Reactions: Warriors 113, Suns 107

Phoenix Suns

107

113

Golden State Warriors

	David Lee, PF 37 MIN \| 11-18 FG \| 4-5 FT \| 9 REB \| 3 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 5 TO \| 26 PTS \| +11Lee has played extremely well since coming back from his injury, and on Sunday night in a difficult matchup with Channing Frye and the Suns bigs, Lee delivered in every facet of the game. He failed to get his patented double-double, but who cares. 26 points on 11/18 shooting is highly efficient, and four of those shots came from outside the paint, which is a good sign for Lee and a great sign for the Warriors offense. Defensively, Lee did a fantastic job guarding the Dragic-Frye pick-and-roll, which can eat a team alive if you’re not careful. Frye can stretch the floor and Dragic can drive on anyone, but Lee closed out on Frye well and the Warriors gave Dragic tons of looks to make his night a difficult one despite his impressive line (many of his shots were contested). Add in some fine passes and you have a very complete game from Lee.
	Andre Iguodala, SF 36 MIN \| 2-6 FG \| 2-4 FT \| 5 REB \| 6 AST \| 4 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 7 PTS \| -3I feel like I give Iguodala nothing but “B” grades, so I felt the need to go higher for his performance against Phoenix. He does so many little things, especially defensively, that don’t go noticed or aren’t seen in the box score. His line tonight was impressive from a balance standpoint, but it was on the defensive end where he really shines (and was signed for) and Andre didn’t disappoint. Draymond Green is the vocal leader off the bench and Andre is simply a quiet assassin. He’s everywhere, and while he may not be the quickest player on the court anymore, his length bothers most and his defensive IQ is off the charts. PJ Tucker never got going in his 26 minutes, and the Morris twins — while combining for 21 points — were shadowed by multiple Warriors defenders and never became a huge threat. The only worrisome trait from the game came in the fourth quarter, when Andre missed two free throws with :15 seconds left that would’ve iced the game. He’s never been an elite free-throw shooter (career 72%), but he’s at 63% this season. He won’t magically be fixed overnight, but this is something to keep an eye on in future games, especially late game situations.
	Andrew Bogut, C 14 MIN \| 2-2 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 0 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 4 PTS \| +1Bogut saw the bench for much of the night due to the Suns smaller lineups, forcing Jackson to match size for size. As these games grow more important, the need for a healthy Bogut heightens. Whenever the Warriors can win with Bogut getting limited minutes, consider it a huge plus.
	Stephen Curry, PG 30 MIN \| 7-16 FG \| 3-3 FT \| 2 REB \| 9 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 1 TO \| 18 PTS \| +11Curry vs. Dragic is a matchup that basketball fans want to see for many years to come. Both are fantastic in their own ways, and Curry got the better of Dragic on Sunday. Curry didn’t have his most productive game, but it was still an efficient one given his assist total. He’s played second fiddle to the other Splash Brother in recent games, and it’s actually refreshing to see. The Warriors 38-17 run in the 3Q was led by Klay Thompson and David Lee with Curry dishing out six of his assists in that frame. Curry will surely be depended on as games become slower and competition gets tougher, but it benefits the team more in the long-run to see others grow and shine like Thompson has in recent games. Curry will always get his.
	Klay Thompson, SG 35 MIN \| 9-15 FG \| 0-2 FT \| 4 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 1 TO \| 22 PTS \| +18Thompson wasn’t hailed as a defender coming out of college, simply being praised for his incredible shooting ability and offensive potential. While his shooting has transferred over into the NBA, the other facets of his offensive game had yet to be developed. He was unwilling to go into the paint, pass when need be and put the ball on the floor. But, as this recent games has shown (and a little help from his goatee), he’s maturing in front of our eyes. Now, this doesn’t mean he won’t take contested jumpers or settle when he possibly can drive, but it’s a fantastic sign of Thompson’s development into a complete offensive player. We know he can develop as on defense, as he wasn’t hailed as a quality defender at Washington State and has since developed into an above average defender. He’s shooting with confidence, and it’s palpable. He can guard 1-4, and while Gerald Green had a nice game he was seen on Goran Dragic for some of the game as well.

Quote of the game:

I think they got into their rhythm. I think the first two quarters we were controlling the pace but in the third quarter they changed the pace up and really started getting into a rhythm offensively. It was tough and we just didn’t buckle down. You can’t let three of them get hot. David Lee got hot and made a bunch and got to the free throw line, Klay Thompson made a bunch and so did Stephen Curry. We have to limit them to one or two players and cut back on our turnovers. We had too many turnovers tonight. We also have to come up with big plays and make shots.” — Channing Frye

Looking ahead: The Warriors have a huge slate of games next week that will undoubtedly affect their hopes for a higher playoff seed. They host the Dallas Mavericks (7th seed, 38-26) on Tuesday, head to Los Angeles for a matchup with the Clippers (4th seed, 44-20) on Wednesday, come back to Oracle for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday and finish their week with the Portland Trailblazers (5th seed, 42-21) on Sunday.

