This game was cool, and the Marvel collab broadcast, while silly, was kind of fun. I think they were putting a little too much emphasis on the "hero points" and not that much on the non-box-score parts of the game, but I guess that's what happens when you have a set of second-string announcers calling a minigame within a game. Draymond was very deserving of his win in the Marvel Hero challenge thing, but Steph could've had him any number of ways (not missing a FT, not dribbling it off his leg out of bounds randomly, etc.).
I loved the attention and effort the team put into the defensive end to start and finish the game. They forced a bunch of turnovers and tough shots, scored some great blocks, and pushed it in transition to get quality looks out of it. Wiggins had a sneaky good night: reasonably efficient, big buckets at key moments, quality defense as per now usual, while playing over 38 minutes on a supposedly-questionable knee. Poole and Mulder chipped in some good shots as well; I especially think Poole did a good job ball-handling to start the 2nd. Bazemore did a lot on the defensive end to help keep the Pels offense from clicking. And JTA had a beast of a game: tons of defensive energy, and on the offensive end he continued to show amazing awareness and creativity to find ways to get Steph good looks or get other Warriors great looks. Honestly between the incredible heart and the impressive BBIQ, it feels like there are not many guys in the league who could be as great for this team as Juanito lately.
There was a bit in the 3rd where the Pels made a push, and I was worried foul trouble on Curry would put us in danger, but the team found a way to stabilize the defense and keep contesting shots without fouling, which is one of those things that can sometimes make a whole game come unraveled if they can't figure it out. Mulder and JTA were distinctly part of that turnaround, alongside Steph, Dray, and Wiggins.
I'm a little worried about Wiggin's knee for tomorrow, but thankfully that one feels a lot less do-or-die now that we've got one in the bag and favorable outcomes from SAS and MEM.
Final takeaway from the Marvel broadcast: I'mma keep saying "WAKANDA FOREVER" every time Wiggins makes a sick play like some of the ones he had tonight. (Draymond had the dunk of the night though, a monster slam off a fake handoff.)
As I've mentioned before, Steph is clearly going for the scoring title. That will be a matter of arithmetic while the MVP will be interpretive. Personally, I couldn't argue with Jokic as being MVP. He is a phenomenon at his size and position. I think the scoring title is more important for his CV than getting into a higher playoff position. They are not going to go all the way and it will be more wear and tear on the already 'walking wounded Warriors.' OTOH, if they did go all the way, it would be a near miraculous feat, and one of the greatest victories for an underdog.
Steph may be “going for it” but he’s not playing an inordinate number of minutes to get there (a modest 34 mpg) nor is he hoisting up a bunch low-efficiency shots at the expense of helping the team win (cough*Kobe*cough*Melo*cough). He’s just so absurdly efficient that he can play his normal brand of winning basketball and win the scoring title organically.
In his defense, Beal also seems to be closing the season by playing the right way — prioritizing team wins over personal achievement. He’s been extremely efficient, too, (.593 true shooting) just nowhere near as efficient as Steph (.660).
Eh, I don’t think the difference between one game v Portland and one game v LAL changes that calculus materially.
If they’re not good enough to win one of two games v the rickety Lakers and mediocre Spurs/Grizz, it’s hard to imagine they’re good enough to win four rounds of playoffs thereafter.
Yeah, but that applies whether we get the Blazers or the Lakers, no? Lakers would be marginally harder, but also way more fun to knock off. We always knock off the poor Blazers! When was the last time we knocked off the Lakers in the playoffs? (Pretty sure the answer is “never”?)
I mean... Campazzo's momentum did not naturally cause him to bump Davis. I don't think it was necessary as MPJ probably makes the shot regardless, but it's still a foul.
Better than a PERFECT Sunday, is a PERFECT Monday, B2B; we are one DENVER WIN/LAKER Loss away...Let's go Joker....Tonight's near-PERFECT Monday saw DUBS WIN in a must-have, superb performance, and, PORTLAND, GRIZZ, SPURS LOSE...dem is the other 3 teams in the ever-fluid, play-in brackets, in case you've been under ground. Oh, yea, and the NBA MVP increased his NBA-leading scoring lead...
Whoever commented about Westbrook still being in the game with the Wizards up 20 ... he was chasing assists. Had 24 tonight in his triple double to go along with 21 boards & 14 pts.
