Dub Nation HQ Comments of Week, plus open thread

reunions and season-size random endings

Eric Apricot

Apr 6, 2023

255

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

Explain: Moses Moody hustles; Kuminga and…

and Klay milks a three point cow?

nomdesab (17 ♡):
I love when the Lakers lose. IDC.
Arash (12 ♡):
Poole has averaged 18 ppg on 44 FG% and 37% from three over the last 15 games. Over the last 6 games, he's been averaging 23 ppg on 48 FG% and 40% from three . . . he's been ramping up just in time for the playoffs!
With Dray/Wiggins/Donte/GP2/Kuminga/Looney/Lamb/Klay . . . we should have no problem hiding JP on defense and minimizing his negative impact!
Offero (12 ♡):
No question Klay was milking the three point cow :D
tempprofile (12 ♡):
Klay just isn't one to homogenize his 3pt routine.
Loon Gehrig (11 ♡):
Math couldn't be simpler: More Warriors Wins = More E1P's
Goofus (11 ♡):
I think Klay was celebrating OKC’s udder destruction at the hands of the Warriors.
GlueAndBold (11 ♡):
Personally, I like it when he’s fortified with D
Sleepy Freud (10 ♡):
Disagree. They’re basically the same player (roughly the same scoring efficiency, rebound rate, assist rate, etc.) but Tony’s a little bigger and stronger and more capable of guarding bigs, on a team that’s small enough to begin with.
Meanwhile, Moses is gonna be better than DLee in about (checks watch) five minutes, and the last thing we need is another player taking his minutes.
Mr Teal (10 ♡):
Friend of mine is part of a group that has season tickets for the Kings. Asked him how many tickets he gets, what the process is for the playoffs. He didn't know. Nobody knows. It's all new to everyone.
fzwinter (10 ♡):
Steph with zero turnovers last night
TwoRingTest (10 ♡):
Why do we think it's a cow? I don't see any moo-ing.
It could be a GOAT.
Jordan Poole, GOAT. That's what he's saying.
Sanctorum (10 ♡):
Great stuff as always, EA!
And yes, that celebration was udderly mystifying; Klay definitely needs to do a press conference soon to clarify.
Goldarn Staid Worrier (9 ♡):
Back to the E1P, Moody’s haiku (while he patiently settles to then nail his wide open three)? Poking around Twitter, I found his post.
Orb in hands of life
True arc, vision in my eyes
The moon now rises
Belief etched on reality, not bad for a 20 year old.
DFiB (9 ♡):
Nope, impossible. Either we will have a better record than the Clippers and the tie breaker won't matter, or we will have the same record and the Clippers will win the tie breaker. The only way the Warriors have the tiebreaker over the Clippers is if the Clippers lose to both the Lakers and Suns, and then the Warriors beat the Kings. But if those things happen, the Clippers will have 40 losses and the Warriors will have 43 wins and we cannot end up with the same record... so tiebreaker won't matter. These game theory things seem to be a bit complicated for the radio personalities...
wonderyearsballer (9 ♡):
The Red Sea parted, and Moses got the dunk. Seriously, I had to explain to a disappointed party guest Mom that I was raving about Moody, not quoting scripture. Watch out for that one, Dub Nation.

Post-game party thread: Nellie ball!

Warriors roll Thunder

Eric Apricot (33 ♡):
I just wanted to tell you all that I love you
Abaddon (27 ♡):
Not only is OKC good, they’re very likeable. Not a single jerk on the team. Like their coach too.
- kinbote (21 ♡):
  They are everything that Memphis is not.
cpt nemo (21 ♡):
As per Kerr, talking to Moody earlier in the season about his lack of playing time said "I chose to develop in the NBA, I could have played at Arkansas, but I chose this" -- a really mature Soul is our Moses!
Asher B. (18 ♡):
Swear to God I would love an E1P on Bob Myers.
Watching that Myers/Wiggins press conference confirms what everyone knows: best GM around. In terms of team culture, maybe the best ever.
AJ (16 ♡):
DDV was +28. And it matched the eye test. He was great. Also was great in Denver - good sign bc he has been struggling.
DFiB (15 ♡):
Moses!!!! He had a #%€€<%ing GAME!!!!
kinbote (15 ♡):
Gonna need a quick printing of t-shirts that read "Warriors Basketball 2022-23: I Don't Know What to Believe"
TwoRingTest (14 ♡):
Well, that game didn't feel like the thing from Alien was trying to work his way out of my chest in the fourth.
That's an improvement.

