GP2 target scrimmage date, Warriors off-day (team pic!), Steph Curry greatness from courtside
[+notes/quotes/video from Warriors-Bucks]
[UPDATE 3/22: Paywall has been removed…]
You know how we roll here, basically a diary of notes, quotes and video with a few other stuff sprinkled in and then the occasional inside nugget that drops in my lap. Aside what’s just been released to the public by the Golden State Warriors, we have a target date for Gary Payton II scrimmaging. First of all, here’s the announcement:
• Warriors guard Gary Payton II, who has not played since being acquired by the team from the Portland Trail Blazers on February 12 due to a right adductor injury, was re-evaluated in recent days. The re-evaluation indicated that Payton II is making good progress. In addition to daily physical rehab work with the team’s training staff—which is designed to strengthen his adductor/core—he has started various on-court activities (shooting, etc.) and will begin to intensify the on-court workouts in the coming days. He will be re-evaluated again in 10 days. (Warriors PR)
Per usual the way I like to play these “exclusive” cards is reserve that tidbit of information for our paid subscribers first — as sort of a thank you because this website has always been sort of a donation gathering site — and then a day or two later release the paywall so that everyone gets the news.
But of course I’ve got the usual notes, quotes and video and, due to the structure of the Substack paywall articles, our exclusive GP2 info is way down at the bottom of this post and you’ll have to scroll down if you’re a subscriber. As a bonus, I asked Dr. Nirav Pandya for a private comment given the insider info and so that quick reaction is also below the paywall line.
Meanwhile, yesterday was quite fun (as evidenced by the 38k views so far) covering the off-day before tonight’s epic clash vs. the Phoenix Suns, particularly because there was a TikTok that had Jonathan Kuminga dancing, a friend of Jordan Poole’s posted from inside JP’s house, extensive footage of Kevon Looney signing autographs at a Westgate Mall event where I noticed his signature is not what you’d expect and seems vulnerable to forgery (just sayin’!) and there was a small peek at the Warriors’ team pic — which I’ve also included underneath the GP2 info, but you can also view as part of this video:
Also you can scroll down into the timestamps of the livestream in its Comments because the GP2 info is there and we reported it as it came in during the postgame coverage, so technically this is “old” news for our livestream diehards. But as people on the Internet are lazy, I’ll take it out of the notes from the live-cast and therefore keep it “exclusive” for our paid subscribers.
The off-day included Jason Dumas of KRON interviewing Donte DiVincenzo:
• Donte DiVincenzo with Jason Dumas (KRON) on the game recap: “It really felt like a playoff atmosphere… to watch Steph do what he does… that was amazing.”
• On how to replicate this on the road: “The biggest thing last night that we can take is how together we were… that’s the biggest thing taking it on the road.”
• On catching his stride again: “mentally I’m in the best space that I’ve been in… when you have leaders… prime example is Steph, he’s not worried about makes or misses, he’s having fun… that’s when I play my best basketball, is when I’m having fun.”
• On Phoenix: “even though they don’t have KD… bunch of pieces that are still deadly. Book can get it going, he’s the head of the snake… make other guys beat us and wear them down defensively.”
• On what he’ll do today on an off-day: “came in, got some treatment, did a little bit of body work, weight stuff, get on the court for 15-20 minutes, get your blood flowing just to get your body moving. And probably get into the cold tub and relax a little bit.”
• On what he does on the road: “I have a home routine and a road routine. I don’t change that for anything on the road, good game, bad game… get my body work done the night before, a lot of hydration, some recover boots. I’m usually watching NBA games at night. And then during the game day I take a nice, long nap and get ready to go.”
• On if he gets out on the road: “I’m definitely in the hotel… lay down on the bed, get comfortable and it’s over for me.”
And before you scroll down in the usual massive livechat notes for the Milwaukee Bucks game, I should say the funniest part of the whole postgame had to be JaMychal Green calling Stephen Curry “a little dawg out there”, at which point I asked the audience to come up with ideas on what kind of dog Curry would be if there were a cartoon of the Warriors, so we could visualize this “little dog”.
