I was so wrong when I posted after game three that it was over. Maybe
the Celtics are younger, stronger and more athletic, but the Warriors
are better and played absolutely phenomenal defense. Amazing stat that
players shooting against Steph tonight were 3-12 with six turnovers.
Solid contributions from everyone who played. This championship feels
the best to me; the only competition would be the first (of this current
run).

I'm still a little uncertain as to what to expect from Klay next season,
but we'll see. And we'll see if they extend Poole and re-sign the free
agents (Payton, Porter and Bjelica, maybe others). And then how Wiseman,
Kuminga and Moody develop.

--Robin

On 6/16/22 11:02 PM, Robin Miller wrote:
>
>
> I was so wrong when I posted after game three that it was over. Maybe
> the Celtics are younger, stronger and more athletic, but the Warriors
> are better and played absolutely phenomenal defense. Amazing stat that
> players shooting against Steph tonight were 3-12 with six turnovers.
> Solid contributions from everyone who played. This championship feels
> the best to me; the only competition would be the first (of this current
> run).
>
> I'm still a little uncertain as to what to expect from Klay next season,
> but we'll see. And we'll see if they extend Poole and re-sign the free
> agents (Payton, Porter and Bjelica, maybe others). And then how Wiseman,
> Kuminga and Moody develop.
>
> --Robin

It's a bonus to see Curry still perform at this level.

After 2019 Finals, I thought that was it. Glad to be proven wrong.

But everything now is icing on the cake.

--
Serenity Now!

On 6/16/2022 11:02 PM, Robin Miller wrote:
>
>
> I was so wrong when I posted after game three that it was over. Maybe
> the Celtics are younger, stronger and more athletic, but the Warriors
> are better and played absolutely phenomenal defense. Amazing stat that
> players shooting against Steph tonight were 3-12 with six turnovers.
> Solid contributions from everyone who played. This championship feels
> the best to me; the only competition would be the first (of this current
> run).
>
> I'm still a little uncertain as to what to expect from Klay next season,
> but we'll see. And we'll see if they extend Poole and re-sign the free
> agents (Payton, Porter and Bjelica, maybe others). And then how Wiseman,
> Kuminga and Moody develop.
>
> --Robin

I'm totally impressed by two things:

1. The job Kerr & the coaches did. Seemed like Kerr was experimenting
with lineups right up to game 6. At first, through game 3, it seemed
like the Celtics were the stronger team. But they didn't adjust much*
and Kerr & Co eventually figured it out, on both sides. The Warriors
offense got the job done (against a good defense) and the defense was
amazing, especially at the end. Seems like Kerr outcoached the Celtics,
especially at the end.

*I saw a comment by Smart that the Celtics tried everything they could
think of. That surprised me - seemed like they were always the same.

2. Speaking of which, I'm amazed at how better conditioned the Warriors
seemed to be. Steph is probably the best example - it's amazing how much
force he had in game 6. But Wiggins is another amazing example - as I
saw him comment in a story a while ago, he seems like one of those guys
who never gets tired (John Havlicek of the old Celtics was like that).
But not just them, Draymond and Klay and Looney and GP2. It's weird -
the older team (Warriors) seemed to me like the better conditioned one.
Maybe the Celtics got too worn out by the Bucks and Heat, but the
Warriors had it pretty hard against Memphis and they didn't get worn out.