Wiggins nearing return - the Warriors need…

#FullSquad!

Sleepy Freud (18 ♡):
7 minutes of Wiggins playoff awesomeness to get you hyped…

Soooo much good stuff: defending the rim; attacking the glass; attacking the paint and going right at Tatum, TimeLord, Horford, Aaron Gordon, Brandon Clarke…
Biggest thing I think people often overlook about Wiggs is that he’s our de facto third big man, on both ends of the floor. He makes all our too-small lineups more adequately sized; and suddenly all the talented big 3s and 4s (KD, MPJ, Gordon, JJJ, Kawhi, LeBron, Tatum et al.) seem a lot less impossible to match up with.
Sleepy Freud (12 ♡):
FUCK YEAHHHHHHHH
This might be the gutsiest win of the season, given no Wiggs or Klay. OKC gave us nothing. We had to SEIZE it.
Bel (12 ♡):
Check out this great Meyers-Kerr interview! They both have so much praise for Steph. We are truly fortunate to have this triumvirate of GM, head coach, and player.

Sleepy Freud (11 ♡):
Let’s goooooooo Kings!!!!
If they knock off the Pels tonight (and we win), we control our own destiny for the #5-6 seed again.
Their game starts two hours before ours.
Alas Phood Fight (11 ♡):
The best way we can support the Warriors tonight is for everyone in DubNation to be absolutely convinced they will lose. Based on how this season has gone, I find that this is the only sure-fire method of predicting the correct outcome ... by choosing wrongly. So, come on everybody, hands together ... now .... P A N I C !!!!!!!
Ando (10 ♡):
Beware Eclairs
Don't Start the Tarts
No-Mo Filo
Squish the Danish
Take Care A the Baklava
and...
Watch Out for Turnovers
Abaddon (10 ♡):
> As per 538, Dubs have a 4% chance of winning it all.
Given how "well" 538 predicted us last year, I think there's a 2% chance 538's model has any idea what the Warriors are or are not capable of.
DFiB (9 ♡):
The "Nobody wants to play us" West standings:
Nuggets - We're the #1 seed and have been basically throughout 2023... you really doubting us?
Grizzlies - Did you see how we performed without Ja? We're hella deep too, and just backed up that playoff run last year... we're ready to take the next leap, you really doubting us?
Sacto - We've got the best offense in history, yeah our defense isn't great, but Mike Brown is awesome and did I mention we have the best offense IN NBA HISTORY?
Phoenix - We won the West last year and added KD. Did you see what happened to the last team that did that?
Clippers - We gotta get Playoff P back, but when we do, we've got the best wings in the league
Warriors - [places 30 rings on the table]
Lakers - LeBron & AD are healthy AND we have real complementary pieces
Pelicans - Back before Zion got injured, we were the best in the West over the first 2 months of the season. We're about to get him back, so...
Captain Jack (8 ♡):
Crazy how the DDV and GP2 combo changed this game and basically propelled us to this win

