“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we can have a full sprint to the finish line and still continue to make up some ground,” said Stephen Curry after the whooping in Boston. “And once you get into the playoffs and you have a series in front of you and you understand who your opponent is and can go through all the preparation stuff, we've been good in those scenarios. You just got to get there. That's the big picture of, yeah, we think we can get there. Take it a day at a time and that's where we're at.”
Not quite sure why everyone was so in an uproar over the defensive tactics on Jaylen Brown. First of all, the Warriors are barely even a play-in team if there are to be without the services of both Andrew Wiggins and Brandin Podziemski.
Secondly, nobody seemed to notice that the reason why Draymond Green was guarding Brown in the first place was because of Klay Thompson, who actually guarded center Al Horford. With a super-athletic perimeter like the Celtics, were armchair coaches really gonna put Klay on Jayson Tatum (which did happen for a bit) or even Jaylen himself?
The other thing is, Thompson had just started and won against Toronto, so in human-world basketball, it’s not a video game, you go with what worked the other day and it’s kind of hard to start, I don’t know, Lester Quinones, or Gui Santos (?) out of the blue over Klay like you would NBA2K, not to mention video games cannot account for team defense and on-the-court communication, or lack thereof with more youngsters — just not realistic, especially on 1.5 days’ notice in preparation for this game (early tipoff after spending a day catching up on sleep after the six-hour wait on the tarmac leaving New York for Toronto).
As Draymond said, they didn’t think of playing mind games with Jaylen until fifteen minutes before leaving the locker room. The coaching staff probably saw the game film of the Celtics’ most recent games (win streak now at 11 after this win) and concluded that, against the road-weary vets, with Steph not at 100% and two major rotational pieces missing, things weren’t looking good on paper heading into Boston.
Actually, Jaylen did miss like three shots against zero pressure early on. He did. Go watch the tape (after the three-ball on the opening tip). Of course, he turned that tide rather quickly, as the Celtics operate at a crazy pace and intentionally so. And the Warriors weren’t hitting their shots. The Celtics have fast-paced bench personnel (Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Oshae Brissett) made even faster by the absence of Kristaps Porzingis — i.e., a rotation of their usual bigs including Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet is a tad slower overall than a rotation of bigs including Horford, Kornet and Xavier Tillman against the Dubs) plus, oh yeah, Curry was playing with bursitis on his lower right knee bone, which if you watch the behind-the-scenes video — should be up by tomorrow — of when he committed the backcourt violation, his gait did not look right, at least not right after that play.
That’s why Dray started all postgame talk about the defensive strategy with, “It worked. (Brown) just made the shots,” although Green did end the follow-up questions with, “But yeah, it ain't work. Oh, well, we move on. It's okay. I thought it was fun to try. I was actually all for it. Like, let's try it. See if it works. If it don't, oh well. If it does, we found something. Alright, it ain't work, so we move on.”
But most importantly, the Warriors match up terribly from a pace and athletic sense with both the first and second units against Boston assuming both Wiggs and Podziemski are out. But it’s not kosher for players to say that on the podium.
And that’s why Steve Kerr said, “You flush it down the toilet. We had a great road trip, 3-1. We've had a million games, so Boston was amazing. We weren't beating them today.”
All the transcripts and videos below, including Jaylen putting Steph in his Top Ten all-time. I’ll have the Toronto recap up tomorrow, but wanted to get the latest and greatest up first — the immediate one below actually includes Curry from the Toronto locker room. I’ll also put up a post about the “Steph Curry Effect” behind-the-scenes on the road, once the bts video from Boston is done; those always end up being 15-20 minutes long, which explains the delays in posts to this website.
0:00 STEPHEN CURRY POSTGAME GSW-TOR: “Yeah, especially from our vantage point looking up instead of looking down on the standings and you respect every team that's performing at the level that they are. Some of the newcomer, younger teams, OKC, Minnesota. seeing what the Clippers are doing. Obviously, Denver, the defending champs. So we know what the challenge is ahead, but it does tend to bring the best out of that competitive spirit every night when we're chasing now, we're trying to find our way into some playoff series and give ourselves a swing at whoever we face, but it is a gauntlet in the West and we have to keep performing the way that we are right now if we want to have any chance of, having some postseason action.”
