Dub Nation HQ Comments of Week, plus open thread

The 2022 Finals rollercoaster, Games 1 through 4, as yelled through keyboards

Explain: Steph Curry and Warriors steal Game…

Turnabout is fair play

• Sleepy Freud (25 ♡):

  Elite Superstars v Celtics elite defense this playoffs:

  Steph 33.4 pts per 36 on .664 TS

  ====

  Butler 25.3 pts on .582 TS

  Giannis 30.5 pts on .516 TS

  Durant 21.5 pts on .526 TS

  Kyrie 18.0 pts on .588 TS

  All Steph haters — including several jagoffs on GSoM who for years have been saying he’s nowhere near the same caliber of player as KD — can get fucked.

• Eric Apricot (21 ♡):

  Dray on his podcast:

  - gave lots of credit to Juanito, GP2 and Chiozza for being in his ear and encouraging him when he got benched in the 4th.

  - Steph and Dray gave Wiggs a hard time in the locker room about his previous rebounding high being only 11.

  - Dray loved Klay’s aggressiveness because it made Poole aggressive.

  - Shouted out his mom for tweeting that he was struggling

  - And I enjoyed him saying GSW was “up 2-2”, which doesn’t literally make sense, but I understand.

• DFiB (20 ♡):

  Poole looked like he figured something out last night. First play he drove straight into the body of Williams. Classic move against a shot blocker. Then he aggressively hunted a midrange effectively. Those aren’t just “making shots”, those are different approach, that looks much more sustainable. He also had a great rotation on Tatum late in the game. If he can keep it up, we’re going to be good.

• EyeBlack22 (19 ♡):

  Hard to overstate how important that win was last night. We lose and we probably have something like a 5% chance to take the series. Now with everything tied up and 2 games at home, you can argue our chances of winning the championship are over 50%.

  Just a huge win in every sense of the word. And Curry absolutely lived up to the moment. So happy for him and all of our guys.

• belilaugh (19 ♡):

  He doesn't have the yips imo, he is dealing with the consequences of the rare team dumb enough to play drop coverage on Steph Curry. Good for the Warriors, but bad for Draymond specifically because he has no 4 on 3 situations (got Looney a clutch layup the one time he had one) and the Celtics are bigger and more athletic than him so there isn't much of a role for him except as a screener or offensive rebounder (and Looney is better suited for that role).

  Played great defense yesterday though, that is his role in this series. If he shuts down Brown, the Warriors will win. That's been the story of this series imo, he did in the two wins and did not in the two losses (was not guarding Brown in Game 1 so that is not his fault). He is guarding perimeter players now so I doubt the rebound totals will be gaudy either, but his contribution is invaluable imo because they need him and Wiggins to turn the faucet off for Brown and Tatum.

• Goofus (18 ♡):

  Me: “Hey Babe, Eric posted an ‘Explain One Play’. Do you want to watch it or have sex?”

  Wife: “Don’t ask silly questions. Come back to bed…and bring your IPad.”

• Trogdor (16 ♡):

  I watched the game on delay and had seen the final score. I was watching with 5 minutes left, the Warriors down by 4. It was wild watching and knowing I was about to see the Warriors go on a 17-3 run to end the game. Truly wild.

• belilaugh (14 ♡):

  > Golden State was only 3-17 on uncontested 3s last night. Boston was 10-13. The Warriors *probably* have some cushion to not actually need two more compete pantheon performances from Steph.

Anchorage Man @SethPartnow

Golden State was only 3-17 on uncontested 3s last night. Boston was 10-13. The Warriors *probably* have some cushion to not actually need two more compete pantheon performances from Steph.

• 10 for fucking 13 on open threes. The Celtics are shooting lights out in this series on open shots, I do not care if they are open this is not the expected result (and 3 for 17 is a good reminder of that).

• Trogdor (13 ♡):

  Another reason I'm confident about G5? Draymond. You know he's going to want to respond to all this talk of him playing terribly in G4 (which is greatly exaggerated, IMHO). He's certainly one to respond in such a situation. If we can have bounce back games from both Klay and Draymond in G5 then the Warriors win.

• sundaygirl (13 ♡):

  I want “Klay Thompson has entered the chat” on a t-shirt.

• TwoRingTest (13 ♡):

  Apricot: What is best in life?

  Duby: To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of the Simmons.

  Bill Simmons postgame podcast is full of angst. It's joyous.

  https://www.theringer.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/2022/6/11/23163716/stephs-apex-mountain-leaves-boston-reeling

• Sleepy Freud (12 ♡):

  Two totally different players. Let’s let Wiseman be Wiseman. My sense is his idealized version is more AD than Timelord, but obviously, AD is close to a best-case scenario for JDub.

  Comparison of their games aside, tho: I am very interested in their respective knee health going forward. We’ll never know for sure if their career longevity will have had anything to do with how their meniscus injuries in their early 20s were treated, but we can say that the two teams treated the injuries very differently. The Cs opted for the “traditional” route of partial meniscus removal followed by rushing him back onto the floor ASAP, whereas the Warriors have opted for the new, patient approach of total meniscus repair — the same route Jaren Jackson Jr. took — with the protracted year-plus recovery period it entails.

  I’m no doctor, and we’ll never know anything for sure, but: based on the two game sample of JJJ snd Timelord, the guy who took the patient approach looks to be moving around freely and pain-free for 30-40 minutes a game, whereas the guy who went the hasty route seems to be able to play great 5-10 minutes bursts in between lots of grimacing, limping, and missing games.

  Anyway, I hope Williams makes a full recovery despite the Celtics’ brass fucking around recklessly with his career. And obviously, I hope the Warriors are rewarded for their patience with Wiseman with a long, healthy career.

• bobbita (12 ♡):

  Stephs 3 in the 1st quarter which he followed by talking shit to the crowd was one of my favorite Steph moments of all time.

• Marina (12 ♡):

  PISTACCHIO FTW!

• Captain Jack (12 ♡):

  Steph rarely (if ever) goes at an opponent's crowd that early so Celtics fans knew they messed up the moment they went at Ayesha for her cooking. The Chef whipped up a nice little Boston Special at TD last night for that.

• mDuo13 (11 ♡):

  Well, this continues to be an extremely exciting series. Certainly more likely to induce heart palpitations than say, a Durant-era cakewalk over the hapless Cavs. But also quite satisfying when they get the win. This one scared me at the beginning of the 1st and 3rd; the Warriors were looking frazzled and sloppy. Thankfully they settled down and played a really solid game.

  GPII and Wiggins were huge (especially Wiggs on the boards! That was the biggest difference from game 3), Klay had more intense defense but a less than stellar shooting game, Poole looked a little more settled in, and Draymond still struggled a bit but not too much.

