You see a bunch of Warrior fans on Twitter freaking out at Kerr about how Wiseman hasn't shot many threes lately like it's a sign of horrible coaching (along with apparently everything else being Kerr's fault too). But imo the physicality that Wiseman showed last night is probably related to Kerr trying to get him closer to the rim and more used to the physical demands of the center position. It's probably easier to be physical when playing someone who is as soft as LMA looked last night, but all of those dunks wouldn't have happened if he weren't being intentionally positioned away from the three point line and around the rim.
He replaced the 3s he did take with mid ranges though. They run an iso for him essentially once a game in the beginning and it's always a mid range jumper. If he's going to do that, it may as well be a 3
Watching the progress this team has made (thank you Suns) makes me think the people complaining about Kerr might be insane. This coaching staff is kicking A$$ and I wouldn’t trade them for any one.
> "It's not really by design. I'm fine with him taking 3s. I want him taking 3s," Steve Kerr told the media Sunday. "We've just been trying to get him to focus on diving to the rim. When he dives, he takes the entire defense with him.
The next step is for Wiseman to develop his defensive positioning/be quicker with regards to his rotations. With his physical tools averaging two blocks per game would be beyond easy, but we don't want another Whiteside.
Thankfully, he seems like a smart kid + he has Draymond/Adams barking in his ear + he's already improved since the beginning of the season. Also, I would like for him to improve his passing because by god he doesn't even look for passes quite often. He just automatically looks to score the second he touches the ball. I was hoping to play against Jokic/with Dray would have taught him a few things but it seems like he just hasn't focused on this aspect of his game. Not surprisingly.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned after all the fretting; Wiseman showed much better hands last night. Not only did he catch all his lobs cleanly, but he was bringing in the rebounds cleanly as well, especially on that putback off the Draymond miss. On his first feed from Curry, the pass was a little behind him and he had to reach back with one hand while his momentum was going toward the basket and it was no problem. It looks like the game slowed down quite a bit for him last night.
Yeah, at least I hope so. As he figures out the pace of the game and feels less rushed, along with always expecting the ball and always expecting people to try to strip it away, it seems reasonable that he’d fumble away fewer balls.
the athletic had an interesting piece on wiseman's oops and ability to catch the ball -- it's partly wiseman's growth, but guys like steph/dray have been throwing slow high arcing balls which wiseman can easily catch and dunk and throwing less of the fast passes which wiseman's struggled with.
The Warriors won the rebounding battle and they won the starting lineup battle. They still lost the FT battle, but if they win 2 of those 3 battles in any individual game, I like their chances.
And don't look now, but the Dubs' DRtg is now 13th. That's looking mighty close to top 10, just saying.
If the Oubre from the last couple games is the Oubre we see for the rest of the season....WOW. This team can be really good. That takes the starting unit from a minus to a plus, and the bench has been great.
It's a deep, competitive team that brings it every night.
It was pretty simple. Wiseman staying at the dunker spot on drives instead of drifting out led to Aldridge eventually refusing to come off him to help. Paint clogging defense problem solved. Oubre not pressing and making better decisions and hitting open 3’s at a reasonable % and actually passing will unlock the rest.
I agree that Oubre was by far the bigger problem. However, given that Wiggins/Oubre primarily points of attack defenders, it's essential that they have a good defensive frontcourt to cover for them when the opposition blows by. Draymond is perfect for that, really helping Wiggins/Oubre out but Wiseman needs to develop with regards to his defensive positioning for this team to fully develop their defensive identity.
Yes, Wiseman becoming better on defense will help the team.
My point though is that the starters were getting their ass kicked and Oubre was the main culprit. Oubre flipping from a horrible player to a good player means that most nights I think the starters will be in the plus, regardless of how much Wiseman improves. It make a huge difference for both the rest of the regular season, and their chances to win a playoff series or two.
I think Wiseman's improvements will be more marginal, and inconsistent. Yeah it obviously helps if he figures out where to be as a defender, how to stop fouling, and how to provide consistent offense. But realistically, it's just going to be up and down. No good team should be counting on a 19 year old to figure out NBA defense and be a key factor to the success. With Oubre playing well, the Warriors are much better equipped to manage around that. Play him, develop him, find spots that he can be effective in and minimize the damage when he's struggling.
I have to say, I really like Wanamaker on this team. I like his “perturbed dad” expression he always seems to have. It reminds me of when Kerr would put SDot in a game to essentially say “Don’t make me pull this car over!”
The Wanamaker I expected from day 1. Not going to wow you with flashy moves but can hold down the 2nd unit while being able to play with the starters if needed. Basically the best bang for your buck at backup PG given the Warriors cap situation.
Wana is a solid decisionmaker, hits threes, and can play versatile defense with his underrated strength/wingspan (6'8). What more can you ask for a backup PG.
I called for Wiseman to have a bounce-back game, but he really lived up to some wild expectations! The only thing that could've been better is if he'd hit a 3. Still, I'm going to go ahead and say best game yet of his career. I give this performance an A, and EXPECTATIONS RAISED.
