Unintentional humor from Klay in the locker room, again 😂

[GSW-WSH video/transcripts/notes/quotes]

Turns out the rest of the Klay Thompson locker room interview in Washington was pretty entertaining. Everyone probably saw The Athletic’s Anthony Slater’s video, but Warriors PR captured some additional sound and it was funny stuff (full transcript below of both and more, per usual).

Seemed like there were Wizards reporters there to ask Klay analogous questions about Jordan Poole coming off the bench, because Poole also recently relinquished his starting spot for the role of Sixth Man. Perhaps unbeknownst to the Washington reporters, Klay had just addressed similar questions less than 48 hours prior, after the loss to Denver at home. Still, they probably would’ve wanted to get their own quotes and spin on things especially as they relate to JP, so who can blame them?

When complimented with, “you’re a champion,” in one of the questions about Poole (by the much-respected long-time DC-based NBA reporter David Aldridge), Klay quipped, “Multiple times,” at which point I immediately thought of him flashing the four rings from the bench in Phoenix — such is the beauty sometimes of not having video on the scene: your brain will fill in the details.

And then when he had to explain (again) that coming off the bench isn’t the worst thing in the world, someone blurted out, “Tell them it don’t matter, Klay, starter or not!”

[UPDATE: I’ve confirmed with Slater himself that it was GP2. My bad! That’s why you see the updated strikethroughs below:]

Who said it? You can check the voice below in the video (which only has the audio track, of course), but just doing some deduction, I think it was Jerome Robinson. It’s not someone with any discernible accent — fyi there are quite a few foreigners on the squad this year — and it’s not one of the familiar voices. I’ve checked around, and been told that J-Rob, Lester Quinones, Gary Payton II and Brandin Podziemski were in the vicinity and whoever said that was behind Klay, even though it seemed like Klay mentioned GP2 seconds later (see transcript or video) — maybe he got that wrong or he was referencing a different conversation Payton II had with reporters?

So, indeed, I could be way off, but I’m going with Robinson, and the bigger thing to note is that a teammate stuck up for Klay versus the media again — remember when Draymond Green interrupted the Brooklyn locker room interview with, “Who tf cares?!”…

…Not that it was a terrible question and, as I mentioned, the Washington reporters couldn’t have known that the same questions were tossed at Klay not too long ago, but it was kinda cool to see guys speak up on his behalf.

Incidentally, I do think the first question (by Slater) in Brooklyn was necessary as well, plus it ended up actually helping Klay, especially after social media made his not-happy-after-buzzer clip go a bit viral. Here’s that, just in case I hadn’t reported it, but this is ancient history by now and bygones: https://twitter.com/brickmuse/status/1754703883182772288

And for Klay’s sake, hopefully that’s the end of the “How do you feel coming off the bench?” questions. He’s had to explain twice in a 48-hour window that playing 20-25 minutes is “starter minutes”, although I do hope the basketball gods let him off the hook for adding, “It’d be one thing to play 10 or 15 minutes.”

Realistically and come to think of it, I don’t think any coach could ever play him so few minutes. You just never know when he’ll get hot and even when he’s not, his gravity helps the overall offense. So there you go, another (quite large) silver lining as we stare at Klay’s sunset in the face: he’s the type of shooter you give at least 24 minutes to every night, just in case, though did recently tell Sam Amick of The Athletic, “I’m not sure I want to play until I’m 40, man. That sounds really exhausting.”

Some quick checks on bkref tell me that Thompson usually doesn’t play fewer than 24 minutes this season, barring an anomaly such as a blowout (e.g., 21 minutes against Charlotte the other night) or the early ejection from the infamous Minnesota game. He’s averaged 32.7 minutes per game throughout his career, with Stephen Curry at 34.3 and Draymond at 28.7.

As far as the game itself, as I mentioned on the livestream (direct embed below), anytime the Warriors play a regular season game against a cellar-dweller, you can’t judge them on that performance to make predictions on their play against other types of teams such as, say, the Nuggets. This has been apparent over the years, the letdown against inferior teams. They got the W, and we move on.

