I’m glad Klay is working all the misses out of his system before playoff time. Kuminga seemed sort of off last night. I had said a couple days ago I wanted to see him 20 minutes a night. Having second thoughts on that. Otto Porter continues to impress.
Strength of schedule remaining (lower rank = easier schedule)
24. GSW
27. PHO
29. MEM
No help in the schedule if looking at Western seeding. Overall team health looks to be the only thing that may impact current pecking order at the top. As of today, Rd 1 GSW v LAC, Rd 2 GSW v MEM Rd 3 GSW v PHO. That's pretty much the worst draw you could get if PG13 & Khawi back in the mix.
Curry & Thompson combine for last 17 points. Clutch. Klay's leaning mid-range jumper? That's the insane self-confidence we remember from Klay. Warriors aren't winning pretty, but that's what the playoffs are all about. Grind, find a way, get the W.
I'll admit, I can't stand the guy, but as a basketball player, actually playing basketball, Irving is really really really good. He had ice in his veins last night. Knowing Kyrie, it was probably Dry Ice or something weird like that. And on a personal level, his interactions with the Warriors after the game, giving JK his game shirt, etc., seemed genuine enough, something I don't think you will ever see from someone like Harden. Even on the foul call to end the game, he certainly questioned the call, but imagine the theatrics if that had been Harden or LeBron. Underneath his mountain of weirdness, Kyrie came out, put on a terrific show and was a good sport at the end. Credit where credit is due. And he may be the last guy I want to see with the ball in his hands in the finals. A tip of the hat to the nutjob.
I was all in on getting rid of Bjeli. Not so much now with Draymond out. We’re going to have to ride Bjeli because he’s the only Center we can play that complements Kuminga. They both play decent off each other.
Oooh forgot to shout out: Poole had two plays in the lane that were ridonkulous: his bobbling catch that led to a 360-to-a-floater; and his foot-plant, then huge pivot back the other way to get space and hit a midrange. Plus 3 threes and six assists. Low efficiency but key plays. I see you, Orlando.
How did the W's end up with Looney trying to guard Kyrie when he was the only one to take his last three? Also, what were the announcers blabbing about when Kyrie shoved Klay to the ground on the final inbounds pass from Porter? At least the refs got it right one FT and possession. Jackson and Van Gundy: "That's not a foul!"
You know what has never been recorded as a stat, but really, really, REALLY needs to be someday... the number of times per game that announcers Mark Jackson and JVG immediately complain about a call that went the Warriors' way. My guess is it would be a lot of calls per game, and about 80% of the calls they complain about would happen to be the calls that went in the Warriors' favor. I'd love to see the trend over many games.
They did that for years in the NBA finals and really shaped the narratives. And now they've got Nets fans convinced the refs will cancel an already called foul when there's clearly contact, the player fell over, and possession was lost... not because refs ever actually do that, but because JVG said so.
We went 6-1 in this homestand. That's pretty impressive. The loss to the Pacers without their starters sucks, but we beat the Jazz, the Mavericks, the Timberwolves, and the Nets in the homestand as well, which is awesome.
I thought this long homestand would get Steph going, but then that article came out yesterday, and I had a feeling that it was a jinx and today would be a struggle. Steph remains the straw that stirs the drink. And I've seen enough special Steph that I'm still confident our cocktail is strong enough to win a title.
Wiggs and Poole have had a few good games in a row. Maybe all this adversity is a blessing in disguise and when it clicks, we'll have a killer 8-man rotation of Steph/Klay/Wiggs/Dray/Loon/Poole/OPJ/GP2. And that's with no minutes to JK or Dre. I still have a lot of faith in this team.
Wiggs says he'll give K-pop a chance. Especially Bambam. He's really closing in on Looney for my favourite Warrior. I don't even know what K-pop is but I guess I owe Bambam a listen as well.
Wrong sport, but 49er fans are gonna put the SF in "SoFi Stadium" today.
JK on Irving was driving me nuts but boy talk about an education. Good on the young fella.
