TJD is the gem of our draft. Once the coaches get on board, there will be a new look to the Dubs that they can build upon. With Kuminga and Green, and hopefully a new big with a game, will do a lot for this franchise in its waning hours. Too small Paul should be parlayed into a player(s) that we can slide either next to Curry or off the bench. No one is going to replace his playmaking so might as well go for a potential scorer and allow the Podz to develop as a ball handler that will aggressively shoot ala Quinones.
Not really. Wiseman was supposed to be an athletic freak, playing above the rim and shooting like a guard. TJD has no perimeter game, nor a midrange shot, but he could develop one, perhaps. Wiseman simply doesn't understand the game like TJD does.
I don’t know getting ready to move Keyonte George ahead of Podz but heck of a first draft for MDJ. Here’s hoping it turns out as good as that 2012 draft did for Bob Myers
The Podz has a bit of hype to help him on that list. The Thompson Twins, in the longer term, should pay bigger dividends as well as George. Whitmore seems to be waking up, too. My biggest complaint about Podz is his unwillingness to shoot.
That's why I mentioned Casspi. He came to us with a reputation as a 3-point shooter but then didn't even attempt shots, although he did turn out to be a good cutter.
And the new rule changes might significantly impact BP’s ‘art’ of taking charges, in an effort to bring more physicality and fewer offensive fouls to the game.
Some say it’s a ‘rookie wall’, but I suspect that it’s something much more structural in nature.
Charges have never been more valuable with offense at such highs. Conversely, if Podz can’t draw charges, he’s a pretty negative defensive player at the 2 or 3.
In other words, Podz needs to be the best charge taker in the league to remain a viable defensive player at the 2. That’s a lot to count on. I don’t blame him at all, it’s probably the smartest thing he can do to positively impact the game defensively
Hard disagree. Sengun's still a great player. He is great at hitting mid-range jumpers and can score very well in the paint. He is also a great rebounder (9.3 rebs/game) and passer (5.0 assists). He's a double-double machine and even got a couple of triple-doubles this season.
Some of his weakness are that he's not a good FT shooter (69.7% FT this season), can't hit threes (29.7%), fouls a lot (3.3 fouls), and turns the ball over (2.6 turnovers).
Hey, I like Sengun, merely asking if his absence is the cause of their winning. Many teams have had a good scoring and passing big guy but no cigar at the end of it all. Sengun is slow. If you want pace and perimeter scoring, you don't choose Sengun. Playing with the old guys like our core could be interesting for us. TJD needs a breather and it would introduce a new wrinkle for our opponents to figure out. I wanted the Dubs to pick him in that draft.
Still the best dang coaching I’ve seen Kerr and Co do by a mile this year. This is the first year that I’ve been thoroughly content with the job he’s done which has allowed me to assess that this team’s issues are solely personnel based. Like I mentioned earlier, Wiggins being No bueno throws such a wrench into that lineup. Only so much you can do with smoke and mirrors ie playing 3 or 4 guard lineups, playing Draymond at Center.
Just watched about four minutes of the Rockets-Wizards game. In that span, JP launched two airballs, had two other shots blocked, and got stripped going to the hoop. It's amazing how far he's fallen after being a key championship piece just two years ago.
Yep - games from that series have become my therapy too. However I want to watch the full game and have not been able to find them. Is there any resource that allows one full game access? 🙏🏾
just did some random checks. it's not the full gold mine that i originally thought. lots of the pre 2022 listings are missing video or are links to highlights packages hosted on youtube. full games for the 2022 finals and many of the subsequent full games seem to be there and working tho.
You are right. I was searching for full game replays during the championship years and only the 2021-22 season have downloadable full length games. Darn - need to keep looking for the older ones!
It never bothers me when another team makes a drafting mistake. It's along the same lines as the old quote attributed (with variations) to Napoleon: "Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake.” 😊
“It’s a bummer the Warriors lost, because it kept TJD from getting the press he deserved for one hell of a game. 19 points and nine rebounds, in just 26 minutes? With three blocks to just two fouls? Without missing a shot???
There were a lot of reasons the Dubs lost. Jackson-Davis was not one of those reasons. He was not even adjacent to any of those reasons.”
If it gets to the point where the 8 seed is not really achievable, I'd like to see TJD start over Draymond. I'm not sure the spacing is that much worse with TJD, and he's a threat to roll to the rim. Plus at this point, I'm not sure he's not a better defensive option to cover in space and at the rim (which was Draymond's magic power before this year).
If Draymond is really hurt, then fine ... swap them back if Dray gets better and outplays TJD. But, I'm not sure anyone other than Steph deserves 'incumbent starter' status any more.
Should just have Dray, Klay and Wiggins off the bench and role with a Curry/Podz/Moody/JK/TJD starting unit for the rest of the season. Jump start the future with the last 15 games of the season
No surprise here but just wanna make it official that I've given up on this team, and our OGs. Their time is done, and they should know that. It was an awesome run, truly.
Looking back, 2015 was my favorite. No one saw us coming, not even us. First is always the best and that year will always hold a very special place in my heart over the other 3 championship years.
I know we're gonna ride our guys into the sunset and they deserve it but I wish we can just roll with the young'ns so that they can have their time to shine because i actually believe in a future Podz/JK/TJD core.