  I like how your video highlights the different defenses Boston threw at Curry down the stretch; it's a great example of how great defenses keep you guessing. And they did about as good a job as anyone could expect to slow Steph down! But, as Coach Kerr said in his mid-game interview, "He's really good at basketball."

  Looking forward to another Explainer after game 5. 😉

• Mikayla (11 ♡):

  Two wins from another ring.

  Two wins.

  Think about that. A year ago if this had been foretold would you have believed it?

• SoCalJusticeWarrior (11 ♡):

  Still on track for Dubs in 6.

Post Game: hahahah STEPHEN CURRY

Dubs even up the series off yet another Curry masterclass

• Eric Apricot (39 ♡):

  I just want you all to know that

  I

  LOVE

  YOOOOOOOOOOOOU

  That is all

• Sleepy Freud (31 ♡):

  That play with like 5 minutes left where, after 23 seconds of great Warrior D, the ball randomly bounced out to Smart, who threw in a three as the shot clock expired to put them up 94-90, nearly killed me. :-(

  17-3 Warriors after that point. :-)

  What a freaking game. What a freaking team. What a freaking Steph.

• ServantOfLuna (28 ♡):

  Oh and one more thing: FUCK THE REFS. Seriously, I cannot believe just how many calls they were getting tonight. Thank goodness the Warriors came away with a victory in the end.

• Marina (28 ♡):

  I would very much like to post something but I have been staring blankly at the screen like a zombie.

  I love you all, this was a HUGE win and i am so sleepy I cannot think straight. It's always the same, the moment the game finishes i collapse to tiredness, stress and overexcitment.

  HAVE A WONDERFUL REST OF THE DAY, WHEREVER YOU ARE! ABRAZOS GIGANTES PARA TODOS 😘

• Willy White Shoes (27 ♡):

  Wiggs career high for rebounds, comes in a finals game???

  Dayum.

• Goofus (27 ♡):

  I smoked a shit-ton of weed and still had 37 heart attacks.

• rcknfn (26 ♡):

  Paraphrasing Curry's postgame:

  "Dray has been bringing in the energy to the all playoffs.. I thought I need to do that this game".

  Which I hear as that he knew that Dray was empty.

  Now that's perspective and having your guy's back. We are so focused on 'this game' and forget what Dray does for this team. Not Steph Curry. We can learn a thing or two from him.

  That's real chemistry and bro-love.

• Alex (24 ♡):

  Top 10 all time best sources of gravity in universe:

  #1 Stephen Curry

  #2 Jupiter

  #3 Earth

  #4 James Earl Jones voice-overs

  #5 - 10 some other planets and possibly Sam Elliott

• Alex (24 ♡):

  Dear WebMD, should I be more concerned about the explosive incontinence, the recurrent heart attacks, or the inability to stop yelling to myself while watching highlights of this game? I think something in my brain broke during the fourth quarter, approximately 2 or 19 times.

• Asher B. (24 ♡):

  This is your reminder from Galway Ireland at 4 in the morning that Steph Curry is an excellent regular season player who never comes up clutch in the big playoff games AND I’ll be back home for the next one!!! Great rooting energy by everyone here ready to join you soon!!

• alv66 (22 ♡):

  STEPH CURRY thank you for adding joy to my life and giving me a 5000% happier weekend!!!!!

• belilaugh (21 ♡):

  Bjelicas defense in these playoffs has been shockingly good.

• belilaugh (21 ♡):

  Warriors have never lost a series with these three guys in fewer than 6 games. Legendary competitors, we will almost certainly never see this type of will to win from players wearing these Warrior jerseys again.

• Captain Jack (21 ♡):

  chase went nuts tonight you would have thought we played a home game

• BadlyBrowned (20 ♡):

  Watched the game live on mute.

  Watching replay with sound on, and when Bjelica gets the stop on Brown and runs the fast break and Tatum fouls him on the layup attempt.

  Jackson says, "Clearly off Bjelica." Goes to replay showing Tatum clear arm contact, and Jackson tries to pass it off, "There's the strip," to which JVG says "Or the foul" and Jackson just says "Yeah well, they didn't call the foul so clearly should be Celtics ball off Bjelica"

  God, I really hoped the Kings would hire him just to get this joke off the TV.

• Chaos_Samedi (20 ♡):

  Timberwolves fans have got to be crying themselves to sleep at night, who would have thought wiggins would have been the 2nd best player on the warriors against the best defense in the league in the finals

• alv66 (20 ♡):

  Before the series - Jokic is the best player.

  Steph - Hold my beer.

  Before the series - Ja is the best player.

  Steph - Hold my beer.

  Before the series - Luka is the best player.

  Steph - Hold my beer.

  Before the series - Tatum is the best player.

  Steph - Hold my beer.

• TheseGuysAreF’ingGIANTS! (20 ♡):

  I ❤️Curry!

  Please let this be the start of a 3 game win streak. As cool as game 7 wins are, Can we all be good with a home win and a game 6 Klay win?

• Abaddon (19 ♡):

  Dray did have only two turnovers. His decision making was definitely improved.

• WastingCurrysPrime! (19 ♡):

  Bjelica has not been the problem. He’s actually been solid.

• belilaugh (19 ♡):

  Beli has been great I think

• fzwinter (19 ♡):

  My favorite play = GP2 fakes 3 pointer from corner then patiently drops off bounce pass to Steph and sets a great screen while Steph splashes a 3. Taking high BBIQ to the next level. Would love to see this one broken down in an E1P.

• BornInDaEB (19 ♡):

  Kerr: "Thank you to Steph, night after night."

• rcknfn (19 ♡):

  Wiggs smile is the best

• Eric Apricot (19 ♡):

  Abc7news just put up a poll “Is Steph human?”

• Totembot (18 ♡):

  I am nowhere near sober, but I'd like to stop by and digitally yell STEPHEN CURRRYY!!

  Thank you.

• belilaugh (18 ♡):

  I really dont think he was as bad as I keep reading now, honestly.

• DrumRollGyro (18 ♡):

  The refs were really helping Boston too, and they still got Steph'd

• Klaymatic37 (18 ♡):

  Let's fucking go warroris!

Preview: Curry cleared to play, but Warriors…

Can the old dogs pull off one of their old tricks?

• belilaugh (21 ♡):

  Down 2-1, stop acting like the series is over. Intended for whoever it applies to. Toughen up.

• GlueAndBold (17 ♡):

  The Finals are supposed to be hard. The Celtics are likely the toughest opponent the Warriors could be facing. This is how it is supposed to be. This is properly epic. I am stoked! Let's go WAARRRRRRIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRS!

• DFiB (11 ♡):

  As the years go along, more and more people will predict the end of the dynasty because it'll happen eventually.

