Not going to give full player grades for this game, which I only just got around to watching earlier today, but my impressions:
- The defense early on was getting roasted by cuts and drives. There were a bunch of ones that should not have been that easy, but I couldn't pinpoint why seemingly everyone was getting beat. Sometimes the shots were contested but Denver made all the tough layups.
- Jokic continues to be an absolute joy to watch. One of the most mesmerizingly unique players in the game.
- Steph looked pretty hot early; I was disappointed the rest of the team weren't looking for him more. Felt like he also had a lot more breathing room compared to the last few games. You can just feel the difference between Denver's D and Tor/Ind/LAC.
- Looks like Oubre is gradually learning to play the Warriors offense, though he's still not automatic on setting screens for guys.
- Wiseman looked more controlled as well. Jokic obviously outplayed him but that was expected. But I caught more glimpses of him developing a two man game with Steph, he looked like he belonged on the court, and he struck a good balance of using his jumper when it was available and other approaches when it wasn't.
This team is still a work in progress and you hate to see all the missed layups and defensive mixups. But this is one of those games where, if we had the baseball series runback immediately, I'd feel good about our odds.
The NBA is considering adding another two-way slot as a COVID response per Shams. It's a bit pathetic of a COVID response but regardless, isn't this a perfect opportunity to add Spellman? They wouldn't even have to cut Smailagic to do it so they could still cut him if they decided to use the DPE.
Pros:
-Eligible for a two-way since he has four years or fewer of NBA experience, and presumably available since he got waived last week and no one has signed him.
-Can shoot, which this team really needs.
-Plays the 4/5, which is different from the other two-way guys. When Paschall was out, that center rotation was looking really thin.
-Unique skillset among Warrior backup bigs, a position from which shooting could really help relieve the pressure on Curry given how entrenched Green/Wiggins/Oubre are in the other spots.
-Spent half a season in the system and seemed happy at the time.
-Could supplant Smailagic as the "future bench shooting big" and convince the Warriors to take the L and move on.
Cons:
-Every team would have another two-way contract so there would be competition for him, and maybe another team like the Blazers or Nets can promise more playing time opportunities.
-GSW/MIN/NYK all traded him or cut him, only the Warriors know for sure if they were happy or sad to do so.
-Who knows where his fitness/weight is at and how ready he is to play.
The last con is the huge question mark of course, but presumably the Warriors could get some info on that before they'd sign him?
I just realized how overpaid dray will be relative to his production with his contract. Though he's def still getting back into things so I'm open to changing my mind
I think Wiseman needs to take a page out of Pau Gasol's book of ball security too. Keep that ball in the sky at all times until it's ready to go in the basket! These guys in the NBA just have insanely fast hands and that ball is always prone for theft when you put it on the floor
> Wiseman seems to do better when he nails someone with the screen instead of slipping. He never seems open on the slip or ready to catch.
I'm going to start looking for this, because on a couple of his big dunks I definitely remember him setting a quality screen rather than slipping immediately. Good observation.
The Warriors are pretty much the team people expected them to be at this point. They play pretty good individual defense, poor team defense, lack outside shooting from the starters other than Curry, and Wiseman is a super athletic big man whose basketball skills are a work in progress. Assuming they gel on defense and improve, they are still a fringe playoff team (because let's face it, in a league where 1/2 the teams go to the playoffs, almost every team is a fringe playoff team ... except, of course, the 1994 to 2005 Warriors where by this time of year, the primary excitement came from upcoming draft).
The starters went -2 in the 1st quarter, and then Bazemore and Looney came in, and in 5:34 of court time, they went -11. In particular, the Curry-Bazemore-Wiggins-Paschall-Looney unit went -8 over the final 2:12 of the 1st. Ouch.
Then in the 3rd quarter, Curry-Bazemore-Lee-Paschall-Looney went -5 in 1:33. Welp.
Our Paschall-at-the-5 bench units of Wanamaker-Mulder/Bazemore-Lee-Wiggins-Paschall went +7 in ~9 minutes of action.
So yeah, our lineup with the most shooters spread throughout had good returns, surprise, surprise. The starters generally played even with the Nuggets, but those Paschall-Looney units got crushed. Kinda seems like Paschall is specifically a smallball 5, maybe he can play next to Wiseman, but I think like we saw last year that Draymond's offense is too ignorable to be able to play next to Paschall, same thing is happening with Looney-Paschall.
Our defensive rotations have been so out of whack all season so far. Two players always running at one shooter leaving a wide open shooter or cutter. I think if we shore up on that and our defensive rebounding we'd look way better. It probably would have won this game. And Kerr... don't be afraid to play Wiseman more minutes
Definitely high altitude effects performance. If you've ever gone from sea level to alpine in a matter of hours, try getting on cross country skis and having a go at it. Even your automobile is not functioning at its optimum. No power. Fact not fiction.
