54 Comments
Oct 21, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

I say some version of the same thing every time one of these E1P videos drops. But it's always true. These are outstanding and a huge blessing to the passionate fan who doesn't have this kind of 'insider' knowledge about the game. I still can't see it (most of the time) in live-action, but I just love the combination of basketball acumen, a teacher's sensibility that is never condescending, and good-natured humor. I'm watching on YouTube, liking, and commenting on them all. Thanks for the effort, Eric.

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Loved the E1P as always. What makes this one better is included commentary on in-game mannerisms of players.

And Andre is doing "WGBC WGBC WGBC" dance.

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Oct 21, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

Man, Bjelly really loves playing here. "I know they're happy here with me. But trust me, I'm more happy to be part of this franchise."

https://youtu.be/TIqkl3UHLbg?t=218

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I'm hoping that we're only beginning to see what this guy can do as a W. Once he really hits his stride and all of the teammates know better what to expect from one another, they are going to be a sight to behold.

Pulling back the camera, I am so enjoying this new season (including preseason). It's a such different feeling than in the late part of the dominant run. I loved cheering for the team then, knowing that we were watching history; after 40+ years as a Warriors fan, it was incredible. But the players seemed burdened and eventually a lot less joyful; they were expected to win, and it wore on them.

But after a couple of very down years, with injuries and no playoffs, it is totally fun to be cheering for a team of good guys on the rise. They have the decorated, Hall-of-Fame-destined veteran core that we've been rooting for for years and want to see get back to the top of the mountain; they look and sound hungry. They have a promising cadre of young players with loads of talent, some of them starting to break through. They have veteran free agents coming in and fitting like a glove. Even the coaching staff has that nice blend of old and new.

And none of us knows how it's going to turn out. There is no feeling like "if they don't make the Finals, this will have been a failed year." We're all hopeful but know that Golden State needs some things to go right to have a shot. It is a LOT of fun.

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Oct 21, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

Thanks Eric, a very fun E1P. I found it really interesting to see how early Belly sees the play. I had no idea he had this level of IQ. This is exciting stuff and I look forward to seeing his impact unfold over the course of the season

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Oct 21, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

Wonder how long LeBron can go like this before he demands a trade (of Westbrook). 😂

It's cool to see how the Dubs apply the basic concept of the "relay" you highlighted a few E1Ps ago, by finding a way to improvise it into a different play rather than only using it in predetermined situations. That's high BBIQ and a cool example of the kind of modular play actions thing we're seeing more of this year. Major credit to Bjelica that he's not only executing this stuff off an offensive rebound (not a planned possession) but he's even comfortable enough with it to add a little extra spice with the fake pass despite this being only HIS FIRST OFFICIAL GAME WITH THE TEAM. That's awesome. Those other franchises must've had no idea what they had with him.

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Oct 21, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

Watched the game start to finish and the E1P. Had the same impression from both. Bjelica looks like he’s moving at about 80% of NBA speed, but somehow his balance and control was good enough to be effective. I hope that can last even in the playoffs when the pace picks up, but I admit to being a bit skeptical. That being said I really liked Oubre, so what do I know.

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Your comment makes me wonder- if the Warriors are perhaps the ideal system for Bjelica, what would the ideal situation look like for Oubre?

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I mean … a club full of attractive women?

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I'm no Apricot, but it seems like Kelly would thrive in a situation where the offense was simpler -- maybe guys taking turns attacking (cf. Durant and Westbrook in the old OKC offense), so he stands out of the way, then attacks when it's his turn. It'd be nice to get him out on the break in transition as well to take advantage of his athleticism.

Whether those are the exact right situations, I think something where he doesn't have to make so many decisions so quickly suits him better -- less thinking, more using his incredible physical gifts to dominate.

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Euroleague?

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The way you can start to justify being a lottery pick at age 24 is by scoring 27 on 15 shots in your NBA debut. Credit where credit is due to Duarte.

