:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/11114539/20121008_ajl_ax5_324.0.jpg)
Today we take a look at Golden State of Mind.
[Updated 1:38 PM]
One Win And We're In -- April 7, 2013
Evanz (Evan Zamir) writes:
First things first, though. Tonight we play a Jazz team that is fighting for their lives to overtake the Lakers for the 8th and final spot in the playoffs. A Jazz team that definitely has talent (Favors, Millsap, Jefferson, Kanter, Burks, Hayward), but has been beset by backcourt injuries and arguably indecision about which way is forward (notably the non-decision about trading Millsap or Jefferson, when they clearly could have got some value). To top it off, their coach Tyrone Corbin could be looking at a pink slip, if he doesn't manage to secure that 8th seed. Needless to say, the Jazz have plenty of reasons to come out breathing fire this evening, and our Warriors better be prepared to do the same.
Warriors grind out win against Suns, move to 12 games above .500 -- April 6, 2013
Aliu27 (Andy Liu) writes:
The playoff spot is all but wrapped up at this point. It's a technicality in all senses of the word. The most fundamental, technical of technicalities.
All the Golden State Warriors have to do is beat the Utah Jazz on Sunday. If they don't they'll have five other games to get the job done. The only thing that they're playing for at this point is to hold onto the sixth seed, perhaps playing to match up against a Danilo Gallinari-less Denver Nuggets (more on that later).
Liu goes on to talk about the Golden State Warriors win against the Suns and some highlights of the game. It sounds like Bogut is still nursing his ankle. He played only 19 minutes. That could prove to help the Jazz out tremendously in their game tonight. Provided that the Jazz's D-League Backcourt Mo Williams & Co is able to feed the post all night. In any case, this is a great game recap by Andy Liu. Give it a look.
Warriors slowly beat Hornets, injury concerns a reality -- April 4, 2013
Aliu27 (Andy Liu) explains the Warriors' injury concerns:
We got a week or so with an injury-free team that threatened to amnesty our memories from recurring grimacing faces but it was only a matter of time. It was only a matter of time that reality doused the white-hot flames that were slowly becoming thoughts of a defense led by Bogut and offense led by Curry's scoring in the playoffs.
"The Clippers are playing bad! Can't wait to see them in the third spot. We can steal a couple games. Maybe the series?"
That can still happen. The defense is steadily improving with the defensive captain Bogut calling out rotations unlike anything we've seen before (see his block in transition when he lurked behind Robin Lopez until the last possible second and timing the jump perfectly). The offense has its issues but Curry doesn't appear to be slowing down and Lee is as steady as ever (evidenced by his vast array of post moves against the absurdly long Anthony Davis).
Unfortunately, Warriors fans can wallow in the fact that the past couple weeks were a mirage—not the play, but the highly unrealistic possibility that their core of stars will always run up and down the court without the impediment of the oft-random ankle, hip or knee sprain. That's just how reality here works.
Liu also expounds upon Klay Thompson becoming a soggy cookie may be receiving too many minutes:
1. Is Klay Thompson becoming a problem? When a shooter isn't shooting, he contributes in peripheral categories that makes the team better. Or something like that. That's how the saying goes, right? My high school coach must have told me that every practice. Considering I scored 1.1198 points per game, I guess the saying holds true.
Thompson shot 4-11 with only one turnover and ended up a +22 for the game. But as a guy flipping between another Tim Lincecum walk (oops, there's another one!) and the ballgame, I noticed that Klay seemed a little off in his overall play. Eric Gordon repeatedly drove by him—rare considering Klay's usually stalwart defense—and there wasn't much rhythm in his offensive game.
I keep harping on it but Thompson is averaging 35.6 minutes per game on a playoff team. He hasn't missed a single game in his two seasons as an NBA player. That's a crapload of minutes even for a young player like him. It goes back to college, where he played at Washington State. The guy is durable, perhaps to a fault. Mental fatigue or physical fatigue, with each game Thompson struggles, this has to be worrisome for Jackson.
It's interesting that he talks about Klay Thompson's soggy cookie minutes. Our cookies young players were becoming stale from the lack of minutes until injuries finally forced Corbin to play them against his will Corbin began playing them more in the playoff stretch. I guess there are two sides to a coin after all when it comes to this whole young player development thing.
From the Warriors @ Phoenix Suns Game Thread:
Mini Boozer warming up 82-83 Lakers
The realist keepin it real amongst the surrealists
http://youtu.be/yDLYmxdc5CE -- Mirza "Big L"-tovic: "If rap was a game I'd be D-N-P, the most disappointing new player on the team". Avery Johnson - turning fans against their players.
yes
The realist keepin it real amongst the surrealists
http://youtu.be/yDLYmxdc5CE -- Mirza "Big L"-tovic: "If rap was a game I'd be D-N-P, the most disappointing new player on the team". Avery Johnson - turning fans against their players.
Golden State Warrior Twitter Accounts To Follow Tonight:
(Golden State of Mind, if there are other twitter accounts they need to be following hit me up at @My_Lo)
If the Grizzlies actually had fans I bet they’d be pissed right now