Amen about the wraparound passes to Wiseman. I commented on that a game or two ago. The kid can fly high and has wings like a California Condor. Lob it and let him grab it and slam it. Another "WTF" was some of the turnovers. Steph sometimes seems to mentally check out and throw it away or get stripped out of sloppiness. It's puzzling for a great player with a high BBIQ. I realize that's not new but the Hamptons 5 could afford it, and this team can't.
Semi - random question. (Only semi random since we are now exactly 0.500. Does anyone know, with the play-in tournament, which teams are in the draft lottery? If you are the 10 seed, but make the playoffs through the play in tournament, do you get ping pong balls? What if you are the 7 seed, but don’t make the playoffs? It used to be pretty strightforward, if you don’t make the playoffs, you are in the lottery. Seems a little more complicated this year. It sure would be fun to make the playoffs as a 9 seed AND win the #1 draft pick through a lucky streak with the ping pong balls! (And of course Minnesota gives us there #4 pick which they were so close to hanging on to). Clearly I am trying to find a way to move on from that disappointing game.
Not going to give full player grades for this game, which I only just got around to watching earlier today, but my impressions:
- The defense early on was getting roasted by cuts and drives. There were a bunch of ones that should not have been that easy, but I couldn't pinpoint why seemingly everyone was getting beat. Sometimes the shots were contested but Denver made all the tough layups.
- Jokic continues to be an absolute joy to watch. One of the most mesmerizingly unique players in the game.
- Steph looked pretty hot early; I was disappointed the rest of the team weren't looking for him more. Felt like he also had a lot more breathing room compared to the last few games. You can just feel the difference between Denver's D and Tor/Ind/LAC.
- Looks like Oubre is gradually learning to play the Warriors offense, though he's still not automatic on setting screens for guys.
- Wiseman looked more controlled as well. Jokic obviously outplayed him but that was expected. But I caught more glimpses of him developing a two man game with Steph, he looked like he belonged on the court, and he struck a good balance of using his jumper when it was available and other approaches when it wasn't.
This team is still a work in progress and you hate to see all the missed layups and defensive mixups. But this is one of those games where, if we had the baseball series runback immediately, I'd feel good about our odds.
The NBA is considering adding another two-way slot as a COVID response per Shams. It's a bit pathetic of a COVID response but regardless, isn't this a perfect opportunity to add Spellman? They wouldn't even have to cut Smailagic to do it so they could still cut him if they decided to use the DPE.
Pros:
-Eligible for a two-way since he has four years or fewer of NBA experience, and presumably available since he got waived last week and no one has signed him.
-Can shoot, which this team really needs.
-Plays the 4/5, which is different from the other two-way guys. When Paschall was out, that center rotation was looking really thin.
-Unique skillset among Warrior backup bigs, a position from which shooting could really help relieve the pressure on Curry given how entrenched Green/Wiggins/Oubre are in the other spots.
-Spent half a season in the system and seemed happy at the time.
-Could supplant Smailagic as the "future bench shooting big" and convince the Warriors to take the L and move on.
Cons:
-Every team would have another two-way contract so there would be competition for him, and maybe another team like the Blazers or Nets can promise more playing time opportunities.
-GSW/MIN/NYK all traded him or cut him, only the Warriors know for sure if they were happy or sad to do so.
-Who knows where his fitness/weight is at and how ready he is to play.
The last con is the huge question mark of course, but presumably the Warriors could get some info on that before they'd sign him?
I just realized how overpaid dray will be relative to his production with his contract. Though he's def still getting back into things so I'm open to changing my mind
It must be hard to join a new team, learn new plays/roles, operate in a pandemic--- all while being extorted by an ex-girlfriend for $3 million dollars. All of this is certainly playing in to Oubre's comfort level. https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/warriors-kelly-oubre-claims-ex-girlfriend-tried-extort-him-3m
I think Wiseman needs to take a page out of Pau Gasol's book of ball security too. Keep that ball in the sky at all times until it's ready to go in the basket! These guys in the NBA just have insanely fast hands and that ball is always prone for theft when you put it on the floor
What do y'all think Wiseman might have learned from Jokic last night? I can just imagine Draymond going over the video with him...
> Wiseman seems to do better when he nails someone with the screen instead of slipping. He never seems open on the slip or ready to catch.
I'm going to start looking for this, because on a couple of his big dunks I definitely remember him setting a quality screen rather than slipping immediately. Good observation.
