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Dream Team 4: Golden State Warriors

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I need to see James Harden and Chris Paul prove it first ? I actually think the Thunder have the potential to give them a better overall series than the Rockets.

The same thing people refer to with LeBron could easily apply to the Warriors in terms of being focused and engaged come May and June.
 
Idk about playoff Westbrook to be honest. Dude can be great and terrible in b2b playoff games. Explosive and self destructive in 4th quarters in the playoffs.

Would be nice if he got in KDs head tbh . More likely to be the other way around unfortunately.
 
By 'gimmick', I meant even having two of the greatest shooters of all time wasn't going to be enough for that style offense to win it. They needed a third GOAT shooter to get their first legit title and if the Cavs had a legit coach that could adjust in last years finals, I will always believe we could have denied them again.

We had no chance playing at their pace and maximizing their possessions. I would tell my buddies I was watching with that we already lost this one when the halftime score would be something like 69-64. We had no chance to match their energy for full games like that... it was just suicide, especially expecting LeBron logging heavy minutes to be able to sustain his top level play. But no lets keep running against a group we couldn't possibly match that way.

So okay lets try to outscore this team, but we're going to do it with TT on the floor, while one of our two best shooters in Frye rides the bench because he's 'unplayable'. WTF, We weren't playing any defense Anyway! lol. If anything Frye should have been starting and getting heavy minutes if we insisted on playing that way. We needed a historic shooting performance to get a single win playing that style and it obviously wasn't something that was sustainable. But you know, lets just keep doing it anyway.

BTW, I also believe teams like the 2012 Heat and the 2014 Spurs just to name a couple may very well have beaten last years Warriors, but it starts with coaching. Pop & Spo certainly wouldn't play them the way we did. But hey, people are free to see Dubs as the greatest ever. I just don't and I believe they are, with their style, very much beatable.
 
As I've said before, if it's a gimmick offense that wins titles, then everyone should be running.

But if only THEY can run it, then guess what? It's not a gimmick.

But so far, this regular season, they aren't as good as they were the last two years. Iguodala hasn't been good, Pachulia has been awful, Nick Young isn't as good as Ian Clarke was for them last year.

They're more beatable than last year and if the Rockets get home court, it's a 50-50 series.

I want so badly to believe this. But I'm afraid it's just because it's year 4 of this run for them and guys have come to realize what LeBron learned in Miami - that the regular season is meaningless. I just don't see what other team is as good as they can be at their peak on both ends. Nor am I buying into the demise of Iggy after he looked pretty bad last year only to once against become a factor in the Finals. Then you factor in the bevy of injuries in the West and how the Warriors have somehow remained unscathed. I think they will coast to another championship and the NBA will be worse for it.
 
By 'gimmick', I meant even having two of the greatest shooters of all time wasn't going to be enough for that style offense to win it. They needed a third GOAT shooter to get their first legit title and if the Cavs had a legit coach that could adjust in last years finals, I will always believe we could have denied them again.

We had no chance playing at their pace and maximizing their possessions. I would tell my buddies I was watching with that we already lost this one when the halftime score would be something like 69-64. We had no chance to match their energy for full games like that... it was just suicide, especially expecting LeBron logging heavy minutes to be able to sustain his top level play. But no lets keep running against a group we couldn't possibly match that way.

So okay lets try to outscore this team, but we're going to do it with TT on the floor, while one of our two best shooters in Frye rides the bench because he's 'unplayable'. WTF, We weren't playing any defense Anyway! lol. If anything Frye should have been starting and getting heavy minutes if we insisted on playing that way. We needed a historic shooting performance to get a single win playing that style and it obviously wasn't something that was sustainable. But you know, lets just keep doing it anyway.

BTW, I also believe teams like the 2012 Heat and the 2014 Spurs just to name a couple may very well have beaten last years Warriors, but it starts with coaching. Pop & Spo certainly wouldn't play them the way we did. But hey, people are free to see Dubs as the greatest ever. I just don't and I believe they are, with their style, very much beatable.

I think you underestimate how absurd it is for any team to have to beat a 73 win Warriors team that then went ahead and added the second best player in the world while losing nothing of consequence 4 times in 7 games. Anyone can lose a game here or there, but to be beaten four times in a week and a half with that kind of a talent edge would have taken an utter collapse by the Warriors. The Cavs were massive underdogs last year and will be again this year. Coaching makes a difference at the margins - it's not enough to overcome the massive talent gap the Warriors have over the rest of the league. The Cavs could have played that series slow, fast, or any other way and they still would have lost.
 
I think you underestimate how absurd it is for any team to have to beat a 73 win Warriors team that then went ahead and added the second best player in the world while losing nothing of consequence 4 times in 7 games. Anyone can lose a game here or there, but to be beaten four times in a week and a half with that kind of a talent edge would have taken an utter collapse by the Warriors. The Cavs were massive underdogs last year and will be again this year. Coaching makes a difference at the margins - it's not enough to overcome the massive talent gap the Warriors have over the rest of the league. The Cavs could have played that series slow, fast, or any other way and they still would have lost.

Never seen that before though granted, it wasn't the Durant Warriors. Still the 2017 series wasn't the drubbing that most see it as because it ended 4-1. If not for some horrible officiating (Love non-foul) I think we win game 3 and the series is 2-2. Of course even then we still had a chance down three with 12 seconds left in that game and our coach subs out Korver for TT so we can play 4 on 5 (amazing). I would agree though we still weren't winning the series since we weren't willing to even try to keep the games in the 90's. LeBron is not 25 anymore and it's too much to ask that he play up-tempo and still access god-mode in the 4th quarter where he was obviously running on fumes all series. With a good coach that makes adjustments maybe we win, maybe we don't, but it's too easy to just say they were unbeatable IMO.

The talent gap may have been even greater that first year without Kyrie & Love and we were up 2 games to 1 and if I remember right tied after three quarters of game four. I've never seen a team so gassed as the Cavs were when Kerr went small and ran the exhausted Cavs off the floor. Unfortunately Blatt (who I really wish we still had) panicked at their small ball and decided to shorten our already tired & slim rotation by removing our rim protector Mozgov who was playing a great series up to then to matchup small and it was a critical mistake. Series was over at that point. Still, we had a real chance in that series despite the obvious talent gap.
 
Never seen that before though granted, it wasn't the Durant Warriors. Still the 2017 series wasn't the drubbing that most see it as because it ended 4-1. If not for some horrible officiating (Love non-foul) I think we win game 3 and the series is 2-2. Of course even then we still had a chance down three with 12 seconds left in that game and our coach subs out Korver for TT so we can play 4 on 5 (amazing). I would agree though we still weren't winning the series since we weren't willing to even try to keep the games in the 90's. LeBron is not 25 anymore and it's too much to ask that he play up-tempo and still access god-mode in the 4th quarter where he was obviously running on fumes all series. With a good coach that makes adjustments maybe we win, maybe we don't, but it's too easy to just say they were unbeatable IMO.

The talent gap may have been even greater that first year without Kyrie & Love and we were up 2 games to 1 and if I remember right tied after three quarters of game four. I've never seen a team so gassed as the Cavs were when Kerr went small and ran the exhausted Cavs off the floor. Unfortunately Blatt (who I really wish we still had) panicked at their small ball and decided to shorten our already tired & slim rotation by removing our rim protector Mozgov who was playing a great series up to then to matchup small and it was a critical mistake. Series was over at that point. Still, we had a real chance in that series despite the obvious talent gap.


This bit about Mozgov is incorrect. He started every game in the series, and was the leading scorer in the game 4 that you're claiming he got pulled in. The Cavs were also not tied at the end of the third quarter - they were trailing by 5-6 points.
 
Watched these guys get beat by the Blazers last night.

They are not playing well. They have plenty of time to get it together, but I think they are much more vulnerable than last year. I think we may want to go the route the Blazers do and try to shut everyone down and let Green guard Durant and let those chips fall as they may.

I am much more confident about limiting their attempts from 3 if we get a next time. We have Hill Cedi and Clarkson on Curry and Hood Cedi and JR on Klay. Lebron can take Draymond and really limit his scoring and playmaking.

If Iggy and Durant have to do the heavy lifting, I think we might have something.

Also, they cannot limit guards like Lillard who can penetrate and shoot. I think Clarkson playing well against them is going to be crucial. he and Lebron are going to share a lot of time against them. Even when Isaiah played, they could not keep him from getting where he wanted to on the floor.
 
Think it’s a genuine toss up on whether or not we even play these guys in the Finals

I’m telling you guys Houston is custom built for the sole purpose of being the Warriors. And they have a good shot of it
 
Think it’s a genuine toss up on whether or not we even play these guys in the Finals

I’m telling you guys Houston is custom built for the sole purpose of being the Warriors. And they have a good shot of it

Harden almost always has a shitty game against them where he can't do anything. You can't have one of those against them. I don't believe in the Rockets, but I am willing to admit that I think GS has a harder road this year than previous years.
 
The Spurs with a healthy Kawhi are probably still more dangerous to the Warriors than the Rockets simply because the Rockets have two guards with a history of massive choke jobs and the Spurs dont.
 
This bit about Mozgov is incorrect. He started every game in the series, and was the leading scorer in the game 4 that you're claiming he got pulled in. The Cavs were also not tied at the end of the third quarter - they were trailing by 5-6 points.

Yea - I actually thought the Cavs mistake in that series was that they stubbornly kept playing two bigs even though it was clear that putting Draymond at the five meant the Warriors could get a wide open three pointer every single time they ran a pick and roll at Mozgov. Though with the Cavs injuries, there weren't really many other options to go to either.
 
The Spurs with a healthy Kawhi are probably still more dangerous to the Warriors than the Rockets simply because the Rockets have two guards with a history of massive choke jobs and the Spurs dont.

I was looking at the Spurs forum and they hate life right now.

They want the gm fired, want pop to retire, hate the contracts of most of their team, think kiwi is faking his injury and think kiwi is on roids.

They also think they got spoiled by Duncan and no stars want to come to San antonio
 
So it seems like a lot of the media is starting to sing the "Warriors are not a sure thing anymore" as some of you have done on here.

I want the media to shut the hell up about it because that is the type of thing that can easily galvanise a team like the Warriors by helping them find their "purpose" again.
 
So it seems like a lot of the media is starting to sing the "Warriors are not a sure thing anymore" as some of you have done on here.

I want the media to shut the hell up about it because that is the type of thing that can easily galvanise a team like the Warriors by helping them find their "purpose" again.

Maybe that's what they want
So it seems like a lot of the media is starting to sing the "Warriors are not a sure thing anymore" as some of you have done on here.

I want the media to shut the hell up about it because that is the type of thing that can easily galvanise a team like the Warriors by helping them find their "purpose" again.
 

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