Warriors vs Blazers |GM-3|

I like Klay as the "Solo Artist" in that unit. He's going to take those shots no matter who's on the floor with him, so better to let him go wild against Portland's Second Unit. Curry + Draymond is the yin&yang ... the heart&soul and the most reliable closing offense. Best to give them time off together and bring them back together to wreck shop when it really matters.

Thomas Ogas

Damn did anyone see that KD instagram comment. Clearly the Warriors 5-0 run without him and social media comments are bothering him, he literally interpreted a compliment as an insult. This guy needs to stay off social media because he just cannot handle it.

Paradox

I don't understand the Jones thing either, when the Warriors get called on Jones' play they respond like Pravda, even Draymond did it After the game praising Jones for his aggressive (3 fouls) defense.

Steven Stanley

If there are people who think Steph can do no wrong, maybe you should make a montage of Steph's lazy hook pass. I coached with a guy once who didn't allow players to throw a 1 hand bounce pass off the dribble, if you did it practice stopped, if you did it in a game you sat down. Why does Steph continue to throw that pass when it produces so many turnovers? Pretty sure the answer is Steph's not perfect....valid criticism is valid criticism.

Steven Stanley

I've been watching the NBA and the Warriors since 1966. I remember Oscar with the Bucks and how he imposed his will on that team and controlled the game but honestly, I've never seen a player impose his will on a single game at both ends of the floor like Draymond did in this game. I watched much of this game with my mouth hanging wide open in awe of Draymond's effort.....An amazing performance....and the word amazing doesn't do the performance justice.

Steven Stanley

For future reference, should Kerr play Draymond with Klay with the second unit.? Klay just be forcing it up because he feels that he has to

For final possessions, I'd still rather have KD with the ball.

what up alch, just stopping thru showing some love. I always enjoy your breakdowns on warriors games. Your jokes are always hilarious. where's your friend at that you do podcasts with? I thought he was a trash commentator until I heard his jokes... that one about Ricky Schroeder being a stand in for bobby schmurder had me laughing for about 15 min! Do you feel like Steph is gonna continue this streak of high scoring when KD comes back. He was on the low overlooked for Finals MVP at least one of these times. I would like to see him get the credit he deserved. Keep doing what you doing. Also, how's it going with patreon, are you getting closer to being able to do this full time?

This series shows how much we miss Nurk the most, Kanter has been amazing offensively these playoffs but stotts only played him 7 minutes game 3, he wouldn't let him play when Steph was in the game because of how hard they abuse his defensive IQ.

Vlad

Yeah it was close but it was on its way down. Anyone who looks at it in slow mo can figure it out. Credit to refs for instinctually calling it.

Yeah That’s where you really miss Nurk... he was coming into his own as a facilitator as well.

Athletic Alchemy

I would say yeah due to dame's injury, you can tell hes not himself and he's been trying to sell the contact to get to the line more, but on the other hand I want stotts to be more dynamic and not have to rely on the CJ Iso ball so much, especially not on a defender like Klay.

Vlad

Agreed... let me ask you, do you want to see CJ as more of the focal point of the offense at this point?

Athletic Alchemy

As a blazer fan i'm happy to see Meyers finally being able to fit into the rotation this year considering hes gotten a lot of hate during his career for not living up to expectations.

Vlad

There's also the fact that when you're on Steph's level, you should be held to a higher standard. If Damian Jones makes a stupid behind the back pass in Game 7 of the Finals and turns the ball over, that's just some rando doing something dumb. When the unanimous MVP and one of the greatest PGs in history does it, it's inexcusable.

Courtney Valdez

I'm guessing they will, or at least keep him on the bench unless he's needed at the end of a close game. He's going to have some serious downtime before the finals, so he'll get to rest it anyway, and I'm guessing that they'll have even more bodies then, so his minutes will drop anyway. Btw, it's good to see Toronto win tonight, and I hope they can somehow repeat that on Tuesday (especially with the overtimes!) - particularly Milwaukee needs to get worn down some before the finals, which might make it easier for the Dubs to steal one early on their court. But what I'm really hoping for still is a Boogie sighting in this series - having him and KD fresh off the DL in Milwaukee might have the Dubs chemistry settings off, even if they've had a lot of time to scrimmage together.

Steph is the Big Easy, and life on basketball's Bourbon St. isn't beyond criticism. But he's probably been hurt more by Durant than anyone, and that he welcomes KD in probably has tainted him as much as KD accepting that invitation. No one is beyond criticism, but the core of him, Klay, Dray and Iggy is a once-in-a-lifetime gift to Warrior fans and it really should be accepted as such.

