282 Comments

Not sure if commented on already, but I really was upset when they went up 15 in the third after Klay hit two 3’s after bricking all night.

They were on a roll with momentum to possibly put it out of reach and Kerr subbed away according to his pregame plan, killing their momentum and Lakers immediately cut it to one.

No reason not to keep the same 5 out there after the timeout for a couple more minutes to see if they can keep their momentum, especially without Paul.

Two gut wrenching losses in a row as the theme of this season continues.

Pretty soon we will be saying they are so close but they will be 5 games out of even the play in.

Doesn’t matter if Paul, Moody and Payton comeback fully healthy if they are 7 games below 500.

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Silver lining is at least we lost to the guys that we were supposed to lose to (if we actually lost)

Lebron 36, AD 29, DLo 28.

At least it wasn't Christie or Wood going for career high....those games are way more difficult to digest for me.

This team has shown that they are a team that's going to hover around. 500 - they can be competitive with anyone, and they can also get blown out by undermanned teams. Just have to adjust expectations accordingly.

Steph has looked absolutely gassed at the end of these last two games (understandably so) but that just doesn't bode will for a soon to be 36 year old with half a season still left to play. All these tight games aren't only physically draining, but emotionally draining for him and the rest of the squad.

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I want no trades. Get the main parts of this squad gelling for a run next year, if nothing else. And fully formed, we could squeak into the playin, and then beat Minny or OKC for sure.

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Optimistic take:

21-22 season: We started 18-2 and then went 35-27.

Let's do it in reverse. First get to 0.500 (31-31 from 19-24) and then go 18-2.

It's doable, I think 😃.

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Further… we started 29-6 and finished 24-23. Just need to get the team gelling around Dray, get CP3 back, and we’ve got a shot at a run down the stretch

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As before, De De at center makes that 5 man lineup work.

And what's new there.

Give me 24 mins of that lineup and I am all excited. Hopefully Dray is indeed rested and ready to play center like he did before

Can we get 24 min at C from Loon, TJD, Saric, GP2 and JK?

*GP2 = tallest short man

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And he’s done it folks! Draymond Green has become the first Warriors player to achieve a positive net rtg in the 2024 season with Andrew Wiggins! They are at +.1 together. Now anything seems possible!

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Ok, now I’ve had coffee, let’s think eleven thoughts. Theme: Why I Enjoyed Last Night’s Game

(1) Timing. I started the game late, after watching Jokic and company destroy the 76ers B team. Normally watching basketball until after midnight would be a drag, but double overtime on a Saturday night? Bring it on! I can sleep late.

(2) The Old Guard. Steph, Klay and Dray brought it. Not perfectly, of course. They did dumb things, made mistakes, and Klay in particular played the first half like his hands were bound in frozen mittens. But they still fought back. Made crazy clutch shots to propel the team into overtime twice! And Dray was a menace on defense.

(3) Steph. I will watch this team no matter what the result if Steph can play. He’s a wizard, a maestro and a 3 star Michelin chef wrapped in a crazy joyous basketball elf.

(4) Wiggins. Actually played well on both ends of the court. 8/12 shooting, 3/4 from 3. Don’t tease us bro, be this version of yourself more often. Be you, welcome back. Did the sad alien who did not know how to shoot finally relinquish control of your body?

(5) WTF is wrong with Laker management?? AD and Vanderbilt were both clearly gimping after departing with their injuries and then returning. Yes they were difference makers but it’s a long season. This was very stupid.

(6) Kuminga was good, but for sure more hesitant. Maybe it’s because the Lakers are a lot taller and better interior defenders than the last few teams we played? Or maybe just an off night? But there were several plays where he just sliced through the Lakers like they were so many statues. Why not a whole lot more of that?

(7) Lebron, when he bothers, is really good. So annoying. I HATE being beaten by him. Why did he have to score those last two points? Grrr. Hrmph, count to 3, back to Zen filled calm.

(8) Give me more Podz please. There were a few sequences where he and then Kuminga defended against LBJ and made him miss and I thought ‘I bet those kids will be jawing about how they stuffed LeBron for weeks.’ Very cool to play against your idols and not just get torched.

(9) The Refs. Yea I was mad too. What is going on? Why does the weird lopsided reffing never end?

(10) Looney. The fast long rangy teams make him look … not good. But this slow long team did too. Not every player is good for 20 years. Is this the down slope for Looney? Would suck but he’s given us a lot!

