231 Comments
15 hrs ago·edited 15 hrs ago

Nets beat the Kings 108-103. Nets move up to 7-10 and 3-7 on the road while the Kings fall to 8-9 and 4-5 at home. Nets will face the Warriors tomorrow while the Kings will face the Thunder--who is currently on a 4-day rest--at home.

Edit: Wait, what? Nets are 4-1 against the teams in the West! They beat the Grizzlies (x2), Pels, Kings, and lost to the Nuggets in OT.

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Wild. Keeping the East West score slightly less lopsided.

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Nets shot 19/39 threes and 17/25 FTs tonight while the Kings shot 9/25 threes and 20/31 FTs. Fox and Sabonis played well and DeRozan was okay, but the Kings entire starting lineup played at least 32 minutes tonight. Sacramento is going to face a very well-rested team tomorrow.

Kings bench scored only 9 points tonight. Their bench without Monk is mediocre at best. Meanwhile, Nets had 44 points from their bench--18 of them from Clowney.

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JK is on the injury report as questionable vs the Nets.

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16 hrs ago·edited 16 hrs ago

How many games would the Kings have to lose before Fox asks out*? And would he ever consider playing next to Steph?

* - he did say some cryptic things over the summer, and is up for extension, and there has previously been at least a little speculation.

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We'd be really short. And can Fox defend, or would we be asking Steph to work hard on that end?

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Man, Vivek better enjoy that one trip to the playoffs, it might be another 17 years or whatever at this rate.

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Are the kings struggling cause they got two guys who do the same thing and not enough balls to shoot

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I guess so. Their assist numbers have gone down this season. They had 28.3 assists/game last season (#6 in the league). Now they're averaging 24.3 assists/game (#24 in the league).

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Rosterbating starting to reach that unhealthy level, I see

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Not as serious about him coming to the Dubs, but he hasn’t signed an extension, and there are murmurs about possible break up there over the summer because of this… if they’re under 0.500 in a month, I bet he asks out, and prob lands in LA or something stupid.

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Heat beats the Mavericks 123-118 in overtime.

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18 hrs ago·edited 18 hrs ago

Not much Klay in 4Q or OT. That Jimmy Butler guy might be old, but when he plays he makes a difference. I was pretty opposed to all the Butler trade rumors, but Steph, Dray, Wiggs, Jimmy, and any other player would be a handful.

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Yeah, I would not give up Wiggs to get him. All this talk about untouchable players, but it seems like Andrew has played his way to being untouchable

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I’m still out on Butler. 35, oft-injured, and doesn’t shoot threes. Plus there’s no way to get to his salary number without losing Dray or Wiggs.

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Wouldn't mind him on the team but unfortunately we'd have to get rid of a lot to get him no? Seeing wiggs return to form it'd make no sense to trade him esp at his salary. Maybe for KD but that ain't happening and not the correct salary

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Here is my theory: Whatever cold/flu type of illness Podz, then Loon and now JK has, that has to be affecting atleast some of the players to varying degrees. The travel and B2B will make it only worse.

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There were comps to JK of jaylen brown. I didn't watch brown early on - did he not have a consistent shot like JK has now? He seems to be vastly improved now and as important or more than Tatum for the celts

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JB had some early good shooting years, but also some bad. Pretty inconsistent. I'd say a big difference is JB was in top 15-ish defense in the NBA by his second year (at least according to the voters), which then affords him unlimited playing time to also work on offense. I think a lot of us wish that kind of defense upon JK, but he hasn't really shown it consistently.

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JK no doubt has the tools to be a player of that level of impact. The problem here is a) his fit within our offense and our defense, and b) his willingness, or lack thereof, to evolve his game.

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But celt's do some motion now too, they're not strictly iso. Seems like brown just got better but took him several years. Just wondering if his shot wasn't great when he was younger

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(b) He needs minutes to evolve his game.

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Of course he does, but on a contending team, those minutes are often better spent on players that don’t need to evolve in order to make a positive contribution, so he ends up being more of a situational specialist.

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There have been many games this year where the game was well in hand and JK coiuld've gotten more minutes. He's often a positive on the court, regardless.

Honestly, it's just a continued issue with Kerr. Development of young talent is low on his totem pole of priorities. Issues such as team chemistry, letting vets find their rhythm, playing with lineup combinations always seem to take priority.

