Category: Sports

Should Have Doubled Down on Your Warrior StockEthan Sherwood Strauss from ESPN:

With an incredible 108-101 comeback victory on the road Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors clawed their way out of the grave to force a Game 7. It was a game the Oklahoma City Thunder controlled until the Warriors slowly, relentlessly turned what looked like an inexorable tide. It was probably the best offensive performance of Klay Thompson’s life, maybe the best defensive performance of Andre Iguodala’s life, capped by a dagger from one Stephen Curry.

Alert to those who sold their Warrior stock. There is a game 7 and it seems the Warriors have found and drained their magic elixir.  It won them 73 games and will get them back to the NBA Finals.

There were 3 things that happened in this game that were significant:

Frist, I completely agree with Charles Barkley, that the Thunder played hero basketball and that is why they lost.  Between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook they missed 38 shots, the rest of the team only took 32.

Second, Klay Thompson single handedly saved the Warriors season by going 11-18 from behind the arc and scoring 41 points.  He kept the Warriors close and carried Steph until he was awoken from his slumber.

Third, Steph Curry found his swagger back in the 4th and the Thunder aren’t coming back.  This is eerily familiar with last year when Steph was out of sorts for the beginning of the Cavs/Warriors NBA Finals. Curry finally found his groove in the 4th quarter of game 3 and he never looked back. Look for him to do the same.

The only reason this game was close was because of all the second chance points by the Thunder. If momentum is a thing, the Thunder are done. If it isn’t, they are done.

Watching the Warriors come from behind and seeing Thompson go off is the reason why I enjoy this Warriors team so much. What a great series and hope to win some more money off of Curry and company come Monday.

The Warriors, got, well, ‘warriored’. Generally it is the Warriors blowing out teams and leaving them exasperated looking for answers. Sunday the Warriors took their turn from the wooden spoon.  Their was plenty of blame for everyone.  Draymond Green appeared to have been possessed with Kendrick Perkins. He was 1 for 9 from the floor. Curry and Thompson shot poorly and their once stellar defense was shoddy at best allowing 133 points. Durant played like a man among boys on both ends and the Warriors were ran out of the building. Most reactions are giving up on the Warrriors.

Good article from Chris Mannix writing for the Vertical:

“Where was the Warriors’ confidence? Gone, beaten from them by a relentless performance from Kevin Durant, the one-time MVP, who shook off two subpar games to deliver a 33-point, eight-rebound gem. The accolades have come fast for Curry, deservedly, yet here was Durant, firing in midrange jump shots, steamrolling down the lane for dunks, reminding everyone that any list of the world’s best scorers includes him – that the war he once waged with LeBron James for the NBA’s most dominant player was ongoing.

Where was the Warriors’ swagger? Hijacked, first by Russell Westbrook, who, for the second time this series, has outdueled Curry, the reigning MVP.”

At fivethirtyeight.com:

“We’ve hardly ever seen this incarnation of the Warriors destroyed so thoroughly, and never in a game that meant so much.

“Putting aside why it happened — yes, the Warriors had one of their worst (unluckiest?) shot-making nights of the season, but they also played some of their most porous defense of the year and looked out of sorts for long stretches of the game — Golden State’s Game 3 drubbing has left the team in trouble.”

Fivethirtyeight’s NBA Playoff predictions seem to be down on the Warriors chances and the Thunder are now 64% favorites to make the NBA Finals. According to ESPN’s BPI The Thunder are 60% favorites.

Dieter Kurtenbach for Fox Sports isn’t convinced that the Warriors are cooked:

“It was the kind of lopsided victory from which teams don’t usually come back. It’s the kind of knockdown that keeps teams on the mat. To double-down on the boxing metaphors, the Thunder’s Game 3 win was a punishing haymaker straight to the jaw.

The Warriors were floored Sunday —€” there’s no questioning that, in a 28-point loss where the margin was as large as 41 in the second half —€” and it’s put them in a must-win scenario ahead of Game 4. But it’s a bad idea to presume the Western Conference Finals is over and that the Thunder will be heading to the NBA Finals.

Write them off if you want, but remember: the Warriors are historically good, and a single game is a pretty small sample size.

And for all of the narrative out there, Sunday’s Game 3 win for the Thunder was just that, a Game 3 win. Impressive as it was, it only counts as one.”

I am expecting a series win from the Warriors and hope to make my money back from last nights loss.

WFAN Sports Radio’s Mike Francesca on Jeff Hornacek’s hire:

“Can I sit here and rail against it like it is an absolutely terrible move? No,” Francesa said on his WFAN show Thursday. “Do I sit here and say that it’s a stroke of genius and what a great step for the franchise? I don’t get that either.

