Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Friday, December 15th.
Steve Kerr explains why he switched the starting lineup and mentions he plans to go with the same unit for the "next few games" pic.twitter.com/niqpU90m7D
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 15, 2023
A source told ESPN that the Warriors lost all leverage in holding Green accountable when they failed to give him harsher punishment during last year’s preseason altercation with Poole.
Now with the league stepping in, there is a major shift in the organization’s messaging toward Green and his behavior.
“The tone has obviously changed from any other suspension,” Curry said. “Times have passed where we’re just here because we’re playing basketball. ... You’ve got to take a step back and make sure everybody is right.”
“We talk every single day, that’s what the season is about,” Kerr told reporters. “That’s what being a team is about. Collaborating, sharing thoughts and sharing ideas, trying to keep everybody confident and moving forward and motivated. But Steph is as good of a leader as I’ve ever been around.
“That guy is an amazing human being and what he’s done the past decade in leading this team through all of the ups and downs and the turmoil. For anybody to question Steph Curry’s leadership, it’s kind of sickening to me. And I saw some of that yesterday, it was disgusting. We’re talking about one of the finest human beings I have ever been around. But that’s the climate that we live in.”
Mike Dunleavy on the Warriors big picture roster decisions: “The bigger impact will be how we do the next 15-20 games. That’ll determine where we go more than this specific incident.” pic.twitter.com/TwRuywcKoC
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 14, 2023
Gary Payton II injury update: pic.twitter.com/AhCTlO4I1J
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) December 14, 2023
Check out this gem from Canadian numbersmith Keerthika Uthayakumar: Entering Wednesday’s win over Atlanta, the Raptors starters had played the second-most minutes of any five-man lineup in the league and had a minus-4.7 net rating. Yikes. Any decent team wins those “best five” minutes handily. Forget the bench: Five against five, Toronto’s best players just aren’t good enough.
How do the Raptors get better? Their best bet is to re-sign Anunoby and bring back him, Barnes and Poeltl, which would leave Siakam the odd man out but would give the Raptors max-ish cap room to rebuild the roster around them with somebody — anybody — who isn’t an “intriguing” 6-foot-9 combo forward who shot 29 percent from 3 last season.
1. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers ranked 21st offensively last season, but they were in the top half of the league (14th) before losing Tyrese Haliburton for a few weeks. Still, this is a remarkable improvement, with Indiana’s points-per-possession jump being almost double that of any other team.
It starts with Haliburton. Even when you take pace into account, he’s seen big jumps in his points and assists per 100 possessions, along with big jumps in efficiency, both regarding scoring (true shooting percentage) and playmaking (assist/turnover ratio). His true shooting percentage of 66.6% ranks first among 126 players with at least 200 field goal attempts and his assist/turnover ratio of 4.80 would be the highest for a player who averaged at least 10 assists per game in the last 34 years.
This angle of Giannis running into Pacers tunnel to look for game ball
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 14, 2023
(via tyschrades/IG) pic.twitter.com/EUTYuK5uIb
Klay Thompson
32 minutes, 30 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 foul, 9-for-15 shooting, 8-for-12 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 89.5% TS, -12
Had the Warriors won, Klay would have been the story of the game. It was a sight for sore eyes, as Thompson — struggling to shoot lately — knocked down a three on the first possession of the game, and went on to score the first eight points of the contest. He caught fire in the third quarter when the Dubs were in danger of losing sight of LAC, and finished with 16 points in the frame.
His playmaking and decision-making were strong, and he continues to take good care of the ball. The Dubs might be all right if this version of Klay can show up consistently. Unfortunately, while we’ve spent a lot of the season wondering if Klay can be the help some of his teammates need, tonight he needed help from them, and didn’t get it.
Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points, tied for the team lead in assists, worst plus/minus on the team.
All of this is good for Green. Whatever is leading to this behavior is something we should all support him in addressing and working towards. As is so often the case, it’s clear that punishment is not leading to a change in behavior; hopefully this is what spurs growth for Green.
Further evidence that this is more about reformation than punishment (which should always be the goal, in my opinion), is that Draymond himself is on board with the decision. Not just on board, but involved.
"To do it in the Garden...Reggie and Ray in the building...my mom and my dad [there too]."
— NBA (@NBA) December 14, 2023
Steph Curry reacts to his record-breaking 3-pointer from two years ago today ️
Don't miss Warriors-Clippers tonight at 10:30pm/et on NBA TV! pic.twitter.com/PiV0rpj9Og
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