0:51 On returning to Toronto:
“Seeing Oak (Charles Oakley), seeing Alvin Boogie Williams, seeing Herbie (Kuhn, arena PA announcer) on the call. It's a lot of familiar faces from, what was that, ‘99? When my dad was here and when I lived up here. So I still have family. My wife's family is still up here and it's always great to have a pseudo-homecoming kind of vibe here. A lot of great years, a lot of great memories. It's cool to see, like you said, to see Oak here and being honored or whatnot. But Toronto is a special place for my family. My journey and all the love coming back.”
1:32 On what the Warriors need to do to close out the season:
“Sacrifice. And commitment to whatever you're asked to do, go out there, put energy and a level of focus, especially defensively, we still have another level to get to, but I don't think anywhere close to where we want to be in terms of putting together full 48 minute efforts. But I think it's, you see what Moses has done, stepping up and adding Wiggs absence, playing great defense. Scoring the ball, shooting shots he knows he can take, making plays, you know what JK's been doing over the last two months. Klay's been asked to come off the bench, start, come off the bench again, and like, it's just a theme of sacrifice, no matter what you're asked to do. And that's gotta be the theme for us the entire year, or the rest of the season. Because we have so many guys that can go out there and hoop.”
2:25 On the strategy to sag off Jaylen Brown and try to clog the paint. Didn't necessarily seem to work.
DRAYMOND GREEN, POSTGAME GSW-BOS: “It worked. He just made the shots. So, it's okay.”
2:35 Biggest takeaways from the trip overall?
“We went 3-1. And I think for us, it was a successful trip. You come in here with a free swing. Three on the road trip. Didn't work. I think it was a good trip for us.”
2:52 How do you kind of, especially with some of your younger guys, like not care about this type of result, basically?
“Oh, because we're fine. It's one game.”
3:03 How do you get them to like, say, ‘Hey, one game’?
“This ain't their first rodeo. We got young guys who got championship rings. They understand. We got young guys who've been implemented into a culture that understands the culture. It's fine.”
3:19 You've been really figuring out how their offense works over these past two months. They really target cross matches, get to the post. How difficult are they to make uncomfortable, compared to years past when you guys have always had success with that?
“I don't think we really played a full defensive strategy to kind of dive into that. We implemented our strategy like 15 minutes before we left the locker room. So, I don't necessarily think we put together a full defensive strategy to debate on what they're doing with their offense, how to stop it.”
3:57 It's a different approach than you've kind of used in the past against them or even in that first game in San Francisco.
“Well, I was at home that game, so I can't tell you much about that game plan. But yeah, it ain't work. Oh, well, we move on. It's okay. I thought it was fun to try. I was actually all for it. Like, let's try it. See if it works. If it don't, oh well. If it does, we found something. Alright, it ain't work, so we move on.”
4:26 Is there a second half benefit to you guys? Your main guy is just sat.
“Absolutely. It's been a long trip for us. Especially with the Toronto trip and stuff. So, it's okay. It was good. It's alright.”
4:48 STEVE KERR: “Well, a break here or there and that game was ours. But stuff happens.”
4:56 When did you guys decide that Steph, Klay and Draymond weren't going to return to the game?
“It was either when they went up 42 at late first quarter or 56 early second quarter, somewhere in that range.”
5:12 Are you concerned about this type of performance?
“No. So this is, you flush it down the toilet. We had a great road trip, 3-1. We've had a million games so Boston was amazing. We weren't beating them today and so we head home and get ready for Wednesday.”
5:37 I don't think any strategic tweak would have won you the game, but you guys really sagged off Brown early. Had to get 19, like, right away. Was that part of the game plan?
“You try different things. You guard, you have to pick your matchups. We wanted Draymond to be able to help on drives and make sure that we weren't giving up easy stuff in the paint. The killer was the transition from the beginning, all the way till the end. They got 42 transition points, so you're not winning a game with that kind of defensive, or lack of, defensive awareness.”
6:15 What about their defense on you guys?
“They were great. They were physical right from the start. They were switching. They put ball pressure on. They were fantastic. Boston has a hell of a team and this was a really impressive performance by them at both ends.”