The winner: Scrappy-Doo! (Credit: user “retseL”) I’ve been meaning to do an Instagram Reel or TikTok with a GIF of Scrappy and J-Mike in it, but doubt I’ll have time as we are approaching pregame coverage of the Suns-Warriors game.
Below the livestream contains the courtside views of Steph (and the game itself and the pregame routines, i.e., the behind-the-scenes video) and finally the notes, quotes, and video uploads, all in reverse chronological order per usual — and finally the paywall demarcation point for the GP2 inside info…
5:07:00 SCOOBY-DOO REFERENCE BELOW!
0:00 My message to our blue wrench moderators: Go ahead and timeout any negativity (so that we can enjoy the game and not get sidetracked), and then it's 3 strikes and you're out.
5:00 Remember, I don't do CRAP (comparisons, rankings, awards, predictions), and yet I do predict we will not make hardly any "AAU turnovers" tonight
6:55 TIPOFF!
8:15 11m10 Lopez is helping off Loon
9:00 11m00 hey we shot a couple midrange (Klay)
10:00 9m42 beautful split cut by Donte via Loon but no good
13:15 7m12 Lopez 2nd block wow
13:45 6m55 JP once again doesn't know when to shoot (the layup)
14:45 one of the refs is Ben Taylor, same guy who Van Vleet thinks has something personal
18:30 6m35 JP 3 via Steph pick on the ATO
19:30 6m05 another drop pass by Dray but leads to nothing
20:00 5m50 Klay does not want to come out for Donte (he's having a good game, but it's the standard rotation script)
20:15 5m42 Connaughton 3, Steph hangs his head, 5m25 J-Mike 3
22:00 4m08 Steph goat layup (to break the drought)
22:30 3m20 JP almost didn't get rid of the assist to Donte in time
26:45 3m10 JP rushed 3 in transition, traveled on the step back
28:30 2m12 J-Mike crticial 3, no in-between, black or white
28:45 1m50 Donte 3 vs two guys, playing his former team
29:15 1m22 JP nice assist to J-Mike layup, did something good after the something bad
30:00 0m44 Donte steal after the block earlier
30:45 0m4.9 Andre putback
31:30 progress! We kept them under 40, under 30!
33:00 commenters saying J-Mike's mistake on the 3, yeah, but I understand it: you have Jrue, an All-Star, about to make a move on JP, not the best defender in the world, I understand why J-Mike doubled
35:45 11m30 J-Mike credit help on Ty Jerome
36:15 10m40 Andre turnover with Klay but gets dreb (growing pains)
37:15 10m20 Klay pretty good box-out on Jae, but no call, then gets the foul, refs are usually going to call things in favor of the more athletic guy
37:45 Kerr subbed in Moody, JP 3
38:30 9m32 J-Mike blocks Portis
39:15 9m15 Andre great box-out, wanted a foul, Moody got the rebound
41:15 8m37 Moody fouls Jrue on the attack, Bucks only have 2 fouls (GSW 6)
42:45 7m45 Moody tip-in flying in
43:15 Loon misses again 7m05, what's his layup percentage of late? Then Carter POA vs Moody
47:45 6m10 Moody rebound, Steve trusted him to stay in
49:00 5m22 Loon baseline J! Breaks 0/4 spell
50:15 4m50 Steph via Dray drop pass
52:00 4m00 for all the throwing under the bus of JP, you can see that sometimes Steph doesn't even make the right decision (stopped his dribble), and so if this is Year 13, then let's be a little more forgiving with JP for the indecision, but Steph is in the top 100 of positional defenders so that part JP is way way behind, but I think offensively, there are actually some minor similarities
56:30 2m42 JP again with indecision (held the ball)
1:01:45 2m10 Bud puts Ingles at the top of the zone, gets a 3
1:02:00 1m42 then Khris 3 in transition
1:02:15 1m22 Loon misses another layup