  Separately, basketball has historically been dominated by the physically dominant players/teams, and mostly still is. The Warriors cut against that mold with Steph & Dray, as their dominance doesn't come with impressive physical attributes typically associated with dominant players at their positions. Klay, however, a fits a more common "off ball shooter and perimeter defender" mold, and is the "3rd wheel", so he's been somewhat more well understood by observers.

  This is all to say: When this Boston team beats the Warriors with physicality, all the NBA observers will think to themselves "see, it's so obvious, this is the better team, they're physically so much better". It will fit their internal narrative, being consistent with all the non-Warriors basketball they've observed for the duration of their lives. That doesn't make it right (or wrong), it just is how the typical non-Warriors fan observer will see the game.

  Go Dubs. Show 'em your mettle (again).

• wonderyearsballer (10 ♡):

  Good chance to seize the initiative tonight. What a difference a win would make! I desperately want it to happen but I’m also proud and grateful just for our guys to be out there in the arena doing what they do. They will be there to the last breath of this crazy, astonishing, fantastic season. I love that as they get older they seem increasingly mindful of how fleeting and special it all is. Time to weaponize that joy again! GO WARRIORS!!

• ServantOfLuna (10 ♡):

  Things I hope to see tonight:

  -Better defense and rebounding, especially the interior defense.

  -Please play better, Draymond!

  -Less minutes for Poole. I hate to say this, but this isn't his series.

  -Maybe Moody? And more minutes for Looney, too.

  -Curry, Klay, and Wiggins continue to shoot the ball well.

  -Celtics regressing to the bad version of themselves.

Celtics strike back on Warriors in Game 3…

Boston protected homecourt to take a 2-1 advantage in the 2022 NBA Finals. Hmmmm

• Captain Jack (25 ♡):

  I just want to shout out Steph during these playoff runs. Sure he's had an off shooting night here and there but overall he's been amazingly consistent at making an impact every single game and not dropping mental duds. Couldn't ask more from our best player.

• rcknfn (22 ♡):

  Having a dynasty is extremely rare. Going to 6 finals in 8 years is extremely hard. We can expect these guys to be mentally locked in game after game against this good a team. But may be they are just cooked and outmatched given Klay's limitations and our main players being older by 8-10 years. We gotta ride with our guys. (except in game thread 🙂). No matter. They are not perfect. They are human. Win or loose these finals, love what these guys did this year.

  That's all I got.

  Let's get G4.

• Eric Apricot (20 ♡):

  Very proud of the counterpunch when the Dubs retook the lead. GSW was going to a trap and recover at the end on Tatum and it was working. GSW will probably do more of that to see if BOS can punish.

  GSW has to steal G4, or hold it down at G5 and steal G6 (the OKC plan). But pretty much all hopes depend on Steph’s foot which BOS keeps on smashing into like homing missles.

  And in the bigger picture, thinking back to right before season’s end when everyone was injured and the team sucked and lost 7(?) in a row… would I have taken being 3 games away from the championship?

  HELL YEAH

  On to the next game.

• PointGawd (16 ♡):

  I made an account here awhile ago but lost track of it. Thank God y'all are here. I just came here after getting locked out of GSoM. SBNation just posted the legally required opt-in/opt-out for tracking banner (that covers 1/2 the page), with one big "Accept" button and only links to browser-specific instructions (links didn't actually link to anything) that supposedly must be done on your machine. I guess they don't realize we all use dozens of sites and have seen multiple, easy, opt-in/opt-out procedures that don't require users to dig under their browser's hood. To add insult to injury, they end up giving no instructions/way to opt out and block logins until you decide, but as you can't opt-out they are forcing you to accept tracking cookies just to login and leave a complaint. What a way to completely destroy the community right in the middle of Finals!

  I hope y'all will welcome me. I look forward to joining your continuing conversation!

• ndubs (14 ♡):

  Slater cut up some tape on rebounding in the Athletic. The stats tell a story that we got bullied on the boards. The video shows that more than getting bullied, we just weren’t trying very hard. Lots of waiting around for the ball to come off the rim instead of finding a body to hit and maintain good position. I’m sure that will be a point of emphasis and I know our guys can do it if they want to.

• hammystyle (13 ♡):

  You feel like it's over?

  Like the only reason to feel that way is that Curry may be hurt. Yeah, if he's out or severely limited the odds are grim.

  If he can go they can win a game 4, tie the series with rest and 2 of 3 coming at home.

  It's a rugged, nasty opponent, and the Warriors unfortunately have not given the effort needed in two of the three fourth quarters that would have given themselves a chance to win. They still have four more chances to do so.

Post game decompression: Angry Celtics out…

No answer for Tatum, Brown, Golden State loses rebounding battle and momentum

• fzwinter (9 ♡):

  Just a reminder about the ups-and-downs of this playoff run. We got blown out in Game 5 in Memphis and it was all doom and gloom about how we were toast in that series, and then we win Game 6. Then we lose Game 4 against the Mavs and there's lots of worry about being the first team to lose a 3-0 lead until they come up big in Game 5. We had the poor fourth quarter in Game 1 of the Finals, but after we outplayed the Celtics in Game 2, everyone was predicting Dubs in 5. So we got outplayed again tonight but I guarantee you that if we win on Friday, most everyone here will be back on the Dubs in 6 bandwagon. Patience, gang.

• bobbita (7 ♡):

  Just had to win 1 game of these 2 and it'll just have to be the 2nd one

• Sleepy Freud (6 ♡):

  I mean, everything is “on Curry’s legacy” either way. And his stellar performance through three games has almost certainly enhanced that legacy. Being by far the best player on either team in a Final series is not chopped liver.

• Captain Jack (6 ♡):

  To anyone feeling super down about this series so far, may I suggest reverting back to our Cohan era mindset. Remind yourself that it's just a sport and assume the worst until proven otherwise. In my mind, we already lost this series so they can't disappoint me. They can only prove me wrong.

• belilaugh (6 ♡):

  Nah, we stay in the Kerr era mindset. We trust these guys to figure it out if healthy. Plenty of time to be sad if they lose, no reason to get a head start.

Preview: Mini adjustments and big…

Golden State staying one step ahead of Celtics, but will face biggest challenge in Boston

• Five Alarm Freddy (21 ♡):

  For all of the slander. For all of the death of the dynasty talk. For all the emotion and pain that Klay has been through. For all the talk of you need a real center. For all the Kerr bashing. For all the washed up talk of Steph, Draymond and Andre.

  This game tonight would go a long way to quieting that noise. It would go a long way to strike fear in the hearts of the young Celtics. This game tonight is huge.

  Dig deep. Don't let up. We got this. Love to you all.

• Sabrina420-I Voted (14 ♡):

  Wiseman sighting.

Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors

James Wiseman putting in work 🔥

• stopnpop (13 ♡):

  Can I just watch basketball, please?

