Locked On Warriors – Daily Podcast On The Golden State Warriors

Kevin Durant will be back in the lineup for the Warriors tonight as the Milwaukee Bucks come to town. The Bucks are not that good considering all the talent on the roster, but they're fighting for playoff positioning and will be a tough out tonight despite their relatively middling record and statistics. It's Giannis vs. KD in the SF matchup, which should provide plenty of fireworks. Draymond Green is set to make his return to the lineup as well.

In the 2nd segment, we go back in time to Stephen Curry's rookie year, where he was playing alongside Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette. The team went 26-56 under Don Nelson, and Curry was 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting that year. It was a different time, when Thunder was hooping and hopping as the Warriors' mascot, and the team would routinely score 110 points and give up 120.

The final segment is the first in a series of synopses of the Warriors' potential opponents in the first round of the playoffs. First up: the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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The Warriors lost to the Pacers behind 24 points from Victor Oladipo and only a 12-point 4th quarter effort. There were good things in the loss, however, with the Dubs jumping out to an early lead, and a veritable block party from Jordan Bell and Kevon Looney. However, the Warriors only have 8 more games, and are currently 6 games from the 60-win plateau. The return of Kevin Durant and Draymond Green on Thursday should help matters.

In the statistical deep dive segment, the Pacers game remains the focus. Lineups and miscellaneous stats are explored, with particular attention given to fast break points, which are an indicator of pace and an offensive mentality—the Warriors only had 2 fast break points against Indiana.

Around the NBA, the Celtics have won 4 in a row despite Kyrie Irving's surgery. The Cavs are hurting, with Kevin Love on concussion protocol, and in danger of losing home court in the first round. The Rockets are still streaking, but would face the Timberwolves if the season ended today. That matchup bodes well for the Warriors, as the Wolves have the ability to match up with the Rockets at every position.

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The Locked on Warriors Podcast is back after some technical difficulties wreaked havoc on production Monday. It's a wide-ranging show that begins with some other difficulties Aliko had to deal with over the weekend before heading into the latest on the various injuries and ailments of the Core 4.

The depleted Warriors played well against Atlanta and went on to win despite losing Stephen Curry in the 2nd half. They were dangerously outrebounded by the Utah Jazz on Sunday, leading to a blowout loss at home, but there are lessons to learn from the loss. Namely, this group of Warriors takes care of the ball very well, but has trouble getting the ball in the basket sometimes, and needs to rebound as a team.

Tonight it's the Pacers, the last team this season the Warriors have yet to play. Victor Oladipo is leading the league in steals and taking a ton of long twos, and he's got the Pacers winning games and potentially going into the first round of the playoffs with homecourt. Elsewhere, an epic streak from the Splash Brothers will end this year due to injuries and that other chef in Houston.

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The Warriors welcome back Stephen Curry (ankle) tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. Steph said his ankle is not 100%, and would not be until after June. But as he knows, it's time to lock in and make that push to the playoffs. Klay Thompson (thumb) may be returning Sunday against the Jazz, along with Draymond Green (pelvis). Kevin Durant (rib) is out for at least another week. Omri Casspi (ankle) is on the IR as well.

Down the Reddit Hole, today stays focused on the Warriors subreddit. It's Quinn Cook's birthday! Steve Kerr will certainly give hime some playing time on that account, and the fact that he's been very good of late. There's a poll on r/warriors asking whether or not Cook should be added to the playoff roster, and if so, who would GSW drop? Elsewhere, Klay landed the latest cover of SLAM Magazine. and Steph is playing in low tops for the first time.

The third segment is a continuation of the conversation about the Historical Basketball League and the NCAA's adherence to the amateurism model. Aliko offers his thoughts on the subject, as well as those of Andy Schwarz, the founder of the HBL, whose analysis forms the backbone of Aliko's upcoming piece on the subject at Forbes.com.

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The Warriors expect Stephen Curry to return on Friday, followed by Klay Thompson on Sunday. Kevin Durant will be re-evaluated next week, while Draymond Green is day-to-day with a pelvic contusion. GSW will host the Atlanta Hawks Friday, and it doesn't get easier from there, with the Jazz continuing the Warriors homestand on Sunday. A few beatdowns of good teams would do the Dubs some good heading into the playoffs—particularly with the Rockets playing so well.

The second and third segments are an interview with the CEO and CMO of the Historical Basketball League, Ricky Volante and Ralph Greene. The HBL has been founded in conjunction with historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and expects to tip off in either 2019 or 2020. The summer league will provide players with a paycheck as well as endorsement opportunities in addition to 5-year scholarships.

The wide-ranging conversation covers the falsehoods behind the amateurism model, why the HBL opted to partner with HBCUs, and just how it's all going to work. Further on, Ricky and Ralph go into detail about how it's unlikely the NCAA will be able to successfully retaliate against the HBL, and how current and former Warriors can get involved with the league as mentors and advisors.

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The Warriors didn't have enough firepower without their four All-Stars to take it to the Spurs last evening. They only put up 12 points in the fourth quarter, while giving up 28, and were no match for LaMarcus Aldridge's onslaught (33 points on 22 shots, 12 boards). Quinn Cook had another 20 point outing but was inefficient, and Nick Young didn't make any of his 5 three-point attempts. Draymond Green left the game early with a contusion in his pelvic area.

Quinn Cook has been doing his very best Stephen Curry impression over the last few games, including going 5-7 from three against the Kings and against the Suns. Though he had 4 turnovers against the Spurs, he played well in 38 minutes. His Player Impact Estimate from the game against the Kings (22.7) shows how integral he was in that game despite the loss. So Quinn Cook is my Warrior of the Week.

Around the NBA, the East has become an internal struggle for playoff seeding, with Detroit falling out of the playoff race over the last few weeks. Toronto is within a half game of the Warriors for the second-best record in the league behind Houston, which faces Portland tonight in a must-watch for Dubs fans. The bottom half of the West playoff bracket has a number of teams that could give GSW trouble in the first round. Which is the best matchup out of the bunch?

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Aliko joins Locked on NBA's Josh Lloyd for a question and answer session about the severity of the Warriors' injuries, the future of Quinn Cook, playoff threats, and how the rest key players Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are getting will be integral to their playoff chase.

In the second segment, Aliko breaks down the play of Draymond Green and Quinn Cook in the Warriors' two games since the last podcast. The Dubs dropped a clunker in the final two minutes vs. the Kings at home, but then took care of business in the fourth quarter in the Valley of the Sun. Buddy Hield and Josh Jackson shone for the opposition.

Tonight the Warriors face the 40-30 San Antonio Spurs in the nightcap on ESPN. It's a battle of bigs with Draymond facing LaMarcus Aldridge. Last time the two teams faced, LaMarcus had 30 points and 17 boards. Though the Warriors won that game, without their big 3 scorers Draymond can't allow LMA to get off. Two guard matchups that will be fun to watch are Cook vs. Dejounte Murray and Shaun Livingston vs. Tony Parker. 

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The Warriors' injury report is extensive. They will face the Kings at home tonight without Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Patrick McCaw. Curry, Thompson and McCaw aren't expected to be able to return until the end of the month. Draymond Green's shoulder is ailing but he will play, and David West is finally ready to return from a cyst on his shooting elbow. Andre Iguodala is nursing a few injuries but will suit up. Jordan Bell's ankles are sore. Quinn cook's hand is hurt... It's a house of horrors in the Dubs' training room right now.

Miles Johnson joins Aliko to discuss what Klay's broken hand could mean for the Warriors' playoff push. Down the Reddit hole, they take a look at LeBron's latest in-game masterpiece, and compare that poster dunk to some of the best jams King James has bestowed upon us over the years.

In the final segment, Aliko and Miles take a look at the playoff races in the East and the West, and break down some of the more intriguing matchups. How scary are the Sixers and Bucks in the bottom half of the East? Are we sleeping on Victor Oladipo? Should the Spurs embrace their slide down the Western Conference standings and go for the lottery? What about the Nuggets? Listen up for thoughts on all these questions and more.

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Maybe you already knew these fact; maybe you didn't. Either way, share them with your little slice of #DubNation.

In the second segment, Aliko talks about the Warriors' apparent lack of a sense of urgency, and in the the third it's time for the latest NBA standings.

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The banged-up Warriors took two Ls this weekend, one on the segababa, and one in the ABC afternoon matinee—both without Stephen Curry, David West, Andre Iguodala, Jordan Bell and Patrick McCaw. But in the true spirit of the "next man up" mentality, the available Dubs fought with passion before their energies fizzled out late in both games. Kevin Durant put up 40 and 39 points respectively, but against Portland, the Warriors were outrebounded by 14, and vs. Minny they allowed 58 points in the paint. Neither outcome is a recipe for a win.

Having lost their last two games, the Dubs are now 2 games back of Houston in the loss column. But do they really need the No. 1 seed to make it back to the Finals for the fourth time in a row? Aliko looks at historical trends going back to 2000 to see which champions won the regular season, and which ones simply made it through to peak at the right time and take out the "better" team. And make no mistake, despite the standings based on talent and chemistry the Warriors at full strength are better than the Rockets.

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