Series Thread: WCF: 1) Golden State Warriors vs 3) Portland Trail Blazers

[msgkings322]

I get the want to over-react to this series because it was a sweep, but context matters. Warriors fans should not gloss over how external factors play into the results. We of all people should know that there are a multitude of different aspects that can affect an outcome of a game.

And the Finals are gonna be entirely different. No HCA, Milwaukee the likely opponent is deep and long as hell, with tons of tall, lanky guys they can throw at us

 

[LAD]

Think its more of a matchup issue than anything. The Blazers did make adjustments, it's just that their team as constructed had a limit to what they could accomplish against the Warriors. In the first game they never sent a second defender at Steph and he went off. In games 2-4, they sent a second defender at Curry every time and it opened up the 4-3 attack going to the basket. The problem with this is that the Blazers don't have the backline defenders the Warriors do. So they can't employ the same pick and roll defense the Warriors are doing to the Blazers because instead of Draymond, Iguodala, and Klay on the back, you've got Aminu, CJ, and Leonard/Kanter/Collins.

The Blazers just didn't match up defensively with the Warriors. The Rockets were able to double steph because on their backline they had at least two good defenders in PJ Tucker and Capela. I don't think this is a coaching issue at all because Stott's made adjustments. It's just that they didn't work out.

Ok so back to my original thought, which is that they need to make some changes with the team this summer.

 

[Wishbone]

Hmm I don't think Chris Broussard and Steven A Smith are from Okc.

 

[msgkings322]

Hmm I don't think Chris Broussard and Steven A Smith are from Okc.

They're OKC-level intellects, however

 

[LAD]

I get the want to over-react to this series because it was a sweep, but context matters. Warriors fans should not gloss over how external factors play into the results. We of all people should know that there are a multitude of different aspects that can affect an outcome of a game.

In my case it's not over reacting as I predicted they could sweep when no one else thought it was possible. In fact, everyone else said I was crazy to think that.

One of the constant debates on this thread is that reg season games/wins don't mean much in the post season for most teams. This team was the #3 seed. If Portland & Hou swap records maybe Portland is meeting up with GS in the 2nd round vs. the Conf Finals. So again, IMO the fact that they advanced in two series has a lot to do with match ups & luck.

I pointed out that this was the same Portland team from last year, that got swept in the first round. They were lucky to get past Denver IMO. When they met up with the Dubs they were exposed - even though GS wasn't healthy. That speaks volumes.

We heard Dame talk about making the correct basketball play in his presser after game 3. He said changing that up was something he would have to consider for game 4. Well, he did make that change. He took shots even though it wasn't the right basketball play - and it still didn't get them a win. IMO that also speaks volumes.

So, as I mentioned before maybe they are a good team when they're playing teams not named GS. Either way, changes are needed if they want to progress in the post season.

 

[LAD]

Hmm I don't think Chris Broussard and Steven A Smith are from Okc.

And I don't think they are here on this sports forum either....but you certainly are just hating away.

 

[msgkings322]

In my case it's not over reacting as I predicted they could sweep when no one else thought it was possible. In fact, everyone else said I was crazy to think that.

One of the constant debates on this thread is that reg season games/wins don't mean much in the post season for most teams. This team was the #3 seed. If Portland & Hou swap records maybe Portland is meeting up with GS in the 2nd round vs. the Conf Finals. So again, IMO the fact that they advanced in two series has a lot to do with match ups & luck.

I pointed out that this was the same Portland team from last year, that got swept in the first round. They were lucky to get past Denver IMO. When they met up with the Dubs they were exposed - even though GS wasn't healthy. That speaks volumes.

We heard Dame talk about making the correct basketball play in his presser after game 3. He said changing that up was something he would have to consider for game 4. Well, he did make that change. He took shots even though it wasn't the right basketball play - and it still didn't get them a win. IMO that also speaks volumes.

So, as I mentioned before maybe they are a good team when they're playing teams not named GS. Either way, changes are needed if they want to progress in the post season.

City's point is everyone is better when not facing GS. How much of this sweep was about Portland being shitty vs being banged up and running into one of the best teams ever?

That isn't to say Portland isn't flawed, they obviously are. But there's a lot of space between good but flawed team and bad team

 

[Robotech]

Warriors can go over the cap to sign him which means bringing him back is a real possibility. But also Looney has to 1) agree to financial compensation he believes he's entitled to 2) agree to come back to the Warriors and 3) agree to accept whatever role the Warriors envision for him.

The Warriors may want to continually use Looney in a super sub role as a big off the bench. Or they could move him in the starting role as a center. Would Looney be ok being a reserve? Also the Warriors are going to be over the cap for a while which means Looney's salary isn't just his base, but it's base with the tax implications. So the Warriors would be paying exponentially more for Looney than another team not over the cap.

