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.
Just got to watch the first half... what in the world was Oubre doing trying to dunk that ball off his great rim run and Draymond's great pass at the halftime buzzer? There's gotta be a way to shoot that sooner. Someone has to speak with him about his dunk addiction. Love them when they go down though.
Good game against a team that was out for revenge. We lost, not too upset by the decision at the end to not foul. Glad Kerr told the team to just not foul at halftime and didn’t focus on the whistle bias. We played well enough to win. We didn’t waste Steph, this is the Steph we need at times to win. Ok, bring it on, this will be exciting.
In the end Dallas won because of the most ridiculous and daring ball save jump I've ever seen. The one from Dwight Powell, when he flew one mile and landed on his chin to save a ball that was already over the parking lot. I am happy for him, the kid suffered a LOT with his achilles and deserves notice for an awesome play.
What else can we say about Steph and Dray? We're really spoiled with these 2. Steph is only slightly off Unanimous form and really should be a frontrunner for the MVP along with Jokic and Embiid (LeBron's mostly narrative while Durant has missed too many games and has a bad record considering the amount of talent the Nets have).
Draymond is passing the ball better than ever, and going on his mad dashes in transition. Plus 6 blocks in the last 2 games after 2 all season until now tells you how he's feeling athletically.
Mulder was good in his role again today. Need to get him more minutes. Percentages are one thing, but his release is so quick that it gives something that the Warriors don't really have with Klay out.
Negatives:
Don't mind not fouling down 1. Definitely mind doubling Doncic and leaving a 40% shooter wide open one pass away. Just a stupid play.
Wasted an all-time Curry game. Don't reckon we can afford to do that too often this year.
Got bad Oubre again today. Win or lose, we need him to be a lower variance player. This team needs to go as Steph/Dray go, not as Oubre goes. Plus, he needs to recalibrate his definition of a dunk. Overall though, I thought his shot selection was better today than some of his horror shows like the Suns.
Overall:
This game shows that a great offense will almost certainly not be stopped. Steph + Dray in a spaced floor are something else entirely. I know the Mavs are probably a good matchup due to Porzingis, but we need to surround these guys that can shoot.
The league really needs to change those "fouls" where a shooter jumps into the defender to offensive fouls. Don't like it when Steph does it, and definitely don't like it when Luka/Trae/Harden do it. Start calling offensive fouls and see how quickly people stop doing it.
For the Mavs, they're still a great offense. They've had god-awful shooting and COVID problems to start the year, but I highly doubt Porzingis/Richardson/Luka continue to shoot sub-30% from 3. They're not winning anything in the playoffs with Porzingis as a major contributor, but as long as they have Luka + shooting they'll be an offensive juggernaut. The defense could use some work though.
Steph just jumped into 3rd place for ppg this season at 29.4. He's 0.1 ppg behind KD. Beal is still 1st at 33.3 per game. (Note Steph is doing that in about 3 minutes less per game on average than Beal and Durant.)
Totally agree about (1) Jackson and Van Gundy have no clue. VG really pissed me off on his saying Draymond tried to fall when Porzingis clearly pulled him down from his shoulder. Seems like he doesn't understand physics. Jackson is just shallow. (2) Players should not be rewarded with a foul call for jumping into a defensive player. I don't like it when Harden does it, when Doncic did it tonight, or when Steph does it.
If we didn't humiliate them by 31 last game, would the Mavs have been as hellbent on winning this game?? How would they have played tonight if we had only won by 10-15 pts?? One to ponder...
Always foul when you’re down 1!! Not doing so is stupid as a general rule, but unbelievably stupid when you have a scorching Curry on your side. Extending the game by fouling gets Steph two or three more possessions to work his magic. Sigh.
Still: way to battle after going down 18-2 against a good (offensive) team out for revenge. I would have taken a net +29 from these two games, going in with no one over 6’-7”. Next game, plz...
“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”
Oh man, I am still SO bitter about that. About KLAY of all people who NEVER hunts contact. When they had a replay that clearly showed a bump and then inexplicably buried it and never showed it again. It was like the weirdest dumbest conspiracy ever. Just shameful and infuriating.
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.
Just got to watch the first half... what in the world was Oubre doing trying to dunk that ball off his great rim run and Draymond's great pass at the halftime buzzer? There's gotta be a way to shoot that sooner. Someone has to speak with him about his dunk addiction. Love them when they go down though.
