Warriors 2019 playoff thread

113,417 Views | 1110 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by philbert
bearister
How long do you want to ignore this user?
If the Portland series continues like this then Walton may have to be brought in as a ringer to beef up the color commentary.

Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
sycasey
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Tight turnaround for the Blazers after an emotional win in Denver, so I'm not surprised they were a bit flat in this one. They'll probably play better.

Not that I think they have much of a prayer of winning this series, of course.
ducky23
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I enjoyed watching Kanter trying to play defense. Granted, Stotts did him no favors by playing him back on pnrs (btw that has to be the dumbest thing I've ever seen) but later in the 4th Kanter started coming out to guard curry. Curry would just zip by him, Kanter would follow, no one would rotate and there's looney for an easy dunk. It was almost like watching a scrimmage it's so easy.

Stotts is obviously going to have to start making some adjustments. Dropping Kanter into the key and just leaving the best shooter to ever live have wide open looks is beyond suicide. I felt like the dubs could've scored 160 if they really wanted to by just running 1-5 pnrs every time, but they probably didn't just cause they don't want Stotts to adjust.

I really like Collins. They should just tell him to get after it and guard curry as hard and as physical as possible. Anything seems like a better idea.

And I love how ppl enjoy crapping on Houston. Sure, they have a bunch of chokers. But man can they play defense. That's the huge take away I took from this game. The level of defense was night and day. Against Houston, steph/klay had to fight for every inch of free space. But tonight, Steph and klay had it so easy they just started throwing behind the back passes to lacob in the front row.

Again, if you're looking for a team that can take down the warriors, you first have to look at defense. Do they have 5 guys who can switch everything (most importantly off ball screen) and play Steph/klay physically. Mil might be that team. They have the length and athleticism. But man, Portland is so incredibly soft on defense. Let's see if they can make an adjustment on defense and start playing with some physicality.
GMP
How long do you want to ignore this user?
It's wild, but Stotts seemed to suggest he would not have the big step up on the screen. Crazy.

ducky23
How long do you want to ignore this user?
GMP said:

It's wild, but Stotts seemed to suggest he would not have the big step up on the screen. Crazy.




Yeah I saw that.

What's way more interesting are the clips of cj and dame doing their interviews. They both said sagging the big man was f'ing stupid (paraphrasing....slightly).

So either the players don't agree with their coaches strategy or Stotts is playing stupid and plans to adjust the next game.

Stotts certainly does come off as an idiot in that interview. He doesn't seem to realize that it doesn't just come down to either sagging the big man or trapping. There is a third option. You can do the obvious and sit Kanter, play Collins and simply switch the pnr. It's not rocket science.

To paraphrase CJ McCollum, literally anything is better.
HoopDreams
How long do you want to ignore this user?
ducky23 said:

I enjoyed watching Kanter trying to play defense. Granted, Stotts did him no favors by playing him back on pnrs (btw that has to be the dumbest thing I've ever seen) but later in the 4th Kanter started coming out to guard curry. Curry would just zip by him, Kanter would follow, no one would rotate and there's looney for an easy dunk. It was almost like watching a scrimmage it's so easy.

Stotts is obviously going to have to start making some adjustments. Dropping Kanter into the key and just leaving the best shooter to ever live have wide open looks is beyond suicide. I felt like the dubs could've scored 160 if they really wanted to by just running 1-5 pnrs every time, but they probably didn't just cause they don't want Stotts to adjust.

I really like Collins. They should just tell him to get after it and guard curry as hard and as physical as possible. Anything seems like a better idea.

And I love how ppl enjoy crapping on Houston. Sure, they have a bunch of chokers. But man can they play defense. That's the huge take away I took from this game. The level of defense was night and day. Against Houston, steph/klay had to fight for every inch of free space. But tonight, Steph and klay had it so easy they just started throwing behind the back passes to lacob in the front row.

