Golden State Of Mind - All Posts

Dwight Howard to the Warriors? Answer might be different this time

2013-05-24T16:00:06Z

Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes were invited to Team USA practices in late July, David Lee made t hird-team All-NBA, Andris Biedrins' Decision and Jarrett Jack got some free-agent interest from the Dallas Mavericks, but something else stole the show on an NBA offday. Dwight Howard happened.

Marcus Thompson posted some of his thoughts here, and there are several interesting things to chew over, including the possibility of a sign-and-trade. I really wanted to write this yesterday but school got in the way. A little late to the party here but it helped with reflecting over all the options and avenues to go about this. Obviously, this would be the biggest offseason move in current Warriors' history, but something that might not have the same "franchise-defining" moniker it would have had if this happened in the past few seasons.

At least that's what I've been reading from Warriors fans on Twitter. I may not win popularity and "rah-rah" points with this one but if presented with the possibility of pairing up Dwight Howard with Stephen Curry in a somewhat watered-down Western Conference—Warriors with everyone healthy is a solid contender at the three spot behind the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder—I do that deal.

Since the Warriors can't just sign Dwight Howard, and that would not be ideal with Bogut already manning the middle, they would have to send some salary back to the Los Angeles Lakers. Unless you think LeBron James, Chris Bosh or Carmelo Anthony is coming to the Bay Area in 2014, signing Dwight to an extension would essentially cement his place as the Warriors center for years. Keep in mind Bogut is a free agent after next season. Don't give me any Richard Jefferson-David Lee for Dwight BS either, Mitch Kupchak isn't David Kahn. The talks will likely center around the contracts of either Lee (three years and $13.7+ million in 2013-2014) or Bogut ($14.2 million in 2013-2014) and then one of either Thompson or Barnes. Giving Lee or Bogut shouldn't slow down this trade but the additions of the other member of the Splash Brothers or rising 20-year old star Barnes would cause some immediate reservations.

Choosing one depends on your preference on judging talent versus fit. Barnes is the better talent and should become the more impactful overall player on offense and defense. He's also three years younger than Thompson and his extension numbers won't come up for a while. However, Thompson would probably fit in with Dwight a little better, without demanding the ball much on offense and spreading the floor for a potentially unstoppable Curry-Howard pick-and-roll. In Orlando's 2009 Finals appearance, they spread the floor with shooters like Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, J.J. Redick, Courtney Lee and even Mickael Pietrus, and ran the offense through Turkoglu and Howard, to surprisingly effective results. Why doesn't Stan Van Gundy have a job again?

Imagine a lineup with Curry, Brandon Rush, Thompson/Barnes and Draymond Green spreading the floor around Howard. The only thing stopping this trade from happening is an obstacle that wouldn't be noted without this season's playoff success: chemistry and necessity.

Dwight Howard is now infamously immature in the way we all thought LeBron James would be. His fart jokes and goofy grins during a terrible Lakers season didn't help endear him to any fans in Hollywood. Does this matter for a locker room as apparently tight-knit as the Warriors have been under Mark Jackson? Sure, but I'd argue that he was in two specifically terrible situations—the first being his last season in Orlando and the shitshow that is the Los Angeles media. With his every move scrutinized, it's easy to see how things escalated a little too quickly for anyone's liking.

Last time I checked, none of us are in actual locker rooms and know what's going on behind the scenes, but this hasn't stopped people from assuming that Howard is a bad teammate and even a bad person because he got bad PR advice in Orlando and is a generally unfunny person who thinks he is hilarious—and you wonder why Shaq, a similar personality, dislikes him. Just because someone is easy to dislike from an outsiders' point of view doesn't necessarily mean that his addition immediately breaks the loving bond between players and coaches. A trade to the Warriors would likely mean Dwight signs an extension so all the offseason talks quickly dissipate and the forthcoming wins would help squelch any apparent chemistry-killing.

As for necessity, one could argue that a core of Bogut/Curry/Thompson/Barnes/Rush/Lee/Green is good enough to make the Western Conference Semifinals again, but this assumes that Bogut is healthy for a whole regular season and then another postseason run. Dwight struggled through back and shoulder injuries but he was still effective, though not his usual dominant defensive self, and now has another offseason to heal. Bogut, on the other hand, has been battling injuries for the better part of five seasons and it wouldn't surprise anyone if he struggled to stay healthy again.

If the Warriors feel the moment (I had to) is now, a trade for a healthy Dwight Howard would immediately put them in conversations for a Western Conference Finals berth. Necessity, chemistry and continuity be damned, this trade makes the Warriors better in the present and the future. I can understand if Bob Myers doesn't want to pull the trigger on the potential trade and breaking up a roster that has just started to gel but the NBA, like all sports, can slam shut a team's window of opportunity as quickly as they open it. To say the team in its current construct will make the postseason isn't wrong; to imply that Dwight Howard wouldn't make this team better would not only be wrong but nearsighted.

