The recent dominant play of the Warriors is a great reminder of just how tragic the end of last season was.
Chemistry aside, the starting lineup down the stretch was.... better than this year's??? Despite his tremendous improvement, Poole was deemed a defensive liability and came off the bench for Bazemore. Otherwise it's the same lineup!
Few would argue that Mulder and Baze make up for BJelly, OP3 and Andre, but Mulder was a reliable 3 point shooter who learned to fit in well in the rotation.
And lurking in the final slot, recovering from injury and waiting for his Finals emergence was.... GP2!
The Warriors went down to the defending champs' house, played them dead even and lost on a Lebron 30 footer as the shot clock ran out while he said he was "seeing three baskets" due to an eye-poke.
Keep in mind the Warriors played them dead even on the road WITH Anthony Davis.
In round 1 the Lakers split in Phoenix and were up 2-1 over the Suns when Davis went down. There's every reason to believe the Lakers would have repeated with Davis.
Hard to know how much the Memphis loss was due to over-exertion in the Laker game.
(And of course, were it not for COVID rules the Warriors wouldn't even have been in that backs-to-the-wall situation.)
Given the Warriors' earlier defeats of Phoenix, Utah, and Milwaukee, I think there's every reason to think they could have challenged for the title.
Kuminga was god-awful in the G League last night, the team was significantly better with him on the bench. Constantly losing the ball, threes way off, didn't defend the rim. Almost like he's pissed to be there and throwing a fit.
Most said Wiggins won't be making the all star game this year, but I think he has a legit shot at it if he keeps it up. Last year in the West we had Kawhi and Zion taking up spots who are both injured this year so that frees up 2 forward spots. This leaves 2 spots for Draymond, Wiggins, Kat, Ayton off the top of my head.
@stopnpop. I put off reading this MT2 article on GP2 till now, and it’s great - pertinent to our discussion. Maybe the rule changes help explain GP2’s success this year.
He’s always touching his man, so much so that his hand often gets knocked away. He’s always up on them, just enough space for them to make a mistake but not nearly enough to feel comfortable. And he knows it’s working when the ball-dominant guards do one particular thing.
“When they see me, and they tell somebody else to come bring the ball up,” Payton said, explaining his defensive approach as the Warriors prepared to face the Nets. “You don’t want the ball? That’s what I want. When they’re like ‘I’m not trying to bring it up. I’m not trying to deal with this guy.’ Then I did my job.”
…
“The league already made it where guys don’t like to be touched,” he said. “So I’m just gon’ touch ’em. It’s that simple. As you can see … a lot of guys don’t like to be touched.
“Nobody touches them. Nobody’s in their face,” he continued. “They let them do what they want to do. I’m not about to let you sit here and size me up, get in your package. No. I’m not about to let you do that. You gon’ go one way. If not, you gon’ get up off that ball. And it’s gon’ be hard for you to get it back. By the time you get it back, you gon’ be tired and you gon’ settle. Let’s go.”
…
As Payton talks, with such matter of factness in his tone, it is clear he is championing a philosophy. He’s 28, and 87 games into a career that finally has some traction. But he’s a relic from a bygone era. A time when the NBA was a two-party system and defense had its side of the aisle.
The NBA took a step towards recognizing that end of the court by cracking down on offensive players drawing fouls. The league has told officials to not reward non-basketball moves, a crumb thrown to defenders in a system set up for scorers.
…
Gary Payton II is not going anywhere. He’s going to be right there. As soon as the ball is inbounded. In their face. Touching them. Making them feel him. Making his man come off the ball, one way or another.
“That’s just how I play defense. I’ve been around it too long. Watching guys in the league, seeing how guys play and handle everybody, and everybody just lets everybody be comfortable. I just try to take the comfort away.”
One last nugget of info about that Lakers-Kings triple OT “instant classic” tonight:
Lebron, AD, and Westbrook just combined for over 150 minutes played tonight.
That’s right, the Lakers Big 3 basically played playoff minutes… and lost in triple OT to a Kings squad missing 2 starters and who lost a third starter midway through the game.
In the meanwhile, the Tridents had a lot of fun: win over Ignite with 2 FT of Dowtin at 2" from the buzzer, and some terror defence plays from Demon Kuminga.
