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A breakdown I suspect we are going to need at some point: "Jordan Poole, One Way Player." His first preseason game was outstanding on offense, but if you watch him on D, he's ball-watching and out of place a lot. I would love not to believe that, but I think his ceiling might be Lou Williams/Jamal Crawford. Instant O off the bench, poor D.

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Try Devin Booker.

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Crawford’s woefully inefficient, and Lou Williams is 6-1. Poole is neither of those things.

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I think predicting the ceiling for this kid right now is premature, to put it mildly. Williams and Crawford were always considered poor defenders throughout their careers partially due to a lack of effort on that end. I think we will see a much more engaged Jordan Poole on defense this season than we have ever seen from either of those two. Everyone on the team and in the org raves about his work ethic and effort is a large part of defense.

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OK, you're not wrong that it's premature to discuss his defense over his career. Sorry about the ceiling comment. Maybe he'll improve and you're right, he does work hard. More precisely what I meant to say is that his ceiling *this year* seems to be shooter, not defender, given what we've seen so far. I hope you're right and I'm wrong.

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Yeah I get what you're saying, and I'll need to see his improved defense before I believe it, but let's give him the benefit of the doubt for now (unlike Williams or Crawford who never ever put 100% into a defensive possession in all the time I've watched the NBA).

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Time To Rise !

I felt like it was written for Warriors (a brand new song by a brand new K- band ) . I couldn’t find a single video clip. Start at 8:03. (Band name : Craxilver)

https://youtu.be/oBjOWH6_kRI

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BTW love that fire graphic

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That is what i wanna hear :)

[Slater] Steve Kerr on his veteran heavy rotation: “We’re chasing wins this season” attached to a 😏 expression

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

Duby: “I absolutely love this roster already.“

Also Duby: “B”

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

I see you stir the pot, in addition to smoking it /signed fellow DNHQ stoner

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I love it here.

And I'm honestly still standing by my B grade. Like handing out a perfect 10 in the first round of gymnastics, I reserve the A for a truly special offseason. I know this is the "over-react to one preseason game" but it's a long way to go still and I still stand by the fact that the team didn't even use their MLE, and got nothing out of that Oubre salary slot.

Nice work around the edges, but no perfect score from me. Sorry, not sorry : )

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>I still stand by the fact that the team didn't even use their MLE

correction: hasn't yet used their MLE

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

I hope you know I was just busting your balls in fun.

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B IS A GOOD GRADE!!

(lmao and yeah, you are all good bro. I've been wrong once or twice, and my takes are not always consistent, so I gladly accept the smoke)

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Calmer than you are

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For all the talk about Bradley, I think he’s got the best chance of being #15 here. Looking at a rotation of JTA, Dre, Bradley, Poole and oPJ or BJelly, depending on matchups, that’s a really interesting defensive lineup with sufficient offensive punch to keep the game tight while the big three rest. I know Bradley missed a bunch of shots tonight but it’s not clear to me that GP2 would be able to carry sufficient offensive weight to make a lineup like that work.

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

My impressions from last night:

- Wow, Jordan Poole!

- Porter was every bit of what I was hoping for.

- The mini-Curry flurry in Q3 was lots of fun.

- Blazers are a work in progress. Still a lot of the same problems. Anfernee Simons looks like a baller, though.

- Every year, feels like there's one player I just can't see why the Ws signed and they turn out to be pretty darn good. Last year, it was JTA. This year - Chris Chiozza?

- Avery Bradley - a not good first impression.

- So nice to see Andre back on the court with the Ws. The Miami uniform just didn't suit him.

- Kuminga and Moody looked lost out there, but first game jitters.

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

I'd say that the Blazers aren't a "work in progress" so much as a finished product that doesn't work. What we see is who they've been for years. And who they'll be for years.

