NBA news: Former LA Clippers’ lottery pick Jerome Robinson is signing a one-year deal to go to camp with the Golden State Warriors, per sources. Robinson played last season for the Santa Cruz Warriors and now will be competing for one of their remaining open roster spots.
Personally love the signing. Former lottery pick that floated around with fringe playoff teams early on and was unfortunately the odd man out. Produced at a pretty high level with Santa Cruz last year, and even if he doesn't crack the big team I'm sure he'll get more run with the Sea Dubs this season.
OT, FiveThirtyEight's 2022-23 NBA Player Projections are out. Steph is projected to decline from 12.0 last year (just below MVP Candidate level) to 9.7. I share the general disdain for 538's basketball predictions, and look forward to Steph crushing the over.
For you Trekkers... I just realized tonight that if the Ws manage to return to the finals this season, they'll have been there 7-of-9. Just sayin'... ;-)
11 (Spinal Tap, Klay, a number perhaps only rivaled by the number 42)
11 is the number of minutes that Steph-Klay-Dray played together in the 2021-2022 regular season.
Did anyone really think that it made any difference how many minutes S-K-D played prior to the playoffs? These guys have played together for years. This was the least of our concerns. What was much more important, was how the other players played on the the team WITH THEM. And the most important of these was Andrew Wiggins.
Let's go back to that trade. D Russell for Wiggs and a top 4 protected 1st that turned into JK. What were the Warriors looking at? They envisioned S-K-D on the floor with a combo 3/4 forward, capable of knocking down open 3s, cutting backdoor, defending multiple positions and snagging rebounds. They thought they would see this in 2020-2021 until Klay crumpled to the floor in a preseason workout.
The point is, the whole idea of Wiggins was that the Warriors would have a specific type of player to FIT IN with the core. And Wiggins was the prototype. The Warriors saw this when they traded for him, but it was AGES before they saw the 4 of them together. The Warriors saw a player that would fit into a mold created by S-K-D (and insert any center here). So the question is, did Wiggins become the player he was always meant to be OR did Wiggins excel in the position CREATED by the S-K-D trio?
Of the 11 minutes that S-K-D played together in the regular season, I cannot say how many minutes Wiggs was on the floor with them. The fact is, with so few minutes, it doesn't matter. The Warriors system, built around their core, did not have a relationship with Wiggs until the playoffs. If I am Bob Meyers, I am thinking "How will it look?" Well, it looked pretty damn good. So, here is the problem.
The idea of Wiggins + the Core always made sense and now, in real time, it did make sense. But why? Was it because Wiggins was finally unleashed to be the player that he always was? Or was it because the shape of the court, caused by the gravity of S-K-D, was such that all Wiggs had to do was fill the gaps, cut to the open space, take the open shot, reach for the ball off the rim?
The question we all have to ask is this: Is Wiggs the ultimate role player OR did Wiggs find the true All-NBA All-Star Wiggs who has always been there? To this question , I would ask everyone to thnk back on his time with the Warriors. At any point, did he really make a difference? Yes, we all said, "Wiggs is awesome." But did we ever say, "Fuck. I didn't see that."
I love Wiggs and if we could afford him I would be all in. But we have to look deeper. Wiggs was good on Doncic, but he really just kept him normal. Wiggs was great against Tatum, but that dude was toast. First Finals, some minor injuries, and utterly exhausted after the Eastern Conference gauntlet he made his way through. Wiggs hit personal rebounding totals. Was that him, or was it the system he was working in and an injured Time Lord and exhausted Boston team?
A lot of big media names have Andrew Wiggins as the 2nd best player on the Warriors for the playoffs or finals. Was he? Or is Wiggins the creation of the Warriors system, the perfect player set into the perfect system, allowing him to be the best player he could be ... in our system.
I love me some Wiggs. I think he has the best hair in the NBA. If you were creating an NBA player from scratch, you would use his body. No-one is close.
A few years ago, the Warriors envisioned a player who could play next to S-K-D and, in the end, it worked out perfectly. But is it only Wiggs, or can another player of his type fit the bill? This is the real question. How much of Wiggs is Wiggs or is Wiggs playing in the Warriors system? As much as I love the guy, The Warriors will believe that their system trumps the player's abilities. They will be able to put someone in Wigg's place. Take the open 3. Screen and cut. Rebound, push the pace. You can't replace Wiggins. But you can find people that can fit the mold. in their own ways.
Hmmm... I see a lot of standing completely upright and disinterested walking in those highlights... hopefully it's just cause his teammates suck and he's over it.