1:02:45 0m59 JP AAU turnover (but we've seen where Steve will just stay confident in a guy)
1:03:30 0m54 Donte draws bad screen on Lopez, he's been our best player so far
1:05:00 0m15 JP tries to lay it up fancy, misses, then commits a foul
1:06:30 0m0.5 Donte keeps the 3, didn't have time to pass back to Steph, therefore he's locked in
1:08:45 Steph's turnovers are maybe more troubling than JP's by a tad, they're like twins, Mario and Luigi
1:10:00 I understand how hard it is for a coach in the modern era (at all levels) to bench a guy for turnovers because psychologically it might affect his overall confidence and could lead to more turnovers
1:19:15 strawhats100: "of course Grizzlies would beat Dubs and then atruugle against Mavs with no Luka or Kyrie", if we don't win the title it should be interesting to see this happen to the champs (Anthony: "get up for it every two nights")
1:22:45 11m22 Lopez scores, enabled by Jrue "awkward" screen that was actually smart to get the switch for Donte vs Khris
1:23:45 10m22 Klay 3 via Steph gravity vs 2
1:24:15 9m45 Klay heat-check
1:24:45 Loon to Donte 9m15
1:25:00 9m00 Dray headhunted Grayson Allen for the Steph splash timeout
1:32:30 Mary: "Bucks height intimidating", how about Steph is intimidating for them?
1:32:45 8m22 J-Mike 3 via Steph
1:33:45 7m52 goaltend on Lopez vs Loon not called
1:35:00 Kerr calls out 3 after a Grayson 3 (ends up a Klay 3 missed)
1:37:00 5m10 Steph goat layup over Lopez
1:40:30 2m30 JP early shot, then jabs on D vs Jrue leading to Ingles 3, Klay exasperated
1:44:15 1m45 JP layup and-one, Klay pumps fist, should be an example for DubNation to follow
1:45:30 Andre tells Jp don't worry about me being rusty airball 1m00
1:47:15 0m9.8 J-Mike 18th point putback
1:49:00 all the struggles Klay has had this season, still at 41%, Steph at 42+%, but JP all the way down to less than 33%
1:51:15 Loon 5th steal 11m53
1:52:15 Steph started Q4!
1:54:00 JP nice drive cut 10m30 or so
1:55:45 8m35 Loon saves the day
1:56:15 8m10 Portis 3, Dray bad rotation (maybe he's tired?)
1:57:00 Dray looks at his feet makes 3! 7m45
1:58:00 7m20 great D of the cut by Lopez
1:59:00 no palming on Grayson, Klay to Loon staple 6m45
2:00:15 5m45 Klay should have double, Steph sunk too deep, Grayson 3, Steph turnover, Steph throws ball into stanchion
2:03:45 could we have plug-and-played Ty Jerome?
2:05:00 4m20 JP right decision to tip-in
2:06:30 3m55 Klay clutch curl, Popovich timeout by Bud
2:10:15 3m37 Donte clutch D vs Khris
2:12:15 2m45 Dray might be tired (ankle?) could've been there for a reach-in
2:12:45 2m22 Donte 3 saves day down 8, Loon screen
2:13:00 Ingles wide open corner, Dray must be injured 1m59
2:16:00 1m10 Dray HoF pass to Steph 3
2:16:45 0m55 Steph scoop after Klay steal, but Jrue All-Star max contract 3 over Loon also a 2-for-1
2:19:00 0m25 JP misses, good trap, Steph 3 with 0m18
2:20:00 sub Andre for Steph?
2:21:30 Steph superman cape defense blocks Jrue with 0m01
2:24:00 Dray misses 3, I don't mind it, can debate it back and forth, gotta stay positive, would've set the world on fire
2:27:00 bright side: not even Jrue could figure out that fake hand-off, a play we can use for Game 7 Finals, even though I would've gotten the ball to Steph in the Finals
2:28:30 3m55 Steph goat runner one-leg
2:29:00 3m10 can a big on a buyout do what Loon just did? spin hand-off to Klay
2:29:45 2m32 Klay HoF move vs Jrue spin bank
2:30:00 2min05 Steph mini-OKC pull-up leaner over Brook, the look by Steph, championship DNA we're back even though no JK or Wiggs, give a ton of credit to Donte
2:32:30 1m50 Klay mad about Khris 3?
