4/2- Game 75: Mavericks (45-29) @ Warriors (40-34) 7pm TNT

[Onus]

Really impressive win last night. Can we continue to play defense like that or will it all fall apart? Need to play with that energy and focus the rest of the way.

[jozef]

Klay at .380 3P% is NBA #4 in 3P made behind Steph, Luka and Donte.
TJD at .702 is NBA #2 in FG% behind Gaford and TJD averages 17.2 pts, 11 rebs and 2.3 rebs per 36 mins.

Golden State Warriors 2023-24 are #30 at average height AND two of three 6-9 guys Looney and Saric are pathetic athletes.

[Onus]

Good defenders
Dray, Wiggins, GP2, Moody, Looney.

We need at least 2 if not 3 on the court at all times.

[Onus]

Was there a time where dray was asking for the team to come down and help out and rebound telling everyone to come down. Then he looked who was out there and just shook his head.

[vvoland]

Read on Twitter

Just look at loon and wiggins rotating and helping. They were the defense on this play. Only if loom had tjds athleticism.

Are we just going to ignore Klay rotating and closing out on 3 pt shooters, forcing the next pass. Yes, I think we are

It was a good play, which is why he's especially frustrating. He can do this whenever, but he only does this when things are going well for him personally, like hitting a few jumpers

Watch him closeout on any shooter though.. he literally clocks out the second the shot goes up. Doesnt get boards, doesnt leak for transition O, and if his closeout results in a pass, thats someone elses problem. 2x tonight that I saw.. its his own effort and attitude thats keeping him down

Which makes me think.. if he's capable and he's not doing it, why wouldnt the coach hold him accountable? Because we could absolutely use the Klay that played defense in that clip, but its rarer than Draymond accepting a foul call

He played ~30 minutes or about 60 defensive possessions. 2x he gave up on a play? That's like 1.5%. I'm sure you saw Dray lose Luka on the weakside and Luka hit a wide open 3? or when Curry was camped in the lane and was 15 ft off Exum so didn't even both to try and close out? Another made 3. Or the multiple times where Dray and Curry didn't get a foul call so it's 5 on 4 the other way? Not that I blame Curry, he was getting assaulted, felony style, out there last night.

It just seems like a lot of confirmation bias - Klay missed a rotation, space cadeted on the weakside, didn't box out so that means he always does that. He also had a great strip and 3 on Kyrie, in the 4th. He also had multiple possession of terrific off ball defense (like the clip posted above to highlight Loon and Wigs). He also played decent defense on Luka, when they forced the switch. Huge defensive board late in the game. 2 absolutely clutch FTs to seal it.

And yes, awful shot attempt with 17 secs left that made those FTs necessary. Am I the only one to wonder what the coaching instructions were in the two timeouts that preceded that FGA. I wouldn't be shocked if Kerr was like "take the easy two, if it's there" as opposed to, "run out the clock, do NOT shoot the ball under any circumstances." Would anyone be surprised if he drew up the play for Klay to get open under the basket?

Klay's not flawless, by any stretch. But the bar for him is so high and for others (moody, bp, wigs) its considerably lower. Wigs puts up 23/4 and we're all like "amazing!" (myself included). BP is constantly out of position on defense, hunting charges, steals, and rebounds. He overhelps and quite often his activity is mistaken for production. BP also goes weeks without being able to put the ball in the basket. Moody is the most consistent of these 3 but he's been buried so long I'm not sure I'm comfortable with him playing big minutes, especially late in games, as we're trying to climb out of the 10 seed.

Last night, moody checks in with a 9 pt lead. 3 minutes later, the lead is down to 2 and we've scored 4 points. Klay, Wigs are at the scorer's table and the board, collectively, is like "Oh no! Not Klay for Moody!" That's before we even get into the fact that it was BP that took Moody's spot, not Klay.

[vagelis]

[vagelis]

If Warriors win 6 of their 7 remaining games what will be their ranking at the end?

Have Warriors any chance to avoid play in?

[Onus]

If Warriors win 6 of their 7 remaining games what will be their ranking at the end?

Have Warriors any chance to avoid play in?

