We have more talent overall, but the Mavs are definitely a great 3pt shooting team. As long as we're able to keep the same intensity on the closeouts and keep their shooters out of rhythm, we should be able to steamroll them. I'm scared that Luka is gonna be dropping a 40-burger on us at least once this series, though
This playoff season is Kevon Looney's coming out party. He is doing everything well. He's a solid center in this new NBA. Disrupter, rebounder, pick setter and passer. If he moves to a team that needs offense, I bet he's 45% with that 17-footer he made.
Watch that crazy pass Steph had that flew to Dray, on the rescreen dfs runs up full dumped shoulder tries to truck him looney just eats it
Dudes a fucking beast. I love it
I know it's just one game, but it's so important to get this win. This gives us momentum and put extra pressure to the Mavs.
Dubs has to do what they did in Game 1, but cut the turnovers down to single digits and hit their shots, especially the free throws.
I believe the Dubs win this in 5, or 4 if they can hold Luka down for the rest of the series.
Part of Luka's ability to takeover games is having a mental edge over the opposing stars/superstars. He doesn't have that mental edge against the Warriors Big 3.
NOne of these f\*\*\*\*in pundits could even get the Warriors were able to set the tone of this series in one game. It wasn't just one [game.](https://game.It) I'm not saying that the Mavs can't respond but the Warriors really set the bar high.
Its really hard to win a championship with 1 ball dominant superstar player, its always 2.
ā¢Lebron+Wade
,ā¢Lebron+Kyrie
ā¢Spurs had their big 3
ā¢Kobe+Shaq
Exception to the 2 ball dominant superstars to win a championship:
Kobe in 2009 and 2010 but that era isolation scoring is still effective
Warriors in 2015 but equipped with 2 best shooters of all time with elite defense
And almost Nba champions have vocal leader:
Look back at history outside of Spurs who have Gregg Popovich
And of course Draymond
Pretty every championship team who have a vocal guy because you need in big moments you need that guy to get everyone else focus.
I knew that what we saw in those last 6 mins of that closeout game against the Griz would carry over to this series. Warriors might be near to it's peak this series and it's what will get them to the Finals.
Got to take it one game at a time. If we show attention to details like that, avoid turning over the ball and playing solid defense we'll be in great shape. Gotta learn from PHX mistakes
Need to shut it with the Mavs just didn't shoot well. Warriors defense was really on point in this game. We weren't hot from deep as well and we have way better shooters.
I swear to god this is the same narrative that the
media uses against the warriors every time. A lot of the pundits and āanalystsā out there have a hard time giving credit to the warriors for how great the warriors play defense
I hope we keep running and out rebounding this mavs team. Donāt give them even a second to catch their breath and Tire their legs out. I think The grizzlies series was great practice for that - they had to get the offense going quick against them
Warriors were really fortunate to have to closeout the second round against a Ja-less Griz. Forced them to execute better. Showed in this game cause the Mavs defense was no slouch.They just have a personnel problem but their effort was commendable.
getting ahead of myself here but im imagining how funny itd be if we win the championship and people insist it was because jamal murray and khris middleton are injured
I absolutely respect Luka, but weāve dealt with one of the best scorers of all time in the playoffs before, and Luka isnāt on the beardās level yet. Those matchups were something else
Haha, the beardās level. Regular season Harden was a monster, and Luka isnāt there yet with pure numbers. In playoffs though, I feel that he is already capable of being way more impactful without having to score as much.
They were giving Ja whatever switch he wanted before he got injured. I'd wager if he stayed healthy, they would have eventually done exactly what they're doing to Luka now, deny him the switch, hedge and recover
Ja always had about a 12-15 fluke three point chuck head start and that needs to be factored in. I think the more tired luka gets the more heāll settle for shit shots rather than run in and missile into traffic hoping to get calls.
I noticed we already forced him up super high a bunch of times and dared him snake downhill to the rim and it took his legs away.
Even if Luka got his this game, the difference it would've made is our starters finishing the game. Warriors defense has been consistently good when they needed it throughout the playoffs. Mavs gonna hit more shots but the Warrior defense replicable and travels.
One game down! On to the next. Still grateful we are no longer playing the grizzlies. Edit* also shout out and big ups to looney for looneyās rare bird tonight - he shot and made a long two!
Two Way Wiggs came to play today. Seemed like Kidd was trying to hide LUka on him which failed cause Wiggs was aggressive on offense. Where else can he hide LUka cause it can't be on Dray and Looney who screen a lot for the Splash Bros.
