33 Comments

God, all of these teams sucks except for the Warriors.

Expand full comment

> The Warriors tomorrow will hold predraft workouts with Justin Gorham (Houston), Sam Hauser (Virginia), Dejon Jarreau (Houston), Eugene Omoruyi (Oregon), Jalen Tate (Arkansas) and Terry Taylor (Austin Peay). Mostly fringe second round picks and projected undrafted free agents.

https://twitter.com/wcgoldberg/status/1401692315509571587

Don't know anything about any of these guys but I looked up Sam Hauser's stats and wow that guy can shoot, plus he's 6'8. I'd want to know why this guy might go undrafted while Corey Kispert might go in the lottery.

Expand full comment

I really wanted the Hawks to blow that lead to fit my "Hawks are the 2013 Warriors" take. But the Sixers aren't as good as those Spurs were and don't have the same caliber of coaching.

Expand full comment

Or championship pedigree. The sixers do not look good, even if it's just game 1

Expand full comment

Agreed, but also think they'll handle the Hawks pretty easily the rest of the series. Trae Young's a bit of a gimmick guard, and in a lengthy series, I'd expect the Sixers to make some adjustments. We saw today just how poorly the Hawks handled the ball under extreme pressure - they really looked like a HS team the last couple of minutes coughing it up, and I'd imagine the Sixers will be able to develop game plans to continue to ratchet up the heat on D.

Expand full comment

Yea they'll still probably win this series. They're just really unimpressive

Expand full comment

Mavericks: 10/36 threes

Clippers: 20/43 threes

Clippers brought their three point shooting today. Mavericks did not.

Expand full comment

Mavs started in zone and let them get into ryhthym, didn't make to much sense

Expand full comment

Harden ruled out for Game 2 with hamstring tightness.

Expand full comment

Lol, Sixers. Pulling for mini-Steph. Dude has guts and he do it. Will always pull for anyone that tries to be Steph...even a mini-version of him....

Expand full comment

I wouldn't of started in zone if I was the mavs all that did was get one of the best 3pt shooting team of all time into a groove

Expand full comment
author

Peter Hood wrote this interesting, considered post:

Off Topic. Poole: resolving the back up PG issue.

Ever since Livingston retired, the Warriors have pined for a back-up point guard, particularly one that could be easy on Kerr's nerves. We know Steve loved his Shawns and Iggys and Vets who he could coach without having to coach. But the solution to this problem is already on the team and it's Jordan Poole.

He is a combo guard. Yes. But what he can do on the court (whether playing the 1 or the 2) is less important than WHEN he is on the court, ie, his rotation minutes.

What happens to Poole's minutes when we have a different Back-Up Point Guard, ala Wannamaker? That guy gets the regular non-Curry minutes (first half of 2nd & 4th Qtrs). Then they get a few shared minutes with Curry here or their.

Then, does that mean Poole is our Back Up Shooting Guard playing all non-Klay minutes?

We still have D Lee, a better than 50/50 chance Baze returns, a Mulder who is about to be cut, and a dead eye shooter Justinian Jessup who will be planted in the G League on a 2-way. Even with Klay's minute restrictions, there is still a bit of a logjam at this position.

Point is, Poole is not the 5th Guard on the Depth Chart on this team. He is either your backup 1 or 2. If you want to know what Poole minutes are like being the 5th guard cog, look at his minutes while Wanamaker was in the mix. They are up, down and sideways with his minutes being determined more by match ups than anything else.

If you commit to Poole as Curry's primary backup, it solves several roster and rotation problems.

Rotation

1. Poole plays all non-Curry minutes.

2. Poole needs to come in with 3-4 minutes left in 1st & 2nd Qtrs to wet his beak, get in rhythm before leading second unit following Qtr.

3. Subbing Poole in late 1st & 3rd breaks up the 12 minute long stretch of Dray as primary ball handler - which gets less effective as the Qtr wears on. Introducing another playmaker gives the defenses a whole different set of looks to deal with.

