A Wiseman Told Me Never Argue With Fools: Official 2021 Warriors Season Thread
- Thread starter G.O.A.T Squad Spokesman
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Steph can take a game off he’s played in 99% of them since the season started
rbksNgirbauds
Even on the court we stay flyy, Jada & A.I.
I think this is only my second post in here because I'm not a Dubs fan so I try to stay in my place when it comes to y'all family matters 
But with that said i have been a Steph fan since '07 or '08 when he came to my city and wrecked shop on our cities university (UTC) so I want any team he plays on to succeed so these are my midseason observations:
EDIT: Is Chriss done for the whole season?
But with that said i have been a Steph fan since '07 or '08 when he came to my city and wrecked shop on our cities university (UTC) so I want any team he plays on to succeed so these are my midseason observations:
- Wannamaker has to have a significant reduction in his role on this team. I feel like I can count on one hand how many 3s dude has hit this season. His shot is just flat and always short. He's not a good fit. Solid on defense but not enough to offset his piss poor play on the other end. Give Poole a longer rope cuz he has a higher upside. And is much more explosive offensively. And this team struggles to score
- Somebody needs to get in Wiggins ear and tell him he's not fukkin Tracy Mcgrady. Cool out on all the iso stepback contested middies. Get on that block early in the game and then work your way back. Hes not an elite shooter nor elite shot creator, so I just don't understand why his poor shot selection gets a pass
- Looney. Trash. Never seen a player get the ball as close to the hoop and just hold it. Hold it. Hold it. And then miss as many bunnies as he does. Gotta make quicker decisions around the basket.
- Wiseman, I'm not even tripping on his inconsistencies offensively or the fact the he has glass hands...but buddy is so damn soft on defense. He's in good position alot of the times he just doesn't have the coordination and timing on how to wall up around the basket. His rim protection is the thing that imo they need the most. He's athletic but it doesn't show in the slightest on that end. Can only hope it's a case of him basically coming straight outta hs.
- Bazemore
...just gotta cut down on the fouls. But i like his heart - Oubre
....just gotta lock in more off the ball on defense. Loses sight of his man and compromises rotations too often. But he's high key the second best player on this team imo - I need 10ppg from Dray man. He's still the creme de la creme defensively. But man, dude is literally never getting guarded in any game they play
- And finally Steph. Masterful season he's having considering the team he has, not that they don't have talent, they're just dumb for a lack of better of way of putting it.
EDIT: Is Chriss done for the whole season?
I think this is only my second post in here because I'm not a Dubs fan so I try to stay in my place when it comes to y'all family matters
But with that said i have been a Steph fan since '07 or '08 when he came to my city and wrecked shop on our cities university (UTC) so I want any team he plays on to succeed so these are my midseason observations:
All in all. This team has what it takes to finish top 5 imo, they just gotta put it all together. It just be the slightest of team fundamentals thats honestly keeping them from being at minimum a 4 seed right now
- Wannamaker has to have a significant reduction in his role on this team. I feel like I can count on one hand how many 3s dude has hit this season. His shot is just flat and always short. He's not a good fit. Solid on defense but not enough to offset his piss poor play on the other end. Give Poole a longer rope cuz he has a higher upside. And is much more explosive offensively. And this team struggles to score
- Somebody needs to get in Wiggins ear and tell him he's not fukkin Tracy Mcgrady. Cool out on all the iso stepback contested middies. Get on that block early in the game and then work your way back. Hes not an elite shooter nor elite shot creator, so I just don't understand why his poor shot selection gets a pass
- Looney. Trash. Never seen a player get the ball as close to the hoop and just hold it. Hold it. Hold it. And then miss as many bunnies as he does. Gotta make quicker decisions around the basket.
- Wiseman, I'm not even tripping on his inconsistencies offensively or the fact the he has glass hands...but buddy is so damn soft on defense. He's in good position alot of the times he just doesn't have the coordination and timing on how to wall up around the basket. His rim protection is the thing that imo they need the most. He's athletic but it doesn't show in the slightest on that end. Can only hope it's a case of him basically coming straight outta hs.
- Bazemore
- Oubre
- I need 10ppg from Dray man. He's still the creme de la creme defensively. But man, dude is literally never getting guarded in any game they play
- And finally Steph. Masterful season he's having considering the team he has, not that they don't have talent, they're just dumb for a lack of better of way of putting it.