What I liked about that block was Steph pulled up early to concede the basket, which I thought got Turner to relax, unaware that Klay was sneaking up his backside - I wondered if Steph did that on purpose...

They both were jawing, it looked like good fun to me. There's really no bad blood visible here, even with Dame constantly getting stomped by his homeboys. They're just hoopin'...

Haha - there's been a lot of serious questioning of Dray around here this season! I think people just underestimate what a drag it is for these guys to have to play 82 exhibition games before the two-month season. The one thing I couldn't help thinking about every time he charged down the court last night was that night in Staples late last year, when he did the same thing, the rest of the team didn't follow his lead, because Durant was bitching about not getting his 35% chance at a walk-up walk-off three. That KD is missing - and Boogie - definitely is motivating Dray to pick up the slack, which is giving us the best Warriorball since at least game 4 in Cleveland in '16, but I think there's a little "we don't need you" frosting on that cupcake. It's just such a joy to see all this again, I can't remember a five-game run I've ever enjoyed more than this one.

Bet! That's also true, thanks!

No you are absolutely right! It is a bit of pushing back on my part. Steph is amazing, but there is a group of fans that think he is infallible. So sometimes I go out of my way to point out his weakness. But also a lot of his game, well there is just nothing to say! He pulls up from 30. There is nothing nuanced to point out.

Athletic Alchemy

What up unc! Genuine question, not tryna dickride nobody. Do you think sometimes you're too hard on Steph? I just feel like you're very consistent with getting on his ass when he f's up, but I don't really see you praise him all that much when he goes nuts. More like a quick shoutout and that's it. I've heard you praise him before, don't get it twisted, but sometimes feels like you lacking. I was a dubs fan before curry and will continue to be once he's outta here, but sometimes it feels like warriors fans (actual basketball heads like you, not curry fanboys) take him for granted and are too hard on him. It got me thinking once that it's because curry generated a huge crowd of people who call themselves warriors fans, when in reality they just like Stephen curry, and that pisses off people like you, who are actual real warriors fans. "you ain't no real fan" type shit. And that makes them project that, let's call it annoyance, on Steph. You sorta hinted at that too on that gsw starter pack video a few years back. Anyway, hope you don't take this the wrong way, I'm genuinely curious. Keep up the good work brother! ✌🏼

That goaltending call was called correctly, it was on its way down.

BustDatPosey

Got to give you credit! You have been the biggest Draymond advocate around. I hear you with DJ...but do you really doubt Kerr would try to get away with it!? I mean that's what he does.

Athletic Alchemy

yeah the whole thing seemed weird with him flipping the bird in the hall.

Athletic Alchemy

I've been saying it for years, never doubt Draymond. I don't understand GSW's obsession with Jones. Maybe other people have forgotten, but I haven't forgotten how horrible he is. Jones is not an NBA player. He does not belong in any game, let alone a playoff game. Are you kidding me? He has no feel for the game, no instincts, no bball IQ, no hands, and never learns from his mistakes. JONES IS UNPLAYABLE.

IMO The Iggy MRI and early exit was planned. Steve had the low key 30 min restriction on him and once he saw we held the steering wheel he put the Vet on ice for the finals. The ‘MRI’ for good measure to rest Iggy in game 4 to avoid heat for load management and disrespect towards a Portland team that he knows has no desire to return to the Bay.

Stevie Ray

That Bane impression lol

JC76

Agree, KD has to keep passing the ball ahead if he doesn't want to run with it. He knows that when we slow it down he is much more likely to get it back in an Iso position. You can see him slow it down when he gets it in the backcourt, a run becomes a jog/walk. But in the finals we will need him as our motion offense bogs down repeatedly when everyone is full tilt on D.

Russ

That depends entirely on KD. Remember 2018 finals game 2 when he played within the flow of the offense? It's completely different from what we've seen in the last 10 games or so. 2017 was also completely different, you actually saw him set screens back then. But the honeymoon phase is now over. The fault is also on the rest of the team for falling back on KD isolation more than they needed to, they were basically ball watching half the possessions. I want the ball in Curry or Draymond's hands in transition, don't let KD kill the pace. Let KD do the work when we get stuck and his isos can bail us out.

Paradox

And I think KD can come back now and we will still play like this plus plus. We have found our identity again, all of the core four are ballin, KD fits in as an add on but nobody has to defer.

