Locked On Warriors – Daily Podcast On The Golden State Warriors

Despite another poor defensive effort, the Warriors talent was able to win out, toasting the Knicks in the 3rd quarter without Kristaps Porzingis. The Dubs reeled off 40 assists, and Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 32 points in the deciding quarter, which has become a norm for him.

With the All-Star Game coming up shortly, and teams set to be revealed tomorrow, we inaugurate the first annual Locked on Warriors All-Stars Mock Draft. How did the teams shake out?

Lastly, Aliko talks quarter-by-quarter stats, breaking down who is taking the most shots and when on this Warriors team.

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Zach Lowe released his own version of the All-Star game starters and reserves, and the first question we have is, how did Curry get benched? We'll get into it in the second segment, featuring multiple Warriors of the Week - Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

In the first segment, Aliko breaks down the play of Kristaps Porzingis, who may or may not be named an All-Star (along with Thompson and Green) by the time Knicks vs. Warriors tips off tonight at 7:30 PT. Porzingis' play has taken a dip in December and January, and his New York squad is 21-26, good for 10th in the gritty Eastern Conference.

Around the NBA, the Cavs are holding emotional meetings, Dame is wondering what's going on in Portland, and Kemba Walker is definitely on the trade block.

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The Warriors faltered against the Rockets, turning the ball over 19 times and allowing a defensive rating of 115 - which is horrible. James Harden played the last few possessions like the the MVP front-runner he is, while the Warriors lost their poise in the final minutes, looking desperate and chucking up shots outside of the flow of the offense.

Nick Young played well and Kevin Durant got his 26, but it was mostly all bad for the Dubs, who seemingly were playing from behind after allowing 40 points in the first quarter. The problems with turnovers and the defense have to be rectified before the All-Star break if Golden State is to maintain its home-court advantage for the playoffs, particularly since it has now lost the season series to Houston.

Jordan Bell is out for the next two weeks, but his stats still shone in this week's Rookie Watch. In particular, Bell leads all NBA rookies in Win Shares / 48 minutes. Elsewhere, redshirt rookie Ben Simmons will be duking it out with Donovan Mitchell for Rookie of the Year honors come playoff time.

Around the NBA, Jason Kidd was fired in Milwaukee, the Cavs are 3-7 in their last ten, and there's a big drop off between the top four teams in the West and the rest of the pack. The Warriors' schedule continues to be tough leading up to the All-Star break, so they will have ample chances to right the ship as the dog days come to a close.

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The Warriors will face the Houston Rockets on the first night of NBA Saturday Prime Time on ABC. The Rockets are healthy and playing good basketball, coming off a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves despite James Harden not being himself after coming back from a hamstring injury.

Elsewhere, Miles Johnson joins Aliko to discuss the All-Star starters and captains, go over the latest NBA trade rumors, and lament his floundering Wizards.

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The Warriors allowed the Bulls to stay in the game with turnovers, but ultimately it was the Dubs' talent that won out in the Second City. With 30 points from Stephen Curry and a season high 38 from Klay Thompson, Golden State shot the Bulls into submission. Turnovers came back in a big way, however.

For this week's #ThrowbackThursday, Aliko welcomes guest A Plus from the Souls of Mischief. A Plus is and Oakland native and world-renowned hip hop artist, and also Aliko's brother. They discuss what it was like to come up in Oakland in the 80s and 90s (and how the Warriors played into that) as well as the connection between basketball and hip hop, and whether or not basketball players imbibe in California's newest legal vice.

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The Warriors will face the Bulls tonight without Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, who are nursing injuries to their shoulder and quad respectively. The Bulls are playing really well and coming off a win over the streaking Heat. Jordan Bell and the rest of the Dubs will have to play with poise if they are going to continue their road winning streak in Chicago.

In this week's Statistical Deep Dive, Aliko takes a look at the Warriors' defense since Stephen Curry returned to the lineup on December 30th. TL;DL: It hasn't been good. Golden State has been far and away the best offensive team over this two and a half week stretch, but their defense has been middling at best. Specifically, they haven't been running people off the three-point line, which will be crucial against the Rockets on Saturday.

