Game 68: Warriors vs Grizzlies 7:00 PM PDT

[Crazy-Canuck]

We could have 3 players with a double double. When's the last time that's ever happened?

[Crazy-Canuck]

Cp3 has been the best player this game.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Even in a blowout, saric is a walking net negative.

[superunknown]

game that means nothing much, only meanings are the team cannot produce a decent D effort for more than 5 mins a game and that impostor on the bench keeps throwing 3 guards lineups and funky rotations out there for no reason.

[Crazy-Canuck]

game that means nothing much, only meanings are the team cannot produce a decent D effort for more than 5 mins a game and that impostor on the bench keeps throwing 3 guards lineups and funky rotations out there for no reason.

It's that third pg.

When podz left the game, kerr went to a more traditional line up with 1 pg with wings and bigs. The team looked so much better. When podz returned, he immediately went to small line ups with twin pgs.

[CDM_Stats]

Got to see this one right behind the bench... lot of interesting stuff from the bench tonight. First and foremost, sitting behind a guy who's dressed like he's going to a rave.. sucks. But did hear some very interesting stuff:

- Dray's kerfluffle with Aldama was because he claimed Aldama was knuckling into his back. Or he might have been pointing at LaRavia. He made it very clear it was the white guy though

- I dont think Podz is terribly popular with teammates

- At one point during a timeout, I think it was in the 2nd quarter, Kerr told the team loudly - I dont care what you run on offense. I've not heard a coach say that ever, so was definitely weird to hear out loud

- One AC who shall remain nameless was frequently yelling "NO!" on Klay shots. Funny enough, most went in tonight, but still got a laugh from some of us around the area

- Moody was supposedly on a limit (one shift) but that was something I may have misheard from an AC. Sounded like "Hows your knee? <answer> Ok rest it, thats it tonight"

Stuff that had nothing to do with where we sat:

- JK's straight line speed is nothing short of insane. It looks like it defies physics tbh. Played some great defense in Q2, but it turned into some bad risks later in the game. The next stage of development will be knowing when to press and when to sag better, because at times its mechanical - he clearly decides what he's going to do this time instead of reacting to a play. But he's such a freak that its hard to stop when he decides to go for it anyways, so.. not the worst thing in the world. Loved when he took JJJ off the dribble a few times, because thats what he's going to need to do if he wants that big bag

- TJD's man defense is a problem. The footwork is bad, the anticipation is bad, and he cant really hang his hat anywhere. Not post D, not perimeter D.. help defense he's great at. And his offensive game is excellent. But the man D is his next step. JJJ took him to the woodshed

- Podz is doing good for a rookie but bad for a starting guard on a potential playoff team. Now he got popped in the mouth hard (no call, **** lol), but this is a long-term problem. He has to start scoring. He also needs to know when to let stuff go defensively, because he makes some really head scratching rotations

- Wiggins, JK, CP3 were the 3 best players tonight and all 3 were excellent

- GP2s shine is wearing off a bit, and it literally hurts to say it. Defensive rotations are getting messier and he's overhelping, and sometimes causing chaos when he starts improvising. Its gotten to the point where he needs to be a net neutral offensively

And as for the Grizzlies, man do they have absolutely zero defense from forwards. I mean there's some athleticism there but the BBIQ/cohesiveness is terrible. Esp Konchar, GG, and Aldama

Lastly, the crowd sucked. Not engaged most of the game, tons of empty seats, but the bars were packed. In my little area there was a lot of empty seats and I'm not used to that at all

[CDM_Stats]

Kerr needs to stop playing these small ball lineups. I would never play Podz, Klay, Payton, and CP3 together. I just don't get it.

We dont even need podz out there, we could put in moody, wiggs, or jk in that spot. I don't understand kerrs insistence of needing another pg out there with cp3.

100% agree. Hell, I would replace Payton for Moody too because Payton been making some boneheaded mistakes on D the last few games.