Your third quarter shot chart of the night:

Recap:

This was fun:

Tweets of the night:

The mention of PHO makes me hungry.

— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) March 10, 2014

@JRAM_91 Steezus is the yellow king

— Zach Baum (@Zach_Baum) March 10, 2014

Draymond+Lee > Landry+Lee

— EvanZ (@thecity2) March 10, 2014

Follow @JRAM_91

	David Lee, PF 37 MIN \| 11-18 FG \| 4-5 FT \| 9 REB \| 3 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 5 TO \| 26 PTS \| +11Lee has played extremely well since coming back from his injury, and on Sunday night in a difficult matchup with Channing Frye and the Suns bigs, Lee delivered in every facet of the game. He failed to get his patented double-double, but who cares. 26 points on 11/18 shooting is highly efficient, and four of those shots came from outside the paint, which is a good sign for Lee and a great sign for the Warriors offense. Defensively, Lee did a fantastic job guarding the Dragic-Frye pick-and-roll, which can eat a team alive if you’re not careful. Frye can stretch the floor and Dragic can drive on anyone, but Lee closed out on Frye well and the Warriors gave Dragic tons of looks to make his night a difficult one despite his impressive line (many of his shots were contested). Add in some fine passes and you have a very complete game from Lee.
	Andre Iguodala, SF 36 MIN \| 2-6 FG \| 2-4 FT \| 5 REB \| 6 AST \| 4 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 7 PTS \| -3I feel like I give Iguodala nothing but “B” grades, so I felt the need to go higher for his performance against Phoenix. He does so many little things, especially defensively, that don’t go noticed or aren’t seen in the box score. His line tonight was impressive from a balance standpoint, but it was on the defensive end where he really shines (and was signed for) and Andre didn’t disappoint. Draymond Green is the vocal leader off the bench and Andre is simply a quiet assassin. He’s everywhere, and while he may not be the quickest player on the court anymore, his length bothers most and his defensive IQ is off the charts. PJ Tucker never got going in his 26 minutes, and the Morris twins — while combining for 21 points — were shadowed by multiple Warriors defenders and never became a huge threat. The only worrisome trait from the game came in the fourth quarter, when Andre missed two free throws with :15 seconds left that would’ve iced the game. He’s never been an elite free-throw shooter (career 72%), but he’s at 63% this season. He won’t magically be fixed overnight, but this is something to keep an eye on in future games, especially late game situations.
	Andrew Bogut, C 14 MIN \| 2-2 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 0 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 4 PTS \| +1Bogut saw the bench for much of the night due to the Suns smaller lineups, forcing Jackson to match size for size. As these games grow more important, the need for a healthy Bogut heightens. Whenever the Warriors can win with Bogut getting limited minutes, consider it a huge plus.
	Stephen Curry, PG 30 MIN \| 7-16 FG \| 3-3 FT \| 2 REB \| 9 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 1 TO \| 18 PTS \| +11Curry vs. Dragic is a matchup that basketball fans want to see for many years to come. Both are fantastic in their own ways, and Curry got the better of Dragic on Sunday. Curry didn’t have his most productive game, but it was still an efficient one given his assist total. He’s played second fiddle to the other Splash Brother in recent games, and it’s actually refreshing to see. The Warriors 38-17 run in the 3Q was led by Klay Thompson and David Lee with Curry dishing out six of his assists in that frame. Curry will surely be depended on as games become slower and competition gets tougher, but it benefits the team more in the long-run to see others grow and shine like Thompson has in recent games. Curry will always get his.
	Klay Thompson, SG 35 MIN \| 9-15 FG \| 0-2 FT \| 4 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 1 TO \| 22 PTS \| +18Thompson wasn’t hailed as a defender coming out of college, simply being praised for his incredible shooting ability and offensive potential. While his shooting has transferred over into the NBA, the other facets of his offensive game had yet to be developed. He was unwilling to go into the paint, pass when need be and put the ball on the floor. But, as this recent games has shown (and a little help from his goatee), he’s maturing in front of our eyes. Now, this doesn’t mean he won’t take contested jumpers or settle when he possibly can drive, but it’s a fantastic sign of Thompson’s development into a complete offensive player. We know he can develop as on defense, as he wasn’t hailed as a quality defender at Washington State and has since developed into an above average defender. He’s shooting with confidence, and it’s palpable. He can guard 1-4, and while Gerald Green had a nice game he was seen on Goran Dragic for some of the game as well.