I'm also glad that the Ws finally slowed down the pace. It just made sense against a younger, more athletic opponent, and it had the benefit of forcing the Kings to play defense longer, which wore them down physically and psychologically. Needed to happen MUCH earlier, but glad Kerr finally went there.
Happy for the Ws to advance and face LeBron and the Lakers. The turnaround is too short, but hopefully, playing at home cures a lot of ills. Go Warriors!
Dallas’ offseason priorities, Harrison said at his exit interview, is to add players who can defend and rebound. Two of the team’s underwhelming big man rotation, Wood and Dwight Powell, are out of contract — and Wood, team sources say, is, unsurprisingly, not expected to be back. Maxi Kleber and McGee both showed age-related decline, although Dallas hopes that Kleber, 31, can bounce back with a full offseason to recover from midseason hamstring surgery.
What a leader! ❤️I’m so grateful my son has a front row seat to this generational excellence. And they are all even more amazing then most will ever know. 💛💙
Apparently, Lebron suffered a torn tendon on his right foot on March, which requires a season-ending surgery to repair, but he declined and is still playing with an injured foot.
First forward thinking thing the Lakers did this season was trade westbound and down. Second is preemptively ensuring the Warriors championship defense gets an asterisk
The Athletic provided a summary which also alluded to Steph calling out JK and JP for turning sour because of minutes/roles. He really shouldn’t need to be the one handling that but…
That part worried me too. If that's really how it went down then it seem like JK and JP have missed something important here. There's no room for ego. No one has time for that crap. Cut it out. Do the work. Be ready.
I think one of the things overlooked in all the JK discussion is the impact of getting both Wiggs and GP2 back. JK had cemented himself as a regular part of the rotation, getting 20-30 minutes a night every game.
Then, suddenly, right before the transition into the playoffs, GP2 comes back and fills a very similar role, defensive stopper against the other teams' best guard/wing and 3 pt corner C&S threat and rim cutter. But, JK still got minutes for the last couple games before the playoffs as he was needed as a bigger body and defender against 4s/5s and GP2 was still rusty and getting back into game rhythm.
Then the playoffs start, and Wiggs is back. JK gets 4 minutes and he plays ok, has a moment or two where he's ineffective, but also makes a couple good plays. However, Kerr clearly has him lower on the totem pole than Wiggs and GP2, and he doesn't get anymore minutes. We don't clearly know why, but I have a feeling it has more to do with how slim the margin of error for each game felt to Kerr and his instinct to trust the guys he's done this with before.
But for a 20 year old with expectations of playing a rotational role in the playoffs, this has gotta hurt. He's in his feelings. And that affects his play even more. And Kerr trusts him even less. It spirals from there.
Sure, you can point to his maturity, but emotionally, I'm sure he was hurting and feeling very let down and disappointed. Could Kerr have handled the whole situation better? Very possibly, but we won't ever know. He does have to learn and grow from this, and hopefully he can let go of his disappointment and it allow his lack of PT to feel his competitive desire and intensity more so that he can show up again in these playoffs. He was able to do that in the regular season, from DNP's early into a rotation stalwart by the end. Now he just has to show that he can do that again in the playoffs, and acting as defensive stopper vs. LBJ is a great way to prove it.
FWIW, I think the matchup isn't as bad as we think it is. Near the end of the regular season, JK was starting to develop a rhythm with Steph as PnR partner. If he can step back into that role, and they can effectively pull AD out to the perimeter with regularity, the paint won't be as clogged, and I'm hoping that allows for some high flying Kuminga antics.
I understand Kerr for doing what he did and I understand Kuminga for being in his feelings. Him not playing is hurting his long term bottom line and potentially slowing down his development (since he can' get valuable playoff experience). This especially probably hurts when you came into the playoffs thinking you'd earned a spot in the rotation and that you'd played solidly in the minutes available.
Also, at the end of the video, Coach Nick says that Lakers defense is "10 times better than the Kings." I know Lakers had the best defense in the West since the ASB thanks to the trade, but calling it 10 times better than the Kings is a huge overstatement.
