107 Comments

Your E1P's have dramatically increased my enjoyment watching the W's. Thanks for the A+ content!

Question -(apologies for lengthy lead in) My preseason and game 1 optimism is waning quickly and I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on the mistakes JK is making that seem to be keeping him off the court. I have watched and rewatched his minutes over and over in slow motion etc. I notice the obvious turnovers and quick 3's but don't see annything fatal. Instead of stat sheet rebounds I'm looking to see if he's consistently crashing and in fact he is consistently there for rebound even if someone else grabs. I'm at a loss and am starting to think it's som kind of riff with the coaching staff more than on court. Moody and Podz make obvious and IMO worse mistakes (close outs, fouling 3pt shooters, blow by) and their minutes have both gone way up regardless. Any help will be appreciated!!

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This E1P highlights just how extraordinary it is for Moody to see a trap and react by heading off into open-space just knowing Steph will cope. Steph has been inviting the trap for a while now, so high-IQ teammates like MM have learned to read-and-react. I wonder if the dubs have a hand-signal for "Wait for trap then party"? I propose a four-finger then three-finger signal. As in: "let's play 4 on 3"

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Dec 2, 2023Liked by Eric Apricot

"and now for something completely the same" 😂 I love you Eric

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Dec 2, 2023Liked by Eric Apricot

Idle or Apricot?

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Catching up on the Sea Dubs game. Jayce Johnson with 24 and 8, yeah, 24 rebounds and 8 points. That's a Looney stat line there.

Also, apparently Uzman has been out with a dislocated finger? Man, don't tell Alc's daughter's AAU coach, he'll be outraged.

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Gui 4-7 from 3 is nice to see, too. SeaDubs move to 6-1, despite getting only the rare cameo from their two best players (Podz and TJD).

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Man, looking at the West standings right now and the only teams that doesn't have a realistic shot this year barring a miraculous turnaround are the Spurs and Blazers. A few solid teams are going to be sitting on the couch this year when the playoff starts.

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I'd personally consider Memphis in too big of a hole and Utah not having any particular interest in turning it around. There'll be one team with a +.500 record left though. Let us pray it's not the Warriors.

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Let’s pray the dubs are over .500!

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In Threesus' name...

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Nuggets without Gordon and Murray beat the Suns without Beal and Booker 119-111. Nuggets move to 14-6 and 5-6 on the road while the Suns fall to 11-8 and 4-5 at home.

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Time to break out the torches and pitchforks. Steph isn’t even in the top 15 of the so called Kia MVP Ladder.

https://www.nba.com/news/kia-mvp-ladder-dec-1-2023-edition

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I'd prefer Finals MVP over League MVP any day

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Maxey’s in the list! its gotta be rage-bait there’s no other explanation.

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Well my rage is baited so it's working.

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Torch? Check. Pitchfork? Check. Present and reporting for duty.

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Please remember that this is a peaceful demonstration. We don’t want to hurt anybody. Just stab and burn them a little until they come to their senses.

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Nuggets: 1/5 FTs

Suns: 17/18 FTs

Hmm....

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Nuggets with 22 assists and 4 turnovers in first half vs. Suns; lead 70-63 at intermission

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Nurkic revenge game - they didn't want you! Also, no Book, is he hurt again?

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I TOLD you Patrick Beverly would go 26pts (10-15 FGM, 3-5 3PM, 3-6 FTM) with 8 Rebs 7 Asts 2 STLs against the Boston Celtics. I TOLD you!

OK, maybe I didn't quite tell you, but I THOUGHT it. I mean, for the season he IS averaging 3 points 2 reb 2 assists on 38% from the field.

...

OK maybe I didn't quite think it, but I.

OK Look.

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You wished it into existence.

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Magic beat the Wizards by 5 in a battle of spell casters. Poole throws many fireballs but mostly manages to blow up himself and his team (0 for 5 from 3). Wagner, Suggs and Banchero should have won by a lot more.

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Magic second in the east 🤯

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Theoretician: What would happen if the Sixers sat Embiid and gave Pat Bev the most shots in a match against Boston?

Fan: I’ll bet the under.

Las Vegas: How did we make so much money on that game??!?!

How on earth did Boston manage to take and hold the lead in only the last few minutes of the game with Embiid and 5 other guys out for the game?

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this phenomenon is more common then we think. Starters out, bench mob plays and they are surprisingly good. Several times we have seen it with our own Dubs. My hypothesis would be that the other team does not game plan for the strengths and weakness of the bench players as much as the starters

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I think it’s also natural to let your foot off the gas when you see “lesser” players starting. Plus, those “lesser players often have more to prove so bring underdog energy.

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Theyre also nba players, so just a slight notch below the starters. But heads and shoulders above the rest of the basketball players in the world.

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Grizzlies without Morant, Adams, Smart, Clarke, Kennard, and LaRavia beat the Mavericks without Doncic, Exum, Hardaway Jr., and Kleber 108-94. Grizzlies move to 5-13 and 4-5 on the road while the Mavs fall to 11-7 and 5-3 at home.

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Basically without JJJ as well, who picked up 5 fouls in 13 minutes of play.

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So you're saying it was a normal game for JJJ

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Bane is good. Mavs without Doncic, not so much. Still, with all these guys sitting I’d expect Mavs’ bench to show up.

Kyrie Irving’s great leadership demonstrated once again.

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Great ASMR video, but why so much basketball???

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Jason Timpf video is good stuff: https://youtu.be/rn6TqcjLYTo?si=-c5juDgEUZqIQKyt

Warriors have been dealing with unfortunate circumstances. Goes through positive signs:

- Draymond shooting well is a ceiling raiser

- Klay scored 20 4 of last 5 games

- Podz love - “straight up rotation player”. Goes through all the things he loves about him.

- Moody playing well. Lists a bunch of great stuff. Fits seamlessly in Warriors offense, great defense.

- Steph love. Better at beating people off the dribble than ever.

- Wiggins is playing better.

- Good news that GP2 might not be as bad as feared

“The Warriors are still really good.”

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Dec 2, 2023·edited Dec 2, 2023

If you are feeling down about your 9-10 team, the Defector has an article about the Pistons who just went 0 for November, which honestly is pretty hard to do in the NBA, and don't seem to have any real difference makers despite a few years of high lottery picks.

Got me thinking about how the Kings were roasted for taking Keegan instead of Ivey. Maybe the talking draft heads don't always know what to do.

https://defector.com/the-pistons-complete-their-no-win-november

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