Honestly that post is a waste of time... Just counting FT attempts, we already know Boston is getting more. Would need to analyze every actual play like when Morey tried to earn the Rockets an NBA title via dissertation. He's probably not up to much, maybe he can chip in and do it again for practice.
Another reason I'm confident about G5? Draymond. You know he's going to want to respond to all this talk of him playing terribly in G4 (which is greatly exaggerated, IMHO). He's certainly one to respond in such a situation. If we can have bounce back games from both Klay and Draymond in G5 then the Warriors win.
The Dray talk is an example of how important the in-game commentary is for shaping narratives, much to our detriment given how vigorously Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson *hate* the dubs. JVG’s bias is otherworldly
This is the thing I don't get ... playing in the finals isn't enough motivation to not have a drop off? It really takes a bad-ish game to get you going?
These could very well be the last three finals games he ever plays.
And, crap, if criticism really does work with Draymond, we need to have Sonia slip his mom $500 /playoff game to tweet semi-mean things about Draymond.
That's the thing, the baseline is being motivated. No one doubts that everyone in there is motivated to play well. The question is which players are really locked in, and which have the extra motivation to go above and beyond. So much about elite competition is tricking your own mind to give it absolutely everything. Also, they've been in playoff mode for two months now. That's a really long time to stay at this level of focus and motivation. Sometimes you really just need that extra lift.
G5 definitely feels like a must win to me. We can't let them take two on our home floor.
As I said earlier, Warriors always win at least one on the road. Check. If they do so, Celtics need to win two at Chase Center, which I feel (felt?) was extremely unlikely.
I'm nervous about G5, but at the same time, it's so hard to see them not being locked in. It's hard to see Chase Center not absolutely rocking. It's hard to see the Celtics' amazing 3 point shooting continuing, which is the only reason they had that miraculous game one comeback. It's hard to see the other Warriors not stepping up at home.
I feel nervously good about G5, and if they win G5 then it's hard seeing the Warriors not closing out the series in either 6 or 7.
Game 1 we were in control and then they sucker punched us. Good for them. I have a hard time seeing that happen again. I like our chances. But it’s been an unusual series, much like Boston’s last two.
Rest of the team will play better at home and thst will be enough. I hope :)
If the Warriors win, I think this may be the performance that finally forces national audience to accept what Stephs unlimited off the dribble range, handle, and finishing does to play big men off the floor.
If Wiseman is good next year, it might get really, really unfair. Take your big out, and Wise will destroy you with rolls and dunks. Keep him in, and watch Steph rain fire on your butt…
Glad he pointed out the shot Steph made where he banked it off the very top of the glass over Timelord while White was draped all over him. The degree of difficulty on that shot was insane!
Elite Superstars v Celtics elite defense this playoffs:
Steph 33.4 pts per 36 on .664 TS
====
Butler 25.3 pts on .582 TS
Giannis 30.5 pts on .516 TS
Durant 21.5 pts on .526 TS
Kyrie 18.0 pts on .588 TS
All Steph haters — including several jagoffs on GSoM who for years have been saying he’s nowhere near the same caliber of player as KD — can get fucked.
The Celtics are talking a really interesting tack to defend Steph. I applaud their commitment to zag against the grain by playing drop to diffuse the motion offense and make the warriors uncomfortable.
Well, the Celtics have given up 108, 107, 100, 107 points in each of the games versus the Dubs. So despite Steph putting on a scoring clinic, our offense hasn’t exactly been gangbusters. And the degree of difficulty on many of Steph’s shots are out of this world.
The other benefits are that it doesn’t really let anyone else get hot. We’re living or dying with how Steph plays (a proposition most Warriors fans will gladly accept).
In addition, rather than having to guard our typical motion offense, most Celtics can stay home on their man. I think this means less fatigue for their shorter rotation at the end of a game and in a longer series.
Lastly, by staying home and not having to constantly chase the play, it puts them in a better position to rebound. And the rebound battle has in large part determined who has won the first four games.