I don't think I see Looney having that impactful of a series against the Lakers. Unlike Sabonis, AD can actually jump and he has the height and wingspan on Looney. Even if he's hustling for the offensive boards, I'm not sure if he'll get them as often. Wonder if we do more small ball with Dray at the 5 against them.
I'd love to see Looney start occasionally taking that shot from the elbow that he routinely passes up. He has shown in the past that he is capable of making a midrange when he is forced to shoot, and if he gets a couple to fall it might keep AD from just camping out under their hoop throughout the series. Just like Draymond sometimes needs to take the three when other teams completely ignore him. If neither of them pose any outside threat at all, it is going to be tough going inside against the Lakers.
Not saying he needs to change his game or shoot/score a lot more, just suggesting that putting up a midrange attempt here and there when they are packing the paint might help to create some airspace inside. He could effectively stay in the play for ORebs on these rare shots simply by following them.
Just reacting to Bobbita's post by suggesting a small wrinkle, but obviously Loongod's primary responsibilities are still facilitating and rebounding, which he has been performing flawlessly.
I think he's destined to play a lot of minutes given that we've got virtually no one else. It's him, Dray, and maybe JMG and JK. That's it. Hope that's enough.
It might not be in the # of rebounds he gets - but it will show up in the higher % of threes we are likely to get and shoot against this team. Lets hope JP, DDV, Klay, GP2 and Moody can all make 3's at upwards of 35% rates - if so, we win in 5-6 games - if not - might be another game 7
Your comment actually reminded me. I wrote this whole thing about Looney vs AD but I forgot I was thinking if they'll even have AD on Looney. Wonder if he'll be on Dray with LeBron on Looney.
I dont think AD is a worse rebounder, he's just a drastically better switch big who can rotate to shooters while Sabonis can only play drop. And the Kings have guards who like to force bigs to switch on to them, which puts a smaller guy inside to tru and rebound with Sabonis (and is a big reason Looney and Steph work so well together). Lakers dont really have that element
No blood elevator for me
Thanks for E1P!
I'm also glad that the Ws finally slowed down the pace. It just made sense against a younger, more athletic opponent, and it had the benefit of forcing the Kings to play defense longer, which wore them down physically and psychologically. Needed to happen MUCH earlier, but glad Kerr finally went there.
Happy for the Ws to advance and face LeBron and the Lakers. The turnaround is too short, but hopefully, playing at home cures a lot of ills. Go Warriors!
Blues clues bed sheets 😂
Harden!
A bad decision/great shot for the 2pt lead...8 seconds left
Fresh thread for all of you beloved folks here at the HQ: https://dubnationhq.com/p/warriors-continue-title-defense-after
I know we just want a 7 game series for Celtics-76ers, but who do we prefer to win? I’m probably leaning Sixers.
Definitely Sixers, would be cool to face a new team and the Warriors have those Philly roots so that’s be a cool wrinkle.
Would also be fun to take out Harden again as well as beat the MVP.
Also, isn't there some Philly losing in the finals streak going?!
mm not sure, boston has an upgraded bench with brogden, rob will is healthier than last year
Prob would rather take Sixers since Embiid’s knee isn’t healthy
Haha me too, I wonder if I am under-estimating them.
Nate Duncan
@NateDuncanNBA
What a ridiculous Boston shot chart. 15/15 at the rim, 8/14 on ATB 3s, no corner 3s or midrangers attempted.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FvFUDB4aEAA4_gj?format=png&name=small
Celtics up 66-63 over 76ers at half. Only 2 FTs shot - both by Jaylen Brown with 30 seconds left in the half
Defense-optional all-star play in the playoffs is a new wrinkle. Wonder how long it will last.
Without Embiid, it's at least mostly understandable for the Sixers.
Missed most of the 1st half, but both teams over 57% from 3, Celtics 'cooling off' to almost 74% from the field. Wow.
Harden has 21 points, Harris has 11, and Melton has 17 for the 76ers. Tatum has 26, Brown has 16, and Brogdon has 14 for the Celtics.
