As talented as the trio of Kyrie, Harden and KD is I don't think they'll ever play to their potential. All 3 of them has their own sideshow and it'll only be a matter of time until another Draymond/KD situation happens again. KD will soon realize not every super team has the chillest of chill stars like Klay and Steph
Wait, what's going on? Why is Harden being traded? Is it because of a big drama going on with Harden and other teammates or the Rockets organization or something?
Scheduling note: the Warriors have had two days between games twice so far this season; the first time two days before Christmas (on the road) and the second time two days before New Years Day (returning from the road trip). Otherwise, they've had one day between games, except for the back to back on the 3rd and 4th. The next two day break will be between @Phoenix and @Los Angeles on the 16th and 17th, and following that between Boston and Detroit on the 31st of January and 1st of February. They have three back-to-backs upcoming before that last "break" of two days. Looking forward, the pattern seems similar.
This is a >really< compressed schedule. I imagine it's similar for all teams and is a result of the pandemic, although I haven't checked any other schedules. There are a lot of obvious impacts from this, but it's worth noting that it leaves almost no time in the schedule for practice and that isn't going to let up any time soon. This is really unfortunate for a largely new team like the Warriors are, and means they have to work out stuff on the fly while getting in any rest and recovery and cardio/weight/shooting work, as well as any gameplanning for specific opponents they can somehow squeeze in. And let's not forget travel between cities for road games...
Not just with regards to Covid, but in general player well-being, this season is going to be an absolute war of attrition.
Bottom line, this all means means we're going to see the team is slower to evolve than we might otherwise expect. It's just the way things are going to go this year given the very compressed schedule.
Why is Wiggins +/- consistently lower? Aside from the lack of patience on offense he seems to be playing really well on both sides of the court and the bench seems to be killing it with Paschall out there. Normally it pops why a seemingly good player has a bad +\-, but I’m struggling to see it with Wiggins.
I'm worried about Wiseman. His FT% is 55% now which means he might not be a good shooter. And that means the bit about his game that excited us in the early games might be an illusion. And he's far too willing to settle for the jump shot. He also has rebounding issues especially when contested. Rebounders are born not made so I think that might be issue throughout his career.
The fouls and the timing on lobs are huge, glaring issues right now but they will probably be fixed with time. But if he's not a stretch 5 and he can't really rebound? Are we sure he'll ever be a top 5 C? And that's giving him the benefit of the doubt and saying he can become a good defender on faith. I would 100% trade him for Haliburton + an asset right now.
This was a close one, certainly a game of runs. The Pacers missed some easy ones in the beginning and made some tough ones at the end to seal it, but I don't feel too bad about it overall. Both sides played well, and Indiana sure seems like a quality team this year, especially if they don't have too many growing pains fitting Oladipo back into the rotations. Major respect to Sabonis, Turner, Brogdon, and the Holidays: they earned this one.
Steph: He still finds ways to impact the game when the defenders are all over him, but they definitely did not let him get cooking. It was kind of nostalgic watching him brick his few wide-open shots while making several of the harder ones. His defense was also pretty strong, but he wasn't hot enough down the stretch. B-.
Wiggins: His defense is progressing from good to spectacular. 5 blocks tonight! On offense, I like how he looks for passes on a lot of his drives rather than forcing up contested shots all the time. Is he an all-star? Nah, he's still trying too hard to beat people off the dribble and getting low percentage shots out of it, but the defensive effort continues to be consistent, and that's enough for me. He had the team-low +/- but neither the eye test nor the rest of the box score can fully blame him for that. B+.
Draymond: This game is not the first time I've seen Draymond beat a 3-on-1 fast break, but it's still a good reminder that he just makes those kinds of plays. He also put on a masterclass of how to play the 4-on-3 when teams trap Steph. He should probably stop forcing unnecessary passes to Wiseman under the basket, he had a couple miscommunications with Oubre on defense, but he played some of the sloppiest crunch-time minutes I've seen from him in a while and that was certainly part of the loss. C+.
Oubre: He started off hot but by the 2nd half he was looking down at his feet again and so were his shooting percentages. Sadly, he still hasn't figured out the Steph relocation three either. He was crowding Steph in the corner in Q1. Later, in Q3, he signaled for it, then didn't actually make contact on the screen (Steph made it anyway). His ball pressure and hussle were enormous, and though he had a couple miscommunications with Draymond, I don't think the bad closing run can be laid at his feet this time. B-.
Lee: Like the whole team, he was cold on threes tonight, and the refs weren't about to bail him out by buying his usual flopping. He played hard within the system on both ends, and guys made some shots over him that he couldn't do much about. I get the feeling his poor +/- is at least in part from the lack of Paschall's enormous presence in the second unit. B-.