Again, if you're looking for a team that can take down the warriors, you first have to look at defense. Do they have 5 guys who can switch everything (most importantly off ball screen) and play Steph/klay physically. Mil might be that team. They have the length and athleticism. But man, Portland is so incredibly soft on defense. Let's see if they can make an adjustment on defense and start playing with some physicality.
good post.

yeah, when I saw how many fast breaks the Ws were getting in the first half, I thought the game was over. did portland even scout this team?

and some of portland's half court defense was equally bad. i don't watch much regular season games. is portland really that bad defensively?
ClayK
How long do you want to ignore this user?
There's a reason Steph Curry is a two-time MVP and destined for the Hall of Fame -- you can't guard him.

The Rockets double-teamed him and he scored 33 and his teammates got open looks. (Kerr, by the way, did an interesting thing by allowing the double team to occur right near halfcourt, which spread the court for the roller and created very good looks.)

The Blazers dropped Kanter back and Curry scored 35 (or however many it was).

My guess is that Stotts' plan was to let Curry get his and hold everyone else down, which is a reasonable strategy. The problem was that Lillard, who whined afterward, didn't show up. If Lillard gets 35, then Stotts would be praised for his coaching acumen.

The other issue is this: Kanter in a double-team on Curry is pointless -- he's not nearly quick enough to keep Curry from dribbling around him, which now means the Warriors are playing 4-on-3. And Portland has no other option than Kanter inside with Nurkic hurt. Without Kanter's 16 rebounds, Portland is in a world of hurt.
BearSD
How long do you want to ignore this user?
ClayK said:

My guess is that Stotts' plan was to let Curry get his and hold everyone else down, which is a reasonable strategy. The problem was that Lillard, who whined afterward, didn't show up. If Lillard gets 35, then Stotts would be praised for his coaching acumen.
Outscoring the Warriors when they're lax on defense might be the best of several not very appealing strategies.

It worked for the Clippers twice -- they scored 135 and 129 points in their two wins in the first round.

Though as you mentioned it only works if you actually outscore them.
TheFiatLux
How long do you want to ignore this user?
The games on TNT are soooooo much more enjoyable to watch. Marv and whomever he has working with him provide me so much more enjoyment. And the studio TNT crew can't be matched. Jackson and JVG are just awful, and maybe I'm being too sensitive, but it seems they complain about waaaaay more calls that go the Warriors way than the other way around. I really just don't enjoy the ABC / ESPN games.
TheFiatLux
How long do you want to ignore this user?
ducky23 said:

concordtom said:

The warriors have incredible character.
I love this interview:




Klay's post game interviews with kerith burke are the best.
The dude is just such a normal guy. He's easily my favorite athlete just personality wise.
I think all of them, Klay, Steph, Kerr are so incredibly classy and likeable. I often think when I'm faced with some tough decisions or a situation, how would Kerr handle it. Seriously.

I think Steph, along with Dave Stewart and Ricky Henderson are my all time favorite professional athletes. Just for the way they approach the game, the organization, the area and the fans. And steph in particular is just so amazingly likable and how he manages to do with that seemingly whisp of a frame, he gets pounded every game without fouls getting called and he just keeps going out there and doing his thing.

Also, I love the jacket Steph had on Sunday



I've been a Warrriors fan since i was a little kid in the 70s and wondered what that aroma was in the ramp area under the stands... I was mocked by Joe Barry Carroll (Joe Barely Cares)... I would "watch" my transistor radio at night as Bill King called the game with such color you could see what was happening over the radio (his calls of Bernard King breaking away down the sideline and roaring in for a dunk still give me chills). I lived through everything in that great Bill Simmons column from before the run started...

