Warriors' stomping of Blazers stirs Klay Thompson's emotions
Best record in the NBA, but it's not enough for the reborn Golden Empire.
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Last night, our guys blew a double-digit lead at home and fell to the Sacramento Kings in triple overtime. Despite having the universally recognized greatest triple-doubler Russell Westbrook, a generationally talented big man in Anthony Davis, a U.S. Olympic hero in Carmelo Anthony, AND THE KANG HIMSELF LEBRON JAMES, we didn’t get the job done and fall to a 10-11 record. I also must report that our team is now 7-6 at home, wait wtf? Hahah this can’t be a team I’d root for. That must be those trash Lakers.
The Golden State Warriors are much kinder to their fans than those other franchises during this holiday season, giving Dub Nation a special Black Friday deal on joy weaponizing in a 118-103 thrashing of the Portland Trail Blazers. This win moves the Dubs to a 17-2 record on the season and an encouraging 11-1 start at home.
And when I say encouraging, I mean it should encourage opponents to begin forfeiting any and all games at Chase Center rather than get dumped head first into the icy cold swirling Bay waters. The deadly Splash is only getting stronger as the younger Splash Bro Klay Thompson closes in on his triumphant return to the game.
In the meantime, the elder Splash Bro Stephen Curry is using his preternatural chemistry with the Smash Bro Draymond Green to brew up the deepest batch of team connectivity we’ve seen since Kevin Durant departed. What they did to the Blazers last night can only happen when a team is in a Justin Timberlake level of sync.
Feeling defensive
With 2:49 remaining in the first half, the score was tied 42-42. The Warriors have reactivated their 3rd quarter Tsunami Wave Soul Snatcher Spell this season, so I know everyone here at DNHQ was quietly amused by the Blazers giving their all to stay close before the inevitable wipeout occured. But what I bet you didn’t expect was for Golden State to just end the game right then, which the effectively did with a hellacious 16-2 run.
The offensive highlights are what we love to see, but my gosh the defensive work was the foundation for the momentum shift.
According to the NBA’s tracking data, Portland shot 3-of-13 when Curry was the primary defender. Who knew that a lifetime of being targeted by the other team’s offense could mature Curry into a stalwart defender, capable of shadowing All-NBA talents like Lillard? PASTOR MARK JACKSON ALWAYS BELIEVED.
Take a look at how he intelligently corralled Lillard into the teeth of the Warriors defense, first picking Lillard up at the perimeter:
And then chasing him into a bad angle that led directly to three other Warriors lurking like the Foot Clan:
This led to an Otto Porter Jr. steal and heaped more gasoline onto the surging fire that was that Golden State run.
Lillard was limited to 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting from the field and 4 turnovers on the night. His backcourt buddy C.J. McCollum also struggled to 16 points, with 6-of-17 shooting from the field providing a tasty stat line for the Warriors’ coaching staff to savor. Dame and CJ are a premier NBA backcourt and a pair of scoring geniuses averaging 22 PPG and 20.4 PPG respectively this season. What the Warriors did to them was ruthless. Check the combined shot chart from Portland’s two stars last night:
That chart’s got more x’s than Leonardo DiCaprio. Draymond Green is the defensive player of the year so far if you ask me; how else can you explain how a team with Curry, Jordan Poole, and Andrew Wiggins (worst defender in the league they said) all getting heavy minutes has the #1 defense in the NBA?
Feeling motivated
Green has also been instrumental in encouraging Wiggins to be aggressive, evidenced by this demand for a garbage time dagger lmao.
Wiggins scored 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting and hit 3-of-5 attempts beyond the arc. That’d be a pretty standard night for Klay, so it’s pretty cool to see Wiggins doing his part to fill the void in the Splash Bro’s absence with efficiency and force. It’s scary to think about how Wiggins will enjoy even MORE floor spacing when Klay comes back. Maple Jordan will get more open shots, more open driving lanes, more chaos to create, and more of a bloodlust for victory. This could very well be a championship team; Wiggins has never tasted the champagne. This could be his year to do it.
They doubted you Wiggins. Just because you hella underperformed relative to your #1 draft pick status and your gigantic contract in the frozen tundra of Minnesota where top draft picks go to toil in obscurity. How could they do that to you Wiggs?
Get your revenge. Fortify Wiggins Island and help lift the Golden Empire out of the playoff drought. Do it for yourself, do it for Dub Nation, and do it for this brother over there sitting by himself.
Feelings
There’s a storm coming.
Remember when Curry was hobbled in the 2016 playoffs and the weight of the 73-win Warriors season rested on Klay Thompson’s shoulders against the Blazers? Games 1 and 2 in Oracle without the Unanimous MVP, against young and hungry Dame and CJ. That was the biggest test of Thompson’s life. and he responded with 32 PPG in those two crucial home victories.
We all remember Curry’s “I’m Back” moment in Game 4 to effectively seal the series, but that could have been a completely different world to come back to if Klay didn’t first propel the Warriors to a 2-0 lead.
Watching the Warriors cook Dame and CJ against must have stirred up strong emotions for Killa Klay. NBA, beware: it won’t be long now before he gets an I’M BACK moment of his own.
One consideration about GP2: it is unbelievable but, as seen in the tunnel before the game, he beats even Steph in pure sheer JOY of going to play ball.
The most humiliating fact of the Los Angeles Swampers season so far? They miss Kuzma.