50 Comments

Just thought I'd throw in... maybe that Chris Paul guy can actually play basketball.

I mean, I get that everybody hates him, but his career keeps getting written off and he just keeps piling up shocking win totals for whatever team he goes to.

How did OKC manage 44 wins last year?

Expand full comment

Best small player of all time after SC30, imo.

Expand full comment

Spurs and Grizz lost - so there is that as a consolation prize - atleast for a day

Expand full comment

The problem with the Grizz getting crushed is it suddenly looks like Portland is a team again.

Expand full comment

Suns beat the clips, making it more likely the Clippers are locked into the 3 seed. Good luck Mavs, enjoy that 6 seed!

Expand full comment

I am still pretty confident they'll find their way into the 7/8 matchup ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Expand full comment

I was glad to see the Spurs lost and I believe that I saw that White is out for the rest of the season with a bad ankle.

Expand full comment

I haven't watched the Thunder during their recent crash and burn. Is it all tank or do they also suck that badly? For us, I hate hate hate to lose games but I admit getting our pick in the lottery would be great, especially if MN's pick is top 3 and doesn't convey.

Expand full comment
author

They've just got some really interesting young players. When they aren't sitting people on purpose, they aren't as horrible as they look on paper

Expand full comment
Apr 28, 2021Liked by punk basketball

I’m all-in on a playoff run, but understanding that there are consolation prizes if we lose the pick or lose the play-in tourney is...consoling.

Expand full comment
Apr 28, 2021Liked by punk basketball

To be clear, this discussion is all about the W's own pic, not the Minny pick.

Expand full comment

Cause I got a golden ticket

I've got a golden chance

To make my way

And with the golden ticket

It's a golden day...

Expand full comment

Shouldn't the Golden State Warriors play at the Golden 1 Center? Is Steph, in fact, the Golden Child?

Expand full comment

Yeah but Chase is paying the gold for the name.

Expand full comment

Do you remember the Great Western Forum? Why not the Chase Golden One Center?

Expand full comment
Apr 28, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

What I need explained is, let's say the Warriors and Celtics finish with the same record, and both make the playoffs. Do the Celtics get a worse pick because they won the head to head series? I don't really know how the playoff team draft seeding tiebreakers work.

Expand full comment
author

Last year's ties were broken by random drawing. I think that's how we kept the Harrison Barnes pick. https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-2020-ties-broken-official-release

Expand full comment

I still have a recording of my real time reaction, sitting in front of the TV awaiting the results of that franchise-altering coin flip. I was fully aware at the time of how big that event was and REALLY wanted Barnes at the time.

Expand full comment

It definitely was, and it was also how they "beat" the Wizards in 2010, even though the Wizards ended up getting the winning lotto ball combo for the #1 pick in that "worse" position.

But I wasn't sure if it applied to playoff teams as well. Thanks for clarifying.

Expand full comment

Yes! The epic coin flip that got us Harry Barnes was a massively underrated step in our progression from doormat to dynasty...

Expand full comment

Is Barnes that much better than Terrence Ross? I guess Ross can't really play small-ball 4 so we might never have unlocked the death lineup w/o Barnes...

Expand full comment

Yes, Barnes is better than Ross. But more importantly, as Eric alludes to, Barnes is better than nobody, which was their prize had they lost the coin flip.

Expand full comment
author

1. I think HB was a way better fit, and 2. if GSW lost the coin flip, they lost the pick entirely.

Expand full comment

ah I missed that key detail 😅

Expand full comment

Point 2 being the primary point, as opposed to point 1

Expand full comment

Also, I think the Warriors will need to rest some guys at some point during this trip regardless. Especially now that the 6 seed is out of the picture and at best they need only 4 Eastern Conference teams to finish with a better record than them, I think they'll keep their pick.

I don't know if I'd put Memphis as low as .4, but I don't know if I'd put New Orleans as high as .9, especially that game at the end of a road trip on a back to back. Zion/Adams might not be the best fitting frontcourt but it will certainly be a bruising one for an undersized Warriors to deal with two nights in a row.

Expand full comment
author

YES

>@anthonyVslater

Kent Bazemore will travel and return for the Warriors upcoming road trip. Steve Kerr said he will start tomorrow.

Expand full comment

Nice!! I rarely think “we need more Bazemore!” but last night during that scoring drought from hell, I did find myself missing the jolt of energy he brings when he’s on the floor.

DLee’s energy and shooting were sorely missed, too.

Expand full comment

Yeah, both them dudes are an upgrade over Mulder. I don’t blame the loss on him, but he’s seems unlikely to be a spark that gets them going.

Expand full comment
author

Mulder's defense is just so, so bad.

I could see keeping him around as a deep bench shooter or something but the rate of "who's man was that?" whenever Mulder is on court reminds me of Monta too much. He doesn't just blow his coverage, he slips and messes up the entire rotation

Expand full comment

I don't think there's any point of keeping Mulder if they have 6'7 Justinian Jessup and 6'6 Ryan Taylor as possibilities.