More likely than not, this is much ado about nothing, as has been the case the past three years.

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Vinny Del Negro out, this concerns the Warriors?

2013-05-21T22:15:58Z

I'm going to be very honest with you. I barely knew what Michael Malone looked like until I typed his name into the search bar for a picture.

As Clips search for new coach, Paul is known to be a proponent of Warriors assistant Michael Malone. They were together in New Orleans.
— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) May 21, 2013

This hasn't stopped people from suggesting that he was a bigger reason for the coaching turnaround than Mark Jackson. I was listening to ESPN Radio the other day and some guy essentially said Jackson doesn't know the Xs and Os and simply a great preacher. Cool story, bro.

I don't much about the coaching trees in the NBA because I'm not a Zach Lowe but from secondhand accounts and Twitter, he's a very coveted assistant coach. Think the San Francisco 49ers Greg Roman.

Chris Paul was on the New Orleans Hornets when Malone was the assistant coach. And he likes him. Therefore, this means RUMORS!

But with the offseason starting now, this is just the beginning of a few big decisions for Bob Myers. How does this impact the coaching staff if he leaves? Does the fact that Mark Jackson not signing a long-term contract concern you? Who will draw up the Xs and Os now? Speculate away, friends.

Hey Roaracle, I Heard You Are A Wild One

2013-05-21T18:03:15Z

I woke up Thursday morning probably like any other Oracle ticket holder, juiced with anticipation for the game that night. All I could think about was "Roaracle". Specifically, that moment when the Golden State Warriors rally with a three-pointer from Stephen Curry and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has to charge onto the floor to obstruct the referee's march up the court just to call timeout -- because it's too loud and the raucous crowd's frenzied and the ref's brain suddenly realizes one of his six senses has become impaired.

I wouldn't be surprised if Jarrett Jack woke up that morning and thought the same thing.

NOTE: This is a “Monster” recap to close out the season -- you will get this NOWHERE else (Poor Man’s Commish doin’ work)!! -- and as a tip of my hat to DubNation. If you want the condensed version, just read the pre-amble and the finale and skip the four sections of the game recap. But if you skip the recap, you won’t know that the Warriors -- as they always fight, whether flat or not -- actually could’ve stole this one...

Pre-amble -- Juiced!
Q1 -- Out of the gate: not pretty, but definitely in it
Q2 -- HB, please get up...please
Q3 -- Steph Rules at work: take advantage of the big man
Q4 -- It came down to one Steph jumper over an iso vs Parker
Finale -- Jack’s tears speaks volumes

Pre-game: Juiced!

Cue the Dance Cam on the jumbotron. Flo Rida's "Wild Ones" track starts with the piano intro and Sia Furler wails, "Hey I heard you are a wild one, oooohhhhooohhhh..."

Imagine 19,500 people now standing and cheering in euphoria, most of those fans wearing their yellow playoff t-shirt, most of those fans nodding to that increasing "Wild Ones" beat, most of those fans dancing in their seats, and the best of those fans being captured on the giant LCD screens atop the middle of Roaracle.

By the second verse, more and more people are getting into the groove, happiness spreads as the jumbotron shows a kid making up moves on the fly, some patrons start pointing to the video as it transitions to a normally calm adult bespectacled professional, who gets it on with his own jerky movements, the sleeves on his dress shirt now rolled up, waving the yellow t-shirt as if it were a rally towel, the top button of his dress shirt now unbottoned to reveal the white t-shirt underneath -- the abandonment of ensemble that used to represent his cool, calm, collected 9-to-5 self.

Plus, backs against the wall. I mean, Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets was a so-called “must-win”, but this one: truly win or go home. Instead of the usual nervousness that has plagued this franchise since ‘74-75, there was a feeling of ”I can’t wait to get this started” to see how Golden State would respond to a one-and-done.

Alas, that “Wild” moment never happened Thursday night. The Warriors came out flat, with the Spurs poised.