This stretch has been heaven. It's so nice to be a fan of "that" team that everyone around the country is following and when we go to opposing arenas, not only are there a lot of Warrior fans, but the home fans appreciate what they see. It's going to end eventually (and man do i hate to see the leave Oakland), so all the more reason to enjoy the hell out of it now.

sycasey
How long do you want to ignore this user?
TheFiatLux said:

The games on TNT are soooooo much more enjoyable to watch. Marv and whomever he has working with him provide me so much more enjoyment. And the studio TNT crew can't be matched. Jackson and JVG are just awful, and maybe I'm being too sensitive, but it seems they complain about waaaaay more calls that go the Warriors way than the other way around. I really just don't enjoy the ABC / ESPN games.
I don't think it's specific to the Warriors, but Van Gundy definitely spends way too much time complaining about the refs.
BearSD
How long do you want to ignore this user?
sycasey said:

TheFiatLux said:

The games on TNT are soooooo much more enjoyable to watch. Marv and whomever he has working with him provide me so much more enjoyment. And the studio TNT crew can't be matched. Jackson and JVG are just awful, and maybe I'm being too sensitive, but it seems they complain about waaaaay more calls that go the Warriors way than the other way around. I really just don't enjoy the ABC / ESPN games.
I don't think it's specific to the Warriors, but Van Gundy definitely spends way too much time complaining about the refs.
Van Gundy complains about the calls and about a lot of other things. He's a complainer.

Mark Jackson, OTOH, seems to be going out of his way to praise the Warriors so as to give the impression that he has no hard feelings about being fired. Doug Collins was the same way when he did TV commentary on Bulls games after they fired him.
bearister
How long do you want to ignore this user?
TheFiatLux said:

The games on TNT are soooooo much more enjoyable to watch. Marv and whomever he has working with him provide me so much more enjoyment. And the studio TNT crew can't be matched. Jackson and JVG are just awful, and maybe I'm being too sensitive, but it seems they complain about waaaaay more calls that go the Warriors way than the other way around. I really just don't enjoy the ABC / ESPN games.


Does Marv still wear women's underwear?


Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
ducky23
How long do you want to ignore this user?
ClayK said:

There's a reason Steph Curry is a two-time MVP and destined for the Hall of Fame -- you can't guard him.

The Rockets double-teamed him and he scored 33 and his teammates got open looks. (Kerr, by the way, did an interesting thing by allowing the double team to occur right near halfcourt, which spread the court for the roller and created very good looks.)

The Blazers dropped Kanter back and Curry scored 35 (or however many it was).

My guess is that Stotts' plan was to let Curry get his and hold everyone else down, which is a reasonable strategy. The problem was that Lillard, who whined afterward, didn't show up. If Lillard gets 35, then Stotts would be praised for his coaching acumen.

The other issue is this: Kanter in a double-team on Curry is pointless -- he's not nearly quick enough to keep Curry from dribbling around him, which now means the Warriors are playing 4-on-3. And Portland has no other option than Kanter inside with Nurkic hurt. Without Kanter's 16 rebounds, Portland is in a world of hurt.
I'm sorry. No, giving Curry wide open threes is not a viable strategy. I don't care how you try to spin it. Its not like its some failure of execution that is causing the wide open threes. Its a conscious choice. Portland is choosing to give Curry wide open threes because they think that's somehow a good defensive strategy. Its the dumbest thing I've ever seen in a conference finals game.

The dubs probably gave about a D+/C- effort on the offensive side of the ball, and they still lit up portland. If they had wanted to, they could've gone to the 1-5 PNR every single time down the court. There's a reason they didn't. Its just like greg papa said earlier during his radio show this afternoon. 'Put some bodyguards around Kanter, make sure he's healthy at all costs!"

The Warriors are doing everything in their power to keep Kanter on the court because they know they can go to the well any time they want with Kanter on the floor. that's why during game 1, they picked their spots carefully and only went at Kanter when they needed to. They don't want to force Kanter off the court. But if that were a Game 7, Curry could've gone for 60 if he had wanted to if Portland kept their bigs sagging.

