Game Thread PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1, GAME 3: WARRIORS @ BLAZERS - 4/22/17, SATURDAY, 7:30 PM (PDT), KGW & ESPN

[Darkwebs]

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WHEN: 7:30 PM, SATURDAY, 4/22/2017

WHERE: Moda Center, Portland, OR

TV BROADCAST:

AND

RADIO BROADCAST:

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--------------BENCH--------------
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

CLARK , LIVINGSTON , McCAW

IGUODALA , LOONEY , McADOO

WEST , JONES , McGEE

---- PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS ----

NAPIER , QUARTERMAN , CONNAUGHTON

TURNER , CRABBE , LAYMAN

AMINU , LEONARD



INJURIES
WARRIORS
Kevin Durant (left calf strain): QUESTIONABLE
Shaun Livingston (right index finger sprain & hand contusion): QUESTIONABLE
Kevon Looney (left hip strain): QUESTIONABLE
Matt Barnes (right ankle/foot sprain): QUESTIONABLE
TRAIL BLAZERS
CJ McCollum (right ankle): PROBABLE
Allen Crabbe (left foot): PROBABLE
Jusuf Nurkic (right leg, non-displaced fibular fracture): QUESTIONABLE
Ed Davis (left shoulder): OUT
Festus Ezeli (left knee): OUT



HEAD COACHES

- VS –

STEVE KERR --- TERRY STOTTS



WARRIORS' OFFICIAL GAME NOTES
BLAZERS' OFFICIAL GAME NOTES ​

PLAYOFF SERIES NOTES
• This will be the second meeting between the Trail Blazers and Warriors in the NBA Playoffs. Golden State defeated the Trail Blazers last year, 3-1, in the Western Conference Semifinals.

• Since Portland became a franchise in 1970, Portland has made the playoffs 33 times, while Golden State has qualified 17 times. The Two teams have both reached the playoffs in all 17 of those seasons.

• Despite losing the series, 4-1, the Trail Blazers led for 137 of the 232 minutes played in the Western Conference Semifinals.

• Damian Lillard averaged 31.8 points (43.1% 3-PT) and 7.6 assists against the Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference Semifinals. Lillard recorded two games of 30+ points and 10+ assists, and his 40 points in the Blazers’ lone victory represent his playoff career high.

• In two games (one start) against the Trail Blazers in the 2016 Western Conference Semifinals, Stephen Curry averaged 34.5 points, 9.5 assists and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 50.0% from the field (37.0% 3-PT).

• Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 31.0 points per game (28-56 3-PT, 50.0%) against Portland in the Western Conference Semifinals last year.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS IN THE SERIES
GAME #1: Loss 109-121

GAME #2: Loss 81-110

​

 

[Darkwebs]

 

[KingSpeed]

Is CJ really hurt? Was that part of the problem tonight?

 

[Strenuus]

Raptors-bucks because the bucks is the only other time I like in the NBA

 

[Blazer4ever]

This is in our building.
I don't care what kind of respect you think the Warriors deserve, this is time to make a statement.
They have holes and weaknesses just like us, Steph is great but so are Dame and CJ.
CJ in particular needs to get over thinking the sun shines from his ass and play within the team.
We need this one, not for the series or the championship or whatever, for us, for us to believe in ourselves

 

[stampedehero]

Quick!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bring on the duct tape

 

[Denny Crane]

Box score shows Layman was 1-1 from the field. I saw him miss 3 or 4 shots. One that comes to mind is a left handed flip shot from about 5 feet that missed everything.

 

[BrunoSOC]

Game 2 makes me very sad. I Just dont wanna be sweept

 

[SIeepwalker]

So we're gonna win Game 3 then Curry and Durant will get injured in G4 right ?

 

[illmatic99]

Sigh. Why bother?

 

[BrianFromWA]

I voted Celts/Bulls because there's only one other time a #1 seed lost the first 2 at home in the first round.

That said, watching HOU survive HeroBall by RW is fun to watch.

And if you remember the "LMA should go!" days of 2011-12 or so, one of the go-to's that I had in discussing counting stats vs. advanced metrics, I would ask people "So, if LMA averaged 40ppg on 40 shots, would you think that was good, bad, HoF-worthy or what?"

RW made the talk shows and announcers breathless with a 51pt triple double in the playoffs. He scored those 51 on 43 FGA (?!?) and 18FTAs. That's the equivalent of if Dame took 23 shots to make his 27ppg. He averaged under 19 FGA/g.

 

[THE HCP]

They have holes and weaknesses just like us,

What the hell!!!??

 

[THE HCP]

Game 2 makes me very sad. I Just dont wanna be sweept

Weren't you one of the guys on here really wanting to make the playoffs though? Honest question, you didn't see this coming? You can't honestly be like JinxSpeed and believed we would finish ahead of these guys in the standings?

 

[Denny Crane]

What the hell!!!??

They have no 3rd string center.