Postgame die by the three thread: Ice cold…

Golden State shoots 40% from the field, 21% from deep

Duby Dub Dubs (19 ♡):
Woj:
> Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Andrew Wiggins is nearing a return to the team and is expected to be back early this week. Wiggins has missed 21 games attending to a family matter. Huge boost for the defending champions and sixth seed in the West
Five Alarm Freddy (16 ♡):
I just want to give Wiggs a hug. Thank you Dubs organization for the support you showed this man. We love you Two-way.
mDuo13 (16 ♡):
👋 Long time no see, all. I went to Japan for a couple weeks at the start of February and I've been playing catch-up/avoiding spoilers since coming back. Took a lot longer than I thought to finally get up-to-date with how fast the games have been coming!
To summarize how I'm feeling on basketball things: I'm in an uneasy ground between worry and acceptance. Wiggins missing time has, in some ways, made it easier to excuse the Dubs underperforming, although when you think about how it's almost exclusively road/home splits it gets maddening again. GP2 being back has been a pleasure; in particular, I'm loving how the pressure he adds has turned out to be not redundant but actually complements DDV's. I'm disappointed Klay's toasty Jan/Feb mode couldn't last forever, nervous about every Draymond bump and fall, sad that we've probably seen Iguadala's last game already, relieved that Steph and many others on the team seem to be as near full health as you can be at this point in a basketball season, and hopeful that Wiggins won't need past the first round to get in game shape if he's indeed back.
The thing that makes me most concerned right now is that we are gonna need some road wins throughout the postseason, and those have been way too hard to come by so far. Oh yeah, and the Western conference standings are about as nerve-wrackingly volatile as putting your life savings in crypto, so that's... "fun".
It still feels possible for this team to win a championship, but realistically this is about the most "underdog" they've been going into the postseason in a long while. Hopefully that's a motivator that'll propel the Dubs to play up to the moment.
Sleepy Freud (15 ♡):
Sleepy Freud
7 hr ago
Man, I miss Wiggs. Today would be a good day for a return announcement.
Klaymation (13 ♡):
WIGGINS!
WIGGINS!
WIGGINS!
WIGGINS!!!
"Yeah hooooo! You're all clear, Steph. Now let's blow this thing and go home!"
Faye (12 ♡):
I want the team and Wiggins to have all the privacy they can get and for their reunion to be a safe and sacred space.
But that doesn’t stop me from trying to imagine which reunion would be the best. Poole getting his on team bestie back? The core trying to play it cool as the big brother figures but cracking just a little? The biggest grin contest between GPII and Wiggs as they hug as teammates for the first time this season?!
I hope their hearts are all so full.
Nellie (12 ♡):
Man I really thought Klay was going to make that last one
georgedime (11 ♡):
Hopefully we get good news about Wiggins this week, because I have no faith in the team making any noise in the playoffs without him.
Duby Dub Dubs (11 ♡):
21.4% from deep as a team? Counts as ice cold in my book lol
Goldarn Staid Worrier (10 ♡):
Wiggins. Hope grows.
Sleepy Freud (10 ♡):
Regular Season: 5-Man Combinations
S. Curry | D. Green | K. Looney | K. Thompson | A. Wiggins
330:55 minutes played
+24.3 net points per 100 possessions
cpt nemo (9 ♡):
As per Steph
“I still feel like we can [keep everyone together]," Curry said on 95.7 The Game's Steiny & Guru. "Obviously, we understand how important Bob is, we understand how important Coach is, our core, Draymond, Klay [Thompson], myself, Andre [Iguodala], even though he's had a rough year with injuries and whatnot, he's been extremely valuable behind the scenes in helping maintain our culture.”
https://apple.news/AuDQXbmkGTVeYi-CAsFRT0A
Loon Gehrig (9 ♡):
Frustrating to have "one of those games" when a win would've meant so much. One the one hand . . .
WIGGINS IS BACK, who cares about the other hand?