Lets look at this logically. The key on defense is to make the opponents take the least efficient shot possible. Can we all agree on that?

Now, besides a layup/dunk/free throw, is there a more efficient shot in basketball than a wide open curry 3?

Now lets say you replace Kanter with Collins. And then you switch the on-ball PNR. so you have Collins guarding steph in space. And you tell Collins that his only job is to drive Curry off the 3 point line.

In that scenario, what are some of the worst things that can happen. a) Curry takes a 3, but at least with at least slightly more on-ball pressure (at least he will have to work for it) or b) Curry easily drives by Collins and takes a wide open mid-range jumper or c) Curry easily drives by Collins (the portland defenders have orders to close off the lane and leave all other warrior's shooters open - besides Klay), Curry drives, lane gets closed off, curry passes to Iggy (or whoever) for a wide open 3

All of those scenarios are WAY better than allowing Curry to walk into an open 3 with the next closest person 15 feet away from him. you have to play the percentages.

Stotts right now has the entire basketball world laughing at him. I can't watch/listen to a single TV or radio show right now without seeing people just laughing at him. Kelenna last night had trouble even speaking during the postgame cause he was so flabbergasted with stott's defensive strategy. seeing people flabbergasted was a common occurrence last night.

Now you and Stotts may be geniuses and know something that we all don't know. but much more likely, portland is going to adjust and at the very least play Kanter up. And eventually as the series goes on, you're going to see Portland start going small way more often.

I actually see Game 2 being portland's golden opportunity. The warriors aren't taking portland seriously at all (especially after last night). Kerr is playing the bench heavy mins without regard, they are throwing behind the back passes into the stands, they are just going through the motions on offense, they don't respect portland. If portland can start play physically on defense, grab/hold/bump on every off ball screen, get in steph's face on pnr's, and just make life as difficult as possible, i can see portland giving the dubs a game. but if they play the same brand of defense as last night, it doesn't matter what lillard does, its over. Cause i don't care how good lillard is. An open curry 3 is always going to beat a contested lilllard shot over the course of a 7 game series. Its as simple as that.
boredom
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I think it's a tough situation for Stotts. There's a few ways to beat the Warriors:
- Houston style. Portland probably doesn't have the players to do it and they certainly don't have the practice to do it (ie they haven't spent all year switching everything and playing iso ball and trying to foul out the other team; also they don't have the league's dirtiest little b--ch, CP).

- Warriors don't care and don't bother showing up. Sometimes the Warriors still score enough and win anyway, sometimes they don't score and lose by 40 at home to a crap team. But they've had plenty of games where they don't play hard or smart, particularly on defense. Not scalable for a 7 game series, may be a source of 1 win.

- Dominate possession count. Offensive rebounds and turnovers. This is where Kanter comes in. If he can get a bunch of offensive rebounds and score/get fouled/get the guards clean looks that becomes a problem. Portland is not good at generating turnovers so they need the Warriors to cooperate by being careless which they will sometimes do. Would help Portland if they got a lot more physical and the refs let them hold Steph and Klay just like everyone else is allowed to hold them for some reason.

- Dominate 3s. Warriors go cold, you get hot. Make like 10 more 3s than the Warriors. Portland has the shooters to get hot enough to get a game like this if their hot game times with a Warriors cold game.

- Dominate bench points. Warrior bench has been real iffy this year. Especially while Durant is out there is an opportunity in non-Curry minutes to play against a team with no real creators on it.


I think Portland needs to try timing Kanter's minutes to when Steph rests. Or do some off ball switching like what the Warriors do to avoid getting Steph iso'd on Harden every play. They need the offensive rebounding at some point though. They need to win possessions and hit 3s. Collins probably has to play big minutes. I don't think they should go long stretches playing small ball with us, that plays to our strengths. I would also attack Steph early to see if he picked up some quick fouls.
FreeTrialMan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
TheFiatLux said:

I lived through everything in that great Bill Simmons column from before the run started...