I want Looney back, but saying he will be back as a foregone conclusion assumes a lot of things go right for the Warriors again. Looney should have been gone from the Warriors this past season but I couldn't understand why no other team offered him more. This off-season he'll definitely be one of the hotter commodities after probably the top 2 tiers of players are off the board.

msg had me alarmed when he said he's gonna miss Looney, so I looked up stuff that's been written about Looney and it sounds like good news for the Warriors. I already knew they had his Bird rights, but I found that he's been quoted as saying he wants to stay and then I read that Kerr called him a foundational piece. Kerr saying that seems to indicate that there will be a strong effort to bring him back. It's not a foregone conclusion that he comes back, but it seems probable. It would seem weird to call a young player a foundational piece and then see him gone the next season.

Luxury tax is an issue, but he's become so impactful that he's probably worth it unless some other team makes an insane offer. BPM of 3.7 this season, 3.0 last postseason, and 4.8 so far in this year's playoffs. The other great thing is that he's only 23 and should only get better. Now he's getting better at the FT line. He's shooting 80% on FT's in these playoffs. I read that he actually played point guard in high school and that we shouldn't be surprised if he starts adding more to his pro game in the coming seasons.

 

[LAD]

City's point is everyone is better when not facing GS. How much of this sweep was about Portland being shitty vs being banged up and running into one of the best teams ever?

That isn't to say Portland isn't flawed, they obviously are. But there's a lot of space between good but flawed team and bad team

I can agree with a lot of these points.

But what is hard to ignore is that GS wasn't even at full strength and Portland couldn't get 1 game. That should be concerning for Portland. I don't want to hear nothing about how close they were. Because as close as they were they also completely gave it up by letting those 17+ point leads dwindle in three consecutive games.

 

[LAD]

msg had me alarmed when he said he's gonna miss Looney, so I looked up stuff that's been written about Looney and it sounds like good news for the Warriors. I already knew they had his Bird rights, but I found that he's been quoted as saying he wants to stay and then I read that Kerr called him a foundational piece. Kerr saying that seems to indicate that there will be a strong effort to bring him back. It's not a foregone conclusion that he comes back, but it seems probable. It would seem weird to call a young player a foundational piece and then see him gone the next season.

Luxury tax is an issue, but he's become so impactful that he's probably worth it unless some other team makes an insane offer. BPM of 3.7 this season, 3.0 last postseason, and 4.8 so far in this year's playoffs. The other great thing is that he's only 23 and should only get better. Now he's getting better at the FT line. He's shooting 80% on FT's in these playoffs. I read that he actually played point guard in high school and that we shouldn't be surprised if he starts adding more to his pro game in the coming seasons.

I think all indicators point to him returning. Kerr really likes him, Looney wants to return and ownership is already on record saying they will pay whatever it costs to keep competing.

 

[CitySushi]

I can agree with a lot of these points.

But what is hard to ignore is that GS wasn't even at full strength and Portland couldn't get 1 game. That should be concerning for Portland. I don't want to hear nothing about how close they were. Because as close as they were they also completely gave it up by letting those 17+ point leads dwindle in three consecutive games.

You saying that Portland couldn't take a game from GS when they weren't at full strength is disrespectful the overall talent the Warriors have. You'd think by a lot of your tonality that the Warriors were just an average playoff team who took it to a D-League team that should have been happy to be there. It's not that simple when you actually look at the teams and talent levels.

Take away Nurkic, Durant, Boogie and even Iguodala for that fact. If you ranked the top 5 players remaining in this series, the Warriors would have 3 of the top 4 best players, including the #1 best player. All three are former all-stars including a 2x MVP and a DPOY.

The Warriors were more talented than the Blazers, but that doesn't mean the Blazers were bad. The Warriors are just so much more talented than everyone else in the league that you forget how good some guys actually are.

 

[CitySushi]

msg had me alarmed when he said he's gonna miss Looney, so I looked up stuff that's been written about Looney and it sounds like good news for the Warriors. I already knew they had his Bird rights, but I found that he's been quoted as saying he wants to stay and then I read that Kerr called him a foundational piece. Kerr saying that seems to indicate that there will be a strong effort to bring him back. It's not a foregone conclusion that he comes back, but it seems probable. It would seem weird to call a young player a foundational piece and then see him gone the next season.

