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172K views 4K replies 221 participants last post by  FriedTofu 
#1 ·
It's that time of the year again.

After a near five month absence, the NBA returns to national television tonight with two of what are guaranteed to be exciting matchups.

First, we have the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the Boston Celtics, and these are teams that recently swapped point guards.

Following that, we have the RRRRRRRRRRREIGNING, DEFENDINGGGGGGGGG, UNDISPUTED, NBA CHAMPIONS, the Golden State Warriors, taking on the Houston Rockets.

The remainder of the league will have their first games tomorrow and on Thursday.

Who is ready? Anyone getting the NBA League Pass? I usually get it every year, and this will be no different.
 
#2,117 ·
Re: DUBS. RAPS. FINALS. Let's BOOGIE

@Arya Dark; @Ace; @Buffy The Vampire Slayer; @BOSS of Bel-Air; @blaird; @Stax Classic; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @Rowdy Yates; @deepelemblues; @Chrome; @Joff;

WARRIORS!!!!!

Steph Curry has some sort of flu-like matter and had not scored a field goal for what felt like an eternity in the first half, possibly dehydrated; Kevon Looney goes down with a strained collar bone; the Warriors find themselves mired in a double-digit deficit game in the second quarter, which was going horribly until the final three or so minutes; not getting any second-chance points for about half of the game against this ferocious Toronto Raptors defense; Klay Thompson goes down with some lower-body injury with loads of minutes left in the game... Oh and no :kd3

And yet the WARRIORS somehow pulled that off... :faint: :sodone



How did :boogie come back? How is it possible? I was at Oracle Arena where he injured his quad so horribly. Figured he was done until the next campaign for whoever. Instead he returns and he was in many ways the savior of thi game. The Dubs need offensive physicality against this potent Raptors defense. :boogie provided that... The Raptors are top-locking on the Warriors' guards, and it gifts Cousins with the chance to look at backdoor cuts for the Splash Brothers and others, including finding Andre Iguodala or even QUINN COOK on the wings. COOK... he was tremendous, too! :mark:

And Andrew BOGUT! He returned and what a pickup that was by the Dubs in March... :faint: Cousins, though, was the hustler in terms of going way out against Gasol; he committed some fouls in doing so, but it was well-worth it. Cousins knocking down that three-pointer, too. :done Cousins refused to sag off of the screener, and moved up, knowing that even if he found himself in foul trouble other Dubs would pick him up.

After :dray was torched by Pascal Siakam in Game 1 he performed far more stoutly and intelligently versus the versatile Siakam, being a major influence in limiting him to a 5-18, 12-point game, down 20 from his coming-out party of 32 points. However, as :dray is noting in the post-game press conference, it was "a complete team effort," and getting back in transition was huge.

34 assists versus 17! :mark:

Andre Iguodala hitting those two three-pointers after making me think he was concussed in in the second quarter. :sodone :klay coming off of the split action backcuts to dice up the fierce Toronto defense. Stagger ball screens were enormous in putting maximum pressure on the Raptors. The Dubs fell down double digits, fifth time in this playoff run, and they have now won four out of those five games.

Iguodala hitting those two threes after thinking he was concussed in the second quarter. Klay Thompson coming off of the split action backcuts... The stagger ball screens put so much pressure... Guess I've been saying that. Okay I can barely think after that game! Iguodala being 0-11 from three-point range before this game, and now he has hit some threes again! And COOK! Three phenomenal three-pointers! :mark:

Steph Curry set 4 backscreen that were huge. Iguodala scoring those first five points in the second half to keep that 18-0 run ignited. The Warriors were down 47-35 with 5:16 to go in the first half; down 56-45 with 2:05 to go in that same half. Dubs put together a 34-21 3rd quarter, limiting the Raptors to 7/22 (to be fair Toronto definitely missed several big open shots), going 14/25 themselves...

:klay had such a tremendous game... Without his scorching first half, the Dubs do not have the opportunity to stage that comeback. And he missed so much of it, out injured. :mj2 and KEVON... Out. Please be okay, LOONEY! :mj2

And SHAUN LIVINGSTON... The man is old, and he looks a little bit old out there, and he is probably retiring real soon... But he was majorly influential in helping keeping at least one Raptor defender honest by giving the Warriors the possibility of a midrange game with other guards like Curry and Cook out on the floor. And Livingston was crucial in that final shot in the game, retrieving the spot for the pass rather than being lackadaisical, and he fired the ball right to Iguodala. Thank you, SHAUN LIVINGSTON!

This seemed to boast as much adversity as any WARRIORS playoff game during the entire :curry Era... :sodone You are Champions, Warriors. No matter what happens between now and the end of this month... You are Champions... Forever and Always.

:chefcurry :dray :klay IGUODALA. :boogie COOK. LIVINGSTON. BOGUT. McKINNIE. JEREBKO.

:mj2

WARRIORS
 
#2,210 ·
Re: DUBS. RAPS. FINALS. Let's BOOGIE

@Arya Dark; @Ace; @Buffy The Vampire Slayer; @BOSS of Bel-Air; @blaird; @Stax Classic; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @Rowdy Yates; @deepelemblues; @Chrome; @Joff; @LouEW on TNT;

Have never felt so many mixed emotions from an NBA game.

Also, before even beginning to analyze Game 5 (which seems impossible to me in the moment as a Golden State Warriors fan) to address the above conversation, ultimately the greatest change in the NBA since the rise of Steph Curry has been the near-obsolescence of true-size centers who are annihilated on pick-and-roll, high ball screen offenses, with teams building their rosters to contend with shooters of ostensibly absurd abilities. People cheering on the Toronto Raptors should recognize that the Raptors are constructed in large part as a kind of deliberate answer to a team such as Golden State with its firepower, featuring dynamic wings and switchable small-ball centers. The greatest shift was not simply Curry but Curry in concert with Draymond Green. Before being drafted Green was critiqued as someone who did not have a natural position; since his ascendancy as a multi-time champion and former NBA Defensive Player of the Year who can at least respectably guard almost anyone, "position-less" lineups are the NBA's greatest craze.

This ties in with the constant discussion regarding whether or not the Warriors need Kevin Durant, a timely subject. The greatest reason you do not see as many isolation plays for Curry these days is because opposing teams have done their utmost to at least limit that classic (or perhaps deplorable?) Curry crossover. Ultimately the sport has become more intrinsically athletic for that. Durant, for the Warriors, was effectively a counter to the counter displayed by teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder team on which he played. It is no coincidence that with Durant on the floor in the first quarter both he and the Splash Brothers, Curry and Klay Thompson, enjoyed far more open or at least largely open looks. The Raptors cannot simply sag off of three players to concentrate almost their entire defensive front line--with Kawhi Leonard largely playing free safety in this series, generally guarding Draymond Green--when Durant is on the floor. It is not hyperbole to contend, as this poster has with several posts, that more than any other team--featuring Leonard, Pascal Siakam, and ex-Thunder teammate (for Durant) Serge Ibaka, among others this present Toronto Raptors team is specifically the squad for which the Warriors would most want Durant available, even more so than the Houston Rockets.

In any event, Game 5 was a stunning odyssey unto itself. Seeing Durant go down to injury, knowing what a good, cool man he is, hurts and sickens this fan of both him and the team. It makes the win at best bittersweet.

Also: the stories interweaving with one another from this game from the Warriors' perspective are stunning to consider. DeMarcus Cousins was torched on pick-and-roll assignments, particularly against Leonard and even more so Kyle Lowry, and that played a major role in the Raptors' impressive fourth quarter comeback against the Warriors' lead. However, Cousins--who was, after his previous two performances, stuck in Steve Kerr's doghouse, and quite likely not going to play, was arguably, due to solely his scoring, the only reason the Warriors enjoyed the cushion they had in the second quarter. Andrew Bogut was the substitute center to begin the second quarter, not Cousins, who said in post-game interviews later that much had occurred in the previous two days that put him in a tough place, rather obviously referring to Kerr doubtless informing him that Cousins had lost his trust as far as the rotation for Game 5 was concerned. Yet Cousins, warts and all, played some considerable minutes against a team of lengthy rebounding hustlers. The Warriors needed some offense and floor-spreading from someone with Durant out, and Cousins provided that in key spots.

Someone else, likely to go unheralded by many? Durant's childhood friend Quinn Cook. Though Andre Iguodala sank a catch-and-shoot corner three-pointer courtesy of Curry's gravity, when the chips were down and the Warriors needed to keep the floor spread to counteract Toronto's defensive stoutness, Kerr turned to Cook as Iguodala's replacement in the fourth quarter. Cook once again hit a brazen three-pointer down the stretch in Toronto. Still processing how all of that occurred.

How did Draymond Green's crazy left-handed hook shot?

Kevon Looney's grimacing countenance was a visual tale that was painful to see. His going out compelled Kerr to use Jordan Bell in pick-and-roll coverage assignments. Bell scored a basket. Hope Looney is able to play in Game 6, but he is in obvious tremendous agony.

Alfonzo McKinnie did his best in limited minutes.

This is funny:



It should be noted that the Raptors tied the Warriors in the second and third quarters and won the fourth quarter. Toronto lost one quarter in Game 5 and that was the quarter in which Durant played for nearly 10 full minutes. Durant amassed 11 points and was a +8 on the floor, playing some critical defense with the Warriors employing the Hampton Five small-ball squad to start the game.