GP2's probably top 5 favorite Warrior of mine, but its time to start looking at his minutes and wondering why they are etched in stone

[CDM_Stats]

I liked Jake laravia coming out the draft. Nice to see him get minutes finally

I remember he had some hype on this board, and I can see that he's somewhat a smart player, but I dont think he's got it. And by it, I mean the ability to be a NBA rotational player. Think he's destined for overseas. Cant be skittish like that in his 3rd season.. seems like the kinda guy that needs a locked in role on an established team

All that said, he's smart enough, has credible range, and is buried on a healthy MEM team. There's probably a million worse ideas than looking into a Moody-LaRavia swap

[CDM_Stats]

Oh last note - Kerr had to notice that Aldama was practice shooting over Steph for a long stretch in Q2. Basically just pretended like Steph wasnt there and was like 3-5 or 4-6 in that Q, mostly against Steph. Its because CP3/Steph were playing together and CP3 got the easy assignment

But what makes it notable is that Kerr wasnt saying anything about it. Not asking for help, not switching anything, basically just accepting that running that lineup meant giving a hot shooter great looks from 3. Very frustrating to be about 20 ft away from it and seeing the indifference live. Nitpicky maybe, but not fun to see

[WarriorGM]

Warriors scored 137 points on just 2 free throws. Starting lineup had zero free throw attempts.

[Crazy-Canuck]

- I dont think Podz is terribly popular with teammates

When podz got hit, I don't think any teammate went over to check if he was alright. They all just walked to the bench and let him lie on the court by himself. It was awkward.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Oh last note - Kerr had to notice that Aldama was practice shooting over Steph for a long stretch in Q2. Basically just pretended like Steph wasnt there and was like 3-5 or 4-6 in that Q, mostly against Steph. Its because CP3/Steph were playing together and CP3 got the easy assignment

But what makes it notable is that Kerr wasnt saying anything about it. Not asking for help, not switching anything, basically just accepting that running that lineup meant giving a hot shooter great looks from 3. Very frustrating to be about 20 ft away from it and seeing the indifference live. Nitpicky maybe, but not fun to see

Yeah, it was obvious. And as soon as jk gave up a 3 on a lazy contest, kerr called a time out. Kerr gives a long leash to his guys and a short leash for others.

[Onus]

Oh last note - Kerr had to notice that Aldama was practice shooting over Steph for a long stretch in Q2. Basically just pretended like Steph wasnt there and was like 3-5 or 4-6 in that Q, mostly against Steph. Its because CP3/Steph were playing together and CP3 got the easy assignment

But what makes it notable is that Kerr wasnt saying anything about it. Not asking for help, not switching anything, basically just accepting that running that lineup meant giving a hot shooter great looks from 3. Very frustrating to be about 20 ft away from it and seeing the indifference live. Nitpicky maybe, but not fun to see

Yeah, it was obvious. And as soon as jk gave up a 3 on a lazy contest, kerr called a time out. Kerr gives a long leash to his guys and a short leash for others.

I mean Steph was there in his face there’s just not much he can do. Just have to give up something when you’re playing cp and Steph. Jk on the other hand can do something and we were sleep walking through most of that first half.

[Onus]

- I dont think Podz is terribly popular with teammates

When podz got hit, I don't think any teammate went over to check if he was alright. They all just walked to the bench and let him lie on the court by himself. It was awkward.

Podz personality can be really grating. I don't think his teammates at Santa Clara really liked him either.

[Onus]

I liked Jake laravia coming out the draft. Nice to see him get minutes finally

I remember he had some hype on this board, and I can see that he's somewhat a smart player, but I dont think he's got it. And by it, I mean the ability to be a NBA rotational player. Think he's destined for overseas. Cant be skittish like that in his 3rd season.. seems like the kinda guy that needs a locked in role on an established team

All that said, he's smart enough, has credible range, and is buried on a healthy MEM team. There's probably a million worse ideas than looking into a Moody-LaRavia swap

Seems like he still hasn't found himself a role even with this ragtag put together team. Not a great sign for him. Kind of just blended in the background, similar to how Moody was playing. But now Moody has been trying to make an imprint on the game

[superunknown]

game that means nothing much, only meanings are the team cannot produce a decent D effort for more than 5 mins a game and that impostor on the bench keeps throwing 3 guards lineups and funky rotations out there for no reason.

It's that third pg.