• belilaugh (13 ♡):

  https://theathletic.com/3351204/2022/06/08/top-25-nba-free-agency-2022/

  > 13. Otto Porter Jr., SF, Golden State: $16,603,510

  > Porter Jr. won’t command this high a salary in real life because of concerns about his frequent injuries. In the last four seasons, he’s missed nearly as many games (140) as he’s played (162), and even in his “healthy” year for Golden State in 2021-22, he only played 63 regular-season games.

  > On the other hand, a credible defender at the two forward spots who knows how to play and shoots 39.8 percent career from 3 should have considerable value, especially since he’s still only 29.

  > While I don’t expect anybody to roll the dice on a longer deal given the continued questions about his physical well-being, a “one+one” type contract for the non-taxpayer MLE — signing him for 2022-23 with a player option for 2023-24 — would be a smart move for a contender below the tax line.

  I agree with Hollinger that Porter will get a full MLE offer from a contender at best due to his durability concerns (he sees to be on an unspoken minutes limit for the playoffs and even that has not prevented foot issues), which means I think there is a real possibility that he comes back to the Warriors for the TPMLE if they win the title with a player option for the next season.

  Regardless of what happens in the offseason, thank god Porter remembered he was a shooter in time for the playoffs.

Warriors flexing all the way to Boston for…

Between Curry's pyrotechnics and Green's bullying, Celtics fans have a lot to be worried about as the series shifts back to their homecourt.

• Daniel Hardee (22 ♡):

  Whatever happened to the "Steph is in decline" people?

• kinbote (21 ♡):

  I'm getting to the point where 90% of my desire for a Warriors victory is to read a Daniel Hardee article that rubs just a little more salt in the wounds.

• rcknfn (19 ♡):

  Super nervous - part of which is emotional rollercoaster that is breakup in personal life.

  Please do it for me, Klay. Activate the Bot Mode in G3

• Benvolio (19 ♡):

  So wait, Cedric Maxwell thinks that transporting Draymond back to an era where you could (allegedly) get away with more physicality would make him *less* of a bully? Lololol.

• DFiB (17 ♡):

  So, Tatum has 83 turnovers in the postseason, only 11 off the NBA record… and Brown has 60. Keep getting in those passing lanes.

• crusty quips (16 ♡):

  Ah yes, the competitive spending advantage of more spending by an owner who is (I believe) still bottom 5 as far as the wealthiest owners in the NBA. This may as well be a complaint about Joe Lacob for making his richer colleagues seem miserly by comparison and making them look bad.

Explain: Steph Curry and Warriors Defense…

That was a good game

• DraymondWantsItMore (28 ♡):

  I don't know how you get these up so fast but there's no better way to enjoy my morning coffee after a finals win than reliving curry and poole rip the celtics hearts out in telestrated slo-mo *chef's kiss*. Bless you apricot

  • Eric Apricot (21 ♡):

    I stayed up super late! Thanks for the encouragement.

• Abaddon (17 ♡):

  I can only laugh at the growing narrative about how Golden State is suddenly bullying Boston and the game is being unevenly officiated in their favor.

  After nine years of teams beating up Golden State in the playoffs - and the overwhelming narrative that it is how you have to play to beat the Warriors - the sudden outrage when the Warriors actually rise to meet an opponent's physicality is just hilarious. Golden State isn't supposed to play that way. They're supposed to let the other team beat them up and not get calls for it but NOT adjust their style of play to rise to meet that physicality.

  The Eastern Conference Finals were a case of two teams who genuinely loved each other and treated each other gently. No physicality there. Both teams weren't physical and it wasn't officiated that way at all. I'm shocked that the bullying Warriors are allowed to work the Celtics over while they're in their love circle singing Kumbaya!

  SMH

• bobbita (16 ♡):

  That was one of the few games where I thought the refs let us play physical defense. Celtics fans will claim rigged, but teams have been doing that to us all the time.

• belilaugh (15 ♡):

  Draymond has four techs, I believe seven is a suspension. With all of the current controversy around his play, hard to believe he's not in prime position to get one in Game 3.

  Also has two flagrant foul points (four is a suspension), he is not yet on the edge of danger unless he gets a Flagrant 2 but he is creeping up there.

  Please do not do it again, Draymond. We need you.

• GlueAndBold (14 ♡):

  I have to toe the same line that Kerr does on this: that's who Draymond is. If you want the fiery Draymond that puts the Warriors in a position where they are baiting the Celtics into a bunch of fouls early in the game, you are also getting the chippy/chirpy Draymond who goes into his "annoying" bag. I guarantee that third quarter course in team defense doesn't happen without Draymond being fully engaged, and a fully engaged Draymond is always ready to blow.

  Edited to add: I don't want to see us lose any minutes or games from Dray. I hope he doesn't blow his top or earn any FFs or techs. 🤞🏼

• Eric Apricot (13 ♡):

  Hahaha

  I defined a Dynasty as making the majority of Finals over a time period. Technically the 2015-2021 counted as Dynasty, but of course not really. However, making this year’s Finals means that I actually have to legitimately update the series for 2015-2022 and account for the 2019-2022 drafts, and re-calculate all the Playoff Minutes that Looney and other draft picks played.

  So I plan to do that over the summer…

• DFiB (13 ♡):

  This is The Finals, that is how it is and how it should be. In the Cs vs Bucks series, the refs had to talk to both benches coming out of half-time to cut out the complaining. They're whiners, they've been whiners, and they'll continue to whine. I hope it takes their focus.

  We've watched over the years that as the series go along, the players and refs become more attuned to each other, these gimmicks like Tatum's Hardenesque "stick out the ball and hope to get a call", Smart's flopping, etc. stop earning calls and stop being winning plays, and they get frustrated. If the Celtics grow up and play through, they've got a shot. If they are intent on complaining their way into getting the calls they've been getting, they've got no shot.

• thesarunas (12 ♡):

  Boston fans are an over-entitled lot. Physical defense is exactly how the Celtics play. The shoe was just on the other foot for once.

Post Game: don't worry don't stress …

No miracles in the 4th tonight for Boston!

• Eric Apricot (27 ♡):

  I am so overwhelmed with emotion that I just have to tell you all

  That

  I

  Loooove

  You

• Chaos_Samedi (26 ♡):

  Curry was fucking ridiculous on defense

• BeerGuy (24 ♡):

  I know the "winning quarters" thing is a joke but there's no denying the larger point that the Warriors have looked like the better team for a majority of the minutes played so far. I still think they take it in 6.

  Would be a lot easier if Klay and Wiggs could find their strokes. Boston's D is good but they've been missing easy, open looks.

  For all the talk coming into the series about the aforementioned Boston D, great effort on that end by the Dubs tonight. 15 steals as a team, held them to 37.5% from the floor. Bring that activity level to Boston and they're in good shape.