Curry started out cold, but I’m doing the behind-the-scenes video right now from Capital One Arena and by and large, it looked like he was in control again towards the end, finally draining a few threes and regaining his Michael Jordan-esque in-arena on-court aura, which has a feel to it that’s much more evident in-person and up-close than on screen — example: last time they were in New York:

The “unsung play of the game” vote with our audience for the win versus the Wizards ended with yet another sentimental pick: Moses Moody. I’m not sure Moody’s ankle-breaker move should be considered an “unsung” highlight as it made its rounds on social media and even the local TV broadcast itself, but just like when Steve Kerr says about Podziemski, that he’d rather have BP seeing everything on defense and over-helping rather than the other way around of not even seeing the pictures in the first place, I’d rather our community show love about somebody than nitpick semantics on just what an unsung play means:

Moody ankle-breaker (56%)
JK decisive turnaround in paint (20%)
BP block from behind, Klay 3 (16%)
GP2 inside jump hook (6%)

The Jonathan Kuminga decisive inside turnaround was important because the more he does that, the more he starts to have the effectiveness a la Kawhi Leonard that we’ll eventually need, especially against legit championship contenders like Denver (assuming Steph isn’t in GOAT mode and Dray is turning the ball over too much such as on Sunday evening, let’s say).

The GP2 inside hook shot was important because that’s our “small-five” (Draymond voice) making a rim run and converting; GP was 5-for-9 inside the arc which also means he missed four at the rim. And finally the BP block that led to a Klay splash in transition was simply a great play by Podz and, yeah, not necessarily “unsung”.

Here are the videos, transcripts and game notes from Washington. There’s also detail from Kerr in the pregame on Pat Spencer, presumably asked by a local journalist as Spencer grew up in the DMV area, as well as Usman Garuba, asked by a Spanish-speaking reporter in the postgame. BTS video, as mentioned, still on the way…

0:00 As a guy who came into the league as a movement shooter, I'm sure you have seen a ton of Klay Thompson over the years. What's it like, in those moments where you're chasing him around screens and you're chasing him, on back cuts and things like that? What do you learn from those moments that you can apply to your own game?

COREY KISPERT POSTGAME GSW-WSH: “Yeah, you learn everything. It's a whole lot different guarding him than watching him on film, you're right. I watched Klay's film for years before and while I was in the league and obviously when you're in the game and you're playing like you are, you're a competitor and you're trying to not give him anything at all, but obviously when the game's over, you step back and you take little bits and pieces about how he uses his body to get open and the pace he plays at, and his confidence, or how he's able to just keep shooting, no matter if it goes in or doesn't; those kind of things have made him special throughout his career, and those are things that you can take from him, as a player who has a similar game, for sure.”

1:10 What was Chris like in the second game with you? 

KLAY THOMPSON: “It was great. A lot of fun. Makes my life much easier. Much easier. Yeah.”

Kind of what specific ways? 

“Just his ability to read the game. Hit me in stride on time on target. Probably one of the best in history … it was natural.”

1:39 You got 3 out of your last 5, 25-plus points. How good right now is the shot for you?

“Always feels great. Even during times when the ball might not be going in with the same consistency. Still feel I'm never going to miss, always feels great.”

2:01 Can you stop to think about the start of this road trip? You get one that you need and then needed it. Try to get where you want to go, you got to win as many as you can.

“That's right. And it's not easy to win road games in this league. And the Knicks are playing at a high level. … always have Boston at the end there and can't skip Toronto. So, we're looking forward to a battle every night.”

2:26 Klay, Poole is going through the same thing. Coming off the bench now, not used to it. Trying to figure it out.

“He's come off the bench before, 2022 playoffs.”

Yes. For them, I mean.

“Yeah… lean on that experience from Jordan Poole. I love Jordan, and I know he has great, great seasons ahead of him.”

Why do you think that is? Because they're obviously in a very different position than where you all are.

“I don't know, obviously they're more in a rebuilding mode, so there's a lot more, just on his shoulders to carry the load every night. and he's got all the time in the world. It's just about staying consistent. He'll get there. He's still incredibly young. What, 23?”

What's poetic about these situations where he has to come off the bench and obviously he's young and he's had some thoughts about why he should be playing. You're a champion –

“Multiple times.”

…and you've come off the bench. And as I look at it, it's been graceful, and we don't see how difficult the play will be, but it seems that you handle it gracefully.

“Well, when you're playing 25, 30 minutes a night, it doesn't make a difference. And it'd be one thing to play 10 or 15 minutes, but I'm still playing starter minutes. There's also benefits, too, coming off the bench, like –”

JEROME ROBINSON: “Tell ‘em it don't matter, Klay, starter or not!”

“Yeah, literally. Like I said, like Gary said, 25 minutes a night, that's starter minutes. So, no, not that hard transition.”

