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OT But very much on topic... who do you want to win tonight in the Mavs vs Grizzlies game??

Mavs currently in 7th at 29-24 and Griz in 8th at 27-25.

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OT A tale of 2 former Warriors tonight in the Lakers - Hornets game.

Brad Wanamaker played 23 minutes for Charlotte, shot 1-11 [0-2 on 3s] 2/2 FTs for 4 points and had 1 reb, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers & 2 fouls. [-26 +/-]

Alphonso McKinnie played just 9 minutes for the Lakers, shot 3/6 [2/3 on 3s] for 8 points with a couple of rebounds & 1 turnover. [-9 +/-]

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Apr 13, 2021Liked by Duby Dub Dubs, Daniel Hardee

I had a hunch beforehand that the injuries might actually be good for forcing the Dubs into "win-now" mode, since statistically Wiseman, Paschall, and Oubre are the three biggest negatives on the roster who've been getting significant playing time. Even I wasn't anticipating the guys coming out this energized, though. The team played a heck of a game, led by Stephen Curry being ON FIRE. Absolutely puts a damper on the sweetness of the victory to see Murray injure his ACL, especially with how much we're still feeling the pain of similar injuries to our guys.

It also still sucks that Wiseman is missing developmental minutes, especially since it was just starting to look like he'd figured out how to be a net-positive. But Looney and Green are so far ahead of him in NBA savvy, having those two play more minutes seems like it makes the team so much better. Wiseman has recently gotten better at actually holding on to contested rebounds, but Looney has an uncanny ability to grab clutch offensive rebounds, *and* have the presence of mind to pass them back out to get a good look rather than just trying to immediately forcing up a difficult lay-in and squandering the opportunity. Wiseman and Oubre both tend to tunnel vision on the basket when they get an offensive board and it makes their rebounds less impactful.

Wiggins' defense is legitimately incredible now. There are certain players (Schroder?!) who have a kryptonite-like ability to sneak past him, but against many of the best players in the league he uses a really strong combination of discipline, effort, and length to contest shots from any angle without fouling. His offense comes and goes, but it's there often enough that it feels like it actually justifies the max contract when his defense is this good.

I love Draymond, but he played really badly against the Wizards, especially in the 1st quarter. He was huge against the Nuggets. Jokic is leading the MVP race for good reason right now, but he looked mortal with the way the Warriors defended him, especially Dray and JTA.

Speaking of Our Guy Juan, he was huge. It continues to be kind of spectacular how well he defends guys much bigger than him. He is definitely one of the guys who needs more discipline about not fouling perimeter shooters, though it didn't bite us this game. He also had several impressive cases last night where he got the ball for a good shot but passed it and created a great shot. (Wide open Bazemore in the corner or Steph anywhere on the three-point line, especially with how he was shooting last night? Yes please!)

Bazemore had an up and down game, with some of his typical unnecessary fouls offset by excellent effort and contributions on both ends. Pretty much what you expect from him. I really hope we keep him around for next year. He's the kind of presence off the bench that should continue to fit really well with what I expect next year's roster to be.

Mannion is probably the only guy on the team not feeling awesome about himself after this one: he had a couple really visible screwups, got picked on on defense again, and didn't have any stand-out moments. But at least it has to be encouraging for him—picked 48th overall­—to see so many late picks and undrafted players being a force in the NBA today. Jokic, obviously, is a great example being an MVP contender after being picked 41st, and Draymond was another steal at 35th pick, but here are some more high-impact guys to consider: Bazemore (Undrafted), Looney (30th), Joe Ingles (Undrafted), Fred VanVleet (Undrafted), Marc Gasol (48th). There are a lot more I could list, but I'll leave it at that. Anyway, I still think Nico has a bright future but he was one of the more raw guys in uniform last night.

Here's another neat stat: with last night's game, Steph now has 3 of the top 5 highest-scoring individual games in the season: #1, #3, and #5, with Beal's 60 and VanVleet's 54 in between. There've been 11 total 50-point games so far, with the rest being one each by Tatum, LaVine, Lillard, Murray, Embiid, and Jokic.

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Before last night’s game, I calculated that Steph needs to average 34 PPG over the final 19 games to pass Beal (assuming Beal’s scoring average remains unchanged). After last night’s performance, he now only needs to average 32.5 PPG over the final 18 games.

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Apr 13, 2021Liked by Eric Apricot, Duby Dub Dubs, Daniel Hardee

The DADA (Daniel Apricot Duby Authors) triumvirate is such good reading. I love how you guys complement each other with emotional, tactical and analytical looks at the team.

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Apr 13, 2021Liked by Daniel Hardee

When Dray hugged Steph on the bench it hit me hard. You could see the fan in Dray come out. He may have had a slightly better seat than the rest of us, but he too has been able to experience so much joy because of Wardell Stephen Curry.

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Apr 13, 2021Liked by Duby Dub Dubs

Chris Mullin told Steph,

".........I want to thank you for the way you've done it ... you bring so much joy and happiness to the world, and it's so appreciated,".."So I just want to say thank you for that ... the way you carry yourself on and off the court, just a true role model for young and old. So really just want to say congratulations and thank you for being you, Steph Curry."

I said “ AMEN 🙏 !”

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That failed behind the back pass from Steph gave me 2016 finals flashbacks

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Apr 13, 2021Liked by Duby Dub Dubs

Murray with torn ACL. Prayers up.

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Apr 13, 2021Liked by Duby Dub Dubs, Daniel Hardee

“Iguodalian” is my new favorite word.

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Apr 13, 2021Liked by Daniel Hardee

“I’m thinking guys like Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo”

In theory yes, but in practice I swear Steph shoots a higher percentage when Davis is on him.

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Apr 13, 2021Liked by Duby Dub Dubs, Daniel Hardee

That was a legit FUN game!

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