5 things Anthony Lamb did in 14 seconds to get a stop

[+notes/quotes/video from Warriors-Cavs]

It’s all explained in the postgame breakdown aka “film study” video below, but Anthony Lamb played the game of his life vs the Cleveland Cavaliers and, with the Golden State Warriors only going eight-deep with the rotation, gave glimpses of a possible reality where he’s a factor during the playoffs. Still got 70 games to go so we’ll see, but the team has control of his NBA future for now, as Lamb is only on a two-way contract.

My hot take for that night (see game commentary video with timestamps listed) was that you’re getting more value from Lamb’s contract than we got from Juan Toscano-Anderson’s one-year minimum deal, and while “comparison is the thief of joy,” JTA gave the team quality minutes donning the blue and gold (or in Friday’s case, the black and gold), so that’s still praise for Juan, but extra praise for the things Lamb did on the court against the Cavs. He can be made playoff-eligible by converting his contract to a regular NBA one as late as the last day of the season, so long as there’s a spot still available on the 15-man regular roster.

The rest of this post catches us up in reverse chronological order with interviews from JB Bickerstaff (criticizing the non-call on the Klay Thompson moving screen which was confirmed as an incorrect non-call in the NBA’s subsequent L2M report), Evan Mobley (on Bickerstaff telling him to drop into the paint more after the Andrew Wiggins dunk which then led to the Stephen Curry dagger three over Jarrett Allen on the screen set by Looney, see video below plus the Q&As from Draymond Green and Curry), Caris LeVert, Steph, Draymond, Lamb, Kevon Looney, and Steve Kerr.

FILM STUDY BREAKDOWN

PREGAME, IN-GAME, POSTGAME COMMENTARY

0:00 updating our website as I speak https://letsgowarriors.com

5:00 I actually disagree with Coach Nick's video re Draymond (although I do agree about Wiseman)

9:30 excited to announce that I'll be doing more Xs and Os during the broadcast which then leads into a postgame video

12:00 financial instruments, Andre Iguodala, FTX

19:00 my schpiel on positivity

23:00 Donte DiVincenzo x Jordan Poole backcourt (Kerr pregame topic), Donovan Mitchell

40:12 8min30 Q1 Dray misreads the Garland drive, mad at himself

46:00 4min19 Q1 Wiggins great defense on Jarrett Allen in the post (traveling)

51:00 7min10 Q1 analysis: Steph helping on the PNR Garland-Allen, Draymond, Jarrett too good

59:15 1min07 Q1 analysis: probably should try not to switch on Garland PNR

1:09:00 Lamb has been like JTA but cheaper great stretch 5min36 Q2

1:28:00 halftime adjustments: play Finals-like defense, do you throw in Wiseman (vs Mobley)?, don't know how Kuminga's minutes are affected by Lamb's great play

1:31:00 0min58 Q2 good knowledge of shotclock by Lamb

1:39:00 Kerr pregame on Lamb and the three days of practice, Rollins+Baldwin at G-League

1:42:45 on Donovan Mitchell

1:46:00 10min25 Q3 Lamb again

2:20:00 (might be wrong timestamp) 9min00 lamb defense

2:40:30 Can we forgive this team for the 10 games of Ring Night hangover?

2:46:00 Klay finally had great POA defense with 19 seconds left

2:52:15 I was told by a reliable league source that there are only 4 rookie refs on the NBA staff

SIGHTS & SOUNDS

WIGGS DUNK LED TO CURRY DAGGER

CAVS POSTGAME (JBB, MOBLEY, LEVERT)

DISCLAIMER: These are all just notes for my main workflow of YouTube videos, tweeted by beatwriters, as listed, or transcribed by me. I used to transcribe every interview but it became too tedious and not worth the investment for the small amount of views we got on the soundbites on YouTube. The links to the tweets are not available because sometimes I don’t use the full tweet and just having a ton of tweets on this website imo isn’t aesthetically pleasing and gets away from the main goal: transferring information (not so much entertainment) to the brains of DubNation asap.