Green and Curry came out hot, and some helpful early whistles got everyone on our side feeling good. Oubre also had a great game; I'm liking this look with him joining the bench mob after a short break. A's for all of them. I should probably dock Steph points for lazy-ass turnovers, but his defensive effort including like 9 boards made up for it.
This was the first game in a while where the starters were good and the bench were meh. They almost let the Spurs all the way back in early in the 2nd, but some timely adjustments fixed that. Oubre was one part of it, but also Paschall adjusted his attack when he wasn't getting past Poeltl and managed to shoot over him instead. That's some maturity. B.
I also like the "Starters, but with Wanamaker instead of Oubre" unit we saw for part of the 3rd. It worked well against San Antonio's lineups at least. Wanamaker specifically didn't have a whole lot of highlight-worthy play, but he held up fine. B-.
Poole had some easy 3's in garbage time but he looked pretty bad. Some ugly turnovers and looked out of control, like he was rushing things, maybe from not playing enough lately. D.
Stealth Ender didn't make himself seen much this game but he snuck his way into a pretty nice box score. It kinda looked like he got beat a little less on drives but maybe the Spurs were just missing those shots tonight. B.
Looney has to score that one open dunk next time instead of passing it out for nothing. He did make some real good plays later though. B-.
Lee deserved the flagrant 2 for whacking a dude in the head that badly. I believe that he honestly was going for the ball and just got faked out really hard, but that was dangerous and irresponsible regardless. His play looked otherwise nice. C.
Bazemore had a head-scratching play or two, but he also had some slick connections with Curry in transition and brought energy. B.
Overall, we played pretty well on both sides of the floor and did well to hold on to the momentum. The Spurs had a rough night, certainly in part just their own doing, but I'm glad we brought our game and hard enough that the starters got a little extra rest before tomorrow's Knicks game.
Poole does look lost on the floor. The only reason to play him is for some shooting and he does pass the ball. He will probably not make this team in the future, another Jacob Evans/Bell situation. Too many other players around better at what they bring.
As great as Wiseman was, idk if I'd give him an A, I know I'm being a downer to criticize this game but his defense really leaves a lot to be desired. I understand missing rotations and what not, that'll come with time, but he's got to stop this lemme slide past the driver with my hands up nonsense. I don't know what they're teaching the dude. If you don't want to jump to contest, just stand there instead. This is of course just me coaching from my phone so maybe I'm just missing something but I really don't get it
That will happen over time. More importantly, his 20points will help win any game. Making him a shooter/dunker is where he is at presently. He's good at it.
I gave him an A because this outcome was on the far upper end of what I expected he could do against a solid team like the Spurs. And I added "expectations raised" because now I'll be looking for more than this to give him an A.
Basically my expectations for the rookie going into this game weren't that high.
If you take his performance last night, and add a few tweaks (better defensive mechanics and positioning, some jump shots) you are starting to get into upper eschelon center territory. I still feel like the sky is the limit with this kid!
I'm not gonna judge Wiseman on his offense, even though it was stellar this game. He can eat all day at the dunker position if his man rotates off of him. I'm going to judge him on lack of mistakes and good defensive rotation. Last night he looked so active on defense and never stopped pointing/ yelling in transition. This is a JW we haven't seen yet and if he becomes a rim protecting defensive anchor, I like our odds against any team in the league. Keep it up, kid!!
> maybe I'm just missing something but I really don't get it
He's 19 and just completed his 14th game with a new team at the highest level in basketball after only playing three games after high school. In a pandemic where there was a shortened preseason that he completely missed due to covid.
Perhaps our prettiest game to watch thus far. Steph's 62 was nice but this was everyone getting involved and the ball was zipping around. Peak Kerr offense
Don't under estimate the value of winning and team culture.
I have no idea how important it is to Kelly but given his NBA journey and his life story there is at least some reason to hope that if he is given a choice he might decide to stay in the bay.
And yes, he will get a lot of love from Warriors fans when they get back in the building.
It's going to suck letting him go next year. I've been telling myself that if lacob will pay so much for oubre with no fans that he'll surely pay for him with the fan revenue. But unfortunately with klay back I'm not sure oubre will want to come back for a lesser role. We'd probably be able to get some decent depth in a sign and trade though.
I think it depends on whether Oubre buys in and likes being a Warrior so much he wants to be here long-term. He could be a high-minutes 6th man (a la Igoudala) and eventually become a starter as the core ages and moves to the bench.
Atleast next year, we probably will still need small ball lineup to finish close RS and Playoff games. So there will be plenty of minutes for Oubre to play and he be front-runner for sixth man. May be that balances out him coming off the bench.
Depends on what's important to him. Playing a big role on a championship team that plays fun basketball is pretty great. Unfortunately he's not gotten to feel the crowd energy yet, but the Bay loves a fun weirdo. If you truly want to be famous, guard Kawhi, Doncic, LeBron, and Durant for two months with the whole basketball world watching.
Of course, Jerami Grant just left the Nuggets to score 20/game on the worst team in the league. Guys do like to get buckets and I'm not sure how often they realize that being a winning player often ends in more money.