EDIT: Is Chriss done for the whole season?
I can respect it.
Chriss hasn't been officially ruled out yet that I'm aware of...
Edit: I don't see an official ruling on this, but it seems unlikely based in a recent post:
Last edited:
BlaqkSpliffin
Ni**as Still Weird - Me
I'm a Ben Simmons Stan on the low
BlaqkSpliffin
Ni**as Still Weird - Me
I actually agree with all of this. The thing I've always said with Wiseman is that due to his athletic gifts he wants to go for every blocked shot even if he's hella outta position which he normally is. Then he picks up those cheap fouls and he's tentative the rest of the game cause he don't wanna get pulled smh. Learning to defend the rim without even jumping is gonna be big for him cause he got like a 9 foot reach. He just need to stay vertical, stay in his area defensively, and try to get the shyt he actually has a chance at. Saw him up on a defender on the perimeter and almost lost my shytI think this is only my second post in here because I'm not a Dubs fan so I try to stay in my place when it comes to y'all family matters
But with that said i have been a Steph fan since '07 or '08 when he came to my city and wrecked shop on our cities university (UTC) so I want any team he plays on to succeed so these are my midseason observations:
All in all. This team has what it takes to finish top 5 imo, they just gotta put it all together. It just be the slightest of team fundamentals thats honestly keeping them from being at minimum a 4 seed right now
- Wannamaker has to have a significant reduction in his role on this team. I feel like I can count on one hand how many 3s dude has hit this season. His shot is just flat and always short. He's not a good fit. Solid on defense but not enough to offset his piss poor play on the other end. Give Poole a longer rope cuz he has a higher upside. And is much more explosive offensively. And this team struggles to score
- Somebody needs to get in Wiggins ear and tell him he's not fukkin Tracy Mcgrady. Cool out on all the iso stepback contested middies. Get on that block early in the game and then work your way back. Hes not an elite shooter nor elite shot creator, so I just don't understand why his poor shot selection gets a pass
- Looney. Trash. Never seen a player get the ball as close to the hoop and just hold it. Hold it. Hold it. And then miss as many bunnies as he does. Gotta make quicker decisions around the basket.
- Wiseman, I'm not even tripping on his inconsistencies offensively or the fact the he has glass hands...but buddy is so damn soft on defense. He's in good position alot of the times he just doesn't have the coordination and timing on how to wall up around the basket. His rim protection is the thing that imo they need the most. He's athletic but it doesn't show in the slightest on that end. Can only hope it's a case of him basically coming straight outta hs.
- Bazemore
- Oubre
- I need 10ppg from Dray man. He's still the creme de la creme defensively. But man, dude is literally never getting guarded in any game they play
- And finally Steph. Masterful season he's having considering the team he has, not that they don't have talent, they're just dumb for a lack of better of way of putting it.
EDIT: Is Chriss done for the whole season?
Dray had 5 points against the Blazers and I saw people criticizing Steph for not closing
It'd be one thing if he was only open at the 3 point line and he's lost faith in that shot but he has wide open floaters and an open lane to attack and he just be driving and passing 95 percent of the time. If Steph's second best player is gonna be Wiggins or Oubre most nights then this is gonna be a play-in team simple as that.
Roland Coltrane
Superstar
anybody else hearing these Blake Griffin rumours 
bruh can't stay healthy for shyt, and like Jalen Rose says the best ability is availability
I've only seen this speculation on various youtube basketball channels and no reputable sources
bruh can't stay healthy for shyt, and like Jalen Rose says the best ability is availability
I've only seen this speculation on various youtube basketball channels and no reputable sources
Roland Coltrane
Superstar
good read 
It’s natural to be confused by this irregular Warriors season, which, at the All-Star break, has brought them to the Western Conference’s ninth slot and delivered rabid internal and external reactions that are making this experience seem simultaneously so much worse and yet also just a bit better than anybody really expected.
They’re 19-18. They have a plus-0.5 per-game point differential. They have Stephen Curry playing like a superhero most nights. The Warriors also have a back end of the roster that sometimes looks like it is (sometimes literally) culled directly from the G League. They are good (against bad teams) and also bad (against good teams); they are young (with James Wiseman and Jordan Poole) and also pretty old (with Curry, Draymond Green and the injured Klay Thompson). They are often quite impressive on defense and too reliably quite clunky on offense. They might make a push into one of the better playoff seeds in the Western Conference. You could argue this. They might also lose a ton of games after the break and even drop out of the 9-10 play-in slots. You could definitely argue that, too.