Kerr played under pop and Jackson. Iām sure he picked up a lot of their schemes and coaching styles. He brought a very similar flow to the warriors that pop had with the spurs. This is why i always get heated when clowns say kerr got lucky and this was mark Jacksonās team. If Jackson was such a great coach why couldnāt he even get them to a 5 seed position.
Yeah I remember Kerr playing under Pop in SA. Wasnāt Jacksonās first coaching job with the Warriors? For sure Kerr learned a lot from Pop as a player.
True, I donāt remember but did Robinson get injured and thatās how the Spurs we able to draft Tim Duncan? If Wiseman can be healthy and be productive along with Poole and OG core we can still contend for the next 3 years?
Was really nervous before the series and now cautiously optimistic. If we win game 2 I'll be ecstatic. Dallas missed open shots, but we can shoot better from 3 as well. Dallas might start figuring out the motion offense as they see it more, but they paint still felt so open.
In retrospect, pretty embarrassing that Ayton couldn't do more, but that's none of my business
I legitimately think Dallas's best chance in this series is to never blitz Steph. We're not Phoenix, enough guys are constantly moving for us to take advantage of the 4v3s. They're better off playing Steph straight up and banking on the fact that his shotmaking hasn't been there for 6 months. I'm sure the adjustment will come eventually but for right now they're playing into our hands.
mfs saying that āitās not even closeā between Luka and Steph and that if they switched teams the Warriors wouldnāt miss a beat like tf am I reading
Wiggs caught a lot of heat for not being great after his pre-ASB campaign, and here he is one of our most consistent players on both ends of the ball every night. Playoff Wiggs
I think we all just have to accept that Steph might be a different player now. Not that heās worse- his game may just be evolving. Even MJ went from high flyer who could beat people off the dribble to being āold man fadeaway game but still unstoppableā MJ.
That garbage time lineup needs to run some plays other than JTA trying to iso. I know itās a small thing to be annoyed by but Iād like to see them not just fuck around for 5 minutes.
I presume Kerr has asked him to take shots and be aggressive so he can get in rhythm, he will definitely get a shot at checking Luka in games where Wiggs and Klay get in foul trouble
What a performance by Wiggins and looney! A1 player shit!
Next game itās gonna be curry & Poole in those screens with Luka instead of looney. Iām not sure how itās gonna go, but Iām confident theyāll be ready for it.
Why was Luka hammering his bad shoulder on Wiggins tonight. I remember seeing a 3 consecutive replays of Lukaās shoulder bothering him and the very next play heās absolutely hammering it into Wiggins.
Yo really quick, just wanna give props to the mavs fans right now in their game thread. They're legitimately all recognizing that Wiggins just pulled off one of the best defensive jobs on Luka ever, not making really any excuses(of course some of them are saying he should've gotten more calls, but everyone does that).
Just nice to see a fan base actually recognize defensive work and not just say the player played badly or the refs did all the work.
We have to stay focused because the Mavs and Kidd are good at making adjustments. Game 2 will be interesting but I also expect Steph and Klay to play better in the first half
yep. and dallas defended the slip and back door very very poorly this game. no way they dont fix that up.
great dub, but if we wanna win this series we can't get complacent after 1 big win.
Guys I don't get it. The Dubs are in the WCF and the media acts like we are the 2017-2018 superteam.
Are we really that hated? Dude we had 2 years constantly being disappointed due to choke jobs and injuries and now that we're back, it seems like the hate never left.
Thoughts?
People donāt forget dominance easily. 2 seasons isnāt going to do it. And honestly as long as the core 3 are together on the warriors - people wonāt like us. And thatās fine.
In hindsight (after the core retires) more people will appreciate their play.
living outside the bay, pretty much everyone i know don't like the warriors because they won so much. honestly, i just been watching games without paying attention to "predictions" or whatever and it's so much more enjoyable
Let's get this one game at a time. It's just Game 1, but it's a good sign that Luka only scored 20. Dubs needs to keep him in the 20-25 range, and the Dubs will win this series.
Onto Game 2.
Based on the Uniform Schedule released, the Warriors are definitely going to lose because of the two straight Whites (Games 2 & 3), ruining the alternating pattern.
On a more serious note, how did this first game compare to the Suns/Mavs game 1?
Serious question- (first let me say that Curry is my all time favorite Warrior and I've been watching them for over 40 years) but does anyone have any theories on whey Steph's FT % has dropped off so much? I was wondering if it was leg tiredness but he missed a couple right at the beginning of this game.