“When I think of Hornacek, I think of the player. Loved him as a player. Clutch, tough. Loved everything about him as a player. I mean, he was the kind of player who was underrated, who you could just always rely on. Absolutely loved him as a player.”

“As a coach, you know, he hasn’t been around that long. …Can I tell you about what I think about the way Hornacek decides to lead men and coach basketball and do things and things about his team? You know what, how many times did any of us really pay attention to that team in the short amount of time he was the head coach? Does that mean he’s not a good coach? No.”

Chris Mannix of the Vertical wrote:

“Jackson gets a good coach here, and the next step will be to get out of his way. No one questions Jackson’s coaching brilliance – his 11 rings qualifies him as arguably the greatest coach of all time. He should be a resource for Hornacek, but only when Hornacek wants to tap into it. It will be hard enough for Hornacek to placate Anthony while transitioning the team to Porzingis, all while trying to satisfy a media and fan base expecting playoff-level results. He doesn’t need unsolicited input from his boss on spacing while he’s doing it.

The Knicks made a savvy move in grabbing Hornacek, and Jackson must turn his focus to the other equally important duties of his job.”

Steve Popper from northjersey.com isn’t convinced Hornacek will be a good hire:

“If you could be sold on someone from outside of your very limited circle of basketball friends, why not talk to more of the candidates? While he went outside his comfort zone, Jackson brought in a coach who, no matter how solid a guy he is, if we live by the old Bill Parcell’s line — “You are what your record says you are” — has been a sub-.500 coach. Great first year, fought through tough circumstances in the second year and imploded with, well, a Knicks-like roster this season.

…Or is Hornacek a man who coached an awkwardly constructed roster in Phoenix to the greatest heights they could have reached? And can he do that with the Knicks, a roster that is built to play a 1990’s game in a world where the game has moved on to a small-ball, fast-paced style?”

Hornacek played here in Utah and was instrumental in the Jazz getting over the hump into the Finals, but not enough to beat Michael Jordan. His reputation here is outstanding and we were a little upset when Phoenix hired him before we fired Tyrone Corbin. The only doubts that I have is how quickly he lost the team after overachieving his first year in Phoenix.  He wasn’t a superstar, but he was a Steve Kerr type.  Smart, good character guy, and worked hard.  The 3rd best option on a great team.  He is they type of player seem to make a good coaches, not a Superstar, but someone that can understand and relate to the others on the team.  I side with the crowd calling it a good hire.   Either way, many Knick fans are just glad that it isn’t Rambis.

Westbrook should be the new mascot for Energizer as his motor doesn’t stop. He played an excellent second half and led his team over the Warriors, stunning many in the process. The Thunder are as legitimate contenders now. Just ask Nate Silver.

According to Fivethirtyeight.com their NBA final predictions the Thunder They have a 56% chance of making the finals, more than the Warriors, and a 36% chance of winning the finals, which is the highest percentage (Warriors have a 35%) when a week ago they had a 10% chance of making the finals and a 6% chance of winning the title.

Vegas hasn’t bailed on the Warriors, thebiglead.com reported from Jeff Sherman’s twitter account:

NBA Champ updated
Warriors 6/5
Cavaliers 3/2
Thunder 3/1
Raptors 60/1

After scouring the internet yesterday, I wasn’t able to find an article that spelled doom for the Warriors. Mostly people are excited for a competitive 6 or 7 game series now.

Zach Lowe’s article does a great job, as usual, from ESPN breaking down game 1 and feels the Key terms of engagement for the series are set:

“The Thunder will not win this series playing small ball”
“Warriors Coach Steve Kerr will play the Death Lineup–Curry, Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, and Harrison Barnes, with Green at center…”
“Donovan is rightfully reluctant to play the Adams-Kanter combination against the Death Lineup…”
“The Thunder will switch almost everything away from the ball.”

Lowe states the reasons why the Thunder won this game:

“The Thunder mostly played a smart, hyper-aware brand of defense that eluded them for much of the season.”

The Thunder players get bored during the season while they stand and watch Durant and Westbrook, but for the playoffs they are able to keep focused for a whole game. Congratulations Thunder players on being professional, maybe they promised them a Capri-Sun and a Little Debbie after the game. Whatever it is, Adams has stepped up his game and the Thunder have found a way to finish out close games, which has eluded them all season long. They are in this series after a great game 1 win.

Let’s not overreact over a game one, if the Thunder/Spurs series taught us anything, it is that 1 game is only one game. The winningest team in NBA regular season history is capable of rattling off four wins.  I expect the Warriors to feed Curry a more and win still win, but now there is a higher level of uncertainty and excitement. Should be a fun ride.