I don't think the Warriors can do a sign and trade because it invokes the hard cap. If they didn't think they could re-sign him, and wanted to recoup value I think it needs to happen at this year's trade deadline.
Jerami Grant is making $60M over next 3 years... and I'm pretty sure he's going to do ok on next contract. I think you are VASTLY underestimating the value most organizations place on PPG.
Eh. I don’t think Oubre would have to play a “lesser role” with Klay around. Klay’s presence would only enhance his slashing abilities. You get 96 minutes at the wing; and when you throw in 10-15 smallball minutes it leaves plenty for Wiggins, Oubre and Klay.
They’re currently giving 50+ mpg to Lee, Bazemore, Mulder, Poole, JTA — give 30 of those to Klay and there’s your 2021-22 rotation.
In any event if the 21-22 season starts at the normal time at the start of November, Thompson probably won't be ready to play, so they will need somebody to fill that role and I'm guessing they won't be trusting Jessup to do it.
That’s what I was thinking. This year is going to give hope with Klay coming back. The only way to get more talent than vet min and the tax payer MLE is to either resign Oubre or do a sign and trade.
Amazing how much better Wiseman looked when not playing AD and Gasol.
Strange that Poetl was the toughest matchup for Paschall so far.
Have to love the flow and the fast start tonight!
Loved the progress! Box and 1 got toasted tonight. How much did Kerr have to slip to the Spurs to let the Warriors get some good practice against the box and 1 and get some dunks for Wiseman?
Poeltl is an excellent and smart defensive player, and has great feet for a guy his size. He's also well-coached and was probably ready for Paschall's primary attacks. Not to mention that the Spurs went with a really big lineup in general that had a lot of length.
So once you see it, it makes sense he gave Paschall a lot of trouble. What was exciting was how quickly Paschall countered, and figured out a way to beat him.
They did everything that I wanted them to do, finally! Made Wiseman a shooter. Got Dray to shoot. Played Oubre with the bench and iso'd their way into the paint. Long live the ISO! This is where Oubre and Wiggins can shine. Steph does it automatically. He can get his shot from anywhere. Very satisfying.
Your translation must be it cause I don't see otherwise how the brand of basketball the Dubs played yesterday can be considered ISO-ball. It was the epitome of team play.
Of course he must learn to play in the paint. This happens over time. What I am suggesting is that he gets to shoot and dunk in the meantime because he can do it NOW and they need the points. I don't care where his points come from. If lobs work, great, but he can also shoot if you've noticed. You play to your strengths.
If they lose the first, they get to keep the T-Wolves 2nd round pick which should be 35 or so. The 1st is more valuable but getting a top 5 seed and a high 2nd isn't something I'm about to lose sleep over.
Not only that, if they’re that good, the trade value of everyone on the team, including Paschall and Wiggins, will increase. Sucking has all sorts of bad consequences that offset the good of a higher pick, and conversely kicking ass does a team all kinds of good.
Also: if they care that much about the pick and are in the #8-12 range, they can always creatively rest guys (most notably Steph) to adjust their record downward a bit.
Also, the Warriors will be chasing a title next season, and may not want to add not one but two new development projects to the roster, on top of Wiseman, Poole, Mannion, Smiley.
Minny’s #4-8 pick plus a healthy Klay and Chriss added to a Warrior team that finished in the top 10 will scare the F out of other teams.
Agreed. Heck, if we lose it, that means we'd have a hard time finding space on the roster for the draft guys because so many of our returning players are doing well enough to get us there.
Draymond's playing his fewest minutes since his second season, is that the new normal or perhaps a sign that he's still dealing with poor conditioning? Can that improve as the season goes on? If so, I think that's another gear the team has yet to hit without any other changes.
He’s playing 0.8 mpg less than he did last season. If you discount his first game back from covid protocol where he played 17 minutes, he’s playing a bit more than he did last year.
I think he’s right where he needs to be right now in terms of regular season mpg. I’m more concerned with him getting his scoring efficiency out of the toilet where it’s been the last two seasons (.457 TS after .489 last year). It shouldn’t be that hard to score at mediocre efficiency given the low volume he scores at.
A lot of our games have been blow outs though. Looks like he's at essentially 30 min for the games that are close. A little closer to normal than his season average of 27
LA teams will be 1-2, Utah and Denver will be fighting for 3 and 4 so I see the Warriors somewhere from the 5th-7th seed depending on the health of the guys. This isn't a team you want to see in the playoffs in the 1st round though. Long pesky wings, the greatest shooter in the world, a legit center prospect that'll be a lot better by the end of the season with a solid bench. Deadly combination.
Denver lost 2 of their best defensive players in Grant and Craig. Porter Jr., Bol Bol and Campazzo are good offensive players but it isn't clear who is ready shut anyone down.
That Wolves game made me slightly concerned actually, their other draft pick McDaniels looked good. Hopefully a fluke, I don't want any unknowns with that team, just give me Russell chucking every game while not trying on defense.