4:18 You and Chris are both in the same situation, too. It's your first time in your very veteran careers. You guys have made this adjustment. Have you guys had any conversations with each other? 

“Yeah, just how much of a joy it is to play with each other and you've got two Hall of Famers in the back court on a bench or something. It's a rare feat, so we take pride in that, and it just makes our team that much dangerous, and it's something to build off, obviously, and we still have another level to get to, and it's gonna take everybody's best effort.”

4:54 What's this comeback been like, with the hand and everything? I don't think we've talked to you for this long. 

CHRIS PAUL: “It's been tough. It's been a grind. My fifth hand surgery. So, I don't know, I'm probably more grateful now to all the people that helped me get back on the court. You know what I'm saying?”

5;12 How different is this team than the one when you got hurt, obviously during Draymond back?

“A lot different. It's been such an up and down season for us, bodies in, bodies out. When Dray was out, I was playing, and I went out, Dray came back. And we still thought we was going to have a good game with everybody and unfortunately we didn't have Wiggs today. But the morale, the spirit and everything is right where it needs to be at this point for this team.”

5:46 What do you think of just how the second unit is looking right now, especially with Klay now in that backcourt with you? 

“It's one game, one game, but we still got a lot of work to do as a team, as a unit, and we have so much depth and so many different ways that we can play that it's going to take us a little while to figure it out, but I would say you want to figure it out and win at the same time.”

6:08 What's it like for you coming off the bench with Klay? What's the balance like this season when there's so many veterans, future Hall of Famers, and you guys want that higher loftier goal, but there are also so many young players on the scene? What's the balance in mentoring Brandin or building up Trayce while also understanding you gotta win? 

“It's a great balance, but it's also a good blend of guys, unbelievable talent, guys with strong personalities, but everybody with the same common goal, especially the vets, you know what I mean? So, we do a good job of trying to teach the young guys and making sure that they understand how much we need them. So, it's a perfect balance.”

7:05 Jordan, he's going through a position change also. He's coming off the bench now and they just want him to learn. It's obvious. Is not normal for him. It's not normal for you. And I just wonder, how do you kind of find equilibrium knowing that it's just basketball, like you said, but it's different. 

“Yeah. I don't know. I don't know his story, you know what I mean? I was 19 years in before I did, so I'm still figuring it out. But at the end of the day, you trying to win and every team needs different things. Figure it out.”

7:44 Great game for you today off the bench. And this is a game that was close going into halftime and then that third quarter, 38-17, where you really started to pull away. What was the key to that big third quarter? 

GARY PAYTON II POSTGAME RADIO WITH KEVIN DANNA: “It was just getting stops, transition. Defense gets stops, try to get to our set defense, half for defense and when we get to rebound, just go in transition. That was it. Try to get easy ones. Klay got hot. kind of set the tone for us and then, we've got to pick up and finish for him.”

8:14 Well, you and Klay have been coming off the bench together a good bit since he's been coming off the bench. Another big game for Klay. What's it been like playing with Klay as a reserve? 

“Oh, it's great. It's like we got CP in that unit. We got a lot of different, different looks in that unit. So it's just like, we got scorers, we got shooters, we got playmakers. So, everybody else just get stops and get the ball in their hands and cut and screen and we'll do what we got to do.”

8:40 What do you think of the job Moses did as a starter tonight? 

“Stay ready Moses. Stay ready Moody. We're not worried about him. We know he was going to activate when his number’s called. So, that's why Steve threw him in that starting lineup. He know what he going to get from Moses. So, Moses does what he does.”

8:55 And Gary, we'll get you outta here on this. I know the Wizards are having a tough season this season, but how important was it to pick up a win to start this four game road trip, a big road trip here for Golden State? 

“Oh, it's always great to start a road trip off with a W, try to carry it on the next one and you know what I mean? And one after that. So, we started off well, let's continue to keep building and keep heading in the right direction.”

On an evening where you have the type of ball movement, and assists almost 40. Does that give you a sense of, getting Chris Paul back and some of the other pieces that you're moving in the right direction going into March?

STEVE KERR POSTGAME GSW-WSH: “Yeah. We've been playing pretty well, over the last month or so. And we 've really been looking forward to getting Chris back. You can see why tonight. He's a plus 17 in 21 minutes, always in control of the game. I thought the way we closed the third quarter was really important. He was at the helm. He found JK for a lob. And we got the stop. Got the last shot of the quarter. So we just handle things better with Chris. He's such a great point guard. Always knows exactly what's happening in the game and what's needed from him. So it's great to have him back.”