Not a lot of D being played in that game, I'm guessing, since the Pacers had 8 players in double figures and the Wizards had 9 [and nearly 10 with Neto's 9 pts.]
Since tonight was Marvel night and all... Steph should be Iron Man, he has a lot of toys in his bag and go head to head with anyone. Draymond is the Hulk, a very smart player that can offer a lot but his anger can get the best of him sometimes. Last but not least... Looney... he is Groot.
Yeah it's much, much more likely end up back in the 9th (or 10th) seed than stealing the 7th. But as Apricot would explain, still MATHEMATICALLY POSSIBLE.
Steph has 299 threes this season. Next three will be the fourth time someone has 300+ Curry x 3, Harden). Harden had 299 last year.
This game was cool, and the Marvel collab broadcast, while silly, was kind of fun. I think they were putting a little too much emphasis on the "hero points" and not that much on the non-box-score parts of the game, but I guess that's what happens when you have a set of second-string announcers calling a minigame within a game. Draymond was very deserving of his win in the Marvel Hero challenge thing, but Steph could've had him any number of ways (not missing a FT, not dribbling it off his leg out of bounds randomly, etc.).
I loved the attention and effort the team put into the defensive end to start and finish the game. They forced a bunch of turnovers and tough shots, scored some great blocks, and pushed it in transition to get quality looks out of it. Wiggins had a sneaky good night: reasonably efficient, big buckets at key moments, quality defense as per now usual, while playing over 38 minutes on a supposedly-questionable knee. Poole and Mulder chipped in some good shots as well; I especially think Poole did a good job ball-handling to start the 2nd. Bazemore did a lot on the defensive end to help keep the Pels offense from clicking. And JTA had a beast of a game: tons of defensive energy, and on the offensive end he continued to show amazing awareness and creativity to find ways to get Steph good looks or get other Warriors great looks. Honestly between the incredible heart and the impressive BBIQ, it feels like there are not many guys in the league who could be as great for this team as Juanito lately.
There was a bit in the 3rd where the Pels made a push, and I was worried foul trouble on Curry would put us in danger, but the team found a way to stabilize the defense and keep contesting shots without fouling, which is one of those things that can sometimes make a whole game come unraveled if they can't figure it out. Mulder and JTA were distinctly part of that turnaround, alongside Steph, Dray, and Wiggins.
I'm a little worried about Wiggin's knee for tomorrow, but thankfully that one feels a lot less do-or-die now that we've got one in the bag and favorable outcomes from SAS and MEM.
Final takeaway from the Marvel broadcast: I'mma keep saying "WAKANDA FOREVER" every time Wiggins makes a sick play like some of the ones he had tonight. (Draymond had the dunk of the night though, a monster slam off a fake handoff.)
I'm going to go with "He is... inevitable" every time Steph does Steph Curry things. "He can't be matched..."
As I've mentioned before, Steph is clearly going for the scoring title. That will be a matter of arithmetic while the MVP will be interpretive. Personally, I couldn't argue with Jokic as being MVP. He is a phenomenon at his size and position. I think the scoring title is more important for his CV than getting into a higher playoff position. They are not going to go all the way and it will be more wear and tear on the already 'walking wounded Warriors.' OTOH, if they did go all the way, it would be a near miraculous feat, and one of the greatest victories for an underdog.
Current state of the scoring chase...
Curry 31.44
Beal 30.95
Steph may be “going for it” but he’s not playing an inordinate number of minutes to get there (a modest 34 mpg) nor is he hoisting up a bunch low-efficiency shots at the expense of helping the team win (cough*Kobe*cough*Melo*cough). He’s just so absurdly efficient that he can play his normal brand of winning basketball and win the scoring title organically.
In his defense, Beal also seems to be closing the season by playing the right way — prioritizing team wins over personal achievement. He’s been extremely efficient, too, (.593 true shooting) just nowhere near as efficient as Steph (.660).
If it were Kobe, he'd be launching 40+ shots/night and not caring about wins/losses/teammates/anything else.
#5 Lakers, #6 Mavericks, and #7 Blazers are separated by 0.5 games each in the standings.
Lakers win. *sigh* Almost...