That game is some wild blur, a mad fever dream, befitting a day on which it was 100 degrees in the Northern California redwoods only minutes north of San Francisco.

Impossibly proud of the Warriors winning that Game 5. No matter what happens that was a magnificent team win.

Truly, though. Sickened to see Durant go down to this injury. The best case scenario would be an Achilles sprain, but until more is known, it is fruitless to speculate. Get well soon, Kevin Durant. You are one of the great NBA players and one of the great Golden State Warriors. Get well soon.

One more game at Oracle Arena in Oakland... Thursday evening...

WARRIORS
 
#2,261 ·
Re: RAPTORS ARE NBA CHAMPIONS *aka DRAKE WINS*

20 FUCKING YEARS I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS. 20 YEARS.

The first time I fell in love with a sports-team was The Raptors
The first time I felt deep, deep emotion for a team, it was the Raptors.
I had my first internet fight over the Raptors and that basically set the stage for my internet forum useage.
The amazing days of Vince Carter and McGrady and JYD and Antionio Davidson and Charles Oakley will always have a special place in my heart but this team is also amazing.

FINALLY.

TBH, I don't care if they never win another one ever again because I got to see them win 1 in the course of my lifetime.

FUCK YESSSS
 
#2,264 ·
Re: RAPTORS ARE NBA CHAMPIONS *aka DRAKE WINS*

Truly never thought last night would ever happen.

Was pretty much a perfect storm to get it done with Durant missing all but 12 minutes and Klay getting hurt in the deciding game (as well as missing another game). I'm going to take this though because the Raptors played their asses off against a team of experienced championship performers.

They really did weather the Warriors storm for all but 1 quarter in game 2. Even last night when Golden State tried to go on a run Toronto responded with smart plays to stay right with them. That Kawhi and1 in particular comes to mind because in game 2 I was literally screaming at the TV for them to stop taking chuck 3s and circus layups trying to get fouls instead of slowing things down and making a smart play. Golden State ended up going on an 18-0 run because of it or whatever it was. That Kawhi play the Warriors were on a 6-0 run I believe and it looked like an extended run was immanent but Toronto didn't panic, called a play and weathered the storm.

I'll probably have more thought later but I am elated and wish I could go back to bed but at least these damn 9pm games are done with (fuck that btw, the Knicks would never have had to play 9pm home games).

20 FUCKING YEARS I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS. 20 YEARS.

The first time I fell in love with a sports-team was The Raptors
The first time I felt deep, deep emotion for a team, it was the Raptors.
I had my first internet fight over the Raptors and that basically set the stage for my internet forum useage.
The amazing days of Vince Carter and McGrady and JYD and Antionio Davidson and Charles Oakley will always have a special place in my heart but this team is also amazing.

FINALLY.

TBH, I don't care if they never win another one ever again because I got to see them win 1 in the course of my lifetime.

FUCK YESSSS
Antonio Davis* :)
 
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#417 ·
Re: NBA Discussion Thread

Zombie Spurs presumably missing Leonard vs. WARRIORS presumably missing :curry

Should be fun. :dray

:lmao
 
#1,887 ·
Re: Pass Nikola Jokic an Oxygen Mask, Please

@Arya Dark; @Buffy The Vampire Slayer; @BOSS of Bel-Air; @blaird; @Stax Classic; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @deepelemblues; @Chrome; @Joff; @Deadhead; @lesenfanteribles; @Tater; @Headlouner;

As you can see by the number of posters being tagged above, the Houston Rockets accomplished the impossible: they sort-of made the Golden State Warriors the babyface team for a playoff series again. :lmao :lol



As Draymond Green called it, Game 6 in Houston was a "throwback" game of sorts, with the Warriors having to go back in time and go back to the future in deploying a bench that many considered untrustworthy (not I! I always knew that they were trustworthy! ...don't look at my previous comments on this matter!), fill the void of Kevin Durant's gargantuan absence, defy the expectations, the Las Vegas odds-makers, oh, and the Houston Rockets.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer already supplied the thread with a most-admirable game recap.

Will merely attempt to cover the emotional response to this series and this game. Enduring the Houston Rockets fan-base's continual wailing over Chris Paul's hamstring injury, their--in many cases--complete disrespect toward Andre Iguodala, who had already suffered an injury which :kerr correctly told Mike D'Antoni was responsible for extending that series to the point at which Paul experienced his injury anyway. Good for :kerr setting the record straight.

Oh well, surely Daryl Morey has the Houston Rockets winning the analytically-proper Game 7 somewhere, probably 147-97.

Seriously, this was cool of Morey, I suppose:



This may be recency bias talking but this was unquestionably, as far as this Warriors fan is concerned, one of the Warriors' finest hours.

Perhaps cumulatively, everything following the Durant injury Wednesday evening--from that moment onward, for roughly 62 minutes of NBA playoff basketball--the Warriors were sublime to watch in their own zany way. They truly did go back to the Pre-Durant days of lore.

Some comebacks have been superlative. The wild finish to Game 2 vs. the Rockets some time back. The game in Portland that went to overtime with Steph Curry losing his mind. The 3-1 comeback vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 3-2 comeback vs. the Houston Rockets.

This is special, though, in its own way because of the reasons listed by others in media, mainly due to the Rockets' big mouths and all of the narratives concerning the Warriors, Durant, Curry, their bench, and the health disparity between the two teams with the Rockets about as physically well as they could be outside of James Harden's eye which was clearly all right for a while in the face of the Warriors losing Durant, the Splash Brothers both having ankle injuries from Game 6 versus the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round, the aging wise men Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston both being listed as questionable for at least one game with apparent leg- or hip-related matters, one half of the Splash Brothers--Steph Curry--sustaining a dislocated finger that is still troubling him to one degree or another, DeMarcus Cousins having been lost perhaps for the entire playoff run in the opening minutes of the tournament's second game for the Warriors, and many, including diehard Dubs fans, having grave concerns over the state of the team's bench, partly due to these same health alarm bells.

The Rockets had their roster, from what an outsider can tell, at least, at full strength and with no significant health-related concerns. The Rockets had, for Game 6, home court, a fine chance to force a Game 7 at Oracle Arena in Oakland Sunday. It was not to be.

So... Has there ever been a clearer case of a story of two 24-minute stretches than Steph Curry's Game 6? In the first half he was in serious foul trouble early, had to sit on the bench for it, had nothing going on for himself. He went 0-5 and zero points. Yet it needs to be reiterated that Curry's scoring is only perhaps half of his contribution to the game. Maybe even less than half of his contribution to the game. The game he ruined. Or so they say. Anyway, not to get on another tangent...

Curry's gravity was a major asset as usual. Unfortunately he could only be on the floor so long in the first half with his foul trouble, having three fouls called on him, and losing a fair number of minutes of play for it.

What saved the Warriors in that first half which saw Curry play so poorly in so many regards?

Well, firstly, the bench was outstanding. Yes, the bench.

Just when it looked like the Rockets would pull out the Warriors' heart by exploiting weaknesses derived from the thinness of the team's depth, the tables were turned. The Warriors' bench outscored Houston's 33-17.

The Warriors bench deserves so much credit. From Andrew Bogut who was technically not on the bench Friday night--being tapped for the start by :kerr--providing approximately 12 minutes, compiling a +3, winning the opening tip, and, Bogut, that hockey assist to :dray was simply marvelous... :clap excellent minutes from Bogut... So he started but I'm giving him credit as a bench player even if he was not on the bench so just bear with the incongruity of all of this... Bogut called Friday night's series-closing victory the greatest game win he has been involved in as a Golden State Warrior... :mj2 Okay, to the real technical bench... From Bogut to Jordan Bell, who was buried so deep inside a six-foot grave in which a casket rests inside of a vault, all of this within the domain of Steve Kerr's personal doghouse... Kerr, to his credit, made the major adjustment--even if it was only a small piece of the puzzle, it was critical--and tapped Bell to jump into the fray. Bell rewarded his coach by putting together a magnificent defensive stop contesting a James Harden drive to the basket, and was immediately rewarded by :dray on the other end of a fast break following the stop, receiving the lob for the dunk. Bell would score 4 crucial points in this slugfest. Bell was out there for 11 major minutes, in a total reversal from Kerr's treatment of him for what feels like eons, and he was a +2. To Jonas Jerebko who gave the Warriors some good minutes, scoring 2 points on a jumper and helping the Dubs to spread the floor, which is a major matter due to the Warriors rearranging their offensive attack against the Rockets' defense. Also Jerebko probably provided the Warriors with the hardest-committed foul, clobbering someone on the Rockets to allow the Dubs to reset their defense, which was cool. To Quinn Cook, who scored one bucket and, while his shooting percentage is nothing to write home about, his shots were clean and mostly decisive, and he looked good out there, only getting torched on the other end of the floor a couple of times in his minutes chiefly designed to, once again, spread the floor. To Alfonzo McKinnie, whose reliability in the realm of rebounding was significantly demonstrated once more, even if only briefly... Also, poor McKinnie... Typical Rockets filthiness. :no:



As someone commenting on that said, if it is :dray performing that nasty hit, it is probably a "Flagrant 3." :lmao

...Am I done with the bench? Oh, no way am I done with the bench.