Forgive me for the sad lapse, but anyone has news of Norman Powell? It saddens me terribly to see the first serious injuries of the season occur, and after Sexton and Dozier I wouldn't want another one on the Chase hardwood :'(
Mostly all good stuff from that game (what has gotten into Wiggins?) but Bjelica not look good defensively against that team imo. Gotta hit his shots to justify being out on the court against the guard heavy teams, I remember he barely played against the Kings too.
In the West, the .500 teams begin in 6th place with Portland holding down that spot. It is going to be a battle for those teams to make the playoffs this year and clearly, there are few dominant teams this year. We just happen to be one of two in the West.
In the East, the better teams are all near the top! Brooklyn leading the pack but the next 6 teams are only behind by 3 or less games! This is going to be an interesting year, I think, for basketball. Injuries will probably be a factor at some point for many teams as the pace has picked up and the competition has become fierce. I hope our guys don't succumb to major injury that will effect our rotations and efficiency. We are deep and will be deeper soon, but strength in numbers becomes more of a reality in this climate.
2 years ago, the Lakers had a historically good duo in LeBron and AD and good supporting pieces in Danny Green, Caruso, KCP etc.
Then, they traded a great role-player in Danny Green for Schroeder. Then proceeded to get a non-spacing, non-defending big in Harrell. Still, they had a competent team and lost in the playoffs due to injuries (they probably win the West if AD stays healthy).
Then they go out and trade KCP, Kuzma, Harrell and a first for Westbrook. Remember, they could've easily had Lowry or Derozan, but they went for Westbrook. Then they go out and sign DeAndre Jordan and let Alex Caruso walk.
It's a masterclass in wasting a great hand. You had 2 of the league's top 10 players, good supporting players and the advantage of being in the best market in the league so that FAs almost always choose you. Yet, they've come to this. Bravo.
The recent dominant play of the Warriors is a great reminder of just how tragic the end of last season was.
Chemistry aside, the starting lineup down the stretch was.... better than this year's??? Despite his tremendous improvement, Poole was deemed a defensive liability and came off the bench for Bazemore. Otherwise it's the same lineup!
Few would argue that Mulder and Baze make up for BJelly, OP3 and Andre, but Mulder was a reliable 3 point shooter who learned to fit in well in the rotation.
And lurking in the final slot, recovering from injury and waiting for his Finals emergence was.... GP2!
The Warriors went down to the defending champs' house, played them dead even and lost on a Lebron 30 footer as the shot clock ran out while he said he was "seeing three baskets" due to an eye-poke.
Keep in mind the Warriors played them dead even on the road WITH Anthony Davis.
In round 1 the Lakers split in Phoenix and were up 2-1 over the Suns when Davis went down. There's every reason to believe the Lakers would have repeated with Davis.
Hard to know how much the Memphis loss was due to over-exertion in the Laker game.
(And of course, were it not for COVID rules the Warriors wouldn't even have been in that backs-to-the-wall situation.)
Given the Warriors' earlier defeats of Phoenix, Utah, and Milwaukee, I think there's every reason to think they could have challenged for the title.
Could the LOLakers hire M Jackson please.
Kuminga was god-awful in the G League last night, the team was significantly better with him on the bench. Constantly losing the ball, threes way off, didn't defend the rim. Almost like he's pissed to be there and throwing a fit.
Moody was ok.
Don’t look now: Dubs on a 73-win pace, sound familiar? (Of course it can’t and probably shouldn’t last, right?)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWxSKrNljPv/?utm_medium=copy_link
Most said Wiggins won't be making the all star game this year, but I think he has a legit shot at it if he keeps it up. Last year in the West we had Kawhi and Zion taking up spots who are both injured this year so that frees up 2 forward spots. This leaves 2 spots for Draymond, Wiggins, Kat, Ayton off the top of my head.
@stopnpop. I put off reading this MT2 article on GP2 till now, and it’s great - pertinent to our discussion. Maybe the rule changes help explain GP2’s success this year.
https://theathletic.com/2962095/2021/11/24/thompson-gary-payton-ii-the-warriors-revelation-explains-his-old-school-mindset/?source=user_shared_article
Here are some relevant passages:
He’s always touching his man, so much so that his hand often gets knocked away. He’s always up on them, just enough space for them to make a mistake but not nearly enough to feel comfortable. And he knows it’s working when the ball-dominant guards do one particular thing.