Sigh. I think you're right about the OGs being done, but I'd rather they try to shore up around the edges and take one more shot with them next year, long as it may be, because a team with a Podz/JK/TJD core is a perennial 10th seed.
tl;dr people loooove Steph and still don't seem to understand how spoiled we've been with the Steph/Dray/Klay (Iggy) core.
Kerr acknowledging the reality of last night, but I think this sentiment should be valid for the entire season - we are not good enough!
“I don't think it's a lack of effort,” Kerr said. “I think it’s just we weren't good enough, that simple. We just did not play well enough. It's disappointing because we got these three home games here this week and we wanted to get off on the right track.”
I heard that in the post-game last night, but not sure I'm buying it. There was high effort for a short period of time late in second quarter to start a comeback, but once the Knicks re-extended the lead just before the end of the half, the intensity never really came back. The Warriors just kind of ... gave up, maybe hoping Knicks were going to run out of gas and self-destruct, but they didn't.
Our starters got outscored 104-52 last night. Knicks starters were far better than our starters. You're not winning a lot of games if three of your starters combine for 9 measly points.
I feel like it’s been nearly two seasons of “If Only” with this team but the reality was that this feels more like a reversion to the mean rather than a letdown (with the possible exception of Pooles abysmal play last year).
How Klay has looked at so many points this year is how I expected him to look when he came back from injury in 2022. Steph and Draymond look mentally old out there every other game it seems.
The Light Years boys mentioned last night that GP2 has only been available for 38 games since being re-acquired by the Warriors. GP2 commits a lot of dumb fouls and I think part of the reason is because he’s just physically unable to recover defensive position due to just not really ever being at 100 percent
Now Wiggins to me is the X-Factor. Steph, Dray, Klay (and now Paul) were supposed to get old. Kuminga and Moody were to take the next steps but neither considered franchise altering talents coming out of the draft but solid complementary pieces throughout the core’s final gasps. Again going to the “If Only” premise of the last two years, we wanted Wiggins to at least continue building upon his 2022 run but unfortunately due to his personal problems, rib injury and subsequent lack of conditioning, and perhaps just a lack of focus now that he’s an NBA Champion that has never materialized. But the case may be that he’s simply reverted to a continuation of Minnesota Wiggins and unfortunately he’s the one cog in the lineup (entering the peak of his prime) that is just causing fit and spacing issues up and down that lineup. I honestly think we are one 2022 Wiggins away from being a top contender. We need an elite wing that can carry the load when Steph and Dray are Old or when Klay is pressing with his shot. Unfortunately almost every other team either needs that type of player or already has that type of player and is above us in pecking order.
FYI: Podmond has appeared and begins by talking about the Knicks game. I rarely have the motivation to hear him and definitely not after last nights game.
But for those of you who have the courage - please share any tidbits :-)
I stopped listening after the punch. Just couldn't bear to hear him rationalize and spin. The bits from him that I saw in the media confirmed for me that that was a healthy choice.
I will acknowledge that he's been better on court since the suspension. But I don't listen anymore.
At a certain point (next season or maybe sooner?) you probably just want to go Steph-Podz-Wiggs-JK-TJD as the starting 5, with Dray and Klay as 6th-7th men. (Replace Wiggs with Moods if necessary).
Dray’s been way better at the 5 than at the 4 for ages now; and I think that’s only going to become more the case as he gets older and slower. Finding him an adequate stretch 5 to play with feels like a band-aid that doesn’t address the core issue, any more then Saric addressed it.
Now … if we make him a 20-25 mpg backup 5 and get him a long stretch 4 to play alongside (ideally LeBron, KD, or PG, but even a guy like Kuzma would work structurally) then we’re talking about something that might move the needle, imo.
Playing Draymond center for a while post-ASB has resulted in him suffering lower back soreness. And back injuries are nothing to scoff at. We need to find a stretch big next season for the sake of Draymond's health.
You’re begging the question, tho. As far as I know, there’s no evidence that playing him at the 5 is any harder on his back than playing him at the 4. If it were, you’d think he, Kerr, and/or Celebrini would have said or done something about it. Dray tends not to be shy about speaking his mind.
He’s 34 and, like a lot of players his age (regardless of position) has had increasing, sporadic issues with his back. Until I see evidence to the contrary, I’m going to assume there’s no significant difference in risk of back injury between playing the 4 and the 5; and that the main goal should be to decrease his minutes load overall.
I think that’s why we’ve seen him at his lowest MPG (26.8) since his second year; and it’s why I’m proposing making TJD the starting C and moving Dray to a 20-25 MPG bench role, like Andre before him.
Speaking of: Andre also had increasingly serious back issues as he aged, despite playing zero minutes at center.
> Finding him an adequate stretch 5 to play with feels like a band-aid that doesn’t address the core issue, any more then Saric addressed it
I don’t see why. The Otto-Draymond frontcourt was great. The Draymond-Saric pairing would probably be great if Saric could defend well enough to stay on the court.
Sure, maybe Draymond is a 5 offensively, but he can guard any position, and playing two “fives” that can fit together in the starting lineup wouldn’t be a bad way to solve the size issue and have a top defense (Minnesota, Cleveland, 2022 GSW).