Saving the best for last from the bench:

KEVON LOONEY and SHAUN LIVINGSTON. :mark: :mark: :mark:

Looney is a godsend. What was with that drive from the top for a layup through three Rockets defenders? He can do that now, too? Is there anything he can't do? Kevon Looney... Will never forget seeing his NBA game debut. Will never forget the progress he has made at the NBA level and the obvious intelligence with which he plays, all while expanding his game ostensibly every game. Looney was, once again, hungry: he wanted rebounds in the worst way, and he was happy to collect them. He is giving the Dubs a continual "shot in the arm" to use a most-tired cliche on the boards, and he was abusing Clint Capela (but then, who wasn't? wasn't Capela a series-worst -47 for the series? :lmao and this dude wanted the Warriors? :lmao )... Also he scored points, and points are good when they are scored by the team for which you are rooting.

Speaking of that fool Capela, LIVINGSTON forced the issue and dunked right over him! :mark: :lmao THE OLD MAN LIVES! :mark: I knew he still had "hops"! :mark: :side:

Have been down on Livingston in terms of pondering the breadth of the utilitarian angle in playing him as of late, but he made me rethink everything in Game 6. Livingston was a +14 with 11 points to his own name. He defended reasonably well, and he seemed to simply move better than he has. That dunk will remain a playoffs highlight for the Warriors this run no matter what happens. It all started with Livingston's buttocks knocking that loose basketball to Looney so Klay could hit the dagger layup in Game 5, obviously.

I do not deserve you, Shaun Livingston. None of us Dubs fans do! :mark: :bow

Pretty sure that Andre Iguodala was paying attention to the Rockets' fans incessant whining about Chris Paul's hamstring injury from these teams' most recent playoffs encounter, and their casual dismissal of Iguodala's injury as being borderline meaningless. Iguodala has been, predictably, massive in this series. Less predictably, more spectacularly, he hit five three-pointers in Game 6, going 5/8 from beyond the arc en route to 17 points in all. :mark: IGGY! :mark: Just gotta make your free throws, man. :side: Oh well, it does not matter! It is hilarious that Iguodala's three-pointers, which the Rockets were almost allowing as a matter of "pick your poison" ended up perhaps being the offensive difference in the game when you look at the entire box score for both teams. (It is a silly bit of phraseology since there are so many variables and so many "differences" that this is hyperbole but Iguodala putting together a performance like that is typically a good sign for the Dubs.)

"Game 6 Klay" is truly real. Not a myth. The man went off for 27 points, 21 in the first half, and hit 7 three-pointers out of 13 attempts. It was he who individually "carried" the team's offense in the first half while his Splash Brother struggled with his fouls and missed field goal attempts. Klay was spectacular, reminiscent of a previous Game 6 vs. Oklahoma City, even if it was not so dramatic, nor were the shots as difficult. Early on the Rockets kept collapsing the defense on Curry, who kicked it out and the ball moved like a whirlwind, never gracing the presence of the floor during the possession in a complete polar opposite showcase from Hardenball (dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, look to draw a foul) and consequently the most dangerous second option was Klay, who was feeling it with his shot. Klay, rather clearly finally recovered from the ankle sprain in terms of his wholly fluid, comfortable shooting mechanics from the feet up with his legs in Game 5, feasted on these opportunities as the Splash Brothers drowned the Rockets.

In the second half? Well, many events transpired.

However, after what would traditionally be considered a dreadful first half for Curry, #30 for Golden State scored 33 points... All in the second half... One of the greatest second half performances in the history of the NBA playoffs, and it is particularly impressive that he scored 33 points in 34 minutes of total play for the game. 23 of those 33 points were attained by Steph in the 4th quarter with two enormous three-pointers in the last minutes of the game.

Curry's second-half performance did not even feel herculean. Granted, it felt like the Curry we have all known, with the behind-the-back dribbling and the dribble penetration, the ISOs, the kick-outs, but it was the always-deadly and only sparingly-utilized Draymond-Steph pick-and-roll ball screen plays where the Warriors went for Houston's jugular in the 4th quarter that made this win truly possible. Again and again Green would slip the screen and roll toward the basket as Curry made one correct decision after another. Just as the Rockets began to overcompensate for Green penetrating so deep as a dunk threat, Curry would pull up and shoot, and vice versa. Clint Capela was particularly grilled by his coach D'Antoni for going under the screen rather than over it in pursuing Curry. Later several Rockets struggled to find any solutions, and it seemed as though D'Antoni was excessively stubborn in playing so many bigs, who Curry could beat on the dribble following well-executed Warriors screens. But there was something surreal and seemingly effortless about Curry's fourth-quarter explosion. As though it were a natural outpouring from the combination of physical properties or chemicals. He and Klay truly eviscerated the Rockets down the stretch after Klay's monster first half, with Steph out-monstering him in the second half.





I sure envisioned Magic Effin' Johnson congratulating the Warriors for being a team of champions and one of the most entertaining teams to watch ever when I was attending about two hundred Warriors losses to just about everybody growing up. :mj2 :lol

Tremendous post above, Legit BOSS. You are correct about the historical ramifications of this team and their run, and how it may be coming to an end one way or another in a manner of weeks now.

Before the game I watched some of the local Bay Area coverage hyping the game and several broadcasters were, somewhat jokingly, saying that the Splash Bros. needed to go for 60 in this game for the team to have a shot at winning. That was the number that I had been thinking myself... And, lo and behold, that is effectively what they pulled off. In fact, I thought Curry scored 33 and Klay 27, which would be 60...? Nevertheless, it is highly impressive! Seeing the added emphasis on ball movement with fewer isolation plays with Kevin Durant obviously out of the lineup certainly has its advantages. Seeing the team play that splendidly together like that is a genuine, exhilarating "treat," of sorts... And credit to D'Antoni for acknowledging that the Warriors defeated the Rockets in Houston back in mid-March without Durant (though they did have Cousins... should be noted that Damian Jones was the starting center way back at the beginning of the season, but unfortunately he sustained a torn pectoral back in November).

WARRIORS :chefcurry :klay :dray :boogie (for his aforementioned moral support, and apparently he screamed while heading toward the locker room with his teammates at Rockets players only a few short minutes after Game 6 concluded, evidently, "I know that sh** hurts! I know that sh** hurts!" :lmao)
 
#921 ·
Re: NBA Discussion Thread

:woo NEW RECORD FOR MOST 3-POINTERS IN A FINALS GAME! :woo

:chefcurry :sodone

:curry was magnificent tonight, hitting some big-time threes but also driving as well as he can, and he was also a persistently tough presence defensively for the Dubs, always highly active and disturbing the Cavs' offensive attack with considerable regularity.

The one Warrior who gets raked over the coals from time to time by Bay Area media is of course :kd3 There has been a lot of talk, and not unjustifiably so, of :kd3 playing a bit too much like he's back in Oklahoma City and not playing enough Warriors-style basketball throughout much of the Western Conference Finals, for whatever reasons. Too many ISOs, too many contested shots. :kd3 did not pick his spots well at all in Game 1, being an inefficient 8-22, but of course he can roll out of bed and score about 25.

Tonight was a completely different animal for :kd3 He was hyper-efficient (10-14!) and utterly allowed himself to become assimilated, Borg-style, into the Warriors' offensive network, and his passes, man, he was dazzling at times dropping dimes to the likes of JAVAAAALE MCGEEEEEEEEEE and Jordan BELLLLLL and of course some fellow named CURRRRRY, etc., as well as setting a whole ton of picks for :curry2 and vice versa, which only allowed :kd3 to score more easily with a bunch of layups and dunks, and when he was matched up against a vastly smaller Cavs defender, he picked his spots well and abused said defender.

And speaking of MCGEEEEE, a bold and wise choice by :kerr to tap the big man for the start. The Warriors have struggled with slow starts for what feels like an eternity but that did not occur tonight, as McGee helped to provide high-flying assaults on the rim early on and it was marvelous to watch. And again he was excellent defensively for the most part. Loved that little hook shot of his which evidenced just how much he's matured as an offensive player, too, knowing right where the hoop was before he even began shooting.

:klay came back from the brink of disaster with that injury in Game 1 and put up 20 points as he unleashed timely threes and some good running jumpers.

LIVINGSTON was also fine from the bench, once again perfect in terms of shooting percentage (as he humbly noted after the game, a lot of those are indeed layups and dunks), delivering terrific outlets for the chief attackers.

One of those exquisite passes from :kd3 (love that shovel pass to MCGEEEE) was that toss to David "Best in the" WEST for the WEST 3-pointers! :cheer :cheer :cheer :sodone

WARRIORS played drastically better defense tonight. Holding LeBron to under 30 points--sounds funny but it is miraculous... The five turnovers for LeBron illustrated how much more grueling going up against the Warriors tonight was, with :dray quarterbacking the defense like a conductor on the court. :lol

Tremendously fun game! Oracle was lively and raucous and cheering on all of the WARRIORS! :woo ...And J.R. Smith... :curry3 :lol :done

:woo WARRIORS :woo :curry :kd3 :klay :dray :kerr
 
#994 ·
Re: NBA Discussion Thread

@AryaDark; @BTheVampireSlayer; @BOSS of Bel-Air; Stax Classic; Notorious;

In many ways this championship win is the sweetest of this Warriors team's collection from the 2010s. At this moment it feels like another fire-bell in the night, as it were, as these Warriors re-gilded their own Golden Palace. The Joe Lacob-Bob Myers-Steve Kerr brain trust behind this buoyant beast of a team can rest easy for perhaps a week but in almost no time at all the efforts to climb the mountain yet again commences in earnest.