The Warriors are confusing. In a regular 82-game schedule, they would be on pace for a 42-40 season. This, of course, is a shortened 72-game season, so they’re on a 37-35 pace and, yes, that just adds another layer of understandable haziness to everything.
But there is a way to simplify the analysis, to remove some of the alternating angst and euphoria surrounding this season, just by splitting everything up into basic problems and true solutions. What are the main problems the Warriors are facing now, short and long term? And what are the credible solutions they’ve tried or that are available to them? What is really happening here and what’s possible in the future?
This is fair to do with a great team, like the Warriors used to be and aim to become again. And it’s probably the cleanest way to look at a mediocre team like the Warriors are now. It takes away some of the emotion. Cuts through false answers and faulty presumptions. Presents the most plausible reality that we can.
So let’s try it.
Warriors problem: They’re not talented enough to win the championship this season
Full stop. No arguing. This is a bridge season, at best. This is a franchise that has hung three banners in the last seven seasons. It is reasonable for the Warriors to direct their attention to the moment when they might win another. Which will not be this summer.
Members of the organization can’t and won’t say their season ended the moment Klay Thompson tore his Achilles in November, of course. Heck, you never know what might happen if you get Curry and Green on a hot run in the postseason, and we all know that Curry and Green would love this opportunity. They’re going to try to win as many games as they can within reason. Owner Joe Lacob has a payroll and luxury tax commitment running close to $300 million; you think he’s shooting for the 11th seed? Zero chance.
So all the losses are painful for the Warriors, especially this recent run of fourth-quarter screwups. But that’s also what happens when a team just isn’t quite as talented and savvy as it needs to be. It shows up under pressure. It shows up when the starters get overwhelmed at times. Or when the second unit looks like somebody else’s fourth unit.
With Klay Thompson out of the mix and title chances unrealistic, the Warriors’ best option: gear up for next season. (Kelley L Cox / USA Today)
What’s the best possible solution? Very few fans want to hear this, but the best option is for the Warriors to stick it out until next season, when Thompson will be back at some point, Wiseman will have a full season of experience, the Warriors front office will have another offseason to fill in some more roster gaps and it all might add up to another credible season (or two) of championship contention. Maybe none of that will amount to much, but it’s reasonable to think some of it will.
Important point: One way for the Warriors to mess this up is if they get too antsy and try to steal some extra victories this season. They want Curry at full power in 2021-22 and don’t need to run down his batteries now. He’s looked fantastic this season, but that was with all the pent-up energy after missing most of last season. If you suspect that he was feeling a little tired in the last few games he played before he was held out of the first-half finale in Phoenix, well, I will say that I don’t think many Warriors people disagree with you. They also want Draymond with every iota of energy. They want everybody at their best when there’s a title to chase, which isn’t happening this season.
They want a deeper, more balanced roster next season, and the best way to do that is to save up their personnel capital (including Minnesota’s 2021 first-round pick, protected 1-3) instead of trying to flip any of it for immediate gratification.
Yes, if a star like Bradley Beal suddenly hits the trade market, every team has to take notice, including the Warriors. But there is no word that he’ll actually be available before the March 25 deadline. And would sinking a combined $117 million in three guards (Curry, Klay and Beal) next season really be the key to going through LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid? Possibly. But I would lean to the side of “probably not.”
The more logical method is to groom Wiseman and see what the Warriors can get in this loaded upcoming draft.
They can possibly use the $9.2 million disabled player exception this season (from Thompson’s injury), but they can only use it for a player on a one-year deal. Plus, the luxury-tax implications seem to point to the Warriors passing on this. It doesn’t seem like the smart move at this point. No kind of big midseason acquisition really seems like the right fit.
Warriors problem: They struggle on offense. A lot.
I don’t think Blake Griffin is destined to be a Warrior after he was bought out by the Pistons on Friday. But the Warriors were immediately put on a short list of teams that might sign him by smart reporters, which is a hint of something that already is pretty detectable. The Warriors are going to be interested in anybody who might help them on offense now and theoretically could work out for next season, too. And they could take a what-the-hell swing or two along the way.
