Category: Golden State Warriors Blog

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Draymond Green says Kevin Durant is Defensive Player of Year

When discussing Kevin Durant, we usually think of his scoring ability first, overall superstar skills second, and then maybe people stop and remember that he’s also a good defensive player. The guy has super-long arms and legs that flail around everywhere on defense. He’s a presence on that end of the court. And this season, maybe more than ever before. Here’s the San Francisco Reporting:

Count the reigning Defensive Player of the Year among those who think Kevin Durant should be the Defensive Player of the Year front-runner.

“If I had a vote, I’d vote for him right now,” Green said.

Long known more for his scoring than his defense, Durant is putting together his best defensive season to date. A player who had never averaged more than 1.6 blocks per game is second in the NBA behind Indiana’s Myles Turner with 2.3. With Stephen Curry out the past 10 games with a sprained right ankle, Durant has anchored a league-best defense.

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Stephen Curry out with sprained ankle

Stephen Curry underwent an MRI today in Charlotte, the results of which confirmed that he suffered a sprained right ankle in last night’s game at New Orleans. The MRI indicated that the ankle is stable and structurally intact.

He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

And here’s the San Jose Mercury News reporting:

According to that timeline, Curry will miss at least five games, beginning with Wednesday’s night contest against the Charlotte Hornets in what would have marked a homecoming appearance. Curry will then miss games in Detroit (Friday), a homestand against Portland (Dec. 11) and Dallas (Dec. 14) as well as a road game against the Los Angeles Lakers (Dec. 18).

The Warriors will have a heavy task in absorbing the absence of Curry, who has averaged 26.3 points while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from 3-point range along with 6.6 assists and 5.1 rebounds. Still, the Warriors were relieved of the news since the MRI indicated that the ankle is stable and structurally intact.

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Klay Thompson aims to average one block per game

There is nothing ordinary about the Golden State Warriors. They’re loaded with talent, versatility, and have too many strengths to mention. We don’t usually hear guards talking about their blocks per game average, but Klay Thompson is no ordinary player. Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle reporting:

To stay fresh during the grind of an NBA season, Warriors guard Klay Thompson eyes a series of personal goals. Thompson revealed Monday after shoot-around that membership in the ultra-exclusive 50-40-90 club isn’t his only individual objective this season.

“I’m trying to average one block a game,” Thompson said. “For a shooting guard, that’d be really good.” Arguably one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, Thompson’s offensive prowess often overshadows the fact that he is an elite defender. His blend of stamina, size and unyielding will has made him a daunting on-ball matchup for everyone from LeBron James to Russell Westbrook. Now, 10 games into the season, Thompson is on pace to have a career-high 0.9 blocks per game.

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Draymond Green steps up in win vs Clippers

The Warriors haven’t been at their best most of the still-new season so far, but they certainly made a statement in yesterday’s absolute domination of the Clippers. The whole Warriors team did well, including Draymond Green, who was due for a breakout performance. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News reporting:

The shot went off Draymond Green’s hands and sailed into the air. It dropped into the basket, leading the Warriors’ forward to yell and let out an infectious smile.

The fourth-quarter basket technically bore little significance as the Warriors were already on their way toward a breezy 141-113 victory over the Clippers on Monday. To Green, though? The shot meant everything.

“When you’re missing like I’ve been missing, it feels good to make one,” Green said afterwards with a grin. “It pisses you off badly when you miss another one.”

A day after he vowed he needed to play more aggressively, though, Green did not hinge his performance on how well he shot the ball. Instead, he posted a 16-point performance by blending in a lot of attacking (5-of-8 from the field), a lot of defense (nine rebounds), a good amount of playmaking (six assists) and a little outside shooting (1-of-2).

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Warriors playing lousy defense so far this season

The Warriors have the same core roster this season as last, so on paper they’re still the best team in the NBA. However, on the court so far, they’ve been disappointing. The season is still brand new. So, no reason to panic. Way too early. Still, here’s the San Jose Mercury News/Bay Area News Group reporting:

So far this season, Golden State is yet to put together a 48-minute game where they look good on both ends of the court, but outside of pride, what’s their incentive to go all-out for a full game? This Warriors roster is so talented, they can win with mediocre all-around performances on a near nightly basis.

Offensively, the Warriors are fine so far this season. The Golden State offense doesn’t seem to be fully operational, but the talent on the court at any given moment is so lopsided that it hasn’t mattered — the Warriors are going to put roughly 120 points on the board every single night.

The issue for Golden State — the reason they’re 3-2 on the season and could easily be 2-3 with a 0-2 home record — is the defense.

“Our defense has been horrible,” Green said. “Nobody’s communicating.”

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Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala fined by NBA

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been fined $50,000 for throwing his mouthpiece in the direction of a game official, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Curry was ejected, occurred with 43.6 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter of the Warriors’ 111-101 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, Oct. 21 at FedEx Forum.

As part of the same incident, Warriors forward Andre Iguodala has been fined $15,000 for verbally abusing a game official.

Warriors sign Quinn Cook to two-way contract

The 2017 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors have signed free agent Quinn Cook to a two-way contract, the team announced Tuesday.

Cook joins Chris Boucher as the Warriors’ two-way players.

Cook, 24, appeared in five games this preseason with the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 3.4 points and 1.2 assists in 9.4 minutes per game. During the 2016-17 NBA season he played in five games with Dallas and nine games with New Orleans, averaging 5.6 points and 1.9 assists in 13.4 minutes per contest. After a four-year career at Duke, the undrafted guard spent the 2015-16 season and a majority of the 2016-17 campaign with the Canton Charge of the G League, averaging 22.6 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.16 steals and 36.0 minutes in 82 games (75 starts). He was twice named to the G League All-Star Team, and earned 2017 G League All-Star Game MVP honors after recording 18 points, a game-high 12 assists and seven rebounds in 25 minutes. He was also named the 2016 G League Rookie of the Year.

The Washington, D.C. native, concluded his collegiate career 28th on Duke’s all-time scorers list with 1,571 points. He was one of just seven players in school history to record 1,000 points and 500 assists and set a Duke record with a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.52:1. He ranks fourth all-time at Duke in career free throw percentage (.853) and his 143 games played are tied for the seventh most in school history.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man regular-season roster. Players signed to a two-way contract may accrue no more than 45 days of service with their respective NBA club during the regular season, spending the remainder of the season with the team’s G League affiliate. The Warriors’ two-way players will have the ability to spend time with both Golden State and the team’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

Kevin Durant declares swag level to be high

We all know that NBA players have boundless energy when they first enter the league. But in their prime, while their basketball ability may be at its best, what about their endurance, recovery time, etc? Fun stuff to dive into. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News on Kevin Durant:

Unlike his superstar Warriors teammate in Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant does not feel he is currently playing at his absolute peak. Reserve those years for when the Oklahoma City Thunder once cheered for Durant instead of booing him.

“Physically at 21, 22, 23, I could get out the bed and windmill or catch a lob,” Durant said after practice on Sunday. “But I got to activate my glutes and hamstrings a little bit more now.”

Still, Durant enters the Warriors’ season opener against Houston on Tuesday at the Oracle saying his “swag level is through the roof” for reasons besides winning the 2017 NBA championship.

“Mentally when you feel like you’ve mastered the game from an individual standpoint, knowing what you want to do, that’s a great feeling,” Durant said. “I’ve hit the point where you know what’s important there on the basketball court. I’m at that point, especially playing with such a talented group of guys, they make you focus on other things besides yourself. That’s an underrated part of this team.”

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