Whew. That was a doozy. I was absolutely shocked, and being down 0-1 in your own building sucks. It’s early though, and we’ve shown we can get better as series go on. Still have faith in these guys to get the job done and not let some variance stop them.
I don’t expect the Celtics to shoot the lights out like that again, but we definitely need to not sag off as much as we did on the role players, percentages be damned.
I know it wasn’t part of the strategy, but would it make more sense to let Tatum and Brown get theirs but tire themselves out?
I think Boston’s too good out there to have two-three non shooters on the floor, especially when Jordan or Dray are our primary ball handlers. I like what was suggested (can’t remember if it was Jack or bobbita/Beli) who suggested matching Looneys minutes with Robert Williams, and get as many minutes out of OPJ as we can at the 4 or 5.
I don’t even mind having Moody in there as long as we have some combo of our vet wings out there with Dray or Steph.
For anyone who was there, was GP2 shooting the ball in warmups? I read that supposedly he was not.
The talk leading up to this series focusing on the Celtic defense now feels like a misdirection to me (and I got swept into that as well). The Warriors need to find an answer for the offense the Celtics can generate when Horford plays center. If they can, they can definitely still win the series. Much easier said than done if GP2 is on the shelf imo, sometimes there is no adjustment (like the Mavs found out) but hopefully Kerr has something up his sleeve.
Lot of series left though. I explicitly recall people saying the Warriors/Rockets series was over after the Warriors took Game 1 on the road, but the Rockets got up 3-2 and had double digit leads in Games 6 and 7 so that was definitely wrong. Hell, technically we've even recently seen the Clippers lose both home games against the Mavericks to go down 2-0 but still end up winning in 7. It's very possible that the Warriors have more legs than the Celtics the deeper this series goes if they can just get it to 2-2 after the first four games.
We were one defensive rotation by Klay Thompson in G1 of the Memphis series from losing. The shot missed. We won. Yet, many times in that series I felt like Memphis had a legitimate chance to win that series. Now we are in that boat. Ok. Fine. Time to find some fortitude of the intestinal variety.
Draymond talked on his podcast about what he's learned in his older age is when to question the coach's game plan. He said he used to come out and say it initially, but now he goes out and does what they ask him knowing it won't work and when it fails he comes with his input. I wonder was it a part of the plan to have him play off Horford so much. They were playing the percentages game on Smart and White and still should've closed out better on some of their attempts, but Horford is shooting like 45% from three in the playoffs. Can't let him get loose like that.
I think about the coaching staff sticking with Kuminga starting against Memphis, after seeing it fail repeatedly. Steph and Draymond having to ask them to put Loon back in the lineup. Them sitting on Moody and Beli in the last series, until the last two games and them both coming in and having a positive impact.
Excited for the coaching staff's adjustments in this series. Don't think they continue to play Tatum the same, his 13 assist killed them. I think they were okay on Brown until the fourth. Seems like he travels and gets caught up in the air so much, the refs can't call them all.
Given how young Celtics (but for Holford) are, I don't see Kerr's scheme of '"lets play the long game and keep OGs minutes low and wait for inevitable opponent fatigue by game 6-7" working OR does it have merit irrespective of young the other team is.
We tend to think that the Warriors can always come from behind to win a game. But, seeing Boston in the playoffs and then seeing tonight's game, reminds me of how good Boston really has been. They can also come back because they can shoot as well as defend. There is no letting up against Boston. They will crush the Warriors unless we are prepared to play each game with few mistakes, executing offensively as well as defending at all times. What happened to our defense in the 4th quarter? Non existent. This game reminded me of the weaknesses that they Warriors have exhibited in the 2nd half of the season except for Curry, who did his job on both ends of the floor. Klay did not. Draymond did not. Poole did not. Need I say more?
note*:The only championship series where the Warriors lost their first game was against Toronto and they went on to lose that series. The Warriors have always won their first game in all their championship series against Cleveland. An omen?
Not so much a consolation but when was the last time we’ve seen Steph go Super Saiyan like he did in the 1st?!! Hope it is just the start of things to come!
The way it ended sure stings, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't feel so bad about this one.
The Warriors offense sputtering out in the 4th looked more like variance plus a little bit of playing in a hurry; as for Boston hitting all their shots, a lot of that was in transition off Warriors misses/turnovers—meaning, our defense was fine until our offense went offline. If we just keep our cool, I think both ends of the floor will be fine.
