Locked On Warriors – Daily Podcast On The Golden State Warriors

The Dubs' latest thumping came at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, I would say the Thunder have GSW's number, but most of their problems were in the effort department. Seemingly no one except David West even tried to stay in front of Russell Westbrook, while 25 turnovers—most of them live-ball and many of them plays of insanity—fueled OKC's fast break. Kevin Durant was mostly good but took only 14 shots due to the turnovers and didn't have much backup last night.

The difference in Offensive and Defensive Rating numbers on Basketball Reference and NBA.com is the subject of this week's Statistical Deep Dive. Going forward, I will utilize Basketball reference for individual ORtg and DRtg, while utilizing the NBA's stats website for team ORtg and DRtg. The differences in the stats on both websites are broken down in the second segment.

In the third segment, I look at the bigger picture for the Warriors, including the chance that they will go into the playoffs without the no. 1 seed. Other topics include Kristaps Porzingis' ACL tear (and who should replace him in the All-Star Game), and Patrick McCaw taking a G-League sabbatical. Kevin Durant hurt his left hand and is questionable for tomorrow's game against the Mavericks.

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The Warriors will face the Thunder—losers of four straight—tonight at Oracle Arena. The Thunder have had an up-and-down season and are currently in 5th place in the loaded Western Conference. The Warriors will have to have their heads on swivels defensively if they are going to win against a very good team with its back up against the wall. The vaunted Dubs defense has fallen to 10th in the league over the last month and change.

JaVale McGee doesn't play big minutes but he always impacts the game when he enters—he's this week's #WarrioroftheWeek. Though he can be flighty at times, his per-36 numbers compare favorably with many defensive-minded rebounding bigs that play more minutes.

Zach Lowe of ESPN reports that the Warriors inquired about Avery Bradley, who was recently traded to the Clippers, Though the talks went nowhere, this is a sign that the Warriors are trying to upgrade at the wing position before the February 8 trade deadline. Could McCaw be on his way out of Oakland?

Around the NBA, the standings are starting to take shape. The Warriors are only one game ahead of the Rockets in the loss column. Debates as to whether the Dubs having homecourt throughout the playoffs is that important abound. But with the Rockets having won the season series, there is only one way for GSW to retain the no. 1 overall seed: win more games.

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The Warriors began the weekend with a solid win in Sacramento, though they committed 25 turnovers in the 15-point victory. Stephen Curry led the team in +/- and Kevin Durant had a team high 33 points. The Dubs followed it up by posting a defensive rating of 118 in a loss to the Nuggets in Denver. In both games, GSW allowed at least 5 players from the opposition to reach double figures.

There are bright spots however. Damian Jones got his first extended runs of 2018 in the two games, igniting the Warriors with a monster block against the Nuggets on Saturday. Kevon Looney played some solid minutes as well. David West was away from the team attending the funeral of Rasual Butler, his close friend. The Warriors have two meetings against the Thunder coming up—OKC is another team that has beaten the Warriors this year.

So the defensive intensity will have to pick up at some point. The Warriors have fallen to 10th in the league in defensive rating behind an early-2018 stretch that has seen them routinely allow more than 110 points/game to their opponents. The final minutes of the Denver game show the ways in which the Dubs have faltered defensively; ball-watching, helping off shooters, and late rotations abound.

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The Warriors are coming off a loss and playing two teams who've beaten them earlier in the season in a back-to-back beginning tonight in Sacramento. The Dubs were without Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry in their loss to Sacto earlier this season, however Durant played in a lackluster effort against Denver on December 23. The Kings are near the bottom of most major statistical categories, but the Nuggets are coming off a big win over the Thunder on a Gary Harris three-pointer, and are currently two games above .500.

Miles joins Aliko to discuss both games and go Down the Reddit Hole in the second segment. Topic include Nikola Jokic's excellent play of late, conspiracy theories about the rampant LeBron free agency rumors, and why James Harden's step-back isn't a travel. Also: Greg Monroe signed with the Boston Celtics for money but less playing time than he would have gotten in New Orleans. And: Would it even be worth it for the Cavs to land DeAndre Jordan considering what they'd have to give up?

In a bit of Warriors news, Bob Myers confirmed that the team is looking to upgrade its bench shooting before the trade deadline. The Dubs are at the bottom of the league in three-pointers made off the bench, but are still in the conversation for best three-point shooting teams because of three guys who do it better than almost anyone ever has. Omri Casspi—a very capable three-point shooter—will need to bring a shoot-first mentality into any playing time he receives the next few games.

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The Warriors may have been blown out in the last game, but they still have the league's best offense and it isn't that close. Aliko breaks down some set plays the Dubs have run over the last week and a half, including the options those plays help spring open.

Sleepy Floyd is the primary subject of this week's #ThrowbackThursday, but all of the period from 1978-1990 is fair game as Aliko illustrates of brief history of the Warriors during that time. Famously, Sleepy Floyd scored 29 points in the 4th quarter of Game 4 of the 1987 Western Conference Semifinals against the Lakers—an NBA Playoff record. 

In the last segment, Aliko goes around the NBA, making sense of Kevin Love's broken hand, bringing you the latest on the upcoming All-Star Game, and addressing the reports that LeBron would consider meeting with the Warriors in the offseason.