New collective bargaining agreement aimed…

Also: Jokic questionable for tonight as Golden State hits the road

Asher B. (17 ♡):
In addition to salary cap changes, the league office has also recognized that its system of classifying injured players is too vague, that no one really knows the exact difference between "Probable" and "Questionable."
They are keeping "Out" as the most definitive category. The other new, clearer categories are:
F -- Faking. Likes money but not basketball.
T -- Tanking. Might play again if we can lose the next five in a row.
GO -- Greg Oden fragility-level player. If not injured at the moment, will be during the game.
H -- Hangover. May be used for excess of appetite in any regard.
ADZW -- Anthony Davis/ Zion WIlliamson type player. Might mysteriously miss thirty games and you won't even know why.
KLMB -- Kevon Looney, Mikal Bridges type. How can you even ask? He'll be there.
GTHSOTL -- Girlfriend Threw His Shit on the Lawn.
D -- Ducking this matchup. Defender too legit.
SP -- Stat padding, will be playing no matter what.
KI -- Kyrie Irving.
Asher B. (12 ♡):
Let's be clear: the only way I know of to be a fan is to root for my team to win ALL the games. No matchup cleverness, no watching the standings too hard. Win now, win later. If we have to face a team we think isn't a good matchup, recent winning attitude helps a lot more than a two-week limping into the postseason.
Dilly (10 ♡):
Sooo... in lieu of the TMLE, can a team offer a player like DDV or GPII a vet minimum salary & equity in the team and/or a small chain of cannabis stores??
Abaddon (10 ♡):
After a moment of reflection, I think it’s kinda hilarious. The Warriors are close to the end of this run, possibly very close, and the horse is out of the barn as far as the Warrior’s legacy is concerned. We’re in 5th/6th place in the West. Many of the teams that most have voted for this are going to regret it when they can’t keep all the young talent they have on their roster. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Truckeeman (10 ♡):
The players still can vote down this proposed agreement. I hope they do.
The second tier limits for teams like the Warriors makes sense to me - in essence, they are saying "go ahead, build your team from within and pay your self-drafted and developed superstars, but if that's what you choose, don't expect to get any other advantages: your superstars are going to have to do it by themselves." Sucks, but there it is.
OTOH, I think it is an egregious error to continue the super-penalties for teams wanting to keep their superstars and pay them. Players, fans, teams and the league all benefit from players staying on the same teams for many years. Can you imagine how much more cynical everyone would be if Curry, Klay or Draymond had been traded because the punitive salary cap? There is no question that the chemistry developed by those guys over the years contributes to their team winning. Why isn't this something both sides of the negotiation would want?
One thing not mentioned - players are allowed to have equity stakes in teams. To me, this is a perfect solution to the problem of player salaries (if equity did not count against the cap: don't know) - Steph, Klay and Draymond could have received equity rather than cash compensation. Given the enormous increase in value in the Warriors during the Dynasty, this would have balanced out the loss in cash comp. and in fact would have allowed them to receive something closer to their actual worth.
belilaugh (9 ♡):
What a catastrophic loss for the Wolves, apparently they were 19.5 point favorites and this is the biggest against the spread loss since 1995.
Now the Warriors going 2-2 locks up a top 8 seed which of course means two shots at the play-in worst case. Which is nice because they presumably only are favored in two of their remaining four games.
Asher B. (8 ♡):
That was AWESOME. I just really enjoyed that comeback. I don't like losing but I loved that push. Fun game.
TwoRingTest (7 ♡):
Dear friends,
I have renegotiated my CBA with DNHQ. From here on out, I am going to be paid in cannabis and lottery tickets.
Sleepy Freud (6 ♡):
A++++ game for Donte, probably his best of the year. Too bad pretty much everyone else (except Loon) was subpar to bad.
Mr Teal (6 ♡):
>>...no Warriors...
But there are 3 Celtics on that list
Eric Apricot (6 ♡):
I would be VERY surprised if player equity is not counted by the salary cap. There are very strong CBA rules against any kind of compensation evading the cap. Having equity be allowed on the side would undercut the number one goal of owners for the CBA, which is spending the least money possible on their teams.