There is a lot of excitement to see Klay and Chris share that backcourt together in that second unit. Just what did you think of those two in particular being able to play together?

“What a luxury to come off the bench with Chris Paul and Klay Thompson. That's crazy. So I said this before the game, but it feels like we've kind of found a nice combination of a starting group that we've been able to count on over the last month and a second unit that's been good all year. But adding Klay to that only makes it better.”

You mentioned the lob to Kuminga. That was off Klay kind of dragging two out to the perimeter. What do you just, I guess X's and O's wise, think of those two together and the kind of stuff you can do?

“Chris and Klay? Yeah. That was Chris. And obviously the gravity and setting up those. Yeah, that's not a play call. That's just Chris Paul getting us organized, he motioned to JK to go set the screen and JK knew to slip out because he's played with Chris and he understands the gravity that Klay has. So that was a great sequence but that's, again, that's what Chris does. He gets you organized, he gets you good looks and he just, all season long he's been such a high performer in terms of all of our best lineups. It seems like he's in. He just knows how to play.”

What did you make of Moses's minutes tonight?

“I loved what Moses did. It didn't surprise me at all, he's such a pro. He's such a great young guy, just so high-character, to put him in the starting lineup and to have him come out and play the way he did. It didn't surprise me because it's kind of what he does. He just reminds me a lot of Loon, he's very quiet, but professional and does his work and always stays ready.”

What do you think of that sequence he had where you got the steel, the behind the back? that set up another Kamega dunk?

“That was a big play. Yeah, he chased down that long pass and then threw it behind him and threw it all the way out. That was the key, throwing it out to half court and not throwing it underneath the basket, which is dangerous. So, I thought Moses just had several puzzle plays. Felt really good to have Gary out there in a game like that where they went small and tried to spread us out. And I thought Gary made a real impact as well.”

Your minute distribution is like, super-even right now between bench and starters. I know every game will dictate itself, but do you kind of expect that where you're getting pretty high minute total from guys off your bench? 

“Yeah, it was, it was great to see a lot of guys play well, but nobody played 30 minutes, which is nice. First game of the trip and we got three (games) in four (nights) coming, at the end of the week. We're going to need contributions from everybody, and we do feel like our depth is one of the strengths of our team.”

Coach, about Usman Garuba, how do you see his development? 

“I'm a big fan of Usman’s. He's a nice player. He knows how to play. He handles the ball in transition. He's a good passer. He's strong, very, long and can switch defensively, good rebounder. So Uzi has done a good job with us in Santa Cruz, and he's really worked hard over the last month to lose weight and to get in better shape. He's done a good job of that, and he's in Santa Cruz playing, so his development continues.”

Your hustle stats, from a guy who watched the game very closely and the way you change the game and the tempo with your activity around the basket, being able to move the ball and be in the right spot, to get those chippy points where teams are like trying to make a run and here you come with two points here, four points there. Talk a little bit about what that takes, the focus that it takes playing on a championship-caliber team like this.

GARY PAYTON II: “Like you said, it's just focus, coming out with energy and effort, trying to do something every play. Be solid, know the game; makes it easier if you know the game and know what you're trying to get to and who you're on the floor with, what we trying to get to, ball moves faster than the body. So, when somebody draws two, let's just hit the open guy, swing, swing, and we're gonna find a dangerous guy, to hit the shots. And then just on defense is being active, trying to cause havoc, trying to anticipate, have them kind of do what we wanted them to do, make skip passes and then just rotate and trust the system. And then, most of the time we do that, we play the right way. We can come up with deflections and steals and we can get out and hit guys like JK in stride. And we got trailers shooting threes so pick your poison.”

I (DREW GOODEN, Wizards color announcer) played against your dad, obviously. And he used to talk trash. And I still do. I used to love it. So what was some of the best trash talk that he gave you as a kid growing up?

“Well, he was trash-talking me, yeah, you know what, so it was just like, I got a lot of that when I was growing up; he used to talk trash to me when I was growing up, playing hoop, coming to my games, telling me this, telling me that, so, yeah, I probably got a little worse than y'all did on the court, but he kind of instilled the dog in me. I didn't like the way he was talking to me, so I had to try to find a way to flip it on him, but now he don't say nothing to me no more. So I guess I'm doing something right.”

In terms of that second unit, how important is it to have Chris Paul back in that second unit?