Game One James
Dallas’ offseason priorities, Harrison said at his exit interview, is to add players who can defend and rebound. Two of the team’s underwhelming big man rotation, Wood and Dwight Powell, are out of contract — and Wood, team sources say, is, unsurprisingly, not expected to be back. Maxi Kleber and McGee both showed age-related decline, although Dallas hopes that Kleber, 31, can bounce back with a full offseason to recover from midseason hamstring surgery.
https://theathletic.com/4474477/2023/05/01/kyrie-irving-dallas-mavericks-free-agency/
juicy fruits to pick from
What a leader! ❤️I’m so grateful my son has a front row seat to this generational excellence. And they are all even more amazing then most will ever know. 💛💙
https://twitter.com/mzrmoody/status/1652940918792806401
Moses needs to part the Red Sea under the tutelage of threesus Christ
Dayum... I ain't wanting to see Moody traded for nobody. With a mama like that, he's gonna come out next season locking down fools...
Apparently, Lebron suffered a torn tendon on his right foot on March, which requires a season-ending surgery to repair, but he declined and is still playing with an injured foot.
https://twitter.com/jovanbuha/status/1640118543403606018
https://twitter.com/jovanbuha/status/1640119107650748416
They have rest advantage. If he is really compromised physically I hope Kerr game plans for that
u know what it means when opponents start coming up with excuses
/insert Caddyshack “Ooh, my arm. I think it’s broken” gif
First forward thinking thing the Lakers did this season was trade westbound and down. Second is preemptively ensuring the Warriors championship defense gets an asterisk
the Lakers must be thinking, if you can't get a win, might as well get memorialized as an asterisk!
If the Dubs win this one, No one will remember what was going on with the Lakers. NO ONE. But if it helps LBJ to sleep at night, it's all good.
Let the games begin
Games = hedging?
Did anybody read about curry’s speech before game 7? If true that’s some real “threesus Christ” shit right there.
Draymond talked about the speech in detail in his podcast.
In a previous post, I shared the youtube link declared it was “must watch”. You failed the assignment.
The Athletic provided a summary which also alluded to Steph calling out JK and JP for turning sour because of minutes/roles. He really shouldn’t need to be the one handling that but…
According to the article, Steph did not call out JK and JP.
That part worried me too. If that's really how it went down then it seem like JK and JP have missed something important here. There's no room for ego. No one has time for that crap. Cut it out. Do the work. Be ready.
I think one of the things overlooked in all the JK discussion is the impact of getting both Wiggs and GP2 back. JK had cemented himself as a regular part of the rotation, getting 20-30 minutes a night every game.
Then, suddenly, right before the transition into the playoffs, GP2 comes back and fills a very similar role, defensive stopper against the other teams' best guard/wing and 3 pt corner C&S threat and rim cutter. But, JK still got minutes for the last couple games before the playoffs as he was needed as a bigger body and defender against 4s/5s and GP2 was still rusty and getting back into game rhythm.
Then the playoffs start, and Wiggs is back. JK gets 4 minutes and he plays ok, has a moment or two where he's ineffective, but also makes a couple good plays. However, Kerr clearly has him lower on the totem pole than Wiggs and GP2, and he doesn't get anymore minutes. We don't clearly know why, but I have a feeling it has more to do with how slim the margin of error for each game felt to Kerr and his instinct to trust the guys he's done this with before.
But for a 20 year old with expectations of playing a rotational role in the playoffs, this has gotta hurt. He's in his feelings. And that affects his play even more. And Kerr trusts him even less. It spirals from there.
Sure, you can point to his maturity, but emotionally, I'm sure he was hurting and feeling very let down and disappointed. Could Kerr have handled the whole situation better? Very possibly, but we won't ever know. He does have to learn and grow from this, and hopefully he can let go of his disappointment and it allow his lack of PT to feel his competitive desire and intensity more so that he can show up again in these playoffs. He was able to do that in the regular season, from DNP's early into a rotation stalwart by the end. Now he just has to show that he can do that again in the playoffs, and acting as defensive stopper vs. LBJ is a great way to prove it.