Out of the gate: not pretty, but definitely in it

The game started out ugly for the Warriors as they displayed simple ineptness down low, coughing up not one, not two, but three (possibly four, my memory escapes me!) interior possessions. To make matters worse, When Steph hit his first trey in Danny Green’s grill, it was clear he had much more confidence on this night than in Game 5, when he had passed up a few shots. Pop called a timeout almost before the ball splashed through, but it was way too early to bust out Flo Rida. Again, a masterful use of the timeout as defense by the Spurs’ sage. David Lee made an early cameo and, lo and behold, the Warriors had their starting five that should’ve been had Lee’s injury against the Nuggets not occurred: Steph, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Lee, and Andrew Bogut. A nice little “keep-away” game of pickle with Bogut soon ensued, but as the Spurs had done so often in this series, it was matched by an equally stellar play on the other side of the court, as Manu Ginobili roped a lob pass (yes, Manu has discovered another dimension that defies physics as we know it) to Kawhi Leonard for an easy bucket. And then, oh man, a missed “#BogutSmash”! The rim was just a little too far away for the big man to reach and the dunk that would’ve knocked a few bolts off Oracle’s roof bounced away harmlessly. Boris Diaw crowded the middle using his butt on Draymond Green (a sight all too common this playoffs), Curry helped, Spurs corner trey good. Another play down low for the Spurs, Lee couldn’t help because he had “Robert Horry” Ginobili up top. Bucket good. However, Festus Ezeli amazingly stripped what would have been a Hall-of-Fame wrap-around layup by Manu, although Klay wasn’t aware of the clock and drove with less than 4 ticks remaining instead of pulling up. The buzzer embarrassingly went off in mid-stride, but despite handing Tiago Splitter his (gulp!) fifth and sixth steals inside of the last six quarters, the Spurs being assisted on all nine of their field goals attempts -- vintage San Antonio execution, and five turnovers (albeit the Spurs had four), the Warriors were only down 19-21 after one!

HB, please get up...please

Then came the Quarter of the HB Gasp (or Gash?). Barnes had been playing well, getting the defensive start mano-y-mano on Tony Parker, somewhat holding his own as more physical imposition on TP, while converting quite easily on Tony on the offensive end. After Gary Neal made a couple of nice plays, one of them a fake interior pass resulting in a made fadeaway, Tiago easily blocked a “#KlayUp”, but Jarrett Jack regained possession for the Dubs with a block of his own on a Tony layup. Barnes had a chance to bring the house down with a trey, but it went off back rim. The Warriors were down just 23-27 and they were playing like crap. After DJ D Sharp played his new single “Let’s Go Warriors” during a timeout, Andris Biedrins entered to a perfect Latvian pronunciation by the Oracle PA announcer. Cue cheers. However, the offense remained stagnant, as Jack failed to clear the top for HB to take Anthony Bonner, leaving Neal to shade Barnes to the obvious righthand and interior help. Splitter got a “gimme” under the basket, assisted by Parker, prompting me to wonder if Tiago might have the easiest starter’s paycheck in the league by just hanging around in the paint as Tony tirelessly dribbles around -- yes, yes, I know Beans has the easiest paycheck overall; I meant starters. The Spurs stretched the lead to 33-23 with six minutes to go, but then a Steph hard-driving Parker-like layup into the chest of Tony, good! Pop popped off his seat (pun intended) and called timeout again after Curry’s kerosene, and Steph was mad at the non-called and-one -- Pop successfully played defensive Sixth Man yet again! The Spurs executed out of the timeout, as Jack was caught on on Bonner, but a determined Steph kept the Warriors in it, with a lefty layup. With three minutes to go, a trey by Steph assisted by a hustling Beans on the oreb, followed by a Jordanesque take by Barnes, followed by a superstar non-call travel on a layup by Steph (Tim Duncan wanted the travel but probably fouled Curry) pulled the Dubs to within 36-39. But, once again, like an MP3 stuck on repeat, the Spurs followed with Parker free throws (despite the “Eva” chants), a Timmy bankshot assisted by Manu, and a Green trey where Steph got lost, dazed once again by TP’s lolly-gagging, and not only were the Warriors suddenly down 36-45 with 2:00 to go in the half, but...

Ouchie mama! Perhaps the only time you could ever hear a pin drop at Oracle. The diametric opposite to “Wild Ones”. Ugh. A worried “Let’s Go Warriors” chant broke out, but died down quickly. The gravity of the moment, the season on the line and the game’s only consistent Warrior, was just too much, even for Roaracle. If there was any need for a sense of urgency for the Dubs, this was it. Unfortunately, more inconsistency ensued: Lee, torn hip flexor and all, got easily swatted by Timmy, but Steph managed to close the half by going the length of the court with a right-hand scoop. The Warriors were down 40-47 at the half with the entire arena on pins and needles with “Black Falcon Down” (okay, absolute last time I will use that nickname), representing the fourth of five original Warriors season and playoffs starters suffering some kind of debilitating injury