On 6/17/2022 8:23 PM, Allen wrote:
> On 6/16/2022 11:02 PM, Robin Miller wrote:
>>
>>
>> I was so wrong when I posted after game three that it was over. Maybe
>> the Celtics are younger, stronger and more athletic, but the Warriors
>> are better and played absolutely phenomenal defense. Amazing stat that
>> players shooting against Steph tonight were 3-12 with six turnovers.
>> Solid contributions from everyone who played. This championship feels
>> the best to me; the only competition would be the first (of this
>> current run).
>>
>> I'm still a little uncertain as to what to expect from Klay next
>> season, but we'll see. And we'll see if they extend Poole and re-sign
>> the free agents (Payton, Porter and Bjelica, maybe others). And then
>> how Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody develop.
>>
>> --Robin
>
>
> I'm totally impressed by two things:
>
> 1. The job Kerr & the coaches did. Seemed like Kerr was experimenting
> with lineups right up to game 6. At first, through game 3, it seemed
> like the Celtics were the stronger team. But they didn't adjust much*
> and Kerr & Co eventually figured it out, on both sides. The Warriors
> offense got the job done (against a good defense) and the defense was
> amazing, especially at the end. Seems like Kerr outcoached the Celtics,
> especially at the end.
>
> *I saw a comment by Smart that the Celtics tried everything they could
> think of. That surprised me - seemed like they were always the same.
>
> 2. Speaking of which, I'm amazed at how better conditioned the Warriors
> seemed to be. Steph is probably the best example - it's amazing how much
> force he had in game 6. But Wiggins is another amazing example - as I
> saw him comment in a story a while ago, he seems like one of those guys
> who never gets tired (John Havlicek of the old Celtics was like that).
> But not just them, Draymond and Klay and Looney and GP2. It's weird -
> the older team (Warriors) seemed to me like the better conditioned one.
> Maybe the Celtics got too worn out by the Bucks and Heat, but the
> Warriors had it pretty hard against Memphis and they didn't get worn out.
>

PS:
3. I'm impressed by the spunk and resilience of the Warriors. I don't
want to use the word "fight", but it fits - maybe "stubbornness" is
better. It doesn't matter what teams throw at them they never give up or
get discouraged. I think Steph again exemplifies this very well. He
doesn't bitch about everything other teams throw at him, he just stays
dog-determined and figures out a way to overcome it. The whole team
seems mentally very strong.

Allen wrote:
> On 6/16/2022 11:02 PM, Robin Miller wrote:
>>
>>
>> I was so wrong when I posted after game three that it was over. Maybe
>> the Celtics are younger, stronger and more athletic, but the Warriors
>> are better and played absolutely phenomenal defense. Amazing stat that
>> players shooting against Steph tonight were 3-12 with six turnovers.
>> Solid contributions from everyone who played. This championship feels
>> the best to me; the only competition would be the first (of this
>> current run).
>>
>> I'm still a little uncertain as to what to expect from Klay next
>> season, but we'll see. And we'll see if they extend Poole and re-sign
>> the free agents (Payton, Porter and Bjelica, maybe others). And then
>> how Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody develop.
>>
>> --Robin
>
>
> I'm totally impressed by two things:
>
> 1. The job Kerr & the coaches did. Seemed like Kerr was experimenting
> with lineups right up to game 6. At first, through game 3, it seemed
> like the Celtics were the stronger team. But they didn't adjust much*
> and Kerr & Co eventually figured it out, on both sides. The Warriors
> offense got the job done (against a good defense) and the defense was
> amazing, especially at the end. Seems like Kerr outcoached the Celtics,
> especially at the end.
>
> *I saw a comment by Smart that the Celtics tried everything they could
> think of. That surprised me - seemed like they were always the same.
>

I didn't follow Boston much during the season, but Smart didn't look at
all like the defensive player of the year. Was he really that good
during the regular season?

--Robin

Allen wrote:
> On 6/17/2022 8:23 PM, Allen wrote:
>> On 6/16/2022 11:02 PM, Robin Miller wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> I was so wrong when I posted after game three that it was over. Maybe
>>> the Celtics are younger, stronger and more athletic, but the Warriors
>>> are better and played absolutely phenomenal defense. Amazing stat
>>> that players shooting against Steph tonight were 3-12 with six
>>> turnovers. Solid contributions from everyone who played. This
>>> championship feels the best to me; the only competition would be the
>>> first (of this current run).
>>>
>>> I'm still a little uncertain as to what to expect from Klay next
>>> season, but we'll see. And we'll see if they extend Poole and re-sign
>>> the free agents (Payton, Porter and Bjelica, maybe others). And then
>>> how Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody develop.
>>>
>>> --Robin
>>
>>
>> I'm totally impressed by two things:
>>
>> 1. The job Kerr & the coaches did. Seemed like Kerr was experimenting
>> with lineups right up to game 6. At first, through game 3, it seemed
>> like the Celtics were the stronger team. But they didn't adjust much*
>> and Kerr & Co eventually figured it out, on both sides. The Warriors
>> offense got the job done (against a good defense) and the defense was
>> amazing, especially at the end. Seems like Kerr outcoached the
>> Celtics, especially at the end.
>>
>> *I saw a comment by Smart that the Celtics tried everything they could
>> think of. That surprised me - seemed like they were always the same.
>>
>> 2. Speaking of which, I'm amazed at how better conditioned the
>> Warriors seemed to be. Steph is probably the best example - it's
>> amazing how much force he had in game 6. But Wiggins is another
>> amazing example - as I saw him comment in a story a while ago, he
>> seems like one of those guys who never gets tired (John Havlicek of
>> the old Celtics was like that). But not just them, Draymond and Klay
>> and Looney and GP2. It's weird - the older team (Warriors) seemed to
>> me like the better conditioned one. Maybe the Celtics got too worn out
>> by the Bucks and Heat, but the Warriors had it pretty hard against
>> Memphis and they didn't get worn out.
>>
>
> PS:
> 3. I'm impressed by the spunk and resilience of the Warriors. I don't
> want to use the word "fight", but it fits - maybe "stubbornness" is
> better. It doesn't matter what teams throw at them they never give up or
> get discouraged. I think Steph again exemplifies this very well. He
> doesn't bitch about everything other teams throw at him, he just stays
> dog-determined and figures out a way to overcome it. The whole team
> seems mentally very strong.

