The Struggle is REAL for LeBron and the Cavs

LeBron admits this season is the hardest for him

When the Cleveland Cavaliers swapped Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas who, at the time of the trade, was still recovering from the injury he sustained during the last playoffs, many people were worried that this deal would have a rippling effect to the success rate of the Cavs. Despite getting Derrick Rose who was also dealing with his own injury problems among other matters, and Dwayne Wade, the defending Eastern Conference Champions are not as dominant as they used to be during the previous 3 seasons despite LeBron James playing another MVP-worthy season.

The Cavs began the season inconsistently and right now, they are nowhere near the super team that they should be. Why? If they are, then they should be holding the best record in the Eastern Conference, to say the least. Instead, the Cavs are in the 3rd spot in the East with a 26-17 record- 7 games behind the East-leading Boston Celtics.

Recently, LeBron James, who is averaging 27 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks in 43 games this season has finally admitted one thing that has been observed by many: the 2017-2018 season has been the hardest for LeBron.

How bad is it?

Since December 19, 2017, the Cleveland Cavaliers have gone 3-9 and are riding on a 4-game losing streak. The Cavs lost to the Golden State Warriors, twice, and to the Celtics of Kyrie Irving. But one of the ugliest defeats that the Cavs have to endure this season was the one against the Toronto Raptors, 133-99. That, by the way, was the most lopsided defeat that has been absorbed by the Cavs. It was so horrible that LeBron James was seen yelling at his teammates at the bench as if he was the coach.

Conclusion

If the Cavs can’t figure things out before the playoffs, it will put Tyronn Lue’s coaching job in jeopardy and worse, it will almost secure LeBron James’ ticket out of Cleveland. However, we shouldn’t count the Cavs just yet because whether we like it or not, the Cavs are still seasoned for another Finals trip assuming the Cavs make it past the Celtics. And who knows? These struggles might benefit the Cavs in the long run.

Scrutinizing Dubs: KD Slowly Outshining Steph

Is Steph Curry still the leader of the reigning Golden State Warriors? Or is it the great Kevin Durant who lift them to their recent championships?

Stephen Curry is an original player of the Dubs and has been the core of the ever since. He plays offense well as well as leading and directing it. Steph is a full package point guard that boosted the team for a title over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But so as KD.

Kevin Durant is an offensive monster just like Steph. just juat differ in size but in production, there is an almost negligible difference between the two. Curry has 27.8 points a game while Durant has 26.3. They both do their jobs as aces of the team especially in clutch times. They deliver winning shots in the final seconds and all varieties of ways to let their team win.

Nevertheless, it seems like Durant’s light is getting even brighter and brighter that it eventually it would make Steph a little bit unnoticeable.

Why is that so?

We all know that KD played a single season with the Dubs and already had a title with the team. Most will view this phenomema in a way that it is Kevin Durant that led the Dubs to this championship. Why? Because he spells the difference from an old to the new Warriors.

What makes his addition even more catchy is that he was crowned as the finals MVP last season.

A clear and concrete evidence of him being the spear header of the title shot recently won.

Another thing is Durant was already a superstar way back the OKC days. He’s not just a typical player who got some skills to play. His name would echo in every corner there is in the world where basketball fans do exist. And besides, his game mixed quite well with the Warriors eversince he was added.

Would it be beneficial for the Dubs?

Regardless of whoever shines the brightest, what’a important is the team’s victory. Whether it is Curry or Durant or somebodyelse. Everyone exerts efforts just to win a single game, therefore it is not just KD or Steph. Warriors is Warriors, because of all of them.

Too Good to Happen: Anthony Davis to GSW

Apparently, the Warriors are willing to give up two stars for Davis

As it is right now, the Golden State Warriors are headed for another top-seeded finish and are seasoned for another Finals trip, their 4th straight trip if ever they make it that far. They have the Splash Brothers in Steph Curry and Klay Thompson who can make it rain from deep at any given time. They also have Draymond Green, a workhorse who does all the dirty works, figuratively and literally. But there’s one player who makes the Warriors a better team. His name is Kevin Durant- a guy who was acquired by the Warriors just a few months after the Warriors blew a 3-1 Finals lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

And as it is right now, they are not yet done building a super team, just yet. Apparently, the Warriors were willing to send Draymond Green and Klay Thompson in exchange for one star, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans. While many pundits believe that the deal won’t happen and ESPN’s Trade Machine has already stated that such deal involving the mentioned players will fail due to the complex cap space issues plus tons of luxury taxes that will be penalized upon the Pelicans, a few believers think that this deal could actually happen in the future.

