Reactions: Warriors 97, Pelicans 87

Golden State Warriors

New Orleans Pelicans

	David Lee, PF 35 MIN \| 9-19 FG \| 4-4 FT \| 8 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 2 BLK \| 0 TO \| 22 PTS \| +17Lee got off to an inauspicious start in New Orleans, posting up Anthony Davis multiple times and failing to convert. Lee has faced two fantastic defenders on back-to-back nights, but unlike on Friday night Lee found ways multiple ways to score instead of just pounding it inside. Lee found his jumper, hitting back-to-back midrange shots in the midst of a 7-0 Warriors run. Defensively, Lee — along with his teammates — were abused by Anthony Davis, who was hitting tough, contested jumpers as well as on the inside. A solid recovery on the second leg of the B2B for Lee.
	Andre Iguodala, SF 36 MIN \| 3-7 FG \| 2-2 FT \| 3 REB \| 3 AST \| 1 STL \| 2 BLK \| 2 TO \| 8 PTS \| +18Iguodala’s struggles continue on both ends of the floor. He looks to make plays, but this often leads to hesitancy when it comes to his own offensive game. Andre’s handles and court vision deserve praise, especially on a team weak in both those categories, but you’d like to see him look for his own shot more given his physical gifts. With three assists on the night and only one shot outside the paint, this was another forgettable night on that end of the floor. Defensively, his lateral quickness and overall prowess still aren’t there, and haven’t been shown since his return from injury. Iguodala is a veteran, and these are the dog days of the NBA season, one can’t help but wonder if there’s some “coasting” happening. Regardless, I don’t see Iguodala’s struggles continuing as the season progresses.
	Andrew Bogut, C 34 MIN \| 5-5 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 15 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 STL \| 5 BLK \| 2 TO \| 10 PTS \| +12I stated in my last recap that I would reward Bogut with an “INC” grade until Jackson decided to use him as he should. Well, Jackson either read my piece (unlikely), heard it from Bogut (likely) or checked his Twitter mentions (possibly) as Bogut played 34 minutes, 6:31 of them coming in the 4Q. Bogut’s 4Q was special, recording two blocks and wrecking havoc inside. The entire Warriors community was pleaing for the Aussie to get more minutes, especially late into games, and Jackson finally figured out that sitting your best defender deep into the 4Q is a recipe for success. Offensively, he didn’t miss one shot as he caught multiple lobs and looked spry doing so. Tack on 15 rebounds to his line and you have his most complete game of the season.
	Stephen Curry, PG 38 MIN \| 10-22 FG \| 6-6 FT \| 6 REB \| 8 AST \| 4 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 28 PTS \| +15Curry has found his shooting groove the last two games, combining for 21/40 (8/19 from deep), 65 points, 19 assists and nine rebounds. His most encouraging stat from Saturday night: zero turnovers. Curry’s games seem so much smoother and complete without the turnovers, and after having seven on Friday night he proved that many of his turnovers are preventable. Curry played tight, and when he’s free-flowing on offense, making his normal array of shots — including some acrobatic layups on the inside — and getting his teammates involved like he has all season, his game is a thing of beauty. An impressive two-game stint for the future All-Star starter.
	Klay Thompson, SG 37 MIN \| 3-14 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 1 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 BLK \| 1 TO \| 8 PTS \| +14Thompson didn’t have the same shooting touch as his backcourt partner, but his defense was just as important. Thompson’s dominance of Eric Gordon continued as he limited him to 3/17 from the field (18%), eight points, six assists and five rebounds. Thompson left his offense in Oklahoma City, but with some help from (gasp!) the bench, his scoring wasn’t needed to secure the win. Normally, as Thompson expends so much energy chasing around an elite player, his offense suffers. This time however, while he was given the task of shadowing Gordon, the bench made up for his lack of production and helped keep the Warriors in the game.

Quote of Jordan Crawford’s career:

‘Why do you wear sunglasses in the locker room after games?’ I asked Jordan Crawford on Thursday.

Little did I know that the answer would soon have me listening to Wu-Tang Clan and Gang Starr tracks in the Verizon Center media room. Without headphones, too.

‘Oh, that’s just a part of my steez,’ Crawford replied.

‘Part of your what?’ I asked.

‘My steelo,’ he answered. ‘My style.’

(via The Washington Post)

Looking ahead: The Warriors have three games next week, starting with a clash with the Indiana Pacers (TNT) on Monday. Following that matchup, they face the disappointing Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday and Portland Trailblazers on Sunday.

