Warriors Regain Edge Needed to Make History and Sunday NBA Takeaways
Sharper than they've been in weeks, the Golden State Warriors appear ready to complete a historically successful regular season.
After slipping Friday against the Boston Celtics, the Dubs refocused to steamroll the Portland Trail Blazers by a final of 136-111 Sunday. And now, Golden State must win four of its final five games to reach a record 73 wins.
What matters more than the math is the way the Warriors played against Portland. They found their urgency, located their focus. Before the game, head coach Steve Kerr explained his team's plight to reporters: "Sometimes when you get a little bit tired but you’re still able to win, which we’ve been doing, you kind of lose your fundamentals, your edge. And I think we had lost our edge a little bit."
Kerr was right, of course. And the lack of peak intensity has been an issue for Golden State over the past few months. The Warriors are great, and they know it. Bailed out so often by Stephen Curry's one-man scoring assaults, they've come to rely on talent (the MVP's, in particular) to their detriment. This is an understandable phenomenon; it's hard to fault a team winning more frequently than any in history for getting into the habit of taking wins for granted.
But that Boston loss jolted the Dubs out of their complacency. They turned in a full-effort performance, dialed back the turnovers (just 12 after 22 against the Celtics) and totally overwhelmed a Portland team that looked game in the early going.
It was the eighth instance this season proving you can catch the Warriors slipping once, but never ever twice, per Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated:
There's no shame in this result for the Blazers.
Golden State converted a season-high 60 percent of its three-point shots, knocking down 18-of-30 from deep. In the process, it became the first team to ever hit at least 1,000 triples in a season, per GSW Stats:
The Warriors ended with 1,013 made treys, a figure they'll inflate by at least another 50 long bombs before the season's over.
Curry hit nine threes on his own (the sixth time he's connected on at least that many this year), putting up 39 points, seven assists and six rebounds on 13-of-21 shooting. Much to Kerr's delight, Curry also stayed on the right side of the fine line separating creativity and blatant carelessness, hitting Harrison Barnes for high-risk feeds like this one:
The Warriors logged 30 assists in all.
Draymond Green registered his 13th triple-double of the season, concluding the proceedings with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, three blocks and a half-dozen "only he could have made that play" defensive sequences. Green is always more than his numbers, and his second and third efforts on the glass, though not always successful, helped establish a feverish intensity that infected his teammates.
Festus Ezeli returned from a two-month absence and was greeted by a perfect short lob from a rolling Green for his first bucket. Ezeli's presence on the offensive glass and value as an alley-oop threat make the Warriors a far more athletically imposing team. If his knee is fully recovered, there's a case to be made he'll matter more than Andrew Bogut from here on in.
Also vital for the stretch run: the Warriors bench, which uncharacteristically expanded the lead in the second quarter.
This was an all-hands-on-deck awakening. Top to bottom, the Warriors were dialed in.
The Dubs channeled their best selves against a good opponent that played well enough to beat any other team in the league. As much as anything, this game served as a reminder that the Warriors possess an exclusive level of dominance.
Teams like the San Antonio Spurs can have their superior average margins of victory. When Golden State fully engages, there's no team in the league today or in any previous year that measures up.
The Warriors found their edge, and it's as sharp as ever.
The Pelicans Look Different
New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry has been begging for ball movement all season, and he's finally got some now.
He probably didn't expect former D-League MVP Tim Frazier to be the one providing it.
The March call-up registered career highs of 19 points and 13 assists in the Pelicans' 106-87 win over the officially-mailing-it-in Brooklyn Nets Sunday. With Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young shut down for the season, per Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com, expect plenty more opponents to run roughshod over Brooklyn before the year's over.
The Pelicans certainly did that Sunday, pushing the pace and scoring 29 points on the break. Their 31 assists had Gentry most pleased, per Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com:
With virtually every NBA-caliber rotation player injured, the Pelicans taking the floor these days won't resemble the ones playing next year. All the same, the Pels would love to carry over some of the unselfishness and fluid play they've discovered lately. Taking a look at Frazier as a long-term backup to Jrue Holiday might be a good start.
Sometimes, You Can See These Things Coming
For the 13th time this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost a game they led at the end of the third quarter. That stat, in addition to Houston Rockets' familiarity with late-stage comebacks and decidedly more desperate circumstances, made Sunday's 118-110 Houston victory all too predictable.
Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, the Rockets aren't new to this:
James Harden scored 41 points and keyed Houston's surge in the final period. The win, Houston's 38th on the season, helped it keep pace with the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz, who also took care of business. More on that playoff scenario later.
For Oklahoma City, this loss means nothing to its postseason positioning. That No. 3 seed isn't going anywhere.
Also staying put: OKC's legitimate crunch-time issues.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 14 turnovers in this game, and their gaffes in the fourth quarter played a big role in the outcome. All year, Oklahoma City has struggled to generate non-isolation offense late in games. And with defensive focus that comes and goes, it's not hard to understand why the Thunder surrender so many advantages.
If given the choice, you'd still rather be in the Thunder's position. Blowing lots of fourth-quarter leads means you have lots of fourth-quarter leads. And for Houston, the comebacks are great, but needing to come back so often doesn't bode well.
The way Sunday's game played out revealed (or at least re-emphasized) real trends for both teams. But let's keep perspective on which of the two has the bigger problem. Hint: It's the team still trying to make the playoffs.
The Clippers Got A Lot Accomplished
Nice little Sunday for the Los Angeles Clippers, huh?
L.A. got Blake Griffin back from injury/suspension, saw proof that lingering quad tear won't sap his athleticism and locked up the No. 4 seed in the West—all part of a 114-109 win over the Washington Wizards.