Again, Griffin at this point in his career probably doesn’t even pass that low standard. But the Warriors also don’t want Curry carrying the entire offense night after night; any supplementary assistance the rest of this season could keep him fresher for next season. And, as Steve Kerr conceded Thursday night, they’ve logically leaned to the defensive side in most of their roster construction last offseason after the 2019-20 debacle. Which led to signing Kelly Oubre Jr., Kent Bazemore and Brad Wanamaker and teeing up Andrew Wiggins’ best defensive play of his career … and to their current sixth-ranked defense. But also, they’re currently the 22nd-rated offense and at times look even worse than that.
So they need a rebalancing. They need to figure out ways to help Curry initiate the offense and to get things going when he’s out of the game.
The Warriors need to emphasize offense as they move forward to help Steph Curry boost a unit that’s currently ranked 22nd in the league. (Steve Dykes / USA Today)
What’s the best possible solution? They have to emphasize offense over defense in the next few tweaks — which Kerr already acknowledged last week, after putting Wiseman back into the starting lineup and getting Poole and Nico Mannion plenty of minutes in Phoenix on Thursday. The result: Wiseman looked as unsteady as always on defense, but the Warriors scored a little easier with him on the floor and Poole erupted for 26 points, immediately after his blazing run in the G League bubble.
Wiseman, Poole and Mannion are all minus defenders and probably will be for a while. But the Warriors can only go so far with Kevon Looney in the starting lineup alongside Green. They’ve hit a wall playing Wanamaker at all. The best defenses barely have to guard any of those guys, which clogs it up for everybody else. The Warriors will always play Green and always should, so the best potential fix is to move Wiseman in for Looney and see what happens. And to get Poole and maybe Mannion into that second unit and move Wanamaker out.
The defense will suffer. But that’s the least of the Warriors’ problems right now.
Warriors problem: Some of their current lineup combinations with Wiseman just don’t work
OK, this is where it gets tricky. If you say that Wiseman should remain in the starting lineup, which I am saying, then you also have to acknowledge that the team’s five-man unit with the second-worst net rating so far this season is … Wiseman in the starting lineup. That is, Wiseman with Curry, Green, Oubre and Wiggins, which has a staggering minus-15.6 net rating in 176 minutes together on the floor.
That is bad. It might get better over the course of the season. It might remain really bad. But I don’t think there’s a logical fix for this, because Wiseman has to play and work through his problems catching the ball, staying disciplined on defense, holding his position on the defensive glass and generally not fouling everybody in sight. He has to make as many strides as possible this season so he’s ready for next season, when Klay is back and the Warriors might have one or two other high-talent youngsters on the roster. (Or the Warriors have to see enough to decide whether they should think about trading him for a large return.) There just can’t be any more 11-minute nights for Wiseman like his quick stint in Portland on Wednesday. I think Kerr is now committed to making sure Wiseman gets a lot of time every night, and Kerr will grin and bear it through the mistakes.
Wiseman’s horrendous statistics with the starting unit, though, need to be explored and possibly explained. And maybe there is something …
Figuring out how best to develop James Wiseman remains a priority for the Warriors. (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
What’s the best possible solution? It’s a small sample size, but if you just switch Bazemore for Wiggins and keep Wiseman with Curry, Draymond and Oubre, you get the Warriors’ best five-man lineup so far this season, with a plus-36.5 net rating, albeit in only 36 minutes together. That’s a pretty dramatic difference: Bazemore in that group brings the best number. Wiggins in that group brings the worst. Hmm.
Is it realistic to think that the main problem is Wiseman and Wiggins together? I can’t put a finger on why this would be, but the numbers are clear. Who makes up the Warriors’ worst two-man unit in plus-minus? It’s Wiggins and Wiseman, at -124 in 376 minutes. It’s absolutely a demolition to the Warriors’ chances in a game singularly in the minutes those two are on the floor together.
The Warriors’ worst three-man unit is Wiseman, Wiggins and Curry, which should never happen. No Curry unit should be the worst possible three-man group, and yet this one is -98 in 309 minutes together.
My proposed solution would be to keep the same starting lineup to begin both halves but make sure that Bazemore comes in pretty quick for Wiggins and then keep Wiseman away from Wiggins as much as possible after those two six-minute stints. That means in game-closing units, either Wiggins or (more likely) Wiseman probably should be sitting on the bench, at least for the last few minutes.