But overall, maybe it's just a fundamental flaw with the two-timeline strat.

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21 hrs ago·edited 21 hrs ago

I was thinking our potential best lineup could be Steph, Buddy, Wiggs, Kuminga, Draymond at least with Melton out. But i dont think it got much run this season with this unit.

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Fourth quarter collapse:

11 Warriors played from 2:20 to 8:43, all except Kuminga.

2-9 shooting on two point field goals

2-10 shooting on three point field goals

3-6 shooting on free throws

4 turnovers

7 fouls

3 shots blocked

Allowed the Spurs to hit 8 of 11 two point shots with 0 blocked shots

Allowed the Spurs to get 10 assists while forcing just 1 turnover

Allowed the Spurs to grab 3 offensive rebounds while grabbing only 7 defensive rebounds

Just the 6th game in franchise history in which the Warriors scored 13 or fewer while allowing 33 or more points on the 4th quarter.

This reminded me of the Dallas game at home in February 2022 in which the Warriors led by 21 with 6:05 to play in the third before they let the Mavs outscore them 50-23 over the last quarter and a half.

This collapse was even worse, though, because the Warriors actually led the game by 17 with exactly 1 minute to play in the third quarter, then proceeded to let the Spurs outscore them 40-13 over the last 13 minutes of the game. So they let the team that they had just spent the first 35 minutes of the game proving that they could beat easily even with their two best players missing over 80% of their shots go on to beat them 148-48 (if you extend 40-13 over 13 minutes to a 48 minute game) .

It was as if you took all the worst 4th quarter collapses from last season and rolled them all into one 13 minute stretch. The Warriors players and coaches suddenly, mysteriously, and completely all forgot how to play offense, how to play defense, and how to rebound for 13 full minutes.

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I am legitimately surprised by how much hand-wringing and pessimism I'm seeing here. They are 12-4! Could easily be 14-2. What would it take for people to stop pining for Reece Beekman and Kevin Knox? 16-0? Are we all giving up on Podz and TJD 1/5th through their second season?

Take a breath. Losing a road SEGABABA is not the end of the world. No need to overreact. This has been a fun (and good) team so far with a lot of likable guys and maybe the most fun player ever who is still playing at a high level. You can't win every game.

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also 3 games in 4 days, and our 2 best players are in their mid to late 30's

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The last 13 minutes of the game war the ugliest stretch of play we have witnessed since we were all diagnosed with Post Blown Lead Syndrome last season.

Yes, the reactions are overblown, but so were all of those second half leads.

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On the flipside, the Ws were good enough to build huge leads (17 to 31 points) against some good-to-great teams.

Being prone to blowing leads isn’t an actual thing in a predictive sense. All teams blow big leads all the time, and all fanbases think their team is way better at blowing them than any other team.

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Also, they are winning with a few guys in a slump - Lindy seems to have lost his stroke, and don't get me started on Podz. I am confident they won't look like this all season. Maybe you could argue Wiggs will drop off, but we saw him play like this before, and there are good reasons why he wasn't at this level the last 2 years. So yeah, count me on team optimism.

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For the record, I brought up the subject of Beekman yesterday, mostly with the idea of giving Podz a chance to get right under less pressure.

As for all the other hand wringing, I think a lot of people have moved from a mindset of, “These guys might be pretty good.” to “OK, they’re pretty good, but how do they become their best selves and contend for a title.”

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I've seen a number of people talking about Beekman as a contributor throughout this year - not singling anyone out specifically.

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If Podz were playing well, no one would be talking about Beekman.

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The thing is, doing that doesn't preclude them from having games like this.

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No, but I think Podz fixing his broken shot and confidence ultimately helps them get to their best version of themselves.

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What's the percentage chance JK is gone by the trade deadline? While I don't want him to go, even I admit he's never gonna work on a Kerr team. As a basketball fan, I would rather watch him play on another team than remain in Kerr-gatory with Moody, floating around in the back-up minutes ether without form or substance. They'll have to sell low, but if you're gonna live and die by Curry & Kerr-ball, just go out there and do it. Sell the farm for a combo guard who can work in the offense and call it a day.

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37.2%

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37.3%

“You got Price is Righted!”

