We should all applaud this Warriors effort.
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Q: What happens when the Warriors are firing on all cylinders in the clutch?
A: 4th QUARTER DOMINANCE.
Jump for the 49th recap of the season!
In the 4th quarter the Warriors were ON FIRE!
LOT 2 LIKE
There was a LOT to like about this game if you're a Warriors fan, particularly about their 4th quarter performance where they clobbered the Bulls with red hot shooting and stifling defense resulting in a 28-18 finish. Here's just some of the many hits:
- The thing to remember about this excellent outing from Stephen Curry was his complete destruction of the Bulls full court press defense in the 4th. I know he's had his struggles with low assist totals and an unimpressive assist to turnover ration, but he sure looked like a mighty fine point guard tonight. Coach Tom Thibodeau's pressure D didn't faze Steph one bit. Stef-fun made all the right passes and even found Dorell Wright wide open for a breakaway dunk that sealed the game. Maybe the Bulls didn't execute Thimbodeau's plan correctly, but it just didn't work. Curry outplayed MVP candidate Derrick Rose tonight and walked away with only 1 foul- that's a BIG deal.
- Credit the Warriors defensive game plan and execution for Rose's NINE turnovers tonight. Take a look at his post game comments in my man IQofaWarriors' always fabulous Game Day Links package. Former Don Nelson Defensive Coordinator Coach Smart put together a nice defensive scheme. Curry and his help defenders did the rest.
- I do wish he shared the ball more with Curry, David Lee, and Dorell Wright more, but it's impressive that when Monta Ellis drops 33 points we aren't really that surprised anymore. Monta was hot in the 4th and his midrange J was falling. The 10 for 10 stroke from the charity stripe was money, but I am most impressed that Monta kept his turnovers down to only 2. When Curry and Ellis have 13 assists to 4 turnovers the Warriors are going to win a lot of games.
- Andris Biedrins is having (yet another) a poor season that is proving how big of a mistake Chris Mullin made when he foolishly inked him to that ludicrous and premature $62 million dollar extension (including incentives) when he received ZERO interest as a restricted free agent in the summer of 2008. Biedrins has picked it up as of late though and the Warriors don't win this game without his 4th quarter rebounding. Sure the Bulls starting big man Joakim Noah was out, but it's always a huge plus when Biedrins can give them something at the 5 spot.
- Ekpe Udoh's defense continues to impress. He stuck with Carlos Boozer and forced him into some very tough shots. Boozer made a few of them anyway (he's that good), but Udoh does have a future in this league with his defense. It's unlikely he'll ever be a good rebounder in this league (1 rebound in 14 minutes ain't going to cut it), but if he can break out his Windex and at least get to slightly below average levels on the glass he can be very good.
- Dorell Wright and Luol Deng had very similar stat lines tonight. Both had nice nights, but look at Deng's escalating salary. Now look at Wright's bargain deal. Larry Riley and the Warriors got this one Wright (put intended). Of course, Mullin and the cheapo Chis Cohan regime got their (Brandan) Wright wrong, but that's another story for another time. (By the way listen to the full Don Nelson interview from last week with The Razor and Mr. T- WE BELIEVE was broken up because of finances and stupidity from the GM- read Mullin/ Robert Rowell- spot. Don't blame Nellie.)
- I hate to pick on a former NBA D-League call-up who worked his way up and had some nice outings for the Warriors, but I can't say I really miss C.J. Watson's game. It's hard to find a more defensively challenged wing in this league. If Watson doesn't pick the passing lane, he's practically a turnstile on defense. Watson got owned by Curry and Monta all night long.
I'll spell it out: Stephen Curry needs more shots and the Warriors offense needs to flow through him- not Monta Ellis. There's something wrong when Curry is +14, 50% from 3 point land, 60% overall, can't miss a free throw this entire season (maybe he should be teaching Andris Biedrins how to shoot them), but gets 7 less shots than the Warriors supposed MVP who winds up +2 on the night. Let's not forget Curry had 8 dimes and only 2 turnovers against one of the best defenses in the league.
Recognize the franchise.
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GSoM Night 10
Don't sleep! Can you sink a 3 pointer on the Roaracle court like Stephen Curry? Join all your GSoM friends and watch the Dubs square off against Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder!
Plus get this jazzy T!