Since the loaded Warriors team led by future Hall of Famer Robert Parish underachieved before dropping a heartbreaking Game 7 to the Lakers of Kareem in the second round. Only a few short weeks later the NBA initiated its first-ever period of free agency, which had the unfortunate consequence of the Warriors immediately Gus Williams and Jamaal Wilkes. All they received in the way of compensation was the number five pick in the 1975 draft and cash. And with that number five pick the Warriors picked Purvis Short, one pick before Larry Bird was prudently selected.

Then there was the myth of John Lucas, foolishly trading for Jo Jo White from Boston, the Warriors front office absurdly giving away all rights to future All-Star center Jeff Ruland in the draft for Sam Williams, trading away Phil Smith and their number one pick in 1984 for World B. Free, and Wayne Cooper and a second-round pick for the horrifically troubled Bernard King, flipping King to the Knicks after he sorted himself out against his demons with the Dubs--as compensation the Warriors opened the door for former All-Star Michael Bay Richardson, a man who was so utterly mentally exhausted and drained from heavy drug usage that NBA TV made a documentary special about him.

Michael Bay Richardson didn't last more than about one hundred days with the Dubs before the Warriors traded him for rookie Sleepy Floyd from New Jersey.

The Warriors spent the sixth pick of the 1983 draft on Purdue center Russell Cross, while Clyde Drexler, Dale Ellis, Derek Harper and Jeff Malone were all still on the board. Cross would play 45 games in the NBA.

At the height of what can be called the "Cocaine Era" of 1977-1986 the Warriors were, astonishingly, boasting three of the NBA's most incorrigible cocaine users/addicts in King, Lucas and Richardson.

The 1986 Warriors lost the lottery after crawling to 30 measly wins, and used their third pick to bring in Chris Washburn. Washburn had plenty of talent as a center but he could only play 43 games as a rookie due to a rare kidney infection as well as needing to enter drug rehab. Washburn washed out of Oakland and was ultimately banned from the league for failing three different random drug tests over two years.

With George Karl being so critical in steering the ship in 1987 the Warriors were at their best in a decade, winning a first-round series over Utah due to Sleepy Floyd and Joe Barely Cares playing excellently before being crushed by the eventual NBA champion Lakers (although even that series exhibited some silver linings as Sleepy stupendously battled the Lakers in what fans dubbed "The Sleepy Floyd Game"). For as much as it appeared that the Warriors had hope, only half a year transpired before the team was disassembled, with Purvis Short being traded for a future first-round pick, traded Sleepy Floyd and Joe Barely Cares for ex-All-Star center Ralph Sampson, whose knee problems signposted his continued deterioration as a player as he was soon traded to Sacramento for Jim Peterson.

Okay okay... Run TMC team is put together, then haphazardly and hurriedly blown up after their titanic series against the Lakers (which they lost). This was as heartbreaking as anything for the then-new Warriors fan DROW.

Let's flash forward to Game 4 of the 2018 Finals! :kerr

:curry with a fast and furious 20 points early on. He had an exquisite game in many ways!

:kd3 was superlative! A triple-double! Sometimes it's easy to overlook just what an breathtaking passer he can be when he wishes to be, as he was dropping dimes as well as anybody tonight!

:dray was EVERYWHERE and impacted both sides of the floor in his own special :dray way!

IGUODALA... Hitting those threes, always a back-breaker for the opposing team. So smart. Those final five minutes in Game 3 demonstrated just how critical this man is for the Warriors and particularly in crunch time closeout efforts. He was remarkable and such a sagacious presence!

:klay had a rather awful first half with the foul trouble and shooting ineffectiveness but his scoring in the second helped to turn Game 4 into a blowout!

MCGEEEEEEE was phenomenal! That block on JR Smith... :banderas Those rolls to the basket... :banderas Everything Javale brought to the floor! :banderas

LIVINGSTON! :mark: YOUNG! :mark: BELL with some critical defensive moments, most riveting when having to defend against LeBron James! What a future this kid has! :mark: I know I'm leaving so many out but I'm just going to jump up and down and run through the streets and chant "WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS" right now! :curry

:woo :woo :woo WARRIORS :woo :woo :woo WARRIORS :woo :woo :woo WARRIORS :woo :woo :woo
 
#1,454 ·
#1,876 ·
Re: Playoff time... where Lebron at?

@Arya Dark; @Buffy The Vampire Slayer; @BOSS of Bel-Air; @blaird; @Stax Classic; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @deepelemblues; @Chrome; @Joff;

What can one say about Wednesday evening's operatic Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors?

Not much analysis in this post. This is visceral emotion.

The Warriors dominated almost the entire first half, at one point amassing a lead that was at least 20 or more (much of the game rests within a realm of fogginess due to its astonishing nature). Golden State went ice-cold in the final few minutes of the second quarter right after putting together that lead, which allowed the Rockets to cut that lead down to 14 at the half, at 57-43.

The third quarter was a disaster for the Dubs. Before long it was a brand new ballgame in more ways than one, with both the Rockets tying the contest in the score and the man who has canceled out James Harden's relentless scoring, Kevin Durant, going down to injury. Durant is now out for the remainder of this series with a calf injury.

The Warriors were stunned. One could see it written on their faces, as clear as the brightly-lit Bay Bridge which spans the San Francisco Bay at night. It was DeMarcus Cousins, who went down to a quadriceps injury in the opening minutes of Game 2 versus the Los Angeles Clippers weeks ago who spotted just how rattled his teammates were. It was he who, as veteran Andre Iguodala stated after the game, served as the calming influence.

As Iguodala said, "DeMarcus Cousins did a really good job of just kind of settling everyone back downa little bit..." Continues, Iguodala said of Cousins's timeout pep talk, "(He said) 'All right, he'll be fine, go play the game.' He sent that message and I think it got across to all the guys. ...I heard his voice and everybody heard his voice. They kept asking him (about KD). He was like, just waved us, 'It's out there, it's on the court; shut up, don't worry about it, just play.'"

Stephen Curry, for almost three entire quarters, had been an abysmal self-immolating mess.

Curry had scored 9 points on an atrocious shooting percentage throughout the game at the time of Durant's injury which took the superstar small forward out of the game. Following Durant's departure Curry scored 16 points.

And Klay Thompson was the team-leading scorer with 27, giving the Dubs a much-needed "Klay game," all the more needed with Durant missing much of the 48-minute duel.

Kevon Looney was probably in his own way the player of the game for Golden State, providing crucial rebounds. Those offensive rebounds were especially massive and allowed the Warriors extra positions, which were necessary to defeat the Rockets Wednesday.

Iguodala was excellent in every regard, and was a particularly critical highlight to the game on the defensive end.

Jonas Jerebko dropped in a three-pointer off of the bench. With Durant out, players like Jerebko are going to have to see more time on the floor going the rest of the way against Houston.

Shaun Livingston actually made one of his patented midrange jumpers. He also assisted Klay Thompson on the game's dagger shot by knocking a loose ball toward Looney with his buttocks after the Rockets' Eric Gordon chopblocked and tackled Livingston in attempting to retrieve the loose basketball. One of the most thrilling and absurd game-ending sequences ever at Oracle Arena.

Then there is Draymond Green. The man with whom everyone on the Warriors roster, even if they do not love, would happily go to war with when a war is on. Green ran the offense and was exceedingly close to yet another triple-double in the box score. The Warriors became the Pre-Kevin Durant Warriors down the stretch, with Green and Curry working elaborate pick-and-rolls and screening the Rockets out.

One memorable moment was Klay Thompson driving off of the top off of a screen, the play becoming momentarily somewhat discombobulated, Klay continuing, and shoveling a pass to Green. As soon as he did that with the shot clock down as far as it was, and Green effectively wide open for the three-point shot in the crunchiest of crunch time, I said aloud, "Oh no." As the ball hit nothing but net I exclaimed, "Yes!"

This may be the end of the Golden State Warriors Dynasty. Durant's injury and possible subsequent free agent departure from the franchise, coupled with numerous other factors including Klay's own free agency, may symbolize the curtain coming down.

However, if Durant's injury does signal the end to this remarkable run of success, the Warriors will not go down quietly. In the heat of a passionate contest with their greatest, hungriest rival, with the ship taking on water like there was truly no tomorrow, with the Rockets and the Warriors' own weaknesses, including, perhaps, a vague sense of hubris, along with a series-altering injury that cast a pall over Oracle Arena like nothing has in years, this team refused to back down and battled back, wresting back an advantage in this seven-game athletic epic poem.

No matter what happens, these men are legendary WARRIORS!