Here’s the catch, Anthony Davis is just in the 2nd year of a 5-year deal to stay in New Orleans. Klay Thompson is expected to stay until 2019 while Draymond Green’s contract expires in 2020. While the trade would not happen this season or even in the next season, this deal could actually make sense two seasons from now because both teams will have someone to gain instead of letting the players walk away into the free agency.

Now, assuming that the trade does happen two seasons, this will be the starting line up of the Warriors after trade:

Steph Curry
Nick Young
Kevin Durant
ANTHONY DAVIS
Zaza Pachulia

Or, Steve Kerr could start Kevin Durant at the power forward position then start Andre Iguodala at 3 then Davis at the 5 spot. Now that’s a super 5, right?

Conclusion

While Anthony Davis has said that he wants to remain a Pelican until such time when he finally calls it a career, we all know that nothing is certain when it comes to the NBA. As scary as the potential star power that the Warriors could gain, there’s also the potentiality of a chemistry issue that could run down Golden State. But yeah, Anthony Davis in a GSW uniform could also mean that Golden State could become a legitimate super team even without Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Scrutinizing Dubs: Draymond Green is Warriors’ Trump Card

With all sorts of power held tightly within the Warriors team, a question would arise. Are all cards revealed already or is there still a concealed one being unfolded from time to time?

Curry, Thompson, Durant saturated the Dubs in terms of big names in the league. Some say that their triple threat chemistry is just too much to handle for any other team that exists currently. They are looking to become even harder to stop as time passes. These three are the Dubs’ core. The heart of the plays.

But a basketball team could not be complete with only 3 guys no matter what their capabilities are. As the Dubs say, they have the strength in numbers.

There are all sorts of players that can be found in the Warriors pool but for today, setting aside their three main roleplayers, let us talk about another lethal weapon present in the superteam, Draymond Green.

What’s with Draymond?

Green is a beast inside. He may not play as consistent as other players but his stepping up his level in a certain game seemingly guarantees Warriors’ Victory.

By stepping up, I mean, Draymond Green finishing triple-double.

Was it just a coincidence or is it a concealed power?

Green had 21 triple doubles for the Dubs and never tasted defeat in all 21 matches where he performed big time.

If it only happened for a couple of times, we may say that the phenomenon is circumstantial. But 21 straight? It is far from just being a coincidental event.

So, how does Draymond Green Carry the Warriors to Victory?

As I have said, Draymond does not always play with such intensity but still, if he goes all out, he is just as effective as the other superstars within the team.

What’s even more interesting is when Klay, Steph or KD seemed to be running out of gas is the moment when Green plays big time. Just how strong it is that it results in victory?

Green possesses the capability to suffice three of their key players’ absence. He is a forward player that could play well inside of course but his secret weapon is his outside shooting. At times, he could connect from beyond the arc, which is a great way to cover up Klay or Curry or KD struggling from their comfort zones.

Green being a beast when the rest of the team were tamed just makes the Dubs even more unstoppable than ever. He keeps loopholes covered, flaws unseen and intensity stable.

The Peak Spot War: Hardenless Rockets vs. Raging Warriors

After a very sorrowful week for the Houston Rockets, they’ll now face the team they’ve been rooting to overthrow right from the start, the team which also happened to kick them out of the no. 1 spot in the West. Will they be able to do it without Harden’s beard?

Warriors are looking for a way to completely achieve dominance. For that to happen, they must defeat the Houston Rockets and take advantage of this short-handed squad.

The good and bad side of Harden’s absence

James Harden being missing in action may both have beneficial and harmful effects on the upcoming game.

Harden would not be able to play against Steph Curry. This could’ve been a great matchup, or a face-off perhaps. It could’ve been a fierce battle between two MVP potential guards.

He’s also Rockets main outside gunner and an all-around offensive trigger. Without him, the pace would be affected significantly.

So what’s the good thing about Harden’s absence?

The Rockets still has Chris Paul on the roster which also helped hugely to defeat Lakers in a breathtaking 2-overtime brawl.

Besides, James Harden wasn’t doing well in the past games. His extreme scoring led to the teamplay stagnancy which led the Rockets 5 straight losses, 2 of which he scored over 50 points.

Maybe Rockets would improve and step right back up on its feet without the beard. They’ll find team rhythm once again and unleash winning streaks this time.

