’re born in big storms abandoned by their mothers, and found stuck in mud and ditches.

  Baby deer, goats and lambs are adorable. I offer this 1-minute video as proof:

• (The little black and white one is named “Lil Oreo”, but I also call him “Lambda” because he looks part Lamb, part panda. I’m not sure he could be any cuter.)

• Eric Apricot (10 ♡):

  (quietly takes a moment to plug the Flashy Thing into its charger)

• Sleepy Freud (10 ♡):

  Moses career G-League (306 total minutes, per 36 minutes)

  29.3 pts (!!) on .615 ts (.407 from 3)

  6.7 rebounds

  1.5 steals

  Love the aggressiveness as a scorer and rebounder he's shown there, especially as a skinny 19-20 kid going up against a lot of grown men. Defense still a big work in progress, but I think he has the length and work ethic to improve massively on that front.

  Still not selling my stock in young Moses.

• DFiB (9 ♡):

  JP has had a down year for whatever reason... and I wouldn't be too surprised/disappointed if he ended up getting traded for somebody else... but do people realize that guys have down years sometimes... and if we trade JP in the 2023 offseason without getting a creator in return, we'd be looking at a "turning 36 in March" Steph as the ONLY real ball handler/creator on the team? It'd be great if JP can rediscover his shot, and find some defensive technique, habits, fight... but he provides something this team sorely needs... just not as amazingly this year as we all have expected based on past performance.

• Captain Jack (8 ♡):

  F**k Minnesota and Utah for being apart of a trade that sent the Lakers competent players for trash.

• DubsNerd (8 ♡):

  Today's comments on DNHQ, as I see it:

  Kerr sucks, why doesn't he help the young players develop by letting them play and make mistakes without having to worry about getting yanked for one little mistake?

  and

  Poole sucks. Why does Kerr keep playing him so many minutes when all he does is make mistakes out there with no consequences at all?

• rcknfn (8 ♡):

  We ain't winning a ring w/o Dray.

• doug chang (8 ♡):

  Thank You Eric!!! So well written!! This paragraph... "The next eight games aren’t a referendum on whether Poole should be traded in a salary dump, whether Draymond should be waived, whether every player under 32 should be traded for a backup center. They won’t prove that the players are gutless, that Kerr has no concept of lineups, that Myers destroyed the team, that the league has solved the Warriors." In the old days that was what Journalism was about, when the sports news was on green newspaper. More truth and less emotional manipulation.