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Dub Nation's heroes are looking to sweep the Pelicans on a back-to-back

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Dub Nation's heroes are looking to sweep the Pelicans on a back-to-back

Golden State Warriors, assemble!!!

Daniel Hardee
May 4, 2021
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Dub Nation's heroes are looking to sweep the Pelicans on a back-to-back

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The Golden State Warriors 123-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans was a simulcast like never before. If you were watching the local NBC Sports Bay Area feed, you saw a normal broadcast with the friendly homegrown tandem of Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike. But if you caught the ESPN2 feed, you caught basketball’s most bizarre cross promotional event since Dennis Rodman joined forces with “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan.

The ESPN2 feed, entitled “NBA Special Edition Presented by State Farm: Marvel's Arena of Heroes”, was basically Disney’s creative team turning the game presentation into NBA Jams with superior graphics but cornier commentary.

Twitter avatar for @TheAthletic
The Athletic @TheAthletic
“By Odin’s beard!” If you’re a Marvel fan, volume up to listen to this commentary during the Warriors-Pelicans game 🔊 🎥: @NBA
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2:50 AM ∙ May 4, 2021
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(I can’t hate on Disney’s using basketball players as marketing for their movie franchises. One of my first writing gigs was creating alter-egos for NBA players…as food!)

It was a daring tie-in with special timing. Marvel had just launched an exciting trailer before the game for their next phase of content, and ESPN had Stephen Curry and Zion Williamson on the schedule that night. Those two ballers are loaded with powers from any sequential artist’s fantasies: the smaller Curry’s dashing quickness and mystical ball wizardry, stylistically opposed to Williamson’s brute strength and freakish athleticism.

But as is par for the course in the superhero genre, there were some super-friends who helped save the day. Let’s get into last night’s battle between these two teams before they play again tonight!

Curry will be the best player in any play-in game

One theme I keep hearing repeated is that nobody wants to chase Curry around in a high stakes play-in game. The NBA’s leading scorer demonstrated exactly why against a desperate Pelicans team trying to knock the Dubs out of the bracket. Curry smacked New Orleans with a 17-point first quarter, and then blasted them for 15 more in the third quarter.

Twitter avatar for @warriors
Golden State Warriors @warriors
41 PTS 14-26 FG 8-18 3FG 8 AST @StephenCurry30 balled out in NOLA 📽️
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2:52 AM ∙ May 4, 2021
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He finished with 41 points on the night (and dished out 8 assists), an offensive barrage that was everything that the ESPN/Marvel producers were salivating for. I mean, when their artists were setting up how all the graphics were gonna work, they HAD to be envisioning Curry hitting a sick finishing move on some hapless defender right? I know New Orleans’ motto is #WontBowDown but…Eric Bledsoe had to bow down.

Twitter avatar for @HalfCourtProdu2
Half-Court Productions @HalfCourtProdu2
Curry puts the sauce on Bledsoe (via @offsportsplace)
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1:07 AM ∙ May 4, 2021

SHEESH. That deadly combo was flagrant enough without the cartoony disrespect layered on top. I can’t imagine being Bledsoe’s family watching their guy get hit with 50 megatons of Splash Force.

Twitter avatar for @antonin_org
Antonin @antonin_org
Updated NBA's leading scorers Stephen Curry - 31.44 PPG Bradley Beal - 30.95 PPG
2:23 AM ∙ May 4, 2021
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Zion vs Draymond is worth price of admission

Curry stole the show, but it wasn’t for lack of effort from the second year monster Williamson. Listed at 6-foot-7, 285 pounds, this burly dynamo scored 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field. He’s basically unguardable in transition, and can generate a head of steam so quickly that it feels like he’s always getting downhill.

Thankfully, the Warriors have a hero on the defensive end named Draymond Green who made Williamson work for his buckets. The best of Williamson came when Green wasn’t guarding him; the former defensive player of the year held the youngster to 5-of-12 shooting. Green did an excellent job of matching Williamson’s physicality around the rim while daring him to shoot whenever the big fella was deep out in Curry range.