That piece is amazing. Five years into this run I still marvel at the fact that the Warriors are the best team and their front office does smart things. And I'm only old enough to remember about half of the years covered in that column.
sycasey
How long do you want to ignore this user?
FreeTrialMan said:

TheFiatLux said:

I lived through everything in that great Bill Simmons column from before the run started...




That piece is amazing. Five years into this run I still marvel at the fact that the Warriors are the best team and their front office does smart things. And I'm only old enough to remember about half of the years covered in that column.

Though it's funny, the last thing he mentions (trading away Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut) was the first time I thought the Warriors front office was doing something smart. I get that it angered the average fan, since Ellis was popular, but Bogut was definitely the more efficient player and a better fit with another small guard like Steph.
cal83dls79
How long do you want to ignore this user?
TheFiatLux said:

The games on TNT are soooooo much more enjoyable to watch. Marv and whomever he has working with him provide me so much more enjoyment. And the studio TNT crew can't be matched. Jackson and JVG are just awful, and maybe I'm being too sensitive, but it seems they complain about waaaaay more calls that go the Warriors way than the other way around. I really just don't enjoy the ABC / ESPN games.
in full agreement here. The wife turns off the volume.
Priest of the Patty Hearst Shrine
cal83dls79
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Brook Lopez, really?
Priest of the Patty Hearst Shrine
sonofabear51
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I'm old enough to not only remember the 'ramp' at halftime. Also remember very well the Joe Barry Carroll years, with concerts after the game. Think 3 Dog Night, among others.
Start Slowly and taper off
ClayK
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I think the biggest thing is that Portland isn't as good as Golden State, so playing them straight up, from Stotts' point of view, is a sure way to lose.

So he tried to keep Kanter on the floor by a) hoping Curry had a bad game (not likely) or b) Lillard and McCollum would both go off and Portland would just outscore the Warriors.

I'm not saying I agree with Stotts' choice, but really, what strategy gives him a chance to win?

1) Have Kanter step up on the screen and leave the rim unprotected? Not to mention Curry dribbling around him like he wasn't even there.

2) Have Kanter drop back and let Curry shoot?

3) Not play Kanter and lose his rebounds and physical presence?


The clear answer is "None of the above," but Stotts has to pick one. Which one do you choose?

GMP
How long do you want to ignore this user?
ClayK said:

I think the biggest thing is that Portland isn't as good as Golden State, so playing them straight up, from Stotts' point of view, is a sure way to lose.

So he tried to keep Kanter on the floor by a) hoping Curry had a bad game (not likely) or b) Lillard and McCollum would both go off and Portland would just outscore the Warriors.

I'm not saying I agree with Stotts' choice, but really, what strategy gives him a chance to win?

1) Have Kanter step up on the screen and leave the rim unprotected? Not to mention Curry dribbling around him like he wasn't even there.

2) Have Kanter drop back and let Curry shoot?

3) Not play Kanter and lose his rebounds and physical presence?


The clear answer is "None of the above," but Stotts has to pick one. Which one do you choose?


It's a fair point - he has to pick his poison. But - Kanter is not much of a rim protector, so dropping back does nothing. Curry is the best shooter of all-time and letting him step into wide open 3s and hoping he misses is not a strategy to win a game, let alone four. I'd probably not play Kanter when Curry is on the floor. Collins seems to do a better (relative term) on the pick and roll than Kanter, so that's who I'd play when Curry is in.
sycasey
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Yeah, the problem is that the Blazers don't have a roster built to compete with the Warriors (five guys who can switch everything), they have the kind of classical roster (with small guards and big centers) the Warriors roasted in 2015. Denver would have had a similar issue.
ducky23
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Unfortunately for Dubs fans, it looks like Stotts is going to be forced to change his strategy or else he may have some very unhappy players on his hands

https://theathletic.com/980589/2019/05/16/warriors-blazers-reset-stotts-strategy-curry-vs-curry-take-two-the-kd-debate/