2:33:00 Steph almost threw the ball away, Dray swipe, Loon oreb saves the day, can't really give the game ball to anybody = Strength in Numbers
2:34:30 1m00 Steph Game 4 style layup went threes
2:35:15 0m30 refs now give whistles to us, out of bounds, Steph gets fouled
2:37:00 0m24.3 still doing boneheaded stuff (Steph almost threw the ball away) Klay foul on the 3)
STEPH ON-COURT AUDIO WITH ABC
2:43:00 Anthony's recap
2:46:00 Top-15 all-time Curry era regular season win?
KLAY POSTGAME AUDIO
MORE POSTGAME
4:12:00 (Nicole Diaz’s GP2 nugget redacted)
4:22:00 on Wiggins, from me and from Steph: "space and privacy", "art imitating life"
4:31:00 again why we don't need a big like Nerlens Noel, the Loon oreb example 13' out vs Brook Lopez and finding Dray or Steph or Klay
4:36:00 why no Bogut clone, JaVale, Festus a la my website post:
4:49:00 entire Donte postgame podium
5:01:30 Anthony on how positivity affects gene development!
5:07:00 J-Mike postgame NBC calling Curry a "little dawg out there". Steph on being a dawg/dog: What kind of dog would he be in a cartoon of the Warriors? retseL: "Scrappy Doo"
5:33:00 entire Klay postgame podium
5:47:15 entire Steph postgame podium
5:59:00 just like 7-26 is embarrassing, you've got to move on from embarrassing situations in real life and establish your true identity as if that moment never happened, Dean Chambers: "THIS is who we really are"
ENTIRE DRAYMOND POSTGAME
6:20:00 Sam Cassell celebration
6:24:30 Kerr said in pregame Steph is the most conditioned athlete he's ever seen, but what about MJ?
6:46:00 we must find a way to donate Klay's brain to science, but also Dean Chambers! "Romulus & Remus were raised by a wolf (as the legend goes), so I guess they were little dawgs too in some way"
0:00 Giannis gets ready for morning shootaround
1:18 Andre Iguodala 🤝 Mark Jackson
1:40 Stephen Curry arrives, ties shoes
3:17 DJ D-Sharp
4:32 Klay gifted a wheelchair
5:10 Steph’s full-court heave hits a ballboy in the head
5:35 Curry would give away his game-worn jersey to the ballboy
6:09 Warriors intros close-up
8:01 close-up of Steph cutting to the basket
9:04 E-40 beckons Chase Center
11:13 Steph’s game-saving block
11:50 Draymond’s buzzer-beater attempt
12:48 Steph’s mean-mug glare
13:48 Joe and Nicole Lacob up-close
15:01 Draymond (x Olive & Cash) + Steph tunnel recap
15:20 JaMychal Green signs autographs after NBC Thrive City interview
15:27 Klay paper airplane toss
•JaMychal Green postgame in-studio on his threes: “just happy they went in.”
• On getting the comeback win: “We needed it bad… would’ve hurt us mentally and in the standings.”
• On what this win proves: “It shows what we’re capable of… not making this hard on ourselves.”
• On being able to shoot the three/
“Shows you how the league has evolved. Gotta keep putting the work in… I know I started off slow.”
• On his shooting: “Pretty much, this is the team… make shots and knock them down… at the All-Star Break and a little before, I found my rhythm.”
• On Feb 11th being the last time they led after Q1: “goal was not to allow them to make a lot of threes… defending without fouling.”
• On what the team has been saying to each other about the first quarters: “We’ve been telling ourselves not to get down twenty.”
• On Steph: “He a bad man, I ain’t gonna lie. Probably the first time I was in awe. I love the way he competes. He’s a little dog out there.”