McDaniels is 20. I think he has a good chance to be a positive player down the line (as does Edwards) but over a full season players that young tend to hurt you more than they help you. And it behooves the Wolves to force-feed both of them minutes, which is gonna help them rack up the Ls.
On the bright side the Warriors are better at drafting in the second round than late in the first. They are protecting themselves if they win enough to lose the pick this year because that would surely be a wasted roster spot.
I thought that trade was a win no matter how Wiggins turned out because of the pick. It's just hard to see D-Lo fit on a Warriors team that's trying to compete for championships
The Canis Hoopus crowd is *really* down on DLo right now. It’s not even delicious tears — I genuinely feel bad for them, as they’re one of the smartest and most passionate fanbases on SBN. They remind me of us circa 2011...
You have to wonder, would they have bought DLo as high as they did if Steph hadn't been injured? I'm pretty sure he woulda sucked just as hard, because the team was still so bad when dLo and Dray played together, but other teams that underestimate Dray maybe didn't make the connection?
Like, Wiggins had a pretty deserved poor reputation after his career over there, but we still thought DLo was gonna be someone, right? Both project as low-efficiency volume scorers with awful defense, it just turns out Wiggins is doing a lot better at that with the right schemes & coaching, I guess?
Until they get someone to design them a decent uniform ... in any color ... they will suck. [And because I live 7 hours to the south of MPLS and all of their NBA tv games are blacked out for me.] ;-)
You see a bunch of Warrior fans on Twitter freaking out at Kerr about how Wiseman hasn't shot many threes lately like it's a sign of horrible coaching (along with apparently everything else being Kerr's fault too). But imo the physicality that Wiseman showed last night is probably related to Kerr trying to get him closer to the rim and more used to the physical demands of the center position. It's probably easier to be physical when playing someone who is as soft as LMA looked last night, but all of those dunks wouldn't have happened if he weren't being intentionally positioned away from the three point line and around the rim.
Regarding Twitter:
“What a fool believes, he sees
no Wiseman has the power
to reason away
what seems to be”
Sage wisdom from Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins.
If it’s Kerr’s work getting the team to successfully feed the young man 8 dunks a night, then Kerr for prez, still.
He replaced the 3s he did take with mid ranges though. They run an iso for him essentially once a game in the beginning and it's always a mid range jumper. If he's going to do that, it may as well be a 3
Watching the progress this team has made (thank you Suns) makes me think the people complaining about Kerr might be insane. This coaching staff is kicking A$$ and I wouldn’t trade them for any one.
Yeah- seeing the growth happen game-over-game, in real time, is fascinating and beautiful and everything I love about this era of Warriors basketball.
> related to Kerr trying to get him closer to the rim
It's exactly this.
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/steve-kerr-explains-why-james-wiseman-hasnt-attempted-any-3s-lately
> "It's not really by design. I'm fine with him taking 3s. I want him taking 3s," Steve Kerr told the media Sunday. "We've just been trying to get him to focus on diving to the rim. When he dives, he takes the entire defense with him.
The next step is for Wiseman to develop his defensive positioning/be quicker with regards to his rotations. With his physical tools averaging two blocks per game would be beyond easy, but we don't want another Whiteside.
Thankfully, he seems like a smart kid + he has Draymond/Adams barking in his ear + he's already improved since the beginning of the season. Also, I would like for him to improve his passing because by god he doesn't even look for passes quite often. He just automatically looks to score the second he touches the ball. I was hoping to play against Jokic/with Dray would have taught him a few things but it seems like he just hasn't focused on this aspect of his game. Not surprisingly.
It was a nice pass but I think Draymond was visibly pointing at him to make the pass right before it happened
> You see a bunch of Warrior fans on Twitter freaking out
Reason 1001 I am glad I'm not on twitter...
Those Bernie memes took it to meme level 1000
I do get some social media content through my wife and son.
That doesn't include Warriors Twitter :)
#dumpsterfiretwitter
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned after all the fretting; Wiseman showed much better hands last night. Not only did he catch all his lobs cleanly, but he was bringing in the rebounds cleanly as well, especially on that putback off the Draymond miss. On his first feed from Curry, the pass was a little behind him and he had to reach back with one hand while his momentum was going toward the basket and it was no problem. It looks like the game slowed down quite a bit for him last night.
Wiseman's butterfingers are the most frustrating part of his game for me.
I think Goofus is pointing out that it may have a lot more to do with Wiseman's ability to expect and react than butterfingers.
Yeah, at least I hope so. As he figures out the pace of the game and feels less rushed, along with always expecting the ball and always expecting people to try to strip it away, it seems reasonable that he’d fumble away fewer balls.
the athletic had an interesting piece on wiseman's oops and ability to catch the ball -- it's partly wiseman's growth, but guys like steph/dray have been throwing slow high arcing balls which wiseman can easily catch and dunk and throwing less of the fast passes which wiseman's struggled with.
Quietly, Looney has been playing much much better of late, in all facets
Agreed- his offensive game especially seems to be quite a bit more dialed in.
