I’ve spent the last couple hours immersing myself in the juicy madness that has been “Draymond Green vs Kevin Durant: Skirmish of the Emotionally Charged”.
Thankfully, the back-to-back champs didn’t have too much time to simmer in the foolishness because they had the low-flying Atlanta Hawks come into town on the second night of a back-to-back. One sluggish but endearing 110-103 victory later, the Warriors glorious quest for the three-peat marches on. The NBA waits for no man, and neither does the Warriors Wonder award!
Warriors Wonder Nominee: Kevin Durant!
Am I writing this knowing that KD reads our blog avidly and I want to let him know we care about him? Absolutely.
On a night with Stephen Curry injured and head coach Steve Kerr banishing Draymond Green into the upside-down world for verbally roasting Durant in L.A., KD had all eyes on him.
Curious to gauge Kevin Durant’s aggression level tonight. Is it a statement attempt in the 40/50 point range, a statement the other way in a sulking 6ish FGA night or just one of his regular 28 on 10–17 FG lines?
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 14, 2018
The “Slim Reaper” scored 11 of the Warrior’s first 20 points, and finished with 29 points for the game. He was aggressive whenever the Warriors got out of sync, and went to the line for 11 free throws (converting all of them). He also chipped in six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Now, some folks are going to look at Durant missing 14 of his 23 shots, his four turnovers, the -7 plus/minus, and disapprove. Understandable, our standards for basketball in the Bay are as high as our rent prices.
Yet, I have to remind you that on a night where the Warriors were physically fatigued from the back-to-back games and emotionally fatigued from drama, Durant doggedly put the team on his back and delivered. The Hawks clearly were keying in to stop him, and couldn’t do it. He’s that good folks.
(Also the Hawks suck).
Honorable Mention: Klay Thompson for his 24 point, 5 rebound, 4 assist, 3 steal performance. He had a +12 plus/minus, and drilled several preposterous, contested bombs.
As every one of our other superstars was not on the court due to extenuating circumstances, let’s just move on to the GOLDEN SIDEKICK.
Poll
Who was your Warriors Wonder in the win over Atlanta?
This poll is closed
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14%
Draymond Green
-
31%
Klay Thompson
-
54%
Kevin Durant
THE GOLDEN SIDEKICK NOMINEE: Jonas Jerebko!
Nice tap-out from @ShaunLivingston sets up a @JonasJerebko #SPLASH
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 14, 2018
@NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/V4ExfslOQ0
Many moons from now, basketball historians may look back on this game’s importance in the unleashing of Jonas “The Swedish Larry Bird” Jerebko.
Dray’s untimely suspension turned out to be quite timely for “JJ” to get busy and show what he can do with extended minutes. JJ started the game, played 25 huge minutes, and finished with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field (4-of-7 from deep). He also grabbed 13 boards, tallying a big double-double. His plus/minus of +23 led all Dubs.
Clearly, if we need to trade KD and Dray, Jerebko is ready to fill that void, LOL.
Honorable Mention: Quinn Cook scored 18 points and dished out 6 assists in 34 minutes as a starter. #solid
Poll
Who was your Golden Sidekick in the victory over the Hawks?
This poll is closed
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90%
Jonas Jerebko
-
4%
Quinn Cook
-
1%
Jordan Bell
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1%
Andre Iguodala
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0%
Kevon Looney
-
0%
Shaun Livingston