Warriors problem: They actually shouldn’t win TOO much (so they can keep their draft pick)
The Warriors will send their own No. 1 pick in this year’s draft to Oklahoma City (in the Oubre trade) if they finish with one of the top-10 records in the league. After this two-game losing streak, they are currently tied for the 13th-best record.
The thread-the-needle result for the Warriors: Get into the postseason, either in the West’s top six or through the 7-10 play-in scenario, but do it with a record outside the top 10. That way, they’d have their own pick and possibly Nos. 4 or 5 (depending on lottery luck) from Minnesota.
But it would not be a terrible practical situation if the Warriors struggle in the second half, fall way out of the postseason picture and maybe watch that pick move into decent lottery territory. Right now, the Warriors have the 17th-worst record in the league. If they move into range of the 10th-worst, they’d have more than double the chance to land in the top four with their own pick after the lottery than they would have in their current spot. Can you imagine if they come out of this season with two top-five picks? Very unlikely, but if that happened, almost nothing that occurred during the season would mean more.
What’s the best possible solution? The Warriors shouldn’t tank for this pick when they already have a great shot at Minnesota’s pick, but this situation should give them even less concern about playing Wiseman. If things are going well with him playing, they’re a better team for it. If things are not going so wonderful, they can presume that at least Wiseman will be learning. And the Warriors have a more likely path to a couple of tremendous draft picks to help them soar beyond this bumpy bridge season.
(Top photo: Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images)
They’re 19-18. They have a plus-0.5 per-game point differential. They have Stephen Curry playing like a superhero most nights. The Warriors also have a back end of the roster that sometimes looks like it is (sometimes literally) culled directly from the G League. They are good (against bad teams) and also bad (against good teams); they are young (with James Wiseman and Jordan Poole) and also pretty old (with Curry, Draymond Green and the injured Klay Thompson). They are often quite impressive on defense and too reliably quite clunky on offense. They might make a push into one of the better playoff seeds in the Western Conference. You could argue this. They might also lose a ton of games after the break and even drop out of the 9-10 play-in slots. You could definitely argue that, too.
The Warriors are confusing. In a regular 82-game schedule, they would be on pace for a 42-40 season. This, of course, is a shortened 72-game season, so they’re on a 37-35 pace and, yes, that just adds another layer of understandable haziness to everything.
But there is a way to simplify the analysis, to remove some of the alternating angst and euphoria surrounding this season, just by splitting everything up into basic problems and true solutions. What are the main problems the Warriors are facing now, short and long term? And what are the credible solutions they’ve tried or that are available to them? What is really happening here and what’s possible in the future?
This is fair to do with a great team, like the Warriors used to be and aim to become again. And it’s probably the cleanest way to look at a mediocre team like the Warriors are now. It takes away some of the emotion. Cuts through false answers and faulty presumptions. Presents the most plausible reality that we can.
So let’s try it.
Warriors problem: They’re not talented enough to win the championship this season
Full stop. No arguing. This is a bridge season, at best. This is a franchise that has hung three banners in the last seven seasons. It is reasonable for the Warriors to direct their attention to the moment when they might win another. Which will not be this summer.
Members of the organization can’t and won’t say their season ended the moment Klay Thompson tore his Achilles in November, of course. Heck, you never know what might happen if you get Curry and Green on a hot run in the postseason, and we all know that Curry and Green would love this opportunity. They’re going to try to win as many games as they can within reason. Owner Joe Lacob has a payroll and luxury tax commitment running close to $300 million; you think he’s shooting for the 11th seed? Zero chance.
So all the losses are painful for the Warriors, especially this recent run of fourth-quarter screwups. But that’s also what happens when a team just isn’t quite as talented and savvy as it needs to be. It shows up under pressure. It shows up when the starters get overwhelmed at times. Or when the second unit looks like somebody else’s fourth unit.
With Klay Thompson out of the mix and title chances unrealistic, the Warriors’ best option: gear up for next season. (Kelley L Cox / USA Today)
What’s the best possible solution? Very few fans want to hear this, but the best option is for the Warriors to stick it out until next season, when Thompson will be back at some point, Wiseman will have a full season of experience, the Warriors front office will have another offseason to fill in some more roster gaps and it all might add up to another credible season (or two) of championship contention. Maybe none of that will amount to much, but it’s reasonable to think some of it will.