Still getting surprised by Steph passes somehow. Keep those hands ready Loon!
Looked like Pop focused the Spurs on shutting down Paschall on the second and it worked... Until Paschall adjusted.
The Warriors won the rebounding battle and they won the starting lineup battle. They still lost the FT battle, but if they win 2 of those 3 battles in any individual game, I like their chances.
And don't look now, but the Dubs' DRtg is now 13th. That's looking mighty close to top 10, just saying.
If you only count games in 2021, we're 7th in defensive rating, 16th in offensive rating
But what about Biden era games?
3 point battle is very important these days.
If the Oubre from the last couple games is the Oubre we see for the rest of the season....WOW. This team can be really good. That takes the starting unit from a minus to a plus, and the bench has been great.
It's a deep, competitive team that brings it every night.
Well Oubre was only part of the problem in starting lineup. It will also need Wiseman playing like he did yesterday.
It was pretty simple. Wiseman staying at the dunker spot on drives instead of drifting out led to Aldridge eventually refusing to come off him to help. Paint clogging defense problem solved. Oubre not pressing and making better decisions and hitting open 3’s at a reasonable % and actually passing will unlock the rest.
Oubre shooting 25% overall and 0% from 3 on a pretty high shot volume was a MUCH bigger problem.
If Oubre keeps up what he's done over the last few games then Wiseman being inconsistent won't be that big of a problem.
I agree that Oubre was by far the bigger problem. However, given that Wiggins/Oubre primarily points of attack defenders, it's essential that they have a good defensive frontcourt to cover for them when the opposition blows by. Draymond is perfect for that, really helping Wiggins/Oubre out but Wiseman needs to develop with regards to his defensive positioning for this team to fully develop their defensive identity.
Yes, Wiseman becoming better on defense will help the team.
My point though is that the starters were getting their ass kicked and Oubre was the main culprit. Oubre flipping from a horrible player to a good player means that most nights I think the starters will be in the plus, regardless of how much Wiseman improves. It make a huge difference for both the rest of the regular season, and their chances to win a playoff series or two.
I think Wiseman's improvements will be more marginal, and inconsistent. Yeah it obviously helps if he figures out where to be as a defender, how to stop fouling, and how to provide consistent offense. But realistically, it's just going to be up and down. No good team should be counting on a 19 year old to figure out NBA defense and be a key factor to the success. With Oubre playing well, the Warriors are much better equipped to manage around that. Play him, develop him, find spots that he can be effective in and minimize the damage when he's struggling.
I have to say, I really like Wanamaker on this team. I like his “perturbed dad” expression he always seems to have. It reminds me of when Kerr would put SDot in a game to essentially say “Don’t make me pull this car over!”
It's an excellent group of guards. If only Mulder was a bit taller or Poole was better defensively, it'd be perfect.
The Wanamaker I expected from day 1. Not going to wow you with flashy moves but can hold down the 2nd unit while being able to play with the starters if needed. Basically the best bang for your buck at backup PG given the Warriors cap situation.
Wana is a solid decisionmaker, hits threes, and can play versatile defense with his underrated strength/wingspan (6'8). What more can you ask for a backup PG.
I called for Wiseman to have a bounce-back game, but he really lived up to some wild expectations! The only thing that could've been better is if he'd hit a 3. Still, I'm going to go ahead and say best game yet of his career. I give this performance an A, and EXPECTATIONS RAISED.
Green and Curry came out hot, and some helpful early whistles got everyone on our side feeling good. Oubre also had a great game; I'm liking this look with him joining the bench mob after a short break. A's for all of them. I should probably dock Steph points for lazy-ass turnovers, but his defensive effort including like 9 boards made up for it.
This was the first game in a while where the starters were good and the bench were meh. They almost let the Spurs all the way back in early in the 2nd, but some timely adjustments fixed that. Oubre was one part of it, but also Paschall adjusted his attack when he wasn't getting past Poeltl and managed to shoot over him instead. That's some maturity. B.
I also like the "Starters, but with Wanamaker instead of Oubre" unit we saw for part of the 3rd. It worked well against San Antonio's lineups at least. Wanamaker specifically didn't have a whole lot of highlight-worthy play, but he held up fine. B-.
Poole had some easy 3's in garbage time but he looked pretty bad. Some ugly turnovers and looked out of control, like he was rushing things, maybe from not playing enough lately. D.
Stealth Ender didn't make himself seen much this game but he snuck his way into a pretty nice box score. It kinda looked like he got beat a little less on drives but maybe the Spurs were just missing those shots tonight. B.
Looney has to score that one open dunk next time instead of passing it out for nothing. He did make some real good plays later though. B-.
Lee deserved the flagrant 2 for whacking a dude in the head that badly. I believe that he honestly was going for the ball and just got faked out really hard, but that was dangerous and irresponsible regardless. His play looked otherwise nice. C.
Bazemore had a head-scratching play or two, but he also had some slick connections with Curry in transition and brought energy. B.
