Warriors-Cavs pregame: Stephen Curry off-ball “lulls you to sleep”; Wiseman to miss remainder of season

Plus: small-ball, big?, Payton, Jordan/Kobe, LMA

UPDATE: Warriors PR tweeted this right after I published the article, which means James Wiseman will miss the remainder of this season…

Warriors PR @WarriorsPR

Warriors center James Wiseman underwent successful surgery today to repair a right meniscal tear:

Here are notes & quotes from Warriors-Cavs pregame via Zoom calls from Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, with head coaches J.B. Bickerstaff and Steve Kerr. I was late to the Zoom call, which was a very odd and early-ish time of 2:45PM PDT, but I caught the tail end of it with one of the Stephen Curry game-planning answers.

Kerr touched on a variety of topics, perhaps the hottest one being that we’re probably getting an update during tonight’s game about James Wiseman’s prognosis now that he has had surgery on that torn meniscus.

Please check for more visual coverage on our YouTube channel, but the one atop this article is clickable and discusses various logistical things such as Kelly Oubre getting a workout tomorrow in Boston, as well as testing and vaccinations for the players.

Here’s a new upload on the Warriors possibly adding some size, plus Gary Payton II:

BICKERSTAFF:

(Missed who knows how many questions)

- what time did you get in and testing? “we tested when we got back last night”

- Steph off the ball: “when a guy has the ball in his hands you’re on high alert…he lulls you to sleep, he’ll run under the basket and he’ll put his head down…coming off full speed…he’s crafty…what is so impressive is they know where he’s gonna be before he gets there…he’s been there to catch and shoot with a wide open three…instinctively you’ve been trained to watch the ball.”

KERR:

- anyone resting? “No.”

- Oubre: “He’ll be re-evaluated tomorrow, I think he’s scheduled to get a workout in Boston…see how he feels.”

- Wiseman surgery: “spoke with James afterwards…we’re not gonna make any comments…until probably some time during the game tonight…also speaking with Jeff Schwartz (his agent).”

- Dellavadova: “Idk their team but I do know the value of their veteran players…David West, Zaza Pachulia, Shaun Livingston…help the younger players deal with the inevitable adversity…veteran presence in a young locker room.”

- Kevin Love: “looks good, I watched the game from last night…confidence and freedom…good young team, they’re playing very well.”

- protocols: “landed at 230a…probably 330a (at hotel)…testing is dependent on whether you’ve gotten vaccinated…players got tested when they landed…had to get up by 11 o’clock and test (for those not vaccinated).”

- protocols not so bad? “leagues has relaxed some of the standards for those who have been vaccinated.”

- incentive to get vaccinated? “That may be part of the incentive idea from the NBA.”

- add size? “Depends on who you’re talking about…if you can add a good player who can help you win a game.”

- small ball rest of the way ok? “Oh yeah for sure, we’re gonna do that regardless…the team you saw last night is the team we’ve kinda been…(Steph/Dray/Looney)…we had a possession last night coming off a high screen where we got nine passes…ended up Steph making a wide open three…it’s not just small ball per se, it’s personnel and awareness of what’s going on and moving the ball.”

- GP2: “it’s more the latter (if he doesn’t get minutes oh well), unless you’re in a special situation with a team that’s (in the Lottery)…front office wants to get a good look…where we are right now it’s just about winning games.”

- development with little practice and shootaround: “no summer league and very little training camp, so it’s a very difficult season for everybody…how challenging it is to develop young players…they have individual coaches…they play 3-on-3, 4-on-4, everything possible, they do…there’s no substitute for time, game experience, but also learning the league.”

- MJ presenting Kobe at HOF: “it’ll be a very emotional time…I think it’s great that it’ll be Michael…patterned his game after Michael…it’s gonna be a sad time…Kobe and his family should be there and enjoying it.”

- LMA: “great respect for LaMarcus…very sad to hear (retired due to health)…admire him for doing what he’s doing…family to take care of, yeah you can’t mess around with your health…just say thank you LaMarcus…amazing career.”

/end