Game 5: GSW vs Sacramento. Steve Kerr on rebounding and analytics. Plus open thread.
Probably no Fox, but will have lots of other vengeful Kings
Inspirational verse from Steve Kerr on 2023-10-26 with KNBR with Tom Tolbert.
Steve Kerr: This is the new NBA, you know, more and more teams are going to just go after offensive rebounds. And I think the one of the analytics pieces where you really can see the change. So when you and I were playing, every coach said, “Don't get beat over the top. We're not gonna crash, we just don't wanna be vulnerable in transition”. But analytics are showing the more you crash, actually, the better your transition defense gets.
Tom Tolbert: Really?!
Yeah, it's really interesting. And part of it is that you're just putting so much pressure on multiple players. So if everyone has to engage in box outs, then you don't get people out in transition as much. And of course, if you get two extra offensive rebounds per game, that's two fewer transition opportunities. So almost every team now is gonna start that and combined with the number of three pointers that are taken, there's just a million long rebounds. And so it's different from the old days when you just had to kind of box out around the paint. Now you have to race all the way out to the perimeter and box out all the way out there. So it's a lot to ask, but you have to do it because it's game changing stuff.
Yeah, I mean, hang with me here though. Don't completely give into these analytics. I'm not completely buying what they're selling just yet.
I think we try to have a pretty good balance. I'm pretty open-minded, but I also-- I also have seen, especially in football and baseball, I think how it's kind of gone too far. There's a time to go for it on fourth and one in football and there's a time to punt and you kind of have to feel that you can't just say, well, analytics say go for it.
And I think the same thing is true in basketball. Like you got to understand the circumstances and if you're up there, you're up 10 with a minute to go. And it's like, I'd probably rather everybody run back than go for the offensive board. So you got to understand that.
So much of this information has been coming over the last decade, really since I've been coaching. We're getting more and more information. We have access to more and more information because of technology. Cameras in every arena now giving us all kinds of data.
And one of the things that we've tried to do here is get really good connection between our analytics department and our coaching staff. Early on there was kind of a disconnect because you almost didn't know what to do with the data. And what's happening is we're getting some younger coaches who are really up to speed on the data, but they have basketball experience to try to help us parse through what's what and what makes sense, what doesn't. And I think we're really gaining in that regard. I think we're starting to learn what's important and what's not and learning how to sift through all the data.
How did Chris Paul look in his first game?
Chris Paul's one of those guys who he plays the game at his own pace. He's never sped up. And I think it's why he's aged so well as a player, his game isn't based on athleticism or how high he jumps. It's just pace and rhythm and awareness and strength. And he's just got such a great feel. And in a game that was otherwise kind of kind of strange with all the missed shots, he just kind of kept us afloat, nine assists and one turnover. And he had that scoring flurry in the third when the crowd started chanting “CP3”. And that was a pretty cool moment.
I thought it was too soon.
You weren’t ready for it.
I wasn't ready for it. It's just been the worst nemesis for a decade, the Warriors nemesis. It's like really already?? Like come on, make him earn it for a week. Not the first game. What's next, like Blake Griffin coming in here and you're cheering him?
GAME DETAILS
WHEN: 2023-11-01 7:00 PM Pacific
WHO: Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento
WATCH: NBCSN Bay Area
Fresh postgame thread: https://dubnationhq.com/p/post-game-klay-beats-kings-in-the
Did not like how Draymond acted ...when he missed the bounce pass to Moody - if anything he will be the guy that fucks up this season with tris ego - he is yet to tangle with CP3