Overall, we played pretty well on both sides of the floor and did well to hold on to the momentum. The Spurs had a rough night, certainly in part just their own doing, but I'm glad we brought our game and hard enough that the starters got a little extra rest before tomorrow's Knicks game.
Poole does look lost on the floor. The only reason to play him is for some shooting and he does pass the ball. He will probably not make this team in the future, another Jacob Evans/Bell situation. Too many other players around better at what they bring.
As great as Wiseman was, idk if I'd give him an A, I know I'm being a downer to criticize this game but his defense really leaves a lot to be desired. I understand missing rotations and what not, that'll come with time, but he's got to stop this lemme slide past the driver with my hands up nonsense. I don't know what they're teaching the dude. If you don't want to jump to contest, just stand there instead. This is of course just me coaching from my phone so maybe I'm just missing something but I really don't get it
That will happen over time. More importantly, his 20points will help win any game. Making him a shooter/dunker is where he is at presently. He's good at it.
I gave him an A because this outcome was on the far upper end of what I expected he could do against a solid team like the Spurs. And I added "expectations raised" because now I'll be looking for more than this to give him an A.
Basically my expectations for the rookie going into this game weren't that high.
If you take his performance last night, and add a few tweaks (better defensive mechanics and positioning, some jump shots) you are starting to get into upper eschelon center territory. I still feel like the sky is the limit with this kid!
I'm not gonna judge Wiseman on his offense, even though it was stellar this game. He can eat all day at the dunker position if his man rotates off of him. I'm going to judge him on lack of mistakes and good defensive rotation. Last night he looked so active on defense and never stopped pointing/ yelling in transition. This is a JW we haven't seen yet and if he becomes a rim protecting defensive anchor, I like our odds against any team in the league. Keep it up, kid!!
> maybe I'm just missing something but I really don't get it
He's 19 and just completed his 14th game with a new team at the highest level in basketball after only playing three games after high school. In a pandemic where there was a shortened preseason that he completely missed due to covid.
Yeah, you're missing something.
Yeah, his rotations were much improved and his head was on a swivel.
Perhaps our prettiest game to watch thus far. Steph's 62 was nice but this was everyone getting involved and the ball was zipping around. Peak Kerr offense
Also 1st seed here we come
Really loving the Oubre (and Wiggins) pickups.
If you're going to gamble, it's good to gamble on length.
This team shows flashes of championship caliber. The D can be really suffocating, and when the offense clicks like tonight, it's a joy to watch.
Don't under estimate the value of winning and team culture.
I have no idea how important it is to Kelly but given his NBA journey and his life story there is at least some reason to hope that if he is given a choice he might decide to stay in the bay.
And yes, he will get a lot of love from Warriors fans when they get back in the building.
It's going to suck letting him go next year. I've been telling myself that if lacob will pay so much for oubre with no fans that he'll surely pay for him with the fan revenue. But unfortunately with klay back I'm not sure oubre will want to come back for a lesser role. We'd probably be able to get some decent depth in a sign and trade though.
I think it depends on whether Oubre buys in and likes being a Warrior so much he wants to be here long-term. He could be a high-minutes 6th man (a la Igoudala) and eventually become a starter as the core ages and moves to the bench.
Based on his first interviews when he got traded, it seems like he wants to make this his home but of course a lot of players say that
It's too bad there are no fans in the seats. The bay loves weird dudes who can play. He'd be feeling the love from the fans.
Atleast next year, we probably will still need small ball lineup to finish close RS and Playoff games. So there will be plenty of minutes for Oubre to play and he be front-runner for sixth man. May be that balances out him coming off the bench.
Just have him talk to Andre.
Depends on what's important to him. Playing a big role on a championship team that plays fun basketball is pretty great. Unfortunately he's not gotten to feel the crowd energy yet, but the Bay loves a fun weirdo. If you truly want to be famous, guard Kawhi, Doncic, LeBron, and Durant for two months with the whole basketball world watching.
Of course, Jerami Grant just left the Nuggets to score 20/game on the worst team in the league. Guys do like to get buckets and I'm not sure how often they realize that being a winning player often ends in more money.
I don't think the Warriors can do a sign and trade because it invokes the hard cap. If they didn't think they could re-sign him, and wanted to recoup value I think it needs to happen at this year's trade deadline.
Seems like they can’t sign and trade a player onto the roster. This would be outgoing.
Yup. My guess is that is what would happen if he doesn't want to stay. Those cap cheating bird rights are precious if Lacob doesn't mind paying.
Let’s hope SF gives hope or actual criteria for fans and music getting back into Chase center, so there’s an actual incentive to spend.
Jerami Grant is making $60M over next 3 years... and I'm pretty sure he's going to do ok on next contract. I think you are VASTLY underestimating the value most organizations place on PPG.
Denver offered the same amount of money to play the defensive role player role.
Iguodala at age 33 signed a 3y/48M deal. At age 36 he signed a 2y/30M extension. He's averaged 6 points/game.
Eh. I don’t think Oubre would have to play a “lesser role” with Klay around. Klay’s presence would only enhance his slashing abilities. You get 96 minutes at the wing; and when you throw in 10-15 smallball minutes it leaves plenty for Wiggins, Oubre and Klay.
