Steve Kerr on James Wiseman: "This has just not been an easy one to figure out. We're still hopeful he'll be cleared for contact soon, but there hasn't been an opportunity for that to happen this week."
So hopefully we can get him back late March early April and get him some run this year just to prepare him for a bigger role next year. I go back and forth with Bjelica but Iād rather see Kuminga as a small ball 5 on defense when Draymond gets back and let Bjelica take one step up and fire away 3s in that second unit before we try and upgrade. But I toggle back and forth especially now that Dray is out for a few weeks
Other than Westbrook, name another MVP winner ever who turned into a player no one much wanted -- without injury or being really old. Underscores how bull-pucky his MVP was. Rose, Bill Walton got injured. Did Nash's bloom fade? Iverson's? Only example I got is that Bob McAdoo turned out to be McADon't on defense, but that's going in the wayback machine.
MVP & DPOY. This is the last year either Steph or Dray are going to snatch one of these individual rewards. A #1 defense and a strong late season surge during a road heavy schedule could bring the awards home. But that will be it. The problem with Steph is, the better the team is, the more he sacrifices personal numbers for team winning. And by the end of the year, the perception of the team may be that the roster is stacked (despite all the missed time of players earlier in season). Steph will do whatever he has to do to win and often that results in setting screens, using his gravity and being a decoy which doesn't show up in the stat sheet. It's a similar situation for Dray. It's not Dray against the world as people are getting hip to Wiggs-Looney-GPII and others as being big contributors to the Warrior's defensive success.
Still, a 1 or 2 seed and a top rated defense after some preseason predictions had the Warriors out of the playoffs and play in altogether, may be the story line that carries the day and brings the hardware home. This won't happen again moving forward, which is why I feel like this will be the last chance for Curry-Dray to take these home.
as great as the Joker is, it chaps me pretty considerably that a lot of the same people who shat on Steph last year for the Dubs seeding are giving Jokic a pass because he is "carrying the team".
In the ongoing debate regarding the importance of true big men in the NBA, last night was pretty kind to the Big Fella argument. None of the guys listed below exactly plays I AM SHAQ MOVE OUT THE WAY style, but they all do sometimes score near the rim and protect it, to some extent. Their height matters. I'd be interested in what DNHQ thinks about a night in which: Embiid 50 points 12 rebounds in 27 minutes; Jokic 49-14-10; Giannis 33-15-7 in 31 mins; Zubac 32-10; Jaren Jackson 29-9; KAT 17-10-7; Vucevic 24-12; Markkanen (does he count?) 28-7; Adebayo 20-11-4, 5 steals; Nurkic 18-14; Gobert 23-9-4. As that TV show asks: something, nothing, or everything? [Note: examples that don't prove my point not included]
Both Sabonis and Turner out tonight. LeVert and Brogdon listed as questionable. That's four of their starters and the four players with the most mpg this season. Are they just throwing this game?
I posted this on another thread, but I can't stop thinking about it. The early stage new Klay is reminding me of Mullin. Not particularly athletic or fast moving, but good size/length. Can maneuver with the ball, get to spots even though they look like they are about to get their pockets picked. Can square up anywhere on the floor and get a clean shot off. We always talked about the BBIQ of Dray, Andre, Bogut, etc. But watching Klay now, his IQ seems a bit more obvious since we are all fixated on his every move. Klay is not a GP2 in your face defender, but, like Mullin, he's always in the right spot, great team defender, and quick hands get him deflections and blocks. Few could pass like Mully, but given the make-up of current team and the future team, I could see Klay ramping up his assist totals. Not that Klay is going to start playing point forward, but I wouldn't mind seeing a little more of "Dribble-Klay". This would throw defenders into a total funk. Defenders simply won't know how to react if Klay dribbled the ball up past half court and initiated some action. Refs might even have to stop the game, go to replay, unsure of what they saw.
Jan 20, 2022Ā·edited Jan 20, 2022Liked by punk basketball
There have been some interesting tidbits about the draft process of Kuminga over the past year and who was involved.