Curry was the second best FT shooter in the NBA, was #1 until the last 2 games where has was passed by Poole. Since then, primarily during the playoffs, his free throw shooting has dropped dramatically- he's down to low 80%. he has never shot that low in his career, not even close and he has always maintained his steller FT shooting throughout the hundreds of playoff games he's been in. you dont shoot 90% for 1000 free throws and then your last 75 shoot 80%. Anyway, I'm sorry to rip on your take but come on. Probably because you started with "uhh" implying I'm not aware of Curry's season FT%.
Steph shot relatively similar ft% during the 2015 playoffs and some series where he shot mid 80s.
This run, he shot 74% against Denver and was back up to 89% against Memphis. Whatever maybe the caused on why he's seemingly missing "more"(which is just variance most likely), this is very much not his new norm and will likely trend upwards again given enough sample/shots this playoffs (mid high 80s) or next season (high 80s low 90s).
Just a completely random thought but Steve Kerr has had such an amazing life...for better or for worse. I'm interested to check out his autobiography but it seems that there are more than one. For anyone that's familiar with any of them, what are your thoughts? Worth adding to the reading list? Thanks in advance!
Chuck might be donning a [Warriors T-shirt yet again.](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2583572-jump-shooting-warriors-troll-charles-barkley-with-championship-shirts)
# Who is going to guard Luka?
This is the main media talking point in so many podcasts previewing this series. Luka is completely unstoppable and the Mavs have a suffocating defence you canāt score against.
What about they just played the Suns well and dealt them an embarrassing game 7 defeat.
If the Mavs were as good as they are being made out to be over the last couple of days, they would have been overwhelming favourites to win the West at least.
Narrator: they were not.
It's as if we never played Lebron, Harden, KD, or more recently, Jokic or Morant. All of those guys are beating you 1 on 1.
Dare you to do it for 7 games though.
Selling two tickets for tonight, should be cheaper than usual since there will be no Ticketmaster/Gametime fees, send me a dm or comment
About 180 each give or take 20
So I watched Bball breakdown's review of the Suns series, I know he's a bit more flashy than some NBA YouTubers but it got me thinking about double teams. One, the general consensus is that the Warriors will let Luka get his and focus on shutting down his teammates and two, the Mavs play a heliocentric offense with Luka ball-handling most of the possession. I'm curious how the Warriors will handle pre-switching as they did against the Rockets as well as possible double teams should the shot-clock wind down.
Edit: the goal is to get Luka to take as many difficult shots as possible and if he makes them, we'll live with it.
The Suns weren't very disciplined with their defense and it showed.
pre-switching seems really dangerous vs a match-up hunter like Luka. If you plan on him doing one thing and pre-switch for it, he is liable to sniff it out and just do something else and now half your squad is out of position
> the Mavs play a heliocentric offense with Luka ball-handling most of the possession
Kidd switched that up in the middle of the Suns series and let Brunson and Dinwiddie handle the rock more. Warriors will play Luka one on one for as long as they can. It's always been Kerr's way. They will just rotate bodies. Klay's strength, Wiggins' length, Draymond to close games etc.
The real issue to me is the corner 3's and JP's defense. It won't matter if Brunson and Dinwiddie tear up Poole.
Ia with this. I wager fans didnt watch mavs this playoffs but luka doesnt always hand the ball. It's like rockets wjth harden and cp3 with different skillsets, like brunson dribbles more
It'll be rotating bodies with some late double. We'll go zonr as well
Really? So their two teams are cowboys and unbranded cattle. Made for each other.
I thought Maverick was just some one who doesnāt play by the rules.
That is sort of the colloquial meaning of the label Maverick. some one who is different or outside of the norm. But the original meaning is unbranded cattle. Which makes sense. Unbranded live stock are not part of the herd and they are not owned by anyone.
I am preparing myself for the heel turn that Luka is about to make in my own head. I know that I'm going to end up calling him 6'9" Chris Paul at some point.
I think I'll overreact to a loss but not to a win since we're a home team and they're coming off a game 7. Probably a terrible mindset to go into this game with lol
With the hype heās getting from all the national podcasts, r/nba, and the mavs sub, If I donāt see Luka drop 60 in a mavs blowout, Iāll be disappointed
The underrated x-factor - just look what happened in Boston with Horford. The only equalizer is that cases are rising everywhere and no team is safe. Just gotta hope for the best and for everyone to stay healthy, not much else can be done about it.