Right — that’s basically what I’m saying. Dray is clearly the 5 in that scenario, right? I’m saying a rugged stretch 4 like Otto (or Kuzma, KD, George, etc.) is a better fit with him than a true C, even one who can shoot.
He’s fine at the 4. He’s been fine at the 4. We just haven’t had a decent 5 in two years with some decent Looney stints last year excepted. I don’t even think we need a shooting big. I wouldn’t mind having Javale circa 2017-18 back in the fold.
the best per 36 min line up was curry/klay/durant/green/javale.
second best lineup was curry/klay/andre/durant/green.
kuminga/wiggins can be andre there easily. tjd can be javale. what we're missing is the durant role, knock down shooter at the 3 or 4. wiggins became that in 2022 and we won it all, if neither kuminga/wiggins can be that we barely make the playoffs. finding a 5 to be that shooter might work, but it's uncharted territory.
I’d take 2017-18 JaVale too (even if he’s just a taller, worse version of TJD) but I think he’d be a pretty bad fit alongside 34-35 y.o. Dray.
To put it in more idealized terms: I think aging Dray would be a *much* better fit at the 5 alongside Tatum, PG, or KD than he would at the 4 alongside Jokic or Embiid.
My unofficial list of realistically obtainable athletic stretch 5s, with varying levels of defense. IMO it’s alright if they’re not all-defense or anything since they’re playing next to Draymond, but the ability to occasionally block shots and maybe catch lobs would be nice.
Wendell Carter Jr (would cost the most, is the ideal piece imo)
Myles Turner
Paul Reed
Jalen Smith (questionable defense but can really shoot it)
Obi Toppin (questionable defense but some athletic pop on offense)
Duop Reath (raw)
Sasha Vezenkov (questionable defense)
Jay Huff (can’t move that well)
Maxi Kleber (worrying percentages, also meh)
Kelly Olynyk (meh)
IMO hitting on someone like this is key for next year. It’s why we wanted Saric so bad (and JMG the year before), but now it’s clear we need someone who can move and defend a little more.
Otto was perfect because he could rebound and defend inside as well as shoot, but it feels like we might need a real 5 as Draymond gets older.
It's a central dilemma for the roster construction going forward. I kinda wrote this season off once I saw the reports of back soreness for Draymond, they need to do a better job of preserving him because they can't win anything without him.
One option is trying to find that stretch 5 who can defend (Turner?). The other issue is though that if they go that route, then they will probably continue to play small backcourts in order to get the amount of ballhandling that Kerr wants which presents its own problems defensively.
A different route would be trading both Kuminga and Wiggins, getting a really good wing who can dribble/pass/score/defend, and going more traditional at center. But obviously those types of players don't grow on trees. Could try to find a Bogut/West-esque passing center to run some offense through (Hartenstein) and then look for a more traditional 3 and D wing (would be my preference if possible), but Hartenstein might be out of their price range.
Will be another action packed summer ahead for Dunleavy, I think. Regardless of what route they go, I think they'll probably have to move on from Wiggins.
I don’t disagree, but the irony is that Wiggins was almost the ideal 3 and D wing before this year, and it would cost a lot (Kuminga) to obtain something that’s maybe as good as 2022 Wiggins (Bridges?). Sunk cost and all, but maybe betting on Wiggins to return to form is the more cost effective gamble.
The other thing is that trading Kuminga and getting Hartenstein and a 3&D guy leaves you with a ton of low USG guys (Podz, Draymond, Hartenstein, CP or replacement) and almost no one outside Steph who can score at above average efficiency and USG. IMO that’s a death knell as well, so we’d be patching a hole only to create another one.
> Sunk cost and all, but maybe betting on Wiggins to return to form is the more cost effective gamble.
I think cost effectiveness is a key part of why Wiggins might not be long for the Warriors. If they were contending for the title that's one thing, but how much do we think Joe Lacob wants to pay for a 10 seed when he's talking in interviews about ducking the tax entirely? They were reportedly looking into trading him at the deadline already.
Also I misspoke when I said traditional 3 and D wing, I just meant a guy who isn't necessarily a ballhandler. Mikal Bridges isn't running an offense but he can score the ball.
Our starters have the worst defensive efficiency among the top 10 teams in the West AND the East. Even lottery teams like the Spurs, Grizzlies, and the Hornets have higher def. efficiency rating than our starters, which is quite embarrassing considering the amount of talent we have in our roster. If we want to go deep into the playoffs--assuming we somehow get into the playoffs--, we need to have a very solid starting rotation, which we don't.
I feel this is going to be another wasted season for Steph. We've upgraded our bench this season, but our starters have regressed massively compared to last season.
> I feel this is going to be another wasted season for Steph.
Eh, maybe — that’s the standard line among the Reddit / Lightyears crowd, and it’s true if you consider every season where the Warriors don’t make the playoffs a “wasted” season for Steph.
Personally, I’d argue the 2024 Warriors’ dirty little secret is that one of the big reasons for the potentially “wasted” season is … *Steph himself.* If he were the same all-time elite / net +15 on-off guy he was at his peak, I’d guess we’d be a lot closer to inner circle contender.
We’re 66 games into the season and the Warriors have been significantly better with him on the bench than on the floor (-2.1 net points per 100). That was totally unheard of at his peak.