0:00 • Cavs head coach JB Bickerstaff: “Isaac Okoro was clearly hit by Klay Thompson…there’s no way to defend that. You got one of the best players on the planet with the ball in his hands. Clearly if you’re allowed to set screens like that…something’s gotta be done.”

1:48 • On a good start vs the Warriors: “They had one quarter over 30, that just happened to be the 4th…they’re great for a reason.”

2:58 • Evan Mobley on talking to Bickerstaff after the Wiggins dunk: “He just wanted me to stay in the paint, protect the paint…fight through and play more of a guard position (vs Wiggins).”

5:50 • Caris LeVert on the Cavs’ defense late in the game: “We can’t let Steph score step-up threes, fast break layups, free throws. Down the stretch we can’t give him easy looks. It’s gotta be somebody else.”

STEPH POSTGAME

• Stephen Curry on defenses playing Jordan Poole tougher: “That's the evolution of a scorer in this league.” (95.7 The Game, NBCSBA)

• On flipping the switch in the fourth quarter: “A lot of confidence has carried over from the playoffs last year.” (95.7 The Game)

• On his hot start to the season: “Numbers look good, I want to keep that going... See how long it lasts.” (95.7 The Game)

• On the nine-man rotation tonight: “I don't envy the coaches trying to find the right rotations. Learn while winning, that's the challenge we have right now.” (95.7 The Game)

• Curry: “I just have a lot of confidence out there that I can do whatever I want.” (CJ Holmes)

DRAY POSTGAME

• Draymond Green's reaction to seeing the box score: “Evan Mobley had 20 points, I don't like that. He's a stud though.” (95.7 The Game)

• Green says Steph Curry scoring isn’t as impressive as the way he is setting up the offense, calling for screens and calling plays to get himself open looks. Green says Curry is still getting better: “To me it’s not what he’s doing, it’s how he’s doing it.” (Kylen Mills)

• On what teams are doing defensively against Jordan Poole: “When he has the ball, the entire team is loading up...his next step is to learn how to use that against them.” (Mark Haynes)

• On Curry's high usage so far this season: “Has he ever gotten burned out before?” (95.7 The Game)

• Green says Anthony Lamb has come in and earned himself a spot in the rotation. Green says Lamb is a guy who shows up 3 hours early to the gym every single day, he’s putting in the work and bringing a lot of energy. (Kylen Mills)

• Green: “Klay (Thompson) defensively was absolutely incredible.” (95.7 The Game)

LAMB POSTGAME

• Anthony Lamb: Always felt like he would fit with the Warriors, G League journey

LOONEY POSTGAME

• Looney says he believes James Wiseman is going to figure it out, and the team is going to need him. Looney brings up that he’s been in and out of the rotation before, and it’s tough. He’s says he’s telling Wiseman to stick with it, his time will come. (Kylen Mills)

• On players that fit in the Warriors system: “Guys who have a high IQ. We rely on spacing, cutting. Being on the court with All-Stars, you have to know where to be at. The front office has done a great job of finding guys like that, Anthony Lamb is an example.” (95.7 The Game)

KERR POSTGAME

• Steve Kerr: "You run out of adjectives to describe Steph's game…Given the circumstance with our team, kind of in a rut, trying to dig our way out of a hole, he's just been spectacular and never been better." (Dalton Johnson, Madeline Kenney)

• On Poole: “You knew Jordan would get going.” (me)

• On Lamb and DiVincenzo: “In my experience when you’ve been in a little bit of a hole…you dig your way out…the game smooths out. As that happens we’ll be able to go deeper into our rotation.” (me)

• On the tough foul calls, especially down the stretch of the second half: “I can't wait to see the two-minute report…you gotta play through everything out there especially when you’re struggling…you just keep going and that’s what we’re doing.” (95.7 The Game)

• On Klay Thompson tonight: “The vast majority of his misses are short. That usually points to the legs... That said, I thought hs defense was great down the stretch on (Donovan) Mitchell…it’s just a matter of time.” (95.7 The Game, me)

• On Wiggins: “He’s always a great secondary scorer for us. He just seems to find his way to 18 or 20 points…(mentions the team defense).” (me)

👍👍💛💙