They’re currently giving 50+ mpg to Lee, Bazemore, Mulder, Poole, JTA — give 30 of those to Klay and there’s your 2021-22 rotation.
You are forgetting the Minny #5, which will net the Dubs another great wing.
(fingers crossed)
In any event if the 21-22 season starts at the normal time at the start of November, Thompson probably won't be ready to play, so they will need somebody to fill that role and I'm guessing they won't be trusting Jessup to do it.
That’s what I was thinking. This year is going to give hope with Klay coming back. The only way to get more talent than vet min and the tax payer MLE is to either resign Oubre or do a sign and trade.
Or draft an NBA-ready talent
Yeah, the W’s just need to draft the next Magic Johnson who can play point or center for an NBA championship team as a rookie.
Amazing how much better Wiseman looked when not playing AD and Gasol.
Strange that Poetl was the toughest matchup for Paschall so far.
Have to love the flow and the fast start tonight!
Loved the progress! Box and 1 got toasted tonight. How much did Kerr have to slip to the Spurs to let the Warriors get some good practice against the box and 1 and get some dunks for Wiseman?
Poeltl is an excellent and smart defensive player, and has great feet for a guy his size. He's also well-coached and was probably ready for Paschall's primary attacks. Not to mention that the Spurs went with a really big lineup in general that had a lot of length.
So once you see it, it makes sense he gave Paschall a lot of trouble. What was exciting was how quickly Paschall countered, and figured out a way to beat him.
Poeltl has amazing hands. We need those on Wiseman!
Paschall has a toolbox!
He's got major game.
I felt like Paschall should have either started his drive on Poetl farther out than mid range or taken the mid range
He did that in the 2nd half, and got the better of him.
They did everything that I wanted them to do, finally! Made Wiseman a shooter. Got Dray to shoot. Played Oubre with the bench and iso'd their way into the paint. Long live the ISO! This is where Oubre and Wiggins can shine. Steph does it automatically. He can get his shot from anywhere. Very satisfying.
Not Iso but lots ts of buckets at the rim! Nice team ball!
Must be a language issue. If tonight was your version of iso then I too endorse it.
Let me translate for you: “the Warriors played awesome, just like I told them to! See what happens when they listen fo me???”
Your translation must be it cause I don't see otherwise how the brand of basketball the Dubs played yesterday can be considered ISO-ball. It was the epitome of team play.
Of course he must learn to play in the paint. This happens over time. What I am suggesting is that he gets to shoot and dunk in the meantime because he can do it NOW and they need the points. I don't care where his points come from. If lobs work, great, but he can also shoot if you've noticed. You play to your strengths.
Wiseman vs a team who doesnt draw fouls (think they were bottom 4 before tonight) is a match made in heaven
AD was the bigger problem. That dude’s a freak among freaks
Truth.
We are more than halfway to last season's win total and we still got 58 (reg season) games to go!
How much better do you think this team could get by the end of the season? It looks like they are improving as a team as games go on.
They better not lose that 1st rounder in a deep draft. That pick has good value even if they decide not to use it.
If they lose the first, they get to keep the T-Wolves 2nd round pick which should be 35 or so. The 1st is more valuable but getting a top 5 seed and a high 2nd isn't something I'm about to lose sleep over.
Look at it this way: If they lose that 1st rounder, that means that they've done well this year, and Curry's legacy is finally, finally secure.
Not only that, if they’re that good, the trade value of everyone on the team, including Paschall and Wiggins, will increase. Sucking has all sorts of bad consequences that offset the good of a higher pick, and conversely kicking ass does a team all kinds of good.
Also: if they care that much about the pick and are in the #8-12 range, they can always creatively rest guys (most notably Steph) to adjust their record downward a bit.
Also, the Warriors will be chasing a title next season, and may not want to add not one but two new development projects to the roster, on top of Wiseman, Poole, Mannion, Smiley.
Minny’s #4-8 pick plus a healthy Klay and Chriss added to a Warrior team that finished in the top 10 will scare the F out of other teams.
The ring chasing vets they can get from being a good playoff seed would outweigh getting the #17 pick.
If they were better in 2019-2020, perhaps they'd have Batum or Gasol right now.
If Klay hadn't been injured, we might have Batum and Gasol right now.
Agreed. Heck, if we lose it, that means we'd have a hard time finding space on the roster for the draft guys because so many of our returning players are doing well enough to get us there.
All depends on health, Wiseman, and the DPE.
Draymond's playing his fewest minutes since his second season, is that the new normal or perhaps a sign that he's still dealing with poor conditioning? Can that improve as the season goes on? If so, I think that's another gear the team has yet to hit without any other changes.
He’s playing 0.8 mpg less than he did last season. If you discount his first game back from covid protocol where he played 17 minutes, he’s playing a bit more than he did last year.
I think he’s right where he needs to be right now in terms of regular season mpg. I’m more concerned with him getting his scoring efficiency out of the toilet where it’s been the last two seasons (.457 TS after .489 last year). It shouldn’t be that hard to score at mediocre efficiency given the low volume he scores at.