So, I’m not saying playing drop is the right call versus Steph. But it’s clear that they calculated the risk and thinks it puts them in a better position to win games. It’ll be interesting to see if they change that thinking going forward.
I think the rationale you have described is likely true, but was interesting is their willingness to move away from it and blitz Steph at the end of the game. He puts them in such an awkward position of damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I think as per usual the championship will come down to our defense and not theirs
That's true we haven't scored more then 110 but our offensive rating with curry on the floor has been ridiculous like 120 something I think I've seen so no it's not working lol
I was surprised — and encouraged — to hear Udoka say in the post-game presser he had no issues with the Celtics’ drop-coverage defensive approach, and that their issues were all on the offensive end. Could be a smokescreen, but if he’s being sincere: MOAR drop coverage, plz.
Yes, defending Steph is choose your poison, but pretty much all NBA coaches, from Lue to Nurse, have understood that blitzing Steph and dealing with the 4-on-3 consequences is a much less deadly poison than letting Steph curl around basic screens and get clean looks.
Honestly, the drop makes a lot of sense. Udoka is in a tough spot. He cannot play Theis, and doesn’t want to play G Williams or Pritchard that much. That leaves a mostly 6 man rotation including two bigs. He HAS to give minutes to Horford and Williams III. Switching and rotating and recovering with such a short rotation that includes those two is a recipe for getting run off the floor by the 4th quarter due to exhaustion. The drop and hope to contain Steph is a better choice.
Maybe he will try to extend the quartet of Tatum, Brown, Smart, and White over 44 minutes at some point as the series deepens…
Especially now, with Draymond being so out of sorts. In the 4 on 3, the 3 defenders can just stay at home on the shooters, as long as one of them is near the paint to challenge a layup. Draymond isn't going to shoot it.
I think that's a good reason to use more Loon and less Dray. Loon may not be as good a passer, but if someone gives him a lane to the rim, he's going to take it.
Nope… Dray is out of sorts BECAUSE he has no 4-on-3 opportunities. Celtics giving him those will unlock him. They are taking him away with the way they are playing defense.
It’s not completely true, sure. He can be more impactful than he has been. But one of the reasons he has been so successful over the years is the freedom to work in the 4-on-3 against a defense tilted at Steph. Taking that away will hurt Dray’s effectiveness for sure
Which would you rather take away? Curry, or Draymond? At this point, I would think the Celtics would want to try to make someone else beat them. And Draymond is passing up open shots at the rim. He's in his head, for sure.
Taking away Steph will put their short, and big, rotation in an untenable exhausting situation of rotate and recover… the dam would break, and they would get overwhelmed.
Jun 12, 2022·edited Jun 12, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot
Two totally different players. Let’s let Wiseman be Wiseman. My sense is his idealized version is more AD than Timelord, but obviously, AD is close to a best-case scenario for JDub.
Comparison of their games aside, tho: I am very interested in their respective knee health going forward. We’ll never know for sure if their career longevity will have had anything to do with how their meniscus injuries in their early 20s were treated, but we can say that the two teams treated the injuries very differently. The Cs opted for the “traditional” route of partial meniscus removal followed by rushing him back onto the floor ASAP, whereas the Warriors have opted for the new, patient approach of total meniscus repair — the same route Jaren Jackson Jr. took — with the protracted year-plus recovery period it entails.
I’m no doctor, and we’ll never know anything for sure, but: based on the two game sample of JJJ snd Timelord, the guy who took the patient approach looks to be moving around freely and pain-free for 30-40 minutes a game, whereas the guy who went the hasty route seems to be able to play great 5-10 minutes bursts in between lots of grimacing, limping, and missing games.
Anyway, I hope Williams makes a full recovery despite the Celtics’ brass fucking around recklessly with his career. And obviously, I hope the Warriors are rewarded for their patience with Wiseman with a long, healthy career.