But it’s not just Steph: I think the same basic thing goes for LeBron, KD, Harden, and all the old heads. They’re all still awesome, but that 5-10% drop-off from their peaks can be the difference between Top 3 player and Top 15 player, and the difference between contending and pretending.
There’s a reason you rarely see teams led by guys in their mid-30s make it to the promised land.
Yeah, you're getting older while a whole lot of teams are getting better. This season emotionally prepared me to be hopeful that they can perform (Dray and Steph playing together is still magical, even if it's not as overwhelming as it was 5 years ago), but I've accepted that I should stop expecting it right now.
I almost posted something like this, but was too chicken.
I think this is right. Steph has taken a half-step back on offense, and maybe a complete step back on D.
The kindest description of his defense this year is 'erratic'. He can still do it in spurts, but not really for a whole game. That, along with Dray's decline, may put a ceiling on how good we can be on defense.
And, no, I'm not ignoring the other reasons for our drop-off: Wiggs being poor overall this year (with only one good stretch that I recall), Klay being at best mediocre, Podz and Moody being up and down, Draymond being MIA for about 1/4 of the season.
Point taken, we all know the east is the lesser conference, so if the Warriors are functioning like a midfield east team they are definitely doing it backwards
My solution to Andrew Wiggins:
#22 was a killer in 2022.
For 2025, they simply need to change his jersey number to #25.*
*Sorry to Lester Quinones #25.
Is it too late to change to #24?
My solution to Andrew Wiggins is replace the player wearing #22 in a trade situation, if at all possible.
TJD rookie season (per 36)
18.4 pts on .709 true shooting (!!!)
11.0 reb
2.7 ast / 1.6 tov
2.4 blocks
+3.2 on court / +2.0 net on-off
His touch around the rim is awesome...
And can we all just take a moment to appreciate an under acknowledged skillset of TJD?
I’m referring, of course, to the rise of Point Klay and his recent channeling of Emanuel (Manu) David Ginóbili Maccari in the 6th man role??
8 assists and (checks notes) 0 turnovers in the Knicks game. TJD’s chemistry with Klay is yes.
TJD is the gem of our draft. Once the coaches get on board, there will be a new look to the Dubs that they can build upon. With Kuminga and Green, and hopefully a new big with a game, will do a lot for this franchise in its waning hours. Too small Paul should be parlayed into a player(s) that we can slide either next to Curry or off the bench. No one is going to replace his playmaking so might as well go for a potential scorer and allow the Podz to develop as a ball handler that will aggressively shoot ala Quinones.
Most likely Paul will be parlayed into saving $30M to try to get under the second tax apron.
Will be a real loss!
Yeah - outside of the YGs he has been the only bright spot above age 25 on this team
I still consider that Curry guy a “bright spot”
Seems likely, but it's not my money.😁
He’s what we wished Wiseman would be
Only 5 inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter.
Not really. Wiseman was supposed to be an athletic freak, playing above the rim and shooting like a guard. TJD has no perimeter game, nor a midrange shot, but he could develop one, perhaps. Wiseman simply doesn't understand the game like TJD does.
Stuffing Giannis, fast enough feet to bother on perimeter D, and soul stealing dunks? Who wouldn’t want that from a C?
Edit and brilliant repositioning on screens.
Star Wars Episode X: The Jedi's Destiny (TJD)
Anybody here expecting us to beat the Grizzlies easily, be warned and be prepared.
Kings had to go to overtime to beat them!
https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/sacramento-kings/malik-monk-grizzlies-overtime-win/1714834/
Considering their G-league squad smacked us around a couple months back, I'd be surprised if the Warriors are taking them for granted.
Nobody expects the Warriors to beat anyone easily.
I do. Washington, Memphis, and Milwaukee.
I expect the Warriors to beat themselves easily...
Here was last week's rookie ladder:
https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-march-13-2024-edition
1. Wemby
2. Chet
3. Miller
4. Jacquez Jr.
5. Lively II
6. Podz
7. Geroge
8. Whitmore
9. Amen Thompson
10. Ausur Thompson
I don’t know getting ready to move Keyonte George ahead of Podz but heck of a first draft for MDJ. Here’s hoping it turns out as good as that 2012 draft did for Bob Myers
The Podz has a bit of hype to help him on that list. The Thompson Twins, in the longer term, should pay bigger dividends as well as George. Whitmore seems to be waking up, too. My biggest complaint about Podz is his unwillingness to shoot.
Podz hasn't been hanging around with Omri Casspi has he? No, I guess not. Just a thought.
He also stopped shooting, IIRC.
That's why I mentioned Casspi. He came to us with a reputation as a 3-point shooter but then didn't even attempt shots, although he did turn out to be a good cutter.
This is a fun article from the athletic on the art of taking charges, heavily featuring BP
https://theathletic.com/5345429/2024/03/19/nba-players-charge-skill-play-dangerous/?source=user_shared_article
And the new rule changes might significantly impact BP’s ‘art’ of taking charges, in an effort to bring more physicality and fewer offensive fouls to the game.
Some say it’s a ‘rookie wall’, but I suspect that it’s something much more structural in nature.