Steph Rules at work: take advantage of the big man

Just when I thought the worst, just when I noticed Harrison wasn’t in halftime warmups, just as I was checking Twitter constantly and seeing all the somber tweets about him, Roaracle cheered as the third quarter started. I looked up to see Barnes standing at the baseline with his usual calm demeanor, ready to receive the ball from the ref. Amazing! And guess what, Beans was starting alongside Bogut. But the halftime deficit would grow deeper, as the muffs would outnumber the heroics. Roaracle could be seen frantically asking for a three-second call on Tiago, knowledgeably motioning their arms mimicking what should’ve been the referees’ call. Then Roaracle pulled its hair out as Klay made a terrible pass and Barnes (you know, the guy who was down on the floor, motionless, bleeding from his temple a mere twenty minutes of elapsed time ago) was the only Warrior to run back on D and save a sure layup -- he actually did that twice in the quarter, busted forehead and all! As a whistle was later called on a Warrior for a touch foul on Duncan’s jumper, owner Joe Lacob leapt from his courtside seat to protest, seventy feet away. The Warriors would go on to commit four turnovers in the first four minutes. Certainly not the type of 3rd quarter performance needed with your backs against the wall. With Klay playing poorly, Barnes seemingly still a little off kilter from the head butt with the floor, the Spurs would exacerbate the Warriors feeble attempts at a comeback -- with no Mark Jackson timeouts to stop the sloppiness -- by trapping Steph to pass the ball the Bogut in the middle, who was too timid, perhaps from his bum left ankle, and duped into a turnover, while deploying Splitter to hedge Steph as he crossed halfcourt in transition (while Bogut labored to reach the frontcourt), and Green hand-checking Steph to death on at least one sequence with a no-call. Add to Green’s resume getting beat backdoor and fouling just enough to make Barnes miss the dunk; Barnes would only convert one free throw. And then Kawhi Leonard missing a left corner pocket trey, with the defender flying towards him, but getting the rebound off the back iron and smashing the dunk baseline with no resistance. A rim rocker so ferocious that the only silver lining was that it didn’t posterize any particular Warrior, as it went uncontested. The only antidote to the Spurs’ salvo on O and D was Steph’s amazing near-behind-the-backboard “off the ceiling” rainbow over Duncan, then later a trey by Klay that made people wonder if he awoken from his sleep-walking (nope, because Pop called a timeout after that to bring things back to normal). Flashing Chris Mullin, who was on the ESPN broadcast, on the jumbotron didn’t even work. The Spurs would end the quarter with Hack-a-Zeli, with Festus making 2-of-4 from the charity stripe, and Kent Bazemore getting burn in only the last 20.7 ticks, with Pop and MJ exchanging chess moves with Green coming in, only to be called on what jumobtron replays showed appeared to be a phantom foul while guarding Ginobili. Joey Crawford’s less-than-sterling reputation with Roaracle fans decayed further, as the arena became all but unhinged and what ensued was the loudest “Ref You Suck” chant (largely because it was in unison, for once) I’d ever heard, ranking second only to the “BULL$^&%” chants from the We Believe run.

It’s outside the scope of this Monster Recap, but if Patty Mills got significant burn early in the quarter from the Hall of Famer, why couldn’t Bazemore be utilized at least in an equal capacity? Instead, you further solidified Baze as a benchwarmer, whose good individual D on Manu in the waning moments occurred without context to Baze’s overall abilities. I really couldn’t blame the ref for calling that one. And that’s what you get for sweeping Bazemore under the rug after a truly valiant desperation appearance in Game 1. Had they not given that game away, would Bazemore have played more and would the series have taken an entirely different shape? Again, outside the scope of this storytelling. Yet despite all of that, all of that horrendous Dubs play, all of the “WTFs” (largely brought on by bad plays by Klay) posted on the GSOM game thread, the Warriors were still only down seven heading into the final frame.

It came down to one Steph jumper over an iso vs Parker

Despite Splitter opening the fourth with a couple of buckets, old-man Manu with a driving layup, Danny Green flicking another three-point dagger, three Spurs running at Steph on the perimeter resulting in a dump down to Lee at the elbow and a miss, and another questionable call by Crawford, and Barnes reportedly benched for the remainder due to a headache, the Warriors managed to keep the game within two possessions as Jack and Lee, the latter of which most Dubs fans felt was a makeup call by Crawford, both converted on and-ones early. Then, the critical moments with just over five minutes remaining. Just when it seemed like Game 3 all over again when the Spurs, starting with Duncan, started missing shots apparently due to fatigue, just when Curry hit a pullup J to close the gap to 75-77, followed by a turnover via Duncan pass seemingly intended for ref Crawford, the unthinkable unfolded, even as the wise Pop sat Timmy on the bench. Steph missed an isolation play on the left elbow against Parker. The Dubs even got the offensive rebound and another jumpshot by Steph, this time a stepback, went off iron. Off of Splitter’s outlet, Ginobili came down, Parker went baseline and Jack -- not the swiftest of feet -- couldn’t get through the screens, and Manu delivered the ball to Tony who drilled the first nail in the coffin: a corner trey. With the Spurs up five and three minutes to go, the Dubs in the penalty and having to play a few perfect possessions in a row, well, they weren’t perfect. The Spurs were. Kawhi hit another trey with a hand in his face, with the Warriors countering with a wide-open Klay trey that went in and out, followed by an offensive rebound leading to Steph rattling his trey in-and-out. With the “#SplashBrothers” unable to halve the six-point lead, Parker delivered the final knockout punch from beyond the arc. All of a sudden the two-point deficit with the ball in Steph’s hands, iso’ed on one side of the floor against the worst Spur defender, was all but a distant memory as San Antonio had punched its ticket to the next round, now up by nine with just over one minute to play. One GSOM threader wondered why the Warriors seemed to always come out of timeouts unfocused. As another commenter remarked, “Too mesmerized by MJ’s speeches?”

