The NBA family is living with a heavy heart after the passing of Kobe Bryant, one of the most iconic players ever. It’s much too soon to return to business as usual, but the Golden State Warriors will do their best to focus on the game at hand as they travel to Philadelphia, the town where Bryant was born back in 1978.
Expect some sort of recognition for Bryant's legacy this evening, whether it be the now-familiar intentional 24- and 8-second delay to start the game, or a more active moment of silence.
This is the beginning of a lengthy road trip for Golden State, who won’t play at home again until they face the Los Angeles Lakers on February 8th.
For Golden State, they’ve recalled Jacob Evans from the G League, which means he will almost certainly spend the entire road trip with the Warriors.
Alen Smailagić, and Ky Bowman, unfortunately, are both staying with the Sea Dubs in the G League for the time being.
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors (10-37) at Philadelphia 76ers (30-17)
WHEN: Tuesday January 27, 2020; 4:00 pm PST
WHERE: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
WATCH: NBC Sports Bay Area
Are we overlooking D’Angelo Russell?
Maybe it’s the transient feel of his tenure here - especially following on the heels of Kevin Durant’s tumultuous final season - but very little ink has been spent talking about D’Angelo Russell. He’s leading the team in scoring (23.9 points per game), second in assists (6.3), and has the best scoring efficiency for any non-big (.560 TS%).
Maybe it’s all the losing the team has done, but it’s hard to imagine a single player that could lift this roster over .500. Whatever the cause, Russell has been oddly insulated in his time here, neither beloved nor hated. They say that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference, and sadly, that word may best describe the fan bases view of Russell.
Let’s take a look at his scoring profile, using the fantastic visualization tool from Positive Residual. Looking at the numbers, Russell is doing most of his damage via above the break three-pointers, and in the midrange - both areas where he converts his shots at an above average rate.
When it comes to assists, Russell is just as impactful. He assists on close to 34% of his teammates shots while on the floor; a value that puts him in the 93rd percentile league wide, as per Cleaning the Glass.
The problem, for me and probably many of you readers as well, has been his defense. While defensive metrics are notoriously tricky, it’s fair to point towards his low steal (0.8 per game) and block (0.3) counts. He also appears in the team’s worst five-man units on both defensive, and net rating, as per NBA.com’s advanced tracking data.
After looking into the stats, I think the most honest answer regarding Russell is “it’s complicated.” His numbers are fairly solid, at least offensively, and it’s hard to pin the Warriors’ defensive struggles on him. But for a max contract player, it does look like there are some significant holes to his game. Any concerns related to this is largely contingent on how well he fits in alongside Stephen Curry when he returns in March.
Checking in on the Sixers
Philadelphia is going through a bit of an identity crisis. In the modern NBA, you’ll often see player pairings get criticized for lack of size, but in the 76ers case, the concerns are the opposite - with two large players vying for room in and around the rim.
The team currently sits in 6th place in the Eastern Conference, well below expectations. They’ve been without Joel Embiid, who injured his finger back in January, but his return is imminent.
In his absence however, it’s hard not to notice that Ben Simmons has been playing as well as he ever has. In Embiid’s absence, Simmons has averaged 21.6 points (65.3 percent shooting), 9.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists (3 turnovers) and 2.3 steals per game, according to the Liberty Ballers blog.
If Simmons can maintain that level of play after Embiid’s return, I expect them to climb significantly higher in the playoff bracket. But even without Embiid, these Sixers should be able to handle a Warriors team that has lost 14 of their last 15 games.
He was advertised as a low-efficiency scorer who can get really hot, but kind of needs the ball in his hands, and suspect defense. An all-star, but only just barely because the East had fewer options.
After seeing him in action for half of this season, that all seems about right. He definitely can get crazy hot and start making shots from anywhere, over anyone. His "bumper car" move feels almost as reliable as vintage Livingston turnarounds and KD's Nowitzki-style fadeaways. His passing has been better than advertised, with some really inspired dimes taking advantage of the attention he gets from the defense. But he has cold streaks, and when he's off, he's way off—I don't think I've ever seen someone who shoots such a wild mix of airballs and way-off-the-backboard shots alongside such sweet nothing-but-net bombs.
His defense is... really bad, though. He gets caught ballwatching, he helps off his man unreasonably, he gets beat off the dribble, etc. The Warriors have a lot of green, raw players this year who make mistakes on defense (while occasionally playing really solidly!) but DLo has shown nothing that makes me think he'll ever be as solid as Steph, who honestly plays phenomenal defense except for the part where he's just not tall enough to contest everything—let alone the high bar set by Dray, Dre, Klay, Livingston, or KD (who had stretches of sloppiness but also an unreasonably high ceiling) over the last few years.
So, he definitely gets buckets, which is something this team needs badly at this juncture. But when we have Steph & Klay back and we're actually aiming for a championship again? Feels like DLo would be better as a super-sub 6th man, a rich man's Lou Williams, or something... but I can't imagine him wanting that, and the team probably doesn't want that from their max contract player, either.
Then again DLo is still very young, so he has room to grow. Might be that just constantly having 2/3 of Klay/Steph/DLo on the floor would give the Warriors such an explosive offense that they could run other teams off the floor. I look forward to, before the end of this year, the look of panic on defenders' faces when Steph leads the break and they realize they're about to leave either the human torch or a nuclear DLo wide open for a transition three...
I would like to see D'Lo play with more then one solid rotation player before saying he's bad on D. He has the length and speed that I think he would be a positive with what we used to incorporate as far as the switching and swarming defense.
In a bubble he seems ok one on one and no I don't really want to see him and Steph on the floor at the same time for extended min's but at this point my grade would be incomplete.