6:31 Ready to get home?
“Yes.”
6:34 Do you feel like Podziemski might be be ready?
“He'll be good Wednesday. Yeah. If this was a playoff game he would have played. Given where he is in his rookie year, getting the extra three days before the next game. I think he needed it. And he's played a lot of minutes for us. He's already played more games this year than he did in college last year. It's great for him to get the extra few days, but he'll be ready to go Wednesday.”
7:01 Not that this is how you wanted Steph to rest with this being the circumstances, but does him having that second half to sit kind of ease some of those other conversations that you guys might have been having about finding opportunities to rest him?
“Yeah, at least, he played 15-16 minutes, I think. So, at least there wasn't a lot of wear, but it's different when you give a guy a day off. He gets a day out there. It's mentally refreshing as well. So this was not a day off for Steph, although he probably could have used one. He's played so well and for so long, this year. But hopefully the next few days will get him recharged. And hopefully he'll go out and play golf or something, get away from it and come back Wednesday night ready.”
7:45 Any Wiggins update?
“No, no update. Thanks.”
7:57 The Warriors guarded Jaylen differently than most teams do, probably than any other team has before. When you look at Jaylen, are you telling him, like, just keep shooting it? If they're going to do that, just keep firing away?
JOE MAZZULLA: “Yeah, we were really grateful for that. As we talked about, teams are going to guard us in different ways. And we just got to stay open minded to what gives us the best chance to win. And there's a game plan, but then when the game starts, the game will tell us what we need to do. And so, I just kept saying thank you, and kept empowering Jaylen and credit to his teammates, for empowering him to just continue to play.”
8:30 It was 21-21 at the first timeout, I think. And at that point, like, you could get, it could get in your head a little bit that teams are guarding you like that. was there a concerted effort from you guys to get him the ball after that to keep feeding him?
“Yeah, I thought Al did a great job, encouraging him. But really, it just comes down to having gratitude for trying to expose us to do something different. And if we don't take the lesson in that, then we won't be able to apply it to later in the game. So we just kept getting really excited about it. It was a great opportunity for us to find a different way to play and like I said, the guys encouraged Jaylen, handled it great. And the even better part was it didn't affect his defense. I thought he even picked up his defense, which is huge for us. So, I thought Jaylen had a great game and it started with that.”
9:14 Similar to that, Joe, they beat you guys the first time. They've played you tough in recent years. What do you kind of carry from that first game and the way they guarded you that allowed you guys to turn around to this degree in this game?
“The most important thing when you play those guys is the margins and the emotion of the threes and the speed at which they play with is one thing, but it comes down to the margins and the transitions. And so tonight, the guys did a great job at the end of the first half. There was, we only had one turnover and they only had two offensive rebounds. And like we said, in game one, we were up 17 and we didn't close the third quarter well. We didn't start the fourth quarter well and it became a close game. And when you play against a team like that, close games are difficult. So controlling the margins is the most important. we control the margin. We kept them in transition with our offense and we were able to get out in transition because of our one-shot defense. And so we just have to continue to keep the game connected and understand how each part of the game effects together and fight like heck to execute that.”
10:10 Yeah, what stood out about the like attention to detail and really just the intensity you guys played with to be able to drive up the score to 50 like you guys did. What goes into building a lead that large?
“I think it's the team, their discipline and their mindset and their togetherness. So, one of the most impressive things of our team is we won the start of the third quarter 17-10 and that's really important, to be in situations when you can have a chance to have a letdown and you win by seven. And so that's why they stayed out there and that's why we practiced that. It was very important that we won that first segment of the third quarter. But it's just that. It's just continuing to stay disciplined. Not taking bad shots, not turning the ball over, not quitting on plays and giving up rebounds, not not getting back in transition. And I thought every player that went in the game tonight played with a high level of physicality and detail.”
10:58 Compared to maybe previous years where this team seems to play with a lot of purpose when they have the lead, the game's close, extend the lead, you kind of put the foot down on the throat, or if it's a game where there's lulls, it seems like you're able to fight through those and win games. Maybe you wouldn't in the past. Is there anything that's changed near view …?