Finale: Jack’s tears speaks volumes

My favorite moment at Roaracle is when "Wild Ones" reaches the bridge, when the beat softens and the music dies down a little...

I am a wild one break me in, Saddle me up and let's begin, I am a wild one tame me now, Running with wolves and I'm on the prowl.

(almost captured in this clip I found on YouTube...)

That quiet part of the song: you can actually hear the fans bustling because the music isn't blaring at that particular moment. That's when you can actually hear the happiness of 19,500 Warriors fans.

"Wild Ones" never played. With 40 seconds remaining, the game was beyond reach. The Spurs’ threes, setup by inside-out by the driving Parker, complemented by a 6’10” long-armed Hall-of-Famer’s ability to get the ball in the bucket from virtually every angle within fifteen feet, were in stark contrast to the Warriors’ threes, which were largely outside-only, created by off- or on-ball screens when the in-transition opportunities were taken away, complemented by...? Complemented by a 7-foot beast rendered toothless, or really, ankle-less. Complemented by a weakside master with one completely torn hip flexor. Complemented by an undersized low-post player whose low-post moves were rendered all but non-existent save for a few open jumpers and hustle putbacks.

But then as the buzzer blared and Roaracle started chanting, “Waaaarrrriooorrs, Waaaarrrriooorrs”, as the Warriors were officially eliminated and as the players graciously congratulated each other for a well-fought series, another moment that could only happen at Roaracle happened. Jack didn't leave the floor. Instead, he walked towards the now-empty Spurs bench and pointed to the crowd. He gave them a thumbs up. He wrapped a towel around his head and wiped away some tears.

I'm sure there were other NBA players watching that game, future veteran free agents, young future NBA draft picks, taking note of that. Earlier in the playoffs, Jack said as much (see Bay Area Sports Guy’s video below, where Jack proclaims Roaracle to be “ten times louder than Duke”), even before the poignant moment. It’s like the Warriors ship finally made a hard a turn to port, a left hand inflection towards an upward slope on a graph going left to right, if you’re keeping score. And every Dubs fan, from those outside on the decks anxiously monitoring the seas, to those sitting snug in their cabins, felt it.

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Spurs vs. Warriors: Series review, maybe some closure and expectations

2013-05-19T15:00:12Z

I think it's fair to say that, by the end of the series, not many fans, writers or Rousseau-esque pessimists were overly depressed or even sad that the Golden State Warriors had fallen in six games to the San Antonio Spurs. The overwhelming majority of Warriors fans swelled with pride as Stephen Curry limped off the court late in the game, his ankle no doubt throbbing with each twist and pull.

Jarrett Jack and Mark Jackson fittingly led the team to come back out to acknowledge the crowd, as they were the heart and soul of the team through the long regular season and thrills of the playoffs. But the rest of the scene was hard to watch. Andrew Bogut sat sullenly at the end of the bench, unable to play through his latest ankle ailment, one that's hindered him at the most inopportune time. Harrison Barnes had to leave the game with a headache after falling to the ground late in the second quarter—though he passed all concussion tests, it was disappointing to see the Warriors' medical staff sign off on someone who had obvious head symptoms. I'm not a doctor, I'm not a doctor, I'm not a doctor, but that was maddening to see. Klay Thompson competed valiantly but was unable to get an open release from distance after the Game 2 explosion. Lastly, we saw David Lee fighting through an injury that will most likely require surgery to give the team some type of interior presence.

So there were the best players on the team, at the end of a successful season, all struggling to either stay upright or find an open shot, and everyone still beamed with the pride a parent wears when their child scores their first bucket—on the fiftieth attempt but who's counting?—in recreation league.

And even though the lenses of general perception termed this 94-game stretch a success, it left us wanting more, now, and an urge for closure.

Onto the series notes:

1. Gregg Popovich outcoached Mark Jackson. After a big series from Jackson against the Denver Nuggets where he made all the right moves possible—you can argue whether it was out of necessity or not but George Karl was thoroughly flustered all series—Popovich essentially grinded down the Warriors' gameplan game by game. With a little help from Curry's gimpy ankles, Popovich was able to contain him after Game 1, sending Danny Green and an assortment of double teams his way, making Bogut the main beneficiary, and there were no dunks on JaVale McGee this time. After Thompson's explosion in Game 2, Pop put Kawhi Leonard on him and he went dark for the ensuing four game.