“When they see me, and they tell somebody else to come bring the ball up,” Payton said, explaining his defensive approach as the Warriors prepared to face the Nets. “You don’t want the ball? That’s what I want. When they’re like ‘I’m not trying to bring it up. I’m not trying to deal with this guy.’ Then I did my job.”
…
“The league already made it where guys don’t like to be touched,” he said. “So I’m just gon’ touch ’em. It’s that simple. As you can see … a lot of guys don’t like to be touched.
“Nobody touches them. Nobody’s in their face,” he continued. “They let them do what they want to do. I’m not about to let you sit here and size me up, get in your package. No. I’m not about to let you do that. You gon’ go one way. If not, you gon’ get up off that ball. And it’s gon’ be hard for you to get it back. By the time you get it back, you gon’ be tired and you gon’ settle. Let’s go.”
…
As Payton talks, with such matter of factness in his tone, it is clear he is championing a philosophy. He’s 28, and 87 games into a career that finally has some traction. But he’s a relic from a bygone era. A time when the NBA was a two-party system and defense had its side of the aisle.
The NBA took a step towards recognizing that end of the court by cracking down on offensive players drawing fouls. The league has told officials to not reward non-basketball moves, a crumb thrown to defenders in a system set up for scorers.
…
Gary Payton II is not going anywhere. He’s going to be right there. As soon as the ball is inbounded. In their face. Touching them. Making them feel him. Making his man come off the ball, one way or another.
“That’s just how I play defense. I’ve been around it too long. Watching guys in the league, seeing how guys play and handle everybody, and everybody just lets everybody be comfortable. I just try to take the comfort away.”
One last nugget of info about that Lakers-Kings triple OT “instant classic” tonight:
Lebron, AD, and Westbrook just combined for over 150 minutes played tonight.
That’s right, the Lakers Big 3 basically played playoff minutes… and lost in triple OT to a Kings squad missing 2 starters and who lost a third starter midway through the game.
In the meanwhile, the Tridents had a lot of fun: win over Ignite with 2 FT of Dowtin at 2" from the buzzer, and some terror defence plays from Demon Kuminga.
Dray on Klay's verklempt moment:
https://youtu.be/-goMYJ96nfU?t=150
Forgive me for the sad lapse, but anyone has news of Norman Powell? It saddens me terribly to see the first serious injuries of the season occur, and after Sexton and Dozier I wouldn't want another one on the Chase hardwood :'(
Mostly all good stuff from that game (what has gotten into Wiggins?) but Bjelica not look good defensively against that team imo. Gotta hit his shots to justify being out on the court against the guard heavy teams, I remember he barely played against the Kings too.
We're almost 20 games into the season. The league is shooting 34.4 3P% at 35.7 3PA. Prior seasons:
'20-21: 36.7 3P% @ 34.6 3PA
'19-20: 35.8 3P% @ 34.1 3PA
'18-19: 35.5 3P% @ 32.0 3PA
Is it better defenses? The new ball?
In the West, the .500 teams begin in 6th place with Portland holding down that spot. It is going to be a battle for those teams to make the playoffs this year and clearly, there are few dominant teams this year. We just happen to be one of two in the West.
In the East, the better teams are all near the top! Brooklyn leading the pack but the next 6 teams are only behind by 3 or less games! This is going to be an interesting year, I think, for basketball. Injuries will probably be a factor at some point for many teams as the pace has picked up and the competition has become fierce. I hope our guys don't succumb to major injury that will effect our rotations and efficiency. We are deep and will be deeper soon, but strength in numbers becomes more of a reality in this climate.
2 years ago, the Lakers had a historically good duo in LeBron and AD and good supporting pieces in Danny Green, Caruso, KCP etc.
Then, they traded a great role-player in Danny Green for Schroeder. Then proceeded to get a non-spacing, non-defending big in Harrell. Still, they had a competent team and lost in the playoffs due to injuries (they probably win the West if AD stays healthy).
Then they go out and trade KCP, Kuzma, Harrell and a first for Westbrook. Remember, they could've easily had Lowry or Derozan, but they went for Westbrook. Then they go out and sign DeAndre Jordan and let Alex Caruso walk.
It's a masterclass in wasting a great hand. You had 2 of the league's top 10 players, good supporting players and the advantage of being in the best market in the league so that FAs almost always choose you. Yet, they've come to this. Bravo.
Im not going to lie, Im not liking how many minutes Curry has been playing lately.