I’ve been ragging on Klay’s approach all season and going back to last season, so this isn’t just a one-game knee-jerk reaction. With his diminished defensive skill set, he’s pretty one dimensional at this point. If his shot is falling, he can still hurt teams, but if his shot isn’t falling, the only team he hurts is the Warriors.
In my mind, he’s really no longer one of those guys you have in the starting/closing lineups without question. It’s time to stop pretending that he is, but Klay seems oblivious to that truth and has some ego issues. His “four rings” bullshit with Booker earlier showed his fragility, IMO. If his shot isn’t falling, his approach seems to be, “Clearly, I’m not taking tough enough shots.”
I think I this could really turn into a bigger problem if Klay and the team can’t come to an understanding that his past accomplishments doesn’t mean his effort and approach can’t be questioned. He needs to be held accountable. They’re gonna pay this guy $44M next year and he’s going to want an extension for after that and I see his chucking getting worse at that point.
We’re 2.5 seasons from his last surgery and he still can’t play back-to-backs? That mucks up everyone else’s role in the rotations. Time to try something else like starting DDV or Poole. At least they can both create offense for others when their shot isn’t falling. Or how about Kuminga?
I’m beginning to think the throwing-of-the-switch may depend on players from other teams, but I’m not talking about trades. I’m talking about *disrespect*. This is the #nothingLeftToProve season and it shows. For the first time ever(?) the dubs are playing without any kind of chip on their shoulder. Everyone is being so nice (sorry Austin Rivers, you don’t count). We need someone with very bad manners to say something thoroughly *ill-advised*. Boston fans will only get you so far. Who can put it that precious chip back? Dillon Brooks? MJ?
Isn’t the joy of sports the competition? This current run of tight games against good teams, that have come down to the wire, should be super exciting. The Warriors are re-integrating some injured players. The lineup tinkerer is up his old tricks. And the team is still competing most every night. With all the uncertainty in the world these days people might want a more predictable ride and just wish for a blowout here and there; But that’s what the Hallmark channel is for. The beauty of sports is that the opposing sides do their best to compete for victory and we don’t know what is going to happen.
Jan 23, 2023·edited Jan 23, 2023Liked by punk basketball
Well, mostly I'm furious that we coughed up games v BOS and BKN that we had complete control of late, and nearly did the same v CLE. Feeling "we got this" and then watching helplessly as it slips away is one of the toughest pills to swallow as sports fan (e.g. Warriors 2016, Giants 2002, Red Sox 1986, etc. etc.)
At the same time: none of these were elimination games, so the sun will rise. And I think the fact that they largely dominated three straight good-to-great teams (with various rotation players missing from both teams) for 3.5 quarters bodes pretty well. Our biggest concern earlier in the season was the bench ... now JP + Donte + Kuminga + Lamb + Jerome suddenly look like a super-solid or possibly even great #6-10.
Unless we're now suddenly concerned that the *real* issue is not the bench but that Wiggins and Klay now suck, or that Steph is now totally unclutch, or that Kerr is now a terrible coach ... I see plenty of reasons for optimism. Half-empty is that we're just a game up on the #12 LOLakers. Half-full is that we're just three games back of #4 New Orleans and four back of #3 Sacramento, with every reason to think we have a significantly better squad than either of them if/when we get rolling.
Also half-full: the Celtics started last season 23-24.
I started watching basketball in 2019 playoffs. I started supporting DUBS when Durant went down against Houston and everybody told they are done without him (I can never pass up an underdog story). Then they take down Houston, swept Portland and fell to Toronto only after Klay also went down. For the next two years, I saw DUBS failing again and again. Then comes 2022, and my 3 years of fandom saw the championship and the joy and the fulfillment that I can not describe in words.
This year is up and down. We may win it all. We may not make the playoff. But this is not 2020, and this team is better than 2021. I am not sure why they are in this position, but at least we can keep our faith on Kerr, Steph and the team that they will find a way.
And if we reach the playoffs, let us see first if any of the teams in Western conference can take us down in a 7 game series (did not happen since 2014).
"From this 10th seed vantage point, the Warriors might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that team. That's here. That's home. That's us.
On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever cheered for, every Warrior who ever was, played on that team.
In our Western Conference obscurity – in all its vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Warriors is the only team known, so far, to harbor GoldBlooded Joy. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which us fans could migrate.
Watch, yes. Jump ship, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Dubs is where we make our stand. It has been said that being a Warriors Fan is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than our recent regular season records.