  Kevon Looney is so frickin good. That's my dude. Quality minutes again tonight. Him getting back in the starting lineup (after starting all season! I'm a faith-in-Kerr guy but he overthought it on that one) has keyed this run and is one of my favorite storylines of the postseason. It feels weird to be so proud of someone I don't know, but here we are. Way to be, Loon.

• Bel (24 ♡):

  Steph was brilliant today.

• Sabrina420-I Voted (22 ♡):

  ClutchPoints

  @ClutchPointsApp

  ·

  26m

  Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson & Draymond have now won 18 NBA Finals games together in their careers, the 2nd most by any All-NBA trio in the last 50 years.

  The most Finals wins by a trio belong to Tim Duncan, Tony Parker & Manu Ginobili (19 wins)

  (via

  @ESPNStatsInfo

  )

• Abaddon (21 ♡):

  Kerr on nba tv right now wearing an “end gun violence” t shirt

• belilaugh (20 ♡):

  Curry making his best player in the world claim in that third quarter again. No one the Celtics played made their defense look that goofy.

• GlueAndBold (18 ♡):

  The defense in that third quarter was among the best I’ve ever seen from any team.

• Eric Apricot (18 ♡):

  I am very very curious what BOS will do to adjust. GSW was attacking them at the arc, daring them to drive. Once they drive, try to strip them and attack their loose handle, rotate an interior help defender, stand there and try to snipe the interior pass or kick out.

  Maybe BOS goes all 5-out to keep the help far away, maybe BOS tries to get fouled at the rim and flop more. But I think BOS needs an actual big adjustment or there will be a similar result. BOS shot 41% from 3 this game, and I don’t think BOS can keep this up every game

Preview: Warriors need more Curry, less help…

Over-helping on Tatum, and not enough to bolster Curry's big game doomed them in game one, Golden State knows what to do to fix all that.

• alicat (16 ♡):

  I'll be honest, Dub Nation, it is starting to matter *too much* to me how the Warriors do in this finals series. After that first game, my heart actually hurt all the next day (well, something hurt in the general vicinity of my heart). I have been contemplating my attitude because after all, this is just a sporting contest, not a war, and think I need to back off drastically. So I will check the score at half time and join the celebration if the Warriors win, but otherwise try to focus on other stuff today like the flowers and hummingbirds in my garden and my crazy cats. Though, GO DUBS!

• Duby Dub Dubs (9 ♡):

  TWO HOURS!!

  Remember to drink plenty of water. This one could be stressful

• Dan goutz (7 ♡):

  Felt like game 1 was over a week ago. LETSSS GOOO DUBSSS!!!!

• Janet (7 ♡):

  I’m appointed parliamentarian for the church annual meeting today before the game. If asked for a ruling, I will say Klay will get hot, Dray will be present, and Poole will ease up.

• Renailun (7 ♡):

  This is encouraging. We lost game one so unexpectedly, I haven’t really known what to think. I needed something like this to stop fretting. I can get on with my day now.

• Tookie007 (6 ♡):

  We almost lost game 1 against Memphis, if Ja makes that layup. This time luck was on Boston’s side. It happens in some games.

• pooryorick (5 ♡):

  Thanks for settling my nerves, Duby. You are right and to the point with that header “need more Curry”. Hopefully, he’s on the same page, throws off the “unselfish superstar” moniker, switches to demigod mode and collapses their defense into the black hole of his unbearable gravity. It’s why we all watch anyway. Isn’t it?

• Sabrina420 (5 ♡):

  <------Same energy. I won't be in the GT tonight. I'll be watching in the dark from behind my scary pillow.

• g8tgod (5 ♡):

  Thanks for sharing. It's insightful.

  Where I think the author falls short is that he doesn't seem to know the Ws' personnel super well. I really think more Moody would be helpful, soaking up some of Poole's and Iguodala's minutes. He's very young, but he's long, a good defender, and doesn't make many mistakes. He also shoots the 3 and makes a lot of GPII-like, Iguodala-like hustle plays that help a team to win.

  I'm less certain about Kuminga, but depending on how things fall, he might change the dynamics of a game if it's going south. He brings such energy and power, especially when he's going to the rim. I'd love to see the Time Lord come over to try to block his shot and watch Kuminga get into his body and try to finish. Hopefully, that's a bucket or FTs and foul trouble for Williams.

• SoCalJusticeWarrior (4 ♡):

  Beer for me, but, let’s be real, they’re just vehicles for the active ingredient.

• Chadara (4 ♡):

  Sometimes I catch myself feeling similar, but realized that is mainly just about the won/loss results.... watching the actual basketball is really the best part for me.

  It has been hard this season- after the two poor years, uncertainty starting this one, and then great start, up and down regular season, and now with the play-off success- it does seem like how the finals end has become more important.

  Hopefully just seeing the players playing a few more games will be reward enough!

Boston Three Party ruins Game 1 for Warriors…

The Dubs took a 92-80 lead after the third quarter, but were outscored by 24 points in the fourth... daaaaamn.

• jeckyllhouse (16 ♡):

  well, last night's game stunk, but also my niece started walking, so the night wasn't a total bust

  • Chasing Rings... (18 ♡):

    Was she watching the 4th Quarter and got up and walked out?

• TM2007 (12 ♡):

  Dray's response to "backlash" in regards to him podcasting after the loss.

  Draymond Green

  @Money23Green

  "Let me guess…. Go to the gym Draymond you suck? I’ve been there already! How about Go watch film y’all Took an L? did that last night and today and will watch more later… SHUT UP!! 😂😂😂😂"

• SoCalJusticeWarrior (12 ♡):

  Dubs in 6.

• Sleepy Freud (12 ♡):

  “No good coach would have a needed threat like kuminga out of the rotation”

  And yet Kerr, a demonstrably great coach, has done just that.

  Without opining on the specifics of the Kuminga case, it turns out the player rotations of great coaches do not always exactly align perfectly with the demands and desires of angry fans on the Internet. For one thing, minutes in real life are zero sum (i.e. more minutes for player x mean fewer for player y) where fans can easily just say “play player x more!” with no repercussions. For another, coaches are privy to a huge amount of information about what players do in practice that we as fans are totally ignorant of. Rotation decisions are often based on this information.

  It is interesting how after every loss, angry fans come out of the woodwork to castigate the poor rotation pattens of their team’s “bad” coach, while you rarely hear praise for said coach’s good rotation patterns after wins.

  But sure, imagine if Kerr — who has won only 21 of the 23 NBA playoff series in which he has coached — were a good coach?

Post Game Decompression Chamber

Small sample size theatre bites Warriors as Celtics get real hot in 4th

• Atimony (15 ♡):

  This loss is painful, but...