Highly unlikely but there's a chance

Dallas - 4 games (3 games if we beat them)
ATL, GSW, HOU, CHA, MIA, DET, OKC

New Orleans - 4 games (3 games if we beat them)
ORL, SA, PHX, POR, SAC, GSW, LAL

Sacramento - 3 games
NY, BOS, BKN, OKC, NOP, PHX, POR

Phoenix - 3 games (actually 4 losses back since they have the tie breaker)
CLE, MIN, NOP, LAC, LAC, SAC, MIN

Lakers - 1.5 games (.5 game if we beat them)
WAS, CLE, MIN, GSW, MEM, NOP

Warriors
DAL, UTAH, LAL, POR, NOP, UTAH

Basically we need to win out and then Dallas, NOP, SAC, PHX need to drop 3 more games and the Lakers have to drop a game somewhere. It seems like they all have games against someone else so they will have to lose some games.

[vvoland]

If Warriors win 6 of their 7 remaining games what will be their ranking at the end?

Have Warriors any chance to avoid play in?

Highly unlikely but there's a chance

Dallas - 4 games (3 games if we beat them)
ATL, GSW, HOU, CHA, MIA, DET, OKC

New Orleans - 4 games (3 games if we beat them)
ORL, SA, PHX, POR, SAC, GSW, LAL

Sacramento - 3 games
NY, BOS, BKN, OKC, NOP, PHX, POR

Phoenix - 3 games (actually 4 losses back since they have the tie breaker)
CLE, MIN, NOP, LAC, LAC, SAC, MIN

Lakers - 1.5 games (.5 game if we beat them)
WAS, CLE, MIN, GSW, MEM, NOP

Warriors
DAL, UTAH, LAL, POR, NOP, UTAH

Basically we need to win out and then Dallas, NOP, SAC, PHX need to drop 3 more games and the Lakers have to drop a game somewhere. It seems like they all have games against someone else so they will have to lose some games.

over the last 30 games, the warriors have the leagues 4th best record at 20-10. behind only the celts (24-6), nugs (22-8), magic (21-9). Over that same 30 game stretch they lead the league in rebounding (54 more than no 2 Hou) and 2nd in assists (4 behind SAS).

If only Wigs showed up before game 40 and Dray didn't miss 25 games to suspension. I'm not even going to get into the games we blew late. Realistically, in a normal season, we're the 3 or 4 seed?

[Onus]

If Warriors win 6 of their 7 remaining games what will be their ranking at the end?

Have Warriors any chance to avoid play in?

Highly unlikely but there's a chance

Dallas - 4 games (3 games if we beat them)
ATL, GSW, HOU, CHA, MIA, DET, OKC

New Orleans - 4 games (3 games if we beat them)
ORL, SA, PHX, POR, SAC, GSW, LAL

Sacramento - 3 games
NY, BOS, BKN, OKC, NOP, PHX, POR

Phoenix - 3 games (actually 4 losses back since they have the tie breaker)
CLE, MIN, NOP, LAC, LAC, SAC, MIN

Lakers - 1.5 games (.5 game if we beat them)
WAS, CLE, MIN, GSW, MEM, NOP

Warriors
DAL, UTAH, LAL, POR, NOP, UTAH

Basically we need to win out and then Dallas, NOP, SAC, PHX need to drop 3 more games and the Lakers have to drop a game somewhere. It seems like they all have games against someone else so they will have to lose some games.

over the last 30 games, the warriors have the leagues 4th best record at 20-10. behind only the celts (24-6), nugs (22-8), magic (21-9). Over that same 30 game stretch they lead the league in rebounding (54 more than no 2 Hou) and 2nd in assists (4 behind SAS).

If only Wigs showed up before game 40 and Dray didn't miss 25 games to suspension. I'm not even going to get into the games we blew late. Realistically, in a normal season, we're the 3 or 4 seed?

Yea it's kind of crazy that we've been so bad and yet if dray doesn't get suspended and we don't hold him out to ramp up we're in play for the 4th seed. Even with all the games we blew late.

[vvoland]

Highly unlikely but there's a chance

Dallas - 4 games (3 games if we beat them)
ATL, GSW, HOU, CHA, MIA, DET, OKC

New Orleans - 4 games (3 games if we beat them)
ORL, SA, PHX, POR, SAC, GSW, LAL

Sacramento - 3 games
NY, BOS, BKN, OKC, NOP, PHX, POR

Phoenix - 3 games (actually 4 losses back since they have the tie breaker)
CLE, MIN, NOP, LAC, LAC, SAC, MIN

Lakers - 1.5 games (.5 game if we beat them)
WAS, CLE, MIN, GSW, MEM, NOP

Warriors
DAL, UTAH, LAL, POR, NOP, UTAH

Basically we need to win out and then Dallas, NOP, SAC, PHX need to drop 3 more games and the Lakers have to drop a game somewhere. It seems like they all have games against someone else so they will have to lose some games.

over the last 30 games, the warriors have the leagues 4th best record at 20-10. behind only the celts (24-6), nugs (22-8), magic (21-9). Over that same 30 game stretch they lead the league in rebounding (54 more than no 2 Hou) and 2nd in assists (4 behind SAS).

