play-in game hater

guitars and basketball

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

After last night's Warriors' game, I watched James Wiseman's minutes with a friend who works in basketball. Here's a thread that builds on some of the things we discussed and the interesting details he pointed out.

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

@AndyKHLiu Clayton apparently gave the Warriors consideration but chose Dallas believing he’d have more opportunities

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

The Warriors need to upgrade from Malevy Leons on their two-way contract slot. The team needs minutes from these players now, and Leons is two years away from having an NBA-ready body, moves like a baby giraffe when he had the ball in his hands, and he’s 27 years old

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

The Warriors’ 2025 series against the Rockets would have lasted five games at most if Amen Thompson hadn’t undercut Jimmy Butler

[TG @TommyGunnNBA]

Legit a pathetic franchise LMAAAAOOO constantly about the wrong things with the biggest “little brother” syndrome of all time

They will never win as long as they cheat the sport. Zero honor in how they play.

[TG @TommyGunnNBA]

Legit a pathetic franchise LMAAAAOOO constantly about the wrong things with the biggest “little brother” syndrome of all time

They will never win as long as they cheat the sport. Zero honor in how they play.

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

The Rockets play football, not basketball. In the absence of tactically thought-out offense, they rely on beating teams into submission and hoping their opponent’s legs abandon them in crunch time. What a hideous, and uninspired way to play

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

On the subject of small sample sizes: after humiliating the Pelicans, Steph and Yax have a +8 net rating together on the season, and Yax has a +3.1 net rating when he’s on the court, while the Warriors have a +7.7 net rating on the season. Yax w/out Steph is now +0.2 net

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

Steph and Yaxel have played 22 non-garbage time possessions without Draymond with a net rating of +125.9. Dray has played 9 non-garbage time possessions without Steph. Yaxel has played > 400 possessions without Steph or Dray. Tiny samples, but I believe these numbers will turn

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

If Yaxel’s ascension becomes the retroactive justification for the Warriors not to trade future picks to get a quality C or frontcourt player, I will tap this sign again

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

I love Yaxel but…

[NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA]

"Yaxel Lendeborg has been so good that it's changed their outlook. They think they have another star next to Steph already."

@ramonashelburne on how the rookie has impacted the Warriors organization already 👀

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

Joe does such a good job compiling film to explain and demonstrate the evolution of the Warriors’ offense. I really enjoyed this read, and I bet readers of The Athletic would much rather pay Joe directly than pay to read Nick Friedell’s lazy and uninspired “work”

[Joe Viray @JoeVirayNBA]

🚨NEW WORDS🚨

Much has been ballyhooed about the Warriors and their 'brand new' offense.

What exactly is brand new about their offense?

One thing is certainly novel: how they run their pick-and-rolls. The spacing. The positioning. And how they're putting pressure on defenders.

Read about how they're making use of the 'wheel' concept:

https://t.co/fuKHel8IGN

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

Our old friend in Minnesota is shooting a career low 45.9% on two-point field goals right now and just 52.8% on free throws. I’d expect those numbers to come up while his outlier 40.8% from three should come down to earth

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

Yaxel Lendeborg is shooting 57.1% on two-point FG’s this season. That’s better than Nicola Jokic. Among SF’s with >50 attempts, only MPJ, KD, and Ace Bailey are shooting better. KD is the only one who has taken more attempts than Yaxel

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

The list of power forwards with >50 two-point FG attempts shooting better than Yaxel: Giannis, Zion, Jaden McDaniels, Evan Mobley, and Miles Bridges. 13 centers have a better percentage than Yaxel as well, but I’d hope they would as centers

[Joe Viray @JoeVirayNBA]

🚨NEW WORDS🚨

Much has been ballyhooed about the Warriors and their 'brand new' offense.

What exactly is brand new about their offense?

One thing is certainly novel: how they run their pick-and-rolls. The spacing. The positioning. And how they're putting pressure on defenders.

Read about how they're making use of the 'wheel' concept:

https://t.co/fuKHel8IGN

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

Steph and Yaxel have played 22 non-garbage time possessions without Draymond with a net rating of +125.9. Dray has played 9 non-garbage time possessions without Steph. Yaxel has played > 400 possessions without Steph or Dray. Tiny samples, but I believe these numbers will turn

[Charlie Cummings @klaytheist11]

Warriors on/offs through ten games. When that rookie scoring 20 PPG stops hemorrhaging points defensively...

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

@klaytheist11 Very curious what these numbers look like without the opening night disaster

[TG @TommyGunnNBA]

This is the best basketball player I’ve ever witnessed lmao

[Houdi @stephcurryinspo]

@_itskellyo People tought niang was sweet hell nah bruh mini van like that

[Chef @CurryForGame]

@TommyGunnNBA @joseph_dycus @bylucaevans can't forget @kenzofuku too 🙏

[play-in game hater @_itskellyo]

The Athletic is paying Nick Friedell to write quote-driven and SEO-motivated articles with 0 in-game analysis and 0 film work. He is the rare writer who could be replaced by ChatGPT, meanwhile Joseph and Luca are showing genuine curiosity and writing insightful articles

[TG @TommyGunnNBA]

@joseph_dycus @bylucaevans also both doing a tremendous job so far this year… adding some new life to a beat that was beginning to feel stale the last couple years

[TG @TommyGunnNBA]

@joseph_dycus @bylucaevans also both doing a tremendous job so far this year… adding some new life to a beat that was beginning to feel stale the last couple years