Also not a doctor, but it really does feel shortsighted by the Celtics (or whoever was the decision maker) to go the route that they did. If they win the championship this year I'm sure they'll claim it was "worth it" to risk the longevity of his career for a quick fix, but I don't think it will play out well in the long run, especially considering he's still limping now.
No, maybe in JW's fourth season. RW3 was drafted in 2018 and has had a LOT of time to hone his defense.
Even vets like Rudy Gobert or Al Horford are getting cooked on the perimeter.
I would be happy to have JW playing competent drop coverage against most teams and being a terrifying lob threat on the roll. That would make him playable in a playoffs bench role.
If he can achieve the “drop but be able to contest”, it would be amazing. But it’s a high bar. Not many players can achieve RWIII level of greatness on the defensive end.
That's my take. The thing that people forget about Wiseman is that he can actually shoot the ball. Hitting 30% of his 3s and 63% of his FT as the rawest imaginable 19 year old rookie is actually pretty good for a 7 footer. That's roughly what Embiid was doing at age 23-24 albeit with better FT numbers.
Thanks for the breakdown Eric. As mDuo said, interesting to see the defensive looks from BOS. Steph is so good at ruining their blitzes. I hope he continues to shoot well, force them to blitz so he can continue to generate open shots or layups for our other guys.
Athletic alchemy pointed out in his videos that draymond would set the screen for curry and just stand way in the backcourt like russ Westbrook does off the ball, he didnt roll or even pop to the 3 point line to take a shot if he had too.
The tv announcers were also making mention of how draymond would just stand there at the 3 point line while robert William's would crash off of him to protect the paint.
Luckily curry was out of this world but mentally draymond is not their offensively at all, it's fine not making shots and the defense was alot better but he has to be mentally engaged both sides of the ball to get away with being an unathletic 6'6 PF.
Also what's up with him always picking the ball up way in the backcourt while waiting for the offball action? Allows his defender to leak off of him as well since he doesnt have the active threat of his dribble
Yeah, he needs to crash and box in… is it that he’s used to getting a pass out for a relocation to keep the offense moving? It’s just not working against the Celtics…
Right so he has to adjust, he has to cut or crash the boards, it's either a I csnt make a shot I dont want the ball mental thing or a non engaged thing
I bet he might do this if the Dubs are well in the lead in the 4-2 game...30 seconds from the end of the fourth quarter. Then it would be just the icing on the cake but so as not to jinx things this is an entirely hypothetical proposition, universe!
Well, this continues to be an extremely exciting series. Certainly more likely to induce heart palpitations than say, a Durant-era cakewalk over the hapless Cavs. But also quite satisfying when they get the win. This one scared me at the beginning of the 1st and 3rd; the Warriors were looking frazzled and sloppy. Thankfully they settled down and played a really solid game.
GPII and Wiggins were huge (especially Wiggs on the boards! That was the biggest difference from game 3), Klay had more intense defense but a less than stellar shooting game, Poole looked a little more settled in, and Draymond still struggled a bit but not too much.
I like how your video highlights the different defenses Boston threw at Curry down the stretch; it's a great example of how great defenses keep you guessing. And they did about as good a job as anyone could expect to slow Steph down! But, as Coach Kerr said in his mid-game interview, "He's really good at basketball."
Looking forward to another Explainer after game 5. 😉
It's weird having an all time great on your team. Steph just beat their asses in their own home and even the Boston sports network have no choice but to gush over 30. They're not even attempting to hate on greatness here
Unbelievable: https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/nba/2022/6/8/23160732/nba-finals-warriors-vs-celtics-rim-too-high-game-3
Welcome to Boston, the home of deflategate, spygate and now highgate.
Klay went for swim in Bay to get ready for G5. Never change, legend.
"the ocean heals mind, body and soul".
https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1535818345269735424?s=20&t=Jer0gCSpSalIReOKMfsm6Q
Looks like he's waiting for someone in a boat to throw him a fish.