To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish DubNationHQ, the only home we've ever known." - C.S
Color me slightly surprised at how pessimistic some of the takes are here. The team is frustrating, no doubt. But earlier this season, our starting five was the best in the league. They played stupidly tonight, especially late. But they still have the pieces. They just need to put it together.
No guarantee of that, of course. But there's still plenty of season left. The Celtics just ran this gauntlet last year. Yes, that was an extraordinary run. But we're only mostly dead. I'll bury them when they're actually out of it.
I didn't get to see the game. I was on a flight from SFO to San Diego and the plane lost an engine mid-flight and had to divert to LAX mid-flight, then we were stuck in LA terminal or on the tarmac for hours, so I missed the whole game, and only caught a couple score updates before devices all died.
I was all excited when I saw them up 17 before the half. Then I saw it tied with 2 minutes left. What happened in the 4th? Who was on the floor when the lead vanished and everything collapsed?
It's frustrating how maddeningly inconsistent the team has been throughout this season. At first, our starters were good, but our bench sucked. Now our 2nd unit is starting to come together, but our starters don't know how they have won games earlier this season when our 2nd unit was bad. I dunno if it's due to physical fatigue, mental fatigue, or both, but it's frustrating to see how mediocre the Warriors have become this season after winning the championship last season.
If our score would have stayed at "110" on my TV any longer it would have burned the number into the screen. We were 110-98 and never got to 112 until they had 109. Where are these scoreless droughts and blown leads coming from? Every singe game now it seems. You can count on it. Late in the game during crunch time we literally can't get off a shot. Why do we stop passing the ball in the 4th quarter? Somebody please tell me. Turnovers, End of shot clock heaves, piss poor percentage launches, players desperately attempting to find any hot hand to lead us out of the darkness....on and on. I've given up on the hope Steph can sit out the 4th anymore, but now we need to play out 15 point 4th q leads because of the curse of us going into our offensive black hole. Chalk this one up as yet another blown 4th quarter lead that plummets us further down into the play-in muck where we'll end up seeing Memphis or Denver in the first round if we somehow do play-in. Just when we need to find a semblance of confidence anywhere. This is dreadful.
I’ve been ragging on Klay’s approach all season and going back to last season, so this isn’t just a one-game knee-jerk reaction. With his diminished defensive skill set, he’s pretty one dimensional at this point. If his shot is falling, he can still hurt teams, but if his shot isn’t falling, the only team he hurts is the Warriors.
In my mind, he’s really no longer one of those guys you have in the starting/closing lineups without question. It’s time to stop pretending that he is, but Klay seems oblivious to that truth and has some ego issues. His “four rings” bullshit with Booker earlier showed his fragility, IMO. If his shot isn’t falling, his approach seems to be, “Clearly, I’m not taking tough enough shots.”
I think I this could really turn into a bigger problem if Klay and the team can’t come to an understanding that his past accomplishments doesn’t mean his effort and approach can’t be questioned. He needs to be held accountable. They’re gonna pay this guy $44M next year and he’s going to want an extension for after that and I see his chucking getting worse at that point.
We’re 2.5 seasons from his last surgery and he still can’t play back-to-backs? That mucks up everyone else’s role in the rotations. Time to try something else like starting DDV or Poole. At least they can both create offense for others when their shot isn’t falling. Or how about Kuminga?
I’m beginning to think the throwing-of-the-switch may depend on players from other teams, but I’m not talking about trades. I’m talking about *disrespect*. This is the #nothingLeftToProve season and it shows. For the first time ever(?) the dubs are playing without any kind of chip on their shoulder. Everyone is being so nice (sorry Austin Rivers, you don’t count). We need someone with very bad manners to say something thoroughly *ill-advised*. Boston fans will only get you so far. Who can put it that precious chip back? Dillon Brooks? MJ?
Isn’t the joy of sports the competition? This current run of tight games against good teams, that have come down to the wire, should be super exciting. The Warriors are re-integrating some injured players. The lineup tinkerer is up his old tricks. And the team is still competing most every night. With all the uncertainty in the world these days people might want a more predictable ride and just wish for a blowout here and there; But that’s what the Hallmark channel is for. The beauty of sports is that the opposing sides do their best to compete for victory and we don’t know what is going to happen.
But ultimately we believe. Go Warriors.
Well, mostly I'm furious that we coughed up games v BOS and BKN that we had complete control of late, and nearly did the same v CLE. Feeling "we got this" and then watching helplessly as it slips away is one of the toughest pills to swallow as sports fan (e.g. Warriors 2016, Giants 2002, Red Sox 1986, etc. etc.)