When podz left the game, kerr went to a more traditional line up with 1 pg with wings and bigs. The team looked so much better. When podz returned, he immediately went to small line ups with twin pgs.

but he runs that shite all the time and for too many mins. against the evidences. it's been a big issue all year long and he keeps engaging in it

[Impuniti]

Got to see this one right behind the bench... lot of interesting stuff from the bench tonight. First and foremost, sitting behind a guy who's dressed like he's going to a rave.. sucks. But did hear some very interesting stuff:

- Dray's kerfluffle with Aldama was because he claimed Aldama was knuckling into his back. Or he might have been pointing at LaRavia. He made it very clear it was the white guy though

- I dont think Podz is terribly popular with teammates

- At one point during a timeout, I think it was in the 2nd quarter, Kerr told the team loudly - I dont care what you run on offense. I've not heard a coach say that ever, so was definitely weird to hear out loud

- One AC who shall remain nameless was frequently yelling "NO!" on Klay shots. Funny enough, most went in tonight, but still got a laugh from some of us around the area

- Moody was supposedly on a limit (one shift) but that was something I may have misheard from an AC. Sounded like "Hows your knee? <answer> Ok rest it, thats it tonight"

Stuff that had nothing to do with where we sat:

- JK's straight line speed is nothing short of insane. It looks like it defies physics tbh. Played some great defense in Q2, but it turned into some bad risks later in the game. The next stage of development will be knowing when to press and when to sag better, because at times its mechanical - he clearly decides what he's going to do this time instead of reacting to a play. But he's such a freak that its hard to stop when he decides to go for it anyways, so.. not the worst thing in the world. Loved when he took JJJ off the dribble a few times, because thats what he's going to need to do if he wants that big bag

- TJD's man defense is a problem. The footwork is bad, the anticipation is bad, and he cant really hang his hat anywhere. Not post D, not perimeter D.. help defense he's great at. And his offensive game is excellent. But the man D is his next step. JJJ took him to the woodshed

- Podz is doing good for a rookie but bad for a starting guard on a potential playoff team. Now he got popped in the mouth hard (no call, **** lol), but this is a long-term problem. He has to start scoring. He also needs to know when to let stuff go defensively, because he makes some really head scratching rotations

- Wiggins, JK, CP3 were the 3 best players tonight and all 3 were excellent

- GP2s shine is wearing off a bit, and it literally hurts to say it. Defensive rotations are getting messier and he's overhelping, and sometimes causing chaos when he starts improvising. Its gotten to the point where he needs to be a net neutral offensively

And as for the Grizzlies, man do they have absolutely zero defense from forwards. I mean there's some athleticism there but the BBIQ/cohesiveness is terrible. Esp Konchar, GG, and Aldama

Lastly, the crowd sucked. Not engaged most of the game, tons of empty seats, but the bars were packed. In my little area there was a lot of empty seats and I'm not used to that at all

Some of this is quite interesting. What makes you think Podz isn't popular by the way? What did you see?

[CDM_Stats]

Some of this is quite interesting. What makes you think Podz isn't popular by the way? What did you see?

Just one of those things where it doesnt look right.. like if one of the vets called out someone vs. Podz calling out someone, the reactions were different. One player in particular - not Wiggins, btw - looked really annoyed with Podz at one point in the 1st half during a timeout and walked away from the huddle

I wouldnt put too much stock into it because its just how it looked for one game, but I wonder if his competitiveness is a bit grating on teammates. If someone has that obsessive Kobe-like attitude, has to be backed up on the court with big time results. But that's more just reading tea leaves than anything I've heard

[svart]

Some of this is quite interesting. What makes you think Podz isn't popular by the way? What did you see?

Just one of those things where it doesnt look right.. like if one of the vets called out someone vs. Podz calling out someone, the reactions were different. One player in particular - not Wiggins, btw - looked really annoyed with Podz at one point in the 1st half during a timeout and walked away from the huddle

I wouldnt put too much stock into it because its just how it looked for one game, but I wonder if his competitiveness is a bit grating on teammates. If someone has that obsessive Kobe-like attitude, has to be backed up on the court with big time results. But that's more just reading tea leaves than anything I've heard

Dray punch incoming?

[TB]

There were very not official rumblings (talking about forum/reddit type stuff from people at Santa Clara or Illinois etc) that mentioned that while coaches and some players love Podz due to his confidence and work ethic and how he demands a lot from teammates, a lot of it comes off as him being a total a** h***. I dont think he was very far off when he said he was a guard version of Dray. Not from a skill standpoint, but from how he leads and cares about the intangibles vs raw stats.

I honestly think the "next timeline" of guys will need someone like that. He can be the dray/cp3 that guys like Kuminga/Moody/Trayce need to keep the fire going.

I also think its important that Kerr, Santa Clara's coach, and even Illinois coach that didn't play him enough, all have incredibly positive things to say about him. Again, not much different than Izzo or Kerr loving what Dray brought even though it crossed the line at times.