Warriors vs Thunder

I watched my second favorite NBA team beat the #1 team in the league last night.

1. Stephen Curry is a great, great shooter. He's not Durant, but who is, but he is extremely dangerous from anywhere.

2. You don't need a deep bench, which the Warriors do have, if your starters and a sixth man deliver. Four GSW scored a total of 92 points, over 88% of the team's total 104 points. Curry had 31, our old tormenter from the Knicks David Lee had 22 and 12 boards, Klay Thompson had 19 including 3-6 from 3 and possibly the hardest working player in the NBA, Carl Landry, had 20 off the bench.

3. Both teams are young and extremely athletic. Both of them had over 20 fast breaks. OKC is the fifth youngest team in the NBA, averaging 24.8 years of age, and GSW is the eighth youngest at 25.2. By comparison, the Celtics are #25 at 28.5 years of age and the Lakers are #27 at 28.9. On the other hand, the Knicks are #30 at 31.3, Miami is #29 at 29.9 (Ray Allen and Shane Battier dragging that number up), the Clips are #28 at 29.4. So age isn't necessarily the kiss of death.

4. Westbrook was 3-16. Why can't he do that against us?

5. Perry Jones III, the player that many people wondered why we passed over on draft day, played 3 minutes and had 1 rebound and 1 foul.

6. Jarrett Jack is a very serviceable backup point guard. I'd love to have him in green.

7. Durantula scored 33. He's amazing. 5 rebounds and 9 assists too. He's a better point guard than Westbrook.


bob


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OKC is clearly the better team, but the Warriors are for real.

Before the season, I hoped the Warriors would improve to the point that they could contend for the playoffs. When they got off to a good start to the season, I assumed they would fall back in the standings because the West is so deep and the Warriors are the Warriors. When you follow a team that has been to the playoffs only once since 1994, you have reason to think that way, and even more so this season after losing Brandon Rush for the year and getting basically nothing from their biggest off-season acquisition, Andrew Bogut.

Yet, having seen them play multiple times, I have come to the realization that they are pretty good. Unlike the recent past, they actually play some defense. They can shoot, have both inside and outside threats, can run, have a good bench, and run decent sets in the half-court offense. Perhaps the most remarkable thing is that I have to grudgingly accept the possibility that Mark Jackson can coach. He was so annoying to me as an announcer, got this job with absolutely no prior coaching experience, and came across as an arrogant know-it-all (not a good quality in an inexperienced coach). Yet what I'm seeing with the Warriors is a team that is responding to its coach and has shown improvement in all aspects of the game.

My realistic hopes for them this year are to win one playoff series. The West is so stacked at the top with OKC, San Antonio, and the Clippers that anything more than that would be a miracle, but OKC and the Clippers weren't built in a day. The future looks bright. Please, oh please, keep Steph Curry's ankles safe.