4. This gets Poole up to about 20 set rotation minutes which should be his floor, and which he can extend in 2nd & 4th when playing well or needed for late offensive sets.

Again, Poole should have set rotation minutes at this point, these minutes described sound like a pretty good use of his talents, and if we bring in another backup PG and he is slotted above Poole ... we have to go back to the drawing board to find him minutes every night. I know we need more play making, but it shouldn't be at Poole's expense.

Roster

1. Committing to Poole at the 1 cleans up the Shooting Guard roster traffic.

2. Get Baze back on 3-yr 9-10m (vet min plus pinch of TPMLE). He's a vet, he knows the system, (he's good friends with the system!), solid defender, he can give you starter minutes at the 2 or 3 capably if needed. Vet, versatile, cheap.

3. This slots D Lee where he should be which is 5th guard in the rotation.

4. And Jessup hoists up 3s in Santa Cruz.

If Poole has to get most of his minutes at the 2, it pushes D Lee and expected Baze into more minutes at small forward and we start losing the size battle. If Poole entrenched at the 1, Baze at 2, we start winning the size battle.

4 man combinations with Poole & Baze + pick 2 of (Wiggs, JTA or Looney) all scored 20+ over 100 possessions. This unit performs. I'm afraid Steve may err thinking experience (Wanamaker) = performance (Whaa-Whaa-Whaaaanamaker). But the evidence is clear, Poole & Baze + 2 guys above and any 5th player makes a great second unit. We need to commit to it.

My moves.

Point Guard

Curry, Poole, GP II* Nico one more year on 2-way. emergency only

I believe having an on-ball defensive stopper like GP II as your 3rd point guard on the depth chart is invaluable. 8-10 minute stints on Lillard, Ja, Irving, etc. could turn games. When one of those guys gets hot, you need the "Oven Mitt."

*okay, if a Davion Mitchell or Josh Giddey fall to #14, might go there.

Shooting Guard

Klay, Baze, D Lee Jessup on 2 way

This is simple. No big moves. GP II and Baze both want to play here. A couple 2-way contracts, minimums and a piece of the TPMLE for Baze. What's not to like with these 6 guys plus 2 on hold in the G League?

But it doesn't work unless you commit to Poole and slot him properly in the rotation as the backup point guard taking up the back up point guard rotation minutes. Yes, he is a combo guard. But he makes way more sense as Curry's primary back up than an off ball floor stretching 2-guard or a limited combo guard playing uneven minutes.

This is a clear case where youth and talent wins over experience and Bob and Steve need to realize they no longer need a babysitter when Curry is off the floor. The kids are alright.

Expand full comment

This is great- practically a guest post!

Expand full comment

Not gonna lie I wouldn't mind giddey coming in and playing next to poole and wiseman I think he could really open up both of their games, pachalls too. Probably depends on how his jumper looks in workouts

Expand full comment

> Yes, he is a combo guard

Given we have a combo guard as our starting point guard, this really shouldn’t be so hard to wrap our heads around. It makes a helluv a lot of sense. Will be interesting to see what the FO thinks.

Expand full comment

I understand Bob & Steve's desire to add more play making, but Kerr's motion offense is predicated on off-ball movement from your guards and wings and leans heavily on play making from your Bigs. It's different, but damn if it doesn't work. If they want more play making, bring back Chriss, an underrated passer who can run that old Bogut high post action. Look to draft players like Scottie Barnes or Franz Wagner, guys with size who can move the ball. Why did JTA suddenly become an NBA player? Because he can move the ball from the PF position. So yes, we need more play making. But no, the traditional point guard general is not what we need and it is surprising that Bob and Steve seem to have a hard time shaking that compulsion to get one. And we shouldn't forget, Livingston wasn't a traditional point guard. He played D, he moved the ball and had a post up game like a power forward. I won't argue with Wiseman pick, not a minute. But from here on out, D-Passing-IQ have to be the 3 boxes future players must check off.

Expand full comment

Add shooting to that as well man. Spacing is so important because it allows for that passing/cutting/IQ to have the room it needs to operate and warp defenses.