“Continuing to grow as players, people, year after year, you just learn different things, but I think it starts with them, starts with the players in the locker room and the choice that they make to play at a high level; they do a good job holding each other accountable to the effort that we have to play with to win.”
11:37 Joe, all year you've emphasized this mindset of treat every game the same, look at what's in front of you and not what's behind you look at two teams in a row here, Mavericks are a playoff team, Warriors were 13-3 coming into this one. Does that like, not change the perspective, but do you look at that and say, okay, this is a chance to improve, not necessarily make a statement, but like, this is a good team. Let's bring it especially more this game and then after the game, after you get those results, does it do anything or is it just all just the same level?
“Like, we show up here, we play the game. It's the most important thing that we have to do is play the game. And when the game's over, nobody cares.”
12:07 Joe, you were after that loss in San Francisco, you were excited. You were encouraged. What's it like when your plan comes to fruition the second time around when everything works because you thought some positive things after that loss? Obviously worked out well today.
“…What I was excited about in that game against Golden State is a process towards building an identity. So we did it in multiple games up until that point, and so the correlation to what we did well during that game, in this particular game, it’s more about the habit and the identity that we built up until that point, and so I was very encouraged with the way we were able to attack them on the offensive end. I was encouraged with the way we played for those two and a half quarters. And it was a clear understanding, especially in a late game, I thought we did a great job of guarding them and attacking them, but it was a clear distinction between the end of the third and the start of the fourth. And so just keeping that as an identity of knowing how to manage games, how to manage runs, is something that we talk about a lot. And I think the guys have grown in their identity as far as game management. And I think that game really exploited that for us and it's something that we try to work on.”
13:18 Has the team kind of played better than you expected in the last couple of weeks? Are they doing everything you ask?
“They’re doing everything that we say, not that I ask, they're doing everything that we say we need to do. And so, like I said, we have a veteran team, we have a bunch of smart guys. It's not rocket science from the standpoint of what we know we have to try to work on every day. They're doing the things that they know are important for us to get to where we want to get to. And so, they're not doing it better than I expected or worse than I expected. It's just kind of like if we want to win and have a chance, these are the things that we have to do. And so the guys, credit to them for making the choice every day to do it.”
13:52 Joe, the offense in the first half, usually watching these guys over the years when they get that hot from three, they just want to shoot threes. You were 11 of 12 at the rim as well. And you had a lot of sequences where the ball, they kind of passed up some of those shots to get those shots at the rim. What kind of growth in that respect have you seen? Because it's not just the hot shooting. They really work on the offense.
“Yeah. I think that's the discipline and the stuff that we talk about, that’s the stuff that you got to fight for in any game, whether you're up five or up 25, I don't think it matters. I think the conscious choice and the awareness to how important a single shot can have a positive or negative impact on the next three plays is something that the guys are really working at. And so I thought two of the bigger plays of that half was when obviously Jaylen and Jayson had it going. Something Jaylen makes to kick out to Derek to end the half, and Jayson shoots the jump pass to Derek, and he makes the three on the wing. And so the growth to be able to know I got it going, but there's a better shot available, and we make that shot and empower the guys around us. Those are the things that we have to fight to keep. And it's going to be difficult. We'll be tested in that, but that mindset's important. And it's not just important when it's a game like this. It's important when you're up seven with two minutes to go, so it's something that we talk about a lot.”
15:17 What was your reaction when they just sagged off you for the start of the first quarter, just let you shoot. Did you think they were playing mind games with you? What goes through your head when a team does that to you?
JAYLEN BROWN: “First time it's ever happened to me. Honestly, I was a bit surprised, took a little bit of adjusting. But I think we just took advantage of whatever that attempt was and just made the best of it. For the most part, my job is to get to the paint. We got enough three-point shooters on our team. So, I don't take a lot of threes or for the most part throughout the season because we got enough of that. I get to the paint and I usually open it up for everybody else. But if you want to dare me to shoot, we can do that too. I thought it was a little disrespectful, but we took advantage of it and we didn't look back. M”
16:15 Do you take that personally? It looked like you were exchanging some words with Draymond Green. How do you kind of look at it when a team goes to such great lengths to force you to shoot?