Damn bro. Bay Area Son for sure.
Nice, looks like that photo is reversed…but was a gorgeous day on/in the Bay, I can confirm.
Yup. Went for hike near Pacifica. Amazing. Hoping for fairwnds in the bay today - first sail of this year.
Whet your whistles on this one:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/va6wuy/oc_whose_getting_the_better_whistle_gsw_or_bos_a/
Honestly that post is a waste of time... Just counting FT attempts, we already know Boston is getting more. Would need to analyze every actual play like when Morey tried to earn the Rockets an NBA title via dissertation. He's probably not up to much, maybe he can chip in and do it again for practice.
From Bogut's tweet. What random lineups and is he talking found something this game or for rest of the series?
"........
I think the @warriors found something with a few random lineups.
2-2 what a series!"
Probably the Bjelica minutes.
And the SBDS 3.0 with Otto starting.
Another reason I'm confident about G5? Draymond. You know he's going to want to respond to all this talk of him playing terribly in G4 (which is greatly exaggerated, IMHO). He's certainly one to respond in such a situation. If we can have bounce back games from both Klay and Draymond in G5 then the Warriors win.
He was bad in game 3 also though
The Dray talk is an example of how important the in-game commentary is for shaping narratives, much to our detriment given how vigorously Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson *hate* the dubs. JVG’s bias is otherworldly
This is the thing I don't get ... playing in the finals isn't enough motivation to not have a drop off? It really takes a bad-ish game to get you going?
These could very well be the last three finals games he ever plays.
And, crap, if criticism really does work with Draymond, we need to have Sonia slip his mom $500 /playoff game to tweet semi-mean things about Draymond.
That's the thing, the baseline is being motivated. No one doubts that everyone in there is motivated to play well. The question is which players are really locked in, and which have the extra motivation to go above and beyond. So much about elite competition is tricking your own mind to give it absolutely everything. Also, they've been in playoff mode for two months now. That's a really long time to stay at this level of focus and motivation. Sometimes you really just need that extra lift.
Good point.
Klay, Dray, and Jordan are going to show up ready to work on Monday. I feel it.
I keep hoping for a game where both Steph and Poole have got it going ... when they both are, it's pretty much lights out.
Add Klay and it’s blow out city. And a very lovely city indeed. I’d like the Warriors to build a stadium there. Oh wait they did!
If CheFN Curry wins FMVP would he be the first FMVP to have ZER0 dunks? #underated #unanimous #changedthegame
Tony Parker won Finals MVP once and I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t have any dunks
Hmm idk could Jerry West dunk?
Yep but I don't think he did it often.
So, like Steph? 😝
From the Logo 😏
Is anybody else anxiously thinking about G5? I guess I need to get a life 😀
G5: GS
TL; DR
I’m enjoying game 4 too much to worry.
A little bit. I guess you could say it's not must-win, but it kind of feels like it to me.
I just hope we keep rebounding like we did in G4. That was probably the second biggest factor in the win (after Steph's Barnum and Bailey Circus act).
It's best 2 out of 3 right now, so yeah, I think every game is a must-win to a certain extent.
G5 definitely feels like a must win to me. We can't let them take two on our home floor.
As I said earlier, Warriors always win at least one on the road. Check. If they do so, Celtics need to win two at Chase Center, which I feel (felt?) was extremely unlikely.
I'm nervous about G5, but at the same time, it's so hard to see them not being locked in. It's hard to see Chase Center not absolutely rocking. It's hard to see the Celtics' amazing 3 point shooting continuing, which is the only reason they had that miraculous game one comeback. It's hard to see the other Warriors not stepping up at home.
I feel nervously good about G5, and if they win G5 then it's hard seeing the Warriors not closing out the series in either 6 or 7.
Game 1 we were in control and then they sucker punched us. Good for them. I have a hard time seeing that happen again. I like our chances. But it’s been an unusual series, much like Boston’s last two.