Important point: One way for the Warriors to mess this up is if they get too antsy and try to steal some extra victories this season. They want Curry at full power in 2021-22 and don’t need to run down his batteries now. He’s looked fantastic this season, but that was with all the pent-up energy after missing most of last season. If you suspect that he was feeling a little tired in the last few games he played before he was held out of the first-half finale in Phoenix, well, I will say that I don’t think many Warriors people disagree with you. They also want Draymond with every iota of energy. They want everybody at their best when there’s a title to chase, which isn’t happening this season.
They want a deeper, more balanced roster next season, and the best way to do that is to save up their personnel capital (including Minnesota’s 2021 first-round pick, protected 1-3) instead of trying to flip any of it for immediate gratification.
Yes, if a star like Bradley Beal suddenly hits the trade market, every team has to take notice, including the Warriors. But there is no word that he’ll actually be available before the March 25 deadline. And would sinking a combined $117 million in three guards (Curry, Klay and Beal) next season really be the key to going through LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid? Possibly. But I would lean to the side of “probably not.”
The more logical method is to groom Wiseman and see what the Warriors can get in this loaded upcoming draft.
They can possibly use the $9.2 million disabled player exception this season (from Thompson’s injury), but they can only use it for a player on a one-year deal. Plus, the luxury-tax implications seem to point to the Warriors passing on this. It doesn’t seem like the smart move at this point. No kind of big midseason acquisition really seems like the right fit.
Warriors problem: They struggle on offense. A lot.
I don’t think Blake Griffin is destined to be a Warrior after he was bought out by the Pistons on Friday. But the Warriors were immediately put on a short list of teams that might sign him by smart reporters, which is a hint of something that already is pretty detectable. The Warriors are going to be interested in anybody who might help them on offense now and theoretically could work out for next season, too. And they could take a what-the-hell swing or two along the way.
Again, Griffin at this point in his career probably doesn’t even pass that low standard. But the Warriors also don’t want Curry carrying the entire offense night after night; any supplementary assistance the rest of this season could keep him fresher for next season. And, as Steve Kerr conceded Thursday night, they’ve logically leaned to the defensive side in most of their roster construction last offseason after the 2019-20 debacle. Which led to signing Kelly Oubre Jr., Kent Bazemore and Brad Wanamaker and teeing up Andrew Wiggins’ best defensive play of his career … and to their current sixth-ranked defense. But also, they’re currently the 22nd-rated offense and at times look even worse than that.
So they need a rebalancing. They need to figure out ways to help Curry initiate the offense and to get things going when he’s out of the game.
The Warriors need to emphasize offense as they move forward to help Steph Curry boost a unit that’s currently ranked 22nd in the league. (Steve Dykes / USA Today)
What’s the best possible solution? They have to emphasize offense over defense in the next few tweaks — which Kerr already acknowledged last week, after putting Wiseman back into the starting lineup and getting Poole and Nico Mannion plenty of minutes in Phoenix on Thursday. The result: Wiseman looked as unsteady as always on defense, but the Warriors scored a little easier with him on the floor and Poole erupted for 26 points, immediately after his blazing run in the G League bubble.
Wiseman, Poole and Mannion are all minus defenders and probably will be for a while. But the Warriors can only go so far with Kevon Looney in the starting lineup alongside Green. They’ve hit a wall playing Wanamaker at all. The best defenses barely have to guard any of those guys, which clogs it up for everybody else. The Warriors will always play Green and always should, so the best potential fix is to move Wiseman in for Looney and see what happens. And to get Poole and maybe Mannion into that second unit and move Wanamaker out.
The defense will suffer. But that’s the least of the Warriors’ problems right now.
Warriors problem: Some of their current lineup combinations with Wiseman just don’t work
OK, this is where it gets tricky. If you say that Wiseman should remain in the starting lineup, which I am saying, then you also have to acknowledge that the team’s five-man unit with the second-worst net rating so far this season is … Wiseman in the starting lineup. That is, Wiseman with Curry, Green, Oubre and Wiggins, which has a staggering minus-15.6 net rating in 176 minutes together on the floor.