I think the Dubs have a chance to take this one, or maybe it's more like the Sixers have a chance to lose it. Based on what we've seen all season long, the Sixers should clean up on the offensive glass and the Dubs will brick shots all night long, especially from three. But if the Warriors actually hit what open looks they get, and hound Philly on defense, we may have a game.
I'm assuming Marquese Chriss will get the start at Center again, after how well he did against Indiana. If Embiid plays, this'll be a great opportunity for Chriss to show his mettle, reward the Warriors' trust in him, and show all the other teams who didn't claim him off waivers what a mistake they made. I'm hoping Draymond will have some good advice on how to defend Embiid, and hoping that any trash talk between them stays at a good-natured level. We've seen how hotheaded 'quese can get and Embiid is a known provocateur who loves earning "real estate" in his opponents' heads...
Anyway, time for this young squad to buckle up and learn to play tough on the road. The good news is, they're more rested than they've been in ages!
I'd be more confident if we had Ky and Smiley though.
Oh, and just to address the DLo thing.
He was advertised as a low-efficiency scorer who can get really hot, but kind of needs the ball in his hands, and suspect defense. An all-star, but only just barely because the East had fewer options.
After seeing him in action for half of this season, that all seems about right. He definitely can get crazy hot and start making shots from anywhere, over anyone. His "bumper car" move feels almost as reliable as vintage Livingston turnarounds and KD's Nowitzki-style fadeaways. His passing has been better than advertised, with some really inspired dimes taking advantage of the attention he gets from the defense. But he has cold streaks, and when he's off, he's way off—I don't think I've ever seen someone who shoots such a wild mix of airballs and way-off-the-backboard shots alongside such sweet nothing-but-net bombs.
His defense is... really bad, though. He gets caught ballwatching, he helps off his man unreasonably, he gets beat off the dribble, etc. The Warriors have a lot of green, raw players this year who make mistakes on defense (while occasionally playing really solidly!) but DLo has shown nothing that makes me think he'll ever be as solid as Steph, who honestly plays phenomenal defense except for the part where he's just not tall enough to contest everything—let alone the high bar set by Dray, Dre, Klay, Livingston, or KD (who had stretches of sloppiness but also an unreasonably high ceiling) over the last few years.
So, he definitely gets buckets, which is something this team needs badly at this juncture. But when we have Steph & Klay back and we're actually aiming for a championship again? Feels like DLo would be better as a super-sub 6th man, a rich man's Lou Williams, or something... but I can't imagine him wanting that, and the team probably doesn't want that from their max contract player, either.
Then again DLo is still very young, so he has room to grow. Might be that just constantly having 2/3 of Klay/Steph/DLo on the floor would give the Warriors such an explosive offense that they could run other teams off the floor. I look forward to, before the end of this year, the look of panic on defenders' faces when Steph leads the break and they realize they're about to leave either the human torch or a nuclear DLo wide open for a transition three...
I would like to see D'Lo play with more then one solid rotation player before saying he's bad on D. He has the length and speed that I think he would be a positive with what we used to incorporate as far as the switching and swarming defense.
In a bubble he seems ok one on one and no I don't really want to see him and Steph on the floor at the same time for extended min's but at this point my grade would be incomplete.
I hope DLO goes for 81 tonight
I think the Dubs have a chance to take this one, or maybe it's more like the Sixers have a chance to lose it. Based on what we've seen all season long, the Sixers should clean up on the offensive glass and the Dubs will brick shots all night long, especially from three. But if the Warriors actually hit what open looks they get, and hound Philly on defense, we may have a game.
I'm assuming Marquese Chriss will get the start at Center again, after how well he did against Indiana. If Embiid plays, this'll be a great opportunity for Chriss to show his mettle, reward the Warriors' trust in him, and show all the other teams who didn't claim him off waivers what a mistake they made. I'm hoping Draymond will have some good advice on how to defend Embiid, and hoping that any trash talk between them stays at a good-natured level. We've seen how hotheaded 'quese can get and Embiid is a known provocateur who loves earning "real estate" in his opponents' heads...
Anyway, time for this young squad to buckle up and learn to play tough on the road. The good news is, they're more rested than they've been in ages!
I'd be more confident if we had Ky and Smiley though.
76ers stats:
Offense:
23 in points scored (108.4)
18 in points in paint (47.5)
10 in fastbreak points!! (13.3)
20 in offensive efficiency
9 in shooting % !!!! (46.7%)
18 in three point % (35.4%)
9 in two point % !!!! (52.9%)
9 in off. rebound % !!! (23.6%)
2 in def. rebound % !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (80.7%)
3 in total rebound % !!!!!!!!!!!!!! (51.7%)
2 in opponent blocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (3.9)
12 in opponent steals (7.3)
5 in assists!!!!!!!!!!! (26.2)
15 in turnovers (14.8)
Defense:
2 in points allowed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (104.8)
12 in opponent points in paint (46.9)
18 in opponent fastbreak points (13.4)
4 in defensive efficiency!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12 in opponent shooting % (45.4%)
14 in opponent three point % (35.2%)
8 in opponent two point % !!!!!! (50.4%)
8 in blocks!!!!! (5.7)
6 in steals!!!!!!!!! (8.4)
3 in opponent assists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (21.9)
18 in opponent turnovers (14.5)
Duby - nice aside on dlo
Man, Simmons is absolutely killing it this year. Top of his draft class by TPA
https://twitter.com/NBA_Math/status/1222203935441768450
Regarding the 8 and 24 second delays- I love human ingenuity so much. Just a great way to recognize.