Rest of the team will play better at home and thst will be enough. I hope :)
I’m still basking in G4…
Thinking Basketball: Why no one guards Steph Curry this way | NBA Finals Game 4 analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6_vawdzRok
Makes the point that the Celtic defensive coverage choices are both helping Curry go off and hurting Draymond.
If the Warriors win, I think this may be the performance that finally forces national audience to accept what Stephs unlimited off the dribble range, handle, and finishing does to play big men off the floor.
If Wiseman is good next year, it might get really, really unfair. Take your big out, and Wise will destroy you with rolls and dunks. Keep him in, and watch Steph rain fire on your butt…
Coach Nick breaks down Curry's incredible performance in game 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5HDfHWDqlc
Glad he pointed out the shot Steph made where he banked it off the very top of the glass over Timelord while White was draped all over him. The degree of difficulty on that shot was insane!
Elite Superstars v Celtics elite defense this playoffs:
Steph 33.4 pts per 36 on .664 TS
====
Butler 25.3 pts on .582 TS
Giannis 30.5 pts on .516 TS
Durant 21.5 pts on .526 TS
Kyrie 18.0 pts on .588 TS
All Steph haters — including several jagoffs on GSoM who for years have been saying he’s nowhere near the same caliber of player as KD — can get fucked.
Bro, Curry is a better player than KD but using a singular series against the Celtics to determine that is not the way.
It’s an exclamation point, not the whole argument
Giannis that's very disappointing
In their defense, those people were mad KD stans who aren’t frequenting those boards much anymore.
The Celtics are talking a really interesting tack to defend Steph. I applaud their commitment to zag against the grain by playing drop to diffuse the motion offense and make the warriors uncomfortable.
Well, the Celtics have given up 108, 107, 100, 107 points in each of the games versus the Dubs. So despite Steph putting on a scoring clinic, our offense hasn’t exactly been gangbusters. And the degree of difficulty on many of Steph’s shots are out of this world.
The other benefits are that it doesn’t really let anyone else get hot. We’re living or dying with how Steph plays (a proposition most Warriors fans will gladly accept).
In addition, rather than having to guard our typical motion offense, most Celtics can stay home on their man. I think this means less fatigue for their shorter rotation at the end of a game and in a longer series.
Lastly, by staying home and not having to constantly chase the play, it puts them in a better position to rebound. And the rebound battle has in large part determined who has won the first four games.
So, I’m not saying playing drop is the right call versus Steph. But it’s clear that they calculated the risk and thinks it puts them in a better position to win games. It’ll be interesting to see if they change that thinking going forward.
I think the rationale you have described is likely true, but was interesting is their willingness to move away from it and blitz Steph at the end of the game. He puts them in such an awkward position of damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I think as per usual the championship will come down to our defense and not theirs
That blitz was either a coverage error or a miscalculation. Steph and Dray are not going to be surprised by that defense, and not know what to do, lol
Yeah, I think they just tried to catch him off guard. Luckily both Steph and Dray were ready for the moment.
Agreed that it will come down to our defense. And rebounding.
That's true we haven't scored more then 110 but our offensive rating with curry on the floor has been ridiculous like 120 something I think I've seen so no it's not working lol
Yeah, like I said, as Warriors fans, we’re happy to let them double and triple and quadruple down on Steph proving he is that dude.
I was surprised — and encouraged — to hear Udoka say in the post-game presser he had no issues with the Celtics’ drop-coverage defensive approach, and that their issues were all on the offensive end. Could be a smokescreen, but if he’s being sincere: MOAR drop coverage, plz.
Yes, defending Steph is choose your poison, but pretty much all NBA coaches, from Lue to Nurse, have understood that blitzing Steph and dealing with the 4-on-3 consequences is a much less deadly poison than letting Steph curl around basic screens and get clean looks.