If only Wigs showed up before game 40 and Dray didn't miss 25 games to suspension. I'm not even going to get into the games we blew late. Realistically, in a normal season, we're the 3 or 4 seed?

Yea it's kind of crazy that we've been so bad and yet if dray doesn't get suspended and we don't hold him out to ramp up we're in play for the 4th seed. Even with all the games we blew late.

Right? and even with the bad shooting from wigs, jk and klay to start the year. If we just close out the games we are supposed to (+6 wins, at least) and dray doesn't get suspended for those 20+ games (+4 wins) we're probably in play for a 2 or 3 seed.

[Onus]

over the last 30 games, the warriors have the leagues 4th best record at 20-10. behind only the celts (24-6), nugs (22-8), magic (21-9). Over that same 30 game stretch they lead the league in rebounding (54 more than no 2 Hou) and 2nd in assists (4 behind SAS).

If only Wigs showed up before game 40 and Dray didn't miss 25 games to suspension. I'm not even going to get into the games we blew late. Realistically, in a normal season, we're the 3 or 4 seed?

Yea it's kind of crazy that we've been so bad and yet if dray doesn't get suspended and we don't hold him out to ramp up we're in play for the 4th seed. Even with all the games we blew late.

Right? and even with the bad shooting from wigs, jk and klay to start the year. If we just close out the games we are supposed to (+6 wins, at least) and dray doesn't get suspended for those 20+ games (+4 wins) we're probably in play for a 2 or 3 seed.

Yea that's why when people say we didn't underachieve this year or saying it's over. We're actually pretty close. Which is crazy because we really don't have a 2nd option like every other western conference team does.

If we end up 48-34, I'm going to be pissed because I have the over 48.5 smh.

[Onus]

Also this was one of the first games we've won where steph didn't have to carry us. Though he basically was involved in all the scoring plays down the stretch with his screening. Great to see

[vvoland]

Yea it's kind of crazy that we've been so bad and yet if dray doesn't get suspended and we don't hold him out to ramp up we're in play for the 4th seed. Even with all the games we blew late.

Right? and even with the bad shooting from wigs, jk and klay to start the year. If we just close out the games we are supposed to (+6 wins, at least) and dray doesn't get suspended for those 20+ games (+4 wins) we're probably in play for a 2 or 3 seed.

Yea that's why when people say we didn't underachieve this year or saying it's over. We're actually pretty close. Which is crazy because we really don't have a 2nd option like every other western conference team does.

If we end up 48-34, I'm going to be pissed because I have the over 48.5 smh.

We've never really had a legit 2nd option outside the KD years. Klay and JP3 were not in the category of the 2nd options most other teams had or have now. It was always Curry on offense, Dray on defense and an army of smart vets, good shooting and locked-in hustle. When we play like that, with effort and force, we're hard to beat, even now.

[Onus]

Right? and even with the bad shooting from wigs, jk and klay to start the year. If we just close out the games we are supposed to (+6 wins, at least) and dray doesn't get suspended for those 20+ games (+4 wins) we're probably in play for a 2 or 3 seed.

Yea that's why when people say we didn't underachieve this year or saying it's over. We're actually pretty close. Which is crazy because we really don't have a 2nd option like every other western conference team does.

If we end up 48-34, I'm going to be pissed because I have the over 48.5 smh.

We've never really had a legit 2nd option outside the KD years. Klay and JP3 were not in the category of the 2nd options most other teams had or have now. It was always Curry on offense, Dray on defense and an army of smart vets, good shooting and locked-in hustle. When we play like that, with effort and force, we're hard to beat, even now.

When we actually had a 2nd option like KD, people want to act like those years don't count but are perfectly content with counting everyone else's.

[vvoland]

Yea that's why when people say we didn't underachieve this year or saying it's over. We're actually pretty close. Which is crazy because we really don't have a 2nd option like every other western conference team does.

If we end up 48-34, I'm going to be pissed because I have the over 48.5 smh.

We've never really had a legit 2nd option outside the KD years. Klay and JP3 were not in the category of the 2nd options most other teams had or have now. It was always Curry on offense, Dray on defense and an army of smart vets, good shooting and locked-in hustle. When we play like that, with effort and force, we're hard to beat, even now.

