254 Comments
Nov 8, 2023Liked by Eric Apricot

Ausar [Thompson] on his experience defending Steph: "People always say it’s the movement, but he really tries to lull you to sleep. He walks the sideline, looks at the bench, and then you have to run through two screens and it’s like, ‘what just happened?’”

Link: https://sports.yahoo.com/pistons-rookie-perfectly-describes-guarding-042653798.html

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it's nice to hear a player explain it like that, it's the inexperience/youthful naivety thinking they're fast and can recover but its a lot of Steph being creative/knowing counters - which many of our guys like JK need to learn. There's no point in speed or athleticism if you just ram into a wall

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We have had Steph so long, and hopefully so much longer is still ahead of us. He is such an unbelievable wealth of basketball beauty. I will miss him so much when he is done.

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Can't believe Lebron is getting crap for making the right read. That's ridiculous.

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It’s happened before, back in the Miami days. There are a segment of people who think passing for an open shot that misses is bad.

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The Laker's only mistake is having Reddish in that spot instead of an actual shooter

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author

Yes that’s the only issue I have with that whole possession. LBJ made a good read and an incredible pass.

I remember LBJ got crap for doing something similar before he won his rings with the same simplistic criticisms…

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Pistons' Joe Harris has a sprained shoulder.

https://twitter.com/JLEdwardsIII/status/1722041183071867112

Timberwolves' Jordan McLaughlin has a right knee MCL sprain and will be out for four weeks.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1722031962930676068

Lakers' Hachimura, Davis, and Hayes are questionable.

https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1722028959813005535

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McCollum has a collapsed right lung and is out indefinitely. Sounds scary. He had the same thing in 2021.

https://sports.yahoo.com/cj-mccollum-pelicans-guard-out-indefinitely-with-small-collapsed-lung-124841546.html

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Has Draymond finally mellowed? I don't recall seeing Draymond throwing any tantrums yet. This is certainly not what we are used to. Perhaps all the podcasting and talking about himself and the league has helped him release all that anger. Or, is it the absence of Poole and presence of Paul? His 3 ball seems to have come back, too.

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Nov 8, 2023·edited Nov 8, 2023

likely just hasnt found the reasons too yet as much - its not like he just randomly goes off by himself. he gets set off easily but he usually does so when he thinks something is wrong :)

but aging does generally tend to mellow you down too - so maybe hes just getting less aggressive w age (caveat, it mellows you but it doesnt completely remove your ability to get really triggered - atleast from my own personal experience and what i've seen from people i know)

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He was sure yelling at the refs a ton

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Other than the refs, I can only remember him yelling at his teammates in the game vs. the Thunder. Moody for not cutting, causing turnovers. Also, at Wiggs and JK for not switching when Steve went all defense subs, resulting in Dort (I believe) getting free throws.

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He was arguing passionately but it looked a lot more, ordinary? controlled? academic? not angry, to me.

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I must have been in the bathroom.

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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah, no basketball. What am I supposed to do? Vote, you say? I vote for a basketball game to be played!

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Watch reruns of Embiid's big night, or Ant outdueling Tatum?

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Nov 8, 2023·edited Nov 8, 2023

If youre in a voting state, vote for sure.

you want corrupt extreme right semi fascists in power denying climate change and women’s heath rights?

Vote :)

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"Semi-fascists"?

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I do not.

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Follow the election results!

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To quote Chrissie Hynde, "Way to go, Ohio"

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cp deserves the praise but JK/Wiggs need a lot of work!!! I think most of their TO's are self inflicted tho - not catching or losing the dribble, not from trying to make an assist but they still need to work on that a lot

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https://youtu.be/BULq1hfQsZY?si=7yABFzr8AoOer-Rb

Timpf on local radio, with some nice words about JK:

JK has been a lot better than I expected him to be this season. He's turned into a pretty reliable secondary scorer. Huge sign when you see Kerr play him more crunch time minutes that Wiggins.

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I was surprised to hear that from Timpf, but he knows a lot more about what to watch than I do. My take is, JK is playing well enough to stay on the floor, so I think he'll look a lot better in April, and will help the team in the playoffs. In the mean time, the team is 6-2, and can put up with some shaky quarters. I'm also not worried that he hasn't fixed all his flaws after playing in 6 or 7 games. But, clearly, there are a wide range of opinions on JK in the fan base.

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And for the first 6 games of the season, he was 5th in net rating, so it was kinda the opposite of "shaky quarters", his minutes on the floor were a big part of *why* the team was 6-2. Now, these last two games have reversed that trend... we'll see.