“Nah, you can see it right here on paper, I'm sure. He's trying to get his rhythm back. He look good out there, distributing, making plays, getting our young guys going, Moses, JK. He’s just a playmaker, he's a point guard. So, having him back takes a lot of pressure off Klay and Steph, to carry the ball, bring up the ball, get him some easy ones, some catch and shoot. So to have Chris back in the lineup and on both sides defensively too, it's just humongous.”

There will probably be nights and even angst at times coming up with who's closing or who's not with you guys at this point. It looked like you have about six (players off the bench). Now it seems like you have about eight or nine. What's the key to not allowing that to happen?

CHRIS PAUL: “Man, realizing that it's about winning the game. Steve even said he's going to try to figure it out. He said sometimes he might mess it up, but we got a really good group of guys on this team, and you're gonna need different things every night; one thing about me though, I know who I am and what I'm capable of. You know what I mean? There ain't no question about that. You know what I mean? So, I'll always be ready and he knows that.”

Chris is another guy who can close, another guy who will want and probably deserve 20-plus minutes. How do you guys, for the rest of the season, make sure there's not any slight about who's closing, who isn't, and who's getting minutes?

KLAY THOMPSON: “There can be angst. There's gonna be emotions throughout the season. It's just leaving it on the floor when it's all over. You don't want to carry it into your personal life. You just want to, you can be frustrated, you can be upset because you're a competitor. But as long as you leave everything on the court, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, we're all professionals. We all care about each other. You realize when you're frustrated that it's just business. It's not personal. With that said and we'll bring the best out of all of us.”

 You can finally talk about your contract extension. I'm just curious how quickly you felt it came together and was there ever a moment you felt uneasy at all? 

STEVE KERR PREGAME GSW-WSH: “No, there was never a moment that I felt uneasy. My representatives have been talking to the Warriors for a while, and these things always take some time, but I was never worried about anything. I knew I wanted to come back. Joe (Lacob) made it clear he wanted me back, and we worked it out, and I couldn't be more excited.”

It lines up with Steph's contract, and kind of, at least from the outside looking in, it seems like you guys, it's kind of lined up for this era to kind of fade out. Was it purposeful to kind of —?

“Yeah, I felt very comfortable, just making this a two-year extension, Joe felt comfortable doing it as well. We’re in a really unique situation where we have an era that's winding down and another era that's coming and we're trying to make them merge and make the most of that, obviously this year and next year, and it's been really fun. I've really enjoyed this season, despite the fact that we've lost some really tough games. I love coaching this group and it's been an exciting season, a challenge, but all enjoyable. So, let's keep it rolling for another couple of years and then reassess at that point.”

Steve, Chris (Paul) is coming back tonight. First off, any restrictions for him minutes-wise? 

“No, no restrictions. I talked to Rick about it yesterday and there's no hard minute restriction. But my guess is he could play half the game, but I don't see a whole lot more beyond that.”

How tricky is it going to be folding him into this rotation that's already so many guys deep and how does now Klay coming off the bench also maybe add a couple more wrinkles and challenges to just dividing up all these guys as minutes?

“Yeah, we clearly have a lot of guys who are qualified to be out there and we've talked about it as a team. I've talked to guys individually. It's going to require sacrifice. We're going to have to figure it out from one night to the next because it's not as simple as, ‘Here’s our five and we're going to finish with this group.’ It could be different every night and everyone's aware of that. And we've laid it out there. And as long as we're committed to each other and just to winning every night, then I think we'll be fine.”

You guys have kind of amped up the pace lately. I think that's been part of your positive stretch, but I know bringing Chris in this offseason was maybe to throttle that back a little. What's the balance that you guys need to strike and he needs to strike? 

“Well, I think the biggest thing the last couple of months with Chris out, it hasn't felt to me like we've played that much faster. It's felt like we've taken better care of the ball. And so we're having better possessions. We've been much more efficient offensively. And if you look at the first couple of months of the season, Chris was in all of our best lineups and one of our most efficient players. So I think this is really a good situation for us to be in where we found some continuity with our starting group. Chris has anchored that second unit all season long. If we can put those things together, we have a chance to really be a good team for 48 minutes.”

Hey, Coach. Last time these two teams played, Jordan Poole had 25 points, but he started that game and he's now switched to a bench role, which was similar to what he did when he was on the Warriors. How do you foresee his effectiveness maybe changing now that he's going back to a bench role? 

“Well, we know Jordan well. He's a talented player. He's explosive. I liked having him come off the bench because it's very comforting as a coach to know you've got a guy who can put up points off the bench and usually you've already got a couple guys in your starting lineup who are gonna put up some points. So it's nice having a weapon like that in reserve. But obviously every team's different and every coach has to decide for himself whatever lineups make the most sense.” 