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Anything more that 34.7% is an utterly insane take. Ban-worthy, imo

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No rounding allowed. 34.699999999999999999999999

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I don't think the Warriors care much for mid season trades unless it's for former players who are familiar with Kerr's system.

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They don’t make midseason trades willy-nilly, but this season feels slightly different from many of the others in that (a) they lost a core player and have the assets and dead salary ballast to replace him; (b) it might be Steph’s last peak season, or close to it; and (c) JK in particular has an impending $30M++ extension that presses the issue on him if they’re not 100% sold on him.

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He will be very happy that you see an impending $30M++ extension.....

I am not so convinced about that at this time...

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There only needs to be one GM willing to bet on his upside, knowing the “downside” is that he commands a tank for a year or two while learning that he’s really a second banana, so he’s ready to be a support player for their incoming top pick. He’s getting that $30M, unless he continues at a 53% TS for the year…

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~10% imo. Its more likely than not they keep him but if the right deal’s there they’ll take it, especially if we still look like we have a punchers chance at the championship come february

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I am very sad. I have loved this year's version of the Dubs. While fatigue was a factor last night, are cracks beginning to show. I love Lindy, but he's no Melton -maybe he'll grow with reps through the year. I love Buddy, but pressure causes him to make mistakes and miss shots. Wiggs has looked great for 3 games or so, but can he be the reliable #2 star that's needed? Podz....well others have said it all there. Our strength in depth is reverting to the later Poole years, where leads are sacrificed and the starters can only win a game so many times. Maybe I'm overreacting, but overreactions are usually of anger -I'm not angry, just sad that these Warriors may not be what I thought they were.

P.S. Please make me eat these words in 203 days.

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It’s one loss, on a road segababa, against a pretty good team. You’ll have forgotten about this game within about five minutes, or at worst by the time they smack down the Nets on Monday.

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It's a long season.

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24 hrs agoLiked by Eric Apricot

We're still in the top of the West. Everyone in the West has had "bad" losses:

-We lost to the Spurs while the Dubs were on a 2nd night of a B2B and to the Clippers twice.

-Thunder without their bigs lost to the Mavericks without Luka and to the Spurs without Wemby.

-Rockets lost to the Hornets, Spurs, Bucks, and Blazers.

-Lakers lost to the Pistons, Magic, and Nuggets. All three of the teams the Lakers lost to were on a 2nd night of a B2B while the Lakers had at least a day of rest.

-Nuggets started the season 0-2 by losing to the Thunder and the Clippers at home. They also lost to the Wolves, the Pels, and the Grizzlies, though to be fair, they didn't have Jokic or Gordon in the latter two games.

-Clippers lost to the Blazers at home.

-Grizzlies lost to the Bulls and the Nets.

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Thanks for talking me down from the ledge -and hope I'm wrong!

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You didn't mention the Wolves dropping back to back games to the Blazers

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> All three of the teams the Lakers lost to were on a 2nd night of a B2B while the Lakers had at least a day of rest

They always get this kinda favorable scheduling (in addition to getting such a crazy free throw advantage), smh

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Least efficient players this season averaging at least 15ppg:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2025_leaders.html

1. Kyle Kuzma (Wizards) - 17.4 PPG on 49.0 TS%

2. Bam Adebayo (Heat) - 16.3 PPG on 50.1 TS%

3. Jordan Clarkson (Jazz) - 15.0 PPG on 50.2 TS%

4. Jalen Green (Rockets) - 18.7 PPG on 50.2 TS%

5. Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers)- 15.5 PPG on 50.6 TS%

6. Jamal Murray (Nuggets) - 17.6 PPG on 51.2 TS%

7. Anfernee Simons (Blazers) - 16.3 PPG on 51.2 TS%

8. Tyrese Maxey (76ers) - 25.2 PPG on 52.5 TS%

9. Jerami Grant (Blazers) - 16.4 PPG on 52.7 TS%

10. Jaden Ivey (Pistons) - 18.1 PPG on 53.3 TS%

11. Cade Cunningham (Pistons) - 23.5 PPG on 53.3 TS%

12. RJ Barrett (Raptors) - 23.8 PPG on 53.3 TS%

13. Jaylen Brown (Celtics) - 25.3 PPG on 53.4 TS%

14. James Harden (Clippers) - 20.4 PPG on 53.4 TS%

15. Desmond Bane (Grizzlies) - 16.2 PPG on 53.7 TS%

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Klay Thompson-.518 TS%

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Yay no Dubs here!