There wasn't much drama in L.A. securing home-court advantage in the first round. With the No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies reeling and the No. 3 Thunder out of range, the Clips were assured that fourth spot weeks ago. There was, however, some reasonable uncertainty surrounding Griffin's return.
A three-month absence is no small thing when it comes to a player's conditioning and rhythm. Add in the Clippers' strong play without Griffin, and it made sense to worry about his reintegration. It probably still does, considering we've only got 25 minutes of Sunday's game to judge the rehabilitated power forward's fit and fitness.
Griffin looked good, if occasionally rusty. His six points, five rebounds and four assists came with a team-high plus-22. For one game, at least, nobody can say L.A. was better without Blake.
The Clippers have six games to work with before the playoffs start. Griffin's health and reintroduction into the fold are all that matter now.
So far, so good.
The Kyrie-Cavs Conundrum Won't Go Away
It'd be nice to focus on the Charlotte Hornets gamely engineering a comeback, playing exceptionally hard and fighting to the end despite losing Nicolas Batum to a left knee strain. It'd be nice to praise Kemba Walker's 15-point third quarter and Marvin Williams' invaluable leadership.
It'd be nice to do anything but conflate the Cleveland Cavaliers' notably harmonious effort and Kyrie Irving's absence (an ankle injury kept him out Sunday). But the Cavs-Irving angle feels like the one with the biggest implications from Cleveland's 112-103 win over Charlotte Sunday, so that's where the focus has to be.
Why? Because Cleveland defends markedly better without Irving on the floor, per NBA.com. And its overall net rating is higher when Irving sits than when he plays. Aesthetically, the Cavaliers played beautiful basketball Sunday, pinging the rock around the perimeter, getting rollers into the lane for kickouts and establishing the kind of flow Irving's ball-handling often interrupts.
This idea that Cleveland is better without Irving is imperfect and tired and may not ultimately matter in the pursuit of another Finals appearance. But when teammates grumble about his ball-hoggery, and Cleveland kills teams with James handling the ball and Matthew Dellavedova's on-court net rating is a whopping plus-10.2, are we supposed to pretend none of that matters?
Upshot: It really doesn't seem like the Cavaliers like playing with Irving. And we just keep getting more statistical evidence to justify that anecdotal position.
Memphis Might Not Make It
Following a 119-107 loss to the Orlando Magic, the Memphis Grizzlies find themselves in real danger of missing the playoffs.
With five games left against a tough slate (Chicago, Dallas, Golden State, the Clippers and Golden State again), Memphis' ongoing tumble may extend right into an unexpected lottery berth. Both Chicago and Dallas are fighting for their playoff lives, while the Warriors will be chasing history in at least one of those meetings. More than that, the Grizzlies have lost six straight and shouldn't be favorites in any game they play going forward.
The Rockets are ninth in the West, just three games back of Memphis. It'll be stunning if Houston doesn't go at least 4-1 against its remaining opponents: the Mavs, Suns, Lakers, Wolves and Kings. Utah and Dallas might also have to slip for the Grizzlies to finish ninth, but just look at what's ahead for all four teams vying for spots, and appreciate the urgency here:
| 5. Grizzlies | 41-36 | CHI, @DAL, GSW, @LAC, @GSW |
| 6. Blazers | 41-37 | @SAC, OKC, MIN, DEN |
| 7. Mavericks | 39-38 | HOU, MEM, @LAC, @UTA, SAS |
| 8. Jazz | 39-38 | SAS, LAC, @DEN, DAL, @LAL |
| 9. Rockets | 38-39 | @DAL, PHX, LAL, @MIN, SAC |
If the Grizzlies hang on, they'll be one of the weaker No. 8 seeds we've seen in a while. So moderate success over the next five games would only postpone the inevitable.
Your Obligatory East Rundown...And More!
The Bulls avoided a massive collapse, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 102-98 after nearly giving back all of a 19-point lead. As a result, Chicago remains (barely) alive in the East playoff race.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers narrowly escaped against a New York Knicks team missing Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.
| 7. Pacers | 41-36 | CLE, @TOR, BKN, NYK, @MIL |
| 8. Pistons | 41-36 | @MIA, @ORL, WAS, MIA, @CLE |
| 9. Bulls | 39-38 | @MEM, @MIA, CLE, @NOP, PHI |
| 10. Wizards | 37-40 | BKN, @DET, CHA, @BKN, ATL |
Short Summary: The Bulls and to an even greater extent, the Wizards, had better play perfectly to close the year.
The Detroit Pistons have won seven of their last 10 games, but the other three teams have all gone 5-5 in that span. Either way, one of the lower seeds is going to reach the playoffs on shaky ground.
Having dispensed with the playoff watch, let's appreciate Giannis Antetokounmpo's career-high 34 points, achieved mainly by being really, really good at getting to the rim:
Antetokounmpo's big night wasn't enough to beat the Bulls, but it was pretty great for anyone looking forward to a 6'11" point guard terrorizing the league throughout the 2016-17 season.
Kobe: Not Going Gently
Kobe Bryant made his last shot at the Celtics count. Actually, he made his last 28 shots count.
In reaching his highest scoring total, 34, since Feb. 2, Bryant turned in a historically significant performance against his franchise’s greatest rival, per ESPN Stats & Info:
In keeping with the high-volume, low-efficiency norm of his farewell season, Kobe didn’t exactly reach his total judiciously.
Boston won, of course, 107-100. But Bryant was the biggest story. And ultimately, that’s kind of the Los Angeles Lakers season in a nutshell.
Remember, though: The best part of ridiculous shot selection is that, sometimes, they go in.
Six games left for Kobe and the Lakers.
Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em.
Follow @gt_hughes on Twitter.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com. Accurate through games played April 3.
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