Steve, I know there's a ton of moving parts to Jordan, I get that; what I'm wondering is what do you think his arc is as an NBA player going forward? What do you think he's capable of? 

“Well, we watched what he's capable of. He helped us win a championship in ‘22. He was fantastic that whole season, first as a starter. And then when Klay came back, as a reserve, he produced big time for us in the playoffs. And he's one of the main reasons we won the championship that year. So we have great respect for Jordan and what he accomplished for us. I pull for him because he's a great young guy. I really want him to reach his potential and get to a place where he's really playing at a high level again. And as I said, we saw it, so we know he's capable.”

One of the things that they say about him is that he does work very hard at his game. It's important to him to try and be good. How do you kind of rein in the casualness, if that's the right word, of how he sometimes plays, with the fact that he does work very hard at it when he's trying to get better as a player?

“Yeah, those are all things that we used to discuss. He was in the gym more than anybody, he loves the work. And I think we always tried to just show him Steph and Klay and the players they were, when they were young players, and how much better they got defensively, how much stronger Steph got in particular. I think for us, it was always (that) we felt like we had really good role models for him, and it was a very healthy situation for him to learn from some older guys, and I think that happened. I think Steph and Klay, I think they were really helpful for Jordan and helped him, from his first year to his third. It was just dramatic improvement, and that's because of all the work he put in.”

Andrew (Wiggins)'s out for personal reasons. Do you have any sense of if this is just a quick thing or —?

“We don't know. We’ll just respect Andrew's wishes for this to remain private and personal reasons. And we'll just go from there. We'll start Moses tonight in his spot. Moses has been fantastic, as always, just staying ready, putting in the work, producing when called upon. And so this is a good opportunity for him. I think he's earned this and it allows us to keep our bench unit intact. Chris will play in the minutes that Lester's been playing, though; all the non-Steph minutes and then he'll probably be out there with Steph a little bit as well. So we're approaching it tonight, just trying to make the shift with Wiggs out, but I didn't want too many changes. So it felt good to start Moses and keep the bench unit intact.”

Hey Steve, I know it's not terribly relevant for tonight, but I wanted to ask about Pat Spencer. And when you first heard of a four-year lacrosse player who now is good enough to get to reach the NBA, what your thoughts were? And also you mentioned in the new era, the possibility of the merging of the going from one to the next. What's the possibility, the realistic possibility, that he could be a part of that new era? 

“Well, we had him in training camp a year ago, and he came to Tokyo with us. We played the Wizards twice, and he was one of the keys to a fourth-quarter comeback in the second game of Tokyo. And I was just blown away with his energy and competitiveness. He's just great. tough. You can just see it in his eyes. He wants to compete. He wants to be in the thick of every play. And maybe some of that comes from his lacrosse background. But I love Pat. He’s just put in so much work. It's an amazing story to be that good of a lacrosse player and then make it to the NBA. So he's put in a ton of work, was injured most of last year, but was very productive in Santa Cruz this year. He's worked hard on his shooting. He had a six-for-six night from three a couple of weeks ago. So he's really earned this and he's someone we've loved having in our program the last year-and-a-half. So wonderful when we see guys like that work and work and work and then be able to see it pay off in the form of a promotion up here. So, we're big fans and I won't hesitate to go to him. We've had a lot of two-way guys here and Santa Cruz players who have helped us win games, even a couple weeks ago with Lester Quinones and Gui Santos. So if the situation calls for it, we'll put Pat in.”

0:00 listening to the Kerr pregame, Moody will start in place of Wiggins who is out for personal reasons, CP3 also returns tonight
9:00 Pat Spencer is from Baltimore which is why the Washington reporter asked Kerr about him pregame
10:00 refs: Kevin Cutler (14th season), Phenizee Ransom (6th), Intae Hwang (1st)
11:00 on Wiggs: he wasn't shown in clips or pics from Warriors social boarding the plane therefore we can deduce his absence was planned before the flight
12:20 tipoff! Can't read WSH jersey

11m35 Q1 JK alley from Dray
11m00 Q1 late shotclock violation
10m23 Q1 Dray push shot no good
10m00 Q1 JK blocked in post again
9m45 Q1 Dray TD pass tov
9m12 Q1 JK over Shamet in post
8m15 Q1 Steph stepback no good 3
7m47 Q1 BP base no good 1v1
6m42 Q1 JK decisive turnaround in paint ast Dray
6m14 Q1 Mo in the way of JK downhill attempt early