Just dropping in to comment on this supposed polling among NBA execs in which 8 of 15 votes went to the LAC as the western conference champs, with only 3 going to the Ws (the same number as Phoenix, SMH). Similarly, 5 voted for the Clips to win it all, while only 2 picked the Ws. I'm not saying that Golden State has some kind of cake walk to the NBA title, but how can they pick the Clippers -- a team which has never won anything? That just makes no sense.
- Because he is on the same team as Curry/Klay/Poole and therefore sees the immense value of being a good three point shooter and is using valuable gametime to develop his jumpshot!
Moving forward, my thoughts on Kuminga in terms of the Congo games is that he has certainly developed as a passer which is not surprising given his vets were Andre/JTA! He knows that they were highly effective in their role with the Warriors through excellent passing/cutting/defense despite their lack of a jumpshot and he tried to incorporate that into his game last year becoming an effective off-ball threat/on-ball defender! The hope is that he can further develop into that role this year becoming a better team defender/passer and he has already shown flashes of the latter!
Of course, we also want for him to develop his handle to really take advantage of his athleticism and take steps with his jumpshot but I haven’t really seen evidence of either improving so far so that is tbd!
Hypothetical 8 man Chess Piece Playoff rotation:
Steph = Queen. Just a devastatingly powerful piece who is a threat from anywhere on the board.
Dray = King. Not as mobile, but sets the tone on defense and commands the other pieces around him.
Klay + Poole = Bishops. Wings, able to slash and cut across the court with lethal efficiency.
Wiggs + Kuminga = Knights. Ability to jump over defenses and defend multiple positions.
Loon + Wiseman = Rooks. Solid. Straight up and down. Useful in the post (2nd rank) and to get back and defend the back rank.
https://twitter.com/SCDG2330/status/1565124126053781504
Working on the left hand
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/34496540/warriors-stephen-curry-feted-davidson-ceremony-graduate-davidson-alum-in-hall-fame
Adam Schefter
@Adam Schefter
NBA news: Former LA Clippers’ lottery pick Jerome Robinson is signing a one-year deal to go to camp with the Golden State Warriors, per sources. Robinson played last season for the Santa Cruz Warriors and now will be competing for one of their remaining open roster spots.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1565073320323780611?s=20&t=SlAZooMJW6SJBifEwPP8dg
Personally love the signing. Former lottery pick that floated around with fringe playoff teams early on and was unfortunately the odd man out. Produced at a pretty high level with Santa Cruz last year, and even if he doesn't crack the big team I'm sure he'll get more run with the Sea Dubs this season.
I had forgotten but now I am reminded again; screw the NBA schedule makers.
Link: https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2022/8/31/23329686/8-most-likely-schedule-losses
OT, FiveThirtyEight's 2022-23 NBA Player Projections are out. Steph is projected to decline from 12.0 last year (just below MVP Candidate level) to 9.7. I share the general disdain for 538's basketball predictions, and look forward to Steph crushing the over.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2023-nba-player-projections/stephen-curry/
For you Trekkers... I just realized tonight that if the Ws manage to return to the finals this season, they'll have been there 7-of-9. Just sayin'... ;-)
As always ... off topic.
11 (Spinal Tap, Klay, a number perhaps only rivaled by the number 42)
11 is the number of minutes that Steph-Klay-Dray played together in the 2021-2022 regular season.
Did anyone really think that it made any difference how many minutes S-K-D played prior to the playoffs? These guys have played together for years. This was the least of our concerns. What was much more important, was how the other players played on the the team WITH THEM. And the most important of these was Andrew Wiggins.
Let's go back to that trade. D Russell for Wiggs and a top 4 protected 1st that turned into JK. What were the Warriors looking at? They envisioned S-K-D on the floor with a combo 3/4 forward, capable of knocking down open 3s, cutting backdoor, defending multiple positions and snagging rebounds. They thought they would see this in 2020-2021 until Klay crumpled to the floor in a preseason workout.
The point is, the whole idea of Wiggins was that the Warriors would have a specific type of player to FIT IN with the core. And Wiggins was the prototype. The Warriors saw this when they traded for him, but it was AGES before they saw the 4 of them together. The Warriors saw a player that would fit into a mold created by S-K-D (and insert any center here). So the question is, did Wiggins become the player he was always meant to be OR did Wiggins excel in the position CREATED by the S-K-D trio?