Wiseman: Some guys, their hands just look sticky. Wiseman isn't one of those guys. The foul trouble problems, I have faith he'll grow out of. The ability to secure rebounds and loose balls without bobbling them, I'm not sure that's something you learn. 4 of 11 on twos is also not a good line for a big. Being outmatched by Sabonis and Turner is not exactly something to be ashamed of, but it shows how far he still has to come. C-.
Bazemore: Not a good game for him tonight. He had some poor turnovers and some poor defense: I saw at least one time he tried to double team but couldn't get around his own teammate to pressure the offense, which led to the Pacers getting an open layup. On offense, he drove into trouble a few times and didn't seem to know what to do from there. C-.
Looney: He had some good possessions defending Sabonis and some where he looked outmatched. But his rebounding and all-position defense were helpful in the minutes he played, and he had the highest +/- of the team for a reason. B.
Wanamaker: Here's some nightmare fuel for you: Fitz's voice repeatedly echoing, "lays it UP and OUT!" He needs to work on his transition offense. He didn't make any glaring errors on the defensive end, so he was what the team probably expected him to be, but nothing more. C+.
Mulder: The three-guard offense alongside Steph and Lee looked very good, but his defensive weaknesses were more visible against the bigger lineups of Indiana. He only made 1/3 on threes this time, but he was in his spot and took the shots without hesitation, which is what he needs to do. B-.
Just finished watching the game. Once they were up 10 pts with <2min to go, I thought Curry and Wiggoins will start bombing away 3s. Alas, no! With this roster, not sure what is the antidote for box&1 on Steph. Is there one besides finding a shooter at 2?
Fitz insisting that Aaron Holiday and Myles Turner were bad shooters getting super lucky so he could discredit the Pacers while pretending to compliment them was extremely weird.
So let's see here:
Nets get: James Harden, 2024 2nd round draft pick
Rockets get: Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, and Rodions Kurucs; Nets 2022, 2024, and 2026 1st round draft picks; pick swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027; Cavaliers 2022 1st round draft pick
Pacers get: Caris LeVert
Cavaliers get: Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince
As talented as the trio of Kyrie, Harden and KD is I don't think they'll ever play to their potential. All 3 of them has their own sideshow and it'll only be a matter of time until another Draymond/KD situation happens again. KD will soon realize not every super team has the chillest of chill stars like Klay and Steph
Wait, what's going on? Why is Harden being traded? Is it because of a big drama going on with Harden and other teammates or the Rockets organization or something?
Scheduling note: the Warriors have had two days between games twice so far this season; the first time two days before Christmas (on the road) and the second time two days before New Years Day (returning from the road trip). Otherwise, they've had one day between games, except for the back to back on the 3rd and 4th. The next two day break will be between @Phoenix and @Los Angeles on the 16th and 17th, and following that between Boston and Detroit on the 31st of January and 1st of February. They have three back-to-backs upcoming before that last "break" of two days. Looking forward, the pattern seems similar.
This is a >really< compressed schedule. I imagine it's similar for all teams and is a result of the pandemic, although I haven't checked any other schedules. There are a lot of obvious impacts from this, but it's worth noting that it leaves almost no time in the schedule for practice and that isn't going to let up any time soon. This is really unfortunate for a largely new team like the Warriors are, and means they have to work out stuff on the fly while getting in any rest and recovery and cardio/weight/shooting work, as well as any gameplanning for specific opponents they can somehow squeeze in. And let's not forget travel between cities for road games...
Not just with regards to Covid, but in general player well-being, this season is going to be an absolute war of attrition.
Bottom line, this all means means we're going to see the team is slower to evolve than we might otherwise expect. It's just the way things are going to go this year given the very compressed schedule.
Why is Wiggins +/- consistently lower? Aside from the lack of patience on offense he seems to be playing really well on both sides of the court and the bench seems to be killing it with Paschall out there. Normally it pops why a seemingly good player has a bad +\-, but I’m struggling to see it with Wiggins.
I'm worried about Wiseman. His FT% is 55% now which means he might not be a good shooter. And that means the bit about his game that excited us in the early games might be an illusion. And he's far too willing to settle for the jump shot. He also has rebounding issues especially when contested. Rebounders are born not made so I think that might be issue throughout his career.
The fouls and the timing on lobs are huge, glaring issues right now but they will probably be fixed with time. But if he's not a stretch 5 and he can't really rebound? Are we sure he'll ever be a top 5 C? And that's giving him the benefit of the doubt and saying he can become a good defender on faith. I would 100% trade him for Haliburton + an asset right now.
Can’t get Caroline out of my mind
Correction, 3D, Warriors overall record is 6-5.
Something I've noticed is Steph rarely passes to the roll man during a pnr when he's getting trapped. Look at this play, Wiseman is WIDE open.
https://twitter.com/gswchris/status/1349214203278553091?s=20
This was a close one, certainly a game of runs. The Pacers missed some easy ones in the beginning and made some tough ones at the end to seal it, but I don't feel too bad about it overall. Both sides played well, and Indiana sure seems like a quality team this year, especially if they don't have too many growing pains fitting Oladipo back into the rotations. Major respect to Sabonis, Turner, Brogdon, and the Holidays: they earned this one.
Steph: He still finds ways to impact the game when the defenders are all over him, but they definitely did not let him get cooking. It was kind of nostalgic watching him brick his few wide-open shots while making several of the harder ones. His defense was also pretty strong, but he wasn't hot enough down the stretch. B-.
Wiggins: His defense is progressing from good to spectacular. 5 blocks tonight! On offense, I like how he looks for passes on a lot of his drives rather than forcing up contested shots all the time. Is he an all-star? Nah, he's still trying too hard to beat people off the dribble and getting low percentage shots out of it, but the defensive effort continues to be consistent, and that's enough for me. He had the team-low +/- but neither the eye test nor the rest of the box score can fully blame him for that. B+.
Draymond: This game is not the first time I've seen Draymond beat a 3-on-1 fast break, but it's still a good reminder that he just makes those kinds of plays. He also put on a masterclass of how to play the 4-on-3 when teams trap Steph. He should probably stop forcing unnecessary passes to Wiseman under the basket, he had a couple miscommunications with Oubre on defense, but he played some of the sloppiest crunch-time minutes I've seen from him in a while and that was certainly part of the loss. C+.
Oubre: He started off hot but by the 2nd half he was looking down at his feet again and so were his shooting percentages. Sadly, he still hasn't figured out the Steph relocation three either. He was crowding Steph in the corner in Q1. Later, in Q3, he signaled for it, then didn't actually make contact on the screen (Steph made it anyway). His ball pressure and hussle were enormous, and though he had a couple miscommunications with Draymond, I don't think the bad closing run can be laid at his feet this time. B-.
Lee: Like the whole team, he was cold on threes tonight, and the refs weren't about to bail him out by buying his usual flopping. He played hard within the system on both ends, and guys made some shots over him that he couldn't do much about. I get the feeling his poor +/- is at least in part from the lack of Paschall's enormous presence in the second unit. B-.
Wiseman: Some guys, their hands just look sticky. Wiseman isn't one of those guys. The foul trouble problems, I have faith he'll grow out of. The ability to secure rebounds and loose balls without bobbling them, I'm not sure that's something you learn. 4 of 11 on twos is also not a good line for a big. Being outmatched by Sabonis and Turner is not exactly something to be ashamed of, but it shows how far he still has to come. C-.
Bazemore: Not a good game for him tonight. He had some poor turnovers and some poor defense: I saw at least one time he tried to double team but couldn't get around his own teammate to pressure the offense, which led to the Pacers getting an open layup. On offense, he drove into trouble a few times and didn't seem to know what to do from there. C-.
Looney: He had some good possessions defending Sabonis and some where he looked outmatched. But his rebounding and all-position defense were helpful in the minutes he played, and he had the highest +/- of the team for a reason. B.
Wanamaker: Here's some nightmare fuel for you: Fitz's voice repeatedly echoing, "lays it UP and OUT!" He needs to work on his transition offense. He didn't make any glaring errors on the defensive end, so he was what the team probably expected him to be, but nothing more. C+.
Mulder: The three-guard offense alongside Steph and Lee looked very good, but his defensive weaknesses were more visible against the bigger lineups of Indiana. He only made 1/3 on threes this time, but he was in his spot and took the shots without hesitation, which is what he needs to do. B-.
Just finished watching the game. Once they were up 10 pts with <2min to go, I thought Curry and Wiggoins will start bombing away 3s. Alas, no! With this roster, not sure what is the antidote for box&1 on Steph. Is there one besides finding a shooter at 2?
I refuse to believe that Steph shooting it a couple steps in from halfcourt like Dame would be a bad shot.
Also, what's up with Oubre always looking down before shooting a 3. Who cares if you're on the line!!
They’ve got to work on plays to get Steph open
If Wiseman figures things out, he should provide Steph and Dray with 10 assists per night
I liked the energy on D - until the 4th
Waiting for Wiggins to revert to mean - and praying this is just the new mean
Trying to remember this year is about setting up next year. Any win is just a bonus.
Daydreaming (well at this time it would just be dreaming) about Klay coming back next year. Ah the league will be in trouble again.
Positives from the early season:
-Wiggins turning into a nice 2 way player
-Solid bench unit especially with Paschall
Things that still needs to be worked on:
-Execution, especially in the 2nd half
-Can we run a damn fast break properly please? If it's not a wide open dunk I'm holding my breath every time
Things that would be nice to see:
-How about trying a lineup of Steph/Mulder/Lee/Wiggins/Draymond when opponents play the box?
Fitz insisting that Aaron Holiday and Myles Turner were bad shooters getting super lucky so he could discredit the Pacers while pretending to compliment them was extremely weird.