Game 23. DAL 134, GSW 132. Steph dazzles with 57. Random ending was bad random.
It's not the despair... it's the hope that hurts
Why do I call it a random ending?
To me, any game that is honestly within one possession is a random ending. If the Warriors don’t foul one of those shooters. If the refs call the out of bounds. If the refs get many calls right. If someone makes one layup. If the ball doesn’t bounce out straight to an open Luka. Then the Warriors win. But lots of things are like that for DAL too. So it’s random.
Well, to be honest, I was only hoping for a split, and figured DAL would come back hard after we smacked them.
But yeah. I think I need a snack.
In-Game Comments
Jay Williams had a nice complimentary video on Steph off-ball
I am curious if DAL goes harder or softer with Porzingis posting up, and generally using tallball to abuse the micro Dubs
Yes a lot more tallball and postball
Looks like more emphasis on posting up and getting the bigs attacking inside
Seriously. End the whole diving into people foul. It’s game pollution.
Well, I think it’s time we brought it our bigs to counter theirs. Wait what
I think the Mavs took last game personally.
Also Dray goes for the alley oop to Juan who has no idea that’s happening.
Hmm, the rare Draymond screen in the Motion Weak PNR. Steph 4 pt play
I like how they’ve close mic-ed the rims so we can hear the bricks better
GSW was previously on track to lose 144-8. Now looks like a basketball score
D’Antoni would have already spammed 20 pick and rolls with KP guarding.
Man that was a BEAUTIFUL block by Dray
Q1.4.30. That funny Iverson cut play again. I’m not yet a fan, but keeping an open mind.
And that was a beautiful strip of Zinger on what looked like an open dunk
Dallas transition D continues to not impress
That nice Steph backscreen play in early offense springs Baze free, but Dray couldn’t quite get it there
I don’t have the stats, but Baze seems like money from the corners
Uh oh, coaches talking to Mulder like he’s injured
So... does this mean Oubre *and* Wiggs are going to play on the second unit? Or is there another stagger coming?
RIM DON’T LIE, LUKA. Did not appreciate the elbow to Oubre
Juan, you are My Guy, but maybe dribbling the ball into traffic is not playing to your strengths
Doncic got a ghost call on another jump into Our Guy Juan.
Juan, you are My Guy, and you got absolutely jobbed on that crap call, but don’t give away the Ts please kthx
Head tap incoming, Wanamaker really mimes it with authority... oooo for Oubre this time. Gets the tough shot to go!!
I’ll accept that... better than losing a bunch of ground
I did not know that Our Guy Juan’s 95 was for 95th Ave
Good physical contest by Oubre on that Zinger dunk
Warriors keep getting Zinger to switch to Steph and he just can’t contest Steph’s 3s
Again 3:00. This time, screener slips, but GSW rotates well.
More Steph high tag D at Q2.3.45. DAL seems to have no counter yet.
I wonder how many consecutive times GSW will go with Steph attacking Zinger. I assume DAL will start trapping him and Dray will have to do work on the short roll
Q2.2.15. HEY IT’S CYCLONE! Oubre alley oop! Do I need to E1P or is that play kind of obvious to you all. I guess I haven’t covered Cyclone since the talking videos started
Wow that Steph shot with Doncic in his jersey
Hahaha Steph pulled a Klay on that last 3. His feet were all messed up
Q3.11.40. Another high tag D from Steph. DAL tries the long slip to the corner again. Good rotations again.
Q3.10.00. Interesting version of the three man split. Stopped by the kicked ball
Some good hustle on these defensive rotations. Sometimes results in a stop, sometimes not.
I like Oubre’s hustle on getting that air ball DREB
Hmm never heard about Turiaf and Bad Porn Maggette being so supportive of rookie Steph.