  I wouldn't say a loss like this was too unexpected. In every series so far there's been one game where the opponents just made every shot. Against Denver, it was game 4, against Memphis, it was game 5, against Dallas, it was game 4. This time, it just came in game 1. I doubt that they shoot like that in every game (I really hope so or this could turn ugly soon).

  Now, Steph may not be as hot as he was today and Tatum might be better next game. However, bear in mind that Draymond was absolute garbage offensively, Klay was bricking shots left and right (there was one three in particular which was pretty open that barely reached the rim), and Poole looked lost on offence and defence. I trust that Kerr and the rest of the coaching staff will have adjustments lined up for Sunday (like not giving Al Horford open shots).

  Also, the Warriors have won one road game in every series and the Celtics aren't particularly special at home, so I have full belief that we'll be able to retake homecourt advantage.

  And I mean, this wouldn't be the NBA finals if there weren't ups and downs. The Celtics have a terrific defence, yet I feel like the offence still managed to show some flashes of the usual Warriors basketball during the third quarter. Good thing we got the one loss due to hot shooting out of the way early on. Can't wait to sweep the next four. Dubs in 5 ;)

• Five Alarm Freddy (15 ♡):

  That hurt. I had to turn off all electronics and decompress for a little bit. It has taken everything I have to come here and check in on everyone. I know you all feel bad, but this team is magical and sometimes it has to get grim before it becomes beautiful. Rest well all, positive thoughts.

• Mr Teal (14 ♡):

  Because there's pics of him playing against Bill Russell in the 60s

• mDuo13 (12 ♡):

  The way it ended sure stings, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't feel so bad about this one.

  The Warriors offense sputtering out in the 4th looked more like variance plus a little bit of playing in a hurry; as for Boston hitting all their shots, a lot of that was in transition off Warriors misses/turnovers—meaning, our defense was fine until our offense went offline. If we just keep our cool, I think both ends of the floor will be fine.

  Boston gave up more wide-open looks to Curry, Poole, and Wiggins than any of our opponents so far; if they don't clean that up, it's going to take a miraculous shooting night every single game for them to keep up.

  I think we're in for a long, exciting series. I'm not sure Iguodala is healthy enough to play even as many minutes as he got this game; most worrying are the shot opportunities he didn't take around the rim. I dunno if Kuminga can defend and handle well enough to stay on the floor in those minutes instead, but he would for sure be dunking a couple of those (and shooting FTs), instead of kicking it back out.

  The part that sucks is coping with the L for a couple days until we get to payback time.

• Alex (10 ♡):

  Well, guys and gals, when we said "No, really, Boston is a truly good team" this is what we meant. They are good, and have been the best defensive team in the league by a country mile this calendar year. When Curry hung 21 first quarter points on the DPOY and #1 defense in the league, they responded quickly and made frustratingly effective adjustments. That's what they've shown a pattern of doing. They're a really good team. That's what we'll do, too. Steph Curry will adjust, our Hall Of Fame coach (sorry, #firekerr crowd, the adults are talking) will adjust, and if we win this series in the 6 or 7 that a lot of experts predict, there will be at least one more game like this, where the Celtics offense or defense or both shifts into a gear or hits a rhythm that we just don't have an answer for. But I don't think there will be 3 more games like this. Our defense will adapt. We might have to live with allowing more space for Tatum to shoot so we can prevent him from playmaking, disrupt Brown's midrange game and entice him to shoot more 3's (come on, Jaylen! Why shoot 50% from 2 and get us in foul trouble when you could miss 75% from 3? We won't even foul you!) or heck, top block Al Horford while quoting chapters of The DaVinci Code at him- something to prevent him from getting into a rhythm. Our team will adjust. They have earned our trust. They are really, really good. That is what I shall mutter to myself instead of sleeping for the next few hours, and instead of watching First Hysterical Take tomorrow morning. Go Dubs!

Preview: When the top two defenses clash, be…

Warriors return to the Finals!

• crusty quips (28 ♡):

  Waaaaaarioooors!

  I am very confident about this series but will be bursting with nervous energy all day until tip-off. Trying just to relish being back in the finals after two years of slander, doubt, and premature eulogies for this team. In my view the only thing that can derail the Warriors over these last however many games is health. If they can keep their guys on the floor, they are winning their 4th title with this core.

  Before the mayhem of the Finals starts, I want to express some gratitude to this community, starting with the writing staff. Daniel, Duby, and Apricot are the DNHQ versions of Steph, Dray, and Klay. Ivan is Iguodala, and other important contributors such as Patrick Murray and Dr. Tom are the Barbossas and Livingstons of the crew. You have all been crucial in establishing this community as a great place to talk about basketball, nurturing it from the uncertain roots of the SBN exodus into the burgeoning metropolis of Warriors dialogue that it is today. Everyone adds their own particular flavor and everyone has their own strengths and skills, but you all complement each other in a beautiful and harmonious fashion akin to that of the team that we all follow. Thanks for setting the right tone to enable this place to become a special haven of Warriors fandom and for delicately maintaining just the right amount of control over the community standards and expectations in order to provide a pleasant and friendly environment.

  I'd also like to thank the members of the posting community. Some of you are old heads who spent years over at the old GSOM, some of you joined during the LGW days, and some have filtered in over the last year + or so, with everyone offering their own unique perspectives and takes. There are a lot of Warrior fan communities out there online but this place has been made truly special in large part due to the strength of the community. Whether it's folks sharing their thoughts on the strategic vision of the team, people wanting to dish about salary cap rules, social media sleuths that dig up and share tasty morsels of team-related content, game film breakdown junkies, or analytical gurus who provide statistical context to the accomplishments of our favorite team, there is always a lively and interesting discussion happening here that is worth reading. With so many different types of fans comes a plethora of different opinions and fan styles, yet there is always a collegial atmosphere during even the most heated of arguments and an underpinning of respect for each other that is palpable. There is no other community I would bother to share my Warriors and basketball thoughts with except for this one, and I hope to continue having and reading discussions here for a long time. Thank you all for contributing to the gold standard that is DNHQ.

  Edit: Gave Patrick his correct last name, as he only works for Forbes. Sorry Patrick.

• Duby Dub Dubs (27 ♡):

  He back!!!

  > hamsCharania

  Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II is on track to dress and be available for Game 1 of the NBA Finals vs. Boston tonight, sources tell me and @anthonyVslater. Remarkable return process for Payton after fracturing his left elbow on May 3.

• g8tgod (23 ♡):

  I'm excited for the Ws and Dub Nation. I think Golden State has a good chance of winning this series, despite FiveThirtyEight and ESPN's statistical models, and I so want the core to rise to this occasion and show their championship quality.

