Two Bay Area losses in one night: Warriors lose to Nuggets, John Madden passes on

Tough night.

The Golden State Warriors lost to the Denver Nuggets 89-86 last night, partially because half their team was out but also partially because they couldn’t buy a free throw. The Dubs shot 15-of-31 from the charity stripe. Sixteen missed free throws in a game they lost by 3?

Juan Toscano-Anderson scuffled to 1-of-6 shooting from the line, while the rookie Jonathan Kuminga bricked his way to 3-of-10 on free throws.

Brady Klopfer @BradyKlopferNBA

This was the first time the Warriors shot 52% or worse from the free throw line on at least 20 attempts since 2007.

Kylen Mills @KylenMills

The Warriors went 16 of 31 (51.6%) from the line in a 3-point game. Me thinks they’ll be shooting a lot of free throws at practice tomorrow….. @kron4news #dubnation

Like I’m sure anybody who played high school basketball knows, the worst practices were after the team would lose a game because of missed free throws. The coach lines your squad up on the baseline the next day with a disappointed look in their eyes, muttering sayings like “free throws win ball games” or “those are easy points we’re throwing away”.

Next they start having your teammates come to the free throw line to shoot, with each miss equaling running suicides (I abhorred running suicides). And then when your team is gasping for air, putting their hands on top of their heads in order to maintain proper breathing practices, you hear “YA GOTTA MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS WHEN YOU’RE TIRED!”.

Joe Viray @JoeVirayNBA

JTA on team's free throws being the reason they lost: "That and turnovers.... I missed 5. That's gonna bother me all night. Imma go in tomorrow, shoot 100 free throws, 500 free throws... Just gotta be better tomorrow."

John Dickinson @JDJohnDickinson

Hell of an effort in the second half for Warriors after a BRUTAL first half. No Draymond, no flow on offense, too many breakdowns on defense. Not enough firepower and too many FT misses for GSW to overcome. In grand scheme, not a major loss. Woulda been a pretty gluttonous win.

Can we take a moment to mourn the legend John Madden? He passed yesterday at the age of 85. This NFL legend and video game pioneer was an Oakland Raider through-and-through, coaching the team in the glory years of the 70’s. Per ESPN:

Madden gained fame in a decadelong stint as the coach of the renegade Oakland Raiders, making it to seven AFC title games and winning the Super Bowl following the 1976 season. He compiled a 103-32-7 regular-season record, and his .759 winning percentage is the best among NFL coaches with more than 100 games.

NFL @NFL

John Madden made so many of us fall in love with football. 🙏

I didn’t exist when he was out there prowling the sidelines, but I am very much impacted by his role in color commentary as an announcer during the early 90’s. I’d be overwhelmed by the action on the screen, so many moving parts and characters and so much violence. And here’d come Coach Madden eagerly with his telestrator, quickly breaking down the intricacies of what I had just seen in a fun and digestable fashion.

He explained the game so thoroughly and joyfully that even a 4-year old me could figure out some clues as to why Jerry Rice was so good or why no QB wanted to throw Deion Sanders’ way. Suddenly I realized WHY the running back got the 12 yard run because Madden had circled how his blockers cleared the path. BOOM! Or he’d give you the inside look behind the Gatorade bucket:

When we started here at DNHQ, that jovially intellectual and gracious spirit is something we wanted to carry on the basketball side of things. We appreciate the game and we wanted to talk about the game with folks who felt the same way.

Eric Apricot and Joe Viray have taken the telestrator into the future for us, helping us learn why the Warriors are so good with their video breakdowns. Duby Dub Dubs, Dr. Tom, Nate P., Patrick Murray, and all of our contributors here provide analysis that does more than inform: it actually feeds our love for the game and expands our imagination.

And of course, this DNHQ community is the soil by which this affection for Warriors basketball grows and bears fruit. As we wrap up this year, I’m truly grateful for you folks and my teammates and what we do here. It’s rare, and I think Coach Madden would be proud of our little Bay Area publication that’s expanded to fans around the globe.

And he’d probably crack up laughing as to what was going on here last night with our own announcers:

𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙗𝙝 ⁶𓅓 @OVOLakeShow

The Warriors have always had the absolute worst announcers for the past 5 years now, especially the main guy. Just zero respect for opponents and constant complaining because of entitlement. Disgusting commentary and should be suspended indefinitely.

I’m still getting over the transition from Bob Fitzgerald and the legendary Jim Barnett to Fitz and Kelenna Azubuike. I’m sure they’ll hit their stride by the playoffs?