Charges have never been more valuable with offense at such highs. Conversely, if Podz can’t draw charges, he’s a pretty negative defensive player at the 2 or 3.
In other words, Podz needs to be the best charge taker in the league to remain a viable defensive player at the 2. That’s a lot to count on. I don’t blame him at all, it’s probably the smartest thing he can do to positively impact the game defensively
That in itself should keep him on this team.
Agreed to the max, other than his rebounding (arguably his best skill).
I feel like he gets mostly hustle rebounds on defense. He is a great offensive rebounder for a guard, which is indisputably positive.
Luka is 4/22
Wemby is 2/10
Why can't they play that way against the Warriors?
Because the warriors defense sucks
#17 ranked defense in the league — not great, but better than DAL (#21) or SA (#23).
We shut down Wemby tho, he just got up hella shots… he was 46% TS
Rockets are gonna catch up to us in the standings aren’t they? What’s the first tiebreaker?
Head to head, which GS owns.
Huh. They're 7-1 since Sengun got hurt.
Do you think it's the absence of Sengun that is helping them win?
Hard disagree. Sengun's still a great player. He is great at hitting mid-range jumpers and can score very well in the paint. He is also a great rebounder (9.3 rebs/game) and passer (5.0 assists). He's a double-double machine and even got a couple of triple-doubles this season.
Some of his weakness are that he's not a good FT shooter (69.7% FT this season), can't hit threes (29.7%), fouls a lot (3.3 fouls), and turns the ball over (2.6 turnovers).
Hey, I like Sengun, merely asking if his absence is the cause of their winning. Many teams have had a good scoring and passing big guy but no cigar at the end of it all. Sengun is slow. If you want pace and perimeter scoring, you don't choose Sengun. Playing with the old guys like our core could be interesting for us. TJD needs a breather and it would introduce a new wrinkle for our opponents to figure out. I wanted the Dubs to pick him in that draft.
Yeah. Jabari at the 5 has unlocked an extra gear
The Jabari Smith truthers will have our day
You know what that means?
Hey, Houston! Give us Sengun, and we'll give you Moody!
Or Wig's.
Nah, we already have TJD ;)
Why not both?
#lightyears
Would be hilarious tho... and kinda sad ngl
Still the best dang coaching I’ve seen Kerr and Co do by a mile this year. This is the first year that I’ve been thoroughly content with the job he’s done which has allowed me to assess that this team’s issues are solely personnel based. Like I mentioned earlier, Wiggins being No bueno throws such a wrench into that lineup. Only so much you can do with smoke and mirrors ie playing 3 or 4 guard lineups, playing Draymond at Center.
Just watched about four minutes of the Rockets-Wizards game. In that span, JP launched two airballs, had two other shots blocked, and got stripped going to the hoop. It's amazing how far he's fallen after being a key championship piece just two years ago.
Gak, I just watched highlights from 2022 Finals G6 and I’d like to remember Poole and Wiggs that way
And OPJ in the last season when he was able to stay healthy enough to contribute.
And peak GPII 😔
Yep - games from that series have become my therapy too. However I want to watch the full game and have not been able to find them. Is there any resource that allows one full game access? 🙏🏾
https://basketball-video.com/videos/nba_video/golden_state_warriors_full_game_replay_highlights/20-19
Oh wow - THANK YOU !
just did some random checks. it's not the full gold mine that i originally thought. lots of the pre 2022 listings are missing video or are links to highlights packages hosted on youtube. full games for the 2022 finals and many of the subsequent full games seem to be there and working tho.
You are right. I was searching for full game replays during the championship years and only the 2021-22 season have downloadable full length games. Darn - need to keep looking for the older ones!
Already watching game 4 :-)
has warriors full games going back to 2014 playoffs.
Like I said in a previous post maybe 2022 was such an outlier for everyone but Steph and Draymond
Poole 2019- worst rookie I’ve ever seen. Yes worse than Wiseman
Poole 2020-21: slightly less worse. Brutal to begin year. Made himself playable end of year
Poole 2022: contract year Poole
Poole 2023: shades of 2020-21
Poole 2024: Benjamin Button
Wiggins 2019: worst contract in NBA
Wiggins 2020-21: decent fit. Developing good Habits
Wiggins 2021-22: premier two way wing
Wiggins 2022-23: complimentary piece.
Wiggins 2023-24: 4th worst contract in the NBa per Bill Simmons
Simmons wrong
Yeah agreed but they had Poole squarely as 1. But I think he’s still a bit hurt that his Celtics lost in 22
Wiggins can still play defense.
And yet Johnny Davis (their other starting guard tonight) makes him look like Michael Jordan.
Davis is so bad at basketball it makes me mad at the Wizards for drafting him in the top 10.
Also starting for the Wiz tonight: old friend PBJ.
It never bothers me when another team makes a drafting mistake. It's along the same lines as the old quote attributed (with variations) to Napoleon: "Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake.” 😊
I don’t really consider the Bullets/‘Zards the enemy, tho. The DC/MD/VA area is a hoops mecca — that fanbase deserves better.
Houston closing in on the Dubs
News release from TJ D Atoll:
“It’s a bummer the Warriors lost, because it kept TJD from getting the press he deserved for one hell of a game. 19 points and nine rebounds, in just 26 minutes? With three blocks to just two fouls? Without missing a shot???
There were a lot of reasons the Dubs lost. Jackson-Davis was not one of those reasons. He was not even adjacent to any of those reasons.”
Grade: A+
BK, GSOM
If it gets to the point where the 8 seed is not really achievable, I'd like to see TJD start over Draymond. I'm not sure the spacing is that much worse with TJD, and he's a threat to roll to the rim. Plus at this point, I'm not sure he's not a better defensive option to cover in space and at the rim (which was Draymond's magic power before this year).
If Draymond is really hurt, then fine ... swap them back if Dray gets better and outplays TJD. But, I'm not sure anyone other than Steph deserves 'incumbent starter' status any more.
This is nuts. The dubs finally looked like a real team precisely when Draymond came back. He runs their entire defense and about 1/3 of their offense.
I don't think he's nearly as good in space this season as in seasons past.
TJD era starts now.
Should just have Dray, Klay and Wiggins off the bench and role with a Curry/Podz/Moody/JK/TJD starting unit for the rest of the season. Jump start the future with the last 15 games of the season
TJD’s gonna need a whole continent.
No surprise here but just wanna make it official that I've given up on this team, and our OGs. Their time is done, and they should know that. It was an awesome run, truly.
Looking back, 2015 was my favorite. No one saw us coming, not even us. First is always the best and that year will always hold a very special place in my heart over the other 3 championship years.
I know we're gonna ride our guys into the sunset and they deserve it but I wish we can just roll with the young'ns so that they can have their time to shine because i actually believe in a future Podz/JK/TJD core.
Sigh. I think you're right about the OGs being done, but I'd rather they try to shore up around the edges and take one more shot with them next year, long as it may be, because a team with a Podz/JK/TJD core is a perennial 10th seed.
tl;dr people loooove Steph and still don't seem to understand how spoiled we've been with the Steph/Dray/Klay (Iggy) core.
Over a decade together is just 🍌🍌🍌🍌
Kerr acknowledging the reality of last night, but I think this sentiment should be valid for the entire season - we are not good enough!
“I don't think it's a lack of effort,” Kerr said. “I think it’s just we weren't good enough, that simple. We just did not play well enough. It's disappointing because we got these three home games here this week and we wanted to get off on the right track.”
https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/steph-curry-playoff-seed-home-loss/1714830/
I heard that in the post-game last night, but not sure I'm buying it. There was high effort for a short period of time late in second quarter to start a comeback, but once the Knicks re-extended the lead just before the end of the half, the intensity never really came back. The Warriors just kind of ... gave up, maybe hoping Knicks were going to run out of gas and self-destruct, but they didn't.
Our starters got outscored 104-52 last night. Knicks starters were far better than our starters. You're not winning a lot of games if three of your starters combine for 9 measly points.
That's insane.
And, they were down 2? 3? starters, so really it was more their reserves.
Ouch.
I feel like it’s been nearly two seasons of “If Only” with this team but the reality was that this feels more like a reversion to the mean rather than a letdown (with the possible exception of Pooles abysmal play last year).
How Klay has looked at so many points this year is how I expected him to look when he came back from injury in 2022. Steph and Draymond look mentally old out there every other game it seems.
The Light Years boys mentioned last night that GP2 has only been available for 38 games since being re-acquired by the Warriors. GP2 commits a lot of dumb fouls and I think part of the reason is because he’s just physically unable to recover defensive position due to just not really ever being at 100 percent
Now Wiggins to me is the X-Factor. Steph, Dray, Klay (and now Paul) were supposed to get old. Kuminga and Moody were to take the next steps but neither considered franchise altering talents coming out of the draft but solid complementary pieces throughout the core’s final gasps. Again going to the “If Only” premise of the last two years, we wanted Wiggins to at least continue building upon his 2022 run but unfortunately due to his personal problems, rib injury and subsequent lack of conditioning, and perhaps just a lack of focus now that he’s an NBA Champion that has never materialized. But the case may be that he’s simply reverted to a continuation of Minnesota Wiggins and unfortunately he’s the one cog in the lineup (entering the peak of his prime) that is just causing fit and spacing issues up and down that lineup. I honestly think we are one 2022 Wiggins away from being a top contender. We need an elite wing that can carry the load when Steph and Dray are Old or when Klay is pressing with his shot. Unfortunately almost every other team either needs that type of player or already has that type of player and is above us in pecking order.
FYI: Podmond has appeared and begins by talking about the Knicks game. I rarely have the motivation to hear him and definitely not after last nights game.
But for those of you who have the courage - please share any tidbits :-)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-draymond-green-show/id1595716948?i=1000649715766
Absolutely not. Draymond has been far too much of a contributor to the dysfunction of the team the last two seasons to want to hear his takes.
I stopped listening after the punch. Just couldn't bear to hear him rationalize and spin. The bits from him that I saw in the media confirmed for me that that was a healthy choice.
I will acknowledge that he's been better on court since the suspension. But I don't listen anymore.
thats 2 of us
Draymond showing signs of debacle cause he plays the 5 is a mayor issue moving into next year.
He and kuminga can't play together with a 5 that can't stretch the floor. We gotta find one who also plays defense. is someone like that available?