Tim Kawakami just wrote an article about this for The Athletic:

Kawakami: The beautiful pride and pettiness of an especially meaningful
Warriors’ championship

https://theathletic.com/3370549/2022/06/17/warriors-nba-finals-championship/

It was loud and ultra-clear in almost every interview and every exultant
gesture, and maybe the accumulation of it all surprised you Thursday
night, but it didn’t surprise anybody who has been around Stephen Curry,
Draymond Green and Klay Thompson even a little bit the past decade.

This was the Warriors’ F— You championship.

I mean that in a good way. They meant it in a (mostly) good way amid the
whoops and champagne pours inside TD Garden after they beat the Celtics
in Game 6 to clinch the fourth title of the Curry Age. They have every
right to crow, thump their chests and bellow: Who else believed this
could happen? Who else? So they did crow and thump and shout that they
always believed.

This is the biggest point: There’s no way the Warriors’ dynasty — yes,
that’s what this is, proven once and for all on Thursday — extends this
long and morphs into these kinds of celebrations in other team’s arenas
unless pride and some petulance is coursing through everything here.

It’s the stuff of purest competitor fervor. It’s winning stuff. It’s who
the Warriors are, in so many ways. It’s beautiful. And, beyond all
doubt, it was powerful enough to burn right through the Boston chants
and the TV finger-waving and everything else the Warriors watched, heard
and eventually shut down in these games.

So there they were, inside the visitor’s locker room immediately after
the trophy presentation, spraying liquid all around and chanting, “Fuck
you, Draymond!” to mimic the foul TD Garden chant during Games 3 and 4 —
but not so much, as Draymond pointed out Thursday, during Game 6.

“Fun moment,” Kevon Looney said on the podium later. “Draymond been
yelling at us all year, too.”

And there was Klay up on the podium in another moment, giving typically
random and hilarious commentary on all things related to this
achievement, but mostly running through a series of vendettas and
settled scores. You do not cross the Warriors without the Warriors being
fully prepared to cross you right back a thousand times harder.

“There is this one player on the Grizzlies who tweeted ‘strength in
numbers’ after they beat us in the regular season and it pissed me off
so much,” Thompson said, calling back to Jaren Jackson Jr.’s mini
slighting of the Warriors’ long-time slogan. “I can’t wait to retweet
that thing. Frigging bum. I had to watch that, like this frigging … OK,
OK. Sorry. Bad memory just popped up. Going to mock us? Like, you ain’t
ever been there before, bro. We been there. We know what it takes. Hold
that. Twitter fingers, can you believe it?

“I’ve got a memory like an elephant. I don’t forget. There were a lot of
people kicking us down.”

There was Klay again, slashing at any commentator (and probably a very
particular one), who said that Curry required a Finals MVP (which he won
Thursday, of course) to validate his greatness: “Some frickin’ bozo
saying he needed it.”

There was more. A lot more from several other Warriors players. It kept
going. It was hilarious. It was so illustrative. But let’s stop and say
it right here: The Warriors were not acting in 100 percent anger when
they continually brought up their critics and doubters in this giddy
aftermath. They were merely being forthright about the pride they felt
in getting back to the mountaintop after dipping out of the national
conversation for two years, and they were acknowledging the broader
issues that truly drive them.