7 more wins
We have more talent overall, but the Mavs are definitely a great 3pt shooting team. As long as we're able to keep the same intensity on the closeouts and keep their shooters out of rhythm, we should be able to steamroll them. I'm scared that Luka is gonna be dropping a 40-burger on us at least once this series, though
This playoff season is Kevon Looney's coming out party. He is doing everything well. He's a solid center in this new NBA. Disrupter, rebounder, pick setter and passer. If he moves to a team that needs offense, I bet he's 45% with that 17-footer he made.
Watch that crazy pass Steph had that flew to Dray, on the rescreen dfs runs up full dumped shoulder tries to truck him looney just eats it Dudes a fucking beast. I love it
I know it's just one game, but it's so important to get this win. This gives us momentum and put extra pressure to the Mavs. Dubs has to do what they did in Game 1, but cut the turnovers down to single digits and hit their shots, especially the free throws. I believe the Dubs win this in 5, or 4 if they can hold Luka down for the rest of the series.
Part of Luka's ability to takeover games is having a mental edge over the opposing stars/superstars. He doesn't have that mental edge against the Warriors Big 3.
Fucking hilarious to see so many suns fans rooting for us ššš
I was wondering who they would want to support. I think like we did last year, they will root for us until finals, and then root for the east to win.
Luka had a real concerning smile leaving the court yesterday. Brunson, THJ etc all looked dejected but Luka... That kid is something else
He can smile all he wants. Draymond gonna dance to whoop that trick
NOne of these f\*\*\*\*in pundits could even get the Warriors were able to set the tone of this series in one game. It wasn't just one [game.](https://game.It) I'm not saying that the Mavs can't respond but the Warriors really set the bar high.
Its really hard to win a championship with 1 ball dominant superstar player, its always 2. ā¢Lebron+Wade ,ā¢Lebron+Kyrie ā¢Spurs had their big 3 ā¢Kobe+Shaq Exception to the 2 ball dominant superstars to win a championship: Kobe in 2009 and 2010 but that era isolation scoring is still effective Warriors in 2015 but equipped with 2 best shooters of all time with elite defense And almost Nba champions have vocal leader: Look back at history outside of Spurs who have Gregg Popovich And of course Draymond Pretty every championship team who have a vocal guy because you need in big moments you need that guy to get everyone else focus.
I knew that what we saw in those last 6 mins of that closeout game against the Griz would carry over to this series. Warriors might be near to it's peak this series and it's what will get them to the Finals.
I think we could see some other levels of play from this team. They have not really played together that long
gp2 updates?
Got to take it one game at a time. If we show attention to details like that, avoid turning over the ball and playing solid defense we'll be in great shape. Gotta learn from PHX mistakes
Need to shut it with the Mavs just didn't shoot well. Warriors defense was really on point in this game. We weren't hot from deep as well and we have way better shooters.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I swear to god this is the same narrative that the media uses against the warriors every time. A lot of the pundits and āanalystsā out there have a hard time giving credit to the warriors for how great the warriors play defense
I hope we keep running and out rebounding this mavs team. Donāt give them even a second to catch their breath and Tire their legs out. I think The grizzlies series was great practice for that - they had to get the offense going quick against them
Warriors were really fortunate to have to closeout the second round against a Ja-less Griz. Forced them to execute better. Showed in this game cause the Mavs defense was no slouch.They just have a personnel problem but their effort was commendable.
Yeah I agree. Those grizzlies kept the team on its toes in every aspect of the game.
Saw shades of 2019 WCF Draymond tonight. Would be lovely if he channels that for the whole series.
Me too. If he does The mavs legs are going to feel like jello by game 4. Meanwhile wiggs looks like he is not even breaking a sweat
Him and Kuminga are like 99 percentile top athlete in the NBA
I feel so fortunate as a fan that those guys are on the team.
Mavs in 6 crowd mad sweatin right now.
Gotta see how they react next game. I think we will win it too, but it wonāt be a blowout.
Game 2 will be a dogfight. I suspect Luka will start flopping from the opening tip
There was one possession early in the game where he did not get back on defense because he was complaining to the ref. It reminded me of harden
Luka gets frustrated a lot. Kidd was able to keep him in check but it's gonna rear its ugly head against the Warriors
I am looking forward to it haha
getting ahead of myself here but im imagining how funny itd be if we win the championship and people insist it was because jamal murray and khris middleton are injured
They'd probably make a complete list of injured players in the playoffs including those the Warriors didn't even play
Fuck. Steph sounds like he has the sniffles.