Russ

I think I finally figured out what makes Bell look like he is going to kill himself when he jumps off one foot contested. His stronger take off foot is his off/left foot. As a right hander one foot jumps are off the left foot. Bell tried that on his missed dunk and it looks like he blew a tire a bit right? That's how good jumpers look when they go off the wrong foot. Notice the second dunk which he killed 2 handed, he jumps off the wrong/right foot and gets much higher. Not seen that often. He is finally showing the reason we got him. I'm more excited about Bell than DJones at this moment anyway, both are slow thinkers but both can change the game with their athleticism.

Russ

Man this whole game, i was thinking about KD clapping for the ball just before the Draymond-KD blow up. This game showed why Draymond told KD to fuck off. Dude was amazing and certainly good enough to handle the ball up the court in the final seconds of a game.

Tio

He missed one yesterday but it was in the 3rd quarter, so it didn't mess with his 81 free throws in a row for 4th q/overtime record.

Paradox

Kerr says he doesn't spam PnR because it leads to 3 guys standing but to me, that's just bad logic. It usually leads to at least 3 people interacting on offense, which is the same as our average motion offense. The problem with motion offense is good teams don't fall for misdirection mistakes and it's also more energy intensive than a simple PnR. They should have ran more PnR last night, the game would have been much closer from the beginning. It's also our best tactic considering how much talent the stars on this team have, if we were working with the Spurs roster we wouldn't find it nearly as effective.

Paradox

Yeah I agree with you the reason Kerr has Damian out is to get ready to face Giannis and Lopez. At 4:30, I think Leonard was afraid of Looney driving to the rim, if he guarded Steph that's an easy dunk. Great analysis on Bell, guy is way faster than you'd expect for his size. Klay's block at the end was hilarious. That's the Rocco face.

Paradox

I fully believe the reason this team has been so great for so long and why they are so difficult to beat is because all of their stars have a trait that no other star in the league has. The ability to be a star without the ball. Steph and KD can iso and playmake when called upon (and there are times when it is very much needed), but when no one needs the ball all the time, the other team can't really create a great game plan with too much to try and take away. It is part of the reason Kerr doesn't like to spam PnR. The more you run something, the more tape of it there is, the more data you give teams to develop ways to stop it/make it less effective. Plus it keeps everyone mentally involved, but relly its much harder to stop when you never get a ton of chances to practice it. The rockets run like 4 different PnR sets and the warriors havebeen able to develop 4 different ways to defend each one and a whole bunch of reps practicing their strategies. It's one thing to be able to say "this is what we are going to do against the pick and roll". Its another thing to be able to execute that plan, and that only comes with repetition. If you don't give them a chance to rep it, it will always be more effective when you need it. and close out games and must win games are when they use it. one more win and KD gets a whole other week, so 3 weeks total, to get back on the court and get this 3peat.

This just came in: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26782487/clean-mri-iguodala-questionable-game-4

Michel ten Voorde

is there some kind of beef between Seth and Draymond that I am not aware of? because every time Dray would make a play on Seth, he would let him know about it.

Ig MRI came back clean, questionable for G4. I hope they keep him out.

Nirky

What about Steph shooting free throws.... hasn't missed any since Houston game 5 I think..... Portland scored 13 points in the 3rd quarter. That was the difference imo. Our offense scored 26 to 28 points every quarter. So if we can get stops without KD, we're in good shape.... even though Bucks got me scared a little....

Francisco Hazel

I was watching Draymond this game and thinking "damn is this the best I've seen him play? Now can't be, not at this age". And then Kerr comes out and says "this is the best I've seen him play". Draymond knows his weakness is lack of 3 point shooting making points at the rim difficult for others. This is partly why he pushes the pace so hard every game, he went especially nuts yesterday. And the coaching staff told him to be more aggressive with drives and Draymond did exactly that, which helps relieve offensive pressure off of Curry and Klay. I questioned his value every time he's out of shape but never again.

Paradox

Nah... I think it’s more physical. They are just out matched. We are bigger, fresher more experienced.

Athletic Alchemy

Klay's mean mug after the ET block was my favorite part of the whole game.

That klay face, i love it! Killa!

Gerrard Israel Laraga

Draymond is a fucking beast. Pay this man, forreal

Yea 23 was carrying us hardcore..... Posted last night while it was happening like damn... He must wanna just get the chip real bad.....

John

Yes! Was waiting for this!

Francisco Hazel

Was just listening to Cj’s pod lol RIP city

Hey alchemy you think its just in Portlands mind, more like golden state has son’d them

Was waiting all day for this

Ayeee

Antonio lee