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Yeah, I wonder if the injury is still bothering him, though not sure that should explain some suboptimal decision making

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I do not agree with that takeaway. The guy with the 51.9 TS% and a .3 AST/TO ratio to start the season while averaging fewer rebounds and more fouls per 36 than last season has been one of their biggest issues so far imo, although their biggest problem has been Wiggins which is why I also don't think it's necessarily impressive for anyone to beat out this version of Wiggins for crunch time minutes.

The team performing well record-wise gives someone like Kuminga a lot more room for error and to turn it around. If they had started the season like 2-6, Kuminga would be having his minutes reduced with the way he's started the season imo.

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Timpf was specifically referring to using Kuminga out of the post and referenced something like 21 points off his 17 post ups… but yeah, Timpf is not looking at the whole of JK’s offensive game.

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His newly patient mini-hooks in the lane are very nice. I'll give him a month to get himself organized on D since Dray missed preseason and Dray is the guy you count on to get that settled on the floor. The rebounding remains very frustrating.

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OMG the rebounding is frustrating. It's like every single rebound he grabs looks like he's a dude that's just physically "got it", he's done a great box out, fought for the rebound, etc. like really good rebounding fundamentals. But then the box score shows that it was the only rebound he grabbed in the entire game. I suspect it's that he's just overcommitting to the shot and a step behind the play off ball to where he's not in position to be a rebounder when the shot goes up.

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his big problem is bbiq/processing - understanding angles/positioning/where people are should be. its a lot like wiseman but jk atleast showing a lot more passion and drive than wiseman - at least outwardly that we can see.

its why guys like steph/podz even tho small can get a lot of rebounds. and why TJD vs wise can set good screens and get to the proper places to defend and rebound. there's still a lot of randomness of bounces but you see the natural instinct in those guys vs those that dont seem to perform.

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If only they would keep Gui on the big club. Need someone to push these guys by threatening their playing time.

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If Kerr wanted to play him, he'd be on the big club. Since that's apparently not the case, he's better off playing in SC for now.

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Nov 8, 2023·edited Nov 8, 2023

Hmm. He’s definitely had his moments through eight games, but hasn’t quite lit the world on fire the way I hoped he would after his hype-filled summer and incredibly impressive pre-season.

But then, as a Warriors fan, I suspect my expectations are much more easily raised than Timpf’s.

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Bro... Rui Hachimura was supposed to be this awesome stretch 4... Dangelo Russel was supposed to have worked on his defense to be like Jrue Holiday... Andrew Wiggins had worked on his FTs all summer... summer is all about hype, and preseason is free and easy. JK showed a blueprint in preseason, but he's still rushing. He tried to out jump Javale McGee. Javale McGee! He still needs the game to slow down a bit, and then he'll be able to show ability closer to his preseason showing. That said, he's still been good enough as a secondary/last maneuver isolation option, he's still been great on ball, but he's still been a bit over-exuberant to be great on both sides of the ball. I'm still incredibly optimistic that he'll figure out and accept what works, what doesn't, what's important to winning, and that he doesn't have to be everywhere all at once.

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This javale mcgee?

(See profile pic) :)

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Nov 8, 2023·edited Nov 8, 2023

I think it's a little more than that, TBH.

I'm not convinced that the post-up game really translates, despite what Timpf is saying. I'd like to see them run him off a screen from a big up top, so the other team has to switch a big onto him. He should be able to outquick most bigs to at least the top of the key and force a rotation. Can he make the right pass, then? Not sure really, but I think it's worth a try.

I don't really understand all the post-ups, TBH. Other wings at this level clearly can guard him. Maybe he's mostly posting up guards ... not sure. But some variety would be good.

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In order to use him as a P&R ball handler, he's got to have a midrange pull up jumper that's a real threat. If not, he's just going to be seeing a neutralizing deep drop every single time. His problem, at this point, is that he's just sort of forcing things.

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Dont look now, but the Warriors seem to finally be dealing with their turnover bug ranking 14th in turnover per possession. This is while still being at the top of the league when it comes to assist ranking 3rd in assists per possession and 5th in assist to turnover ratio.

I guess Kerr's system doesn't necessitate being the bottom of the league in turnovers lmao.

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if we didnt play the kings 2x with mike brown doing the pressure thing causing atleast 7 TOs and if Steph was actually inspired/jealous of CP's ratio - instead of just saying so, we'd prob be 7-10th.

I know Steph is a showman, but feel like he's made a lot of "bad"/careless to's so far

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The CP3 effect

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Kerr's system doesn't necessitate being in the bottom of the league in turnovers - as long as you have Chris Paul running the offense for half the game.

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Isn’t 14th more “middle of the pack” than “at the top of the league”?

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I think he was saying 3rd in assists is top of the league.

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Thanks, I misread. My bad. Carry on and pretend like nothing happened.