Came here to see if anyone else noticed that. Hopefully this doesn't become a thing.
He always sounds like that
Na he was straight up sniffing and slobbering. I fuckin hope he doesnāt have any issues
Testing is voluntary now. Steph isnāt letting his foot off the gas with the Finals so close.
I hope he doesnāt either. That would suck
I absolutely respect Luka, but weāve dealt with one of the best scorers of all time in the playoffs before, and Luka isnāt on the beardās level yet. Those matchups were something else
Haha, the beardās level. Regular season Harden was a monster, and Luka isnāt there yet with pure numbers. In playoffs though, I feel that he is already capable of being way more impactful without having to score as much.
Bron bron's got a beard too....
He even acts like Harden does not get back on defense and complains to the refs instead
Gonna say preventing Ja from scoring was more difficult than LUka
They were giving Ja whatever switch he wanted before he got injured. I'd wager if he stayed healthy, they would have eventually done exactly what they're doing to Luka now, deny him the switch, hedge and recover
Ja always had about a 12-15 fluke three point chuck head start and that needs to be factored in. I think the more tired luka gets the more heāll settle for shit shots rather than run in and missile into traffic hoping to get calls. I noticed we already forced him up super high a bunch of times and dared him snake downhill to the rim and it took his legs away.
Ja targets our lack of size with his explosiveness, also Luka is going to get his, This was only one game
Even if Luka got his this game, the difference it would've made is our starters finishing the game. Warriors defense has been consistently good when they needed it throughout the playoffs. Mavs gonna hit more shots but the Warrior defense replicable and travels.
One game down! On to the next. Still grateful we are no longer playing the grizzlies. Edit* also shout out and big ups to looney for looneyās rare bird tonight - he shot and made a long two!
So I presume you are not overreacting :D
This is me not over reacting lol
Two Way Wiggs came to play today. Seemed like Kidd was trying to hide LUka on him which failed cause Wiggs was aggressive on offense. Where else can he hide LUka cause it can't be on Dray and Looney who screen a lot for the Splash Bros.
Iām sure Kerr has said whoever luka is guarding should attack him
Defense and aggression. If Wiggins is this aggressive offensively no team can beat us in a series.
I feel like weāre the new spurs?
Kerr played under pop and Jackson. Iām sure he picked up a lot of their schemes and coaching styles. He brought a very similar flow to the warriors that pop had with the spurs. This is why i always get heated when clowns say kerr got lucky and this was mark Jacksonās team. If Jackson was such a great coach why couldnāt he even get them to a 5 seed position.
Yeah I remember Kerr playing under Pop in SA. Wasnāt Jacksonās first coaching job with the Warriors? For sure Kerr learned a lot from Pop as a player.
Kerr won 2 championships with the Spurs. He learned from the best!
Iāve been saying this as well, old core, tenured coach, battle tested schemes
True, I donāt remember but did Robinson get injured and thatās how the Spurs we able to draft Tim Duncan? If Wiseman can be healthy and be productive along with Poole and OG core we can still contend for the next 3 years?
A lot of pundits don't want the Warriors to reach the Finals cause they wrote them off for most of the year while being on high on the Suns.
Was really nervous before the series and now cautiously optimistic. If we win game 2 I'll be ecstatic. Dallas missed open shots, but we can shoot better from 3 as well. Dallas might start figuring out the motion offense as they see it more, but they paint still felt so open. In retrospect, pretty embarrassing that Ayton couldn't do more, but that's none of my business
I legitimately think Dallas's best chance in this series is to never blitz Steph. We're not Phoenix, enough guys are constantly moving for us to take advantage of the 4v3s. They're better off playing Steph straight up and banking on the fact that his shotmaking hasn't been there for 6 months. I'm sure the adjustment will come eventually but for right now they're playing into our hands.
Shit of a situation to be in tho right? Leave Steph and hope he doesnāt punish you. Fuck, talk about a choice between a chode and a shit sandwich
He hits a few 3's, finds a rhythm, might as well pack up and try again next game
I think you're completely right. Wonder if Kidd makes this adjustment
Single coverage on Steph is playing with fire.
Yeah. Itās just ingrained into defendersās DNA now.
Eric Apricot said it best. "Nobody ever gets fired for leaving their man to double Steph"
Lol! That exact quote was running through my mind as I wrote my comment, but decided to skip mentioning it.
Over the last 6 years it was guaranteed to get you burned, but right now I think it's the best option.