“It’s never personal. I'm sure they thought that's what their best chance was, or whoever came up with that defensive kind of concept. So it's not personal, you know? Like, it's not personal. It was a little disrespectful. It is what it is. I came out and I do what I do best. My teammates empowered me. It was like, you know what, like, we don't care if you shoot every shot down. And on this team, it's about making the right plays, letting guys feel involved. And I feel like I've been doing that all season long and I'm gonna keep doing that. But like, don't get it twisted.”
17:06 Jaylen, all year, Joe has been really focused on keeping the past, the present, and the future, like focusing on what's right in front of you. He said, when the game's over, nobody cares. How tough is it to have that mindset, not only after a loss, but after a big win like this, like you mentioned this team beat you in the Finals two years ago. How tough is it?
“It's just treated as every other game and move on to the next game mentality. What happened in the past is the past, a new year, a new team. And we're focused on what's in front of us. And every single day is a challenge. And as they present itself, we accept it and embrace it. So tomorrow is going to present other challenges, and the day after next week and so forth and so on. So I think we should just continue to focus on that. And that's what we do, just focus on what's next, and we've done a good job at that all season. And I think when that adversity comes, we just got to be ready to embrace it.”
17:59 How much better do you think this team has been at just focusing on what's right in front of you than years in the past?
“I think this is the best group I've been a part of in that department. I think that we have experience, we've grown, we've matured. To a certain extent, we've seen a lot of different variations of a lot of different basketball. So I think we're primed and we're ready.”
18:26 Jaylen, can you describe your personal mindset and also kind of the team's mindset against this opponent, this game, obviously trying to make a statement given where they've been and where you want to go? Because it seemed like you felt, it seemed like you came out and you're looking for Steph Curry.
“We had obviously a little extra energy. It seemed like at the start. Yeah, and that's credit to them. They, the Golden State Warriors have been the best team in basketball over the last 10 or plus years. So, absolute nothing but respect on our behalf, and I think that's exactly how you show it as you come out and you play hard and you compete. And that's what we did from the start. From the tip, I started on Curry, started with my pressure and it just followed throughout. And I think that in those moments when we have that same mentality, everybody is on the same page…”
19:16 I know you said that approach wasn't personal to you. But are there ways that it fired you up? Like Joe said, as he thought, you picked up your defense even more afterwards. We saw you egging on the crowd, which you don't always do. The backcourt on Steph, you were pretty fired up. Are there ways that kind of fired you up emotionally?
“I guess that's kind of fair to say. Obviously it was a little — caught me and everybody by surprise, maybe it was some type of mind game they were trying to play, but it definitely engages you definitely, heightens your focus on offense and defense. And tonight after those moments, after the first, or during the first, you kind of saw it play out.”
20:04 Jaylen, third 50-point win this season. How do you guys stay grounded when you're just blowing teams out of the room?
“I think just having the right mentality and being humble in our approach, on any given day or any given time. We could be on the other side of that. And we've had some, heartbreaking losses and things not going our direction that kind of cultivates that humility that you know that we play with. Yeah, it's a privilege and honor to be on the team to be able to do that and perform that. But at the same time, it's a humility that any given moment, things can change. Things can shift. Things cannot go in our direction, so we just got to take advantage of the moment.”
20:54 You guarded Steph a fair amount today in the first half, especially. Did you ask for that assignment? Or did that come from the coaching staff?
“It came from the coaching staff. Maybe earlier in the year, I would have had to ask for it. But now it's kind of normalized. Yeah, the coaching staff assigned me to Steph. They want me to pick him up, make it hard for him, try to create some turnovers. And that's what I did. And it's tough. I'm 240 pounds chasing around Steph Curry. That’s a different level of shape you kind of got to be in. But when you know you're playing against one of the greatest, I'ma sign up for that challenge.”
21:35 That did include a couple turnovers, including the backcourt violation that got you fired up. Just taking on a matchup like that give you added fuel.
“For sure. I view Steph as one of the greats of all time. You could put him in the top 10 and he's been able to dominate this era in the last 10 years. So it's the ultimate level of respect, to be honest and that's all I view it as.”
22:02 Jaylen, what's it like when they can't guard you when you're scoring 82 points in the first half, and then they bench Draymond, Klay and Steph for the second half. They don't even come out. What's that like to know that a team can't guard you?