That is bad. It might get better over the course of the season. It might remain really bad. But I don’t think there’s a logical fix for this, because Wiseman has to play and work through his problems catching the ball, staying disciplined on defense, holding his position on the defensive glass and generally not fouling everybody in sight. He has to make as many strides as possible this season so he’s ready for next season, when Klay is back and the Warriors might have one or two other high-talent youngsters on the roster. (Or the Warriors have to see enough to decide whether they should think about trading him for a large return.) There just can’t be any more 11-minute nights for Wiseman like his quick stint in Portland on Wednesday. I think Kerr is now committed to making sure Wiseman gets a lot of time every night, and Kerr will grin and bear it through the mistakes.
Wiseman’s horrendous statistics with the starting unit, though, need to be explored and possibly explained. And maybe there is something …
Figuring out how best to develop James Wiseman remains a priority for the Warriors. (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
What’s the best possible solution? It’s a small sample size, but if you just switch Bazemore for Wiggins and keep Wiseman with Curry, Draymond and Oubre, you get the Warriors’ best five-man lineup so far this season, with a plus-36.5 net rating, albeit in only 36 minutes together. That’s a pretty dramatic difference: Bazemore in that group brings the best number. Wiggins in that group brings the worst. Hmm.
Is it realistic to think that the main problem is Wiseman and Wiggins together? I can’t put a finger on why this would be, but the numbers are clear. Who makes up the Warriors’ worst two-man unit in plus-minus? It’s Wiggins and Wiseman, at -124 in 376 minutes. It’s absolutely a demolition to the Warriors’ chances in a game singularly in the minutes those two are on the floor together.
The Warriors’ worst three-man unit is Wiseman, Wiggins and Curry, which should never happen. No Curry unit should be the worst possible three-man group, and yet this one is -98 in 309 minutes together.
My proposed solution would be to keep the same starting lineup to begin both halves but make sure that Bazemore comes in pretty quick for Wiggins and then keep Wiseman away from Wiggins as much as possible after those two six-minute stints. That means in game-closing units, either Wiggins or (more likely) Wiseman probably should be sitting on the bench, at least for the last few minutes.
Warriors problem: They actually shouldn’t win TOO much (so they can keep their draft pick)
The Warriors will send their own No. 1 pick in this year’s draft to Oklahoma City (in the Oubre trade) if they finish with one of the top-10 records in the league. After this two-game losing streak, they are currently tied for the 13th-best record.
The thread-the-needle result for the Warriors: Get into the postseason, either in the West’s top six or through the 7-10 play-in scenario, but do it with a record outside the top 10. That way, they’d have their own pick and possibly Nos. 4 or 5 (depending on lottery luck) from Minnesota.
But it would not be a terrible practical situation if the Warriors struggle in the second half, fall way out of the postseason picture and maybe watch that pick move into decent lottery territory. Right now, the Warriors have the 17th-worst record in the league. If they move into range of the 10th-worst, they’d have more than double the chance to land in the top four with their own pick after the lottery than they would have in their current spot. Can you imagine if they come out of this season with two top-five picks? Very unlikely, but if that happened, almost nothing that occurred during the season would mean more.
What’s the best possible solution? The Warriors shouldn’t tank for this pick when they already have a great shot at Minnesota’s pick, but this situation should give them even less concern about playing Wiseman. If things are going well with him playing, they’re a better team for it. If things are not going so wonderful, they can presume that at least Wiseman will be learning. And the Warriors have a more likely path to a couple of tremendous draft picks to help them soar beyond this bumpy bridge season.
(Top photo: Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images)
BlueHeffner
Veteran
Giannis is trying his hardest to steal it awayBrehs, if Steph wins MVP
Giannis hit 2 shots but the rest are just dunks. Steph is catching lobs, hitting deep 3’s like it’s nothingGiannis is trying his hardest to steal it away
the days of Giannis getting MVP’s for unskilled shyt is over
Gannis fukked up taking the money he could be playing wit StephGiannis hit 2 shots but the rest are just dunks. Steph is catching lobs, hitting deep 3’s like it’s nothing
the days of Giannis getting MVP’s for unskilled shyt is over
But Steph and Dame is deadly fukkin back court tho
Shooting is GodlikeGannis fukked up taking the money he could be playing wit Steph
But Steph and Dame is deadly fukkin back court tho
BlaqkSpliffin
Ni**as Still Weird - Me
he's rightgood read
It’s natural to be confused by this irregular Warriors season, which, at the All-Star break, has brought them to the Western Conference’s ninth slot and delivered rabid internal and external reactions that are making this experience seem simultaneously so much worse and yet also just a bit better than anybody really expected.