There was a mention that Kenny Atkinson was the first person in the Warrior organization to recognize Kuminga's potential to be a smallball big man (Myers mentioned it in a recent podcast with Kawakami plus there were articles about how Atkinson worked Kuminga out pre-draft and wanted to see what his rim protection abilities were like).
In yesterday's Chronicle article on Kuminga, there was a mention that Mahlalela studied Kuminga's shooting pre-draft and identified potential mechanical issues that made him optimistic about Kuminga's shot.
Makes me wonder who they'd have picked if they hadn't hired those two. Perhaps it would have still been Kuminga, but perhaps not. Although I still suspect that Giddey was their original target based on Lacob's post-draft quote plus what Giddey's dad said:
Also, I would love for some reporter to one day get at the truth of if Kerr really was pushing for them to draft Davion Mitchell at 7 or not lol. If so, please get that man out of the draft room.
17 PTS, 8 REBS and 5 BLK for Onyeka Okongwu in a win over Minnesota. Heās now averaging 2.6 BLK in 26.5 MIN while shooting 79% over his last 5. Touch, hands and instincts. Still think heāll be the best big from his draft class like we wrote in Oct of 2020
Connor Letourneau
@Con_Chron
Steve Kerr on James Wiseman: "This has just not been an easy one to figure out. We're still hopeful he'll be cleared for contact soon, but there hasn't been an opportunity for that to happen this week."
So hopefully we can get him back late March early April and get him some run this year just to prepare him for a bigger role next year. I go back and forth with Bjelica but Iād rather see Kuminga as a small ball 5 on defense when Draymond gets back and let Bjelica take one step up and fire away 3s in that second unit before we try and upgrade. But I toggle back and forth especially now that Dray is out for a few weeks
Pacers injury report:
TJ Warren- out
Myles Turner- out
Domantas Sabonis- out
TJ McConnell- out
Caris LeVert- questionable
Malcolm Brogdon- questionable
Apropos of nothing important, but I like how Curry's jersey looks like it says "Dunny" in today's graphic.
Other than Westbrook, name another MVP winner ever who turned into a player no one much wanted -- without injury or being really old. Underscores how bull-pucky his MVP was. Rose, Bill Walton got injured. Did Nash's bloom fade? Iverson's? Only example I got is that Bob McAdoo turned out to be McADon't on defense, but that's going in the wayback machine.
MVP & DPOY. This is the last year either Steph or Dray are going to snatch one of these individual rewards. A #1 defense and a strong late season surge during a road heavy schedule could bring the awards home. But that will be it. The problem with Steph is, the better the team is, the more he sacrifices personal numbers for team winning. And by the end of the year, the perception of the team may be that the roster is stacked (despite all the missed time of players earlier in season). Steph will do whatever he has to do to win and often that results in setting screens, using his gravity and being a decoy which doesn't show up in the stat sheet. It's a similar situation for Dray. It's not Dray against the world as people are getting hip to Wiggs-Looney-GPII and others as being big contributors to the Warrior's defensive success.
Still, a 1 or 2 seed and a top rated defense after some preseason predictions had the Warriors out of the playoffs and play in altogether, may be the story line that carries the day and brings the hardware home. This won't happen again moving forward, which is why I feel like this will be the last chance for Curry-Dray to take these home.
as great as the Joker is, it chaps me pretty considerably that a lot of the same people who shat on Steph last year for the Dubs seeding are giving Jokic a pass because he is "carrying the team".
In the ongoing debate regarding the importance of true big men in the NBA, last night was pretty kind to the Big Fella argument. None of the guys listed below exactly plays I AM SHAQ MOVE OUT THE WAY style, but they all do sometimes score near the rim and protect it, to some extent. Their height matters. I'd be interested in what DNHQ thinks about a night in which: Embiid 50 points 12 rebounds in 27 minutes; Jokic 49-14-10; Giannis 33-15-7 in 31 mins; Zubac 32-10; Jaren Jackson 29-9; KAT 17-10-7; Vucevic 24-12; Markkanen (does he count?) 28-7; Adebayo 20-11-4, 5 steals; Nurkic 18-14; Gobert 23-9-4. As that TV show asks: something, nothing, or everything? [Note: examples that don't prove my point not included]
Both Sabonis and Turner out tonight. LeVert and Brogdon listed as questionable. That's four of their starters and the four players with the most mpg this season. Are they just throwing this game?