• On light-skinned people having a rep being soft: “Last season, I was trying to post up… he got a little more physical.”
• On Draymond: “Day-Day’s the heart and soul… can’t catch a break… him coming back out shows his heart… you can never question his heart.”
• On the momentum: “The former players they feel like no matter what we just gotta get in the playoffs… just how calm they are… does a lot to you as a teammate.”
• On Donte: “One thing Klay gonna always say… he’s always gonna say, ‘They don’t want you.’”
• On Chase: “As a visitor you always say you wanna come in and shut the crowd up… playing here as a player, it’s a great atmosphere, always pick you up, electrifying.”
• J-Mike postgame on-court in “bad road trip… kept our heads up.”
• On Steph’s big night: “MVP… I see why he’s the greatest player.”
• On his role: “Just gotta stay ready. My whole thing is keep working.”
• On Donte: “Donte been doing it all all year… love being his teammate.”
Disclaim
ON HIS WALK BACK TO THE BENCH AFTER HITTING THE THREE TO TIE THE GAME: “I was tired. I was just pretty exhausted slow walk to the bench to take advantage of the full three-minute timeout. Don’t yell because that requires oxygen. That was literally it. Conserve energy. Obviously, there are reactions to the game and you feel good about yourself. There was a certain grit and toughness that we showed, that was what the facial expression was, but I was just tired.” (Warriors PR)
ON THE STATUS OF ANDREW WIGGINS: “Friend to friend, teammate to teammate, just sending him support. This is a tough situation with him being away for so long, but necessary. Life is bigger than basketball. Whatever him and his family are going through, that’s all that matters. Whenever he is ready to come back, I’m sure he will. That’s how he’s built in terms of being available. I know he’s missing the vibe and being with us and we miss him too. It’s interesting that there’s such a big spotlight on what we do on a daily basis and that we have so many people that rely on us, to be able to give that energy back to your family is huge. We support him and all that and whenever he is ready to come back, he’ll be back.” (Warriors PR)
ON HIS FIRST FOUR GAMES BACK: “I’ve had over the course of the last five, six years I’ve had these four to six week injury windows that have gotten good reps on how to heal and also toward the backend when you have that return to play schedule, I know how to apply myself in a way that gets your conditioning back quick, sharpens the tool kit quick in terms of shooting the ball and being sharp and all that, and being able to play pretty solid, big minutes right away and not really miss a beat. It helps that I’ve gone through it a couple times and know how hard you can push yourself in the rehab part that you come back strong.” (Warriors PR)
ON KLAY THOMPSON GIFTING A WHEELCHAIR TO A YOUNG MAN PREGAME: “It’s huge. It speaks to how blessed we are that the game we get to play gives you a platform to connect with people in all different walks of life, and leverage just that moment to make that guy feel seen, and celebrate him, and support him. We’ve all had opportunities to do that throughout our careers and our years and it’s the cool part about what we get to do. For him to get to do it before the game, take a little bit of time, it’s very obviously a selfless act and not surprised that Klay’s that type of guy. But it’s the beauty of what basketball is and this platform that we have.” (Warriors PR)
• On the block on Jrue: “Just kind of a read and react… not in that position very often… use verticality… perfect… reading time and score… left my man… hoping Klay would cover… that’s all basketball is at the end of the day, sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don't… fun way to end regulation."
• On what it was like to impact something different: “we needed a win, we needed to figure out a defensive identity… gives everybody a good boost because it’s shocking… more compliments about that in the locker room.”