Good game against a team that was out for revenge. We lost, not too upset by the decision at the end to not foul. Glad Kerr told the team to just not foul at halftime and didn’t focus on the whistle bias. We played well enough to win. We didn’t waste Steph, this is the Steph we need at times to win. Ok, bring it on, this will be exciting.
Did Steph's look like he was aware of his knee at 39s and 29s left? I hope he's ok
In the end Dallas won because of the most ridiculous and daring ball save jump I've ever seen. The one from Dwight Powell, when he flew one mile and landed on his chin to save a ball that was already over the parking lot. I am happy for him, the kid suffered a LOT with his achilles and deserves notice for an awesome play.
Positives:
What else can we say about Steph and Dray? We're really spoiled with these 2. Steph is only slightly off Unanimous form and really should be a frontrunner for the MVP along with Jokic and Embiid (LeBron's mostly narrative while Durant has missed too many games and has a bad record considering the amount of talent the Nets have).
Draymond is passing the ball better than ever, and going on his mad dashes in transition. Plus 6 blocks in the last 2 games after 2 all season until now tells you how he's feeling athletically.
Mulder was good in his role again today. Need to get him more minutes. Percentages are one thing, but his release is so quick that it gives something that the Warriors don't really have with Klay out.
Negatives:
Don't mind not fouling down 1. Definitely mind doubling Doncic and leaving a 40% shooter wide open one pass away. Just a stupid play.
Wasted an all-time Curry game. Don't reckon we can afford to do that too often this year.
Got bad Oubre again today. Win or lose, we need him to be a lower variance player. This team needs to go as Steph/Dray go, not as Oubre goes. Plus, he needs to recalibrate his definition of a dunk. Overall though, I thought his shot selection was better today than some of his horror shows like the Suns.
Overall:
This game shows that a great offense will almost certainly not be stopped. Steph + Dray in a spaced floor are something else entirely. I know the Mavs are probably a good matchup due to Porzingis, but we need to surround these guys that can shoot.
The league really needs to change those "fouls" where a shooter jumps into the defender to offensive fouls. Don't like it when Steph does it, and definitely don't like it when Luka/Trae/Harden do it. Start calling offensive fouls and see how quickly people stop doing it.
For the Mavs, they're still a great offense. They've had god-awful shooting and COVID problems to start the year, but I highly doubt Porzingis/Richardson/Luka continue to shoot sub-30% from 3. They're not winning anything in the playoffs with Porzingis as a major contributor, but as long as they have Luka + shooting they'll be an offensive juggernaut. The defense could use some work though.
Well I was right about a game going either way...both teams decided to pass the 120s though.
Seems like it was controversial ending?
Steph just jumped into 3rd place for ppg this season at 29.4. He's 0.1 ppg behind KD. Beal is still 1st at 33.3 per game. (Note Steph is doing that in about 3 minutes less per game on average than Beal and Durant.)
via @statmuse: https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1358267608638709763?s=20
Draymond Green with one of the craziest stat lines you’ll ever see.
2 PTS
6 REB
15 AST
6 STL
4 BLK
0-2 FG
He is the first player with 15+ assists, 5+ rebounds, 5+ steals in a game without making any field goals in the last 30 seasons.
Totally agree about (1) Jackson and Van Gundy have no clue. VG really pissed me off on his saying Draymond tried to fall when Porzingis clearly pulled him down from his shoulder. Seems like he doesn't understand physics. Jackson is just shallow. (2) Players should not be rewarded with a foul call for jumping into a defensive player. I don't like it when Harden does it, when Doncic did it tonight, or when Steph does it.
Question that popped into my head a bit ago:
If we didn't humiliate them by 31 last game, would the Mavs have been as hellbent on winning this game?? How would they have played tonight if we had only won by 10-15 pts?? One to ponder...
Steph now averaging 31.4 pts per 36 on .649 true shooting for the season.
Always foul when you’re down 1!! Not doing so is stupid as a general rule, but unbelievably stupid when you have a scorching Curry on your side. Extending the game by fouling gets Steph two or three more possessions to work his magic. Sigh.
Still: way to battle after going down 18-2 against a good (offensive) team out for revenge. I would have taken a net +29 from these two games, going in with no one over 6’-7”. Next game, plz...
“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”
Oh man, I am still SO bitter about that. About KLAY of all people who NEVER hunts contact. When they had a replay that clearly showed a bump and then inexplicably buried it and never showed it again. It was like the weirdest dumbest conspiracy ever. Just shameful and infuriating.
You know it's Draymond when he misses the 5x5 by 1 block.... and 3 points.