Explain: Gary Payton II returns to the crunch…

Welcome back, Katemari

Ando (15 ♡):
“The biased refs let the Warriors hide behind the digital scoreboard logo!” -Rudy Gobert
Duby Dub Dubs (14 ♡):
instead of a game preview, I seem to have just written a large rant on the new NBA labor agreement. I hope you enjoy! : )
darohl (14 ♡):
Just gotta love GPII. So great to have him back!
Diving for the OREB, earning the fans' cheers, him watching Klay hitting the 6th 3 of the night, and that smile.
https://streamable.com/maehxs
Offero (12 ♡):
Just shows you how smart GPII is. Never even crossed my mind to hide behind the digital score board :D
GlueAndBold (8 ♡):
I've said it before and I'll say it again. To be the champs, we gotta go through any and everyone. Bring on whomever we will face, be it the Suns, Kings, or anyone else. We only GBC if we can step up for all takers.
Dooner Dub (7 ♡):
So can we consider the big logo in the corner a sixth man???
Sleepy Freud (7 ♡):
*Katamari — meaning clump, mass, or gob.
Our clump, mass, or gob of talent is gonna roll you!!!
GlueAndBold (6 ♡):
Sports betting has gotten way out of control. Game fixing scandals will definitely happen at some point.
JMullins23 (6 ♡):
This I know directly, having repped the League Office: the Commissioner’s office loves dynasties as they’re good for overall TV ratings. But each owner wants to level the playing for his team and thus a working majority of owners (the have nots) prefer to push rev share/salary caps.
Loon Gehrig (6 ♡):
SDSU!!!!
Chaos_Samedi (6 ♡):
Kuminga creeping back to 60% TS (59) despite taking more mid ranges this year and playing less small ball five then last year
Willy White Shoes (6 ♡):
Interesting: E1P highlighting all the plays that GP2 was looking for location instructions, only 3rd game, etc..
My ramble: GP2 wandered around the NBA/GL landscape for years and eventually 'broke' thru with the Dubs, probably mostly because of a unique fit. But.... did the Dubs perhaps identify that dyslexics require unique learning methodologies, and were the first time to go that extra mile?
It reminds me of a story that circulated briefly about Frank Gore as he left the Niners (which I can't find via google, alas.) As I recall, the Niners worked with Frank, color-coding plays and other techniques that allowed him to master the offense quicker than he otherwise would have.
Just a curiosity.... ramble completed.
TwoRingTest (6 ♡):
What's pasta is pasta.
Eric Apricot (6 ♡):
I think I said “hooper Nixon”. The celebration auditor gets audited!!
Dilly (6 ♡):
You would have been ok if you'd thrown in an "I'm not a crook" reference.
Janet (6 ♡):
Katemari joy!
Eric Apricot (5 ♡):
To be fair, I don’t think the league cares at all about dynasties one way or another. Most of the owners want rules to prevent being pressured to spend money on the team. Thus the salary cap and all rules stopping other owners from spending too much.

Warriors aiming for middle of the West…

NorCal hasn't had this in my lifetime

Captain Jack (19 ♡):

Wiggins is back in the Bay according to Dumas. Not back with the Warriors. Just back in town.
cpt nemo (13 ♡):
Just hearing Stephs interview with Steiny and Guru on 957 the game - what a teammate to have. Any sports fan would be lucky to have such a player and person on your team - Dub Nation is so damn lucky that he is ours
WarriorsGoldenGirl (12 ♡):
On my way to the game - Let’s go Warriors!
g8tgod (11 ♡):
Wardell Stephen Curry.
Years from now when he's hung them up and we tell the stories, people are going to think we are exaggerating. They're not going to believe what we've watched day in, day out. Sports fandom is a total luxury anyway, but what a fun thing it is to watch this guy play.
cpt nemo (10 ♡):
We went 4 games above 500, we went 4 games above 500, we went...
YAAAAH - for the FIRST TIME THIS SEASON!
Sleepy Freud (10 ♡):
*we are his ❤️
Goldarn Staid Worrier (9 ♡):
Nice to see Wiggins, um, I mean Kuminga get his nightly 17 points.
Chaos_Samedi (9 ♡):
Kuminga now at 42.4% on corner 3s for the whole year not just post all star, post all star has to be over 50
Chasing Rings... (6 ♡):
"The Court Chessters: an Evolutionary Timeline Comparison of Basketball Champions and Chess Computers throughout the years"
Kareem/Bobby Fischer (60/70's). Tall, cerebral and enigmatic, both were young prodigies who were socially awkard but dominated every level of the game with their supreme talents.
Bird/Mephisto (80's). Clunky, erudite, machine like, these programs played at the pinnacle of clutch play with limited hardware but still won plenty during the 80's until their parts wore down.
Jordan/Deep Blue (90's). Dominating the prevailing world champions and lifitng the level of play to new global heights by playing precise offense and defence, it became clear mere mortals would never be able to beat their infatiguable laser focus.
Lebron/Stockfish (2000's-present). A supercalculating processing machine/mind that dissects the game and opponents to achieve unprecendented individual success.
Curry/AlphaZero (2010's-present). Completely and couterintuitively changes the game, they negate the traditional value of pieces and warp the board to reveal a style of play never seen before.
Wembanyama/Leela Chess Zero (2020's-onwards). We may have solved the game...

2022 Top 10 Warriors Celebrations and Explain…

Never too late to savor a Championship year

nomdesab (13 ♡):
Trump has been indicted.
Be safe out there y'all.
DFiB (12 ♡):
boneless nuggets?
ServantOfLuna (11 ♡):
VP Mike Dunleavy Jr. on Jordan Poole's season: "Most guys [aren't] in his situation... One night he's starting, one night he's off the bench. He's navigated it well, he's playing his best baketball right now. Don't underestimate how difficult that is."