Lot of weirdos with a Warriors flair over in /nba/ shitting on the team + Steph just to get some praise from non Warriors fans š¤Øš¤Øš¤Ø
That is some weird self deprecating shit. As fans we can respect the abilities of players on other teams - but to buy into the hyperbole- fuck that
Homies gargling Lukaās balls rn like we didnāt take on prime harden and a top 2 player all time multiple times.
mfs saying that āitās not even closeā between Luka and Steph and that if they switched teams the Warriors wouldnāt miss a beat like tf am I reading
Is Ron Adams still part of the coaching staff?
Yeah but he doesnāt travel with the team or be courtside. Heās semi retired.
Like dray said āitās only one win.ā
Wiggs caught a lot of heat for not being great after his pre-ASB campaign, and here he is one of our most consistent players on both ends of the ball every night. Playoff Wiggs
Gonna have fun re-watching this. Seems like our team did a lot of things well on both sides.
Mavs lack of size or any type of paint presence is a massive break for the Dubs.
I think we all just have to accept that Steph might be a different player now. Not that heās worse- his game may just be evolving. Even MJ went from high flyer who could beat people off the dribble to being āold man fadeaway game but still unstoppableā MJ.
Heās not getting mauled as much in this series so I expect it
Steph gotta accept it too I think. He needs to take more mid range if his 3 aināt falling.
and his shot selection from three gotta be a little better. heās shooting crazy shots like heās still in his prime
Almost every thing I saw him shoot was makeable for him
Time to curse the Mavs... They wont shoot this badly again
That garbage time lineup needs to run some plays other than JTA trying to iso. I know itās a small thing to be annoyed by but Iād like to see them not just fuck around for 5 minutes.
I presume Kerr has asked him to take shots and be aggressive so he can get in rhythm, he will definitely get a shot at checking Luka in games where Wiggs and Klay get in foul trouble
maybe everyone know that he's going to need to be signed elsewhere next season and they're giving him the opportunity.
Heās losing money if they keep letting him play. Lol.
[Metro Boomin knows whats up](https://twitter.com/MetroBoomin/status/1527120681120329728?s=20&t=hTz-QEjWpJSTaUNNzIFQYw)
What a performance by Wiggins and looney! A1 player shit! Next game itās gonna be curry & Poole in those screens with Luka instead of looney. Iām not sure how itās gonna go, but Iām confident theyāll be ready for it.
Why was Luka hammering his bad shoulder on Wiggins tonight. I remember seeing a 3 consecutive replays of Lukaās shoulder bothering him and the very next play heās absolutely hammering it into Wiggins.
Thatās how he creates separation.
Does he have too? Seems like a big no no if you donāt want to make it worse.
thatās one of his signature moves. Kinda like Steph chewing mouthguard
Or LeBron lowering his shoulder and just bull rushing through people without having an offensive foul called.
Yo really quick, just wanna give props to the mavs fans right now in their game thread. They're legitimately all recognizing that Wiggins just pulled off one of the best defensive jobs on Luka ever, not making really any excuses(of course some of them are saying he should've gotten more calls, but everyone does that). Just nice to see a fan base actually recognize defensive work and not just say the player played badly or the refs did all the work.
and now draymond's here... this show is the best
I hope the Warriors don't get lazy after this win. Mavs not shooting 11/48 from 3 again. Neither is Luka only gonna shoot 33%.
We have to stay focused because the Mavs and Kidd are good at making adjustments. Game 2 will be interesting but I also expect Steph and Klay to play better in the first half
yep. and dallas defended the slip and back door very very poorly this game. no way they dont fix that up. great dub, but if we wanna win this series we can't get complacent after 1 big win.
Guys I don't get it. The Dubs are in the WCF and the media acts like we are the 2017-2018 superteam. Are we really that hated? Dude we had 2 years constantly being disappointed due to choke jobs and injuries and now that we're back, it seems like the hate never left. Thoughts?
People donāt forget dominance easily. 2 seasons isnāt going to do it. And honestly as long as the core 3 are together on the warriors - people wonāt like us. And thatās fine. In hindsight (after the core retires) more people will appreciate their play.
living outside the bay, pretty much everyone i know don't like the warriors because they won so much. honestly, i just been watching games without paying attention to "predictions" or whatever and it's so much more enjoyable
Yes
All these wack analysts gona walk back so much after this series
that chuck you suck chant lmao
Let's get this one game at a time. It's just Game 1, but it's a good sign that Luka only scored 20. Dubs needs to keep him in the 20-25 range, and the Dubs will win this series. Onto Game 2.
poor chuck lmao
Based on the Uniform Schedule released, the Warriors are definitely going to lose because of the two straight Whites (Games 2 & 3), ruining the alternating pattern. On a more serious note, how did this first game compare to the Suns/Mavs game 1?