When we actually had a 2nd option like KD, people want to act like those years don't count but are perfectly content with counting everyone else's.

the hate is real. still trying to figure out what steph did to the refereeing profession to warrant their ignorance when he's getting assaulted.

[Onus]

If Warriors win 6 of their 7 remaining games what will be their ranking at the end?

Have Warriors any chance to avoid play in?

Highly unlikely but there's a chance

Dallas - 4 games (3 games if we beat them)
ATL, GSW, HOU, CHA, MIA, DET, OKC

New Orleans - 4 games (3 games if we beat them)
ORL, SA, PHX, POR, SAC, GSW, LAL

Sacramento - 3 games
NY, BOS, BKN, OKC, NOP, PHX, POR

Phoenix - 3 games (actually 4 losses back since they have the tie breaker)
CLE, MIN, NOP, LAC, LAC, SAC, MIN

Lakers - 1.5 games (.5 game if we beat them)
WAS, CLE, MIN, GSW, MEM, NOP

Warriors
DAL, UTAH, LAL, POR, NOP, UTAH

Basically we need to win out and then Dallas, NOP, SAC, PHX need to drop 3 more games and the Lakers have to drop a game somewhere. It seems like they all have games against someone else so they will have to lose some games.

The best path is Dallas and PHX get 5 and 6 in whatever order. Lakers get 7, we get 8 and then NOP or SAC get 9 and 10. That way we get to stay in CA and we don't have to take a long flight to New Orleans.

[CDM_Stats]

He played ~30 minutes or about 60 defensive possessions. 2x he gave up on a play? That's like 1.5%. I'm sure you saw Dray lose Luka on the weakside and Luka hit a wide open 3? or when Curry was camped in the lane and was 15 ft off Exum so didn't even both to try and close out? Another made 3. Or the multiple times where Dray and Curry didn't get a foul call so it's 5 on 4 the other way? Not that I blame Curry, he was getting assaulted, felony style, out there last night.

Getting lost on a play is not the same as actively quitting on one. Either way, Klay does that far more than anyone else on the roster and its not particularly close

Klay's not flawless, by any stretch. But the bar for him is so high and for others (moody, bp, wigs) its considerably lower. Wigs puts up 23/4 and we're all like "amazing!" (myself included). BP is constantly out of position on defense, hunting charges, steals, and rebounds. He overhelps and quite often his activity is mistaken for production. BP also goes weeks without being able to put the ball in the basket. Moody is the most consistent of these 3 but he's been buried so long I'm not sure I'm comfortable with him playing big minutes, especially late in games, as we're trying to climb out of the 10 seed.

Victim mentality. Podz is getting called out for that. Moody, Wiggins and BP all play way better defense. And most notably, they don't quit defensively despite being given much tougher assignments.

If you want to be a "woe is Klay" account, go for it. But the sides that say he's not a NBA player and the sides that are constantly desiring to be a victim are nearly indistinguishable to me, because now you're doing the same about Moody and Wiggins, complaining about arbitrary terms again.. its why I left the Wiggins thing alone. I dont care, no one should. If someone clearly has an axe to grind, what good are they in a conversation?

[vvoland]

He played ~30 minutes or about 60 defensive possessions. 2x he gave up on a play? That's like 1.5%. I'm sure you saw Dray lose Luka on the weakside and Luka hit a wide open 3? or when Curry was camped in the lane and was 15 ft off Exum so didn't even both to try and close out? Another made 3. Or the multiple times where Dray and Curry didn't get a foul call so it's 5 on 4 the other way? Not that I blame Curry, he was getting assaulted, felony style, out there last night.

Getting lost on a play is not the same as actively quitting on one. Either way, Klay does that far more than anyone else on the roster and its not particularly close

Klay's not flawless, by any stretch. But the bar for him is so high and for others (moody, bp, wigs) its considerably lower. Wigs puts up 23/4 and we're all like "amazing!" (myself included). BP is constantly out of position on defense, hunting charges, steals, and rebounds. He overhelps and quite often his activity is mistaken for production. BP also goes weeks without being able to put the ball in the basket. Moody is the most consistent of these 3 but he's been buried so long I'm not sure I'm comfortable with him playing big minutes, especially late in games, as we're trying to climb out of the 10 seed.

Victim mentality. Podz is getting called out for that. Moody, Wiggins and BP all play way better defense. And most notably, they don't quit defensively despite being given much tougher assignments.