Boston gave up more wide-open looks to Curry, Poole, and Wiggins than any of our opponents so far; if they don't clean that up, it's going to take a miraculous shooting night every single game for them to keep up.
I think we're in for a long, exciting series. I'm not sure Iguodala is healthy enough to play even as many minutes as he got this game; most worrying are the shot opportunities he didn't take around the rim. I dunno if Kuminga can defend and handle well enough to stay on the floor in those minutes instead, but he would for sure be dunking a couple of those (and shooting FTs), instead of kicking it back out.
The part that sucks is coping with the L for a couple days until we get to payback time.
The absolute soonest opportunity the Warriors can set this right won’t come Sunday in Game 2.
It will come Wednesday in Game 3.
There is literally nothing they can do on Sunday that will make up for tonight’s collapse and loss. Nothing.
Winning on Sunday has to be automatic. It is the bare minimum they need to do to so much as remain competitive this series. Sunday is about treading water, not making up for mistakes and missteps. Because treading water is all they will be doing in making the series 1-1 going to Boston. They won’t be seizing any advantage, momentum, or edge. They will be surviving, and nothing more.
In other words: Sunday will be all about earning the opportunity to atone for tonight’s result. Whether that deserves the hype and excitement of the fans or not (it certainly won’t deserve mine), is in the eye of the beholder.
Some might say that is harsh. But for a presumptive dynasty in the NBA finals, that is the nature of the beast. It’s the cost of glory.
I wouldn't say a loss like this was too unexpected. In every series so far there's been one game where the opponents just made every shot. Against Denver, it was game 4, against Memphis, it was game 5, against Dallas, it was game 4. This time, it just came in game 1. I doubt that they shoot like that in every game (I really hope so or this could turn ugly soon).
Now, Steph may not be as hot as he was today and Tatum might be better next game. However, bear in mind that Draymond was absolute garbage offensively, Klay was bricking shots left and right (there was one three in particular which was pretty open that barely reached the rim), and Poole looked lost on offence and defence. I trust that Kerr and the rest of the coaching staff will have adjustments lined up for Sunday (like not giving Al Horford open shots).
Also, the Warriors have won one road game in every series and the Celtics aren't particularly special at home, so I have full belief that we'll be able to retake homecourt advantage.
And I mean, this wouldn't be the NBA finals if there weren't ups and downs. The Celtics have a terrific defence, yet I feel like the offence still managed to show some flashes of the usual Warriors basketball during the third quarter. Good thing we got the one loss due to hot shooting out of the way early on. Can't wait to sweep the next four. Dubs in 5 ;)
Well, guys and gals, when we said "No, really, Boston is a truly good team" this is what we meant. They are good, and have been the best defensive team in the league by a country mile this calendar year. When Curry hung 21 first quarter points on the DPOY and #1 defense in the league, they responded quickly and made frustratingly effective adjustments. That's what they've shown a pattern of doing. They're a really good team. That's what we'll do, too. Steph Curry will adjust, our Hall Of Fame coach (sorry, #firekerr crowd, the adults are talking) will adjust, and if we win this series in the 6 or 7 that a lot of experts predict, there will be at least one more game like this, where the Celtics offense or defense or both shifts into a gear or hits a rhythm that we just don't have an answer for. But I don't think there will be 3 more games like this. Our defense will adapt. We might have to live with allowing more space for Tatum to shoot so we can prevent him from playmaking, disrupt Brown's midrange game and entice him to shoot more 3's (come on, Jaylen! Why shoot 50% from 2 and get us in foul trouble when you could miss 75% from 3? We won't even foul you!) or heck, top block Al Horford while quoting chapters of The DaVinci Code at him- something to prevent him from getting into a rhythm. Our team will adjust. They have earned our trust. They are really, really good. That is what I shall mutter to myself instead of sleeping for the next few hours, and instead of watching First Hysterical Take tomorrow morning. Go Dubs!
We’ll, that was a miserable way to end a game. The Celtics are good. Good enough to steal a game. Probably not enough to win a series against GS. Kerr will adjust. Second and fourth quarters will be dissected. Warriors will be OK. That last quarter was an aberration. Sometimes your opponent just gets hot.
That said, this isn’t just about letting Horford, White, Pritchard and Smart come back down to earth. They probably will but we still need to help. The perimeter needs better attention. Especially AH. Dubs treated him like an ordinary center. I’d love to see how NB does v AH for some minutes.