(11) Moody CP3 and GP2 aren’t going to save us. But they will definitely help more than a little. I hope.

(12) Dray now back for, what, 3 games? and has gotten zero techs? Go Draymond. I thought he was losing his cool a bit late last night but he held it together.

(13) TJD. I like this kid! I have high hopes. But last night he got some minutes and showed a lot of rookie rust. Burn off the baby fat big guy! Keep learning, but speed it up :).

(14) So many thoughts! But that was a heckuva lot of basketball. And many good moments.

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This is not meant to make anyone feel better who doesn’t want to feel better, but after a night’s sleep:

Last night…

- It’s the third game in four nights for an old team with key injuries

- in the emotional return after the devastating death of Deki

- against a team that is a particularly poor matchup due to Anthony Davis and long Steph defenders and let’s just say, uh, referee blessings

- due to referee tidings of comfort and joy, had Klay and Wiggins fouled out by game’s end, and didn’t have CP3 or GP2 or Moody to guard smalls and had to resort to Cory Joseph in the final defensive stand

And we still got

- thrilling clutch shots from Steph (multiple) and Klay

- Wiggins playing well

- JK playing well

- The new starting/closing lineup looks good

- Stupendous all around game from Dray

- Team did not quit even down multiple possessions late in game, multiple times

- Did I mention thrilling clutch shots from Steph (multiple) and Klay? I am savoring every last one as they hit their career home stretch.

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Jan 28Liked by Eric Apricot

Eric you and I were writing up our positive thoughts at the same time. We’re on the same page of the book of 23-24 Dubs Fandom, DNHQ edition.

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You might have to change your username though

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Worried but calm. And gold blooded. I’ll stand pat on the name. Chin up, stiff upper lip lads though ye guns be blazing!

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Jan 28·edited Jan 28

Goldarn Stoked Worrier? Yeah I know, doesn't quite get it. I tried.

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Lol hardly stoked with this record. But ever hopeful.

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Jan 28Liked by Eric Apricot

I’m in the ‘Dayyyyyuuummm that was a whole heck of a lot of intense riveting basketball entertainment’ camp. Not torn up. Sad to lose always, but so many positives and such a good way to burn some mental energy on a Saturday night.

Maybe I’m just getting old and my soul is dead. Or maybe I’ve achieved a new Zen plateau of basketball satisfaction.

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Dray’s now a +2.8 net on-off per 100 possessions on the season — after being significantly negative going into last night’s game. Which indicates both how few overall minutes he has played and how ridiculous a single game net on-off of +63 (+31 on, -32 off) is.

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And Dubs were -32 with Dray of in 12! minutes. That's some bad basketball.

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I've given up any hope for a championship this year.

I must say, its oddly freeing to be able to ignore wins/losses and judge success based on how Kuminga/Podz/Moody/TJD perform.

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Same here. Playoffs ain’t happening. If they miraculously do, I’ll start caring about wins again. All that matters now is keeping the old guys healthy for next year, playing the young guys as much as possible, and getting under the second apron (hell, maybe under the tax line) so we can add some skilled size in the offseason using the TPLME and newly-available picks.

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I’ve felt pretty freed since the ‘22 title, tbh. NBA titles in the past decade:

Golden State Warriors 4

Six teams tied at 1

23 teams tied at 0

2013 Sleepy would have accepted that, lol. The biggest thing stressing me out right now (other than the just the normal sports fan stress during games and after losses) is that we don’t trade any of the four blue-chippers you noted before the deadline.

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I remember this between games… but when THE GAMES ARE RIGHT THERE FOR THE TAKING it stresses me out… and when the get up 15 in the 3rd, it’s deflatingly stressful knowing that they’re going to give up the lead one way or another.

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Yes, so many heartbreakingly close losses have piled up in a way that makes them almost inevitable, even when we extend a lead in the second half. Both players and fans can't help but feel the doubt creep in. But as EA pointed out earlier, it was inspiring to see them repeatedly fight back last night on a b2b after an extremely emotional couple weeks. This is why I will continue to watch and hope against hope for the remainder of the season, despite the stress/disappointment that comes with it.

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Jan 28·edited Jan 28Author

Heck, we’ve been playing with house money since after the 2015 title! The previous two decades, GSW made the playoffs ONCE, and winning a mere first round series made that team folk heroes for life. 2015 alone was so far beyond what I thought was possible.