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The Warriors stunk up the joint in Utah last night, committing 19 turnovers and playing poor defense for most of the contest. Only Klay Thompson was able to get his shots, as Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Draymond Green all struggled from the field. Everyone in white was a net minus, and the Jazz romped to a 30-point victory, only their third against the Dubs in the last 17 games. Steve Kerr called his team's play "pathetic."

The NBA individual stats leaderboards are the subject of this week's Statistical Deep Dive, particularly where the Warriors fall in some of the most fun categories, like true shooting percentage, win shares, and three-pointers made. There's a few surprises among them.

Lastly, the Warriors take a look at Steve Kerr, who's been fighting the good fight away from the sideline in addition to coaching the Warriors to the league's best record. His willingness to speak out against what he sees as unjust practices coming out of the White House resonates with his players, and deepens the bond between them. This penchant for confronting hard truths has also led Oakland Magazine to name Kerr its East Bay Person of the Year.

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Nobody saw it coming but Locked on Podcast Network is all over the Blake Griffin trade aftermath. What's next for the Clippers? Did the Pistons do enough to make noise in the crowded East? But we can effectively say the Warriors destroyed Lob City, beginning their era of dominance one year after losing to LAC in a hard-fought playoff Game 7. Draymond will certainly miss playing Blake Griffin four times a year.

The Dubs are at altitude in Salt Lake City tonight to face the Jazz, who play slow and defend their turf. The Jazz are without Rodney Hood however, and matching the Warriors' scoring will be an issue, despite sensational rookie Donovan Mitchell scoring 19 points per game. If Curry and Co. can keep their turnovers down, they should be able to control the tempo and make Rudy Gobert a non-factor on the defensive end.

Speaking of defense, Kevin Durant is this week's #WoW, but we're not highlighting his epic blocks or indefensible shot-making. It's his passing lately that has him in Aliko's sights. He followed up a 14-assist effort—Durant eclipsed his career high of 12 midway through the third quarter—with a 28/10/11 triple double in home games against the Knicks and Wolves respectively last week.

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The Celtics and Warriors did not disappoint in their second meeting of the year, as Kyrie Irving put up 37 points on an array of acrobatic finishes. He found help from Al Horford and Jaylen Brown, who helped keep Boston in the game and contributed to their 14-28 night from range.

On the other side of the ball, Stephen Curry had a season-high 49 points, contributing to him being named the Western Conference Player of the Week. The Human Torch set Oracle on fire, nailing 8 threes and going 16-24 from the floor. Klay Thompson had another subpar game on the offensive end, but Draymond was his usual stat-stuffing self, and Kevin Durant put in 20 points to help the Dubs to a 109-105 victory.

Elsewhere, Rookie Watch has become Young Guns Watch on the Locked on Warriors podcast. Kevon Looney, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are this week's subjects. Patrick McCaw did not play in this one, and Jordan Bell is still days from being re-evaluated.

Lastly, Aliko covers the DeMarcus Cousins Achilles injury, including the scope of this loss, and the aftermath for both the All-Star game and the Pelicans' playoff hopes. After surgery over the weekend, Cousins is looking at a 6-10 month recovery period.

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The Warriors minorly romped to victory against visiting Minnesota on Thursday. Despite 48 fast break points and 21 three pointers, The Dubs allowed the Wolves to stay in the game for most of it, though they never led. Minnesota was without Jimmy Butler in the contest, and Andrew Wiggins did not play well, but Karl-Anthony Towns, former Warrior Jamal Crawford and Jeff Teague picked up the slack.

On the other side, Kevin Durant had his second triple double of the season in spectacular fashion (28-10-11), coming off a 14 assist effort on Tuesday. The Warriors overall had 37 assists on 48 made baskets, and shot better than 50% from the field and from three. Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson all made more than half of their three pointers, shooting 9 a piece,

Down the Reddit Hole, Aliko and Miles discuss the aftermath of the All-Star Game roster announcements, including some Russell Westbrook hilarity. They also go in-depth into what's going on with the Wizards, who managed to nab two spots on the All-Star team. Other topics of discussion include the new Chinese Heritage Nike jerseys, and Draymond's gross elbow.

Finally, Aliko and Miles break down the Celtics matchup, including going in on Boston's recent 4-game losing streak. The Celtics are a defensive powerhouse with a middling offense. Can they hope to run with the Warriors or will they have to bog down their opponents' high-powered offense in order to secure victory?

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The Timberwolves are visiting Oracle just as the Warriors are sorting out some questions. For one, how do they right the ship on defense? The Wolves have their own defensive issues, but are coming into town having won many more games in January than they've lost, and sporting two All-Stars in Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Aliko and Locked on Wolves host Colton Molesky discuss the matchup, including how Klay Thompson and Butler will fare against each other, Kevin Durant's improved defense, and how Stephen Curry can go supernova at any point in time. Tune in the Locked on Wolves today for the entire conversation.

Since it's #ThrowbackThursday, Aliko also takes a look at the last few times the Warriors have posted a losing streak of three games or more, and discusses what was going on in the world at that time.

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