They spent the previous two seasons — after five straight trips to the
Finals and three championships — nursing their injuries, marshaling
their energy, restocking their roster and yes, marking down the
perceived slights. The bill came due on Thursday. The Warriors always
pay their rhetorical debts.

“At the beginning of the year, what were they saying?” Curry asked. “We
weren’t even on the radar. And now we’re here with two trophies
(championship and MVP) and it means a lot.”

Yes, that’s the player who called himself the Petty King a few days
earlier, somebody who registers all slights and yearns to silence them
with a basketball and his teammates. He said it with a smile. A knowing
smile. A killer smile. And then he eliminated the Celtics with 34
points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds in Game 6. He didn’t need any award to
justify his greatness. But he also won his first Finals MVP by averaging
31.2 points, 6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in this series.

You come at the Petty King, you better not miss.

In the final minutes of Game 6, Curry was overcome with emotion during a
baseline embrace with his father, Dell, and, of course, at the podium
later recalled somebody specific — ESPN analyst and former center
Kendrick Perkins, who made the signal for “zero” when asked months ago
how many titles this Warriors’ group might win.

“That’s why I have so many emotions, and still will, just because of
what it took to get back here,” Curry said. “And the fact that when we
started this season, the conversations about who we were as a team and
what we were capable of, clearly remember some experts and talking heads
putting up the big zero of how many championships we would have going
forward because of everything that we went through.

“You go to these last two years, and conversations, narratives, we’re
too old, the parallel timelines of developing young guys and keeping our
core together, all those tough decisions that we had to make, that
weighs on you for as much time as we’re going through it.”

Also, there was this. In the third quarter, mind you.

That was pretty audacious. You have to be fully certain you’re going to
win this game and this championship to tell a hostile opposing crowd
that you’re about to earn a championship ring in their building and they
have to deal with it. And yet, he was right. Everybody will have to deal
with it.

poldy <poldy@kfu.com> wrote:
> On 6/16/22 11:02 PM, Robin Miller wrote:
> >
> >
> > I was so wrong when I posted after game three that it was over. Maybe
> > the Celtics are younger, stronger and more athletic, but the Warriors
> > are better and played absolutely phenomenal defense. Amazing stat that
> > players shooting against Steph tonight were 3-12 with six turnovers.
> > Solid contributions from everyone who played. This championship feels
> > the best to me; the only competition would be the first (of this current
> > run).
> >
> > I'm still a little uncertain as to what to expect from Klay next season,
> > but we'll see. And we'll see if they extend Poole and re-sign the free
> > agents (Payton, Porter and Bjelica, maybe others). And then how Wiseman,
> > Kuminga and Moody develop.
> >
> > --Robin

> It's a bonus to see Curry still perform at this level.

> After 2019 Finals, I thought that was it. Glad to be proven wrong.

> But everything now is icing on the cake.

I wonder how many more years he can keep playing well.
--
GG, GSW! TY 4 beating Celtics! :D Mon. is a fed. holiday!
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

Allen wrote:
> On 6/16/2022 11:02 PM, Robin Miller wrote:

>
> I'm totally impressed by two things:
>
> 1. The job Kerr & the coaches did. Seemed like Kerr was experimenting
> with lineups right up to game 6. At first, through game 3, it seemed
> like the Celtics were the stronger team. But they didn't adjust much*
> and Kerr & Co eventually figured it out, on both sides. The Warriors
> offense got the job done (against a good defense) and the defense was
> amazing, especially at the end. Seems like Kerr outcoached the Celtics,
> especially at the end.
>
> *I saw a comment by Smart that the Celtics tried everything they could
> think of. That surprised me - seemed like they were always the same.

"all they could think of" could mean that they weren't especially
creative. By contrast, Kerr (and his coaching staff) have a long
history of thinking outside the box.

A particularly telling example was when Kerr was willing to bench Green
in the 4th quarter of Game 4, because that was what the team needed for
a few minutes, and Green wasn't able to provide in that game. And then
shuffling Green and Poole, as the situation required.