FWIW, I think the matchup isn't as bad as we think it is. Near the end of the regular season, JK was starting to develop a rhythm with Steph as PnR partner. If he can step back into that role, and they can effectively pull AD out to the perimeter with regularity, the paint won't be as clogged, and I'm hoping that allows for some high flying Kuminga antics.
I understand Kerr for doing what he did and I understand Kuminga for being in his feelings. Him not playing is hurting his long term bottom line and potentially slowing down his development (since he can' get valuable playoff experience). This especially probably hurts when you came into the playoffs thinking you'd earned a spot in the rotation and that you'd played solidly in the minutes available.
Coach Nick did a breakdown of game 7 yesterday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPAnS2FAsDY
Watching this breakdown, it clearly shows the number of times Steph was fouled with no whistle.
Also, at the end of the video, Coach Nick says that Lakers defense is "10 times better than the Kings." I know Lakers had the best defense in the West since the ASB thanks to the trade, but calling it 10 times better than the Kings is a huge overstatement.
Long story short:
-Steph is incredible
-Sabonis cannot box out well
I don't think I see Looney having that impactful of a series against the Lakers. Unlike Sabonis, AD can actually jump and he has the height and wingspan on Looney. Even if he's hustling for the offensive boards, I'm not sure if he'll get them as often. Wonder if we do more small ball with Dray at the 5 against them.
You're certainly right that AD has a lot of physical advantages. But my money says Loon outsmarts Davis. He'll find a way to have an impact.
I'd love to see Looney start occasionally taking that shot from the elbow that he routinely passes up. He has shown in the past that he is capable of making a midrange when he is forced to shoot, and if he gets a couple to fall it might keep AD from just camping out under their hoop throughout the series. Just like Draymond sometimes needs to take the three when other teams completely ignore him. If neither of them pose any outside threat at all, it is going to be tough going inside against the Lakers.
Not saying he needs to change his game or shoot/score a lot more, just suggesting that putting up a midrange attempt here and there when they are packing the paint might help to create some airspace inside. He could effectively stay in the play for ORebs on these rare shots simply by following them.
Just reacting to Bobbita's post by suggesting a small wrinkle, but obviously Loongod's primary responsibilities are still facilitating and rebounding, which he has been performing flawlessly.
I bet Loon out-rebounds AD in the series.
Maybe per36, but I'm curious if he plays heavy minutes this series.
I think he's destined to play a lot of minutes given that we've got virtually no one else. It's him, Dray, and maybe JMG and JK. That's it. Hope that's enough.
It might not be in the # of rebounds he gets - but it will show up in the higher % of threes we are likely to get and shoot against this team. Lets hope JP, DDV, Klay, GP2 and Moody can all make 3's at upwards of 35% rates - if so, we win in 5-6 games - if not - might be another game 7
It's time for those guys to regress to the mean in a good way. We really need them to start shooting closer to their usual averages.
Either that, or we need Steph to shoot 275+ shots over the course of this series. :-O
And Andrew... need his shot to start to come around too
Nah, as Timpf pointed out, he's gonna make it a little harder for AD to leave his body and commit to help defense.
Your comment actually reminded me. I wrote this whole thing about Looney vs AD but I forgot I was thinking if they'll even have AD on Looney. Wonder if he'll be on Dray with LeBron on Looney.
AD is actually a worse rebounder then sabonis tho and with ad looking to contest shots, looney might have the same success
I dont think AD is a worse rebounder, he's just a drastically better switch big who can rotate to shooters while Sabonis can only play drop. And the Kings have guards who like to force bigs to switch on to them, which puts a smaller guy inside to tru and rebound with Sabonis (and is a big reason Looney and Steph work so well together). Lakers dont really have that element
De'Aaron Fox said he has a tremendous amount of respect for the Warriors. "I'm glad they were able to teach us that lesson."
https://twitter.com/James_HamNBA/status/1653124120182423554