This team is so up and down. Klay is like that himself. -AL

=========================================================
Warriors clinch playoff spot with thrilling win over Jazz
Klay Thompson hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 2: Golden State Warriors’ Klay
Thompson (11) shoots and makes a 3-point basket against the Utah Jazz in
the first quarter of their NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco,
Calif., on Saturday, April 2, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News
Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 2: Golden State Warriors’ Klay
Thompson (11) shoots and makes a 3-point basket against the Utah Jazz in
the first quarter of their NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco,
Calif., on Saturday, April 2, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News
Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 2, 2022 at 7:59 p.m. | UPDATED: April 2, 2022 at 8:10 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/02/warriors-clinch-playoff-spot-with-thrilling-win-over-jazz/

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors are going to the playoffs for the first
time in two seasons.

Golden State clinched its spot in the postseason Saturday after Klay
Thompson hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter en route to a 111-107
thrilling win over the Utah Jazz at Chase Center.

In what was the team’s most important game of the final stretch, with
seeding implications on the line, Thompson led the Warriors on a 18-0
run, with Jordan Poole nailing a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a
two-point lead, their first of the game, with about 3:30 left in the game.

With the Warriors up by one, Rudy Gobert made a critical turnover,
throwing the ball out of bounds with about 21 seconds remaining.

Poole hit a pair of critical free throws to give the Warriors a
three-point lead. And Draymond Green sealed the deal with a pair of free
throws of his own.

The Warriors were able to win the game thanks to their perimeter
shooting in the second half. They went 12-of-24 from three-point range
in the final two quarters.

Thompson went 8-for-27 from three-point range, making six of those
threes in the second half. He finished with a team-high 36 points and
became the seventh all-time leading scorer for the Warriors, surpassing
Jeff Mullins (12,547 career points) in the game’s first half.

Poole, who made six threes, continued his hot scoring streak, finishing
with 31 points in what was his 16th consecutive game of scoring at least
20 points.

Meanwhile, Green finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

The Warriors had looked discombobulated in the second quarter, during
which the Jazz went on a 16-0 run.

Poole helped reinvigorate the Warriors in the second quarter, scoring
Golden State’s last 11 points of the quarter. However, untimely
turnovers and fouls helped the Jazz secure a 58-45 lead heading into the
locker rooms.

Saturday’s game was a possible preview to a first-round matchup. But
with just over a week remaining in the regular season, the Western
Conference seeding, outside of the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies
holding the top two spots, respectively, remains murky.

The Warriors are currently in third place — one game ahead of the Dallas
Mavericks.

The Warriors, who are playing without Stephen Curry for the remainder of
the regular season (sprained left foot ligament), will hit the road
Sunday to play the Sacramento Kings. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.

--
Madeline Kenney | Warriors reporter

Allen wrote:
> This team is so up and down. Klay is like that himself.  -AL
>
> =========================================================

> By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
> PUBLISHED: April 2, 2022 at 7:59 p.m. | UPDATED: April 2, 2022 at 8:10 p.m.
> https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/02/warriors-clinch-playoff-spot-with-thrilling-win-over-jazz/
>
>
>
> SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors are going to the playoffs for the first
> time in two seasons.
>
> Golden State clinched its spot in the postseason Saturday after Klay
> Thompson hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter en route to a 111-107
> thrilling win over the Utah Jazz at Chase Center.
>
> In what was the team’s most important game of the final stretch, with
> seeding implications on the line, Thompson led the Warriors on a 18-0
> run, with Jordan Poole nailing a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a
> two-point lead, their first of the game, with about 3:30 left in the game.
>

Big win tonight in a game with huge swings. My hope meter may have
bumped up from 3 to 4. But this team has so many questions, starting
with Steph. And Klay, and Green, and Wiggins. They just don't seem that
strong to me anymore, and their best defensive lineup, with Green and
Looney, is too limited offensively.

No way to predict what to expect. We just have to wait and see what happens.

--Robin

Robin Miller wrote:
> Allen wrote:
>> This team is so up and down. Klay is like that himself.  -AL
>>
>> =========================================================
>
>> By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
>> PUBLISHED: April 2, 2022 at 7:59 p.m. | UPDATED: April 2, 2022 at 8:10
>> p.m.
>> https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/02/warriors-clinch-playoff-spot-with-thrilling-win-over-jazz/
>>
>>
>>
>> SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors are going to the playoffs for the first
>> time in two seasons.
>>
>> Golden State clinched its spot in the postseason Saturday after Klay
>> Thompson hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter en route to a
>> 111-107 thrilling win over the Utah Jazz at Chase Center.
>>
>> In what was the team’s most important game of the final stretch, with
>> seeding implications on the line, Thompson led the Warriors on a 18-0
>> run, with Jordan Poole nailing a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a
>> two-point lead, their first of the game, with about 3:30 left in the
>> game.
>>
>
>
> Big win tonight in a game with huge swings. My hope meter may have
> bumped up from 3 to 4. But this team has so many questions, starting
> with Steph. And Klay, and Green, and Wiggins. They just don't seem that
> strong to me anymore, and their best defensive lineup, with Green and
> Looney, is too limited offensively.
>
> No way to predict what to expect. We just have to wait and see what
> happens.
>
> --Robin
>

My impression with Klay is that he's often pressing -- trying too hard
to do too much, and where the result is that his timing is sometimes
off. And even now, I think that's an effect of him not only missing 2
1/2 years of playing time, but also in not having gone through training
camp with the team together, and where the nuances of timing with the
rest of the team haven't really come together yet, especially given how
much of the team is entirely different from when he limped off the court
in the 2019 Finals. Until he came back ago, he had never seen Wiggins,
or for that matter, Porter or Bjelica, and even Iguodala isn't
necessarily the same player.

It may even be that some of that effect was part of where Steph was
struggling in January and February. I saw an article from The Athletic
(I don't remember where I saw it, and I don't think it was posted here
or other Warriors' fan circles) noting that Steph discovered a
mechanical flaw with his shooting, where he was pushing off balls of his
feet rather than his toes, and not getting the kind of power on his
shots that he normally has. When he started working on that, then his
shooting percentages started going up, again.

Although I'm hopeful of what the Warriors can do in the playoffs, and I
think they've shown that they may be able to beat anybody, even without
having everybody there, it is a concern to me that the combination
Steph, Klay and Green has only been on the court together only for 11
minutes the entire season. I think Looney is OK, and also Poole, but
Wiggins is the wild card in how he may work together with the other 3.
He doesn't have the experience of working with the full set, and if just
the 3 of them are reestablishing their working relationship, that could
make things complicated. Even if the Warriors manage to get a full week
off while the play-in games happen, I don't know if that will be enough
to really get the team fully synchronized (and assuming no more injuries).

It could be a bumpy ride.

Smith