This is going to kill them even more in front of the home crowd
Honestly, the drop makes a lot of sense. Udoka is in a tough spot. He cannot play Theis, and doesn’t want to play G Williams or Pritchard that much. That leaves a mostly 6 man rotation including two bigs. He HAS to give minutes to Horford and Williams III. Switching and rotating and recovering with such a short rotation that includes those two is a recipe for getting run off the floor by the 4th quarter due to exhaustion. The drop and hope to contain Steph is a better choice.
Maybe he will try to extend the quartet of Tatum, Brown, Smart, and White over 44 minutes at some point as the series deepens…
Especially now, with Draymond being so out of sorts. In the 4 on 3, the 3 defenders can just stay at home on the shooters, as long as one of them is near the paint to challenge a layup. Draymond isn't going to shoot it.
I think that's a good reason to use more Loon and less Dray. Loon may not be as good a passer, but if someone gives him a lane to the rim, he's going to take it.
Nope… Dray is out of sorts BECAUSE he has no 4-on-3 opportunities. Celtics giving him those will unlock him. They are taking him away with the way they are playing defense.
This is not true and if it is hes too smart to be such a limited player
It’s not completely true, sure. He can be more impactful than he has been. But one of the reasons he has been so successful over the years is the freedom to work in the 4-on-3 against a defense tilted at Steph. Taking that away will hurt Dray’s effectiveness for sure
Which would you rather take away? Curry, or Draymond? At this point, I would think the Celtics would want to try to make someone else beat them. And Draymond is passing up open shots at the rim. He's in his head, for sure.
Edit: Try to take away.
Taking away Steph will put their short, and big, rotation in an untenable exhausting situation of rotate and recover… the dam would break, and they would get overwhelmed.
The thing is, they're going with what has worked against all the other greats listed by Sleepy. Steph different.
And proceeds to win the game, unlike some other stars they can go off but can’t get the W
I can’t wait to say this. Hopefully in about 5-6 years when Davion Mitchell is the Finals MVP
Lol. Might as well predict Ky Bowman as Finals MVP. Similar players, but at least Ky can rebound the ball and hit his free throws.
Can we expect JW to do what RWIII is doing in this series?
Two totally different players. Let’s let Wiseman be Wiseman. My sense is his idealized version is more AD than Timelord, but obviously, AD is close to a best-case scenario for JDub.
Comparison of their games aside, tho: I am very interested in their respective knee health going forward. We’ll never know for sure if their career longevity will have had anything to do with how their meniscus injuries in their early 20s were treated, but we can say that the two teams treated the injuries very differently. The Cs opted for the “traditional” route of partial meniscus removal followed by rushing him back onto the floor ASAP, whereas the Warriors have opted for the new, patient approach of total meniscus repair — the same route Jaren Jackson Jr. took — with the protracted year-plus recovery period it entails.
I’m no doctor, and we’ll never know anything for sure, but: based on the two game sample of JJJ snd Timelord, the guy who took the patient approach looks to be moving around freely and pain-free for 30-40 minutes a game, whereas the guy who went the hasty route seems to be able to play great 5-10 minutes bursts in between lots of grimacing, limping, and missing games.
Anyway, I hope Williams makes a full recovery despite the Celtics’ brass fucking around recklessly with his career. And obviously, I hope the Warriors are rewarded for their patience with Wiseman with a long, healthy career.
I had a medium lengthy post about this, but then I realized it really boils down to 'I have no clue what Wiseman is going to be'.
Basically, he seems to have some shooting, athleticism, size and smarts.
That's all I can tell so far. How that translates onto a court, and whether he does it before the Warriors lose patience with him, who knows?
Isaiah Thomas enters the chat….
Also not a doctor, but it really does feel shortsighted by the Celtics (or whoever was the decision maker) to go the route that they did. If they win the championship this year I'm sure they'll claim it was "worth it" to risk the longevity of his career for a quick fix, but I don't think it will play out well in the long run, especially considering he's still limping now.
No, maybe in JW's fourth season. RW3 was drafted in 2018 and has had a LOT of time to hone his defense.