Here's how the Warriors stats look so far this season:
Offense:
14 in points scored (111.3)
27 in points in paint (41.3)
11 in fastbreak points (14.6)
24 in offensive efficiency
27 in shooting % (43.9%)
20 in three point % (35.2%)
22 in two point % (50.2%)
28 in off. rebound % (17.6%)
27 in def. rebound % (76.4%)
30 in total rebound % (47.3%)
18 in opponent blocks (5.5)
14 in opponent steals (7.7)
14 in assists (25.2)
17 in turnovers (15.0)
Defense:
25 in points allowed (115.3)
9 in opponent points in paint!!!! (43.5)
24 in opponent fastbreak points (14.6)
15 in defensive efficiency
7 in opponent shooting % !!!!!!!! (44.6%)
23 in opponent three point % (38.3%)
3 in opponent two point % !!!!!!!!!!!!! (48.9%)
5 in blocks!!!!!!!!!! (6.1)
16 in steals (7.5)
6 in opponent assists!!!!!!!!! (22.8)
5 in opponent turnovers!!!!!!!!!!! (16.2)
The Warriors are pretty much the team people expected them to be at this point. They play pretty good individual defense, poor team defense, lack outside shooting from the starters other than Curry, and Wiseman is a super athletic big man whose basketball skills are a work in progress. Assuming they gel on defense and improve, they are still a fringe playoff team (because let's face it, in a league where 1/2 the teams go to the playoffs, almost every team is a fringe playoff team ... except, of course, the 1994 to 2005 Warriors where by this time of year, the primary excitement came from upcoming draft).
Looking at the GameFlow.
The starters went -2 in the 1st quarter, and then Bazemore and Looney came in, and in 5:34 of court time, they went -11. In particular, the Curry-Bazemore-Wiggins-Paschall-Looney unit went -8 over the final 2:12 of the 1st. Ouch.
Then in the 3rd quarter, Curry-Bazemore-Lee-Paschall-Looney went -5 in 1:33. Welp.
Our Paschall-at-the-5 bench units of Wanamaker-Mulder/Bazemore-Lee-Wiggins-Paschall went +7 in ~9 minutes of action.
So yeah, our lineup with the most shooters spread throughout had good returns, surprise, surprise. The starters generally played even with the Nuggets, but those Paschall-Looney units got crushed. Kinda seems like Paschall is specifically a smallball 5, maybe he can play next to Wiseman, but I think like we saw last year that Draymond's offense is too ignorable to be able to play next to Paschall, same thing is happening with Looney-Paschall.
Our defensive rotations have been so out of whack all season so far. Two players always running at one shooter leaving a wide open shooter or cutter. I think if we shore up on that and our defensive rebounding we'd look way better. It probably would have won this game. And Kerr... don't be afraid to play Wiseman more minutes
Definitely high altitude effects performance. If you've ever gone from sea level to alpine in a matter of hours, try getting on cross country skis and having a go at it. Even your automobile is not functioning at its optimum. No power. Fact not fiction.
Final stats: (repost)
Warriors:
46.9% shooting (38/81 FGs)
11/29 three pointers
17/24 FTs
43 rebounds (5 off.)
29 assists
19 turnovers
9 steals
4 blocks
Nuggets:
45.6% shooting (41/90 FGs)
11/37 three pointers
21/27 FTs
50 rebounds (10 off.)
29 assists
14 turnovers
11 steals
5 blocks
Points in paint:
Warriors: 40
Nuggets: 54
Fastbreak points:
Warriors: 25
Nuggets: 9
Points off turnovers:
Warriors: 20
Nuggets: 17
Bench points:
Warriors: 20
Nuggets: 41
OT but don't look now...think I might actually root for the Rockets
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30715054/houston-rockets-come-together-win-first-game-james-harden-trade
Amen about the wraparound passes to Wiseman. I commented on that a game or two ago. The kid can fly high and has wings like a California Condor. Lob it and let him grab it and slam it. Another "WTF" was some of the turnovers. Steph sometimes seems to mentally check out and throw it away or get stripped out of sloppiness. It's puzzling for a great player with a high BBIQ. I realize that's not new but the Hamptons 5 could afford it, and this team can't.
Semi - random question. (Only semi random since we are now exactly 0.500. Does anyone know, with the play-in tournament, which teams are in the draft lottery? If you are the 10 seed, but make the playoffs through the play in tournament, do you get ping pong balls? What if you are the 7 seed, but don’t make the playoffs? It used to be pretty strightforward, if you don’t make the playoffs, you are in the lottery. Seems a little more complicated this year. It sure would be fun to make the playoffs as a 9 seed AND win the #1 draft pick through a lucky streak with the ping pong balls! (And of course Minnesota gives us there #4 pick which they were so close to hanging on to). Clearly I am trying to find a way to move on from that disappointing game.