Twitter avatar for @cjzero
CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter @cjzero
Zion Williamson gets a smoke trail on an airball 😂
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11:56 PM ∙ May 3, 2021
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The smoke trails on that airball were messed up LOL.

Check out The Athletic’s Anthony Slater highlighting footage of their battle, accompanied by postgame quotes from Green and his coach Steve Kerr.

Twitter avatar for @anthonyVslater
Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater
Here is a look at the first ever Draymond Green vs Zion Williamson matchup. Sound on to hear Draymond and Steve Kerr discuss the defensive strategy vs Zion.
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3:45 AM ∙ May 4, 2021
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Curry and Williamson were the key attractions on Disney’s cartoon night, but it was Green who took home Marvel Hero (cue heroic music). Green’s 10 point, 13 rebound, 15 assist triple-double was punctuated by his 3 steals and 2 blocks. He also had a game high +21 plus/minus, giving the Pelicans fits all night.

Twitter avatar for @ESPNNBA
NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
"My kids are watching this game, so I'm the Marvel hero. They think I'm a superdad now." Draymond said knew he wanted to be Marvel's champion for #ArenaOfHeroes
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3:12 AM ∙ May 4, 2021
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Andrew Wiggins: #22 on the court, but #1 in your heart

We weren’t sure if Two-Way Wiggs was gonna play last night as he dealt with knee soreness, but the man showed up to get busy anyway. In a Golden State season marred by freak injuries, Wiggins has played every single game. I used to roll my eyes every time someone said the “best ability is availability” but Wiggins is showing the benefits of having a guy who is gonna show up every night playing defense and helping on offense.

Twitter avatar for @DrNiravPandya
Dr. Nirav Pandya, MD @DrNiravPandya
Wiggins playing every game in a season defined by COVID protocols, injuries due to condensed schedules, and load management is impressive and deserves recognition. Plus, playing hard on both ends places him an additional burden on his body. #DubNation #Warriors #TwoWayWiggins
1:47 AM ∙ May 4, 2021
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His 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting were crucial to the Dubs’ effort last night, including 12 points in the fourth quarter to close the game out. But it was his defense that really caught my eye: New Orleans scored 6 points on 4-of-14 shooting when Wiggins was the primary defender.

As a staunch early supporter of Wiggins Island, I felt a tear come to my eye when Wiggins gushed about the benefits of playing Warriors basketball:

Twitter avatar for @NBCSWarriors
Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors
Wiggins is loving his time with the Warriors and is "excited to play with Klay."
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2:15 AM ∙ May 4, 2021
2,363Likes191Retweets

Timeshares at Wiggins Island are filling up fast, DM me if you want some of that beachfront property!

Twitter avatar for @Con_Chron
Connor Letourneau @Con_Chron
Steve Kerr on Andrew Wiggins: "He's a winner. He's just there for you. He's been very consistent." Fair to say, "winner" and "consistent" weren't words associated with Wiggins until this season.
2:23 AM ∙ May 4, 2021
313Likes32Retweets

Moving On

If you haven’t checked out our Eric Apricot’s latest E1P on the brilliance of Juan Toscano-Anderson, I implore you to do so ASAP so you can learn the true power of JTA’s game. Meanwhile Golden State’s job is not done yet folks, as the Pelicans will be looking for payback tonight.

The game starts at 5PM Pacific time. WAIT ARE THE WARRIORS IN THE 8TH SEED?!

Twitter avatar for @CandlestickWill
Juan T STAN Account @CandlestickWill
Warriors are now the 8th seed Bring em out @juanonjuan10
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3:27 AM ∙ May 4, 2021
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Dub Nation's heroes are looking to sweep the Pelicans on a back-to-back

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434 Comments
alv66
May 5, 2021

I thought the FO was keeping Smiley around all year just for this Zion matchup, but they didn't play him a single minute. What a wasted opportunity... would've shut the Pels down himself.

This is a serious post.

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Eric Apricot
May 5, 2021Author

Okay… I was almost too tired after that ending to write the post-game but I barely managed to hit… the… submit…….

button

https://www.letsgowarriors.com/p/33-33-dubs-fight-hard-collapse-into

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