Even vets like Rudy Gobert or Al Horford are getting cooked on the perimeter.
I would be happy to have JW playing competent drop coverage against most teams and being a terrifying lob threat on the roll. That would make him playable in a playoffs bench role.
If he can achieve the “drop but be able to contest”, it would be amazing. But it’s a high bar. Not many players can achieve RWIII level of greatness on the defensive end.
I think he means eventually, rather than next season? Could be wrong tho
Sure, at the very least, but with waaaaaaaay more potential. Excited to see it through, like with Looney.
Then again, isn't RWIII like 6'8? Which would make sense why he's so effective against a small lineup
6’9 same as Horford and Looney
Williams can actually pass it some, Wiseman hasn't shown many flashes of this type of ability yet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBgc_gJrmaM
That's my take. The thing that people forget about Wiseman is that he can actually shoot the ball. Hitting 30% of his 3s and 63% of his FT as the rawest imaginable 19 year old rookie is actually pretty good for a 7 footer. That's roughly what Embiid was doing at age 23-24 albeit with better FT numbers.
Thanks for the breakdown Eric. As mDuo said, interesting to see the defensive looks from BOS. Steph is so good at ruining their blitzes. I hope he continues to shoot well, force them to blitz so he can continue to generate open shots or layups for our other guys.
Athletic alchemy pointed out in his videos that draymond would set the screen for curry and just stand way in the backcourt like russ Westbrook does off the ball, he didnt roll or even pop to the 3 point line to take a shot if he had too.
The tv announcers were also making mention of how draymond would just stand there at the 3 point line while robert William's would crash off of him to protect the paint.
Luckily curry was out of this world but mentally draymond is not their offensively at all, it's fine not making shots and the defense was alot better but he has to be mentally engaged both sides of the ball to get away with being an unathletic 6'6 PF.
Also what's up with him always picking the ball up way in the backcourt while waiting for the offball action? Allows his defender to leak off of him as well since he doesnt have the active threat of his dribble
Yeah, he needs to crash and box in… is it that he’s used to getting a pass out for a relocation to keep the offense moving? It’s just not working against the Celtics…
Right so he has to adjust, he has to cut or crash the boards, it's either a I csnt make a shot I dont want the ball mental thing or a non engaged thing
Stephs 3 in the 1st quarter which he followed by talking shit to the crowd was one of my favorite Steph moments of all time.
Would be hilarious if he pulled out the "Night Night" 😂
I bet he might do this if the Dubs are well in the lead in the 4-2 game...30 seconds from the end of the fourth quarter. Then it would be just the icing on the cake but so as not to jinx things this is an entirely hypothetical proposition, universe!
It’s the finals. He’d be way too excited and jubilant to be in killer mode… 2 more wins and we get there! 🤞
Couple of those 3s reminded me of those old 2013 spurs and nuggets series bombs from 3
Yeah, he did it running by the Celts bench which made it even better
Well, this continues to be an extremely exciting series. Certainly more likely to induce heart palpitations than say, a Durant-era cakewalk over the hapless Cavs. But also quite satisfying when they get the win. This one scared me at the beginning of the 1st and 3rd; the Warriors were looking frazzled and sloppy. Thankfully they settled down and played a really solid game.
GPII and Wiggins were huge (especially Wiggs on the boards! That was the biggest difference from game 3), Klay had more intense defense but a less than stellar shooting game, Poole looked a little more settled in, and Draymond still struggled a bit but not too much.
I like how your video highlights the different defenses Boston threw at Curry down the stretch; it's a great example of how great defenses keep you guessing. And they did about as good a job as anyone could expect to slow Steph down! But, as Coach Kerr said in his mid-game interview, "He's really good at basketball."
Looking forward to another Explainer after game 5. 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0tYSAO32Wg&t=300s
It's weird having an all time great on your team. Steph just beat their asses in their own home and even the Boston sports network have no choice but to gush over 30. They're not even attempting to hate on greatness here