Warriors vs Mavericks |GM-17|

I agree KD is being exposed to an extent. Wonder if that pushes him towards the door, or towards the corner for Steph.

Athletic Alchemy

Another sad loss. The last time this team went 0-3 Steph was also out due to injury. This teams 3 pt shooting outside of Cook and Jerebko is hot trash right noe.

Paradox

I have legit missed like 8 Warriors games in past 4-5yrs... The 2014-15 Gsw made me fall in love with the sport again... I have watched this team threw highs and lows... I remember having faith being down 3-1 to the Thunder and the glorious comeback... I also remember the heartbreak and jokes from the 3-1 collapse... I'm rambling so let me get to my point... I can't watch this shit anymore until Curry gets back and I'm over this Durant era tbh... I know he isn't the only issue, but his lack of leadership is making us look like the Golden State Thunder... So yeah can't wait for Steph to come back and Boogie to start playing and yeah let's put the "Durant Era" in rice💀👻

Nsikan Usen

Thanks! I went into it like ehhhh! But I thought it turned out well. Good point about luka’s slower pace, allows for soft releases. Choking isn’t the word. He just flat out doesn’t have a lot of experience doing it. We are all a product of our environment. So yes the Steph factor is real. I’d take the iso on Love 10 out 10x .

Athletic Alchemy

I personally thought this was your best Patreon vid so far in the young season. Just thought you made so many excellent points and your knowledge of the game really showed in this one. I think as it pertains to Luka, I was listening to The Dunc'd on Basketball Podcast and they mentioned how his floater game is really good because he moves at a slower pace, which allows for him to be more controlled on his floaters. He has a nice step-back three which is very effective too. He's already a really effective player, and I wonder how high his ceiling is. I have some thoughts on Kerr's ATO plays and his coaching in general. Firstly, you mentioned how Looney should've screened instead of Quinn, which makes total sense. But I think he panicked in that instance because he didn't have Steph which he usually does in that situation. And that brings me to a similar point, because I think Steph has played in a majority of the games over this four year run, with the exception of last season, that Kerr isn't used to running plays without Steph's offensive threat. And even with Curry, Kerr has shown he can crack under pressure in a lot of instances. The most memorable for me was 2016 Finals, Game 7, down 4, with about 20 secs left I believe, he basically doesn't draw anything up except to get a switch with Love onto Curry and let him ISO. Many problems with that including the fact that Steph wasn't playing well and was about 60% healthy, and instead of getting a quick shot for him or Thompson, he essentially has Steph ISO and run the clock down. Like, I know they were down 4 but a championship is on the line. You can't rely on an ISO when the Warriors were known for the opposite of that, which is Motion. The explanation I have is that he choked under the pressure.

Oh they definitely are! But you can still be engaged and show effort without going all out.

Athletic Alchemy

Also, Iggy and Shaun Livingston, thanks for pointing them out. I'm not certain what to say. Those two cats have serious experience and knowledge, and I must say, they both played GREAT in the playoffs last year (until Iggy got hurt). Those two know we are only at the 20% bench mark of the season, and they know you gotta be in it to win it, meaning just stay in shape and don't get hurt. They could be playing the long game at this point of their careers.

YANCEY WADE

Thanks Alchemy for your insights. I am glad Kerr took a timeout. You are right, it was a weak screen and KD couldn't get open. Jerebko did a find job on the second option - Klay. Klay took the shot and missed. That's life. I'm just glad either KD or Klay got a mid range shot, which is better than what happened with Draymond. Get a shot and miss, you live with it. You don't even get a shot off and you look even worse.

YANCEY WADE

Kerr is too smart to be rigged, I think he can.

Athletic Alchemy

Was thinking a lot about you said in the last video about Kerr's offensive scheme and having Jones and especially Looney taking 2-3 3's a game. Do you think it is possible to see a head coach change in the not so distant future?

Stevie Ray

They said his big toe is still bothering him. If they would have sent him back to Oakland Would have sounded the alarms! But he is still with the team.

Athletic Alchemy

So why did Draymond not play today?