  I want Steph to shine and finally get that stupid fMVP (and I do think it's stupid how people have regarded that thing), but more than that, I want him to go Petty Steph on Marcus Smart and just /bury/ him. I want Klay to get Klay-hot. I want Wiggins to throw down and be the best, aggressive version of himself. I want finals Dray flying around on defense and commentators talking about how he is clearly the best defender in the league, DPOY notwithstanding. I want Jordan Poole to luxuriate in this moment under the bright lights and have his biggest coming-out party yet. I want Looney to dominate the boards and get a surprising number of put-backs and easy buckets rolling to the rim. I want Iguodala, GPII, OPJ, Bjelica, Moody, and Kuminga to get a chance to leave their mark on these finals, especially with the kinds of energy/hustle/smart plays that don't show up in the box score. I want JTA and Lee to get substantial minutes in a blowout closeout game. I want Steve Kerr to add another ring to his already ridiculous collection and to give all of the credit to the players and his staff after the game, then declare at the parade that he needs at least one more so he can have a ring for each finger. I want Joe Lacob to smile a smug smile and announce that this franchise is parsecs ahead of the competition.

  That's all. It might seem like asking a lot but somehow, it doesn't feel that way to me. Go Warriors!

• Goofus (20 ♡):

  Not sure if this has been discussed, but the fact that Klay gets two days rest between each game (except for between games 3 and 4) could be a really big deal. It seems like his biggest struggles are when he plays on shorter rest.

• OGG Gurl (18 ♡):

  Guys and gals, the Warrioorrrrrssss play tonight! My Maui family came for a visit for an early birthday celebration for meee. So I took the rest of the week off and can now fully live in the glory of dubs basketball. I’m beyond excited! Ahhh let’s go!!!

• Trogdor (17 ♡):

  I just mowed the lawn in my Warriors shirt wearing a university of Michigan hat. I live in Columbus, Ohio.

  How much do you think my neighbors hate me right now?

• Hashemite Kingdom (17 ♡):

  We planned a trip to Yellowstone and Glacier that starts in a couple of days, so life is going to get different for me pretty soon. Being lucky enough to be able to take a trip like this, I'm going to disconnect from TV, Wifi, Internet, DNHQ, Sabrina's Twitter links, everything, and hang out with bears, (not T-)wolves, waterfalls, and mountains.

  Life is weird sometimes. I think I've seen all but a couple of the Warriors games this year, including preseason and Summer League, and am totally smitten by this particular group of Ws. But I'll only be able to watch game 1 of the Finals tonight. I don't know if I'll even do that; I might save watching all four games of the Finals for when I get back to civilization.

  Here in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, I'm hoping for Poole parties every night, lots of Curry flurries, lotsa rebounds by Looney Looney, multiple major Klaygasms, the usual stellar D from Dray, return to form by GP II, Andre, and Ottomatic, and maybe even some contributions from the puppies, Bjelica, and JTA.

  Enjoy the games, everyone.

• FromMunichWithLove (16 ♡):

  So… I have to watch the next two games on my phone. I am on vacation in my home town Berlin but unfortunately at my mother’s there us no wlan. Checking the schedule beforehand, I decided to get a so called Speed Box, to have wlan to take with me. All so easy, no problem, kids game - said the vendor at the Telekom shop. But after two further trips to the shop and four calls to the not so hot hotline, I am still without wlan. 😤 I update my data volume on my phone to unlimited for 24 hours and really hope at least this will work. Warriors will have to play really big so I can see them clearly on the small screen. Please…

• Stefano Gelati (15 ♡):

  Do you remember, an Italian soccer player in the world championship of 1994, whose name is Franco Baresi? He had got an injury, a meniscus tear, in game 1 of that World Cup. Everybody assumed that the WC was over for him, but he showed his ‘coglioni’ (guts, but much less polite), went back to Italy, had surgery, and came back to Los Angeles in time to play the Final match against Brazil.

  Gary Payton, you have the same COGLIONI!! Yeeaahh!!! Make Tatum’s night nightmarish!!!

DNHQ Vidcast on the NBA Finals: Warriors in 6…

Daniel Hardee and Dr. Tom look ahead

• Eric Apricot (20 ♡):

  This is a good celebration of Steph https://www.si.com/nba/2022/06/01/stephen-curry-golden-state-warriors-2022-nba-finals-daily-cover

• Trogdor (17 ♡):

  So some version of this has been said several times, but I'll repeat it again: the Celtics have a very good defense. Full stop. The absolutely have the capability to make life very hard for the Warriors' offense. But the Warriors also have an elite offense. Good offense beats good defense in basketball. It won't be easy, but the Warriors offense has the capability to score on any defense.

  On the other side, the Warriors also have an elite defense. Full stop. But the Celtics do not have an elite offense. They have an elite player in Tatum, and they have good roll players who can get hot. But overall, they are not elite. They may have elite moments, but they are not nearly as consistent or as versatile as the Warriors offense is.

  I think the Celtics absolutely can win this series, but I think more things need to break right for then to win than for the Warriors. As I saw one commenter put it, can the Warriors win in Boston? Yes. If they do so, that means Boston needs to win twice in Golden State. I just don't see this team dropping two home games.

• Goofus (16 ♡):

  In today’s press availability, Steph was asked when he believed they’d compete for a title this year and his answer was when the team finished 15-5 last season. He said with Klay coming back, he knew they were going to be a problem.

  Going back to the question Daniel asked a couple days ago about when we believed, my answer was essentially the same as Steph’s.

Dub Nation HQ Comments of Week, plus open…

The week we made the Finals

• Sabrina420 (18 ♡):

  They're RAMPING UP guys!!!!

  Kylen Mills

  @KylenMills

  ·

  1h

  FYI Steve Kerr said Otto Porter Jr, Gary Payton II and Andre Iguodala "RAMPED UP" today. Those are the exact words I know #dubnation loves to hear. That is all. #GOLDBLOODED

• belilaugh (17 ♡):

  One thing I think people are overlooking is how crucial Robert Williams' health is for this series, at least imo.

  https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2022.html

  Go to the Advanced section and look at ORB% for the playoffs, Williams is at 13% and the next closest guy is Theis at 8.5% (who I'm guessing only plays if Williams is hurt but who knows) and then Horford is at 4.7%. Perhaps that is schematic where they only crash one guy to the glass? But Williams appears to be their primary ORB threat, and if you miss shots and aren't an ORB threat the Warriors don't have to send multiple guys back and can run on you.

  Go to playoff BLK% and it's Williams at 8%, comparable with JJJ at 9%. JJJ's incredible rim protection really fucked the Warrior offense up and Williams can do the same if he's healthy, but if not the next closest guy is Horford at 3.8%. Nothing to sneeze at and Horford is a great defender, but it's not the same level of rim protection threat. Again, perhaps that number goes up if Horford is playing center full-time, but I doubt it gets near 8%.