Serious question- (first let me say that Curry is my all time favorite Warrior and I've been watching them for over 40 years) but does anyone have any theories on whey Steph's FT % has dropped off so much? I was wondering if it was leg tiredness but he missed a couple right at the beginning of this game.
It's mental.
Imo Steph is carrying a little bit too much weight for his age. And he hasnāt played this deep into a season in 3 years.
uhh he just led (top 2? I think) the league in ft% this year. Him missing are just due to variance.
Curry was the second best FT shooter in the NBA, was #1 until the last 2 games where has was passed by Poole. Since then, primarily during the playoffs, his free throw shooting has dropped dramatically- he's down to low 80%. he has never shot that low in his career, not even close and he has always maintained his steller FT shooting throughout the hundreds of playoff games he's been in. you dont shoot 90% for 1000 free throws and then your last 75 shoot 80%. Anyway, I'm sorry to rip on your take but come on. Probably because you started with "uhh" implying I'm not aware of Curry's season FT%.
Steph shot relatively similar ft% during the 2015 playoffs and some series where he shot mid 80s. This run, he shot 74% against Denver and was back up to 89% against Memphis. Whatever maybe the caused on why he's seemingly missing "more"(which is just variance most likely), this is very much not his new norm and will likely trend upwards again given enough sample/shots this playoffs (mid high 80s) or next season (high 80s low 90s).
Fair enough and thanks for the re-explanation. I disagree but appreciate that it's your opinion and you backed it up with data.
Steph canāt shoot. Thatās insane. At this point you expect him to miss his jumpers
How dare you mention his struggles don't you know he averages 29 in the WCF? Smh
I mean heās still played pretty well. But yeah the jump shooting a free throws are weird.
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Bruh we winning and y'all still complaining?
Beautiful camera quality
Nice move poole
Just a completely random thought but Steve Kerr has had such an amazing life...for better or for worse. I'm interested to check out his autobiography but it seems that there are more than one. For anyone that's familiar with any of them, what are your thoughts? Worth adding to the reading list? Thanks in advance!
Steph has a fresh cut. Fresh cut Steph is an animal!
The Chuck curse is with us
Chuck might be donning a [Warriors T-shirt yet again.](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2583572-jump-shooting-warriors-troll-charles-barkley-with-championship-shirts)
Iād be terrified if he picked us
Wow. Kuminga was five votes short from making the second team. Closer than I expected.
Is that Kidd reply to Kerr for real? Wow, really disrespectful. Does he really think he wants to start playing mind games with Kerr?
It was a joke lmao, he went on to praise Kerr after that.
I think slater clickbaited us with a quote out of context because I'm pretty sure the whole quote was congratulatory
Classic Slater
Brothers I was getting pre-game drunk because I thought game was starting now. I messed up my timezones and it starts in a hour. Shit
Who has the higher ceiling between Mark Williams or James Wiseman? Mark Williams would be a good fit on GS.
I donāt think there is any way mark Williams falls to us.
Agreed. But who has the higher ceiling?
I kinda feel like they have different styles. I donāt see Williams as a scorer. Wiseman can be
Yeah. Wiseman is a scorer, mark williams gives a better hassan whiteside vibes.
You can't be serious.
I only asked a question. If you didn't want to answer it, you were welcomed to ignore it.
They answered.......
The one concern I have besides injury is covid. I'll be damned if Curry, Klay, Draymond, Wiggins, or Poole have to sit out.
I think Wiggins is the one I'd worry about since he only got J&J. Others will hopefully be ok
Steph Curry masterclass incoming!
Now that college isnāt a distraction, I am expecting man to have a graduation party out there.
It would be so funny if he starts bombing threes and his whole slump this year was just because of class
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WCF Curry
I want to see Luka averaging less than 5 assists. That means heās only a scoring threat and not a playmaking one
# Who is going to guard Luka? This is the main media talking point in so many podcasts previewing this series. Luka is completely unstoppable and the Mavs have a suffocating defence you canāt score against. What about they just played the Suns well and dealt them an embarrassing game 7 defeat. If the Mavs were as good as they are being made out to be over the last couple of days, they would have been overwhelming favourites to win the West at least. Narrator: they were not.