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Now I know a lot of people preferred Moody over Duarte on draft night mostly because of age, but I have no doubt now that the Warriors would've picked Duarte if he was available at 14th and doesn't sound too crazy when we wanted to trade with Indiana to swap picks. I love Moody as well but it'll take a couple years for him to contribute

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Moody>Kuminga to me so any "they should have got him instead" hypotheticals would be about having both Moody and Duarte (especially since Duarte was picked 13th).

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It was a win for us no matter what. They'll both be very solid but we get an extra few years with Moody

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I haven’t watched Duarte’s highlights, but Moodys passing has been a surprise for me. Not sure I observed the same level of feel from Duarte in his pre-draft clips

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Due-arte

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Davion Mitchell my young(ish) adult son

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Harrison Barnes looks slimmer moving more spry out there.

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Oct 21, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

On Westbrook's first play diagrammed, he is so focused on finding a way to work it into the post with AD that he doesn't even look at LeBron and Bazemore, both of them wide open at the three. That's the exact opposite of how the Warriors play. Every Warrior in that position is thinking swing-swing-three.

My main takeaway from another great E1P: Bjelica's basketball IQ minus Westbrook's basketball IQ = Bjelica's basketball IQ

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You're not accounting for negative values?

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LOL

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Oct 21, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

I effectively double-consume E1Ps now: the free version appears on youtube before I go to bed and then the subs version when I wake up. Are there adverse side-effects for taking double the daily recommended amount?

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author

I salute you for your service

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Oct 21, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

Just loved ones saying: “why are you looking at your phone AGAIN”. Silence. Hits replay on EOP. Based on a true story.

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Oct 21, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

Apricot imbued with that Steph Swagger. From the Youtube comments on the short version -

some dude: Great analysis Bro. You should be a coach yourself

Apricot: You are too kind! But I’m not smart enough to be a coach and I’m too handsome

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Steve Kerr: Wait, what...?

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Duarte, LaMelo, Jaylen Brown, and Patty Mills are a combined 17-17 from three to start the season. o_O

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And as of this moment, their teams appear headed to a 1-3 record. For whatever that means.

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Chris Duarte lighting up Kelly Oubre in Charlotte…

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Oct 20, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

E1P season is back baby! Great work at always Apricot! I humbly request more telestrated bench celebrations, great addition to any basketball analysis.

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Based on the comments below, I am not clicking on the link. Don’t want to give that to them. I will take GP2 over Bradley again and again.

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Here is your typical setup for this type of play. You have your company's banner sitting at the top out there to space the page. The key to the main action is to initiate some dumb@$$ argument with absolutely no substance. If that doesn't work, the secondary action happens in the middle of the page and it typically involves some sort of screen(capture) or evolves into a pick-n-rollyourowntweet.

Clearly they need to work on this play because it renders like my internet connection went out mid-load. But with some practice I'm sure Gabe and ?”??•’?•??•??•–?•??•“?•’?•??•? ?•??•’?•??•?™🏀🏆 will figure this out at some point in the season.

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The end of the article actually says

"the Warriors chose to fill one of their last roster spots with Gary Payton II instead of Bradley. While he was relegated to garbage-time minutes, he also made a big impact during his limited time on the court."

Garbage time minutes in the first half, eh? Just before that in the article they say that the "silver lining" of not signing Bradley is that the Lakers didn't use AB until late in the game, and therefore, with the Lakers not realizing the incredible difference maker they had, the Warriors were able to win this one regular season game. LMAO.

I think the issue may be that the writer of this article... is dumb.

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Here's what I don't like/get about these kinds of articles (aside from the fact that they are dumb): why do the writers quote twitter posts which have zero engagement? I can understand quoting someone with a large social media following and many replies/shares but quoting a post of someone with literally no engagement using any metric available is like chatting up some random stranger eating a hot dog at a bus stop and quoting their political opinions in the Chronicle as if they meant anything.

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I'm convinced GP2 can make a bigger impact, we just didn't need him this game

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Oct 20, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot

Good stuff.

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