Night Night (10 ♡):
There are more than a few silver linings to this tumultuous season:
The Dubs are often playing as volume shooters with fewer makes and lower efficiency (especially this past month or two). But this allows Looney to lead the league in ORB’s - and discussed as a ‘Most Improved Player’ (via GSOM)!!
And though Wiggins is completely MIA as arguably the second best player on the Dubs (slide into Draymond’s dm’s if you disagree), this has allowed a 20 year old Kuminga to begin showing flashes of the player he’ll be in 5-8 years!
And with these past few games, Poole’s performance has really taken some shots at so-called Dubs fans that continue to diminish his contributions and potential (see below comments from Mike Dunleavey on this issue). The fact that Poole is playing for the Dubs in any fashion - after the Draymond punch - is testament to the 23yo grit and integrity.
While I don’t think that the Dubs are really all that excited to enter the Playoffs without Wiggins and following a season of really inconsistent and uninspired play, it’s been fun to see these late regular season developments.
Eric Apricot (8 ♡):
I don’t believe in most conspiracy theories, like that the Refs are trying to Get the warriors, etc… but it definitely feels like teams are changing their rest and tanking/trying to try to knock GSW out of #6
Captain Jack (7 ♡):
Steph's celebration after hitting the 3 in the final minutes of Game 4 is one of the most iconic moments of our franchise IMO. The emotion I felt from that and seeing Moody being hyped from the bench was a great sight to see. That was the moment we took Boston's soul. Game 5 and 6 was just a formality. They were already dead.

Warriors lay smackdown on Pelicans to remind…

DON'T TALK TRASH TO THE CHAMPS!

nomdesab (17 ♡):
Also Sab is celebrating her 23rd wedding anniversary.
Aaannnd1 (15 ♡):
Mike Brown for Coach of the Year.
nomdesab (11 ♡):
The Sacramento Kings have clinched their first playoff spot in about a million years. And they did it all on their own, by winning.
Abaddon (10 ♡):
The 14-15 warriors were the #1 team in defensive efficiency in the NBA. The Kings are #24.
Goofus (10 ♡):
Off topic: I made a new video starring our two orphaned lambs that arrived at the shelter in December. They are absurdly, ridiculously adorable. See if you can watch it without smiling:

(Video length 2:30)
Sleepy Freud (9 ♡):
*the preseason has only five games left
Abaddon (8 ♡):
Al Horford On How Stephen Curry's LEGENDARY Game 4 Changed The Entire Trajectory Of The NBA Finals | JJ Redick:

(Note: only the first half or so is about Steph)
Chasing Rings... (7 ♡):
- I couldn't celebrate this win. My emotions are so fried from the whole season. After my first game back to DNHQ I just felt jaded and numb!
- I wrote down this quote from Stan VG in the 2nd Q after another careless turnover ,"But I'll tell you what, even with that Brian, so many of these Warriors possessions here in the first six (6)... Sixteen (16) minutes are... Adventures". I'm like "You have no idea do you..."
- I loved watching Willie Green coaching his team 20 points up like he knew a storm could develop.
- Eric needs to branch out into Opposition Anguish Audits! I love going back a forward watching opposition (crowd and player) reactions after a Warrios heart breaker.
Also did anyone else catch this?
The Psychopathic Mindset That Keeps Steph Curry Getting Better At 34 Years Old