 
#1,940 ·
Re: NBA Draft Lottery, Final Four-Palooza

@Arya Dark; @Buffy The Vampire Slayer; @BOSS of Bel-Air; @blaird; @Stax Classic; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @lesenfanteribles; @Chrome; @Joff; @Tater; @deepelemblues;

:woo :woo :woo WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS :woo :woo :woo

What a fine win. Going 50% from the field--42/84--and better than 50% from 3-point range--17/33--is a good way to start this series.

17 fast breaks for the Warriors!

Trailblazers are obviously a bit tired from that awfully brutal series they had with Denver. But that’s the price one pays. The playoffs are tough, and credit to the Portland for playing as well as they did.

Tough game for Dame, but love the A’s jersey as I have a great deal of affinity for the A’s even if I’m a Giants fan, and I know Dame loves his Oakland A's and grew up both an A's and WARRIORS fan, with his family having season tickets to the Dubs. :mj2

Curry going off and exploding for nine 3-pointers, really superb, but it was Draymond and Klay in the trenches defensively tonight who felt like the biggest impact players among the starters. The connectivity on the Warriors’ part defensively was superlative all night.

Terrific minutes from the bench tonight, too. Obviously Kevon Looney, but also Jonas Jerebko, Shaun Livingston, Quinn Cook, just everybody played so splendidly. And seeing Damian Jones back! Scored 3 points in garbage time! Love it! The bench was a +33, I believe?

Andrew Bogut with his stoutness defensively!

Everyone brought it!

The Splash Brothers combining for 62 points while the Warriors kept the Portland Trailblazers' sensational backcourt to 36 combined. :clap

Stunning basketball on display from the Dubs! :woo :woo :woo The way the Warriors utilize the post to give the Splash Brothers looks off of movement, the relocation curls, assaulting the Trailblazers with PnRs which opened up more ball movement. It was brutal for Portland. Not to dismiss the Trailblazers but they do not have the personnel to adopt the switch-everything defense of, say, the Houston Rockets, and the Warriors are punishing the Blazers with an assortment of ball screens against which they seem to have no answer at the moment.

Is Kanter playable in this series? A fair question following Game 1. Kanter was kept back on Steph in those high ball screens, and it blew up in the Blazers' faces. Eight of Steph's nine there-pointers were uncontested. The best argument for Kanter continuing to man his post for Portland is that arguably their best chance is to dominate in the realm of rebounding, and to Kanter's credit he did well enough on the glass, with 16 rebounds (and 10 points for a double double). The Blazers may need to avoid even attempting to "run" with the Warriors and try to follow the Rockets' course of slowing the game down instead.

Just taking a look at the game moments ago on the late-night ESPN replay. So many possessions for the Blazers early on where players like Curry and Bogut were doubling C.J. McCollum and it seemed to just rattle the Blazers a little in terms of offensive attack. The Blazers committed 21 turnovers which led to 31 WARRIORS points! :mark:

Also, agreed with @FriedTofu; on Kevin Durant. Firstly he covers the point that the Warriors can only spend more money on their own players--say, a Kevon Looney, whose Bird Rights they now possess--not other free agents. Losing Durant would be immediately crushing in the scheme of an offseason effort to either stay at this level or improve, which is naturally what the Warriors ownership and front office will seek to accomplish no matter what happens between now and mid-June.

There were a few possessions for the Warriors in Game 1 vs. Portland which demonstrated why Kevin Durant is important.
It would be one thing for this Golden State Warriors team to go "Durantless" for a regular season given their core and improving younger players like Kevon Looney.

However, the Trailblazers hardly played their best basketball in Oakland Tuesday night, did they? And yet the Warriors had to expend an awful lot of energy defensively because that is what you do in the playoffs.

There were several possessions in that third quarter in particular where Draymond Green was waiting for someone in white to get open to start running an offensive play and nothing developed, and you could see why. The Warriors were exhausted because they were playing such intense defense on the other end of the floor. That played a part in a Trailblazers team which was not playing very well at all actually being only six points down when the third quarter concluded.

That is one of the many, many, many reasons why Kevin Durant is important and Warriors fans ought to remember it. Durant ISOs may not be the most gorgeous basketball ever but in a spot like that, a sprinkling of them would have been huge in giving other players a "break" of sorts. Instead, players like Klay and Iguodala were running around and the Warriors yielded nothing from those possessions anyway. Durant gives the team greater depth in terms of a front-line scoring attack just to begin with, plus his defensive contributions.

There’s no doubt that Steph and Klay and Draymond are magnificent players. They plus Iguodala is a championship-level nucleus from several years ago that remains potent. Yet Durant gives the Warriors something of a "security blanket" offensively. Klay Thompson became a bit of a volume shooter Tuesday night—with Durant out, why not? The beginning of Klay’s night was, let us say, not so hot. What if it had remained poor throughout the night? The game probably is a much, much more grueling contest all the way down to the wire, that is the answer. Obviously only so much can be taken with what-if scenarios so it is fair to dismiss my point, but Durant is a fearsome asset. Even now, once in a great while, it is not difficult to have a nightmare about Harrison Barnes being unable to hit a single shot in a certain series that never happened--something I brought up to folks stating that the Warriors are better off without Durant some hours ago after Game 1 versus the Trailblazers, without FridTofu's example off of which to build, ha.

As I stated to friends and family a few hours ago after the game, if Durant had to miss a complete series during this tournament, were he to not play against Portland, it seems the least disadvantageous for the Warriors given their roster, particularly with Nurkic out injured. However, against either the Milwaukee Bucks or Toronto Raptors? With their length, athleticism, potent schemes, in many cases switchability, and other strengths? Kawhi Leonard's Game 7 versus the Philadelphia 76ers may have been a volume-shooting, inefficient effort, but as excellent as that Raptors team is, it seemed like a bunch of other players on that roster were comparatively afraid of the moment. Sometimes you need a player to just Kobe Bryant it up and go get a bucket in crunch time no matter how unappealing or ugly or both. Not that Curry or Klay cannot fulfill that role if necessary but it is more difficult for them, naturally.

Anyway, it is fun to watch the Splash Brothers splash. One can tell that the Warriors backcourt is excited, collectively, to play against a team that is nowhere near as physical as even the Los Angeles Clippers, much less the hostile Houston Rockets. The Warriors hurt the Blazers terribly by finding the defender who is responsible for manning up against the Warriors' screener at the top (often Kevon Looney in Game 1) sagging off rather than switching on to Steph Curry in particular who hit three-pointer after three-pointer. The defender taking up the challenge of chasing Curry around was wiped out by Looney while Looney's defender was standing around with the best vantage point of the play in the building, and I want to blame that Trailblazer at around the four-minute mark in the fourth quarter for partially blocking my perspective in seeing Curry take that shot that made the game 105-90 in favor of the home team.

Did you know that every single player for Portland was a - while every player for Golden State was a +? :mark: :lol

Warriors are 18-1 in Game 1s in the :kerr Era! :woo :woo :woo

Probably the most rambling recap of a WARRIORS game ever! Oh well! :curry3

WARRIORS :mark: :mark: :mark: :chefcurry :klay :dray LOONEY. IGUODALA. BOGUT. JEREBKO. LIVINGSTON. COOK. BELL. McKINNIE. JACOB EVANS III. DAMIAN JONES. STRENGTH IN NUMBERS. :mark: :mark: :mark:
 
#1,466 ·
Re: NBA Discussion Thread

@CROFT; @BOSS of Bel-Air; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @Stax Classic;

:mark: RING NIGHT! :mark:

It was phenomenal to bear witness once again to the reigning NBA Champions being bestowed with their RINGS! :mark:

The Warriors played sloppily for much of the game, honestly. This was far from their best work. Lots of turnovers, some of them embarrassingly bad ones, and they--for the most part--simply outlasted a deeply depleted Oklahoma City Thunder team missing Russell Westbrook and defensive wizard Andre Roberson.

:curry had a mostly solid game, however, leading the offense and threatening to post a triple-double while amassing 32 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. :kd3 was not too shabby in his own right even if he took a few too many well-contested shots (at the same time, though, he also had some of the sweeter passes of the game for either team, too, especially in the fourth quarter). :kd3 tallied 27 point, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

:kd3 also scared just about every Warriors fan on the planet late in the game with a nasty tumble in pressing the matter while attempting to score, but it looks like while he was a touch shaken up for a moment, he's fine.

:dray had a rather good game considering everything. Still getting his conditioning right after the injury kept him a bit on the shelf through training camp but he made some heart and hustle plays, especially in the game's final minutes, that counted for a lot. He was also one of the stronger defensive Warriors in the first half, not surprisingly, and had collected 9 rebounds and 5 assists through the first half.

Damian Jones was mostly a a fantastically pleasant surprise. He summoned a truly wonderful effort against one of the NBA's stronger centers and played valiantly just about every minute he was on the floor. Sure, some more rebounds might be cool but that is not yet one of his strengths. Some of that may come with experience; in fact, surely he will improve as a rebounder with greater and greater degrees of NBA experience. His job tonight was to do his best to box Steven Adams out on just about every rebound opportunity to let others grab the boards and for the most part he was quite successful. :kerr is utilizing him to draw out his greatest strengths and his boxing out of players near the basket is certainly one of his sharpest tools. Well done, coaching staff.

