71 Comments

Dunkomatic 3000.

You are correct, sir!

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JK makes that breakaway-cradle-reverse dunk look so effortless

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That first play is great but would be even better if they had Bjelica there instead of JTA since he could take the three if open as well.

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I remember the first reverse dunk I witnessed was Sonny Parker back in the mid 70's, don't believe he rocked the cradle before hand but was spectacular all the same

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By the end of next year (let's assume OPJ is still on board, expect Belly & Andre are gone), I think this team can be as good, if not better than the 73 win team or the Durant teams. This might seem outrageous, and I do not believe we can match some of the numbers (wins, net rating, etc). However, my argument is simple.

The 1st Gen Warriors dynasty had one thing that this team will never have: the element of surprise. It has taken years for the league to adapt to defending the Warriors one-of-a-kind offensive system. Even 4 years into the dynasty, players were still incapable of unlearning a lifetime of basketball that taught them to keep there eyes on the ball, not the guy that just gave up the ball. Today, you have players in the league who were watching these Warriors from middle school to college. The entire league has been geared to try to defend this system for nearly a decade and it is finally starting to sink in.

Although the system the Warriors run is still light years ahead, the league as a whole has made progress in defending it. Ever since Nick Nurse dropped the box and one on Curry, teams have seen that the Warriors can be mortal. "If it bleeds, it can be killed." That belief did not exist before. I don't remember which season, but in one of them, Curry only played in 75% of the 4th quarters in games he started. Those days are over. Today, Curry needs to go out and get a bloody nose in the 4th quarter against a terrible Kings team.

My point being, 1st Gen Dynasty will always look better because they had caught the league off guard. Like the Borg, the league has finally adapted. The road has narrowed. The mountain is taller. But the 2nd Gen Dynasty has something the 1st did not.

Curry-Klay-Wiggs-Dray-Wiseman

Poole-Moody-OPJ-Kuminga-Looney

GP2-DLee-JTA

I'm just sayin'. If Poole, Moody, JFK & Wiseman keep progressing ..... Holy *&^%&^*&#%

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Feb 4, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

Okay, really good video but super distracting that you changed the music. I was humming the eop theme under my breath when I clicked play and you basically left me hanging.

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So, before Klay came back, there was a lot of chatter about, "Can Klay be 80%? Can we get 80% Klay?" I finally get it. Yeah, I do think Klay can shoot 80% from 3.

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Feb 4, 2022·edited Feb 4, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

Anyone wishing to be considered for rock-the-baby-cradle-dunk greatness consideration, please mail your application and highlight package to: Dr. Julius Erving, M.D., O.G., Hall of Fame, Springfield, Mass. Please view the following before submission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzq7e86m_W4&ab_channel=dsnell48

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Feb 4, 2022·edited Feb 4, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

My answer to "who wore it best" with the cradle dunk: Kobe > Kuminga >>> LeBron. (Using last night's for Kuminga, not the SCW one).

LeBron's is last because he doesn't really put it in the cradle, it's too high, and when he reverses it, he barely pauses and then swings it over the top and around. It's not bad on it's own but it's not really the cradle.

Kuminga's is next because he actually does the cradle. However...

Kobe's is first because he really sells that the cradle is a different part of the move the best and swings the ball hard to the left, and so you have the distinctive "he's in the cradle" pose followed by the "reverse dunk". Spectacular.

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Feb 4, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

My thoughts on the Warriors' motion offense and our second half "adjustments:"

When watching this E1P it struck me in particular the different options that the Warriors have on essentially every play/possession. It's essentially like a football playbook where for each play there are first, second, third, fourth options. If one route is covered, move to the next one. There theoretically is a counter for everything the defense throws at you. It appears to be the same with Kerr's motion offense. If they double Steph, hit the open man. If they go under the screen, Steph takes the shot. If they fight over the screen, the screener can slip to the basket, etc. It very much has a football feel to it.

Compare this to isolation players. The lack of motion and screening takes away the additional options. Not completely, of course, as they can still pass, etc. but the whole offense becomes much more predictable. It becomes much more of a "can our great players beat their great players" sort of a matchup.

How does this relate to the second half dominance? I think it was Draymond who says they don't really make big second half adjustments, they just wear them down. I think this is only partially true. I think that the opponents make their adjustments to take away the options that were working in the first half, and the Warriors already have built in second options. They don't have to make adjustments or try and outthink what the defense will throw at them, because the second, third, fourth options are already built in to the plays. The defense oversells to stop what was working for the Warriors in the first half, and the Warriors already have built in answers. It's less about wearing them down, and more about having their counters already built in to the system.