Expand full comment

100% truth! Soo clear to everyone… except the FO?

Expand full comment

Kerr is as modern as they come, but he still has that old NBA DNA in him. And you can't blame him since 90% of the league still plays that way. A "Play making point guard" is just something people in basketball just assumed was a given, like the size of the court or height of the basket. It's hard to act against decades of basketball inertia.

Expand full comment

You’d think if you don’t have to worry about guys who can break people down off the dribble or “create their own shot” as much, and you focus on the passing and D/rebounding bigs (Krutwig seems like a great fit there) and the screen setting + movement + shooting smalls, you have a huge drafting advantage that the Warriors should be able to consistently find useful undervalued players in the draft, but they haven’t seemed able to utilize the system advantages in the draft at all, except for maybe Poole (who’s work ethic seems to be the primary driver.)

Like a Bryce Wills type from Stanford seems to be the type of guy they should bring a handful of into camp every year. Crappy handles good at the rest.

They keep bringing in iso and pnr guys for some strange reason when there are still plenty of colleges that run motion and off ball screen based offenses with passing bigs.

Expand full comment

I'm not sure if they are bringing in iso pnr guys as much as trying to find any value given draft position. 2013-2018 (7 years), we had 6 draft picks and purchased 2 others (McCaw & Bell). Our total draft value, using most common draft value models, over that 7 year period was equivalent to the Warriors getting the 37th pick in the draft 7 years running. Over that period Philly, had the most draft capitol, 35 picks with a value 9 times that of GSW. Crazy fact: Warriors had more draft value in last year's draft than the previous 7 years combined. If MIN pick conveys this year, we will again have more draft value this year than those 7 barren years combined. Meyers pulled Looney, Poole and Pashchall out of a garbage bin behind a 7/11. But your right in that the Warriors can make a guy like JTA a good NBA player because of the advantages their system creates for players that might not make the cut on a more traditional team. And some of the Warriors system can be learned. Mid-season, Oubre started blending in more. You can substitute effort and hard work and practice to make up for natural IQ. But ballers like JTA, true hoopers, players who have that natural feel for the game are the people who make the game great to watch.

Expand full comment

Bingo. You beat me to it. And, I totally agree with Eric.

Expand full comment

https://twitter.com/Mike_Schmitz/status/1401180224264368137

We're in edited draft workout video season now. Scottie Barnes firing a shot with this one, Jonathan Kuminga is going to need to respond with a video of him hitting some jumpers soon.

Expand full comment

Scottie Barnes is my new crack. I'm gonna have to go inpatient rehab after the draft to get off his videos. Damn.

Expand full comment
author

Ok, while JKidd is a bad coach and worse person, to not even want an interview for a head coaching gig seems weird

> @wojespn

Lakers assistant Jason Kidd has withdrawn his name from consideration for Portland’s head coaching vacancy, Kidd tells ESPN. “Portland’s a first-class organization and will have great candidates…but I’ve decided not to be one of them.”

Expand full comment
author

Maybe POR told him no way in hell he would be hired, and he released this to save face? Or maybe they told him the salary would be too low?

Expand full comment
Jun 6, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

Chelsea Lane leaving was the turning point back downwards for the Warriors. I’m going with Seth on this one. Defense + Seth = ???

Expand full comment

Chelsea had a great run with Warriors, but dead ringer for my ex-wife, so I'm okay with the devastating injuries and draft picks. LTM (Laughing to Myself)

Expand full comment
Jun 6, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

Atlanta Hawks friends = athletic performance veep Chelsea Lane

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

That one hurts. The D was where the team saw the most progress this year, and that was under his purview. I was hoping Brown would get a good job and be the one to move on since the majority of the team's underperformance seemed to be in his area: lineups.

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
author

Yeah, Kidd is so sensitive to the feelings of POR management and Dame….

This continues to sound like a face-saving cover story for POR wouldn’t or couldn’t meet Kidd’s back channel demands.

Expand full comment