Your Stephen Curry shot chart for the season:

Your second-unit shot chart of the night:

Your early candidate for dunk of the season:

Tweets of the game:

Barnes Fouls > Barnes Points + Rebounds + Assists…two nights in a row #roadtochina

— mike mcguiness (@mcguins) January 19, 2014

Hopefully Mark gets it now. Just took a few preventable losses.

— Daniel Leroux (@DannyLeroux) January 19, 2014

Mark Jackson is looking on thinking “Playing Bogut late. I might be on to something.”

— Sal Castaneda (@sal_castaneda) January 19, 2014

Follow @JRAM_91

	David Lee, PF 35 MIN \| 9-19 FG \| 4-4 FT \| 8 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 2 BLK \| 0 TO \| 22 PTS \| +17Lee got off to an inauspicious start in New Orleans, posting up Anthony Davis multiple times and failing to convert. Lee has faced two fantastic defenders on back-to-back nights, but unlike on Friday night Lee found ways multiple ways to score instead of just pounding it inside. Lee found his jumper, hitting back-to-back midrange shots in the midst of a 7-0 Warriors run. Defensively, Lee — along with his teammates — were abused by Anthony Davis, who was hitting tough, contested jumpers as well as on the inside. A solid recovery on the second leg of the B2B for Lee.
	Andre Iguodala, SF 36 MIN \| 3-7 FG \| 2-2 FT \| 3 REB \| 3 AST \| 1 STL \| 2 BLK \| 2 TO \| 8 PTS \| +18Iguodala’s struggles continue on both ends of the floor. He looks to make plays, but this often leads to hesitancy when it comes to his own offensive game. Andre’s handles and court vision deserve praise, especially on a team weak in both those categories, but you’d like to see him look for his own shot more given his physical gifts. With three assists on the night and only one shot outside the paint, this was another forgettable night on that end of the floor. Defensively, his lateral quickness and overall prowess still aren’t there, and haven’t been shown since his return from injury. Iguodala is a veteran, and these are the dog days of the NBA season, one can’t help but wonder if there’s some “coasting” happening. Regardless, I don’t see Iguodala’s struggles continuing as the season progresses.
	Andrew Bogut, C 34 MIN \| 5-5 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 15 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 STL \| 5 BLK \| 2 TO \| 10 PTS \| +12I stated in my last recap that I would reward Bogut with an “INC” grade until Jackson decided to use him as he should. Well, Jackson either read my piece (unlikely), heard it from Bogut (likely) or checked his Twitter mentions (possibly) as Bogut played 34 minutes, 6:31 of them coming in the 4Q. Bogut’s 4Q was special, recording two blocks and wrecking havoc inside. The entire Warriors community was pleaing for the Aussie to get more minutes, especially late into games, and Jackson finally figured out that sitting your best defender deep into the 4Q is a recipe for success. Offensively, he didn’t miss one shot as he caught multiple lobs and looked spry doing so. Tack on 15 rebounds to his line and you have his most complete game of the season.
	Stephen Curry, PG 38 MIN \| 10-22 FG \| 6-6 FT \| 6 REB \| 8 AST \| 4 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 28 PTS \| +15Curry has found his shooting groove the last two games, combining for 21/40 (8/19 from deep), 65 points, 19 assists and nine rebounds. His most encouraging stat from Saturday night: zero turnovers. Curry’s games seem so much smoother and complete without the turnovers, and after having seven on Friday night he proved that many of his turnovers are preventable. Curry played tight, and when he’s free-flowing on offense, making his normal array of shots — including some acrobatic layups on the inside — and getting his teammates involved like he has all season, his game is a thing of beauty. An impressive two-game stint for the future All-Star starter.
	Klay Thompson, SG 37 MIN \| 3-14 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 1 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 BLK \| 1 TO \| 8 PTS \| +14Thompson didn’t have the same shooting touch as his backcourt partner, but his defense was just as important. Thompson’s dominance of Eric Gordon continued as he limited him to 3/17 from the field (18%), eight points, six assists and five rebounds. Thompson left his offense in Oklahoma City, but with some help from (gasp!) the bench, his scoring wasn’t needed to secure the win. Normally, as Thompson expends so much energy chasing around an elite player, his offense suffers. This time however, while he was given the task of shadowing Gordon, the bench made up for his lack of production and helped keep the Warriors in the game.