 

[THE HCP]

I voted Celts/Bulls because there's only one other time a #1 seed lost the first 2 at home in the first round.

That said, watching HOU survive HeroBall by RW is fun to watch.

And if you remember the "LMA should go!" days of 2011-12 or so, one of the go-to's that I had in discussing counting stats vs. advanced metrics, I would ask people "So, if LMA averaged 40ppg on 40 shots, would you think that was good, bad, HoF-worthy or what?"

RW made the talk shows and announcers breathless with a 51pt triple double in the playoffs. He scored those 51 on 43 FGA (?!?) and 18FTAs. That's the equivalent of if Dame took 23 shots to make his 27ppg. He averaged under 19 FGA/g.

I'll always remember MJ said once that as long as you finished with more points than shots, it was a good night.

 

[THE HCP]

They have no 3rd string center.

Ahhh, thanks for clearing that up Denny. Now I understand. Props to your Bulls by the way. Really stepped their collective game up when they needed to.

 

[Denny Crane]

Ahhh, thanks for clearing that up Denny. Now I understand. Props to your Bulls by the way. Really stepped their collective game up when they needed to.

They're not my Bulls. I used to buy NBALP and watch almost all their games. I think I saw 2 or 3 this year, when they were on the screen at a bar I was at.

 

[BrianFromWA]

I'll always remember MJ said once that as long as you finished with more points than shots, it was a good night.

If I ever heard him say that, I've forgotten it. That's interesting. Even back in his day, the league average was 1.20 ppFGA. Maybe that's why he's a poor GM.

 

[Chris Craig]

Is CJ really hurt? Was that part of the problem tonight?

Just an excuse, same with Crabbe. They along with Dame should be probable with a basketball amnesia injury

 

[Chris Craig]

So we're gonna win Game 3 then Curry and Durant will get injured in G4 right ?

Yeah Curry is going to break his hand

 

[Chris Craig]

Box score shows Layman was 1-1 from the field. I saw him miss 3 or 4 shots. One that comes to mind is a left handed flip shot from about 5 feet that missed everything.

Yeah, I also witnessed him missing several shots. Strange

 

[Minstrel]

If I ever heard him say that, I've forgotten it. That's interesting. Even back in his day, the league average was 1.20 ppFGA. Maybe that's why he's a poor GM.

I think the logic of 1 PPS being good is that a 50% field goal percentage is considered great and, at a basic level, 50% means 2 points per 2 shots, or 1 PPS.

Of course, if you're shooting 50% from the field with no three-point shots or free throws, you're not actually being that efficient. 50% is nice if you're also generating free throws and firing up some threes.

 

[Blazer4ever]

They have no 3rd string center.

They have no real Centers at least not on the same level they had last year when Bogut and Ezeli were healthy.
If Durant plays they're forced to play Steph, Klay, Durant and Draymond (their best players) and that's not counting Iguodala. That's small ball which suits us and is a lineup with too many shooters that want the ball in their hands. They prefer playing without Durant, they're more happy without him, so hopefully he plays.
Their biggest strength is in the backcourt, so is ours. They play most of their offense on outside shooting and guards going to the basket, us too. They have Draymond which we don't really have (maybe Aminu) but if Nurkic plays we have the strongest inside player on the court.
They may be better than us on paper but they're not 30-point-win better than us. We lost game 1 on making mental errors in the 4th. I didn't watch game 2.
What we lack against them is self-confidence and believing in ourselves and if we win we win with team-basketball and the role players making real contribution. Maybe no-one can check CJ but it would be nice if he gets his teammates involved.
We can lose this 4-0 and go home or we can fight for every possesion, play with real passion and then, even if we lose, even if we get swept, we'd at least get to keep our heads up

 

[PDXFonz]

Ewing theory is real with Durant.

 

[Minstrel]

They have no real Centers at least not on the same level they had last year when Bogut and Ezeli were healthy.

I don't agree, I think their "lack of centers" is being overblown. Pachulia has always been a solid player, even if he's not a star. He gives them a lot of what Bogut gave them on offense--smart screens and passes--plus a little bit of shooting range, which Bogut didn't have. Obviously, he's not the rim protector that Bogut was, but he's a decent positional defender. That matters when we're discussing whether Nurkic would swing this series--Pachulia may not be erasing shots, but he can battle with Nurkic. Nurkic is better, but it's not like the Warriors have no one to defend him.

I think McGee is better than Ezeli. Or, let me rephrase that--he's about as good as Ezeli, with a similar skillset, but he's healthy and thus actually available more. Both McGee and Ezeli are athletic rim protectors who can rebound and finish lobs on the offensive end. McGee can also defend Nurkic (again, Nurkic is better but that's very different from the idea that Golden State has "no real centers" and Nurkic would basically be uncontested).