It was a testament to the Warriors' toughness and the Spurs' old age, at times, that the Dubs were able to win one out of the next four games. Draymond Green oddly lost minutes to Carl Landry as the series went along, despite Landry's inability to defend and open up any space on the interior. The Warriors played solid defense throughout, despite giving some open looks, but it was the offense that felled them.

2. Looking back on the series preview, the keys came down to the Warriors shooting threes and defending them, and mostly, it came true. In the Game 2 win, the Warriors made 11 threes to the Spurs' 5. In the Game 4 win, they made the same amount of threes but shot it nine fewer times. In the four wins, the Spurs outshot the Warriors, tying in Game 3, and really got better shots throughout the entire series. With Curry, Thompson, Barnes and Jack (all capable three-point shooters), the Warriors probably needed less midrange action and more penetration and kick. However, this was more a function of health over process.

3. Injuries played a big role. "If healthy", remains a maxim that still haunts the Warriors, despite Curry playing 78 out of 82 games, Bogut looking relatively healthy in the first series and Lee playing heavy minutes the entire regular season. I won't be the first one to say this but another wing player who can defend and shoot threes would have helped immensely this series, paging Brandon Rush's knee.

4. But like I said, enough pessimism around here. The Warriors looked awesome during the postseason when they went to playing Barnes at the power forward spot and Draymond Green at the 3. If Bogut is healthy, or moving relatively quickly, the defense is there to supplement the offense, and there's no doubt that is the future. ESPN even did a feature on the analytics department, led by Pete Myers, advising Mark Jackson to let Curry shoot even more threes. That doesn't necessarily mean the Warriors must trade Lee, though probably not possible due to his salary and management's affection for him, nor that this is sustainable, especially if Bogut can't stay on the floor, but it does mean that he won't play near the 36.8 minutes he averaged. It's too soon to say if Mark Jackson will notice this, as we found out the Knicks' coach Mike Woodson had no idea his "small" lineups were infinitely more effective on both sides of the floor, but he's shown an ability to adapt and adjust.

What will be certain is the progression of Curry, Thompson and much more significantly, Barnes. He started the season timid, unwilling to shoot the ball or assert himself as the best slasher on the team, but grew out of that as the needs started to shed the passive label some may have thrown on him. His footwork improved immensely, especially in the post, and with improvement in the handle department and plays geared towards him (according to Synergy, Barnes was the ball-handler on pick-and-rolls in only 6.6 percent of his plays), he'll probably become the Warriors' most explosive to-the-rim player, if he isn't already.

And through all the angst, worries and the need for instant gratification of a run that hasn't gone this far since 1977, or in other words, when I was negative 14 years old, there sits an exact opposite of the giant elephant in the room. Though it isn't certain, nothing is in professional sports, the Warriors have as bright of a future as any team in the NBA. That's not an exaggeration along the lines of "Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis is the best scoring backcourt in the NBA" but as feasible a thought as "Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are the greatest long-range shooting backcourt of all time". The past often precedes reflection and we can confidently say that the core of this team in the present and future, constitute a contender along the lines of the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers.

There will be tough offseason decisions, and we will grade the breadth of these moves at a later date, but they don't significantly impact the rotation of a team that should play an easy 10-deep despite owning zero draft picks. Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins combine for $20 million in expiring contracts, Jarrett Jack is an unrestricted free agent, Landry has a player option for $4 million and Rush and Bogut are in the last years on their deals. That's a lot of money in play but it won't have a Jason Richardson-for-Brandan Wright impact in the slightest. Expectations grew exponentially as the growth of the team rose to the occasion in every game, changing the definition of progress in a fanbase that's numb to an offseason of false optimism and wayward decisions. Instead, they are replaced by the realistically elevated expectations and pragmatic management abilities of Bob Meyers and Jerry West.

Perhaps this is a bailout for those reading this, looking for some type of closure in the face of a season leaving us wanting for more. But more isn't a postseason appearance any longer; it's the success judged by the result, and not so much the process. I don't think there's any way to put any closing notes to this season because, in a way, this journey is just beginning, and unlike last year and the 20 before it, we have no idea how this is going to end.

Final Media Interview Links 5/17/2013 - Stephen Curry, Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green interviews

2013-05-18T04:43:45Z

Playoff R2G6 Recap: Arghh. And thank you. And see you next season.

2013-05-17T19:52:46Z

Let's get the "Arghh" out of the way first. The national narrative of this West semifinal series will likely go that the Spurs' savvy veteran experience won the day — that it wasn't quite our kids' time — but I can't shake the nagging feeling that the series was right there for the taking. Tony Parker looked really banged up, and Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili looked really 37 and 36 years old, respectively. Even given our injuries, lack of depth, and what looked the last couple of games to be a distinct lack of gas, I think with slightly better luck (particularly in the Game 1 lightning strike) we'd be the ones moving on to Memphis on Sunday. Realistically, I think either of these two teams would be tasty river trout for the Grizzlies; they're young, healthy, hungry, mean, and simply playing at much higher level right now than either the Warriors or Spurs. But man, it would have been hella rewarding to see our guys make it to the conference finals for the first time since the Ford administration (the year the NBA and ABA merged, Apple and the Toronto Blue Jays were founded, the Bad New Bears and the first Rocky ruled the box office, Paul McCartney and Wings "Silly Love Songs" and Elton John and Kiki Dee's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" blasted on transistor radios, etc.)