“It feels great, but at the same time, it's always within humility. At any given point, that could be us. And we don't take the game for granted. We didn't come out and mess around. And that's just how we show our respect to the game, is that we handle business and take care of it, but we don't do it arrogantly. We do it with humility and it's a lot of respect for the Golden State Warriors. But we feel like it's our time now.”
0:00 Since the Finals loss to you guys, what has kind of stood out to you each step of the way in terms of especially Jaylen and Jayson, the way they're kind of growing as leaders of that offense?
STEPHEN CURRY POSTGAME GSW-BOS: “...up until the ‘22 Finals, they'd obviously gotten to a couple of Eastern Conference Finals, they're younger, fell short a couple of times and then obviously we got them in that Finals. They stayed motivated, hungry. You always take those moments and understand you have to get better and they've done that. And they obviously added two pieces with Jrue and KP, didn't play tonight, but the way that they've been playing, they seem very sure of themselves and their identity and who they are. So you give them credit. They came out at us tonight from the jump, and it was one of those perfect storms of just a rough night on our end and them taking it to us. So, they've elevated their game. And you gotta give them credit.”
1:08 You notice one particular area of growth or something they've just kind of figured out to have a performance like this against you guys?
“No, it's just mostly connecting both sides of the ball. They obviously play a physical style. And they know how to space and what shots are trying to create. It seems like they have confidence no matter who has the ball in their hands. So, like I said, it's an identity and a confidence in how you play every night. You can feel it with certain teams and certain teams don't have it. And they obviously, you don't win 11 in a row in an accident. So, they're tough.”
1:43 From their growth, in your perspective, how much does losing in the Finals reignite your drive?
“That's obviously one of the worst feelings in the world. We've gone through it twice and you understand everything that goes into winning at the highest level, getting through an 82-game schedule, the amount of focus and consistency you need to have. So it definitely is a motivator. Again, they didn't work out last year and they're hungry again. So the league is competitive at the top. They have a history that they want to kind of overcome. And they're playing well right now. So, It's definitely whatever motivation they've taken away from that. It shows.
2:38 What happened with the knee in Toronto?
“I landed on it in the first half at some point, but just a little bang.”
Was it on the play that you got hit on the three?
“No, that was when I lost the ball and I was going, I got it back and JK dunked it, like towards the end of the second quarter, it was.”
Did you have any doubt you’d play today?
“No, just because you just wanna make sure it didn't swell up anymore than it already did, but I woke up this morning, it was in a good spot when I just had to test it to see if I could not feel any pain when I was out there, and that's how it went. So, good decision to play just based on how I felt, ended up playing 16 minutes.”
3:29 How much of an off-day, half off-day does it feel like when you only play a half?
“No, it still feels like a game because you got to do all your preparation stuff. And even the 16-17 minutes I played, it was physical. You're trying to find any type of life out there. But we do have two days off before another back to back. So I take advantage of that rest.”
3:29 3-1 on the trip. Just any big takeaways from how you guys play overall?
“It sucks because, the way this game went, how quickly it got away from us. There's a temptation or a tendency to just let that define our trip. But if you told us coming into these four games to go 3-1, before we got back home, like, you take that. It's just, you can wash this one down the drain, but you have to remind yourself of the level that we need to get to, if we're gonna try to, again, be a team that's a serious threat at the end of the year. Boston's been showing who they are for this winning streak that they're on, pretty much all year. They've played, at a consistently high level. We gotta get there. But yeah, it was a great trip.”
4:53 Do you believe you're close to that point, getting there?
“Yeah. You just have to realize, we have a very thin margin, and we've put ourselves in a position where we can have a full sprint to the finish line and still continue to make up some ground. And once you get into the playoffs and you have a series in front of you and you understand who your opponent is and can go through all the preparation stuff, we've been good in those scenarios. You just got to get there. That's the big picture of, yeah, we think we can get there. Take it a day at a time and that's where we're at.”
5:45 You guys tried a different defense. You kind of came up with that like earlier this afternoon to try out against them. What kind of inspired that? And was it something about the Celtics that you guys wanted to try something different against them? And what kind of led to that?
