Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Tuesday, November 21st.
"It's so fun bringing the ball up the court knowing you got Klay and Steph."
— NBA (@NBA) November 21, 2023
- Chris Paul on what it's like playing with the Warriors ️ pic.twitter.com/dKyot8NRZo
Steph called CP's performance a "masterclass" for his ability to connect both sides of the ball pic.twitter.com/LEh84K7Y8P
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 21, 2023
Five Warriors players scored in double figures, led by Stephen Curry’s game-high 32 points. Behind Thompson 20 were Dario Saric with 18, Paul with 15 and Andrew Wiggins with 12.
Undoubtedly weary of the doom narratives and eating Ls, the vets took the floor with a purpose – no one more than Klay, whose wretched start has made him the target of most of the groaning.
“Klay was much more patient offensively,” Kerr said. “He took a couple bad shots early, where we had plenty of time on the shot clock. Everybody keeps telling, ‘If you just move it, you’re going to get it back.’ And that’s what happened. He was a lot more patient, and the quality of his shots was much better.”
Already the league’s all-time leader in made 3-pointers, Curry is the first player in league history to have four or more in each of his first 13 games to start a season. The nine-time All-Star and two-time MVP was 8 of 14 from the floor and 5 of 9 beyond the arc.
It’s Curry’s seventh game this season with 30 or more points, and 10th with at least 25.
The Warriors have an obvious luxury-tax cheat code in their pocket because they can waive Chris Paul’s non-guaranteed deal after the season, but even that presumes the rest of the still-pricey roster is worth keeping together.
Said presumption is taking a serious beating. Most notably, the notion that a 33-year-old Klay Thompson would warrant a contract extension is worth questioning; he’s sporting an 8.9 PER on 52.0 percent true shooting, with a career-high turnover rate. Amazingly, he hasn’t been their worst starter (take a bow, Andrew Wiggins). Meanwhile, the increasingly volatile Draymond Green has played in seven of a possible 14 fourth quarters; he was either ejected, suspended or injured in the rest of them. Stephen Curry’s brilliance and a rebuilt bench are the only thing keeping this team afloat, but the parts that make this team so expensive have all been disastrously bad. Even Curry will be 36 in March. It may be time to start asking some difficult questions.
Klay watched "The Redeem Team" documentary last night and enjoyed CP3 getting "rookie hazed" pic.twitter.com/uusm8rrdM3
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 21, 2023
Jokic received his first technical for arguing a call in the first quarter. Malone was ejected for going onto the court to dispute a call late in the period. The two-time MVP was tossed after arguing another call with 1:22 left in the first half.
“I think Nikola was worried about my welfare,” Malone joked afterward. “It is tough to watch a game on TV — we were hugging on good plays and I was cursing in Serbian on the bad ones.”
"Sacramento is one of the great places to play, great basketball environment...but nobody's just going to go."
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) November 20, 2023
Sacramento caught some strays from @TeamLou23
: https://t.co/qYBPWhYgh7 pic.twitter.com/lpml387q4f
NBA Players of the Week for Week 4.
— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2023
West: De'Aaron Fox (@SacramentoKings)
East: Jalen Brunson (@nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/98Ns2vUhwn
Paul has been the steady hand the Warriors needed. His 12 assists against only one turnover against the Rockets continues a trend that has been a hallmark of his “Point God” career. For the season, he has tallied 115 assists against 18 turnovers — a 6.39 assist/turnover ratio. Only Mike Conley’s 6.60 is better among qualified players, per NBA Stats.
Another key stat that serves as proof behind Paul’s steadiness: with him *on* the floor, the Warriors have a turnover rate (percentage of possessions that end in a turnover) of 13.3% — equivalent to sixth in the league, per Cleaning The Glass. With Paul *off* the floor, that number jumps to 17.5% — equivalent to 29th in the league.
Klay Thompson
31 minutes, 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 7-for-16 shooting, 5-for-11 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 60.8% TS, -3
Like Wiggins on Saturday, Klay finally broke the 20-point curse and eclipsed the magical mark. He did most of it in the first quarter, when he knocked in a trio of triples and followed it up with a three-point play, culminating in a 12-point quarter that helped keep Golden State in it before the rest of the offense started to click.
It was a sight for sore eyes, and it made me very happy.
Thompson didn’t do too much after that, but he certainly didn’t hurt the Warriors, either. It was a reminder as to how important his shooting and gravity are, and that played to Golden State’s advantage.
Welcome back, Klay. More on the way for you and Wiggs, I’m sure!
Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.
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