  I think Boston needs Williams' offensive rebounding and rim protection against the Warriors. They certainly might get it and dominate but his health is not a guarantee.

• Eric Apricot (15 ♡):

  Dubs celebrating GP2’s community assist award:

jayden @wardellspoole

this is amazing 😭

• Sabrina420 (14 ♡):

  Them: The Celtics never lose two in a row so the Warriors are mathematically eliminated if the Celtics win game one.

  Me: The Warriors never lose at home so the Celtics are already mathematically eliminated. Sorry.

• ndubs (12 ♡):

  Just Read Monique’s letter to GPII in the athletic, makes me proud to be a dubs fan and gives another reason to hope for GP2 to get at least a little run in the finals. So awesome to see a guy work so hard to make the league, and in his first real year turn around and use his position to help give some kids hope. I know there are a lot of guys in the NBA that try to help out their communities in different ways, so shout out to them too - but so great to see GP2 do some good deeds as well. My only hope is he can add some cash to his foundation by picking Tarun’s pocket a few times.

• TwoRingTest (12 ♡):

  Woo hoo! Made the comments of the week multiple times. Good thing those ten years of college didn't go to waste.

• GlueAndBold (12 ♡):

  I hear you. I miss gifs and "make it green" but at the same time the quick loading and the lack of advertising are absolutely priceless elements. The most important thing though by far is that we are able to have these conversations. Your content, Eric, is way beyond what fans can typically hope for. Daniel, Triple Dub, you all give us your all, and this place becomes a Disneyland for Dubs fans, even if it doesn't have the budget to be all snazzy.

• DFiB (11 ♡):

  Man... reading/listening to national media talking about the series like it's Boston defense vs. Dubs offense really, really gives me confidence. They're just totally overlooking the reality that the Dubs had far and away the best defense in the league before everybody got injured and we started rolling out rookies a ton.

  Let's go get it, Dubs.

• EyeBlack22 (11 ♡):

  The Bogut injury still gets downplayed by just about everyone. He plays, we win.

• The Sword Of The Morning (10 ♡):

  I have loads of thoughts about this series. In no particular order:

  1. I don't see them having a great offensive series. I think we're very well equipped to guard them, especially if GP2, OPJ and Iggy are healthy. That is unless we're playing JP heavy minutes.

  2. I don't think this is a Jordan Poole series. I think the Celtics will struggle to score against us in the half-court whenever Poole is not on the floor. However, I do believe Marcus Smart and Derrick White can bully Poole offensively (we saw Dinwiddie and even Bullock doing it a few times in the past series). Additionally, contingent on Robert Williams' health, I don't think is a team where Poole will be transcendent against offensively either.

  3. Imo our best approach this series is to make this a defensive rock fight and try to outscore them in transition (we need to be running off makes and misses this series). This means lots of GP2 (hopefully) and perhaps even Kuminga.

  4. We can guard them in various different ways. We can switch (definitely with Draymond, probably with Looney, maybe with OPJ), we can double (we have guys who are experienced in scram situations and good at rotating over) and I also think we can get away with a conventional drop against them too. I'd like to see If Brown and Tatum can make enough pullup 3s and ideally long 2s to break open our defense. Plus, we saw how Milwaukee (with better personnel for a drop obviously) forced them into shooting jumpers all game. And of course, we will throw in weird zones in there as well.

  5. I don't think we can score over them in the halfcourt consistently without having all 4 of Steph/Klay/Poole/Wiggs out there.

  6. GP2 and Iggy can feast on JT/JB in terms of causing TOs which will boost our offense. Let's hope they're both healthy. Also, this might be the only series where I'm fairly okay with Steph reaching lol.

  7. The crucial point in this series imo is Robert Williams' health. He's a JJJ level rim protector and we saw how much trouble JJJ gave us (and even Williams gave us hell in the game where Steph got hurt). However, he has not looked right since he re-aggravated his injury.

  8. They're not a great defensive rebounding team. We've been pretty goddamn great on the offensive glass. It would be amazing if we could win the possession battle due to our rebounding.

  9. We need Steph more than they need Tatum. Basically, Steph needs to be the best player in the series if we want to win. If he has series that is anything close to his 2019 Raptors series, our odds of winning go up substantially.

  10. This might be a series for OPJ more than Looney. Contingent on health obviously.

  11. We also should look to exploit Jaylen Brown off-ball. That might be their only weak link defensively.

  12. This is going to be more of a mid-range series too. We're not getting as many rim attempts this series as in the WCF. Steph, Klay, Poole and even Wiggins/OPJ will need to take and hopefully make mid-range jumpers.

• tempprofile (10 ♡):

  The only people that can divert the Warriors from playing winning basketball are the Boston Celtics and the refs. I doubt Curry gives the FMVP 2 seconds thought. He will go out there, run the plays, and if he draws 2 defenders and needs to pass to eventually get the ball to an open shooter, that's what he will do. And Klay, and Dray, Wiggins, Loon, and JP are all going to what they do.

• ServantOfLuna (9 ♡):

  This dog predicts who will win the 2022 NBA Finals.

  https://old.reddit.com/r/warriors/comments/v28nes/your_2022_nba_champions/

  If you don't want to watch the video, the dog predicts that Warriors win in 6 games (W, W, L, L, W, W).

• Captain Jack (9 ♡):

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport

Gary Payton II is trending towards a game-time decision for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, per @ShamsCharania

• Watch where you're dribbling

• Abaddon (9 ♡):

  I don't usually root against former Bears; in this case I'll root for Jaylen to have an amazing series but Tatum to be a no show and the Warriors to win the series.

  Jaylen is really a great player and person, couldn't be happier for him and his success.

• kinbote (9 ♡):

  Heartwarming piece about Jordan Poole headlining the Ringer this morning: https://www.theringer.com/2022/5/31/23147703/jordan-poole-golden-state-warriors-nba-finals

• Eric Apricot (9 ♡):

  I don’t think any of us is satisfied with all the Substack provides and I sometimes think about all the goodness a custom site could provide. Whenever a new hosting site comes along, we definitely peek at it.

  When we launched and Substack was young and when we were even part of a press campaign with Substack, they were relatively responsive to us, and we got them to change a lot of the comments structure.

  But in the end, we spend all our energy making basketball content instead of managing a web site, so I think it’s been good for us.

• Marina (8 ♡):

  I wanted to clarify that OF COURSE I meant all, not almond, but I thought that leaving the mistake made by the autocorrect was a testament of how exhausted and excited I was.

  SO I DIDN'T EDIT THE POST (shakes fist in the air)

  (I'm sorry, I'm burnt out from correcting a hundred essays. I hope i make sense.)

• Alex (8 ♡):

  We're nuts about you, too.