I’m glad Klay is working all the misses out of his system before playoff time. Kuminga seemed sort of off last night. I had said a couple days ago I wanted to see him 20 minutes a night. Having second thoughts on that. Otto Porter continues to impress.
https://mobile.twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1487601989609574400
Strength of schedule remaining (lower rank = easier schedule)
24. GSW
27. PHO
29. MEM
No help in the schedule if looking at Western seeding. Overall team health looks to be the only thing that may impact current pecking order at the top. As of today, Rd 1 GSW v LAC, Rd 2 GSW v MEM Rd 3 GSW v PHO. That's pretty much the worst draw you could get if PG13 & Khawi back in the mix.
Curry & Thompson combine for last 17 points. Clutch. Klay's leaning mid-range jumper? That's the insane self-confidence we remember from Klay. Warriors aren't winning pretty, but that's what the playoffs are all about. Grind, find a way, get the W.
I'll admit, I can't stand the guy, but as a basketball player, actually playing basketball, Irving is really really really good. He had ice in his veins last night. Knowing Kyrie, it was probably Dry Ice or something weird like that. And on a personal level, his interactions with the Warriors after the game, giving JK his game shirt, etc., seemed genuine enough, something I don't think you will ever see from someone like Harden. Even on the foul call to end the game, he certainly questioned the call, but imagine the theatrics if that had been Harden or LeBron. Underneath his mountain of weirdness, Kyrie came out, put on a terrific show and was a good sport at the end. Credit where credit is due. And he may be the last guy I want to see with the ball in his hands in the finals. A tip of the hat to the nutjob.
I was all in on getting rid of Bjeli. Not so much now with Draymond out. We’re going to have to ride Bjeli because he’s the only Center we can play that complements Kuminga. They both play decent off each other.
Oooh forgot to shout out: Poole had two plays in the lane that were ridonkulous: his bobbling catch that led to a 360-to-a-floater; and his foot-plant, then huge pivot back the other way to get space and hit a midrange. Plus 3 threes and six assists. Low efficiency but key plays. I see you, Orlando.
How did the W's end up with Looney trying to guard Kyrie when he was the only one to take his last three? Also, what were the announcers blabbing about when Kyrie shoved Klay to the ground on the final inbounds pass from Porter? At least the refs got it right one FT and possession. Jackson and Van Gundy: "That's not a foul!"
Man, another clunker, but someone forgot to tell OPJ, Wiggins and Looney we were throwing this one.
Still on a 60-win pace
You know what has never been recorded as a stat, but really, really, REALLY needs to be someday... the number of times per game that announcers Mark Jackson and JVG immediately complain about a call that went the Warriors' way. My guess is it would be a lot of calls per game, and about 80% of the calls they complain about would happen to be the calls that went in the Warriors' favor. I'd love to see the trend over many games.
They did that for years in the NBA finals and really shaped the narratives. And now they've got Nets fans convinced the refs will cancel an already called foul when there's clearly contact, the player fell over, and possession was lost... not because refs ever actually do that, but because JVG said so.
We went 6-1 in this homestand. That's pretty impressive. The loss to the Pacers without their starters sucks, but we beat the Jazz, the Mavericks, the Timberwolves, and the Nets in the homestand as well, which is awesome.
I thought this long homestand would get Steph going, but then that article came out yesterday, and I had a feeling that it was a jinx and today would be a struggle. Steph remains the straw that stirs the drink. And I've seen enough special Steph that I'm still confident our cocktail is strong enough to win a title.
Wiggs and Poole have had a few good games in a row. Maybe all this adversity is a blessing in disguise and when it clicks, we'll have a killer 8-man rotation of Steph/Klay/Wiggs/Dray/Loon/Poole/OPJ/GP2. And that's with no minutes to JK or Dre. I still have a lot of faith in this team.
Wiggs says he'll give K-pop a chance. Especially Bambam. He's really closing in on Looney for my favourite Warrior. I don't even know what K-pop is but I guess I owe Bambam a listen as well.