ON HIS ANKLE: “It’s sore but it’s to be expected. I’ll be alright. I think I stepped on Jrue’s (Holiday) foot and just rolled it. But I was running down the lane, I saw an opening to the rim, Jrue kind of stepped in, and stepped on his foot. But just an ankle roll I’ll be alright.” (Warriors PR)
ON WINNING THE FIRST QUARTER TONIGHT: “I think we came out with a defensive mindset and although early on shots weren’t falling I thought we got great looks. Shots weren’t falling but our defense was great. We kept them right at bay, maybe they would go up one or two points, and we took the lead back, and ended up closing out the quarter with a two-point lead which was big. But I thought we were just able to establish our defense to start that game and then once we established the defense you know at some point shots are going to fall. We got the greatest shooter in the world.” (Warriors PR)
ON STEPHEN CURRY’S FOURTH QUARTER AND OVERTIME: “It was huge. It’s a team coming into our building, we’ve been great at home, so you want to keep that going. Knowing we were coming off a three-game road trip with three losses you want to right the ship. You got a chance to do that at home and he took matters into his own hands. Hit the three on the wing and that was the beginning of the onslaught. But like I said it was just very impressive the way he willed us. He hit shot after shot, and it wasn’t like a million people were creating for him, he was creating for himself and getting to shots that he wanted, and that’s a team that, you know, I think you all know the respect I have for Jrue Holiday as a defender. Arguably one of the best on-ball defenders I’ve seen. He was hounding him, Jevon Carter’s an incredible on-ball defender, he’s a pest, he hounds you, and he just took it no problem. Times where he was getting grabbed, he didn’t go complain, he just kept playing. You understand that they’re a physical team and they’re going to do that, and when you are that physical of a team you get away with some stuff and you got to understand that, and he did. Like I said he took matters into his own hands and created every shot he needed, we needed, and it was great.” (Warriors PR)
• On Steph’s block of Jrue: “He came out of nowhere. Jrue had a straight line drive… I was impressed with the verticality… once you go vertical you realize, oh, I can block this shot… I smoked it (the potential game-winner).”
• On what celebration he would’ve done had he made the game-winning three: “I thought it was cash. Probably would’ve cost me $50,000 though because of the dance I was gonna do if that ball went in… absolutely, Sam I Am all the way down the court. I was going for it… get every penny’s worth… I had told Steph… Jrue jumped… it felt amazing. I can’t believe it bounced out. I haven’t felt a shot feel that good in awhile. It felt incredible.”
• Donte DiVincenzo postgame on having extra juice vs the Bucks: “Absolutely. I take pride in it, I take it personal… I wanna beat them every time we play them… we made some mistakes in the fourth quarter… we buckled down… down 8 with two minutes… Steph did what Steph does.”
• On familiarity with Bucks: “There was definitely a lot of talk… Khris and Jrue were not letting it go but it’s like family over there.”
• On Steph taking over: “super-fun to watch… I’m looking at some of the shots and it’s like no way… every time it leaves his hand it’s going in.”
• On putting the clamps on them: “I take pride on that end… biggest play of the game… Steph comes over… Steph saves me, he saves the game… when we’re locked in on that end and we keep them off the foul line… over-rotating… made them beat Is one-on-one.”
• On when he guarded Steph: “Tbh with you nothing new, I just hated guarding him… everything I saw as a visitor… you get so frustrated… Jrue played good defense.,, the smallest room of space.., being on the team with it, just the appreciation for it… years past, I always got frustrated.”
• Donte postgame ABC: “defensively… the other night, I wasn’t too proud of how I competed… the juices were already flowing… Jrue Holiday as a matchup, I take pride in it.”
• On Steph Klay Dray: “They never broke. That’s something we can follow… allows everybody else to stay steady around them… Draymond… battling through… sent a message to our team.”
• On JaMychal Green: “Really happy for J-Mike… a little personal for me trying to get him going… when he’s knocking down shots we’re doing it.”
• On the mentality: “Every play matters. Whoever you’re matched up on, they’re really good.”
