Thunder and Cavaliers must look like same team to Warriors

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Steinmetz

There remains plenty of sentiment out there that the Oklahoma City Thunder are still the toughest matchup for the Warriors. It’s not a crazy notion, either. Yes, the Warriors completed a three-game season sweep of OKC at Oracle on Thursday night with a 121-106 win, but all things considered each and every game was competitive.

Which is more than San Antonio, Cleveland and the LA Clippers can say because the Warriors have blown out each of those teams once a piece this season on their way to 55-5.

In their three losses to the Warriors, the Thunder have been up nine with 4-plus minutes remaining in the third quarter (Thursday); up 11 with under five minutes remaining in fourth quarter (last Saturday); and tied with three-and-a-half minutes left in the fourth quarter (Feb. 6)

So they’ve been right there, on the one hand.

Continue reading →

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Clippers, NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Warriors | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

For Warriors, making decision on Curry’s status becomes tricky

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Steinmetz

The Warriors are 54-5 and on a pace to win more games than any other team in NBA history. They’ve won 43 games in a row at Oracle Arena, where they’re hoping to become the first team to ever go through a season unbeaten at home.

They have the most exciting team and the most exciting player in the NBA in Stephen Curry. Because of that, Warriors tickets are the hottest in the Bay Area and the hottest in the entire league. Everybody wants to see the Warriors. And everybody wants to see Curry.

Add it all up and you realize it’s not as simple as you think to sit out Curry because of a left ankle injury or to a lesser degree Andre Iguodala because of left hamstring tightness. Curry and Iguodala are listed as questionable for tonight’s game against the Thunder. But it feels more complicated than that.

In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to rest Curry and Iguodala for tonight’s game. After all, they’re holding the top seed in the Western Conference and there are going to be bigger games down the line.

Continue reading →

Posted in Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Warriors | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on For Warriors, making decision on Curry’s status becomes tricky

Warriors ‘Big 3’ of Myers, Kerr and Curry unique in today’s NBA

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Steinmetz

The Warriors did it again on Tuesday night, winning in exciting, entertaining and improbable fashion. They beat the Atlanta Hawks 109-105 in overtime, and on this night it was Draymond Green hitting and improbable 3-pointer to seal the deal.

The Warriors are now 54-5 and it’s getting tougher and tougher to find different ways to talk about them, different ways to compliment them, different ways to describe what exactly they’re doing.

There’s almost a sameness to the Warriors right now – they always win, whether it’s a blowout, a nail-biter or anything in between. How many times can you say the Warriors are great? How many times can you try to put this season in historic terms? How many times can you praise Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson or Draymond Green or, hell, even Ian Clark?

Innumerable things must come together for a team to have this kind of season, this kind of year-and-a-half run. It doesn’t just come down to Curry … or the Warriors’ defense … or their 3-point shooting … their competitiveness. Of course, those are all big pieces but there are countless others.

Here’s one I’ve been thinking about: The triangle of general manager Bob Myers, coach Steve Kerr and Curry, the franchise player. There is absolutely no doubt that an integral part of Golden State’s success is those three guys and the fact that none of them brings any ego or selfishness to the table.

Continue reading →

Posted in San Antonio Spurs, Warriors | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments