Really hoping this Minnie series can be played in a good spirit. I like most of their players, I like the atmosphere in their building, I even like their state, though it gets a bit chilly. If we are worn out then I might not even mind losing all that much.
But of course this sweet equanimity will suffer the impermanence of all compound things…
I specifically recall one play, I think in the 3rd quarter, where I saw something odd off ball and rewound to look at it again, and Steph was standing by himself on the wing, guarding nobody, standing at the 3pt line facing the basket with his arms out wide. It was so odd to watch. It reminded me of that "weird defense" that I first saw from Coach Nick's Bball Breakdown (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdrglXL8RsA).
>>>Garland has been out the last three games with a broken toe, while Hunter dislocated his thumb and Mobley picked up an ankle injury in game one. They are listed as questionable for game 2 tomorrow.<<<
Yikes, rough blow for them. Indiana is no joke, if they don't have Garland OR Mobley for an extended period of time, I think they're in serious jeopardy of losing this series.
I was watching the game at a bar so I really couldn't analyze the game when watching. Can someone explain to me why Adams didn't have as much of an impact last game?
The Rockets double-big lineup was really excelling in zone in their recent wins. According to Dunc'd On, the Warriors came into Game 7 with some adjustments to attack the zone, such as running Steph through the zone to take advantages of errors in zone handoffs and adjustments. One such run-through got Buddy that wide open three where Brooks(?) flew by him and he got a chance to dribble and shoot the warm-up wide open. And in general, Buddy was able to really punish their zone, where Podz and Moody were not.
When the Rockets went man with the double-big lineup, they had Steven Adams out near half court as part of the double-team against Steph. Steph was able to then run ISOs as the zone wasn't there there to protect dribble penetration and Steph was able to get around him and get to the hoop on I think two plays. Also worth noting Adams played a lot of minutes, his most since returning from injury, so he's not a guy you can play indefinite minutes with.
My tl;dr impression; the Rockets were really excelling with double bigs in zone, the Warriors made some strategic adjustments to attack the zone that were successful, and when the Rockets went to man with Adams on the floor Steph was able to isolate and get around him to score at the basket.
Timberwolves players I'm most afraid of, descending order:
Anthony Edwards- The best scorer on the team. Guard him at all times, or he'll go off like Jalen Green did in game 2 or like FVV did in games 4-6.
Naz Reid- Certified Warrior killer. Can stretch out the floor with his three point shooting. I expect him to score double digits every time he is on the floor.
Jaden McDaniels- A solid two-way player. Wolves are gonna put him on Curry a lot.
Julius Randle- His decision-making has been much better on both ends of the floor post-ASB. I hope the Warriors don't take him lightly.
Mike Conley- While he doesn't take a lot of shots, he makes them count when he gets the opportunity to score. He's also the Wolves best decision-maker, so the Warriors must watch out for his passes.
Alexander-Walker & DiVincenzo- Honestly, I'm not sure which player to put in the #6 spot, so I put NAW and DDV right next to each other. Both of them are solid 3 & D players, so the Warriors need to watch out if one of them goes off.
Rudy Gobert- Is a great rebounder and defender, but the Warriors have faced him multiple times in the playoffs and know how to deal with him.
I'm gonna request bumping Conley down to the bottom just above Gobert. You're not wrong ab out his strengths, it's just that Steph would LOVE to be finally guarded by someone less athletic than he is.
I have Gobert much higher. I think we’ve only faced him once and that was 8 years ago.
Minnesota is statistically nowhere near the offensive rebounding team that the Rockets were. But they’re huge and physical. Gobert mainly.
If we win or battle close to even on boards I think we matchup well with all those other guys even if that’s a lot of good players. If we give up lots of extra possessions we’ll lose.
Gobert was a long time regular season statistical darling who's impact didn't quite translate to the postseason. Then he was traded for a million picks.
So I think there's people who thought he was overrated. When people called him a top 10-15 player, I thought that was wildly overrated.
But he's still very good. Definitely someone to worry about next series for a team who's been vulnerable to size.
I don't hate Gobert. He's a formidable rim protector and can score inside when needed. He can indeed be an asshole (ask Donovan Mitchell about the COVID incident) but there are a fair number of assholes in the league. I understand what you mean about people dumping on him.
I am surprised at the reference to Draymond though. It seems like what-about-ism. Sure, we all know Draymond can be one of the biggest assholes in the league. At times (like after The Punch), plenty of Warriors fans wanted him gone. But I don't see what that has to do with Gobert.
As for numbers, Draymond makes many plays at both ends that don't show up in the numbers but affect winning. He has never been a player you could accurately judge by the numbers.
Gobert and Draymond are both centers, both are defensive minded, both are dicks (Draymond much more so, IMHO), both are considered to be poor scorers (though I'm not sure that really is true of Gobert).
Are they completely alike? No, Draymond is a facilitator, and Gobert more of a traditional center.
I still think it's an apt comparison (and not because of their incident).
I agree Draymond is a bigger dick than Gobert. If he weren’t a Warrior I probably would really dislike the guy, though I would still like watching him play.
However, I think they are very different players who often (not always because Draymond also plays the 4) play the same position but not in the same way. Draymond can defend all 5 positions and often plays a free safety-type defensive role, and to the extent he protects the rim it’s using technique, tactics, and wingspan. That’s not Gobert, who is a physical monster down in the paint. Dray's offensive role is entirely different from Gobert's, not comparable at all. It’s like they play different positions on offense.
You mean we only faced Gobert in the playoffs once? We've faced him often in the regular season, obviously. He is massive, and I wouldn't take him lightly but Draymond has a pretty good handle on him. Okay, it's a headlock.
Ant scares me. He's one of the best players in the league, and he's still getting better. That's no disrespect to the others on that list, it's a very good team, but he's special.
Seems that McDaniels (anyone else’s brain jumble that name with Washington QB Jayden Daniels?) has grown a lot as a player in the last year (and since breaking his hand punching a wall after a loss, in general). I feel like he and Randle are the X factors. I’d really like to see more than one Dubs role player step the f up going forward. I’m so confused by Moody’s collapse especially, but Podz, JK, even QP - find your fire, guys!
Looking forward to Moody hounding Ant up near midcourt with those long arms. Chance to wear him out a bit and get into his head.
I do think Conley's a mere shadow of his former self and might be the weak link out there for the Wolves, although they've got DDV and NAW to grab his minutes if he's ineffective.
Game 1's gonna be a strength in numbers game as I seriously doubt any of the starters are going to be playing 40+ minutes. Maybe the Dubs can recreate some of the magic of the 12-3 start by constantly shuffling in fresh bodies.
Could be another Buddy Hield Experience series. Buddy scored 4 points in the one regular season game the Dubs lost to the Wolves, but averaged 18.7 points in the three wins. Hopefully he's got all the confidence in the world now. Does Kerr start him or put Moody back in the starting lineup?
Although haven't you noticed that the traditional highlight package is always offense offense offense? I feel like that's all I ever get to see in replay -- maybe a fancy block or steal. You know?
Yes, I agree, I was just joking about the 80s style games in this series with a lot more defensive games than offense, other than game 5 FVV and game 7 Buddy
It's very true. My friend and I, while watching the game, were comparing it to a 1994 style squareoff between the Knicks and Pacers, which alas we are quite old enough to remember well. Antonio Davis with the rebound, hard foul by Charles Oakley, Dale Davis shoves him, Mason gets in on it. Felt very retro. Six foot shots and lots of rebounds and sweating.
Friends, colleagues, loved ones. I'm afraid that the Buddy Hield Recency Bias Effect around here is getting a bit much. I loved his game, I hope for more, but it may not happen, and I don't trust his game. Let's for example look at some recent games. In the Houston series he went:
Game 1: 2 points on 1-4 shooting in 14 minutes. Yikes.
Game 2: 5 points on 2-4 shooting in 16 minutes. Yikes again.
Game 3: 17 points on 6-13 shooting in 29 minutes. Nice!
Game 4: 15 points on 6-15 shooting in 30 minutes. Nice again!
Game 5: 4 points on 2-6 shooting in 18 minutes. Back to yikes.
Game 6: Zero points on 0-4 shooting in 17 minutes. The Kuminga Experience TM. Yikes squared.
Game 7: 33 points on 12-15 shooting in 37 minutes. Edited: I think this is marvelous. I worry it may not be what Buddy delivers every time.
Please notice shot attempts…. in the ‘yikes’ games one with 6 shots and the others with only 4 attempts. He seems to know, and/or the coaches realize when he is not making so many.
To an extent that holds up during the season too though it varied. He had 0-8, 1-9, 1-10, and 1-12 games from the 3-point arc but usually when he was missing, he only attempted 6 to 8 shots from distance. He did have a fair number of 0-8 and 1-9 games but he showed more restraint during the last 15 games or so of the season.
It's sad how many people reduce a player's game to three point shooting. Yes, that's his rep, but Buddy brings so much more. He's been great this whole series, yes you could hope for better shooting many of these games. But the rest of his game as been a big plus.
Reminds me of Game 5 against Boston, Steph was 0-9 from three so he was terrible, right? Well, he was 7-13 from two, eight assists two steals and only one turnover, +16 for the game, only trailing GP2 by one plus. You can be struggling shooting and still contribute to winning, and Buddy has done that way more often than not. Add in good shooting and hoo boy.
I've felt all season that Buddy's defense has been significantly better than advertised. And he has made drives to the rim that surprised and delighted me. He brings the energy, and we need that.
What kind of person grouses about Buddy after that transcendent Game 7 performance? Do you hate joy and happiness and puppies and all things good? It's like complaining the day after Loon's godly 22-rebound game in 2022 that we shouldn't be excited because he won't do that every game. Why not be happy and grateful for a beautiful thing you got to see instead of being disappointed that you don't get the best of everything all the time.
Also as GlueAndBold correctly pointed out, way to argue against a strawman argument which literally no one has uttered in the comments after that game. Who is this imaginary poster you are mocking? Or are you just tired of people heaping well-deserved praise on a player you've mocked and looked down on for much of the season?
For Asher's sake, I sincerely hope that JK is the next guy we get to do this with. Wouldn't a 35 PT performance from him against the Wolves be amazing? I'm here for it.
If JK has even half as good of a game as Buddy had last night, Asher will be ecstatically crowing from the rooftops. Shame that same enthusiasm can't be mustered for a guy who just had a better single-game BPM than almost any Warriors playoff performance since 1987. Only Steph (five times) and KD (one time) have had a higher score https://stathead.com/tiny/t0VBG. Not to mention that it was against one of the team's biggest rivals in a pivotal and pressure-filled game 7.
And I would appreciate if no one was trying to tell me how I should feel about a player who just had the game of his life to win us a hard-fought series. I appreciate it when our fans don't disrespect and trash our players. We don't always get what we want.
Also, talk about straw man- not a SINGLE person here, there, or anywhere is claiming Buddy is "OUR MOST CONSISTENT PLAYOFF PERFORMER HE NEVER MISSES" lol
Everyone knows this was not the typical, and yet we also know that it was somehow fully within character, it won the game and the series and our hearts and you know what- THAT'S FINE!!!
Sure, the phrase has not been uttered, so in that sense it's a straw man. But I request you scroll through the comments and tell me there isn't some overreaction to his performance. And I love some overreaction, but it's getting a bit out of hand. Try the pinned comment and its responses.
But Asher, here at DNHQ we NEVER overreact to a win or a loss, a great performance or a dud. No sir, we're always calm, even-keeled, and consistent. Almost emotionless. Yep. And if you believe that (which I doubt), I can offer you a great deal on purchasing the Bay Bridge....
Even the normally subdued Asher B has occasionally overreacted to a good game by a certain Kuminga now and again. Perhaps you could find it within yourself to forgive others their Buddy trespasses...
The pinned comment that asked for exactly that? I love Buddy, and am happy to "over-react." He's a stand-up dude, and to see him deliver that offensive performance coupled with that defensive performance was magical, and deserves the "legendary" treatment.
I thought Steph's outfit for Game 7 was a little out of character for him and then I realized it was a friendly (maybe?) jab at Sengun/Brooks. They both rocked the sunglasses in the postgame interview Game 6 and Steph returned the favor. What an absolute madman.
Post/Podz/Moody all played quite poorly offensively over the course of the Rockets series.
They’re facing another tough challenge in the Wolves defense but we really need for them to develop/return to form to take the offensive pressure off Curry/Butler.
Even Buddy only had 3 games of double digit scoring in this 7 game series.
Minny defense isn't quite as good, tho. McDaniels is similar to Thompson, and Gobert is good at rim protection (but not much else, and may be mostly danced off the floor), and Ant is an above average defender, but Conley, Randle, Ried, and DDV are all just sorta ok. And that's not to mention Houston's rebounding advantage was legit.
Gobert has historically been a dominant regular season player, but falls off significantly in the playoffs. He will be the key in this series. If we can play him off the floor, we're gonna win. Critically, we have Dray & Loon ready to defend him, while the Lakers had... Hayes? Hachimura?
I keep on hearing Minnesota is like Houston but better defensively. What? They for sure have more offensive firepower but they can easily get sauced by our off ball stuff. They look like a team that's built to guard teams with a ball dominant star
Redick made a huge mistake by not playing Hayes in the 2nd half of game 4 and the entirety of game 5. Yes, the Lakers have a high +/- with Hayes off the floor, but Coach Nick said that Hayes was boxing out Gobert and preventing Ant and others from getting easy buckets near the rim by just being there.
Man, my mom is three years older than him and it's amazing how everything can just hang by a thread as we get older. Good to see him in good spirits. Thank you for posting.
Yep, forwards/centers box out, guards swoop in to secure the rebound is an effective strategy to help neutralize an opponent having taller, more physical players.
I don't know what it is but when Steph does the screaming roar like celebration it gives me chills. Game 4 in Boston after hitting that dagger 3 to put us up 6 and last night towards Jimmy after we put them away.
>>>The Warriors Rockets series summed up: GSW took 104 more 3’s than HOU. That’s an avg of 15 more/gm. In every other 1st round series, the 3PA differential hovered between 1-4 attempts/gm, with OKC topping out at 7 more per game than MEM. The Warriors DOUBLED that<<<
https://dubnationhq.com/p/the-buddy-hield-era-begins-as-warriors follow me over here right quick Dub Nation
Really hoping this Minnie series can be played in a good spirit. I like most of their players, I like the atmosphere in their building, I even like their state, though it gets a bit chilly. If we are worn out then I might not even mind losing all that much.
But of course this sweet equanimity will suffer the impermanence of all compound things…
[24 hours later]
Die Motherf**kers! This is personal now.
Let’s see if Draymond can control his Gobert crap.
And Gobert's chokehold 😡. I was at that game where Klay and Dray were both tossed in the first minute and it sucked.
HaHa I didn't say I liked all of them. I'm looking forward to the chef whipping up some Rudi Flambée.
You have forgotten Jaden McDaniels rag dolling Klay for no reason?
And Minny’s general disdain for Jimmy for the way he left
E1P request: Warriors zone defense.
I specifically recall one play, I think in the 3rd quarter, where I saw something odd off ball and rewound to look at it again, and Steph was standing by himself on the wing, guarding nobody, standing at the 3pt line facing the basket with his arms out wide. It was so odd to watch. It reminded me of that "weird defense" that I first saw from Coach Nick's Bball Breakdown (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdrglXL8RsA).
>>>Garland has been out the last three games with a broken toe, while Hunter dislocated his thumb and Mobley picked up an ankle injury in game one. They are listed as questionable for game 2 tomorrow.<<<
https://old.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1kfjqyi/for_the_cavs_mobley_garland_and_deandre_hunter/
Is Boston going to get ANOTHER "everybody else is injured" cake walk though the East this year?
Indiana could have an amazing run, who knows
Yikes, rough blow for them. Indiana is no joke, if they don't have Garland OR Mobley for an extended period of time, I think they're in serious jeopardy of losing this series.
I was watching the game at a bar so I really couldn't analyze the game when watching. Can someone explain to me why Adams didn't have as much of an impact last game?
Buddy and sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way.
Buddy's shooting did the most to break down the zone defense.
The Rockets double-big lineup was really excelling in zone in their recent wins. According to Dunc'd On, the Warriors came into Game 7 with some adjustments to attack the zone, such as running Steph through the zone to take advantages of errors in zone handoffs and adjustments. One such run-through got Buddy that wide open three where Brooks(?) flew by him and he got a chance to dribble and shoot the warm-up wide open. And in general, Buddy was able to really punish their zone, where Podz and Moody were not.
When the Rockets went man with the double-big lineup, they had Steven Adams out near half court as part of the double-team against Steph. Steph was able to then run ISOs as the zone wasn't there there to protect dribble penetration and Steph was able to get around him and get to the hoop on I think two plays. Also worth noting Adams played a lot of minutes, his most since returning from injury, so he's not a guy you can play indefinite minutes with.
My tl;dr impression; the Rockets were really excelling with double bigs in zone, the Warriors made some strategic adjustments to attack the zone that were successful, and when the Rockets went to man with Adams on the floor Steph was able to isolate and get around him to score at the basket.
I really liked how Steph was just running around the double teams instead of trying to dribble and pass through it
Looney. I mean, I don't know for sure, and I can't point to anything specific, but we used him a lot.
Crazily enough, he played only eleven minutes. They were a really big eleven minutes, but not that much overall.
Thats shocking! It felt like a lot more. He definitely helped set the tone though. No easy buckets.
nothing easy
Playoff Loon!
Timberwolves players I'm most afraid of, descending order:
Anthony Edwards- The best scorer on the team. Guard him at all times, or he'll go off like Jalen Green did in game 2 or like FVV did in games 4-6.
Naz Reid- Certified Warrior killer. Can stretch out the floor with his three point shooting. I expect him to score double digits every time he is on the floor.
Jaden McDaniels- A solid two-way player. Wolves are gonna put him on Curry a lot.
Julius Randle- His decision-making has been much better on both ends of the floor post-ASB. I hope the Warriors don't take him lightly.
Mike Conley- While he doesn't take a lot of shots, he makes them count when he gets the opportunity to score. He's also the Wolves best decision-maker, so the Warriors must watch out for his passes.
Alexander-Walker & DiVincenzo- Honestly, I'm not sure which player to put in the #6 spot, so I put NAW and DDV right next to each other. Both of them are solid 3 & D players, so the Warriors need to watch out if one of them goes off.
Rudy Gobert- Is a great rebounder and defender, but the Warriors have faced him multiple times in the playoffs and know how to deal with him.
I'm gonna request bumping Conley down to the bottom just above Gobert. You're not wrong ab out his strengths, it's just that Steph would LOVE to be finally guarded by someone less athletic than he is.
I have Gobert much higher. I think we’ve only faced him once and that was 8 years ago.
Minnesota is statistically nowhere near the offensive rebounding team that the Rockets were. But they’re huge and physical. Gobert mainly.
If we win or battle close to even on boards I think we matchup well with all those other guys even if that’s a lot of good players. If we give up lots of extra possessions we’ll lose.
I don't really get why people dump on Gobert.
Yeah, he can be a bit of an asshole, but have you paid attention to Draymond the last 10 years?
He's averaging 13/11/2 per 36, on .687 TS, and is a very solid defender (even if he's not as good as Draymond).
By comparison, Draymond is at: 11/7.5/7 on .534 TS
Gobert was a long time regular season statistical darling who's impact didn't quite translate to the postseason. Then he was traded for a million picks.
So I think there's people who thought he was overrated. When people called him a top 10-15 player, I thought that was wildly overrated.
But he's still very good. Definitely someone to worry about next series for a team who's been vulnerable to size.
I don't hate Gobert. He's a formidable rim protector and can score inside when needed. He can indeed be an asshole (ask Donovan Mitchell about the COVID incident) but there are a fair number of assholes in the league. I understand what you mean about people dumping on him.
I am surprised at the reference to Draymond though. It seems like what-about-ism. Sure, we all know Draymond can be one of the biggest assholes in the league. At times (like after The Punch), plenty of Warriors fans wanted him gone. But I don't see what that has to do with Gobert.
As for numbers, Draymond makes many plays at both ends that don't show up in the numbers but affect winning. He has never been a player you could accurately judge by the numbers.
Gobert and Draymond are both centers, both are defensive minded, both are dicks (Draymond much more so, IMHO), both are considered to be poor scorers (though I'm not sure that really is true of Gobert).
Are they completely alike? No, Draymond is a facilitator, and Gobert more of a traditional center.
I still think it's an apt comparison (and not because of their incident).
I agree Draymond is a bigger dick than Gobert. If he weren’t a Warrior I probably would really dislike the guy, though I would still like watching him play.
However, I think they are very different players who often (not always because Draymond also plays the 4) play the same position but not in the same way. Draymond can defend all 5 positions and often plays a free safety-type defensive role, and to the extent he protects the rim it’s using technique, tactics, and wingspan. That’s not Gobert, who is a physical monster down in the paint. Dray's offensive role is entirely different from Gobert's, not comparable at all. It’s like they play different positions on offense.
You mean we only faced Gobert in the playoffs once? We've faced him often in the regular season, obviously. He is massive, and I wouldn't take him lightly but Draymond has a pretty good handle on him. Okay, it's a headlock.
Ant scares me. He's one of the best players in the league, and he's still getting better. That's no disrespect to the others on that list, it's a very good team, but he's special.
Seems that McDaniels (anyone else’s brain jumble that name with Washington QB Jayden Daniels?) has grown a lot as a player in the last year (and since breaking his hand punching a wall after a loss, in general). I feel like he and Randle are the X factors. I’d really like to see more than one Dubs role player step the f up going forward. I’m so confused by Moody’s collapse especially, but Podz, JK, even QP - find your fire, guys!
Looking forward to Moody hounding Ant up near midcourt with those long arms. Chance to wear him out a bit and get into his head.
I do think Conley's a mere shadow of his former self and might be the weak link out there for the Wolves, although they've got DDV and NAW to grab his minutes if he's ineffective.
Game 1's gonna be a strength in numbers game as I seriously doubt any of the starters are going to be playing 40+ minutes. Maybe the Dubs can recreate some of the magic of the 12-3 start by constantly shuffling in fresh bodies.
Could be another Buddy Hield Experience series. Buddy scored 4 points in the one regular season game the Dubs lost to the Wolves, but averaged 18.7 points in the three wins. Hopefully he's got all the confidence in the world now. Does Kerr start him or put Moody back in the starting lineup?
Last night, Kerr said something about riding this starting lineup and no reason to change it.
I love that highlight clips are now offering the defense, not just the offense. Here's all the Warrior defensive highlights from Game 7:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ9l9tP6Nrw
Welp, offense highlights only would be a pretty short clip
Although haven't you noticed that the traditional highlight package is always offense offense offense? I feel like that's all I ever get to see in replay -- maybe a fancy block or steal. You know?
Yes, I agree, I was just joking about the 80s style games in this series with a lot more defensive games than offense, other than game 5 FVV and game 7 Buddy
It's very true. My friend and I, while watching the game, were comparing it to a 1994 style squareoff between the Knicks and Pacers, which alas we are quite old enough to remember well. Antonio Davis with the rebound, hard foul by Charles Oakley, Dale Davis shoves him, Mason gets in on it. Felt very retro. Six foot shots and lots of rebounds and sweating.
Friends, colleagues, loved ones. I'm afraid that the Buddy Hield Recency Bias Effect around here is getting a bit much. I loved his game, I hope for more, but it may not happen, and I don't trust his game. Let's for example look at some recent games. In the Houston series he went:
Game 1: 2 points on 1-4 shooting in 14 minutes. Yikes.
Game 2: 5 points on 2-4 shooting in 16 minutes. Yikes again.
Game 3: 17 points on 6-13 shooting in 29 minutes. Nice!
Game 4: 15 points on 6-15 shooting in 30 minutes. Nice again!
Game 5: 4 points on 2-6 shooting in 18 minutes. Back to yikes.
Game 6: Zero points on 0-4 shooting in 17 minutes. The Kuminga Experience TM. Yikes squared.
Game 7: 33 points on 12-15 shooting in 37 minutes. Edited: I think this is marvelous. I worry it may not be what Buddy delivers every time.
Please notice shot attempts…. in the ‘yikes’ games one with 6 shots and the others with only 4 attempts. He seems to know, and/or the coaches realize when he is not making so many.
To an extent that holds up during the season too though it varied. He had 0-8, 1-9, 1-10, and 1-12 games from the 3-point arc but usually when he was missing, he only attempted 6 to 8 shots from distance. He did have a fair number of 0-8 and 1-9 games but he showed more restraint during the last 15 games or so of the season.
Yeah, and game situations play into it. But I was impressed that he was not just a wild gunner every time he got the ball.
That is interesting.
It's sad how many people reduce a player's game to three point shooting. Yes, that's his rep, but Buddy brings so much more. He's been great this whole series, yes you could hope for better shooting many of these games. But the rest of his game as been a big plus.
Reminds me of Game 5 against Boston, Steph was 0-9 from three so he was terrible, right? Well, he was 7-13 from two, eight assists two steals and only one turnover, +16 for the game, only trailing GP2 by one plus. You can be struggling shooting and still contribute to winning, and Buddy has done that way more often than not. Add in good shooting and hoo boy.
I've felt all season that Buddy's defense has been significantly better than advertised. And he has made drives to the rim that surprised and delighted me. He brings the energy, and we need that.
And Steph was fantastic last night with the 10 boards and outstanding defense.
What kind of person grouses about Buddy after that transcendent Game 7 performance? Do you hate joy and happiness and puppies and all things good? It's like complaining the day after Loon's godly 22-rebound game in 2022 that we shouldn't be excited because he won't do that every game. Why not be happy and grateful for a beautiful thing you got to see instead of being disappointed that you don't get the best of everything all the time.
Also as GlueAndBold correctly pointed out, way to argue against a strawman argument which literally no one has uttered in the comments after that game. Who is this imaginary poster you are mocking? Or are you just tired of people heaping well-deserved praise on a player you've mocked and looked down on for much of the season?
For Asher's sake, I sincerely hope that JK is the next guy we get to do this with. Wouldn't a 35 PT performance from him against the Wolves be amazing? I'm here for it.
If JK has even half as good of a game as Buddy had last night, Asher will be ecstatically crowing from the rooftops. Shame that same enthusiasm can't be mustered for a guy who just had a better single-game BPM than almost any Warriors playoff performance since 1987. Only Steph (five times) and KD (one time) have had a higher score https://stathead.com/tiny/t0VBG. Not to mention that it was against one of the team's biggest rivals in a pivotal and pressure-filled game 7.
I would appreciate if this thread were not about me but about the team. Thank you.
In a thread you started by criticizing other people's reactions?
I have edited the post. I am sorry if I caused you personal offense.
And I would appreciate if no one was trying to tell me how I should feel about a player who just had the game of his life to win us a hard-fought series. I appreciate it when our fans don't disrespect and trash our players. We don't always get what we want.
I have edited the post. I am sorry if I caused you personal offense.
I would agree
Also, talk about straw man- not a SINGLE person here, there, or anywhere is claiming Buddy is "OUR MOST CONSISTENT PLAYOFF PERFORMER HE NEVER MISSES" lol
Everyone knows this was not the typical, and yet we also know that it was somehow fully within character, it won the game and the series and our hearts and you know what- THAT'S FINE!!!
Preach
Sure, the phrase has not been uttered, so in that sense it's a straw man. But I request you scroll through the comments and tell me there isn't some overreaction to his performance. And I love some overreaction, but it's getting a bit out of hand. Try the pinned comment and its responses.
But Asher, here at DNHQ we NEVER overreact to a win or a loss, a great performance or a dud. No sir, we're always calm, even-keeled, and consistent. Almost emotionless. Yep. And if you believe that (which I doubt), I can offer you a great deal on purchasing the Bay Bridge....
Even the normally subdued Asher B has occasionally overreacted to a good game by a certain Kuminga now and again. Perhaps you could find it within yourself to forgive others their Buddy trespasses...
I never thought of them as sins, there's nothing to forgive.
The pinned comment that asked for exactly that? I love Buddy, and am happy to "over-react." He's a stand-up dude, and to see him deliver that offensive performance coupled with that defensive performance was magical, and deserves the "legendary" treatment.
ok
Bao Bao Bao
I thought Steph's outfit for Game 7 was a little out of character for him and then I realized it was a friendly (maybe?) jab at Sengun/Brooks. They both rocked the sunglasses in the postgame interview Game 6 and Steph returned the favor. What an absolute madman.
https://tinyurl.com/Sengun-and-Brooks
https://tinyurl.com/The-Petty-King
Petty King strikes again
Alperen Sengun looks like: https://tinyurl.com/fc5p26tf
A dick on the Rox
"Petty is as petty does"
Post/Podz/Moody all played quite poorly offensively over the course of the Rockets series.
They’re facing another tough challenge in the Wolves defense but we really need for them to develop/return to form to take the offensive pressure off Curry/Butler.
Even Buddy only had 3 games of double digit scoring in this 7 game series.
Buddy’s shooting last night should force the Timberwolves to pay a lot more attention to him, even if he is not making as many shots.
Minny defense isn't quite as good, tho. McDaniels is similar to Thompson, and Gobert is good at rim protection (but not much else, and may be mostly danced off the floor), and Ant is an above average defender, but Conley, Randle, Ried, and DDV are all just sorta ok. And that's not to mention Houston's rebounding advantage was legit.
Gobert has historically been a dominant regular season player, but falls off significantly in the playoffs. He will be the key in this series. If we can play him off the floor, we're gonna win. Critically, we have Dray & Loon ready to defend him, while the Lakers had... Hayes? Hachimura?
I keep on hearing Minnesota is like Houston but better defensively. What? They for sure have more offensive firepower but they can easily get sauced by our off ball stuff. They look like a team that's built to guard teams with a ball dominant star
Post may be able to force him to cover his outside shot and keep Rudy away from rim protection and rebounding.
Redick made a huge mistake by not playing Hayes in the 2nd half of game 4 and the entirety of game 5. Yes, the Lakers have a high +/- with Hayes off the floor, but Coach Nick said that Hayes was boxing out Gobert and preventing Ant and others from getting easy buckets near the rim by just being there.
We will see if the Lakers were a flawed, top heavy, team without appropriate size/defense around their stars... or if Minny is really that good.
Or some of each.
Popovich speaks at press conference introducing Mitch Johnson as permanent HC.
(You better keep the kleenex close by)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0ycUjD7V4Y
Man, my mom is three years older than him and it's amazing how everything can just hang by a thread as we get older. Good to see him in good spirits. Thank you for posting.
Was that the first Steph Night Night on an assist? Correct me if I'm wrong, but all the previous ones were on shots, right?
He might have night nighted the Dray nightmare cellys?
But those were echo Night Nights. Thinking only of primary source Night Nights.
DUH...I WONDER WHO GOT THE GAME BALL..DUH...I WONDER WHO WAS THE WARRIOR WONDER...LOL
This past series, with in the team, Steph:
#1 in age
per game:
#1 in mins (38.3)
#1 in pts (24.0)
#1 in assists (5.7)
#2 (near tie for #1) in Rebounds (5.9, Jimmy at #1 w/ 6.0)
#2 in blks (0.9; Dray at #1 w/ 1.4)
#3 in stls (1.1)
totals:
#1 in pts, assists, rebounds, mins played and #2 in steals and blocks.
Steph can't be 37. Can he?
Shh, but #1 in TOVs as well
#2 in blocks is the craziest stat to me. Would not have guessed that from the skinny kid from that small college
Crazy that Dray had fewer rebounds
It is a little but he was doing a lot of boxing out in many of those rebounds that went to Steph (or another Dubs player)
Yep, forwards/centers box out, guards swoop in to secure the rebound is an effective strategy to help neutralize an opponent having taller, more physical players.
I don't know what it is but when Steph does the screaming roar like celebration it gives me chills. Game 4 in Boston after hitting that dagger 3 to put us up 6 and last night towards Jimmy after we put them away.
I think it's because even though he plays with so much flow and joy, it's rare that he gets to that level of unhinged, where he just lets himself GO
Yup. Needs to let out the Super Saiyan when the battle is won
>>>The Warriors Rockets series summed up: GSW took 104 more 3’s than HOU. That’s an avg of 15 more/gm. In every other 1st round series, the 3PA differential hovered between 1-4 attempts/gm, with OKC topping out at 7 more per game than MEM. The Warriors DOUBLED that<<<
https://xcancel.com/bballbreakdown/status/1919438094530654565