Links to the Present: Warriors Edition

Sometimes trying to come up with a unifying theme for a links piece is next to impossible. This week the theme came easily. During my hours of research, massive coffee consumption, and periodic breaks to take my dogs outside, I realized a bunch of the pieces pointed out that the Warriors are pretty awesome. Their TNT game against Portland last night just solidified that fact for me.

This piece was primarily written while casually watching that game, and a few things stood out. First off, Golden State makes teams work. Stephen Curry can hit shots from anywhere on the floor with just inches of space, but that’s not enough for him. He’s willing to work for some open shots at the expensive of entire opposing defenses. The first Warriors possession last night Curry darted without the ball across the paint. He smushed his defender into a screen; the entire Portland team watched him move. Every Blazer watched Curry run in anticipation of having to sag off their man to contest a shot. So, Draymond Green got to hoist a wide open jumper on that possession. Green missed, but it’s the MVP candidate’s ability and desire to draw the attention of an entire team that you should care about. Stephen plays team basketball when he has the obvious talent where he doesn’t need to and could still be fantastic. I could see him being a finesse version of Russell Westrbrook.

Less than two minutes into the game, Andrew Bogut had an alley-oop and Curry hit two quick threes in a row. While I just glanced at the game occasionally, it seemed like the Warriors were always running the ball up the court. Someone was always doing something that made me say, “Wow.” Sometimes it was a 3-pointer. One time it was a casual 18-5 run in four minutes to regain the lead. Another time it was a Klay Thompson post-up from the left baseline where the defender bit on a pump fake. I know I shouted when Stephen Curry broke his own league best record of 272 3s in a season by nailing six 3s in just the first-half. Curry’s long off-balance corner two with 1:11 left in the fourth to put the Warriors up by eight points was shout worthy also.

Let’s take a look at what others are saying about Golden State.

Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated has a piece up about coaching Stephen Curry.

“I respond best when a coach is able to get on me where he’s raising his voice, yelling and whatever, because he expects greatness from me—especially when I’m not performing the way I’m supposed to,” Curry said. “I like to have, obviously, a mutual respect, and a guy who can be as consistent as possible with his message. But if I need to be yelled at and refocused, I’m open to that and I usually respond well.”

Not only is Curry really good at basketball, he’s awesome at #humblebrags. Steve Kerr is also slightly less impressive now. Curry’s too easy to work with.

–

Nylon Calculus writer Adam Mares discussed the various ball movement and people movement of NBA teams this week. The Cavs rank near the bottom of the league for distance traveled on offense per game and in passes per game. However, the ability of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving to draw extra defenders when they have the ball assures the Cavs still get open shots. Guess what team is able to use a superstar to create open looks and still passes the ball anyway?

Lastly, the Warriors present a fairly curious case. They have superstar talent in Steph Curry yet they also have a roster full of talented role players that they can rely on to make smart, quick reads with the basketball. They are something of a combination of the two contrasting styles. Curry ranks 29th in time of possession per game, despite playing more minutes per game than 20 of the 29 people ahead of him. They are a rare case of a team with a transcendent player that still leans on the talent of the roster around him to create efficient FGAs.

All teams took notice when the Spurs won the finals with the model of ball movement and people movement. Perhaps the Warriors are taking it to the next level.

–

Kirk Goldsberry wrote about the NBA’s new Josh Smith (super poor shooter) for Grantland. Former Cavalier Dion Waiters won the coveted title.

Waiters is not only among the worst statistical 3-point shooters in the NBA, he also supplements his impotent blend of volume and inefficiency with an overflowing amount of unearned hubris and terrible defense. What’s not to like?

If you’re looking for Waiters Island on a map, it’s right in the heart of Pacific Proving Grounds, where the U.S. tested nuclear weapons from 1946 to 1962. Nobody is allowed to go there anymore, as the islands are too contaminated — just like the blue archipelago along the perimeter of Waiters’s shot chart.

This declaration cuts deep. Not only is Dion a former Cav, he also went to Syracuse University the same time I did. I’m connected with mediocrity forever.

–

The SLC Dunk blog has a great take on the King’s signing of South Asian player Sim Bhullar. The writer focuses on the fact the Bhullar wasn’t raised or born in India.

The storyline is: “He’s a big deal, and please buy our TV package to watch the NBA, India – after all this guy is Indian enough.” The storyline should be: “This is a big guy who worked his butt off from obscurity (Canada to New Mexico to Reno) to make the NBA. Watch the biggest moment of his life as he completes a life long journey and dream, tonight against the Jazz.”

As always, it’s about the money.

–

Sports Illustrated is running a collection of the best “I didn’t foul” faces from this season. LeBron has a bunch of appearances. Anderson Varejao got this classic denial face on the list:

Is it just me or does Andy look like Weird Al?

–

The video and sixth-man piece of the week goes to Shaun Livingston and Dirk Nowitzki. After Shaun bonked Dirk in the lower region, during the Warriors matchup against the Mavs on Saturday, the two now seem to have made up.

Earl’s Pearl of the Week

Earl’s Pearl of the week is actually Shaun Livingston. If hitting guys in the lower regions from behind when defending a post-up were ever to become a thing, I would guess that it’s J.R. Smith who started doing it. The act of going for that area from behind is almost refreshing. Both Chris Paul and Marcus Smart have assaulted that region from the front this season. From the front it’s a basic move. From behind is revolutionary, much like untying players’ shoes when free throws are being shot.

Bottom Line of the Week

Golden State won their 64th game of the year last night against the Blazers, 116-105. Stephen Curry absolutely destroyed. He hit eight of his 13 threes on the way to 45 points. He made sure his teammates got involved. He handed out nine assists.