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The one that really surprises me, for being on the list at all AND so high, is Bam. Since most of his shots are around the basket, you think he’d be more efficient. His career TS% is 95.5

Klay would be #8, but isn’t making the 15 ppg game threshold. Congratulations!

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> His career TS% is 95.5

That is quite the drop-off, then. 😜

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Interesting list. Thanks.

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Two other teams in the league have played against the Spurs on a 2nd night of a B2B and lost like we did: the Wolves and the Kings.

The Wolves beat the Nuggets 119-116 at home, then flew to San Antonio on that same night and lost to the Spurs 103-113. Kings beat the Suns 127-118 in overtime in Phoenix, then flew to San Antonio the same night and lost 96-116.

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then Warriors need to learn Spurs' mentality :

" We are playing at home, they are playing SEGABABA. We need to WIN!"

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Looking back at it the Podz hype this offseason was so weird and uncalled for. From Lacob calling him a future all star to the articles about the team wanting him to shoot 8 3s or something a game. Talk about unnecessary pressure on the kid

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I think the illness/dizziness thing has thrown him off

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23 hrs ago·edited 22 hrs ago

The broken schnoz didn't help either, even if it's healed now. But I agree with the Captain that a lot has been expected from a 21 year old. Draymond says Podz is putting too much pressure on himself, and that's not surprising for a young guy in his sophomore year after having such an impressive rookie year.

I am concerned about his shooting, and sometimes he hesitates on offense when he should think quicker, but let's give him time to sort it out.

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I'm way less worried about him missing shots than him being scared to take them, and it seems like he has been scared the last few games. I hope he gets past that and taps into his abundant confidence and just keeps shooting.

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It got popped a 2nd time, too!

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He played awesome in summer league, and was the go to guy for the USA select team… it was pretty close to warranted. Something has happened…

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Some things you let happen naturally. There was no benefit in broadcasting all of that to the world unless we were really trying to pump Podz trade value for Markkanen and failed

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Add Grant Williams to the (season ending) injury list.

r/nba

[Charania] Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams has suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his knee, sources told ESPN. Williams averaged 10.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season.

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Oof. Not at all a fan of GW (and neither are a lot of his former and current teammates apparently), but I still hate seeing anyone with a major injury. Hope he heals up fully and can get back to being a locker room cancer for some other team :)

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Players who averaged > 25 points per 36 last season on > .600 TS.

Curry, Giannis, Jokic, Luka, Kyrie, LeBron, SGA, Tatum, AD, KD, Embiid, Booker, Markkanen, Zion, Sexton.

That’s the complete list. Now imagine if one guy on the list (a) were 25 years old, (b) had sustained .600+ TS and 21+ pts per 36 for the last three seasons including this one, and (c) were on a reasonable $18.3M contract with a tanking team and likely available for the price of Melton’s contract plus a draft asset or two and/or a young player.

12/15 is when the Melton contract becomes tradable. Get ‘er done, MDJ.

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Kuminga was at 22 per 36 at 598 ts last season

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It would help Utah "fail for Flagg." Of course even if they had the worst record, they couldn't count on getting him.

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20 hrs ago·edited 20 hrs ago

Speaking of which, i only watched one games highlights, prob should watch more but I didn't notice flagg popping off in things that seemed like it'd made him a sure fire #1. Am I missing something? He's tall and moves well but doesn't look crazy athletic or built like JK or Zion. His shot looks ok but wasn't anything like Curry/Klay. His handles were also ok. Maybe Utah doesn't even want flagg but if they're in position, heck they might trade the #1 pick

Altho I guess main thing is he's only 17 and looks pretty good but nothing was jumping off to me as why he's so coveted? And again tiny sample size in a game he lost

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Sexton? $19mm per BBREF. But I guess I’d take AD as well 😜.

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Whoops, yeah, just $18.3M this season. Even better!

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I thought he's supposed to be one of the fastest guys in the NBA? That should help w driving to the rim and if he has a good ts like that - should be a good sign. He can be part of our super bench to mask his defense then

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You’re starting to sell me on this. He's also a guy who seems to have a good reputation for playing hard, not being scared, etc. The defensive downside is scary, but at some point you’ve got to be willing to take a chance.

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