“It was a kind of a joint decision, coach and staff, obviously the leaders on the team, to try something different based on how they've been playing at a high level. A team that has that many threats, you try to find some weak spot to see if it'll throw them off a little bit. Obviously it didn't work. And it affected our offense a little bit tonight. So, no regrets on how we approached it. And again, a good learning lesson for us to take the hit that we took the night, but not let it linger into another game. Because we've been, on the whole, playing some solid basketball. So again, wash it down the drain pretty quickly.”
6:50 When you say that's impacted the offense, like how does that?
“When you have a creative idea and it doesn't work and you're taking the ball out of the basket and they're hitting 10 threes in the first quarter, that's what we used to do teams and it's kind of demoralizing, especially on the road when a shot that you're comfortable giving up, or whatever the case is, they're taking advantage of it. So then you feel like you have to play home run basketball on the other end to try to make it up. And that's where the momentum shift just kept going their way and going their way. It seemed like then every little play goes their way and you look up and you're down freaking 40. So it's one of those nights.”
7:33 Did you feel that some players maybe brought something about two years ago about the Finals to the game today?
“I don't know what they talked about in the locker room. We've played them, what now, four times since. So I'm sure that narrative's gotten old, but they're the best team in the league right now. And they play like it. So, we have a nice gap to try to make up if we want to be that type of team down the stretch of this season. But you give them credit. They played their ass off and it's tough to watch from the other side for sure.”
1:30 refs: James Williams (crew chief, No. 60, 14th), Nick Buchert (No. 3, 14th), Matt Myers (No. 43, 6th)
5:45 tipoff
12m00 Q1 JT open 3 right away
11m31 Q1 JB posts Steph
11m18 Q1 JK attack AH right base
10m58 Q1 DPOY disrupt Jrue
10m00 Q1 they left Mo wide open 3
9m45 Q1 JB miss 3, Dray let him shoot (37% last 5)
9m08 Q1 JB left open again, hits
9m00 Q1 JK downhill AH, fouled
8m44 Q1 DW step back pop screen
8m26 Q1 Mo saves the day from JK near tov right base iso
8m04 Q1 Dray leaves JB open again for 3, misses
7m27 Q1 Dray shaded over to JT, left JB open, Mo covered two guys (Jrue) fouled and raised hand for foul
6m52 Q1 GP on JT brick, DPOY save
6m35 Q1 Les corner 3 catch Steph ast
6m24 Q1 Dray drop back on JB again, miss 2
6m15 Q1 Steph fouled on 3 by AH? no call
17:45 analyzing the non-call: landing spot?? wow
5m41 Q1 JB pull up 3
5m31 Q1 GP pushed in back fb no call
3m39 Q1 DW past Les to Kornet dunk, timeout
23:45 JB 6/11 and 5/8 on threes, so sagging off worked 5x
25:00 I disagree that a loss to BOS means we're non-champ contending
3m20 Q1 JK post up def 3 on Kornet helping
3m17 Q1 Klay bad pass, what am I doing response
3m01 Q1 TJD block
2m41 Q1 CP miss trademark J
1m55 Q1 CP TTBTTOT (old guy underestimating)
1m12 Q1 good D by Klay JT post
1m03 Q1 JK downhill miss, wanted foul?