ON STEPHEN CURRY’S SECOND-HALF SHOOTING AND DEFENSE: “Just willing us to victory with his shot-making and his penetration. Never ceases to amaze me with what he can do with the ball in his hands, and that step-back to force OT and the defensive stop at the other end. It just shows how great of a basketball player he really is.” (Warriors PR)
ON JAMYCHAL GREEN’S SHOOTING IN THE FIRST HALF: “Oh man, J-Mike was huge. Without his effort, we don't win that game. I mean, just being able to space the floor and rebound was huge. Absolutely huge. He earned a game like that. He's been patient all year, so I'm really happy for him.” (Warriors PR)
ON PLAYING A COMPLETE GAME AFTER GOING WINLESS ON THE ROAD TRIP: “Well, I mean, we have great respect for Milwaukee. They are a championship team. They’ve been together for some years now. They know what it's like to play in big games. This is obviously a huge game for us considering where we are at in standings with the season dwindling down. We all knew that going in and we played with just a lot of great connectivity tonight. I thought we were just all on the same page as far as game plan and I thought our energy on the bench was great. We all had one common goal and that was to win the ball game and when we do that, it’s great.” (Warriors PR)
ON HIS ROLE WHEN STEPHEN CURRY GOES ON A HOT SHOOTING STREAK: “Probably get out of his way. Set a screen for him, space the floor, go get a rebound and play some defense. Just be myself. If I’m open, shoot it, if not reverse it, drive it, cut. Just still be a basketball player and he's going to track much more attention so you have open looks if you just stay patient and ready to shoot.” (Warriors PR)
ON DRAYMOND GREEN FREEING UP THE SHOOTERS WITH HIS SCREEN SETTING: “Yeah, Draymond and Loon (Kevon Looney) are some of the best screen setters I've ever played with. Steph and I are so grateful for those two. They get us open, they have been for years now, and not only are they great screeners but they're great playing out of pick-and-roll. After setting the screen, you know, they make the right play. Draymond's an amazing basketball player. Like he might not score 30 a night but he's a winner. He has been at every level. No matter what these jokers on television say or other players around the league, the hardware, and the resume speaks for itself. We do not have the banners or the success we do without Draymond Green.” (Warriors PR)
ON TRAYCE THOMPSON’S HOME RUN IN THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: “It was awesome. I mean, you see that at halftime, and to see him playing in the World Baseball Classic is really special. He’s got so many great years ahead of him on the diamond and I know he’s going to have a great season for the Dodgers this year.” (Warriors PR)
• On Draymond (and Dillon Brooks): “Draymond and Loon are some of the best screen setters I’ve ever played with. Steph and I are so grateful for those two… Draymond… a winner… no matter what these jokers on television say or other players around the league, the hardware speaks for itself.”
• Steve Kerr postgame on Steph’s 11 points in the last two minutes and the block, sparking them: “Steph was incredible and he did it against one of the great defenders in the league in Jrue Holiday (who) never quits… amazing watching those two guys battle. But Steph, he’s fearless… slow start… he can ignite it… championship stuff. That’s the team that has won four titles. So they know how to do it… against probably the best team in the league… still a helluva team without (Giannis).
• On how tough it was to take out Steph: “He looked tired at that point… just get a couple minutes… fill up the tank.”
• On the block by Steph: “Yeah, the verticality at the rim… that’s a play we practice every day… make a guy finish without swiping down.”
• Game recap: “I loved this game… competed the entire time… they made some tough shots… we didn’t foul them… they turned it over more than we did… that’s the way we have to play, just solid at both ends.”
• On first lead after first quarter in a month and JaMychal: “Gave us a lift… pretty unique defense for the modern NBA… put pressure on ball handlers… tough on Steph and Klay… with him sitting in the paint that opens it up for a shooting big (J-Mike).”
• On Donte: “been one of our best players night and night out. This was a special game for him playing his old teammates… ten boards, made big play after big play and he’s gonna fight every defensive possession.”
• On the last play of regulation: “It kinda played out that way, there were a few options… the way Lopez played it, Draymond made the right read… I always trust Draymond… winner… looked like it was going in.”
• On Draymond’s ankle roll: “I worry a little bit about how he’ll feel tomorrow… adrenaline… we’ll see tonight.
• On no Poole in overtime: “Donte is an excellent defender… threats they have out there, Ingles and Middleton… every game is a little different… Donte’s turn to finish.”