"they also had to hear coach Terry Stotts act as if his peculiar defensive strategy was, well, defendable....And lest anyone think this angle is overblown, know this much: This was the topic of discussion inside the angst-ridden Portland locker room."

https://theathletic.com/978888/2019/05/15/tired-and-angry-blazers-leave-game-1-questioning-defensive-scheme-and-looking-toward-terry-stotts-for-answers/


"It's hard enough to get them to switch the pick-and-roll defense," Turner said. "That's something I've been questioning for three years."

"There's no way the best shooter in the game should get that (kind of space)," Blazers small forward Moe Harkless had said. When asked about the reasons behind the approach, he said, "That's a Coach Stotts question; I just execute the gameplan."

That's when Turner piped in that the Blazers might have to look at playing a small lineup more often.

"Yeah, we might have to go small on they ass," Harkless said.

"I hope so," CJ McCollum said when asked if the Blazers could all of the sudden start trapping. "I hope so. It looked like it was easy when they were doing it."

-------------
Its not nothing when your players are openly questioning your defensive strategy, and I don't think Stotts has the balls to defy his players' wishes. So we will see adjustments today, what those are will be very interesting.

oskidunker
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Can you copy and paste? Must pay to read

Thank you
Go Bears!
GBear4Life
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Stotts told someone from ESPN after Game 1 he was basically resigned to changing defensive strategy.

Not sure how he justified it going into Game 1
ClayK
How long do you want to ignore this user?
GBear4Life said:

Stotts told someone from ESPN after Game 1 he was basically resigned to changing defensive strategy.

Not sure how he justified it going into Game 1
Desperation ...
ducky23
How long do you want to ignore this user?
GBear4Life said:

Stotts told someone from ESPN after Game 1 he was basically resigned to changing defensive strategy.

Not sure how he justified it going into Game 1


Stotts treated the warriors like the wizards and game 1 of the wcf like a regular season game. It's mind boggling

Portland has two shots to make this a series. They already blew their first shot. If they don't win tonight, the series is essentially done.

Show some urgency. Look at the extremes doc rivers went to in order to give Steph/klay as little breathing room as possible. Look at Houston who built their entire roster with the sole goal of taking down the dubs.

That's what it takes. It's unclear to me whether Stotts understands that.
sketchy9
How long do you want to ignore this user?
cal83dls79 said:

TheFiatLux said:

The games on TNT are soooooo much more enjoyable to watch. Marv and whomever he has working with him provide me so much more enjoyment. And the studio TNT crew can't be matched. Jackson and JVG are just awful, and maybe I'm being too sensitive, but it seems they complain about waaaaay more calls that go the Warriors way than the other way around. I really just don't enjoy the ABC / ESPN games.
in full agreement here. The wife turns off the volume.
Here's neat trick if you're watching on a surround sound system-- disconnect the center channel. It's the only channel with the announcers on it, and without it you can still hear the crowd, the buzzer, the squeaks on the floor, etc. I do this for football games as well.
concordtom
How long do you want to ignore this user?
This is very good!

BearSD
How long do you want to ignore this user?
In the first half, the W's played one of those lazy defense games that lost them the two home games against the Clippers. Giving up 63 points in a half in the playoffs is not going to win games.
sycasey
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Well, one way the Blazers can win is to have literally everyone get hot from three. They do have games like this sometimes.
sycasey
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Wow, is there a prettier defensive play than an Andre Iguodala strip?
ducky23
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Is there anything funnier than watching iggy run to the locker room giggling like a little girl
sycasey
How long do you want to ignore this user?
ducky23 said:

Is there anything funnier than watching iggy run to the locker room giggling like a little girl
He sets these guys up all game long and then pulls this on them in a crucial moment. He's now done it to Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, and Damian Lillard. Not exactly scrubs here.
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.