:klay was :klay with 10 quick points early but he did go a bit cold. It was sort of funny how just about everybody was setting him up to hit a dagger three late in the game he seemed adamant about refusing the opportunity. :lol He was excellent on the wings defensively as just about always, though. It's fun to sit just off of the court and hear :dray audibly guide :klay around. :lol

The true star of this game, for me, however, was one Kevon LOONEY. Looney coming back for the amount of money he did was just as big of a coup for this organization this past summer as the signing of BOOGIE as far as I am concerned. LOONEY's defense is manna from basketball heaven. This dude received such an unjust rap for not being athletic and whatnot. No, he's never going to be one of the team's best athletes but he's smart as a whip in terms of basketball IQ and awareness--precociously so. Having a :dray mentoring you has to count for a lot but nevertheless... LOONEY has one bright future and an awfully bright present, for that matter. He just brings it defensively and as we saw in the Western Conference Finals can be switched on to the James Hardens and Chris Pauls of the world without the barn necessarily going up in flames. LOONEY was the MVP of the Warriors tonight and especially those final five minutes or so of the game. The stop he made on Paul George just shortly after he was totally burned shifted the game's somewhat still up-in-the-air momentum toward Golden State and after that the entire team played more or less immaculate defense. Again, the Thunder were devastatingly shorthanded but it was still fun to watch all of this occur. Sometimes the champs just aren't feeling it all the way and you have to take a late-game swing kind of win to move through it.

Andre IGUODALA left the game with calf soreness/tightness. Hope he gets a few days off and comes back well!





WARRIORS
 
#1,538 ·
Re: NBA Discussion Thread

@BOSS of Bel-Air; @BTheVampireSlayer; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @Stax Classic;
@KING JAMES; and I had a discussion regarding the :draymond/:kd3 controversy yesterday.

We covered a fair amount in only a few visitor messages: http://www.wrestlingforum.com/members/king-james-with-wf-s-biggest-braves-believer-and-booster.html

A few different things are at play beyond what Magic and I brought up. Namely the absence of :curry not only vastly diminished the Warriors' offense on the court but it is a major and potentially debilitating blow to this team's locker room dynamic. Why? Well, I happen to have interacted with a few of the gentlemen who play for Golden State. I also voraciously read some tidbits of "insider" information which would be otherwise unknown. What I have seen with my own eyes and what I have read from multiple trustworthy sources complement one another to confirm the picture. And that picture is that Steph Curry is the team's moral and morale leader. Draymond Green is the team's drill instructor/sergeant. Green will let loose on just about anyone. He's the fellow who gets on other players for not playing up to their potential, or making mistakes, or informs them of what they can do better. It's a huge dose of tough love. Curry puts his hand on a teammate's shoulder and tells him that Green is just Green and basketball is basketball. Curry provides the soothing ointment for Green's sometimes blistering remarks.

Everyone on the Warriors knows this dynamic. Even in blowout wins Green will find something about which to throw a tirade. Curry even as the team is playing abysmally will let everyone take a long gander at the bright side to counteract Green's perfectionism.

It's actually a wonderful paradigm for the Warriors as a team. However, you lose one and you lose the balance. I agreed with Steph Curry not traveling down to Los Angeles this week with his groin injury but it ended up being a costly decision because it is quite likely Curry at least partially mitigates Green's verbal antics.

Another point which needs to be recalled when analyzing this is that Green and :kd3 are pretty, pretty good friends. I am fairly confident that this is not a Derek Jeter/Alex Rodriguez circa mid-2000s situation where two mega-stars join forces on the same team and friction develops but the players themselves are all smiles being chummy with one another for the public to see. Both Jeter and Rodriguez--much later--both confessed to the press that contrary to the images they let out for public consumption, they were never friends and they even had some problems with one another, which were mostly dealt with professionally.

Green and Durant are almost polar opposites in temperament. I cannot tell you how many games I have attended where Green is happily encouraging Durant, marveling at Durant's abilities, etc. Durant usually just smiles like he knows he's pleased a friend... And in some ways I think it's fair to say that Durant has looked at Green as something of a mentor, which is a bit odd but Green's basketball intelligence quotient aside from moments like this one which has understandably blown up is rather astounding. Green is a lot like Dennis Rodman--and what people have generally forgotten about Rodman is that beneath all of the hair colors and earrings and outlandish behavior, the dude was something of a basketball savant. Rodman studied just about every single NBA player's proclivity on the boards and he studied every single teammate's shot so he quickly understood where to be to devour a voluminous number of rebounds. Rodman might be crazy in some respects--but as far as the NBA was concerned he was crazy-focused. And much as Green does at least half of the outlandish stuff he does to anger opposing teams and get inside players' heads, Rodman was likewise the Chicago Bulls' "enforcer" and "shit-disturber" to use a naughty phrase, like Kevin McHale on that ferocious 1980s Boston Celtics team. That is the role Green has taken on and he does it rather well at least nine-tenths of the time. Problem is he grows overexcited at times as I mentioned to Magic, and as Magic stated, Green being a stubborn, competitive-to-a-fault player and man did not want to acknowledge his own failing at the end of regulation. So he effortlessly changes the subject to Durant's contract situation. I mean, it's downright funny when you consider it because it's :dray all over. :lol

One thing that is known is that Durant is presently hurt and scoffed at discussing his friendship with Green. So the wound is still fresh. Green needs to do everything in his power to repair that wound. One player was reportedly quoted as saying that Durant is now gone at the end of this season, but it is still only mid-November. And as much as Warriors fans do not want to hear it, it's quite possible Durant may have been leaving anyway (seems like Green was thinking so!).

The good news is that Curry is joining the team on this Texas road trip. He is not returning until the end of this month in all likelihood but that has to at least possibly help things.

Also, this article is quite good at distilling what apparently went down. http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/20...mond-green-argument-details-steph-curry-visit

If even half of the things said in that article are accurate, what Green said is beyond being unacceptable.

The team may have to make a decision on Green vs. Durant soon?

Such a mess. Green and his big, stupid mouth.

Dude should take a seven-month vow of silence outside of doing his damned job on the court. :lmao
 
#1,540 ·
Re: NBA Discussion Thread

@BOSS of Bel-Air; @BTheVampireSlayer; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @Stax Classic;
@KING JAMES; and I had a discussion regarding the :draymond/:kd3 controversy yesterday.

We covered a fair amount in only a few visitor messages: https://www.wrestlingforum.com/members/king-james-with-wf-s-biggest-braves-believer-and-booster.html

A few different things are at play beyond what Magic and I brought up. Namely the absence of :curry not only vastly diminished the Warriors' offense on the court but it is a major and potentially debilitating blow to this team's locker room dynamic. Why? Well, I happen to have interacted with a few of the gentlemen who play for Golden State. I also voraciously read some tidbits of "insider" information which would be otherwise unknown. What I have seen with my own eyes and what I have read from multiple trustworthy sources complement one another to confirm the picture. And that picture is that Steph Curry is the team's moral and morale leader. Draymond Green is the team's drill instructor/sergeant. Green will let loose on just about anyone. He's the fellow who gets on other players for not playing up to their potential, or making mistakes, or informs them of what they can do better. It's a huge dose of tough love. Curry puts his hand on a teammate's shoulder and tells him that Green is just Green and basketball is basketball. Curry provides the soothing ointment for Green's sometimes blistering remarks.

Everyone on the Warriors knows this dynamic. Even in blowout wins Green will find something about which to throw a tirade. Curry even as the team is playing abysmally will let everyone take a long gander at the bright side to counteract Green's perfectionism.

It's actually a wonderful paradigm for the Warriors as a team. However, you lose one and you lose the balance. I agreed with Steph Curry not traveling down to Los Angeles this week with his groin injury but it ended up being a costly decision because it is quite likely Curry at least partially mitigates Green's verbal antics.

Another point which needs to be recalled when analyzing this is that Green and :kd3 are pretty, pretty good friends. I am fairly confident that this is not a Derek Jeter/Alex Rodriguez circa mid-2000s situation where two mega-stars join forces on the same team and friction develops but the players themselves are all smiles being chummy with one another for the public to see. Both Jeter and Rodriguez--much later--both confessed to the press that contrary to the images they let out for public consumption, they were never friends and they even had some problems with one another, which were mostly dealt with professionally.

Green and Durant are almost polar opposites in temperament. I cannot tell you how many games I have attended where Green is happily encouraging Durant, marveling at Durant's abilities, etc. Durant usually just smiles like he knows he's pleased a friend... And in some ways I think it's fair to say that Durant has looked at Green as something of a mentor, which is a bit odd but Green's basketball intelligence quotient aside from moments like this one which has understandably blown up is rather astounding. Green is a lot like Dennis Rodman--and what people have generally forgotten about Rodman is that beneath all of the hair colors and earrings and outlandish behavior, the dude was something of a basketball savant. Rodman studied just about every single NBA player's proclivity on the boards and he studied every single teammate's shot so he quickly understood where to be to devour a voluminous number of rebounds. Rodman might be crazy in some respects--but as far as the NBA was concerned he was crazy-focused. And much as Green does at least half of the outlandish stuff he does to anger opposing teams and get inside players' heads, Rodman was likewise the Chicago Bulls' "enforcer" and "shit-disturber" to use a naughty phrase, like Kevin McHale on that ferocious 1980s Boston Celtics team. That is the role Green has taken on and he does it rather well at least nine-tenths of the time. Problem is he grows overexcited at times as I mentioned to Magic, and as Magic stated, Green being a stubborn, competitive-to-a-fault player and man did not want to acknowledge his own failing at the end of regulation. So he effortlessly changes the subject to Durant's contract situation. I mean, it's downright funny when you consider it because it's :dray all over. :lol

One thing that is known is that Durant is presently hurt and scoffed at discussing his friendship with Green. So the wound is still fresh. Green needs to do everything in his power to repair that wound. One player was reportedly quoted as saying that Durant is now gone at the end of this season, but it is still only mid-November. And as much as Warriors fans do not want to hear it, it's quite possible Durant may have been leaving anyway (seems like Green was thinking so!).