• On what’s different about Steph now than three or four years ago: “Nothing.”
• Kerr postgame with ABC on the Draymond three: “Draymond popped out and was wide open, the thing was halfway down… took over (in overtime).”
• On the championship DNA: “this team has hung banners… we’re gonna keep fighting.”
• On Steph Klay Dray: “Not surprising given their track record. They’ll get some rest tomorrow.”
[ABC VIDEO ON HOUSE OF HIGHLIGHTS]
• Klay Thompson on-court with ABC game recap: “We’ll, Steph Curry made incredible shots, nothing new there… grounded it out, shoot below 4% come away with the W, that’s beautiful.”
• On the foul trouble, getting motivated: “I wanna be great all the time.”
• On being aware of the standings: “We would like to win at least eight or ten out of the last fifteen, if not better. We’re capable and the best basketball is about to be played.”
• On gifting a wheelchair through his foundation: “Because our impact goes beyond basketball… para-Olympian’s… passion for the game just like us… they inspire us… pregame… in the chair in the DubNation colors.”
• Steph Curry postgame on-court with ABC on looking tired: “Oh I’m great. I’m just getting old… playoffs type energy and atmosphere, they’re missing Giannis but we’ve been searching for a long time… down the stretch and execute like this… been a long time since we won an overtime game.”
• On how they pulled it out: “Only one or two turnovers where we gift them… down the stretch was our best defensive lineup.”
• On coming back from late game deficits: “Here, that’s the key word. We gotta figure out how to do it on the road… on the defensive side is giving us a chance… the way it has to be, the way that we’re built.
• Steve Kerr pregame Bucks on Andrew Wiggins: “If he's able to come back (this season) that'd be great, and if not, then that's the case..." (KNBR)
• On the key to Klay Thompson's growth this season being his mindset: “Just freeing himself up from the expectations he puts on himself. He put way too much pressure on himself early in the season.” (KNBR)
• On if Iguodala could get more minutes, given the defensive problems and hole at F. Kerr said he's not looking at increasing Iguodala's playing time, that Iguodala's in a good place now playing 1 segment in the first half and 1 in the second, about 14-16 minutes total. (Tim Kawakami)
• Giannis Antetokounmpo is out tonight against the Warriors. Had been listed as questionable with hand soreness. (Anthony Slater)
[GP2 EXCLUSIVE + TEAM PIC BELOW:]
From our livestream (see embedded above, then click on the timestamp either before or on the 4-hour mark during postgame coverage), GPII will start scrimmaging on Thursday, i.e., three days from now. That gives him seven days up until his next evaluation, as stated by GSW PR.
From a journalistic standpoint, this is from a reliable, past and future trusted source (Nicole, per the comments). There are fewer reasons to believe this information is wrong than there are to believe this information is right.
In any case, GP2 will be re-evaluated in ten days and this nugget will no longer be relevant at that time.
Here’s some input from Dr. Nirav Pandya, exclusively to me, on the Thursday scrimmage: “That seems reasonable if he is doing well; a shift in a week or so earlier would be totally good (especially if he started on court work before today). My gut says he would be playing in two weeks.”
Pandya’s initial public reaction on Twitter to the GP2 update, before replying to me, was as follows: “The general ‘ramp-up’ for soft tissue injuries typically lands between 10-14 days after starting on-court work. With a bit of extra caution given his injury history, three weeks (end of the regular season) seems plausible given what is being reported about his injury.”
As for the team pic, notice below how Andrew Wiggins and Lester Quinones are absent. The middle is left with somewhat of a gap, leading commenters (in the off-day video at the top of this article) speculating the Warriors might PhotoShop Wiggs in at a later date. Quinones’ 10-day contract expired and I trust Anthony Slater will get to the bottom of the team’s plans to convert Anthony Lamb (or not), as Slater usually gets the transaction info:
And some more rare pics we found from the Bucks game:
See you on the live cast tonight!
👍👍💛💙