They’re 19-18. They have a plus-0.5 per-game point differential. They have Stephen Curry playing like a superhero most nights. The Warriors also have a back end of the roster that sometimes looks like it is (sometimes literally) culled directly from the G League. They are good (against bad teams) and also bad (against good teams); they are young (with James Wiseman and Jordan Poole) and also pretty old (with Curry, Draymond Green and the injured Klay Thompson). They are often quite impressive on defense and too reliably quite clunky on offense. They might make a push into one of the better playoff seeds in the Western Conference. You could argue this. They might also lose a ton of games after the break and even drop out of the 9-10 play-in slots. You could definitely argue that, too.
The Warriors are confusing. In a regular 82-game schedule, they would be on pace for a 42-40 season. This, of course, is a shortened 72-game season, so they’re on a 37-35 pace and, yes, that just adds another layer of understandable haziness to everything.
But there is a way to simplify the analysis, to remove some of the alternating angst and euphoria surrounding this season, just by splitting everything up into basic problems and true solutions. What are the main problems the Warriors are facing now, short and long term? And what are the credible solutions they’ve tried or that are available to them? What is really happening here and what’s possible in the future?
This is fair to do with a great team, like the Warriors used to be and aim to become again. And it’s probably the cleanest way to look at a mediocre team like the Warriors are now. It takes away some of the emotion. Cuts through false answers and faulty presumptions. Presents the most plausible reality that we can.
So let’s try it.
What’s the best possible solution? The Warriors shouldn’t tank for this pick when they already have a great shot at Minnesota’s pick, but this situation should give them even less concern about playing Wiseman. If things are going well with him playing, they’re a better team for it. If things are not going so wonderful, they can presume that at least Wiseman will be learning. And the Warriors have a more likely path to a couple of tremendous draft picks to help them soar beyond this bumpy bridge season.
(Top photo: Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images)
People think portionless basketball means position fit doesn't matter when in fact it means being able to legit play multiple positions and have flexibility. 3 guard lineups don't work which is why I never really got the Bradley Beal thing besides he's a talent.
Also, this offense doesn't really work optimally without Steph AND Klay. Kerr has been quoted as saying it's about "confusion and chaos" and without Klay it's less effective. There are people who think Klay wouldn't make this a title team this season and I think that's hilarious cause he's quite possibly the 2nd greatest shooter in the NBA today and maybe all time. This current roster is more than good enough to be the 4th or 5th seed but with Klay they're probably the 2nd seed easy.
Without him....the offense stalls at pivotal moments and the defense is inconsistent.
It's also interesting that he brought up the awkward fit of Wiseman with Wiggins (it's also their with Oubre) but how Wiseman does fine in some other lineups net wise.
It's all about how you use him the talent around him on the floor. They don't have him spacing the floor anymore so the pain is cluttered when he's out there with Wiggins and Oubre who both are cutters. The fit kinda reminds me of the issues the Pacers had with Sabonis and Myles Turner last season. Their solution: play Turner more on the wings where he can use his shooting skills. That might be the solution offensively for the Warriors with Wiseman until Klay comes back. He shooting 37 percent right now on decent volume from 3. Id rather that than asking him to post up all the time which has never been his strong suit. He may never be a dominant rebounder but he can be a solid one if given the playing time. When he plays over 25mpg he's avg around 8rpg which is good. Probably more Bosh and Myles Turner in that area than Drummond or Gobert.
It's a rough balance tho cause normally he'd be on a bad team developing. He'd have great nights and he'd have bad nights but he'd play through them cause the games don't really matter that much. With the Warriors the games still matter so he gets pulled, can't get into rhythm, and is trying to prove himself every minute he's on the court which can have negative results.
Like he said....if we're realistic this is a gap year. Think of it like the Bulls in 1995. They were 23-25 going into the all star break. Would have missed the playoffs possibly if Jordan ain't come back. They still finished only 8 games above .500 and the 5th seed. Lost to the Magic in 6.
After a full offseason together with everyone healthy....the rest is history.
Gannis fukked up taking the money he could be playing wit Steph
But Steph and Dame is deadly fukkin back court tho
nah the biggest fukk up is milwaukee not getting cp3 when it barely took anything. they gave up way more for jrue
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