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Lillard and McCollum two of my favorite players in the league, but they are exactly what the Warriors would be if we didn't trade Monte Ellis. When people devalue what Klay has meant to the Warriors, just look North. The back court has to have balance and it's the elephant in the living room in Portland.

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And it's also instructive for what to look for with Steph & Poole in the back court. Offensively awesome, defensively challenged... but overall pretty decent. Of course, Steph>Dame & Poole>CJ.

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It's a quality problem if your 2 lottery picks look lost compared to the rest of the team. And this considering All-NBA Klay and 'future' impact player Wiseman not even in the mix. AND Wiggins stepped up? This is going to be fun ... ;-)

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

I’m very sad for Chriss… it seems the Strollers are considering him just as garbage-time meat, plus he doesn’t seem to fit into their team style. A sad story of a personal rebuild that won’t be what it was supposed to be.

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It’s not over yet for him. Look at JTA. If he keeps working, keeps playing wherever they’ll take him, he can make it back into the league

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Also, the issue with Nurk has been health. Right now, it seems like Chriss is outside of the rotation, but that could all change pretty quickly

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See: Cody Zeller's nose

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

He's 4 years younger than JTA, and yeah, easy to root for...

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Lebrooooon… look what I found: https://youtu.be/2pxmC62ULrw

Do you remember the kid you mocked? We’ll see what karma is preparing for youuuuu… Remember that karma is deadlier than JP at the buzzer.

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

I add a message for Andre: it’s not your fault (about Zeller’s late nose)

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

* Is water combustible? Because I think I saw a Poole engulfed in flames.

* I held my breath every time OPJ went to the ground.

* Bjelica had some nice defensive plays in the interior.

* Seeing that hot potato fly around was nearly orgas... I mean, origami-like in beauty and execution. Really nice to see those assists spread out too instead of it heavily centered around Dray.

* If this is a preview of what's more to come, I can see us having a game where five players have 5 boards and 5 assists.

* I'm pretty sure Chiozza is JJ Barea

* Galloway looks like a mini-Looney (in appearance)

* Hopefully Bradley starts hitting those wide open threes...

* I'm guessing we'll see more of the rookies in later preseason games

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Chiozza is a good 5 inches taller than Barea thankfully.

and I agree that the passing and movement was definitely orgasmic.

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I wish it was 5! Barea was 5'10" vs Chiozza at 5'11"

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

Ahh you’re right, I was thinking of Isaiah Thomas.

Although if Barea is 5’10”, it’s on a very good day in very thick socks.

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

And with extra gel in his hair

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Agree on Galloway, looked big for his size

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The good:

Poole is a star. Not just the 7 threes, but that the majority of them had high degree of difficulty.

And his burst to basket is as good as ever.

Both teams looked in mid-season form, yet with Curry out there we were better.

Draymond was fit and spry, Looney was in form.

Wiggins' shot was typical hit or miss, but he was strong inside the arc.

The ball movement was outstanding for a first preseason game.

JTA solid rebounding , defense and passing.

OPJ solid shooting, defense, and hustle. He looks a step slow but his length makes up for it.

Love Chiozza's hustle, he was consistently first to the ball.

Bjelica was exactly as advertised.

The bad:

Andre and JTA missed all their threes.

Moody was largely invisible and had the yips on his three pointer

Kuminga didn't look like a rotation player, with the exception of his nice post move late.

This team looks like a monster.

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Agreed. Team looks good. Not worried about Dre or JTA. I think they’re going to be important that second unit

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Can’t disagree with any of this other than I think you’re underselling how good OPJ looked. Generally loved the defensive energy and offensive ball movement. The rotation at 5: Looney, Bjelica, JTA. Team is going to play a lot of small ball.