With that squared away: THANK YOU SO MUCH, YOU MAGNIFICENT TEAM! I mean, seriously: the fact that there might even be a "national narrative" about this series shows how shockingly far the Warriors have come in such a short time. Stephen Curry — our li'l Steph! Our Binky! Our Bonehead! — made the cover of Sports Illustrated. Magic, Chuck, Shaq, Boston Sports Guy and the crew chewed the fat about the Dubs like they were lifetime GSoMers. I live in New York City, and over the last few weeks I heard dozens of people on the street and in bars talking about Steph Curry and the Warriors. Two random guys at my wife's office were waxing covetous about how much they wanted their Knicks to sign Curry this offseason. (I told her to tell them to wait at least four years, suckers!) Yesterday a random dude in line at my local deli held forth expertly on Harrison Barnes. If you can make it here, well, you know how it goes. No longer, I suspect, will I have to sheepishly disclose my favorite sports team to blank stares or replies of "er, the What State Whooziwhatsits?"

As far as last night's game ... props to a stout defensive effort for keeping it close throughout, but ultimately there just wasn't enough gas in the offense's tank to get over the hill. The Spurs' stingy D didn't help either. The San Antonio death blows were the late dagger threes by Tony Parker (career 0.5 threes per game at 31.3%) and Kawhi Leonard (1.1 per game at 37.5%) and concurrent rim-outs by each of the Splash Brothers; but with even a moderately Warrior-like offensive showing, it really shouldn't have come down to that. If you hold Parker and Manu to a combined 4-22 fg on your home floor, you really ought to win fairly handily.

I'm loath to point fingers in what I intended to be a big sloppy valentine to every member this lovable team, but dangit: with Lee gutting it out on a shredded hip flexor, Curry playing gamely on two bad ankles, and Barnes with six stitches above his eye and concussion symptoms, I wanted MOAR out of Klay Thompson last night. He followed his nightmarish Game 5 (4 pts on 2-8 fg / 2 reb / 0 ast in 36 minutes) with an only-marginally-less-nightmarish 10 points on 4-12 fg, 0 rebounds, 3 assists in 42 minutes. Legit NBA starting wings find ways to do other stuff when their shot isn't falling — viz. Kawhi Leonard's 10 boards last night, or Manu's 6 boards and 11 assists. And I'm not talking about just the last couple games; the two-three-four-game disappearing acts have been a worrisome trademark of Klay all season. The defense and shooting stroke is always there, but if he wants to live up to the growing hype (Warrior pundit Feltbot calls him a sure-fire all-star; Bill Simmons recently tabbed him as potentially the best young SG in the league after Harden) he has to find more ways to avoid curling up in a fetal position when his picture-perfect shot isn't splashing. A step in the right direction would be studying how to draw contact and get himself to the FT line. (A bit more on his shortcomings in that regard in just a sec).

I told a poster here I'd stuff this diary full o' numbers; got a bunch in, but here are a few more for good measure:

16.1 / 6.4

Harrison Barnes' PPG and RPG in 38.4 mpg in this year's playoffs. Edit: first rookie to average 16/6 in 10 or more playoff games since David Robinson (thanks, starbury_to_s-jaxci2000). On a fairly respectable .544 true shooting %. At 20 years old. I don't want to reignite the old Barnes v. Klay debate, mostly because they're not zero sum — you get two starting wings, and their skills seem beautifully complementary. Their cheap rookie scale contracts fit nicely, too ($6.2M combined next season, escalating to a whopping $10M in 2015/16). But I think even the most ardent Klay supporters and Barnes doubters would allow that of the two, Barnes showed far more consistency, poise, and "presence" in this year's playoffs. On a semi-related note: the look of sheer terror in the faces of Oracle fans while Barnes was lying in a heap on the court reminded me that I am not the only person in Warriors Nation who is unhealthily emotionally attached to Harrison Barnes. I'm not a religious guy, but I think I may have quietly muttered a secular prayer.

14.4

Bogut's playoff rebounds per 36 minutes. Unfortunately, due to injury and/or foul trouble, he was only able to muster 27.3 minutes per game. If he can get his ankle right in the offseason and give us consistent starter's minutes throughout next season (both somewhat big ifs; see the Monk's post in this thread), the ceiling for this team is high indeed. Dude is only 28, even if his ankles, under the weight of 280 lbs.' worth of constant pounding, must feel significantly older than that. If he gave the 37 year-old Duncan so much trouble in the Spurs series, imagine what he'll do next season (if healthier) to the 38 year-old Duncan? And of course it's not just about age: in the first round, he absolutely owned the Nuggets' big, young, athletic, and putatively fearsome tandem of Koufos and McGee. His career RAPM numbers suggested he was one of the five or six most dominant defensive players in the league when healthy; in the playoffs we finally saw flashes of that dominance.