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Nov 8, 2023·edited Nov 8, 2023

I don’t think terms have been released on GUI’s contract, but he’s worth at least a brazilian dollars. Here’s some videos regarding Gui:

Athletic Alchemy https://youtu.be/Gt_DHGItBlM?si=NFANE7A_DnIABg6i (very high on him and thinks Gui will be in the mix down the road this season, which seems like a pretty bold take

Dubs Talk https://youtu.be/L42dv_njQv8?si=fX6e1j14DJXdXxxY Monte and Dalton say he’s an intriguing prospect for the future

Warriors released this highlight real to celebrate the newest Warrior https://youtu.be/Od3B92RvHiU?si=QsnuaRTDwwzkwPrb

Gui gonna be championship!

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Nov 8, 2023·edited Nov 8, 2023

I saw, maybe at the Athletic, that it's a 3-year deal with only the first year partially guaranteed. Might be speculation, but it was from a media source.

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Slater is pretty reliable

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Agreed, I couldn't remember who wrote it.

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LOL :)

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Good news, looks like Mason Plumlee has a sprained MCL, not torn: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38843398/sources-clippers-mason-plumlee-mcl-sprain-knee

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Was just scoping the Sea Dubs roster: 1 center, 5 forwards, and 10 guards, lol

https://santacruz.gleague.nba.com/roster

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They're playing Warriors ball alright...

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Hey so in my Scrabble app ten minutes ago I was just able to play “warriors” for a bingo and a lot of points. However, my opponent then had a massive move waiting and won the game. What does this mean??? I’m so anxious, what does this portend??

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Rest easy, Ash; it's meaningless. But only because the game couldn't know the word warriors needed to be capitalized to be specific. Surely AI doesn't apply here?

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Allen Iverson? That would be a lot of points.

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Nov 7, 2023·edited Nov 7, 2023

Was the massive play "Wembanyama"? If so, then we just accept it. It's inevitable.

I don't think it means anything. It's still early in the regular season.

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lol yeah you just have to accept some things

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At times like this just remember that the universe ends in an infinite nothingness in 400 trillion years

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But then what happens to the forever companies?

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Nov 7, 2023·edited Nov 7, 2023

players ordered by importance, off season expectation vs 10% into season eye test:

expectation: curry, wiggins, green, klay, kuminga, looney, cp3, gp2, saric, moody

10% in: curry, green, cp3, gp2, looney, klay, saric, moody, wiggins, kuminga, tjd

rank delta: cp3(+4), gp2(+4), saric(+3), moody(+2), green(+1), looney(+1), tjd (+1), curry(0), klay(-2), kuminga(-5), wiggins(-7)

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If by order of importance means winning it all then I think Wiggs needs to be higher up. I'm not sure we can do it if he's not top 6

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agreed, i believe he will be top 4 in the playoffs.

just comparing expectations to early outcomes.

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Nov 8, 2023·edited Nov 8, 2023

Yeah, by “order of importance” Wiggs might still be 3 or 4. By “order of performance” (through eight games) he might be more like #10-12, just a hair ahead of Destiny Garuba and Gui Santos.

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Nov 7, 2023·edited Nov 7, 2023

Curry(0): I know Steph sets high expectations but putting him at “meeting expectations” with how he’s produced so far is taking what he’s doing for granted.

And you must not expect much from CP3 if his absolutely abysmal Kelly oubre like start to the season shooting warrants a team high +4

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Nov 8, 2023·edited Nov 8, 2023

you disagree with the delta, but agree we expected curry to be the most important, and he has been the most important. i guess it's like not including curry in the warriors wonder, every week someone asks, "where is curry?" tho we all agree curry is the greatest warrior of all-time. (besides fitz, he said maybe wilt?)

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CP3's value thus far has been considerable even with his abysmal shooting (prior to last night). That said, his shooting last night was a very hopeful sign!

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Looking at minutes per game stats. Steph leads the Dubs at 31.8, but that puts him 69th in the league. That's one stat I'm glad he's not at the top of. Shaedon Sharpe (POR) leads at 39.0 and the top ten includes AD, LeBron, Doncic, and Tatum.

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The AD and LeBron minutes are wild - they are going to run those guys into the ground if they're not careful.

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but Curry is actually moving quite a bit during his mins, altho w CP i think he doesnt have to as much. Doncic seems like hes not moving that much or that fast. Lebron I think rests on defense unless necessary. AD - he plays like half the time during his mins lol

Tatum will prob wear down tho if he keeps it up

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They'll probably get plenty of rest due to their frequent injuries

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Nov 7, 2023·edited Nov 7, 2023

Steph is the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week!

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I always thought is was the Western Conference Player of the Week Not Named Steph Curry for some reason?!

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No games today since the NBA wants you to vote, apparently.

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