Luxury tax is an issue, but he's become so impactful that he's probably worth it unless some other team makes an insane offer. BPM of 3.7 this season, 3.0 last postseason, and 4.8 so far in this year's playoffs. The other great thing is that he's only 23 and should only get better. Now he's getting better at the FT line. He's shooting 80% on FT's in these playoffs. I read that he actually played point guard in high school and that we shouldn't be surprised if he starts adding more to his pro game in the coming seasons.

Dude you're talking to probably the #1 Looney fan on this site. I was preaching even last year how good he was, particularly against the Rockets and said that there was no way the Warriors could bring him back because they declined his option and meant that they could only offer him less than his team option because of the CBA. So the most the Warriors could have offered him last season was like 1.5M. I said it was crazy no one picked him up and have been singing his praises all year. It's nice to finally see him get some national attention for his play.

I definitely see the Warriors wanting to retain him and they have a good shot too. He's really the only young player they've drafted that has worked out in the last 4 years or so. They need to keep him. But there are lots of factors. Looney's not a restricted free agent so ultimately he decides his own destiny.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

I think GS simply defended them well. GS defends the perimeter well and makes it hell for people to drive. Personal opinion, but GS is easily in the top 5 teams in history.

While Portland isn’t going to win any championships with just Lillard and McCollum — you can’t blame them in this series. GSW does this to every team — Theur perimeter defense is outstanding and they try to take away what it is you do best.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

lol some o' you cats are STILL dissing KD...

I don’t understand it. It has to be upset OKC fans?!? All the NBA is anymore, is teams trying to stack the roster with the most superstars.

If the Lakers can trade for Anthony Davis and sign Kawhi Leonard — are they going to say any of those guys ‘earned a title’?!?!?

GSW’s front office is the reason why no teams can compete with GSW. They didn’t recruit players with max contracts to play for them. They drafted Steph, they drafted Thompson, they drafted Green. At one point they were paying Curry, Thompson and Green like 40 million a year combined for the 3 guys. It is why they were able to bring in Durant and why wouldn’t they, if they could?!? And why wouldn’t Durant go to GSW?

The whole talk of if you can’t beat them, join them is laughable, because the entire NBA lives by that culture now. Why do you think Anthony Davis wants out of NO? Is it because he wants to start fresh by himself? No — he wants to go to a team who can put other superstars by his side to compete for a NBA title. Ever since Boston did it with Allen, Pierce and Garnett — that is all NBA superstars want to do. They don’t care about loyalty or anything like that. They want to get paid and to go to the handful of teams with nice weather in a major market.

 

[tlance]

Toronto could be a worse matchup for Golden State

Marc Gasol is a legitimate low post threat. He has not played well at times but the threat exists.

If they could find a way to get Ibaka and Gasol rolling together, that would be real problem for the Warriors.

You are wrong about your low post assumption.

And Marc Gasol hasn't really been a legitimate low post threat for awhile now.

Great post defender. Offensively, not so much.

Warriors would beat Toronto in 5 games tops with or without KD. MILwaukee could give then a series if they are ready for the moment and play well.

 

[tlance]

Wasn't a easy sweep at all. Very very competitive actually.

This once again shows that shorter series can be more fun that series that last more games.

For example this was much more fun than that Bucks/Celtics series that lasted 1 game longer

I am glad you said this.

Totally agree.

Are you happy with the playoffs overall this year? Been some good games and some good drama even though we seem to have locked in on the likely Finals teams a couple weeks ago.

 

[tlance]

I think it was BKS who said it, but they have to improve the 3 spot on their roster. Nurkic healthy certainly woulda helped, too obviously...

I am not sure how much Nurk would have helped. At least notnin games 3 and 4.

Leonard probably doesn't play nearly as much with Nurk healthy. And I can't picture Nurk being better than what Leonard gave them. Leonard guarded pick and roll pretty well too.

 

[Robotech]

You are wrong about your low post assumption.

And Marc Gasol hasn't really been a legitimate low post threat for awhile now.

Great post defender. Offensively, not so much.

Warriors would beat Toronto in 5 games tops with or without KD. MILwaukee could give then a series if they are ready for the moment and play well.

Has any team really done a lot of damage to the Warriors with a low post player? Maybe it's just my bias, but during this dynastic run, I don't think the low post has really been a weakness.

 

[Wishbone]

They're OKC-level intellects, however

Nah they are not that smart.

 

[tlance]

Ok so back to my original thought, which is that they need to make some changes with the team this summer.

Maybe nothing big beyond locking up Dame.

This a a good team. Not realistic to think they can contend every year, but if they are able to create some 2021 cap space while keeping Dame and CJ, they could make a move at that time.

Better play from the 3 and 4 positions are a must, but it doesn't have to be a star. A 3 and D and a PJ Tucker defensive minded leader would do them wonders.