Ivan (Vanya) Kashperuk

If Andre is not defending, there is really no point in having him out there at this point. especially late!

Athletic Alchemy

It does feel that way only I can't decide if the message is to KD, this is what it feels like on a normal team. Or its to see how they will look with out Dray......probably both.

Athletic Alchemy

Right! its pretty clear they like sticking it to him.

Athletic Alchemy

Yes! off the bounce see Dame, Kyrie or even Steph to extent. It is a different shot. Kobe mastered the leg twist AKA pendulum in his off the dribble and post stuff. I think your right, it has leaked into his shot at times when he doesn't need it.

Athletic Alchemy

KD has never had to make many reads, he just elevates where he wants. At some point he needs to be coached. Why are you explaining the timeout? Of course that was the right call. I agree it boils down to wing depth. But What makes you think Patty would have given us anything?

Athletic Alchemy

I'll repeat myself, Quinn plays best when he starts and plays with the starters filling Steph's role, that's the history, Quinn is a point, Andre is not, Steve can allocate minutes to Quinn however he wants but he chooses not to start Quinn in order to start Andre who rarely starts and plays best off the bench. Poor decision imo.

Steven Stanley

Man, how different this sounds compared to watching last night, at least the part I really watched, which was mostly the 4th quarter. KD sucked down the stretch, looking for his and never finding it, and yet here it's blamed on coaching? He's a grown man, he should know on his own what shots to take after taking nearly 10,000 of them in the NBA. And then of course there's the Quinnsanity highlight reel aspect. Kerr called the timeout at the end because of game situation - down two you want to set up your best play because you have to get it and it could be 2 or 3, but in LA with the game tied maybe you don't want to run the risk of a turnover taking the ball out against set D, so uncontrolled transition when at least OT is in the bag isn't a bad choice - and everyone on the floor knows, or should know, that's the deal. And of course the project KD ass-kiss means he had to be the guy taking the shot, which RC knew in the other huddle. Anyway, these games are hardly a surprise coming off of LA Unconfidential and Dray and Steph being out, but I'm more concerned about KD's uninspired play than Shaun and Andre's, which was always kind of expected. Klay is just going through a spell and he'll come out of it as always, but he is making the effort and expanding his game and role in positive ways. The biggest problem remains the lack of quality wing depth, which always comes back to the lack of resolution to the Patty Meltdown, either way. Right now it feels a lot like late last season, except some of the names have changed - and of course the dark cloud that hangs over the whole thing. The only thing that could have made it feel worse was signing Melo. 0-for-Texas?

How important is this time, without Steph and Dray, truly? I feel like we're testing something here. Something more than just the lineups. I feel like we're trying to look at who stays and who leaves at the end of this year. What you think, Alch?

I wish KD would just stop talking to the refs. Not. One. Word. For the rest of the season. I think it would help his case. Let Kerr get the T's, when necessary.

e40

Also interesting point on Klay's form. Maybe practicing all those fadeaways and leaning midrange shots really threw off Klay's standard form. There's no way he is shooting 26.5% from 3s (outside the 52 pt game) based on just variance alone. It's funny these elite shooters don't always understand their own technique because it's derived through sheer intuition.

Paradox

I think it's more like Kerr gets exposed every time Curry isn't playing. There is a reason why a compilation video for "Curry the best player when time out is not called" exists.

Paradox

Lol @ that Kerr x Brown interaction. Funny thing is if Mavericks didn't go 14/24 from FT line they would have easily won this game. Looney had a lot of crucial offensive rebounds. KD facing zone defense against every team so far as they can afford to back off the "shooters" on the floor and they know KD won't take a 3 as usual. Stats show Warriors are the worst 3 pt shooting team in the league right now without Steph. KD just playing in the post isn't going to cut it, he needs to move off the ball and Kerr needs to run up some plays to either open up the lanes or get someone like Cook more open shots.

Paradox

This roadtrip is really exposing Kerr flaws as coach especially in pressure late game situations. Also it's obvious that our two veterans guards just don't want to play basketball anymore, it time to move one of them (Shaun).

SunniDaZambi

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