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

3D,

I think your post pretty much summed up my feelings. Poole has become a man. That boy we saw 2 years ago seems to be gone. He's looking stronger, and more confident. Green looked more assured in his offense. Wiggs is very solid and Looney looked quicker and smarter. I waited with baited breath to see how Kerr was going to use the bench. It was a perfectly executed coup d'etat using Bjelica and Porter. However, Avery Bradley had me worried in his inability to score and no playmaking. He did live up to his reputation for D and he is quick. If he can find a shot, it would mean a lot to the team. Galloway left me ice cold. Chiozza has some game but I'm still hung up on GP2. I think DLee could handle the combo guard duties if they don't sign either AB or send Chiozza to the gleague. Poole could also handle these duties if he had to.

Our rookies are going to have to fight for minutes, I think, Moody more so than Kuminga. Kuminga is raw but talented. Moody seems like he will have a much harder time breaking into this rotation. I don't think his development is sufficient for a team like the Warriors who have so many talented guards that can play within this system. Personally, I will regard him as a project but I can also see him in the gleague working on his game. With Klay coming back, Poole, DLee, even Mulder, all have better chances of PT in Kerr's system than Moody. What a luxury.

With Bjelica on the team, I can now understand why the Warriors chose not to go after another big guy. Porter seems to be that lucky find that should catapult the Dubs into contending this year barring any unforeseen happenings!

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I dunno, re: the rookies. I still think Moody is closer to becoming a regular minutes.

Kuminga is probably more ready for the transition to NBA speed than Moody because G-League experience vs college experience.

Still, I think Moody's more developed 3andD skillset means he's closer cracking the rotation than Kuminga, who's strictly a 4 right now and that position is kinda loaded with Draymond, JTA, OPJ, Wiggins, and even Andre and Bjelica.

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It'll be interesting to see if Kuminga and Moody keep the team first mentality as the season goes on the they're not getting as many opportunities as the other top picks. I mean just today we had

Scottie Barnes 13-9-6 in 24 min

Giddey 18-7-3 in 28 min

And while Suggs and Mitchell didn't do that good stat wise, they still got minutes.

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This exactly what I was thinking about.

Maybe NBA GMs do know what they are doing. Giddey and Barnes were efficient and awesome. Here's hoping Kuminga develops.

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As long as the Warriors coaching staff is communicative on the development plan for them, I don't think it'll be a problem.

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

If anything, Wiseman might be the one to monitor

He went from being gifted 20mpg, to probably like 12mpg at most.

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

Based on today I could see them hitting the g league

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

G-League doesn't start until Dec 27.

I think the Ws will try to spot them some non-garbage time minutes against lower competition when they can before then.

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Can we give it a minute?

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If the starters and OPJ, Andre, Bjelica, JTA, Lee are all healthy, the kids should definitely be headed to the GLeague to get minutes and win a championship.

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Not because they suck but because they might not get many opportunities. Kerr mentioned it himself in the offseason

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

Who else shares my dream? JP that makes a run for both MIPOY and All Star (game, not the 3p shot contest). Do I exaggerate?

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I think that JP3 is certainly making a statement about being a starter. Again, just based on what we’ve seen for 1/2 a season and emphasized again last night, I don’t see that McCollum is much if any better than JP3.

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No. I believe this as well. I think Pooles gonna be popular enough for some All star votes

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Oct 5, 2021Liked by punk basketball

Why stop there, Poole for MVP lets gooo

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For real though, my optimistic take was thinking Poole could be the Warriors CJ McCollum.

Basically borderline All-Star type, so yeah, MIP and some All-Star votes would be on the table for me.

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Seeing as his per 36 stats and shooting efficiencies last season were slightly better than McCollum’s career averages if I recall correctly, I’m not convinced the first part of your comment is even much of a take :P

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Well, like someone said in the GDT, Poole was making the McCollum comp look like his floor and not his upside haha

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574 threes in a season

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7x82 nice

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As expected, BeElitezyah and Chamberlain Jr. looked like a match made in heaven for this team.

#WeDeep

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I think it’s actually “Wilt Chamberlin III”

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Biedrins and Wilt*

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