The NBA's best rivalry didn't disappoint. The game featured double technicals, Matt Barnes hard fouls, Deandre Jordan free throw air balls, Steph Curry 30-foot bombs and, to top it off, wasn't decided until the final minute of play. Just an all around fun game.
Here are 10 thoughts from last night:
- Don't let Doc spin it any other way. He was fanning the flames of the rivalry. He didn't say the Warriors were "lucky." Nor did he say every team needs luck to win a championship. He said, "you need luck in the West. Look at Golden State. They didn't have to play us or the Spurs." The takeaway being that the Warriors were lucky because they didn't have to play "us," the Clippers. Sounds like trash talk to me.
- "We're better than we were last year" Curry said in his post game interview. Before the season began, a popular refrain was could the Warriors be a better team in their second year under Kerr, but also have a worse record than last year given the depth in the West. But what if the answer is the Ws are both a better team and will win more than 67 games? With internal growth from key players like Green and Ezeli, and the unexpected but unquestionable improvement from Curry, could the Warriors challenge the 72-win Bulls? The easy answer is no. The '96 Bulls had Jordan and weak, young expansion teams to pad their record with while the Dubs are in a nightly blood feud with teams in the loaded West. But I keep coming back to one thought: What if Curry keeps this up? Isn't anything possible in a scenario where the best offensive player in the game is shooting 52% from three and bending modern NBA defenses to the breaking point?
- I'm not saying he should start over Bogut, but I'm intrigued by Festus playing with the starting unit. He gives the Ws a bit more athleticism and, more importantly, he frees Draymond to play the role of big-man facilitator on offense where he can throw lobs, pass to shooters, or take that improving jumper. The offense looks open, freer with more variation with Dray running the show. And I wonder whether the second unit's offense wouldn't be more potent with Bogut helping Livingston facilitate.
- When the Ws went up 17 points in the second quarter, it was looking like one of those games where the Dubs blow it wide open with stellar D and a barrage of three-pointers. Didn't happen. Credit the Clippers for coming all the way back.
- Do the Clippers have a real bench this year? Is it sustainable? On their way to a 10-point lead, Austin Rivers hit floaters, Josh Smith made a three, and Wes Johnson too, and even Lance Stephenson made a couple of shots beyond the arc before he remembered he was Lance Stephenson. With a decent supporting cast, the Clippers are going to be legit contenders.
- Stop saying Deandre Jordan is a DPOY candidate when he can't remember to stick with Curry on the pick and roll. Kawhi Leonard wouldn't have let Curry loose for those threes. Kawhi Leonard is like a shark that smells blood when he plays defense, especially against shooting guards with a shaky handle who have the audacity to bring the ball up court against him (you know, like Klay Thompson).
- After starting the season 10 of 16 from three (and on his way to becoming a Splash Cousin), Draymond Green promptly went 1 of 6 from beyond the arc. Regression to the mean or just an off night on offense while guarding one of the most dynamic players on defense?
- Is that a knife sticking in Paul Pierce's back? Missed free throws and no crunch time minutes? We always underestimate how fast a player can go from all-star to decent to oh-my-goodness-what-happened.
- Harrison Barnes continues to be equal parts confounding and indispensable with that sequence of back-to-back threes, a block and a sky for the dunk. The man sure knows how to make the NBA's GMs fret over whether to make the mistake of giving him the max or the mistake of not giving him the max. Personally I'd take my chances with the latter.
- I thought CP3 just missed that pass at the end to a wide open Blake Griffin. I know on the telecast Van Gundy said Draymond was smothering Paul but, after multiple re-watches, I don't think that was smothering defense. I think Paul just blew it.
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