Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.
The Warriors have beaten the Jazz and the Suns in consecutive games.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Chiu/AP.)
So the Golden State Warriors have won 6 of 7 games. At the very least, they’ve clinched a play-in berth and as of now, they’re facing the Lakers in a 7-8 match-up. Even if they don’t get past the Lakers at first, they have a second shot as they face the winner of the 9-10 game. They either face the Jazz or the Suns depending on which game they’re successful at.
Uh-oh.
Those are the same two teams that the Warriors have beaten the last two games. The Warriors seem to have gotten more dangerous in the last week or so as they enter the play-in game.
Suddenly, the Warriors are 5th overall in defensive rating (that’s points allowed per possession). It helps to have a motivated Draymond Green. Juan Toscano-Anderson has proven to be a boon for the Dubs as he has played some big minutes as of late. He’s been a menace defensively for the team. They’ve been even better in May as they are second amongst teams in defensive rating this month.
And while their defense is hummin’, Stephen Curry has pretty much carried the team on his back offensively. While Curry struggled overall against the Suns (only scoring 21 points), he’s been brilliant the entire season. Not counting the game against the Suns, he’s averaged 37.8 points, 5.2 points, and 5.0 assists in the month of May. His shooting alone can carry a team to a series win.
Andrew Wiggins did the damage against the Suns, scoring 38 points. While he’s struggled early, he’s looked more comfortable as the season went on. He has actually been the label of consistency for the Warriors. The Dubs do want him to be more aggressive; his passiveness has gotten him this not-so-good reputation throughout his career. Hopefully, with no pressure to be a leader of sorts with Curry and Draymond on the team, he’ll be able to shine.
And we know what Green brings to the table. We still don’t know what happened to his offense but he constantly flirts with a triple-double each game. Still, it’s all about his defense as he covers so much ground while directing traffic on that end. He’s obviously the main reason why the Warriors are back as a top 5 defensive team.
This is the thing. While, yes, the Warriors aren’t the Warriors from the mid-to-late 2010s, they still have Curry and that excellent defense. As said earlier, Curry can carry this team to a series win and while I don’t think this will happen, they have a shot to get past the Lakers (should they play them) and knock out one of the top two teams in the West. Golden State could very well bust the West bracket up and they could make it an easier path for a top team to get to the West Finals.
Of course, their thinking is that THEY could be that “top” team to get to the West Finals. With Stephen Curry there, I feel like anything can happen.
Bullet Passes
Talen Horton-Tucker has such big balls to pull up for that clutch three. I love it, though. And that is some trust the Lakers put up on him. Big win over the Knicks.
The Thunder are now on a 2-25 stretch. All of this after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went out.
The league is weird, man. The Indiana Pacers, who have been the poster team for bad vibes, beat the Philadelphia 76ers and stopped their 8-game win streak. The Sixers haven’t completely clinched the first seed yet and they could have had they beaten Indiana.
That’s why they play the games.
The Kings winning still gives them an outside shot at a play-in game. But 2.5 games behind with 3 left? Nah.
The Mavericks have clinched their division. It’s good for tiebreakers and I honestly didn’t think we were still using that.
The Celtics continue to struggle and this is very much reminding me of the Sixers of last year. So much potential yet a mix of injuries, bad luck, and bad chemistry just hurt them.
NBA Scoreboard
May 11, 2021
Watch This Play
This pack of Wolves is showing off. D’Angelo Russell leaves it fancily for Naz Reid, who spins in the air on the way to the hoop.
D-Lo between-the-legs dime to Naz Reid 😧 pic.twitter.com/wlbNkkby2D
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 12, 2021
At least, have some fun before they close out the season.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.