At a certain point (next season or maybe sooner?) you probably just want to go Steph-Podz-Wiggs-JK-TJD as the starting 5, with Dray and Klay as 6th-7th men. (Replace Wiggs with Moods if necessary).
Dray’s been way better at the 5 than at the 4 for ages now; and I think that’s only going to become more the case as he gets older and slower. Finding him an adequate stretch 5 to play with feels like a band-aid that doesn’t address the core issue, any more then Saric addressed it.
Now … if we make him a 20-25 mpg backup 5 and get him a long stretch 4 to play alongside (ideally LeBron, KD, or PG, but even a guy like Kuzma would work structurally) then we’re talking about something that might move the needle, imo.
Playing Draymond center for a while post-ASB has resulted in him suffering lower back soreness. And back injuries are nothing to scoff at. We need to find a stretch big next season for the sake of Draymond's health.
You’re begging the question, tho. As far as I know, there’s no evidence that playing him at the 5 is any harder on his back than playing him at the 4. If it were, you’d think he, Kerr, and/or Celebrini would have said or done something about it. Dray tends not to be shy about speaking his mind.
He’s 34 and, like a lot of players his age (regardless of position) has had increasing, sporadic issues with his back. Until I see evidence to the contrary, I’m going to assume there’s no significant difference in risk of back injury between playing the 4 and the 5; and that the main goal should be to decrease his minutes load overall.
I think that’s why we’ve seen him at his lowest MPG (26.8) since his second year; and it’s why I’m proposing making TJD the starting C and moving Dray to a 20-25 MPG bench role, like Andre before him.
Speaking of: Andre also had increasingly serious back issues as he aged, despite playing zero minutes at center.
> Finding him an adequate stretch 5 to play with feels like a band-aid that doesn’t address the core issue, any more then Saric addressed it
I don’t see why. The Otto-Draymond frontcourt was great. The Draymond-Saric pairing would probably be great if Saric could defend well enough to stay on the court.
Sure, maybe Draymond is a 5 offensively, but he can guard any position, and playing two “fives” that can fit together in the starting lineup wouldn’t be a bad way to solve the size issue and have a top defense (Minnesota, Cleveland, 2022 GSW).
> The Otto-Draymond frontcourt was great.
Right — that’s basically what I’m saying. Dray is clearly the 5 in that scenario, right? I’m saying a rugged stretch 4 like Otto (or Kuzma, KD, George, etc.) is a better fit with him than a true C, even one who can shoot.
Kuminga should be taking notes…
Saric is an awful defender. That is why he doesnt play...
That line up could be a good idea...but i prefer to add more size to the team.
He’s fine at the 4. He’s been fine at the 4. We just haven’t had a decent 5 in two years with some decent Looney stints last year excepted. I don’t even think we need a shooting big. I wouldn’t mind having Javale circa 2017-18 back in the fold.
the best per 36 min line up was curry/klay/durant/green/javale.
second best lineup was curry/klay/andre/durant/green.
kuminga/wiggins can be andre there easily. tjd can be javale. what we're missing is the durant role, knock down shooter at the 3 or 4. wiggins became that in 2022 and we won it all, if neither kuminga/wiggins can be that we barely make the playoffs. finding a 5 to be that shooter might work, but it's uncharted territory.
He’s “fine” there — just suboptimal, imo.
I’d take 2017-18 JaVale too (even if he’s just a taller, worse version of TJD) but I think he’d be a pretty bad fit alongside 34-35 y.o. Dray.
To put it in more idealized terms: I think aging Dray would be a *much* better fit at the 5 alongside Tatum, PG, or KD than he would at the 4 alongside Jokic or Embiid.
My unofficial list of realistically obtainable athletic stretch 5s, with varying levels of defense. IMO it’s alright if they’re not all-defense or anything since they’re playing next to Draymond, but the ability to occasionally block shots and maybe catch lobs would be nice.
Wendell Carter Jr (would cost the most, is the ideal piece imo)
Myles Turner
Paul Reed
Jalen Smith (questionable defense but can really shoot it)
Obi Toppin (questionable defense but some athletic pop on offense)
Duop Reath (raw)
Sasha Vezenkov (questionable defense)
Jay Huff (can’t move that well)
Maxi Kleber (worrying percentages, also meh)
Kelly Olynyk (meh)
IMO hitting on someone like this is key for next year. It’s why we wanted Saric so bad (and JMG the year before), but now it’s clear we need someone who can move and defend a little more.
Otto was perfect because he could rebound and defend inside as well as shoot, but it feels like we might need a real 5 as Draymond gets older.
The problem is kuminga not being a good 3pt and klay moving to the bench...
That made looney expendable
Agree, IMO we need more Klay minutes this year for that reason, and Kuminga 3pt shot going forward is an X factor.
It's a central dilemma for the roster construction going forward. I kinda wrote this season off once I saw the reports of back soreness for Draymond, they need to do a better job of preserving him because they can't win anything without him.
One option is trying to find that stretch 5 who can defend (Turner?). The other issue is though that if they go that route, then they will probably continue to play small backcourts in order to get the amount of ballhandling that Kerr wants which presents its own problems defensively.
