The Golden State Warriors are undefeated in the month of February. That’s two - count ‘em two! - wins in a row. They led by as many as 19 points before holding off a late rally from the Wizards to seal the win.
Nothing is easy for this Warriors squad. Wracked by injuries and playing with a ramshackle assembly of low-cost players, Golden State has looked every bit as bad as their record shows. But wins like these last two are promising because the Warriors were actually able to capitalize on some weak defenses. As my buddy Twon says, “even if the door is open, the ride ain’t free.”
As per our standard operating procedure here at Let’s Go Warriors, this is just a short party thread to celebrate the rare win. We will have a full, detailed recap for you tomorrow. For now, let’s party!
Alec Burks shined in his understudy role for D’Angelo Russell - who was held out with a bruised thigh. 30 points in just 29 minutes, including five made threes, and some timely defense for the wing player that has seen his name swirling in the trade winds all season.
Here’s rookie Eric Paschall, reminding the world of why he got an invite to the Sophomore/Freshman game this year.
Another really encouraging development: Kevon Looney has looked “back” in a much more substantial way than his previous stint earlier in the season. I hope we can get some additional information on the injury and his overall health soon, because this is the Looney that had so many of us shocked that the Warriors were able to sign him on such a reasonable contract.
Player ratings for this game (all these are relative to expectations and the player's own baseline):
Burks: A+. He made his shots, made smart passes, cashed in at the line, and didn't leave any gaping holes on D. On the contrary, he got a clutch steal to seal the game in crunch time.
Paschall: B-. He was a beast on offense, and played good man defense but less good team defense. But, he missed a bunch of FTs, which could've hurt a lot more if the game had been any closer.
Looney: A-. I'm grading a little easier because he's coming off an injury, but he looked like his usual self: impenetrable, savvy, and controlled. The whole team looked a little better whenever he was in.
Green: A. Once again, I find it funny how willing teams are to test his one-on-one defense, because nine times out of ten, that's going to be a disappointment. He didn't slice and dice the Wiz D like he did in Cleveland (lolol) but his offense was good enough.
Evans: C+. He has quietly been putting together some solid games as of late. His defense is better than he gets credit for, and while he struggles to make shots he really ought to convert at a high rate, he made a respectable number tonight.
Poole: D. His shots looked ugly; his "defense" was even uglier. He didn't do much else, so the only silver lining here is the shots he attempted were good looks in the flow of the offense. He's doing his best to execute plays that Klay and Steph make look easy, but he's still too raw and green.
Robinson: A-. It feels like every time he reloads a three into a long two, it misses. How catch and shoot on both types has been much smoother. Most of all, he makes layups. It's crazy how important that is.
Chriss: A. It really feels like getting out from behind Willey Cauley-Stein has done wonders for Chris's game. There weren't nearly as many lobs for him to slam this time but he didn't foul on defense, he still got some easy points, and he blocked some shots. More importantly, he didn't waste any possessions with poor decision-making (something WCS did habitually).
Spellman: C. I've seen him play a lot of better games than this one. His communication on defense was a little off, his shooting was not as hot as it had been, and he has yet to show he can work on the block when he has a smaller defender the way Pascanimal does.
Lee: A-. He knocked down more open threes than he has before, and he played fine in other respects. He was a little quiet compared to that amazing streak leading up to his major league contract, but he didn't disappoint.
Lots of good grades tonight, since they played well enough to win. Here's to hoping that gets a little less rare as of this month! That's mostly hoping against hope because we probably won't face any other teams whose D is as porous as these past two...
Loved the hustle tonight. There styles are very different but Paschal has a chance to fill (part of) Livingston's role next year. Sdot was great at coming off the bench, finding a mismatch and going to work in the post/block while the stars rested. Could see Paschal filling that spot nicely and he shows flashes of passing ability that should be a bit more developed after another year hanging around dudes like Dray (who was a beast as usual tonight).