Steph does a nice imitation of Joy In Buckets ad Steph with the shoulder stretches
Zinger managed to elbow Dray in the head, charge into Kelly Oubre on the same play. If he had a bit more patience, he could have smashed into every Warrior on that drive
Haha, Coach Mike Brown I think criticizing Steph’s robot shimmy
OUR GUY JUAN. Split cut, two guys go to Steph
I think Steph is saying he already landed on the ground on that bs 3 foul. Also that should not be a foul on the principle that everyone knows that is bullsh*t
HA, ball only lies 66%
Oh my god.... Steph finally goes for the BS jump-in foul and gets called for a travel.
DAL now in full trap-Steph mode by the way
OMFG the call on Dray’s rebound baseline
DAL traps Steph, but he splits the trap. Nice pass to Baze.
Baze. Baze. Baze.
Does Steph go for the 2 for 1? He’ll have to go fast... Nope. Denied one of his great pleasures. Is it the Klay play? Looks like it. Haha, it’s run for Damion. He misses badly.
Make sure you curl up vertically
Q4.10.00. Interesting twist on Head Tap. Pass to Oubre on wing.
Also, bench completely losing contact with DAL
Wiggs posts up the mouse in the house Brunson, bails him out with a spin fadeaway... but it’s money
Dray tapping his head. Head Tap? YES. Play goes nowhere, but Steph attracts attention, dishes to Wiggs corner 3.
Kerr really believes in closing with Wanamaker. I guess he thinks it is a good passer to Steph?
It is only at this late moment that we start to regret spotting DAL a 18-2 lead. We should remove that from the game plan in the future
Mark Jackson saying that pulling down a guy jumping for a dunk is a good foul. Jeff says he’s gaming the system. Get these guys off the air.
[Saying Klay flopped on his Finals injury] That was unforgivable. They need to be off air. Even without that BS, they are basically not good or insightful and spend too much time rambling about self-indulgent crap
Zinger just trampled Steph on the Head Tap cross screen.
We are nearly in random ending territory... just one stop, one score please
Dray has been doing some WORK with rim protection.
Tired looking step back from Steph.
MATHEMATICALLY POSSIBLE! But we need some very rare quantum fluctuations
NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS
Baze got the ball first. Is JVG saying it’s a foul after he got it, with the follow through? I think that’s incidental contact in a loose ball scramble.
YEEEEEEAAAAAH. Baze was clean.
MATH. POSSIBLE.
So... do the Warriors defend DAL or play the foul game?
Don’t worry, we’ll win on the 2 minute report
Ah that hurt. Is it better to love and lose than never to love at all?
As expected: https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/nba-admits-key-missed-call-warriors-loss-last-two-minute-report
This was a tight one, the first couple minutes were cringe-inducing but then the human torch showed up and lit things up. Bazemore played great, Draymond did his thing, and we very nearly had it but for any number of factors that could have gone either way. I won't call out any of the other guys who could have played just a little bit better to get us the win, and I won't complain too much about wrong calls from the refs, because it's there's no end to things that could have changed the outcome in a game this close. (For example—the overturned foul on Bazemore that gave us possession toward the end, looked like a foul to me since he hits the forearm too, and even just ruling it a jump ball rather than Warriors possession would have doomed us.) It's a bummer not to come away with the W when the West is as neck-and-neck as it is, but I take solace in knowing that an effort and performance like this should earn plenty more in the future, especially when we have options at center again or against guys that aren't as effervescent as Doncic was tonight.
I do agree that jump shooters jumping forward to create contact needs to stop being a defensive foul. It's ugly and makes the already difficult job of being a defender even more impossible. You have to define it carefully because jumping a little bit forward in rhythm is normal, but the intentional foul-hunting is too much.
And yeah, Mark Jackson + Jeff van Gundy are the worst commentating team on TV. I do not want to hear their self-absorbed banter about dancing the Running Man, or respecting teachers, I can only take so many grumpy old man takes like, "we don't even know what a travel is anymore" (even though they have a point) and I want to throw a brick at my TV every time I hear one of them say, "that's clearly a foul" (especially in contrast to the silence when the replay shows they're wrong). My respect to the literally dozens of local broadcasting teams throughout the league who are better than that.
Let's go get a W or two in San Antonio.