Talks about how and why Curry is able to keep getting better... #thereisnoprime

Explain: Jonathan Kuminga and Jordan Poole…

No one can save the gazelle

TwoRingTest (18 ♡):
For those of you wondering where "no one will save the gazelle" came from, here is Stefano's entire post, from the following article: https://dubnationhq.com/p/explain-steph-curry-sets-up-jonathan/comment/13811850
- I have a foreboding. The Lion KumINGa is about to claim his crown. And I feel that will happen in the playoffs this season. I believe it won’t be gradual: JK has already shown that he has an intensity raise in the fourth quarters. Since the playoff games are essentially composed by four fourth quarters, this is what will happen, DESPITE KERR: JK will go on being the critical mass for our sorely missed nuclear defense, and then will start raining middlerange shots to open both the three and the slash-and-assist spaces. He will start going thirty, being the second alternative after the Chef, and leaving to KT the big and clutch shot space. It will happen naturally, like the hunt of lions: nothing will save the gazelle, we already know it when the NatGeo documentary begins.
  We just have to remember padding the lower border of the boards at Chase.
Asher B. (17 ♡):
The league office has been back-and-forth on whether I'm allowed to go public with this, but it appears I can finally announce that this year I am an official voter for the NBA's season awards. The NBA has been wanting to include fans in the voting for some time and integrate new media at the same time, so they were looking through fan sites like these and randomly picked me. It's a huge responsibility but I am just going to give it a try. I thought I'd give all of you an early look before I go public with my picks.
Most Improved Player: For this one I went with Jonathan Kuminga. This probably surprises no one who has seen any posts I've made over the past two years, but this is all about performance. As we saw in today's video, Kuminga can oop an alley, hit the three, has really gotten better at cutting and passing in the Kerr offense. An easy vote.
Defensive Player of the Year: This was a bit tougher. JJJ has been getting a lot of attention, as has Brook Lopez, and of course Draymond is always a contender. in the end I decided to go with Jonathan Kuminga. We have seen on-ball defense really shut down the point of attack players, but this has always been a guard like Marcus Smart or GPII. The most important attackers in the modern NBA are guys like Brandon Ingram, KD, Tatum, and Kuminga does as good a job as anyone in reducing their possiblities.
Most Valuable Player: Really tough choice this year. Obviously Jokic, Embiid and Giannis are playing at spectacular levels. It's the return of the big man with a vengeance. Their teams are winning and they bring diverse skill sets. To no one's surprise on this site, I gave serious, serious consideration also to Steph Curry, who in some ways is having the best year of his career at age 35. Unfortunately he just has not played enough games to qualify, in my mind. In the end I went with Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors. I discussed both his offense and defense above, so I'll just point out that he has, by far, the best smile in the league, and that put him over the top for me.
I do understand that not everyone will agree with me, but that's the nature of this kind of vote, and Iook forward to a spirited discussion. At least I'm satisfied that I allayed one of the league office's main concerns in selecting a fan, which was that we tend to simply root for our own team and players. I chose to look past that and evaluate every player on every team through the same lens.
Son of Aeneas (15 ♡):
I thought PBJ was signalling "3 in your face!" (i.e., in McCollum's face)
TwoRingTest (13 ♡):
It's a beautiful Wednesday morning (OK, not snowing, anyway), I've got a few Kevons in my pocket and the world is my pelican.
Bel (11 ♡):
@SportsCenter
Steph and Klay have each made 250 3-pointers in the same season for the third time in their careers 💦
No other duo has done this in NBA history
Captain Jack (10 ♡):
Keep in mind the referee is standing DIRECTLY IN VIEW of the action. Not going off on this play specifically but I'm just sick of the refs picking and choosing when to take over a game. We just want some consistency.
dinohealth (10 ♡):
TOTAL 3 POINTERS MADE THIS SEASON - ALL LEADERS HAVE 5 games left
Klay Thompson 278
Buddy Hield 271
Stephen Curry 250
Going to REALLY ENJOY IF Steph runs down HIELD the last 5 games....lol
Great win. DUBS at 40-37. We're back in 6th. Hopefully, SUNS with KD back 2-nite, will hand T-Wolves their 38th loss tonight, leaving them at 39-38; SIXERS, at home, drop MAVS to 40 losses, leaving them at 37-40; BULLS, ar home, hand LAKERS their 39th loss, leaving them at 37-39; AND, GRIZZ, at home, drop CLIPPERS for their 37th loss, leaving them at 40-37.
THEN, on FRIDAY, DUBS WILL BE GOING FOR THEIR 41st WIN WITH 37 LOSSES AGAINST THE SPURS, and a better hold of 6th place, with 4 games to go.
Captain Jack (10 ♡): Probably been posted somewhere else already but Andrew has been working out on his own while he's away. That doesn't sound like a guy that's planning to sit out the rest of the year.
Stefano Gelati (10 ♡):
Thank you, I humbly genuflect to receive the crux blessing with the Holy Apricot Sword, in the name of King Joe Lacob, in front of the knights of the Hall of Fame. Amen.