Feb 4, 2020Liked by punk basketball, Daniel Hardee
Gosh, went back to the "old site"....ghost town. Felt bad, considering the party we are having here. Then, I remembered our great, pace/industry-setting staff, on the best team fan blog in SB Nation, toiling for pennies per 1000 words for all those sweat shop years...any sympathy quickly drained out of me...as drained as the staff was at times over the years...bye-bye.
From The Athletic. Kudos to Kerr/Bob (and Warrior fans). I guess 5 years of winning carries over to bottom-of-the-league season.
>>>>> Despite the efforts of team president Gersson Rosas and coach Ryan Saunders to maintain a positive environment while laying a foundation for the future, the sheer volume of losses has produced understandable frustration around the team while driving a dwindling fan base away.
Wonder if the Dubs could pull off a major trade in season using DLo and that draft pick and then go on a sustained run to close out the season and now you've f*cked said team over into the late lottery
Besides Klay, Steph, Dray, Dlo, Loons, these guys make my next season's team RIGHT NOW: Burks, Chriss, Lee, Paschall, GR3, Smailagic. Bowman, Spellman to be decided. Of course, we have Poole and Evans, also.
It seems to me Green is actually caring about the games the past 3-4 games, when he cares he a 1 man defense. Also seems to be less of a liability on offense when everyone is making shots and he is the primary ball handler.
Player ratings for this game (all these are relative to expectations and the player's own baseline):
Burks: A+. He made his shots, made smart passes, cashed in at the line, and didn't leave any gaping holes on D. On the contrary, he got a clutch steal to seal the game in crunch time.
Paschall: B-. He was a beast on offense, and played good man defense but less good team defense. But, he missed a bunch of FTs, which could've hurt a lot more if the game had been any closer.
Looney: A-. I'm grading a little easier because he's coming off an injury, but he looked like his usual self: impenetrable, savvy, and controlled. The whole team looked a little better whenever he was in.
Green: A. Once again, I find it funny how willing teams are to test his one-on-one defense, because nine times out of ten, that's going to be a disappointment. He didn't slice and dice the Wiz D like he did in Cleveland (lolol) but his offense was good enough.
Evans: C+. He has quietly been putting together some solid games as of late. His defense is better than he gets credit for, and while he struggles to make shots he really ought to convert at a high rate, he made a respectable number tonight.
Poole: D. His shots looked ugly; his "defense" was even uglier. He didn't do much else, so the only silver lining here is the shots he attempted were good looks in the flow of the offense. He's doing his best to execute plays that Klay and Steph make look easy, but he's still too raw and green.
Robinson: A-. It feels like every time he reloads a three into a long two, it misses. How catch and shoot on both types has been much smoother. Most of all, he makes layups. It's crazy how important that is.
Chriss: A. It really feels like getting out from behind Willey Cauley-Stein has done wonders for Chris's game. There weren't nearly as many lobs for him to slam this time but he didn't foul on defense, he still got some easy points, and he blocked some shots. More importantly, he didn't waste any possessions with poor decision-making (something WCS did habitually).
Spellman: C. I've seen him play a lot of better games than this one. His communication on defense was a little off, his shooting was not as hot as it had been, and he has yet to show he can work on the block when he has a smaller defender the way Pascanimal does.
Lee: A-. He knocked down more open threes than he has before, and he played fine in other respects. He was a little quiet compared to that amazing streak leading up to his major league contract, but he didn't disappoint.
Lots of good grades tonight, since they played well enough to win. Here's to hoping that gets a little less rare as of this month! That's mostly hoping against hope because we probably won't face any other teams whose D is as porous as these past two...
Chriss had a couple of blocks too right? I would have moved him up for his D.
Loved the hustle tonight. There styles are very different but Paschal has a chance to fill (part of) Livingston's role next year. Sdot was great at coming off the bench, finding a mismatch and going to work in the post/block while the stars rested. Could see Paschal filling that spot nicely and he shows flashes of passing ability that should be a bit more developed after another year hanging around dudes like Dray (who was a beast as usual tonight).
Looney looking like Igoudala defending Beal in that clip. Beautiful.