The Warriors finished #1 (by a wide margin) in blocked shots. So on top of having guys who can credibly defend true centers, they do all right on erasing shots (most of this is thanks to Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, though McGee blocks quite a few shots given his limited minutes).

 

[THE HCP]

If I ever heard him say that, I've forgotten it. That's interesting. Even back in his day, the league average was 1.20 ppFGA. Maybe that's why he's a poor GM.

Ya, it was in the locker room post game on a 50+ point night and somebody asked him why he shot 35 times and that was his answer. Always remembered that. If his Airness believes this, I ain't arguing.

 

[Blazer4ever]

I don't agree, I think their "lack of centers" is being overblown. Pachulia has always been a solid player, even if he's not a star. He gives them a lot of what Bogut gave them on offense--smart screens and passes--plus a little bit of shooting range, which Bogut didn't have. Obviously, he's not the rim protector that Bogut was, but he's a decent positional defender. That matters when we're discussing whether Nurkic would swing this series--Pachulia may not be erasing shots, but he can battle with Nurkic. Nurkic is better, but it's not like the Warriors have no one to defend him.

I think McGee is better than Ezeli. Or, let me rephrase that--he's about as good as Ezeli, with a similar skillset, but he's healthy and thus actually available more. Both McGee and Ezeli are athletic rim protectors who can rebound and finish lobs on the offensive end. McGee can also defend Nurkic (again, Nurkic is better but that's very different from the idea that Golden State has "no real centers" and Nurkic would basically be uncontested).

The Warriors finished #1 (by a wide margin) in blocked shots. So on top of having guys who can credibly defend true centers, they do all right on erasing shots (most of this is thanks to Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, though McGee blocks quite a few shots given his limited minutes).

McGee is more Leonard than Ezeli and Pachulia having Bogut's offensive game minus the defense means he lacks Bogut's biggest strength.
Anyway, they're not a perfect team. If we give them too much respect than yes, they'd win. But if we play hard start-to-finish, don't get in too much mental breakdowns (keep playing hard even when they score, even when they make a run) then yes, we can win

 

[Minstrel]

Ya, it was in the locker room post game on a 50+ point night and somebody asked him why he shot 35 times and that was his answer. Always remembered that. If his Airness believes this, I ain't arguing.

50+ points on 35 shots is very efficient. If he took 49 shots to get to 50 points, I'd argue with Jordan.

 

[Minstrel]

McGee is more Leonard than Ezeli

Not according to the stats.

McGee's per-36 stats: 11.9 rebounds, 3.3 blocked shots, 23 points (.642 TS%)
Leonard's per-36 stats: 7.0 rebounds, 0.8 blocked shots, 11.8 points (.507 TS%)

McGee's Offensive Rating: 120
Leonard's Offensive Rating: 105

McGee's Defensive Rating: 100
Leonard's Defensive Rating: 112

McGee's PER: 25.2
Leonard's PER: 8.9

McGee is about 100 times better than Leonard. In both games 1 and 2 of this series, McGee came in and had a big positive impact for the Warriors. Leonard can't dream of having a similar positive impact for the Blazers.

and Pachulia having Bogut's offensive game minus the defense means he lacks Bogut's biggest strength.

He's not "minus the defense." He has positional defense (i.e. guarding his man), which is pretty important if we're talking about how the Warriors would deal with Nurkic. The Warriors have tons of shot blocking around Pachulia, as I also pointed out.

The Warriors aren't the "perfect team," but they're also not supremely weak at center, as some here are suggesting. They have an average-ish starting center and a good backup center. They also have Green, who's a fantastic small ball center.

 

[Blazer4ever]

Not according to the stats.

McGee's per-36 stats: 11.9 rebounds, 3.3 blocked shots, 23 points (.642 TS%)
Leonard's per-36 stats: 7.0 rebounds, 0.8 blocked shots, 11.8 points (.507 TS%)

McGee's Offensive Rating: 120
Leonard's Offensive Rating: 105

McGee's Defensive Rating: 100
Leonard's Defensive Rating: 112

McGee's PER: 25.2
Leonard's PER: 8.9

McGee is about 100 times better than Leonard. In both games 1 and 2 of this series, McGee came in and had a big positive impact for the Warriors. Leonard can't dream of having a similar positive impact for the Blazers.



He's not "minus the defense." He has positional defense (i.e. guarding his man), which is pretty important if we're talking about how the Warriors would deal with Nurkic. The Warriors have tons of shot blocking around Pachulia, as I also pointed out.

The Warriors aren't the "perfect team," but they're also not supremely weak at center, as some here are suggesting. They have an average-ish starting center and a good backup center. They also have Green, who's a fantastic small ball center.

Ok, maybe you're right. But that wasn't the point. The point was they're beatable if we believe in ourselves. If we explain to ourselves why even Javale McGee is a great Center then might as well call it a series.
If we show up to play, not according to the per36 stats or the PER but make it on who has the biggest heart, who wants it more, then we have a chance. In per36 stats McGee already won