By: Scott Horlbeck
1. Before
Wait, David Lee is active tonight? I thought he couldn’t walk??? What does Mark Jackson have up his sleeve – hopefully not PED’s.
I know some people didn’t love David Lee’s 90 second cameo, but I got it. It had nothing to do with x’s and o’s. It was a human thing. It was an empathy thing. It was, “This could be the last time our All-Star, fan favorite and team leader gets the chance to play a playoff game at Oracle, so if the doctors say he can hold up for 90 seconds, then he’s going in there.” At the very least, it was going to make the fans go nuts, bring the team closer together, and provide Lee with a memory he would never forgot. I loved it.
2. During: Courtsides? I thought Hammer was broke?
3. After: Draymond is a GAMER. I know he sometimes gets a little too excited and takes a bad shot or hacks somebody on defense, but think about the series he just had. Think about the confidence Jackson has in him. Think about the BIG minutes he played. Think about the fact the he’s a second round pick playing in the first playoff series of his life.
Regular season: 2.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 32-21-81%
Playoffs: 7.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 59-50-75%
GAMER ALERT!!!!!!
4. During: Third (Steph’s) Quarter
As quick as Lawson is, he knows he can’t give Steph an inch. But playing someone that tight is difficult, and the second you’re leaning one way or the other, you’re dead. And Steph understands that better than anyone.
Why are you leaving him?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?
Oh and guess who made that pass…
5. During: I’m cutting him some slack because Iguodala was in his pocket all series, and he did hit some big shots in Denver in games 1 and 2, but overall, I just feel like Klay needs to be more aggressive offensively. At this point, everyone knows how good of a shooter he is. And when he does puts the ball on the floor, everyone knows it’s two dribbles — jump shot. But here’s the problem, No one fears the drive from the Klay. No one fears a pump fake and easy trip to the line. He’s become a defenses dream – predictable. So what’s the fix? Before more aggressive!!! When a guy is closing out hard, put your head down and go to the rim. Pump fake and jump into him. Drive and kick. Start making plays outside of just catch-and-shoot opportunities. Because until then, defenses are going to continue to play Klay the same way Denver did – in his pocket.
6. After: AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
Bogut was a monster all series, but game 6 was his coming out party. He was a animal on the glass and caught and finished just about everything Curry and Jack dropped off for him. But it’s wasn’t his 14 and 21 that impressed me most – nope – it was his defense at the rim. Not only did Bogut reject 4 shots, but he most have altered another 10. Look at the number of X’s inside the paint in Denver’s shot chart. That’s enough to get Kirk Goldsberry’s nether regions excited. I know Bogut has been battling injuries all year, and maybe didn’t have the impact we had all hoped for or expected, but in game 6 he was special.
7. After: The Play of the Game (or what I felt was the play of the game)
Guess who…