>
> 2. Speaking of which, I'm amazed at how better conditioned the Warriors
> seemed to be. Steph is probably the best example - it's amazing how much
> force he had in game 6. But Wiggins is another amazing example - as I
> saw him comment in a story a while ago, he seems like one of those guys
> who never gets tired (John Havlicek of the old Celtics was like that).
> But not just them, Draymond and Klay and Looney and GP2. It's weird -
> the older team (Warriors) seemed to me like the better conditioned one.
> Maybe the Celtics got too worn out by the Bucks and Heat, but the
> Warriors had it pretty hard against Memphis and they didn't get worn out.
>

I alluded to this in a previous post -- the Warriors have a history of
being able to wear down opponents in a series, especially when things
get to game 5. And yes, where the Warriors' overall fitness seems to be
better. Deep-dives of Wiggins' defense against Tatum seems to bear that
out, but there were a lot of other things happening with the Warriors'
defense, as well. And beyond all the turnovers, we saw that when the
Celtics got stymied by the Warriors' defense, they tended to be quick at
carping at the officials.

Coming into the series, we heard that the Celtics' inexperience in
Finals wouldn't be a problem, because they had just come off of 2 7-game
series. However, the Finals aren't the same as earlier series, and the
Warriors aren't the Heat or the Bucks. They have Been There and Done
that, and know a lot better about how to dig down deep when needed.

As Robin mentioned, it was easy to write off the Warriors after Game 3,
but Curry had it in him to have a monster game, even when Thompson and
Green were struggling. Plus, it seems that the national media focus too
much on Q-ratings, and because the perception of the Warriors core aging
(and presumably in decline), haven't paid attention to the value of the
rest of the team. That includes Wiggins both in a suitable role as a
3-and-D wing (and not the nonsense about "Maple Jordan") and focused and
motivated, Payton coming into his own (overcoming his dyslexia, and
playing in places where most coaches wouldn't dream of), Poole's scoring
bursts, and all the things that Porter was able to do.

Smith

Allen wrote:
> 3. I'm impressed by the spunk and resilience of the Warriors. I don't
> want to use the word "fight", but it fits - maybe "stubbornness" is
> better. It doesn't matter what teams throw at them they never give up or
> get discouraged. I think Steph again exemplifies this very well. He
> doesn't bitch about everything other teams throw at him, he just stays
> dog-determined and figures out a way to overcome it. The whole team
> seems mentally very strong.

Perhaps "refuse to lose" might be a good description.

For Curry, Game 5 was interesting. The Celtics threw everything they
could at him to prevent another Game 4 outburst, and he was content (or
content enough) to be a facilitator for others to get the win.

Although he may have been internally annoyed at the limitations in his
own stats, he knew that he could concede them to win one game, and
knowing that Game 6 was a different game.

Smith

On 6/17/2022 11:29 PM, Ant wrote:
> poldy <poldy@kfu.com> wrote:
>> On 6/16/22 11:02 PM, Robin Miller wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> I was so wrong when I posted after game three that it was over. Maybe
>>> the Celtics are younger, stronger and more athletic, but the Warriors
>>> are better and played absolutely phenomenal defense. Amazing stat that
>>> players shooting against Steph tonight were 3-12 with six turnovers.
>>> Solid contributions from everyone who played. This championship feels
>>> the best to me; the only competition would be the first (of this current
>>> run).
>>>
>>> I'm still a little uncertain as to what to expect from Klay next season,
>>> but we'll see. And we'll see if they extend Poole and re-sign the free
>>> agents (Payton, Porter and Bjelica, maybe others). And then how Wiseman,
>>> Kuminga and Moody develop.
>>>
>>> --Robin
>
>> It's a bonus to see Curry still perform at this level.
>
>> After 2019 Finals, I thought that was it. Glad to be proven wrong.
>
>> But everything now is icing on the cake.
>
> I wonder how many more years he can keep playing well.

I see two reasons why Curry may have several more years:

1. He works out so hard. He's gotten much stronger, he's not very
injury-prone, probably because he works out hard, and he's shown quite a
bit of stamina, probably also because he works out hard. I think he's
optimizing his body so he can squeeze more good years out of it.

2. His position, PG, doesn't require a lot of athleticism. So I think
he'll be able to play it for several more years. Chris Paul is an
example showing that you can play PG into your older years. And I think
Curry is in better shape. He really showed that in the Boston series.
They worked him hard, but he was still able to run all around the place
and maintain high energy all the way through game 6. Impressive.