8.1

Curry's playoff assists per game. Let's put those silly notions that he's just a shooter and not a "true PG" to rest, shall we? And while we're at it, the whole term "true PG," and the crusty old NBA saw that you need a 9+ apg, pass-first little guy running your offense to succeed in the NBA? The last 22 NBA champions say hello. If the Bulls can win championships with Kerr at PG, or the Lakers with Fisher, or the Pistons with Billups, or the Heat with Chalmers, etc., I suspect we're not being held back by the fact that our point guard has the side benefit of being the best shooter in NBA history.

16.6 / 15.5 / 2.8 / 1.7

David Lee's points, rebounds, assists, and steals per 36 minutes in this years playoffs, despite playing more than half of his minutes on a shredded hip flexor. The embodiment of the term "Warrior."

.424

Klay Thompson's playoff 3FG%. Sweet.

0.5

Klay Thompson's playoff free throw attempts per game. Not sweet. We're talking 6 free throw attempts in 495 minutes — two more than Kent Bazemore attempted in 16 minutes. As a result, despite his dead-eye from 3, he finished the playoffs with a rather desultory 13.2 ppg on .515 true shooting. Not what you want from your team's ostensible second scoring option, especially when option #1 is limping into double and triple teams. As I noted yesterday, Klay's homework for the Summer is to watch tape of James Harden, Kevin Martin, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant et al. I don't expect him get to 8-9 FT attempts per game, but damn, even 3 or 4 would be a huge boon to his overall game (he's currently at 2.0 fta per game, career, with no improvement from year to year two). Absent that, talk of his ever being an all-star, or the second-best young SG not named Harden, seems distinctly pipe-dreamish to me.

Ugh, I said I had gotten the "Arghh" out of the way, and here I am carping. Arghh. Sorry, Klay. The Ws wouldn't have made it this far without you; and wouldn't have made this series so interesting without your amazing performance in Game 2. You're only 23 and your future is still incredibly bright. Now, get to those tapes.

Moving on, here's my Warrior Wonder for today:

Of course, the "U" in this big sloppy valentine includes not just all the players but also Mark Jackson, Mike Malone, Bob Myers, Jerry West, Joe Lacob, et al. Thank you all so much. This Warriors season, and these past few weeks in particular, remind us all why we follow sports. You have a pretty good idea what you're going to get when you watch a great movie or TV show; in sports, you never know when something like this postseason is going to sneak up on you. Totally unexpected, totally wondrous.

Dammit, I'm feeling so sappy today, I'm going to throw out the requisite "sports team as girl" metaphor (obviously, feel free to replace "girl" with "boy" as you see fit). This year's Warriors were the girl who showed up that one summer, after years of ignoring you, and completely rocked your world. Like, non-stop passion and ecstasy and dropping of the word "love." You guys have to part ways for a little while — that's the playoff elimination part of the analogy. But the great thing about this one is that unlike that brief fling in 2007, she seems like a keeper: you actually dig spending time and talking with her, and she with you, and you guys have already discussed commitment and marriage in a semi-serious way, and you feel like the chances are pretty good that the relationship is only going to grow more awesome over the next 3-4 years. After that ... well, you know, marriage, kids, a mortgage, a job with a boss you hate, etc. But at least for the next few years, all seems right with the world.

I mean, so long as this girl's ankles hold up.

Game Links #R2G6: Golden State Warriors 82 vs San Antonio Spurs 94 - It's the end of the road, but it's just the beginning of the journey.

2013-05-17T06:25:02Z

Poll

Thank you, Warriors, for an unexpectedly spectacular season! Make one final vote for the player of the game or any of the leftover choices.

Stephen Curry

42 votes

Klay Thompson

3 votes

Harrison Barnes

21 votes

Festus Ezeli

1 votes

Andrew Bogut

0 votes

Jarrett Jack

9 votes

Carl Landry

0 votes

David Lee

4 votes

Andris Biedrins

3 votes

Draymond Green

0 votes

Kent Bazemore

1 votes

Scott Machado

7 votes

It's the end of the road, but it's just the beginning of the journey.

62 votes

We kept chanting Waaaariors! even when the game was over.

17 votes

Warriors - thank you thank you thank you for a great season!

87 votes

No fanbase in the NBA compares to ours!

17 votes

To Summer League, and beyond!

6 votes

280 votes | Poll has closed

Post game oxygen - So close, yet so far

2013-05-17T05:18:50Z