The good news is that Curry is joining the team on this Texas road trip. He is not returning until the end of this month in all likelihood but that has to at least possibly help things.

Also, this article is quite good at distilling what apparently went down. http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/20...mond-green-argument-details-steph-curry-visit

If even half of the things said in that article are accurate, what Green said is beyond being unacceptable.

The team may have to make a decision on Green vs. Durant soon?

Such a mess. Green and his big, stupid mouth.

Dude should take a seven-month vow of silence outside of doing his damned job on the court. :lmao
As you know, because I know you read everything, I speculated earlier in the thread that GS would have to choose between Dray and KD due to monetary reasons. I did not think they would go out like this. Thanks for confirming that Stephen A's sources were legit. You know some people just assume everything he says is wrong without doing any fact checking themselves.
 
#1,881 · (Edited)
Re: Pass Nikola Jokic an Oxygen Mask, Please

@lesenfanteribles; and @Tater; good to have you on board with THE RIGHTEOUS CAUSE.

WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS

I'LL BE BACK WITH A MUCH MORE LONG-WINDED POST BUT EXCELLENT GAME 6 RECAP, @Buffy The Vampire Slayer;!!!!

WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS
 
#1,886 ·
Re: Pass Nikola Jokic an Oxygen Mask, Please

@lesenfanteribles; and @Tater; good to have you on board with THE RIGHTEOUS CAUSE.

WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS

I'LL BE BACK WITH A MUCH MORE LONG-WINDED POST BUT EXCELLENT GAME 6 RECAP, @Buffy The Vampire Slayer;!!!!

WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS WARRIORS
This game was crazy because Steph Curry showed both halves of himself in both halves: the foul ridden, awful decision maker in the first half, and the two time MVP in the second half. It was looking bad when Curry had ZERO points with 3 fouls while Harden dropped 14 in a quarter, but then he snapped out of his stupid trance and reminded us what he did for this team before KD showed up. No one can stop this team when THAT Curry comes to work. Also, big ups to Killa Klay for coming back as well and carrying the Warriors through the first half with the bench. The Splash brothers combined for 62 of the Warriors' points. It's like someone freed Klay from cryostasis because he's been missing all year(literally and figuratively).

If this continues throughout the Finals, we're about to see 4 time champions before the team splits up. It's been a hell of a run since 2014, but I can't wait to go back to the good ol days of Steph being THE GUY on the Warriors. He just plays so much better when he realizes he's the win condition.
 
#1,999 ·
Re: NBA Draft Lottery, Final Four-Palooza

No problem for the above post, @BOSS of Bel-Air;
@Arya Dark; @Buffy The Vampire Slayer; @blaird; @Stax Classic; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @deepelemblues; @Chrome; @Joff;

What a win! What a win! Down 13 points at the half, the Golden State Warriors seemed to be in trouble up at the Moda Center.

Half a game does not cut it, however! The Portland Trail Blazers scored 66 points in the first half... In their building, with what should be a case where their backs are pressed up against the wall... They scored 33 points. In a half. That is 33 points in 24 minutes. They went from shooting 22/46 in the first half to 12/39 in the second. From a team +13 to a team -24. They led the Golden State Warriors 66-53 at halftime... They had, at one point, an 18-point lead.

As Draymond Green, who is singularly willing the Warriors to stay in these games when they are down significantly in the score, "A 13-point lead is a two-minute run for us." The Warriors display zero concern, but they remain focused. And Green, who compiled a mind-boggling, sensational triple double tonight with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists with 4 steals and 1 block.



The Splash Brothers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, outscored the Trail Blazers 41-37 in the third quarter of Game 2 and Game 3 if you combine them. :lol The Warriors outscored the Blazers 29-13 in the third quarter tonight. :banderas

Curry also had 6 rebounds and 3 assists. His Splash Brother Thompson had 19 points, 8/20 from the field, 1/5 from three-point range, and 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Not the best game from Thompson offensively but his defense was largely splendid, especially when the team's collective intensity picked up in the second half.

This is the first time in his playoff career that Curry has scored 35 points or more (36 tonight) in three consecutive games. :banderas :mark:



Green, however, was the true star of this game, just... Did I mention that he singularly kept the team in this contest even when things were looking their bleakest? That he and Curry pushed this game out of reach?

And let us give some love to the bench, which performed admirably. Alfonzo McKinnie with a team-best +24, 3 offensive rebounds out of 9 rebounds, 5 points with a massive, likely-game-sealing corner 3-pointer off of excellent Warriors carousel-like ball movement. Quinn Cook with the hesi, that is a highlight. Kevon Looney was superlative in every way imaginable. Jordan Bell with good minutes, a +10 in his 15 minutes. Laughed at the blown dunk in a way, and laughed just as much when he dunked one properly with two hands. 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists for Bell. That Bell block on Zach Collins late in the third quarter was exquisite, and Andrew Bogut jumped out of his seat on the bench in appreciation. Shaun Livingston with some big buckets; 6 points and was a +4. Jonas Jerebko was solid. His little pump-fake beyond the three-point line leading to a fly-by and a step-in for a midrange jumper is funny to see over and over in these playoffs. Andrew Bogut was... there. Damian Jones was there... and started the game... because Steve Kerr is overdoing his self-medication with marijuana... and Jones committed 3 fouls in about 3 minutes. Oh well, not every experiment is a smashing success. Then again, obviously three-dimensional chess from Kerr. Jones starting helped give the Blazers a lead to begin the game and clearly that motivated the Warriors to try due to the considerable challenge.

Only unfortunate mark on this game is Andre Iguodala going out with a lower leg injury, for which he will undergo an MRI tomorrow morning.

But, yeah... Draymond Green. He is... He is superlative.

WARRIORS
 
#2,000 ·
Re: NBA Draft Lottery, Final Four-Palooza

No problem for the above post, @BOSS of Bel-Air;

@Arya Dark; @Buffy The Vampire Slayer; @blaird; @Stax Classic; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @deepelemblues; @Chrome; @Joff;

What a win! What a win! Down 13 points at the half, the Golden State Warriors seemed to be in trouble up at the Moda Center.

Half a game does not cut it, however! The Portland Trail Blazers scored 66 points in the first half... In their building, with what should be a case where their backs are pressed up against the wall... They scored 33 points. In a half. That is 33 points in 24 minutes. They went from shooting 22/46 in the first half to 12/39 in the second. From a team +13 to a team -24. They led the Golden State Warriors 66-53 at halftime... They had, at one point, an 18-point lead.

As Draymond Green, who is singularly willing the Warriors to stay in these games when they are down significantly in the score, "A 13-point lead is a two-minute run for us." The Warriors display zero concern, but they remain focused. And Green, who compiled a mind-boggling, sensational triple double tonight with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists with 4 steals and 1 block.



The Splash Brothers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, outscored the Trail Blazers 41-37 in the third quarter of Game 2 and Game 3 if you combine them. :lol The Warriors outscored the Blazers 29-13 in the third quarter tonight. :banderas

Curry also had 6 rebounds and 3 assists. His Splash Brother Thompson had 19 points, 8/20 from the field, 1/5 from three-point range, and 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Not the best game from Thompson offensively but his defense was largely splendid, especially when the team's collective intensity picked up in the second half.

This is the first time in his playoff career that Curry has scored 35 points or more (36 tonight) in three consecutive games. :banderas :mark:



Green, however, was the true star of this game, just... Did I mention that he singularly kept the team in this contest even when things were looking their bleakest? That he and Curry pushed this game out of reach?

And let us give some love to the bench, which performed admirably. Alfonzo McKinnie with a team-best +24, 3 offensive rebounds out of 9 rebounds, 5 points with a massive, likely-game-sealing corner 3-pointer off of excellent Warriors carousel-like ball movement. Quinn Cook with the hesi, that is a highlight. Kevon Looney was superlative in every way imaginable. Jordan Bell with good minutes, a +10 in his 15 minutes. Laughed at the blown dunk in a way, and laughed just as much when he dunked one properly with two hands. 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists for Bell. That Bell block on Zach Collins late in the third quarter was exquisite, and Andrew Bogut jumped out of his seat on the bench in appreciation. Shaun Livingston with some big buckets; 6 points and was a +4. Jonas Jerebko was solid. His little pump-fake beyond the three-point line leading to a fly-by and a step-in for a midrange jumper is funny to see over and over in these playoffs. Andrew Bogut was... there. Damian Jones was there... and started the game... because Steve Kerr is overdoing his self-medication with marijuana... and Jones committed 3 fouls in about 3 minutes. Oh well, not every experiment is a smashing success. Then again, obviously three-dimensional chess from Kerr. Jones starting helped give the Blazers a lead to begin the game and clearly that motivated the Warriors to try due to the considerable challenge.