Good. I don't want to play them in the play in no matter how sweet it'd be if we won
I’m still fine with it. Assuming we’re talking #7-8...
Win = sweeeet, we beat the LeBron (again) and the MF Lakers.
Lose = ah well, we still get a crack at SAS/MEM, neither of whom is that tough.
Lose twice = ah well, we get a #13-14 draft pick at worst, and a 4-5% shot at a top 4 pick.
I don’t get why we’re supposed to stress out about that range of scenarios.
Cause I want them to win it all!!
Eh, I don’t think the difference between one game v Portland and one game v LAL changes that calculus materially.
If they’re not good enough to win one of two games v the rickety Lakers and mediocre Spurs/Grizz, it’s hard to imagine they’re good enough to win four rounds of playoffs thereafter.
It's not about not being good enough to win 1 of 2 games since anything can happen in 1 game series.
Yeah, but that applies whether we get the Blazers or the Lakers, no? Lakers would be marginally harder, but also way more fun to knock off. We always knock off the poor Blazers! When was the last time we knocked off the Lakers in the playoffs? (Pretty sure the answer is “never”?)
I mean, who do you want to see crying more, this guy: https://media.tenor.com/images/17a9945d3a97f9cc9fca7b4703760c0d/tenor.gif
Or this guy? https://media0.giphy.com/media/xT0xeki8mbVrtTY82Q/giphy.gif
:-)
Facts
You're agreeing with me too much
Our dear friend Fatu Campazzo with the game clinching blocked 3-pt attempt
To think if we didn't half ass the mavs Wolves games we'd be 1 game behind 7 right now
Nuggets coming back. Down 4 with 2:06 left.
Bleh... refs wipe out a late three-pointer by MPJ and THT makes a totally idiotic prayer to give the victory to the MFL.
I mean... Campazzo's momentum did not naturally cause him to bump Davis. I don't think it was necessary as MPJ probably makes the shot regardless, but it's still a foul.
Nah. BS call imho that never gets made if AD isn’t a star and/or Campazzo is. Doris Burks hated the call as well.
Nuggets down 13 to the Lakers with 9:30 left in the 4th.
Spurs lose to the Jazz and are now #10 & 1.5 games behind the Dubs.
Better than a PERFECT Sunday, is a PERFECT Monday, B2B; we are one DENVER WIN/LAKER Loss away...Let's go Joker....Tonight's near-PERFECT Monday saw DUBS WIN in a must-have, superb performance, and, PORTLAND, GRIZZ, SPURS LOSE...dem is the other 3 teams in the ever-fluid, play-in brackets, in case you've been under ground. Oh, yea, and the NBA MVP increased his NBA-leading scoring lead...
LGW
I just realized tonight that Javale is now on the same team as Austin Rivers.
Whoever commented about Westbrook still being in the game with the Wizards up 20 ... he was chasing assists. Had 24 tonight in his triple double to go along with 21 boards & 14 pts.
Not a lot of D being played in that game, I'm guessing, since the Pacers had 8 players in double figures and the Wizards had 9 [and nearly 10 with Neto's 9 pts.]
Spurs down 20 to the Jazz with 6 minutes left in the 3rd.
Since tonight was Marvel night and all... Steph should be Iron Man, he has a lot of toys in his bag and go head to head with anyone. Draymond is the Hulk, a very smart player that can offer a lot but his anger can get the best of him sometimes. Last but not least... Looney... he is Groot.
I think Wiggins should be Iron Man after starting every game this year. He was really tough on Ingram - he only put up 11 shots in 35 minutes.
Wiggins is the new Black Falcon after HB became Captain America?
“It’s just Falcon, kid”
I feel like you had the most fun with that broadcast out of everyone lol
Now that we have 8th seed, can I dream of being in 7th sees or is reality that we are .5 team going to smack me in the tuckus
Because that's what happens every time Dubs look good!!
Even with the Blazers losing tonight, Dubs are still 3 games behind them. Not impossible but we would probably need to win out.
Yeah it's much, much more likely end up back in the 9th (or 10th) seed than stealing the 7th. But as Apricot would explain, still MATHEMATICALLY POSSIBLE.
GREAT, MUST-HAVE, WIN. Steph and entire team delivered one of their top performances. Now, it is rewind, repeat, again, tonight.