Steph, OPJ and Looney had solid games. Steph runs the offense so well, and holds up well enough on D, that Kerr might have to adjust his rotations to get him earlier rest but more minutes overall. OPJ played both sides of the floor and has the length to beat these guys. Looney just did his thing like old reliable
Klay and Drew did OK. They need to find that consistent killer D again. Tatum was guarded well - though many of his misses were due to just being off. His assists were high suggesting tight D made him give up the ball. They needed to better stay in front of Brown and rotate out on the perimeter faster. They seemed a step slow at times and a few minutes relief from some fresh legs (?GP2,JK,Moody, Lee, JPA) might have helped.
Not a fan of giving Andre so many minutes after so much time off. Didn’t play well with Green. Could communication (whose the boss) be an issue? That said, Andre had some good moments and may thrive in nonGreen (OPJ) and nonCurry minutes as the primary ball handler. But keep Green and Curry together.
There is an issue with our offense if Dray takes more than two 3-pt shots in a game. It is a reflection of a lack of good options. The Warriors will do better in transition against good defensive teams. The Celtics, this year, are the best. Can’t get out in transition if you can’t make a stop. That is one reason the 4th Q fell apart so fast. The Celtics couldn’t miss and the Warriors choked on the other side with the Celtic D all set. But the dubs need to run, run, run after any Rebound.
Lastly - Poole. He was rattled the whole game. He doesn’t seem to do well when playing against long switch-everything coverage. And he can’t defend the drive. Against this team he may need to earn his minutes. We have other ball handlers and other wings that defend better. While coaching Poole to adjust where possible, I’d put the ball a little more in the hands of Andre, JPA and GP2 depending while waiting for Poole to get that deer in the headlights look out of his eyes.
In sum, I’d give more minutes to the non-Poole bench (not Curry minutes) and increase the pace AMAP. I’d bump and grind on D and wear them down. Let the bench collect some hard fouls. Try to knock the Celtics out of sync. (Theywere never off balance, even for a monument, tonight in this gentlemanly game.) The starting five did well tonight. I’d devote bench minutes to (non-flagrantly) roughing up Boston more than a little.
Whew. That was a doozy. I was absolutely shocked, and being down 0-1 in your own building sucks. It’s early though, and we’ve shown we can get better as series go on. Still have faith in these guys to get the job done and not let some variance stop them.
I don’t expect the Celtics to shoot the lights out like that again, but we definitely need to not sag off as much as we did on the role players, percentages be damned.
I know it wasn’t part of the strategy, but would it make more sense to let Tatum and Brown get theirs but tire themselves out?
I think Boston’s too good out there to have two-three non shooters on the floor, especially when Jordan or Dray are our primary ball handlers. I like what was suggested (can’t remember if it was Jack or bobbita/Beli) who suggested matching Looneys minutes with Robert Williams, and get as many minutes out of OPJ as we can at the 4 or 5.
I don’t even mind having Moody in there as long as we have some combo of our vet wings out there with Dray or Steph.
For anyone who was there, was GP2 shooting the ball in warmups? I read that supposedly he was not.
The talk leading up to this series focusing on the Celtic defense now feels like a misdirection to me (and I got swept into that as well). The Warriors need to find an answer for the offense the Celtics can generate when Horford plays center. If they can, they can definitely still win the series. Much easier said than done if GP2 is on the shelf imo, sometimes there is no adjustment (like the Mavs found out) but hopefully Kerr has something up his sleeve.
Lot of series left though. I explicitly recall people saying the Warriors/Rockets series was over after the Warriors took Game 1 on the road, but the Rockets got up 3-2 and had double digit leads in Games 6 and 7 so that was definitely wrong. Hell, technically we've even recently seen the Clippers lose both home games against the Mavericks to go down 2-0 but still end up winning in 7. It's very possible that the Warriors have more legs than the Celtics the deeper this series goes if they can just get it to 2-2 after the first four games.
We were one defensive rotation by Klay Thompson in G1 of the Memphis series from losing. The shot missed. We won. Yet, many times in that series I felt like Memphis had a legitimate chance to win that series. Now we are in that boat. Ok. Fine. Time to find some fortitude of the intestinal variety.
Draymond talked on his podcast about what he's learned in his older age is when to question the coach's game plan. He said he used to come out and say it initially, but now he goes out and does what they ask him knowing it won't work and when it fails he comes with his input. I wonder was it a part of the plan to have him play off Horford so much. They were playing the percentages game on Smart and White and still should've closed out better on some of their attempts, but Horford is shooting like 45% from three in the playoffs. Can't let him get loose like that.