At the same time: none of these were elimination games, so the sun will rise. And I think the fact that they largely dominated three straight good-to-great teams (with various rotation players missing from both teams) for 3.5 quarters bodes pretty well. Our biggest concern earlier in the season was the bench ... now JP + Donte + Kuminga + Lamb + Jerome suddenly look like a super-solid or possibly even great #6-10.
Unless we're now suddenly concerned that the *real* issue is not the bench but that Wiggins and Klay now suck, or that Steph is now totally unclutch, or that Kerr is now a terrible coach ... I see plenty of reasons for optimism. Half-empty is that we're just a game up on the #12 LOLakers. Half-full is that we're just three games back of #4 New Orleans and four back of #3 Sacramento, with every reason to think we have a significantly better squad than either of them if/when we get rolling.
Also half-full: the Celtics started last season 23-24.
I started watching basketball in 2019 playoffs. I started supporting DUBS when Durant went down against Houston and everybody told they are done without him (I can never pass up an underdog story). Then they take down Houston, swept Portland and fell to Toronto only after Klay also went down. For the next two years, I saw DUBS failing again and again. Then comes 2022, and my 3 years of fandom saw the championship and the joy and the fulfillment that I can not describe in words.
This year is up and down. We may win it all. We may not make the playoff. But this is not 2020, and this team is better than 2021. I am not sure why they are in this position, but at least we can keep our faith on Kerr, Steph and the team that they will find a way.
And if we reach the playoffs, let us see first if any of the teams in Western conference can take us down in a 7 game series (did not happen since 2014).
"From this 10th seed vantage point, the Warriors might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that team. That's here. That's home. That's us.
On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever cheered for, every Warrior who ever was, played on that team.
In our Western Conference obscurity – in all its vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Warriors is the only team known, so far, to harbor GoldBlooded Joy. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which us fans could migrate.
Watch, yes. Jump ship, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Dubs is where we make our stand. It has been said that being a Warriors Fan is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than our recent regular season records.
To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish DubNationHQ, the only home we've ever known." - C.S
“They give him every f*cking call, they set illegal screens for him the entire game... they don't call it cause they want to see him shoot.”
- Austin Rivers on Stephen Curry (via The Ringer)
The loss is a bummer, but I can't help but be happy about Looney and Kuminga. They both made some incredible plays.
Color me slightly surprised at how pessimistic some of the takes are here. The team is frustrating, no doubt. But earlier this season, our starting five was the best in the league. They played stupidly tonight, especially late. But they still have the pieces. They just need to put it together.
No guarantee of that, of course. But there's still plenty of season left. The Celtics just ran this gauntlet last year. Yes, that was an extraordinary run. But we're only mostly dead. I'll bury them when they're actually out of it.
I didn't get to see the game. I was on a flight from SFO to San Diego and the plane lost an engine mid-flight and had to divert to LAX mid-flight, then we were stuck in LA terminal or on the tarmac for hours, so I missed the whole game, and only caught a couple score updates before devices all died.
I was all excited when I saw them up 17 before the half. Then I saw it tied with 2 minutes left. What happened in the 4th? Who was on the floor when the lead vanished and everything collapsed?
Frustrating loss, for sure… Kyrie just went full “shot maker” mode… it was rough.
It's frustrating how maddeningly inconsistent the team has been throughout this season. At first, our starters were good, but our bench sucked. Now our 2nd unit is starting to come together, but our starters don't know how they have won games earlier this season when our 2nd unit was bad. I dunno if it's due to physical fatigue, mental fatigue, or both, but it's frustrating to see how mediocre the Warriors have become this season after winning the championship last season.
Long sad confused diatribe, lost due to iPad failure.
TL;DR: boo.
Kerr has to know that our 4th quarter offense looks like tanking.
If I didn't know any better I'd say were are now playing for Victor Wembanyama ping pong balls.
If our score would have stayed at "110" on my TV any longer it would have burned the number into the screen. We were 110-98 and never got to 112 until they had 109. Where are these scoreless droughts and blown leads coming from? Every singe game now it seems. You can count on it. Late in the game during crunch time we literally can't get off a shot. Why do we stop passing the ball in the 4th quarter? Somebody please tell me. Turnovers, End of shot clock heaves, piss poor percentage launches, players desperately attempting to find any hot hand to lead us out of the darkness....on and on. I've given up on the hope Steph can sit out the 4th anymore, but now we need to play out 15 point 4th q leads because of the curse of us going into our offensive black hole. Chalk this one up as yet another blown 4th quarter lead that plummets us further down into the play-in muck where we'll end up seeing Memphis or Denver in the first round if we somehow do play-in. Just when we need to find a semblance of confidence anywhere. This is dreadful.
They are wasting Kuminga’s prime!