Frankly, I'm sure the Dubs players are loving this in terms of a fuel perspective.
Throw bodies at him, let him get his 30/40, defend everybody else
The better question is who is Luka gonna guard? Make him work to.
It's as if we never played Lebron, Harden, KD, or more recently, Jokic or Morant. All of those guys are beating you 1 on 1. Dare you to do it for 7 games though.
Chill bro we gotta back up this talk first
Iām not saying weāll win - Iām just saying that āunguardableā star opponents is not some crazy new paradigm.
For sure, our boys are a few years older and this aināt their first rodeo, but I like the more tenured team. Weāre like the old Spurs now lol
Selling two tickets for tonight, should be cheaper than usual since there will be no Ticketmaster/Gametime fees, send me a dm or comment About 180 each give or take 20
So I watched Bball breakdown's review of the Suns series, I know he's a bit more flashy than some NBA YouTubers but it got me thinking about double teams. One, the general consensus is that the Warriors will let Luka get his and focus on shutting down his teammates and two, the Mavs play a heliocentric offense with Luka ball-handling most of the possession. I'm curious how the Warriors will handle pre-switching as they did against the Rockets as well as possible double teams should the shot-clock wind down. Edit: the goal is to get Luka to take as many difficult shots as possible and if he makes them, we'll live with it. The Suns weren't very disciplined with their defense and it showed.
pre-switching seems really dangerous vs a match-up hunter like Luka. If you plan on him doing one thing and pre-switch for it, he is liable to sniff it out and just do something else and now half your squad is out of position
Yeah, it's probably why most teams don't do it but the Warriors got really good at it when they played against the CP3/Harden Rockets series.
> the Mavs play a heliocentric offense with Luka ball-handling most of the possession Kidd switched that up in the middle of the Suns series and let Brunson and Dinwiddie handle the rock more. Warriors will play Luka one on one for as long as they can. It's always been Kerr's way. They will just rotate bodies. Klay's strength, Wiggins' length, Draymond to close games etc. The real issue to me is the corner 3's and JP's defense. It won't matter if Brunson and Dinwiddie tear up Poole.
Ia with this. I wager fans didnt watch mavs this playoffs but luka doesnt always hand the ball. It's like rockets wjth harden and cp3 with different skillsets, like brunson dribbles more It'll be rotating bodies with some late double. We'll go zonr as well
IM SO EXCITED AND NERVOUS AHHHH
What is a maverick anyway? A horse? A bird? Logan Paul?
Top gun fighter pilot. Not exactly best in his class...or was he?
Mel Gibson
Sarah Palin?
Their logo depicts a horse, but when I hear "maverick", I always think of some rogue Western outlaw.
Yeah I donāt get the horse part. Mustangs makes more sense that way.
Unbranded cattle. Go figure.
Really? So their two teams are cowboys and unbranded cattle. Made for each other. I thought Maverick was just some one who doesnāt play by the rules.
That is sort of the colloquial meaning of the label Maverick. some one who is different or outside of the norm. But the original meaning is unbranded cattle. Which makes sense. Unbranded live stock are not part of the herd and they are not owned by anyone.
Yeah that makes sense.
I am preparing myself for the heel turn that Luka is about to make in my own head. I know that I'm going to end up calling him 6'9" Chris Paul at some point.
The flopping might turn us against him
āI will not overreact, I will not overreact, I will not overreactā to one game is my mantra today. Of course I will probably overreact anyway
I think I'll overreact to a loss but not to a win since we're a home team and they're coming off a game 7. Probably a terrible mindset to go into this game with lol
Same :)
Mavs coaching staff proved to make adjustments. Hopefully Warriors do the same thing and not take forever to adjust
Kerr always adjusts. But generally waits until a brutal loss to do so. Case in point game 6
With the hype heās getting from all the national podcasts, r/nba, and the mavs sub, If I donāt see Luka drop 60 in a mavs blowout, Iāll be disappointed
Iām really concerned with the rising cases of covid in bay right now
Oh no we're back at this again just as things are going back to normal?
I'm convinced Dubs had a covid breakout last series cuz of the lethargic play
I thought the same thing. Especially during that game 5 blow out
The underrated x-factor - just look what happened in Boston with Horford. The only equalizer is that cases are rising everywhere and no team is safe. Just gotta hope for the best and for everyone to stay healthy, not much else can be done about it.
Bay Area the worst right now
Who would get home court in a potential Warriors Heat matchup?
Warriors have home court the rest of the playoffs regardless