I think about the coaching staff sticking with Kuminga starting against Memphis, after seeing it fail repeatedly. Steph and Draymond having to ask them to put Loon back in the lineup. Them sitting on Moody and Beli in the last series, until the last two games and them both coming in and having a positive impact.
Excited for the coaching staff's adjustments in this series. Don't think they continue to play Tatum the same, his 13 assist killed them. I think they were okay on Brown until the fourth. Seems like he travels and gets caught up in the air so much, the refs can't call them all.
Otto just turned 29 years old today. Why do I keep thinking he is older than Steph, Klay and Dray??
This loss has similarity to Rnd2-G5, Rnd3-G4. But what makes it jarring is that this was in G1, this was on Home Court.
Given how young Celtics (but for Holford) are, I don't see Kerr's scheme of '"lets play the long game and keep OGs minutes low and wait for inevitable opponent fatigue by game 6-7" working OR does it have merit irrespective of young the other team is.
We tend to think that the Warriors can always come from behind to win a game. But, seeing Boston in the playoffs and then seeing tonight's game, reminds me of how good Boston really has been. They can also come back because they can shoot as well as defend. There is no letting up against Boston. They will crush the Warriors unless we are prepared to play each game with few mistakes, executing offensively as well as defending at all times. What happened to our defense in the 4th quarter? Non existent. This game reminded me of the weaknesses that they Warriors have exhibited in the 2nd half of the season except for Curry, who did his job on both ends of the floor. Klay did not. Draymond did not. Poole did not. Need I say more?
note*:The only championship series where the Warriors lost their first game was against Toronto and they went on to lose that series. The Warriors have always won their first game in all their championship series against Cleveland. An omen?
Not so much a consolation but when was the last time we’ve seen Steph go Super Saiyan like he did in the 1st?!! Hope it is just the start of things to come!
The way it ended sure stings, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't feel so bad about this one.
The Warriors offense sputtering out in the 4th looked more like variance plus a little bit of playing in a hurry; as for Boston hitting all their shots, a lot of that was in transition off Warriors misses/turnovers—meaning, our defense was fine until our offense went offline. If we just keep our cool, I think both ends of the floor will be fine.
Boston gave up more wide-open looks to Curry, Poole, and Wiggins than any of our opponents so far; if they don't clean that up, it's going to take a miraculous shooting night every single game for them to keep up.
I think we're in for a long, exciting series. I'm not sure Iguodala is healthy enough to play even as many minutes as he got this game; most worrying are the shot opportunities he didn't take around the rim. I dunno if Kuminga can defend and handle well enough to stay on the floor in those minutes instead, but he would for sure be dunking a couple of those (and shooting FTs), instead of kicking it back out.
The part that sucks is coping with the L for a couple days until we get to payback time.
One last thought for tonight:
The absolute soonest opportunity the Warriors can set this right won’t come Sunday in Game 2.
It will come Wednesday in Game 3.
There is literally nothing they can do on Sunday that will make up for tonight’s collapse and loss. Nothing.
Winning on Sunday has to be automatic. It is the bare minimum they need to do to so much as remain competitive this series. Sunday is about treading water, not making up for mistakes and missteps. Because treading water is all they will be doing in making the series 1-1 going to Boston. They won’t be seizing any advantage, momentum, or edge. They will be surviving, and nothing more.
In other words: Sunday will be all about earning the opportunity to atone for tonight’s result. Whether that deserves the hype and excitement of the fans or not (it certainly won’t deserve mine), is in the eye of the beholder.
Some might say that is harsh. But for a presumptive dynasty in the NBA finals, that is the nature of the beast. It’s the cost of glory.
Curry played 38 minutes meaning poole only had to play 8 minutes this game
But despite him being horrific on both sides all night he still played 17 minutes next to curry and had 4 turnovers in 25 minutes.
I miss GP2
This loss is painful, but...
I wouldn't say a loss like this was too unexpected. In every series so far there's been one game where the opponents just made every shot. Against Denver, it was game 4, against Memphis, it was game 5, against Dallas, it was game 4. This time, it just came in game 1. I doubt that they shoot like that in every game (I really hope so or this could turn ugly soon).
Now, Steph may not be as hot as he was today and Tatum might be better next game. However, bear in mind that Draymond was absolute garbage offensively, Klay was bricking shots left and right (there was one three in particular which was pretty open that barely reached the rim), and Poole looked lost on offence and defence. I trust that Kerr and the rest of the coaching staff will have adjustments lined up for Sunday (like not giving Al Horford open shots).