Expand full comment

The name alone qualifies Jessup for our team. lol

Expand full comment

Apricot seems to like him. I never could get behind Mulder. I don't expect him back. Warriors really do need to change things up. They are not going to do squat from now until the end of the season. If they were all in on the playoffs, there would have been some moves. I don't think they will lose intentionally but it won't hurt for them to miss the playoffs and they stand to gain something in the lottery.

Expand full comment

I was really missing DLee's floater too - they were doing a good job at the rim, but nobody could hit the floater.

Expand full comment

Our jolt of energy!

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

I really want to see him more. It will really piss me off if he gets picked up by someone else. Mulder had a nice game in garbage time but I would give his minutes to GPII.

Expand full comment

Too bad. GPII earned his place, even though he's not the cure the Ws need. That would be someone who can shoot...

Expand full comment
Apr 28, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

I don’t know how, after all the 2021 draft talk, I somehow missed the part about the OKC pick. I guess it helps the “neither-1st-round-pick-conveys-worst-case-scenario” at least a little more palatable. At this point though, I’m thinking they might just thread the needle we identified early in the year. Keep your pick, still make the playoffs. Mid-teens should still have plenty of talent around to keep building up the future. Minny pick would just be gravy at that point.

Expand full comment

FWIW, I keep forgetting this detail during discussions about “losing our 1st round pick!” myself.

From the team’s point of view, it would seem unlikely that they’re focused on anything other than moving as high in the standings as possible; getting to 7 or 8 still seems attainable and worth the effort, draft be damned.

Expand full comment
author

THREAD THE NEEDLE!

Ok, so on one hand a win last night sure woulda been nice, but on the other... there's no way in hell that this squad doesn't deserve to be in the play0in tourney. Coming in, I think a lot of us had the *ceiling* of this roster somewhere around the 6th seed (or so) - but this season has been far from a "ceiling" sort of event.

From right out of the gate. We missed Dray and Wiseman for all of training camp and preseason. And both took some time to get back to whatever post-covid normal is. Plus we got Klay out all year, even before we lost our starting center (Chriss) to a season-ending injury. Oubre was coming off a knee surgery and took a while to learn the offense... it's all explainable, but to me, the bottom line is that we aren't a team that should end up with the 6th seed in the West this year.

Expand full comment
Apr 28, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

Yea, we're going to win a bunch of games against desperately tanking teams and make the play-in, but after last night it's really hard to be confident that we'll be a tough out.

Expand full comment

In a play-off series, you can get away with a clunker, and would presumably be playing with a rotation that includes Lee, Bazemore and Paschall

Expand full comment
Apr 28, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot, punk basketball

"Chris Webber, who got traded to GSW and as I recall had a long successful and controversy-free career here. Yep."

lol

Expand full comment
Apr 28, 2021Liked by Daniel Hardee, Eric Apricot

This has to be one of your best analyses to date! It's a lot of work but very clear for the reader.

As far as the talent pool in this coming draft, I am not so high on it as others have touted this as being extraordinarily deep. Maybe this means the talent is better after the top 5 or7 and some very NBA ready players will be available then. I don't see any superstars at the top that are completely obvious. No Lebrons or Currys. Suggs had some good games but he didn't play like that throughout the season. Cunningham has the potential, like Anthony Edwards, but is he as good out of the gate? Is there another Lamelo in the mix? Evan Mobley seems much better than our JW, though. After #5, it's anyone's guess. I thought the 2020 draft was pretty good. Maybe I'll change my tune with more input from some of the draft experts when it all heats up.

Expand full comment

What makes you think Mobley is better? He's certainly got more college experience, and that alone would certainly help, but "better" suggests you think that either his ceiling is higher or he has a better chance of reading it, at least to me.

Expand full comment

Whether Mobley is better or more suited to the Warriors of the future than Wiseman, cannot be known with certainty. Mobley is a better all around player than Wiseman is right now and that is the only criteria we have to judge them. He is a better shooter, passer, defender, right now. He is also not prone to fouling. I am not of the opinion that the Warriors will take Mobley unless they intend to trade JW. That is a possibility but since we don't even know where the W's will pick yet, I'm not going to worry about it. JW has a long way to go to really fit in with this team. You see how well the Warriors do without him. They are not a big man club with Kerr in charge. I think he played JW because he was urged to by ownership and the fan base, not because he was ready or able to really fit into this system .

Expand full comment

It's a valid criteria to choose, but it's hardly the only criteria... Luka Garza is probably a "better all around player" than Mobley, yet he certainly won't go as high as Mobley in the draft.

Last year, Poole was one of the worst NBA player by many metrics. Now, he's sometimes passable.

If Wiseman becomes a good NBA player, Kerr will utilize him. He got playing time for development purpose, and he got more playing time because we didn't have any other good options... if Chriss hadn't been injured, I'm sure Wiseman's playing 10-15mpg instead of 21.

Expand full comment

I can’t wait to see JW in 4years time with a filled out frame, with that handle, and those hops - he going to be epic

Expand full comment

Maybe, maybe not. Will he be on the W's?

Expand full comment
author

Daaaamn you brought the heat on this one Apricot

Expand full comment