Around the NBA, there've been a number of altercations and straight up fights in the last few days, with the Rockets and Clippers taking the cake as far as bizarre outcomes. Elsewhere, Kawhi Leonard has been shut down indefinitely in San Antonio, and Gordon Hayward is shooting again.

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The Dubs have played (and won) three games since the last Locked on Warriors podcast. Wins are always nice, but against the Bucks the Warriors almost fell apart in the second half, particularly on the defensive end, while in Toronto, GSW surrendered a 27-point lead to only end up winning by 2.

To be fair, these teams have Giannis Antetokoumpo and DeMar DeRozan respectively, but it was a team effort from both of these squads, pressuring the Dubs defensively in the 2nd half and playing fearlessly from the start. It seems fear is not a tool the Warriors can count on as readily as in the past few seasons, particularly against teams that have aspirations of making the Finals.

And on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the Warriors had perhaps their easiest win of the long weekend, dominating LeBron's Cavaliers in the 2nd half despite another gem from the King (32/8/6 with 8 turnovers). Will the Cavaliers, who have lost 8 of their last 10 games, be able to right the ship with a trade before the deadline? 

Kevon Looney had his best stretch of games as a professional, and Jordan Bell added another start to his NBA resume. Steph, KD, Klay and Draymond were staunch as usual, but will need to find another gear if they want to continue to build on their 13-game road winning streak against Chicago and Houston.

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Miles Johnson joins Aliko today to talk all things basketball, beginning with how the Bucks' season is going so far. No Steph for the Warriors tonight, who are in Milwaukee to face Giannis & Co. before continuing their 5-game roadie in Toronto on Saturday. 

The Raptors, to their credit, are playing fantastic basketball—and their new OVO-inspired jerseys and court are absolute fire—and coming off a shellacking of the Cavaliers in Toronto behind brilliance from DeMar DeRozan and utter garbage hoops from the team from The Land.

Elsewhere, Aliko and Miles go down the Reddit hole, expounding on such subjects as the Wizards' current woes, Zach LaVine's upcoming Bulls debut, Kobe's new ESPN show, and the latest on Markelle Fultz' mysterious shoulder ailment.

Also on the docket: there's a bit of confusion as to how the All-Star team captains are going to go about picking their teams. The picks won't be televised, which has left Aliko and Miles with ample fuel for conspiracy theories. Speaking of All-Stars, do the Warriors deserve four this year? Draymond thinks so.

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The Warriors played pretty badly defensively on Wednesday, for a national audience. The team missed Klay Thompson's on-ball defense clearly, as well as the Splash Brothers' potent scoring and gravity. Kevin Durant scored his 20,000th point but it was to no avail, as Lou Williams went off for 50, including 27 in a decisive 3rd quarter.

For #ThrowbackThursday, we go back to early 2012, when the Warriors traded Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut, and Joe Lacob was booed at Chris Mullin's jersey retirement ceremony. Were the events related? Listen to find out.

Lastly, the Warriors are heading out on a tough 5-game roadie: @Mil, @Tor, @Cle, @Chi and @Hou. They've actually played better on the road this season than at home, but with tough tests at each stop, they will have to increase their defensive intensity and not get caught in heavy iso situations on offense.

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The Warriors revealed today that Kevin Durant will return to the lineup tonight vs. the Clippers, but that Stephen Curry (right ankle sprain) and Klay Thomspon (rest) will be out. It feels like months since the whole team was together at the same time, but Steve Kerr knows if he wants to win multiple more championships, he has to be aware of player performance.

Nike has produced five Warriors jerseys to date. Let's rank them! You might be surprised with the results.

Finally, with the damaged Clippers coming into town tonight, the Warriors will need to stay focused on this evening rather than looking ahead to a tough 5-game road trip (MIL, TOR, CLE, CHI, HOU).

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