On the defensive end, the Warriors adjust to the more limited schemes that have been working for the opponents. I would posit that most teams lean more heavily on their stars in the second half, making them more predictable. The Warriors keep running their system in the second half, eventually finding which of their different options work best against that particular opponent. System >>> Reliance on superstars (of course the Warriors have their own superstars, but who have all bought in to the system).

This is of course a simplification, but I think it helps to explain a. why it takes some players so long to integrate into the Warriors, b. why the Warriors' success is so difficult to replicate by other teams (it takes the players buying in), c. perhaps why Durant didn't love staying long term because as much as he appreciates the motion offense it was never "him", d. why so often players who thrive with the Warriors never make any noise elsewhere, and e. why the only things that usually seem to stop the Warriors are poor shooting and bad turnovers (i.e. self inflicted wounds rather than something the defense is doing. Not to say that other teams can't play good defense against the Warriors, but I have yet to see the Warriors play efficiently within their system but still get shut down).

Not an expert here, just some thoughts. Eric is teaching all of us. Maybe some day I can be smart like him!

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Feb 4, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

Ahh Kuminga, how far he came in just one game. He went from ignoring flame throwing Klay coming to a pin down open corner 3 to throw up a garbage 3 to keep the Kings alive, to lighting up the court and dominating with spins and dunks with fluid control.

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Feb 4, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

Kings should be congratulated for entertaining at Chase for the full 48 minutes, their Org has blown so many draft opportunities and mishandled the occasional hit so many times it’s no wonder they dwell near the bottom of the Conference year after year, getting Mitchell and Halliburton in successive drafts gives them some young talent but it seems like as Mitchell begins his push for stardom Halliburton is sinking into the malaise that eventually overcomes all the youngsters on a King’s roster, Halliburton looked so much more impressive in his rookie year than he does now

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Feb 4, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

A few thoughts while watching this one. First my thoughts on Kuminga:

How intelligent is he??? Look how far Kuminga has come in learning the Warriors' schemes? Once you add on that he essentially learned basketball by watching Kobe Youtube videos? He's clearly very bright and is picking everything up quickly. I can't wait to see him in year two! Look at the leap Poole had from years 2 to 3. I think he has a very promising career ahead of him.

That said, it's easy to get sucked into the narrative of "he didn't grow up knowing anything about basketball" as it's so easy to do with players from countries without robust basketball pipelines. His cousin is Emmanuel Mudiay, his older brother played college ball in the US, and he (Jonathan) played HS basketball in the US at some very good schools. I'm really curious as to the value we'll see from that year in the G-League over time as more young players go that route. It's not like he had no basketball training before coming to the Warriors; he's been playing the game since he was two years old.

Even with that above caveat, it's not like the DRC has the same sort of camp programs, etc. growing up that most of the stars in the US grew up with. We have three second generation pros on the team. That sort of upbringing definitely makes a difference. He also only played three years of HS before skipping his last year and playing in the G-League instead. So in essence, Kuminga didn't skip his freshman year of college for the G-League... he skipped his senior year of high school!

We all (myself included) thought of Kuminga as such a raw prospect who would take time to develop. Perhaps instead we should have looked at his developmental curve since coming to the United States for his freshman year of HS. He has demonstrated this sort of accelerated growth all the way along and has taken full advantage of every opportunity in front of him. Many (including myself) have worried about his seeming disinterest in his G-League stints this year. Seeing him now? I'm no longer concerned. He clearly wants to be great and is putting in the effort to get there.

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Just when I was demanding that Kerr bench Thompson because Moody is hitting 60% of his 3s, Thompson hits 78% of his 3s. I guess he just needed some motivation. Meanwhile Moody regresses to a paltry 40%. Some guys just can't take the pressure. JTA quietly had a really nice game so it's good to see him get over whatever yips he was having. 3 steals, 3 assists, 1 foul and no turnovers is the kind of game the Warriors need from him.

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Feb 4, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot

I don’t even know what to think at this point. JKs ability to launch himself to the rim is just amazing. I forget which game (maybe one of the Mario brother) where you had your normal jump, but you could also jump when you were already in the air and if you timed it right at the apex it would give you a boost and you could get up higher. It’s like JK takes off on a jump and then feels like he needs a bit more so does a boost from the air to get higher. I really love seeing him at the 4, with Steph Klay Wiggs, then looney at the 5 running around setting screens and doing the dirty work.

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