Also, the Warriors have won one road game in every series and the Celtics aren't particularly special at home, so I have full belief that we'll be able to retake homecourt advantage.
And I mean, this wouldn't be the NBA finals if there weren't ups and downs. The Celtics have a terrific defence, yet I feel like the offence still managed to show some flashes of the usual Warriors basketball during the third quarter. Good thing we got the one loss due to hot shooting out of the way early on. Can't wait to sweep the next four. Dubs in 5 ;)
Well, guys and gals, when we said "No, really, Boston is a truly good team" this is what we meant. They are good, and have been the best defensive team in the league by a country mile this calendar year. When Curry hung 21 first quarter points on the DPOY and #1 defense in the league, they responded quickly and made frustratingly effective adjustments. That's what they've shown a pattern of doing. They're a really good team. That's what we'll do, too. Steph Curry will adjust, our Hall Of Fame coach (sorry, #firekerr crowd, the adults are talking) will adjust, and if we win this series in the 6 or 7 that a lot of experts predict, there will be at least one more game like this, where the Celtics offense or defense or both shifts into a gear or hits a rhythm that we just don't have an answer for. But I don't think there will be 3 more games like this. Our defense will adapt. We might have to live with allowing more space for Tatum to shoot so we can prevent him from playmaking, disrupt Brown's midrange game and entice him to shoot more 3's (come on, Jaylen! Why shoot 50% from 2 and get us in foul trouble when you could miss 75% from 3? We won't even foul you!) or heck, top block Al Horford while quoting chapters of The DaVinci Code at him- something to prevent him from getting into a rhythm. Our team will adjust. They have earned our trust. They are really, really good. That is what I shall mutter to myself instead of sleeping for the next few hours, and instead of watching First Hysterical Take tomorrow morning. Go Dubs!
We’ll, that was a miserable way to end a game. The Celtics are good. Good enough to steal a game. Probably not enough to win a series against GS. Kerr will adjust. Second and fourth quarters will be dissected. Warriors will be OK. That last quarter was an aberration. Sometimes your opponent just gets hot.
That said, this isn’t just about letting Horford, White, Pritchard and Smart come back down to earth. They probably will but we still need to help. The perimeter needs better attention. Especially AH. Dubs treated him like an ordinary center. I’d love to see how NB does v AH for some minutes.
Steph, OPJ and Looney had solid games. Steph runs the offense so well, and holds up well enough on D, that Kerr might have to adjust his rotations to get him earlier rest but more minutes overall. OPJ played both sides of the floor and has the length to beat these guys. Looney just did his thing like old reliable
Klay and Drew did OK. They need to find that consistent killer D again. Tatum was guarded well - though many of his misses were due to just being off. His assists were high suggesting tight D made him give up the ball. They needed to better stay in front of Brown and rotate out on the perimeter faster. They seemed a step slow at times and a few minutes relief from some fresh legs (?GP2,JK,Moody, Lee, JPA) might have helped.
Not a fan of giving Andre so many minutes after so much time off. Didn’t play well with Green. Could communication (whose the boss) be an issue? That said, Andre had some good moments and may thrive in nonGreen (OPJ) and nonCurry minutes as the primary ball handler. But keep Green and Curry together.
There is an issue with our offense if Dray takes more than two 3-pt shots in a game. It is a reflection of a lack of good options. The Warriors will do better in transition against good defensive teams. The Celtics, this year, are the best. Can’t get out in transition if you can’t make a stop. That is one reason the 4th Q fell apart so fast. The Celtics couldn’t miss and the Warriors choked on the other side with the Celtic D all set. But the dubs need to run, run, run after any Rebound.
Lastly - Poole. He was rattled the whole game. He doesn’t seem to do well when playing against long switch-everything coverage. And he can’t defend the drive. Against this team he may need to earn his minutes. We have other ball handlers and other wings that defend better. While coaching Poole to adjust where possible, I’d put the ball a little more in the hands of Andre, JPA and GP2 depending while waiting for Poole to get that deer in the headlights look out of his eyes.
In sum, I’d give more minutes to the non-Poole bench (not Curry minutes) and increase the pace AMAP. I’d bump and grind on D and wear them down. Let the bench collect some hard fouls. Try to knock the Celtics out of sync. (Theywere never off balance, even for a monument, tonight in this gentlemanly game.) The starting five did well tonight. I’d devote bench minutes to (non-flagrantly) roughing up Boston more than a little.
ALL three of our veterans need be playing to the max inorder for us to win.