Gosh, went back to the "old site"....ghost town. Felt bad, considering the party we are having here. Then, I remembered our great, pace/industry-setting staff, on the best team fan blog in SB Nation, toiling for pennies per 1000 words for all those sweat shop years...any sympathy quickly drained out of me...as drained as the staff was at times over the years...bye-bye.
https://theathletic.com/1579700/2020/02/03/sources-warriors-timberwolves-remain-engaged-in-dangelo-russell-trade-talks-nba-trade-market-develops?source=shared-article
From The Athletic. Kudos to Kerr/Bob (and Warrior fans). I guess 5 years of winning carries over to bottom-of-the-league season.
>>>>> Despite the efforts of team president Gersson Rosas and coach Ryan Saunders to maintain a positive environment while laying a foundation for the future, the sheer volume of losses has produced understandable frustration around the team while driving a dwindling fan base away.
Who knew that WCS was holding us back so much :)
Check out the postgame Q&A Twitter thread here: https://twitter.com/letsgowarriors/status/1224526235843399680?s=21
Wonder if the Dubs could pull off a major trade in season using DLo and that draft pick and then go on a sustained run to close out the season and now you've f*cked said team over into the late lottery
Besides Klay, Steph, Dray, Dlo, Loons, these guys make my next season's team RIGHT NOW: Burks, Chriss, Lee, Paschall, GR3, Smailagic. Bowman, Spellman to be decided. Of course, we have Poole and Evans, also.
Ah, victory... I could get used to this.... BUT NOT TOO MUCH. <insert tankChess.gif>
Top players:
Warriors:
Burks: (+7)
30 points 9/17 FGs 5/10 three pointers 7/8 FTs
3 rebounds 2 assists 2 turnovers 2 steals
Robinson III: (+9, 2nd place)
22 points 8/13 FGs 2/4 three pointers 4/4 FTs
6 rebounds (2 off.) 7 assists 2 turnovers
Green: (+8, 2nd place)
12 points 5/8 FGs 2/3 three pointers
10 rebounds (1 off.) 7 assists 3 turnovers 2 steals 1 block
Lee: (+3, 3rd place)
19 points 7/15 FGs 5/9 three pointers
1 rebound 6 assists 2 turnovers 1 steal
Paschall: (+6, 3rd place)
14 points 5/13 FGs 4/9 FTs
10 rebounds (4 off.) 1 assist 2 turnovers
Honorable mention:
Chriss: (-8)
13 points 5/5 FGs 3/4 FTs
5 rebounds (2 off.) 1 assist 1 turnover 2 steals
Wizards:
Beal: (+4)
43 points 15/30 FGs 3/7 three pointers 10/10 FTs
2 rebounds 6 assists 3 turnovers 2 steals
Bertans: (+11)
19 points 6/9 FGs 5/7 three pointers 2/3 FTs
4 rebounds 5 assists 1 turnover 1 steal 1 block
Bryant: (-1)
11 points 3/3 FGs 5/6 FTs
7 rebounds (1 off.) 3 assists 2 blocks
Honorable mention:
Wagner: (+5)
8 points 4/5 FGs
2 rebounds 1 turnover
Hachimura: (-4)
11 points 5/8 FGs 1/2 FTs
8 rebounds 2 turnovers
It seems to me Green is actually caring about the games the past 3-4 games, when he cares he a 1 man defense. Also seems to be less of a liability on offense when everyone is making shots and he is the primary ball handler.
Final stats:
Warriors:
49.4% shooting (43/87 FGs)
15/30 three pointers
24/31 FTs
44 rebounds (12 off.)
31 assists
14 turnovers
8 steals
6 blocks
Wizards:
50.6% shooting (42/83 FGs)
9/22 three pointers
24/29 FTs
35 rebounds (2 off.)
28 assists
11 turnovers
6 steals
4 blocks
Points in paint:
Warriors: 44
Wizards: 44
Fastbreak points:
Warriors: 11
Wizards: 9
Points off turnovers:
Warriors: 14
Wizards: 9
Bench points:
Warriors: 52
Wizards: 52
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