22:15 analyzing Mo not getting out of the way for JK

5m36 Q1 Steph hero J no good
5m20 Q1 GP2 bad help vs Kuzma
5m05 Q1 Klay lets a dunk go
4m46 Q1 Steph hero miss again
4m35 Q1 Steph drive knocked away, hit himself on head
4m26 Q1 GP2 slam oreb makes up for two bad plays (last being missed dunk)
3m25 Q1 Steph airball 3 on catch flare
3m17 Q1 GP2 jump hook blocked, very weak
2m51 Q1 horrible pass by CP3 to Klay
2m32 Q1 zone D out of timeout, Shamet reload 3
1m53 Q1 JK says my bad after Klay 3
1m24 Q1 Klay moves pivot foot
1m08 Q1 Klay hero 3 no good
0m35 Q1 JK dunk as Omoruyi falls via CP

11m54 Q2 Klay throws alley oop into baseline
10m54 Q2 Saric early 3 no good
10m28 Q2 CP good touch pass to TJD fouled (59% on the year)
10m00 Q2 Klay bad body language after JP 3 on oreb reload
9m18 Q2 TJD block leads to CP to Mo 3

42:00 I've gotten confirmation from an insider that Warriors are supposed to pass up open 2s for an open 3
43:30 analyzing JK going downhill at 2m55 where he couldn't see the pass to Loon

8m35 Q2 CP 3 splash late
8m22 Q2 Dario steps on line
6m47 Q2 CP TJD P&R alley
6m13 Q2 GP misses again point blank
5m52 Q2 GP to BP 94ft (9 or 10 tov for WSH)
5m00 Q2 Dray to BP nice cut
4m37 Q2 GP forgets to run, Steph 1v3
3m52 Q2 JK screen then cut, nice play, knock out of bounds by WSH
2m58 Q2 Steph 3 airball after inverted screen with JK
2m36 Q2 BP reverse layup airball
1m58 Q2 CP bad pass
1m49 Q2 Dray foul, yells at teammates (JK watched, maybe Klay too)
1m38 Q2 JK soars, Klay bad transition D lost Kispert
1m16 Q2 Steph hero 3 no good
1m02 Q2 Steph bad dribble tov
0m43 Q2 CP loses his man but they miss
0m35 Q2 CP 3 after Klay tweaks ankle

1:08:45 on "Steph needs to rest" -- that's not a human-element comment, you have to consider how hard that is to do in real life, again not a video game

11m47 Q3 Drayup!
9m58 Q3 Steph picks for Dray, drive, fouled
9m06 Q3 Mo tov BP feet
7m55 Q3 Dray good D
7m24 Q3 Dray GP2 bad catch again
7m13 Q3 Steph SLOB alley to GP2 (rare inbound)
6m28 Q3 Steph TTBOTT exasperated at timeout
6m15 Q3 Steph no call Shamet right hand
5m53 Q3 Steph stares at Cutler for a call finally
5m25 Q3 CP helps Steph on JP
3m21 Q3 CP good screen for Klay splash
3m05 Q3 Loon screen for CP ends up flare for Klay 3
2m18 Q3 JK charge but Kispert maybe moving
2m07 Q3 BP blocks Holmes from behind, Klay 3
1m37 Q3 Klay heat check brick
0m50 Q3 Loon blocks Rishaun
0m37 Q3 JK alley via Klay gravity
0m12 Q3 JK does not attack before buzzer

11m49 Q4 Shamet easy past Dario and1
11m03 Q4 Dario to TJD after good pass from CP, tov
10m39 Q4 Dario bad pass to TJD

1:51:15 Dario is 1/11 on 3s in last 5 games, needs more reps with CP (out 2 mo)
9m33 Q4 Dray to Dario in trans
9m00 Q4 Klay hold the fake three no good
8m36 Q4 Tyus airball over GP late clock
8m00 Q4 GP finally inside bucket
7m33 Q4 3on2 right side break, GP maybe come over?
7m00 Q4 JK doesn't shoot
6m30 Q4 Tyus easy turn corner of GP2
6m19 Q4 BP oreb got fouled
6m02 Q4 Steph goat layup
5m26 Q4 GP block JP 3
5m12 Q4 GP bad foul
4m45 Q4 Dray bad pass
4m23 Q4 BP reach-in foul (Dray talks to BP)
3m58 Q4 JK dunk again via Klay gravity
3m17 Q4 Shamet miss 3 big
2m23 Q4 BP oreb, Steph dagger 3, shakes head off rust