Last season doesn't count imo, they didn't want him playing very many minutes in a lost season where he wasn't trying from what I saw.
I kinda wonder if Kerr is intentionally giving him a little extra break time? Load management on micro resolution
A lot of our games have been blow outs though. Looks like he's at essentially 30 min for the games that are close. A little closer to normal than his season average of 27
Feels like the Kerr without Trump win % is realistic.
I’m going with the 3 seed.
LA teams will be 1-2, Utah and Denver will be fighting for 3 and 4 so I see the Warriors somewhere from the 5th-7th seed depending on the health of the guys. This isn't a team you want to see in the playoffs in the 1st round though. Long pesky wings, the greatest shooter in the world, a legit center prospect that'll be a lot better by the end of the season with a solid bench. Deadly combination.
Klay might be ready for the Finals, too, according to Mychal. ;-P
Denver isn’t passing the Warriors unless the Warriors decide to try to keep their pick or injuries/covid.
The fight for top 6 in the west is going to get nasty. I would not want to face a healthy Portland in a play in game.
Kind of awesome that the NBA opened the playoff field up to 10 teams but made 1-6 vastly more important.
Jokic is having an insanely good season; if Murray gets back into the form he was in during the bubble, Denver will climb the standings in a hurry.
I also think we can't count the Suns out yet. Would be interesting to match up against another Chris Paul team in the playoffs
Denver lost 2 of their best defensive players in Grant and Craig. Porter Jr., Bol Bol and Campazzo are good offensive players but it isn't clear who is ready shut anyone down.
Scary better.
This was after 2 days of practice and beating the Lakers. Rest of the league better hope there are no more postponed games on our schedule. ;-)
Repost:
Warriors now 141-24 in their last 2+ seasons without Trump. :-)
Extrapolating... so 57-15?
Now back to worrying about us keeping our pick, lol.
On the flipside, the Wolves blew a 10-point lead with 2:45 left and lost on a last second 3 by Cole Anthony.
I’m actually starting to feel a little bad for the Wolves giving us Wiggins and a pick for DLo. Wiggins was quietly fantastic tonight.
Sleepy don't worry. Look at it like we're trading down from 19 to 35 so we can be the 4 seed vs the 7 or 8 seed.
In their defense they've missed kat for most of the season
That Wolves game made me slightly concerned actually, their other draft pick McDaniels looked good. Hopefully a fluke, I don't want any unknowns with that team, just give me Russell chucking every game while not trying on defense.
McDaniels is 20. I think he has a good chance to be a positive player down the line (as does Edwards) but over a full season players that young tend to hurt you more than they help you. And it behooves the Wolves to force-feed both of them minutes, which is gonna help them rack up the Ls.
On the bright side the Warriors are better at drafting in the second round than late in the first. They are protecting themselves if they win enough to lose the pick this year because that would surely be a wasted roster spot.
Where would we be as a franchise if Minnesota were well run?
Rubio & we believe part 2?
Hmm. No Curry, no Thompson, no Wiseman, no Wiggins, no Wolves first round pick....
Some serious butterfly effects to consider, but I’m gonna say we’d be in marginally worse shape.
LMAO ,,,,, not to worry. It hasn't happened yet.
I thought that trade was a win no matter how Wiggins turned out because of the pick. It's just hard to see D-Lo fit on a Warriors team that's trying to compete for championships
The Canis Hoopus crowd is *really* down on DLo right now. It’s not even delicious tears — I genuinely feel bad for them, as they’re one of the smartest and most passionate fanbases on SBN. They remind me of us circa 2011...
You have to wonder, would they have bought DLo as high as they did if Steph hadn't been injured? I'm pretty sure he woulda sucked just as hard, because the team was still so bad when dLo and Dray played together, but other teams that underestimate Dray maybe didn't make the connection?
Like, Wiggins had a pretty deserved poor reputation after his career over there, but we still thought DLo was gonna be someone, right? Both project as low-efficiency volume scorers with awful defense, it just turns out Wiggins is doing a lot better at that with the right schemes & coaching, I guess?
The narrative was DLo and KAT wanted to play together, right? MIN might've felt they had to chase DLo almost regardless of cost.
I feel sorry for the fans. The Wolves franchise made their own bed.
Until they get someone to design them a decent uniform ... in any color ... they will suck. [And because I live 7 hours to the south of MPLS and all of their NBA tv games are blacked out for me.] ;-)
Me an intellectual: I should study film on how GSW is attacking the box-and-one
Me in reality: Maybe I can just live comment a highlight package of all of Wiseman's alley oops
What does the venn diagram look like?
Definitely non-empty in general, but not sure it happens in this specific game
Me a greedy greedy man - Let's have both 😉.
I'll have to use my brain for the box-and-one thing. For the second, I just have to yell DAMN LOOK AT WISEMAN SO INSPIRATIONAL
So it's settled then, wiseman dunks tomorrow and then you can take your time in the box and one analysis :)
😃. That would work.