Should be a romp.
I posted this on another thread, but I can't stop thinking about it. The early stage new Klay is reminding me of Mullin. Not particularly athletic or fast moving, but good size/length. Can maneuver with the ball, get to spots even though they look like they are about to get their pockets picked. Can square up anywhere on the floor and get a clean shot off. We always talked about the BBIQ of Dray, Andre, Bogut, etc. But watching Klay now, his IQ seems a bit more obvious since we are all fixated on his every move. Klay is not a GP2 in your face defender, but, like Mullin, he's always in the right spot, great team defender, and quick hands get him deflections and blocks. Few could pass like Mully, but given the make-up of current team and the future team, I could see Klay ramping up his assist totals. Not that Klay is going to start playing point forward, but I wouldn't mind seeing a little more of "Dribble-Klay". This would throw defenders into a total funk. Defenders simply won't know how to react if Klay dribbled the ball up past half court and initiated some action. Refs might even have to stop the game, go to replay, unsure of what they saw.
There have been some interesting tidbits about the draft process of Kuminga over the past year and who was involved.
There was a mention that Kenny Atkinson was the first person in the Warrior organization to recognize Kuminga's potential to be a smallball big man (Myers mentioned it in a recent podcast with Kawakami plus there were articles about how Atkinson worked Kuminga out pre-draft and wanted to see what his rim protection abilities were like).
In yesterday's Chronicle article on Kuminga, there was a mention that Mahlalela studied Kuminga's shooting pre-draft and identified potential mechanical issues that made him optimistic about Kuminga's shot.
Makes me wonder who they'd have picked if they hadn't hired those two. Perhaps it would have still been Kuminga, but perhaps not. Although I still suspect that Giddey was their original target based on Lacob's post-draft quote plus what Giddey's dad said:
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/nba-rumors-warriors-intended-draft-josh-giddey-no-7-pick
Also, I would love for some reporter to one day get at the truth of if Kerr really was pushing for them to draft Davion Mitchell at 7 or not lol. If so, please get that man out of the draft room.
Game 6 Klay tonight for his 6th game back?
Mike Schmitz
@Mike_Schmitz
17 PTS, 8 REBS and 5 BLK for Onyeka Okongwu in a win over Minnesota. Heās now averaging 2.6 BLK in 26.5 MIN while shooting 79% over his last 5. Touch, hands and instincts. Still think heāll be the best big from his draft class like we wrote in Oct of 2020
=============================
Sigh š
Westbrook is definitely getting traded soon. There's no way Vogel blasted him publicly like that and he stays
Pacers stats:
Offense:
18 in points scored (108.0)
8 in points in paint!!!!!! (48.5)
11 in fastbreak points (13.0)
17 in offensive efficiency
15 in shooting % (45.7%)
28 in three point % (32.5%)
5 in two point % !!!!!!!!!!!! (54.7%)
6 in off. rebound % !!!!!!!!! (24.4%)
11 in def. rebound % (77.7%)
6 in total rebound % !!!!!!!!! (51.4%)
15 in opponent blocks (4.7)
17 in opponent steals (7.7)
14 in assists (24.1)
16 in turnovers (14.0)
Defense:
16 in points allowed (108.8)
21 in opponent points in paint (47.6)
15 in opponent fastbreak points (11.9)
22 in defensive efficiency
24 in opponent shooting % (46.5%)
23 in opponent three point % (35.9%)
16 in opponent two point % (52.3%)
2 in blocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (5.9)
24 in steals (7.1)
3 in opponent assists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (22.2)
21 in opponent turnovers (13.2)
Final All Star voting updates (fan voting closes in two days)
Bron passes Curry (by a lot), Wiggins standing strong, but AD somehow passed Dray
https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1484224352962949120
Plus-minus on the season
Steph Curry +423 (#1 in the league)
LeBron James -12 (#341 in the league)