Only unfortunate mark on this game is Andre Iguodala going out with a lower leg injury, for which he will undergo an MRI tomorrow morning.

But, yeah... Draymond Green. He is... He is superlative.

WARRIORS
Draymond with a triple double... through 3 quarters.
 
#2,018 ·
Re: NBA Draft Lottery, Final Four-Palooza

I'm shocked that in all the thousands upon thousands of NBA playoffs games that have been played that this is the first time teammates have had a triple double in the same game. Seems like it's something that would have happened before.

What I'm not shocked by is who done it. Steph and Draymond, playing lights out. Looney had a fantastic double double game to go with it.

Boogie, out. KD, out. Iggy, out. Warriors win. :mark:
 
#2,040 ·
Re: NBA Draft Lottery, Final Four-Palooza

@Arya Dark; @Ace; @Buffy The Vampire Slayer; @BOSS of Bel-Air; @blaird; @Stax Classic; @SUPA HOT FIRE.; @deepelemblues; @Chrome; @Joff;

I'm shocked that in all the thousands upon thousands of NBA playoffs games that have been played that this is the first time teammates have had a triple double in the same game. Seems like it's something that would have happened before.

What I'm not shocked by is who done it. Steph and Draymond, playing lights out. Looney had a fantastic double double game to go with it.

Boogie, out. KD, out. Iggy, out. Warriors win. :mark:
Precisely what I was thinking: it is rather surprising that in such a reasonably-large sample size that teammates have never compiled triple doubles along with one another in one game. And yet it was so. Until this week! :mark: :dray :chefcurry :sodone



(Feel a bit disgusted posting a Bleacher Report tweet, but alas...)





Down 17 points in Game 2; down 18 points in Game 3; down 17 points in Game 4. If I am not mistaken I believe this is the first time in many, many years a team has staged three 15-plus-point comebacks in a row. :mark: :cheer

(Could be wrong on that. So... if I am, I already warned that I may be. :lol)



"..Don't worry about what goes on at the top of things..." Brutal... Yet honest. :kd3 No bad blood between these two teams in the least but it is a bit humorous that C.J. McCollum has spent so much time and wasting so much breath complaining about :kd3 and :boogie being on the WARRIORS and the Blazers are swept out without the services of either one of them in Blue and Gold. :curry



Warriors with that Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope strategy all series. :banderas :lol

Seriously, though, credit to Meyers Leonard making those shots, which was critical to putting the Warriors in such a hole in Game 4. The Rose Garden/Moda Center crowd enthusiastically cheering on, "MEY-ERS LEO-NARD" was terrific. :lol

The Blazers pushed the Warriors hard and that overtime was a thrilling contest.

The :klay defense, though... And speaking of which:



Yay! :cheer :mark: :hb

Well-deserved, :klay ...Well-deserved. :clap

WARRIORS :chefcurry :dray :klay
 
#2,093 ·
Re: DUBS. RAPS. FINALS. Let's BOOGIE

Completely concur with @KING SANTA; and even said as much to friends/fellow WARRIORS fans yesterday. The Toronto Raptors would be well-advised to place Kawhi Leonard on Draymond Green. The Houston Rockets defended the Warriors rather well but they ostensibly had no answer for the Curry/Green PnRs that came with Kevin Durant's absence in particular. Curry and Green systematically assaulted Houston's defenses in that series's second half of Game 6 with that.

Everyone keeps talking about the Warriors sweeping the Trail Blazers without Kevin Durant, and that is certainly commendable and I loved the play of Draymond Green especially but also Steph Curry and defensively Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala (when Iguodala played, obviously). Kevon Looney was enormous, too.

Thing is, the Blazers made a game out of all of those contests, even a Game 1 where they were clearly zombies from a brutal 7-game series versus Denver and minimal rest, and employing a downright catastrophic defensive strategy with Kanter dropping back on Curry, until the Warriors pulled away in the 4th quarter.

Toronto’s defense is pretty, pretty good. Kawhi Leonard is probably the best all-around defender in the NBA (not exactly going out on a limb there) and they have a bunch of gritty, grinding defenders who are Western Conference veterans like Gasol and Ibaka. How many former DPOYs do they have, anyway? Haha.

I was shocked when the Warriors were 1-point favorites. I expect money to go to the Raptors the closer we get to Game 1. Especially with the latest news concerning Durant and even to a lesser extent Iguodala not being exactly phenomenal. Much less DeMarcus Cousins. Even with all of this rest, these Dubs seem seriously banged up.

Just hoping that Curry’s ankle/finger issues may finally be resolved to some extent. Curry’s outside shot looked far, far better against Portland than it did against Houston, at least.

The Raptors possess everything a team would theoretically want to defend Golden State. And Leonard is terrifying. Far more scared of him than Giannis, who looked like a babe in the woods comparatively, just not knowing what this kind of competition is about (not his fault, though he did shrink a bit at times).

If Durant is out for the duration in particular, the Dubs are going to need big games from Klay Thompson. That "wall" the Raptors utilized versus Milwaukee was superlative, and the Warriors are going to have to stretch the floor as much as humanly possible to combat their defensive connectivity. Expecting flurries of backdoor cuts. Even if Thompson is not scoring, his presence will keep at least one defender honest, which is crucial with Green and Curry shepherding the offense.

Less concerned with the Warriors defending versus the Raptors. Which of course means the Raptors will score 120 each game.

@JM; hello. https://www.wrestlingforum.com/sports/2254842-dubs-raps-finals-lets-boogie-53.html#post75841518

DeMar Derozan would probably be a terrific fit for this present San Antonio Spurs roster. Yes, losing Kawhi Leonard would sting but I am expecting the Spurs to be a scrappy, competitive team even with him gone.

Leonard on the Raptors makes Toronto a fascinating team to watch. Of course, Leonard's health at this moment in time seems to be something of an enigma, but for a moment assuming that he can recapture the magic he boasted before the injury, he would provide the Raptors with far greater versatility than they have had... It also puts the Raptors into the conversation with the Sixers and the Celtics, potentially, as three possible powerhouses in the East.

Furthermore, with LeBron James finally out of the East, the Raptors should feel like they have to give it a shot, if for no other reason than they have not experienced this scenario with LeBron, their nemesis, their bête noire, out of the East.
https://www.wrestlingforum.com/sports/2254842-dubs-raps-finals-lets-boogie-54.html#post75842778

The Raptors trading for Leonard has nothing to do with getting them in any competitive conversations. Of course they will make the playoffs with or without the trade. Of course they will have one of the better records in the East with or without the trade. Of course they will make an eastern conference final at best with or without the trade. It's all about aligning with the rest of the expiring contracts next year to be in a a position to have no money on the books in 2020....... so they can build another team that isn't on the list of teams that wins NBA championships. Count me not intrigued.
https://www.wrestlingforum.com/sports/2254842-dubs-raps-finals-lets-boogie-54.html#post75871456

I don't see a lot changing with Toronto from a competitive stand point. The biggest boost they got as far as being competitive was LeBron going west. They still aren't a championship caliber team but who is really when there's the Warriors. Eastern conference final and possibly NBA final are within reach but that has been the case for a couple years.

Big thing was breaking up Lowry/Demar which has clearly plateaued and allowing them flexible going forward.

Not having to trade OG or Siakam is huge though. First rounder is 1-20 protected as well so not likely they are giving up a gamer changer there.
https://www.wrestlingforum.com/sports/2254842-dubs-raps-finals-lets-boogie-55.html#post75874682

Hello @JM;.

As JM noted, the Lowry/DeRozan two-headed dragon had to be broken up. At times it almost reminded me of the Warriors potentially with both Monta Ellis and Steph Curry. At some point it's diminishing returns and you have to make a choice.

While it is true that in twelve short months Kawhi Leonard is probably a Laker standing next to LeBron James, for now Toronto won this trade. They get to go all in one last time with this group, and are much better because of this. Also as JM said, they did not have to trade away "OG or Siakam." That's a major plus.

Moreover, Toronto's small-ball lineups are going to be crazy to watch play together. Imagine the permutations: Lowry/Wright/FVV; Green/Anunoby/Powell; Kawhi/Miles/Siakam, and more where those came from.

Even when adjusting for how much leverage San Antonio was losing the longer this dragged out, it's still an impressive move on Toronto's part.

And it's not exactly hellish for San Antonio beyond obviously losing Kawhi, which makes this definitely sting. The Spurs will be a feisty group and as others were saying, it will be interesting to see how Popovich utilizes DeRozan. @DOPA;.
Not bad. :curry :lol

Going back to this Finals match-up, expect the Warriors to deploy Curry/Green PnRs fairly liberally by Steve Kerr standards with no Durant in Game 1. The Warriors have only lost one Game 1 in the Kerr Era (versus Oklahoma City). The Raptors are a defensively stout team that collectively harasses and troubles even the best offensive players. Should be fun. Either wonderful to watch or unbearable to watch depending on your perspective. :chefcurry
 
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