2:08:00 this is why it's hard to find Moody, BP rise, lack of ball-handling and foot speed

1m45 Q4 JK misses putback (work on that more a la Loon/Mikan?)
1m29 Q4 timeout, JP messes with Lester's headband
1m20 Q4 Mo holds the ball, gotta move ball 5v4

2:20:45 KLAY POSTGAME AUDIO
2:28:00 on having positive energy a la J.Cole and Washington not being a litmus test, letdowns, but GSW will bring it in playoffs
2:29:00 on Worthy/JK comparison
2:31:00 on standings, should we want to be 7th to avoid Nuggets? on 2020 when we lost to Ja Morant and Xavier Tillman and would've had the Jazz who were No. 1
2:35:00 Bird raved about Klay at ASW Tech Summit, Sam Amick wrote about it, he talked to Klay, got some Klay quotes, but Looney's quotes were awesome
2:40:00 Dean: on Klay going on emotion and reaction but now having calmness and comfort
2:41:15 on changing our articles into YouTube
2:44:15 Klay dressed up as Larry Bird on Halloween
2:47:30 KERR PODIUM AUDIO: That's not a play call, that's Chris Paul (on the JK dunk slip via Klay gravity)
3:01:15 ENTIRE STEVE PODIUM AUDIO: Spanish reporter (seem like, I'm guessing) gets in a question about Usman "Uzi" Garuba -- lost weight, got in better shape
3:05:30 ENTIRE GP2 POSTGAME AUDIO -- questions about GP Sr trash-talking him
3:09:45 on the DiVincenzo foul on Ausar and how Jacyn Goble did make calls at the end of the game (Wiggs 0.7, then Brunson on the 3 which NYK protested)
3:15:00 DVDV: Honeslty, after they called that block foul they should be able to go back and review the lose ball non-call. I feel there needs to be some rule changes on 'not being able to challenge -- I don't think Silver will improve that, I have no confidence in him
3:17:00 Dean on why GP2 went to SLCC -- hosts the Rocky Mountain Revue, NBA scouts
3:20:45 on gambling companies and Tim Donaghy and a lot of older refs retiring
3:29:00 Arbel: Slater says CP said "(Kerr) said sometimes he'll mess it up" on Kerr's rotations 3:34:00 on Slater videos in locker room being rare -- KLAY AND CP VIDEO
3:51:00 Muscala buyout per Woj
3:52:45 CP3 impacted the game without disrupting everything, hard to write up a 10-man lineup, Kerr has done an amazing job, what if we told you the rotation is this as of Sep 2023
4:02:00 on the Denver loss being a good thing that we can learn chess from -- Starman: I think the team is built for playoffs but we need to get there; Parth: Nuggets will be tough match up !! BUT Our bench can clearly outscore their bench... as series progresses , we will need to gas Joker...We are deeper than them; Makana: Looney is the x-factor to me against Denver. Can he hold up on Jokic and just make Jokic iso beat you, not let him distribute
4:12:00 on Cholo and Bruce arguing about Curry or Jordan
4:20:00 on 2017 GSW or 2001 LAL (per Club520 podcast with Jeff Teague and Draymond)
4:26:00 Pachulia vs Shaq probably wouldn't happen
4:40:30 Unsung play of the game:
Moody ankle-breaker (56%)
JK decisive turnaround in paint (20%)
BP block from behind, Klay 3 (16%)
GP2 inside jump hook (6%)
Poll complete: 30 votes
4:43:45 Dean says 2017 GSW had the most hunger (KD and GSW coming off 3-1 losses)
4:46:00 thumbnail vote: Which shall be part of postgame thumbnail?
Klay (66%)
Klay (33%)
Poll complete: 9 votes
5:04:00 Makana: Do you think Klay playing a little less minutes with Steph has helped him? Steph is like a whirlwind on offense gotta be ready to move and make quick decisions. Pace a little slower second unit -- less defensive pressure on Klay?5:06:30 strength-of-schedule: Feb 21 we were 3rd (POR MEM), today we're 2nd but also 28th in terms of remaining5:12:00 on not playing down to opponents, we have an identity now; Dean Agan: 14 games vs teams over .500 remaining; Draymond has changed his approach to the game
Who looks meaner?
Klay (56%)
Steve (43%)
Poll complete: 16 votes

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