:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/31475345/tonypsd.0.jpg)
David Lee still has passionate fans who fire back at me when I point out that the GSWs seem to do fine without him. Familiar & comforting.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) April 9, 2014
Yeah, not so much Tim. To be clear, this game should have and could have been won without David Lee, but it's madness to think the Warriors are somehow better off without him. (Just don't try telling this to Kawakami, or he'll block you on twitter toute suite.)
Let's get back to the game, though. If Apocalypse Now meets Donnie Darko could be a thing, this game was it (how? I don't know, but it sounds right, leave me alone im mad). Timofey Mozgov had 29 rebounds. TWENTY-NINE REBOUNDS. How does that even happen?
To say Bogut and Draymond had off nights would be kind. Neither was on top of his game. Mozgov was relentless against Bogut and Faried pretty much had his way with Draymond on the glass and often around the rim. Unfortunately, he also put in the game-winning shot over Draymond (not terrible defense and not a great shot anyway, but still, give him credit for making a big basket in a relatively meaningless season).
There are a bunch of things about this game that are irksome. The rebounding disparity was abominable, that goes without saying, and I really can't put that on Mark Jackson. But what I think I can put on him is leaving in that awful bench unit for so much of the third and early part of the fourth quarter.
Someone tell Jackson there’s no "x" next to Golden State yet. Get those good players back in there.
— EvanZ (@thecity2) April 11, 2014
I feel like I have to say that all too often. Now, perhaps, one can argue that Jackson was simply conserving his starters for the SEGABABA against LAL tomorrow night. In fact, here I am with exactly that thought:
I realize Dubs are on front end of a b2b, but you can’t conserve your starters to the point where you lose this game.
— EvanZ (@thecity2) April 11, 2014
But I don't know, man. Remember the Warriors were up by something like 20 points tonight and really should have had the game in the bag. You could just feel it starting to slip away the longer the starters were left on the bench. We've seen it so many times this season, I don't know if that tactic will ever grow tired for Jackson. How long does he need to figure out that it doesn't work having your 5 worst players (because arguably Hilton Armstrong who didn't play tonight is better than some of those subs) all in at the same time?
Were there any positives tonight? Well, Andre Iguodala made Quincy Miller look foolish on a double crossover move. That was neat.
Harrison Barnes, for once, wasn't completely worthless, and one could actually make the argument that tonight he had a better game than Draymond (although Barnes had just as tough a time with Faried the few times he got that assignment). Then again, Barnes has often had "one game in a row" where he looked like an average 21-year old. Let's see if he can make it two-in-a-row tomorrow night. Dare I say it would be a great time for Harrison Barnes to "peak" right now?
Another positive was Stephen Curry just killing Denver's defense in the last few seconds of the game. At this point, it's not even surprising anymore. He's just that good. Superstar. Clearly.
Only 4 games left in the season and the Dubs are 1 game ahead of both Phoenix and Dallas. Tomorrow night against the Lakers is a must-must-must win. This loss against Denver hurts, no doubt. One of the worst losses of the season as far as I'm concerned. But redemption is never far away in the NBA. Hopefully just 24 hours.
Warrior Wonder
When in doubt... 