To have the 2022 title run, which refuted the dumbest takes on Steph and GSW forever… *everlasting chef’s kiss*

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This is where I am.

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Your posts always make me feel better.

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Great game but 3-7 last 10 Warriors will be 3-7 last 10 at AllStar break. Then the math will make it almost impossible. But Donleavy's gonna get Markkanen from Utah, right? Okay, there's still hope.

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He's 22.

His nickname ('carrot') has something to do to his hair color.

His fan are easily recognisable, since they dress all orange and they are vociferous like every good italian fan. .

He's the nr. 4 in the world

Today, he was losing 6-3 6-3 the final of the Tennis Australian Open, singular male tournament, against the Russian Medvedev.

In the end, he won 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 in an amazing comeback lasted 3 hr. 45'

Today, he's the third italian to win a Big Slam tennis tournament (NY, London, Paris, Melbourne), the first in 48 years, and the first to win the Australian Open.

His name is Jannick Sinner, and he's just started.

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Is he a real Italian with that name?

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He’s 100% Italian, originary of a small, but stunningly beautiful, region of Italy named Alto Adige. The real name is SüdTirol, orographically they belong to Italy, but they are Austrian. In facts the official language is german. Think about a visit there in your lifetime, the Dolomiti are awesome effusive mountains that may make you think of Wyoming, but much better.

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I was joking about the name. This is an area I've never visited. After seeing the TV series Rocco Schiavone, which I loved a lot, this area of Italy is stunning. I've been to Como and through to Switzerland but never near the Austrian Tirol. No cowboys, though!

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What the heck is a “real Italian”? Is Wembanyama a “real Frenchman” with that name?

In the ten seconds it took you to post the phrase “is he a real Italian with that name?” — wording you must know is inflammatory — you could have googled Sinner and learned more about his family background.

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Come on, the doubt was legitimate. There’s a long history of ‘creating’ Italian born grandparents to italianise sportsmen, especially in the devious environment of Italian Soccer.

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Chill, man. It was a tongue in cheek comment.

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He’s been watching too much Sopranos.

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Lol, I’m not sure you can watch too much Sopranos! Haven’t watched it all the way through in 20 years, but every time I watch a random episode or 5-10 minute YouTube clip I’m reminded how ridiculously well written and acted it was.

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PointG, please cut out the “I am blocked” posts. It’s just public complaining about someone blocking you, and it’s not appropriate.

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You can email me at apricotan@gmail.com

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Can he play Bball?

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Unfortunately not, he’s all ski and tennis

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That’s awesome - to be honest watching tennis these days seems like Russia vs the rest of the world - especially woman’s side

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Fwiw, none of current the top 10 ranked women and two of the top 10 men (#3 Medvedev, #5 Rublev) are Russian. I haven’t followed tennis too closely since the decline of Federer/Nadal/Serena/Osaka, but the current rankings look pretty international to me?

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They are, but with a remarkable number of slavics. Sinner beat Ivanisevic in semifinals. The female singular was won by a Russian girl with a sweet smile and a physique comparable to Zion Williamson

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Just like watching Ukraine, Russia vs. Western World.

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Anybody notice Moody roaming the sidelines, alone. Reminded me of JW, towards the end.

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You mean Moses Alone?

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But not on the mountain top. In the slough of despond!

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Maybe because he brought the Truth but everyone is now worshipping the Golden Kuminga?

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OT 3:39 Draymond blocks AD with 5 seconds left on the shot clock

OT 3:28 LeBron makes a 2-point shot

The shot clock got reset to 14, why?

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Blood on the court. Clock gets reset. Someone explained this to John Hollinger and he reposted

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Thanks. But that's a stupid pointless rule if true.

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So the absolute wild thing is, before that, I saw LeBron notice he had blood on him, and he didn't alert the officials.

I don't know if they finally saw themselves or he alerted them, but I had already figured he was going to wait until it was advantageous to do so. And that's kind of what happened.

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Jan 28·edited Jan 28

Thanks JZA for the info but without researching further, I don’t quite understand it. Why are you giving the advantage to the offense (other than it’s bc it’s the Lakers)? If there’s a side out with only two seconds on the shot clock, can a player just bite his own lip, let drip, and say ‘hey ref’? Must be from the same rule book where you can blow inadvertent whistles in attempt to give the ball to the Lakers.

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Yes, we want answers.

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