Of the 11 minutes that S-K-D played together in the regular season, I cannot say how many minutes Wiggs was on the floor with them. The fact is, with so few minutes, it doesn't matter. The Warriors system, built around their core, did not have a relationship with Wiggs until the playoffs. If I am Bob Meyers, I am thinking "How will it look?" Well, it looked pretty damn good. So, here is the problem.
The idea of Wiggins + the Core always made sense and now, in real time, it did make sense. But why? Was it because Wiggins was finally unleashed to be the player that he always was? Or was it because the shape of the court, caused by the gravity of S-K-D, was such that all Wiggs had to do was fill the gaps, cut to the open space, take the open shot, reach for the ball off the rim?
The question we all have to ask is this: Is Wiggs the ultimate role player OR did Wiggs find the true All-NBA All-Star Wiggs who has always been there? To this question , I would ask everyone to thnk back on his time with the Warriors. At any point, did he really make a difference? Yes, we all said, "Wiggs is awesome." But did we ever say, "Fuck. I didn't see that."
I love Wiggs and if we could afford him I would be all in. But we have to look deeper. Wiggs was good on Doncic, but he really just kept him normal. Wiggs was great against Tatum, but that dude was toast. First Finals, some minor injuries, and utterly exhausted after the Eastern Conference gauntlet he made his way through. Wiggs hit personal rebounding totals. Was that him, or was it the system he was working in and an injured Time Lord and exhausted Boston team?
A lot of big media names have Andrew Wiggins as the 2nd best player on the Warriors for the playoffs or finals. Was he? Or is Wiggins the creation of the Warriors system, the perfect player set into the perfect system, allowing him to be the best player he could be ... in our system.
I love me some Wiggs. I think he has the best hair in the NBA. If you were creating an NBA player from scratch, you would use his body. No-one is close.
A few years ago, the Warriors envisioned a player who could play next to S-K-D and, in the end, it worked out perfectly. But is it only Wiggs, or can another player of his type fit the bill? This is the real question. How much of Wiggs is Wiggs or is Wiggs playing in the Warriors system? As much as I love the guy, The Warriors will believe that their system trumps the player's abilities. They will be able to put someone in Wigg's place. Take the open 3. Screen and cut. Rebound, push the pace. You can't replace Wiggins. But you can find people that can fit the mold. in their own ways.
off topic 101
Hmmm... I see a lot of standing completely upright and disinterested walking in those highlights... hopefully it's just cause his teammates suck and he's over it.
Dalton Johnson on the price of Poole’s extension going up: https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/why-jordan-pooles-warriors-contract-could-be-rising-extension-looms
The biggest news is RJ Barrett is getting a 4-year rookie extension worth over $120m. Poole’s gonna get paid.
Just dropping in to comment on this supposed polling among NBA execs in which 8 of 15 votes went to the LAC as the western conference champs, with only 3 going to the Ws (the same number as Phoenix, SMH). Similarly, 5 voted for the Clips to win it all, while only 2 picked the Ws. I'm not saying that Golden State has some kind of cake walk to the NBA title, but how can they pick the Clippers -- a team which has never won anything? That just makes no sense.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34442951/nba-offseason-survey-coaches-scouts-execs-watching-ahead-2022-23
Longer version of that Steph/Trae video that got shared around recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Np5ZvHn1s.
I'm not quite sure, but Damian Lee and Loon might be in it as well...
"Why is Kuming --"
Let me stop you there, whether when playing for the DRC or the Dubs. The answer is: because he's very young, and very undisciplined.
Also, in this case, name another Congolese player. He's doing all of it because no one else will.
Woohoo... I got my own thread again. *Does the Macarena*
Congo looks like a sorry assed team. And these games look about as important as Summer League. Nothing here to be impressed about.
“Why is he taking SOOO many 3 pt shots?”
- Because he is on the same team as Curry/Klay/Poole and therefore sees the immense value of being a good three point shooter and is using valuable gametime to develop his jumpshot!
Moving forward, my thoughts on Kuminga in terms of the Congo games is that he has certainly developed as a passer which is not surprising given his vets were Andre/JTA! He knows that they were highly effective in their role with the Warriors through excellent passing/cutting/defense despite their lack of a jumpshot and he tried to incorporate that into his game last year becoming an effective off-ball threat/on-ball defender! The hope is that he can further develop into that role this year becoming a better team defender/passer and he has already shown flashes of the latter!
Of course, we also want for him to develop his handle to really take advantage of his athleticism and take steps with his jumpshot but I haven’t really seen evidence of either improving so far so that is tbd!