0m40 Q1 TJD gives a block to Kornet
0 19 Q1 Kornet guarding Klay as they know the play (JT up top expecting Klay), CP had to go 1v1 and blocked by JT
11m40 Q2 Klay layup via Loon
10m57 Q2 Loon blows layup on misdirect
10m35 Q2 Klay curl rushed
9m58 Q2 Pritchard blow by Mo -- that's where you'd rather have Wiggs
41:15 BOS really high-paced, other team like this is OKC
9m27 Q2 JK misses again late
7m55 Q2 JK late clock fade makes it this time
7m21 Q2 Loon ball goes thru legs
7m05 Q2 Mo drive
6m55 Q2 Les no help, Steph not happy vs JT easy inside 2
6m20 Q2 Steph curl no good late, good D
5m40 Q2 JK stays with loose ball
5m31 Q2 JK pulls string on baseline J
5m17 Q2 JB beats Gary down low on ATO
5m03 Q2 Dray down the lane
4m15 Q2 Dray argues with newer ref on the auto switch to JB, Myers is new
4m02 Q2 JB pushes GP no call on good D by GP
3m31 Q2 Dario should've left DW
3m26 Q2 Steph bad dribble tov
2m29 Q2 Steph 3 extra passes, rushed
2m00 Q2 Steph too hard on the 3
1m32 Q2 DW scores 3 on Dario after CP switches
1m18 Q2 GP oreb putback on Steph hash late
0m53 Q2 good push CP to GP
0m41 Q2 Dray trapping a little 2x
0m20 Q2 Steph now 2/13 0/9
11m50 Q3 look like Steph Dray are done -- rest bursitis, Les and TJD start
11m32 Q3 TJD hook over AH, no shotblocker
10m25 Q3 JK ba pass, exasperated
9m00 Q3 JK lost ball
8m49 Q3 Les scoop no and1
7m49 Q3 TJD inside again oreb
6m43 Q3 Mo dunk on swing pass
5m23 Q3 Dario and1 inside with CP, Gui is playing good knee is ok
4m15 Q3 Dario again with CP
1:49:45 Dr. Nirav Pandya on Steph's bursitis:
11m44 Q4 Gui block but loses Pritchard on 3
9m36 Q4 landing spot foul on Pritchard vs Les not called
9m00 Q4 Gui oreb putback on FT
8m49 Q4 Gui block? good D
8m27 Q4 TJD block, Gui to Jrob dunk
7m13 Q4 TJD fake DHO dunk
6m00 Q4 Les drive FT J
1m15 Q4 Svi has hops (goaltends GP2 touchdown)
0m37 Q4 TJD throws ball out of bounds
2:18:00 on the Celtics making everything, pace, our hero shots, our guys older, no BP and Wiggs -- aside from the Dray leaving JB open
2:20:00 looking at the other teams, not worried about anybody except DEN or LAL, other teams have to pay their dues
2:26:45 @pinky lou Raquidan: how about JK? -- Whole team was rattled, Steph included. But yeah JK still not quite ready to carry team yet (next year maybe although it's harder to do that then when Kawhi took over for Duncan, this would be year 2013 Kawhi for JK)
2:32:45 MAZZULLA POSTGAME AUDIO
@zeeed123 And for the millionth time… Stop it lol. It’s to hard to explain to the casuals in one comment, but the Nic Claxtons of the world not only have a salary that doesn’t fit our cap table but also they, I mean, just DO NOT MOVE THE NEEDLE. Claxton vs Jokic doesn’t produce a win tonight. Lol smh. Come on, people!!!!!! Now, a KAT? A Markkanen? Now THOSE are bigs that move the needle. However, they are even more remotely possible than a Claxton, if you would only look at salary cap tables (which you won’t after reading this, I get it). Sighhhh. Remember to KEEP ROOTING FOR OUR CURRENT TEAM, y’all casuals outchea 🤦🏻♂🤣👍👍💛💙
2:47:30 STEVE POSTGAME AUDIO FROM SLATER: if this were a playoff game BP would've played
2:50:45 Slater told me it was GP2 not J-Rob https://www.letsgowarriors.com/p/unintentional-humor-from-klay-washington-poole
2:54:00 Harry Giles III is your answer to anyone asking about centers on a two-way
3:18:15 JAYLEN POSTGAME AUDIO: "first time it's ever happened to me", good answer on the last one on humility and respect for Warriors "but we feel it's our time"
3:25:00 on reporters trying to get a rise out of Jaylen, s/o to him for the responses and Mazzulla for the "thank you" quip, it was just a tactic, we've let Tony Allen shoot and Sabonis
3:33:45 DRAYMOND POSTGAME LOCKER ROOM FROM SLATER
3:45:00 STEPH POSTGAME LOCKER ROOM
3:40:15 STEVE PREGAME: Deki, "the other stuff it's just basketball"
3:45:00 OBBYTURM RSPS: appreciate this channel so much, to come off reading so much negative all around and to click this live and get positive helps a lot.
3:49:30 guys had to walk the ramp to outside at MSG and a girl got pushed outside and Steph stopped signing at that point.
👍👍💛💙