If you want to be a "woe is Klay" account, go for it. But the sides that say he's not a NBA player and the sides that are constantly desiring to be a victim are nearly indistinguishable to me, because now you're doing the same about Moody and Wiggins, complaining about arbitrary terms again.. its why I left the Wiggins thing alone. I dont care, no one should. If someone clearly has an axe to grind, what good are they in a conversation?

Not sure what you mean by victim mentality? Is it because I see double standards applied to Klay vs our other wings? I don't think that's what the phrase means. I'm doing the same thing about wiggins and moody? as in, I'm saying they're not nba players? Or what arbitrary terms am I complaining about in regards to moody and wigs? I really don't follow, not trying to be a d!cc

Look, it's fair to call Klay out for his space cadet defense, questionable shot selection and bad body language. I think it's similarly fair to call out wiggins for not showing up for half the season and being a hit and miss player since (energy, not production). I'm not a 'woe is Klay' account. I'm more of a "klay isn't responsible for all of the team's woes" account. As in, I give Dray and his antics and Wigs and his first 40 or so games a significant share of the blame for the team's struggles.

What wiggins thing did you leave alone? The absence? Ok, I'm not concerned about that. It's the first 40 games that bother me. Klay hasn't really changed much about his game yet the team is 20-10 in their last 30. It happens to coincide with Dray's return and Wigs playing with a ton more energy and force than he did earlier this year.

Last thing, not running back because you don't like the foul call you didn't get, is absolutely quitting on a play. I'm just not going to kill Dray or Curry because they do that a couple of times a game. It's a grueling 48 minutes out there and getting harder every season. Human beings get discouraged, it's a real thing.

[CDM_Stats]

Not sure what you mean by victim mentality? Is it because I see double standards applied to Klay vs our other wings? I don't think that's what the phrase means. I'm doing the same thing about wiggins and moody? as in, I'm saying they're not nba players? Or what arbitrary terms am I complaining about in regards to moody and wigs? I really don't follow, not trying to be a d!cc

Like going after that guy who said he isnt a NBA player. Who cares? Choosing to argue with that guy vs. the people who are more grounded, to me, is searching for an easy W. No one should even acknowledge that kinda nonsense.. of course Klay's a NBA player. Is he a NBA starter today? Can he be a positive impact player? Much better questions.. actual conversations to be had

As for the arbitrary stuff - Wiggins be very good, or playing amazing, these are subjective things that should not be argued, because its not a ranking, its a general description that varies person to person

Look, it's fair to call Klay out for his space cadet defense, questionable shot selection and bad body language. I think it's similarly fair to call out wiggins for not showing up for half the season and being a hit and miss player since (energy, not production). I'm not a 'woe is Klay' account. I'm more of a "klay isn't responsible for all of the team's woes" account. As in, I give Dray and his antics and Wigs and his first 40 or so games a significant share of the blame for the team's struggles.

Klay will get the most ink because hes the biggest problem. Dray can miss half the season but if he's there when it counts, it makes the team better, and thats the end game, not regular season wins. Wiggins, who's been a solid positive player since his early season shooting struggles - and to be clear, ONLY that - are still key cogs in making the team better. Klay isnt. Klay has shot above 40% in 33 of 71 games. So more than half the time he's shooting below the mendoza line for shooters, while playing mostly bad defense. And if thats not enough, the bad body language, the quitting on plays (and I mean active plays in the halfcourt which is super noticeable), the forcing up shots.. no fanbase is going to like that. He's being targeted for being inefficient, but its amplified because there's no heart to it either. If he was chasing down rebounds like Moody/Podz or being asked to guard the most difficult assignment like Wiggins, sure there'd be more sympathy. But he doesn't, and he's not. So folks will give him more ****, especially when there's a 1-2 guys behind him that are showing hustle and heart (as well as ability), one of whom is given almost no opportunity to consistently prove it despite consistent improvement year to year

But if I had to say a simple reason as to why Dray/Wiggins/Curry wont get as much crap - its because they have upside, and Klay doesn't. Klay's upside is a lights out shooting night that makes up for his poor defense.. he's shot over 50% 15 times this season. Conversely has shot under 30% 13 times this season. So equally likely to screw the team with being bad 2-ways than being what.. a slight positive? Maybe a major one if he goes nuclear? The scales tilt heavily one direction

Add all that up and of course Klay is going to be the focus for fans. And some criticism goes over the top, because its the internet and that always happens. But if thats the focus, I dont think thats a real conversation, that's just trying to dunk on a bad take. Which is fine, I've done it plenty, but I'm not going to use that as a measuring stick for anyone else