A different route would be trading both Kuminga and Wiggins, getting a really good wing who can dribble/pass/score/defend, and going more traditional at center. But obviously those types of players don't grow on trees. Could try to find a Bogut/West-esque passing center to run some offense through (Hartenstein) and then look for a more traditional 3 and D wing (would be my preference if possible), but Hartenstein might be out of their price range.
Will be another action packed summer ahead for Dunleavy, I think. Regardless of what route they go, I think they'll probably have to move on from Wiggins.
I don’t disagree, but the irony is that Wiggins was almost the ideal 3 and D wing before this year, and it would cost a lot (Kuminga) to obtain something that’s maybe as good as 2022 Wiggins (Bridges?). Sunk cost and all, but maybe betting on Wiggins to return to form is the more cost effective gamble.
The other thing is that trading Kuminga and getting Hartenstein and a 3&D guy leaves you with a ton of low USG guys (Podz, Draymond, Hartenstein, CP or replacement) and almost no one outside Steph who can score at above average efficiency and USG. IMO that’s a death knell as well, so we’d be patching a hole only to create another one.
> Sunk cost and all, but maybe betting on Wiggins to return to form is the more cost effective gamble.
I think cost effectiveness is a key part of why Wiggins might not be long for the Warriors. If they were contending for the title that's one thing, but how much do we think Joe Lacob wants to pay for a 10 seed when he's talking in interviews about ducking the tax entirely? They were reportedly looking into trading him at the deadline already.
Also I misspoke when I said traditional 3 and D wing, I just meant a guy who isn't necessarily a ballhandler. Mikal Bridges isn't running an offense but he can score the ball.
Maybe put in a two that can stretch the floor?
So You have 2 shooters and 3 non shooters?
http://www.hoopsstats.com/basketball/fantasy/nba/teamstats/24/6/diffeff/1-1
http://www.hoopsstats.com/basketball/fantasy/nba/teamstats/24/7/diffeff/1-1
Defensive efficiency of starters and bench in the West for teams ranked #1-10:
Thunder: #3 starters; #10 bench
Wolves: #4 starters; #9 bench
Nuggets: #2 starters; #28 bench
Clippers: #6 starters; #17 bench
Pelicans: #9 starters; #8 bench
Kings: #19 starters; #6 bench
Mavericks: #14 starters; #26 bench
Suns: #5 starters; #23 bench
Lakers: #11 starters; #bench
Warriors: #26 starters; #1 bench
The Warriors are doing it backwards?
Or is it the rest of the league who Is light years behind?
Our starters have the worst defensive efficiency among the top 10 teams in the West AND the East. Even lottery teams like the Spurs, Grizzlies, and the Hornets have higher def. efficiency rating than our starters, which is quite embarrassing considering the amount of talent we have in our roster. If we want to go deep into the playoffs--assuming we somehow get into the playoffs--, we need to have a very solid starting rotation, which we don't.
I feel this is going to be another wasted season for Steph. We've upgraded our bench this season, but our starters have regressed massively compared to last season.
> I feel this is going to be another wasted season for Steph.
Eh, maybe — that’s the standard line among the Reddit / Lightyears crowd, and it’s true if you consider every season where the Warriors don’t make the playoffs a “wasted” season for Steph.
Personally, I’d argue the 2024 Warriors’ dirty little secret is that one of the big reasons for the potentially “wasted” season is … *Steph himself.* If he were the same all-time elite / net +15 on-off guy he was at his peak, I’d guess we’d be a lot closer to inner circle contender.
We’re 66 games into the season and the Warriors have been significantly better with him on the bench than on the floor (-2.1 net points per 100). That was totally unheard of at his peak.
But it’s not just Steph: I think the same basic thing goes for LeBron, KD, Harden, and all the old heads. They’re all still awesome, but that 5-10% drop-off from their peaks can be the difference between Top 3 player and Top 15 player, and the difference between contending and pretending.
There’s a reason you rarely see teams led by guys in their mid-30s make it to the promised land.
Yeah, you're getting older while a whole lot of teams are getting better. This season emotionally prepared me to be hopeful that they can perform (Dray and Steph playing together is still magical, even if it's not as overwhelming as it was 5 years ago), but I've accepted that I should stop expecting it right now.
I almost posted something like this, but was too chicken.
I think this is right. Steph has taken a half-step back on offense, and maybe a complete step back on D.
The kindest description of his defense this year is 'erratic'. He can still do it in spurts, but not really for a whole game. That, along with Dray's decline, may put a ceiling on how good we can be on defense.
And, no, I'm not ignoring the other reasons for our drop-off: Wiggs being poor overall this year (with only one good stretch that I recall), Klay being at best mediocre, Podz and Moody being up and down, Draymond being MIA for about 1/4 of the season.
Defensive efficiency of starters and bench in the East for teams ranked #1-10:
Celtics: #1 starters; #14 bench
Bucks: #7 starters; #27 bench
Cavs: #8 starters; #16 bench
Knicks: #10 starters; #19 bench
Magic: #20 starters; #3 bench
76ers: #13 starters; #11 bench
Pacers: #22 starters; #2 bench
Heat: #16 starters; #7 bench
Bulls: #12 starters; #29 bench
Hawks: #18 starters; #24 bench
Point taken, we all know the east is the lesser conference, so if the Warriors are functioning like a midfield east team they are definitely doing it backwards