Warriors would look to dominate through outside shooting

As obvious as it may appear, of course, Warriors would even take more advantage of the splash brothers especially now that Rockets are short handed to outside gunners. They’ll root for Curry and Klay to connect swiftly from the outside while KD and Green would take care of the paint.

In fact, Draymond can also drill the hoop from beyond the arc especially during the Dallas game. Outside shooting became very vital and every miss were fatal. The game was as close as it could get until Steph dropped the three-point bomb to break away from the 122 deadlock. Green’s jolting threes were of big help and may be as dangerous as the Splash Brothers because of its unpredictability.

Rockets on Paul’s shoulders

With the beard gone, Paul’s going to suffice Harden’s productivity at the highest level he could reach. Capela and Harden didn’t work out too well recently. It’s time for him to try and find a way to awaken their sleeping beast inside.

Conclusion

If the Rockets would fall on the hands of the Warriors, their race to the top spot is over and Warriors would tighten its grip with the San Antonio Spurs left to take down.

NBA in 2018: Questions that Need Answers

After a stunning pre-season which rocked the season, there are things that we are looking forward to in 2018

While there’s no question that this year’s pre-season was one of the wildest in recent memory due to the various super teams that were assembled plus the arrival of some of the promising rookies, 2018 should present the answers to the questions most of us asked prior to the start of the regular season and below are just some of the questions:

Will Golden State repeat as champions?

This is probably the most obvious question everyone asked after the Warriors successfully reclaimed the NBA championship from the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the super-trio of Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson still intact to this point in time, many were predicting another dominant season for the Warriors. However, numerous injuries have hit the Warriors during the first two months of the season and the fact that the Houston Rockets have started the season on fire had many questioning the Warriors’ dominance. In fact, many fans are now saying that this is the weakest the Warriors have become over the course of the 3 seasons. Sure, they are back atop the Western Conference but can they repeat as champions? That’s a different story, folks.
Will OKC make it work?

One of the stories that rocked the NBA the most was when the Oklahoma City Thunder assembled an on-paper mighty super trio of Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George after getting the latter two from separate trades. On paper, this trio can almost beat any super team but the problem is, they haven’t been the team they are meant to be. Until now. Heading into their first game of 2018, the Thunder have won 8 of their last 10 games with a 20-16 record which puts them in 5th place in the West. While the Thunder have been better than they were in November, can they actually keep only winning and make a championship team out of this? We’ll be watching, OKC.
Will Lonzo Ball become the best rookie in history?

Lonzo Ball was one of the most-hyped rookies in history ever since LeBron James’ pre-draft days. After being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers as the number two pick, many fans began saying that Lonzo Ball will bring the Lakers back to the Finals. As this point in time, this pundit on wheels is very much disappointed with Lonzo Ball’s performance because he is being outplayed by his own teammate, Kyle Kuzma, who is the 27thy pick in the 2017 Draft. Lonzo is still clanking most of his shots, especially from the three-point line. Will he improve? The season’s still long so there’s still plenty of time. Rookie of the Year material? Nope.
Where will LeBron James take his talents next?

This is probably one of the most nagging questions this year even before the start of the season. There were many speculations as to where His Majesty will establish his new kingdom come July of next year. One prominent destination where LeBron could land is the Lakers where he will be joining the young core that includes Lonzo Ball. Or, he could join Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in Philadelphia. Or what about Houston? The possibilities are limitless. Or, he could remain in Cleveland depending on how far will the Cavaliers go in the playoffs.

Conclusion

One thing is certain. All of the questions above and more will be answered slowly as 2018 begins unfolding itself soon. Mind you, folks. The trade deadline is almost at hand.Remember those trade rumors? They may make noise anew come January.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Scrutinizing Dubs: Warriors Strengthens Grip on Western Top Spot

The Dubs proved it all wrong. A huge missing link in the name of their ace point guard Stephen Curry won’t be a hindrance for their domination.

Kevin Durant has been leading the team well especially in scoring ever since Steph was unable to play. The recent finals MVP really got it all if there is an urgent need for a man to step up.

They only lost once in the last 10 games without Steph and managed to climb up to the top spot as they run streaks behind the struggling Rockets.

Why does Steph’s absence turn out to be beneficial for the team?

With Steph, the Warriors is an ultimate shooting squad led by him. Without him, yes the outside domination is still present but his absence gave way for offense to flow inside, led of course by KD.

Another good thing about Steph being unable to play is that it gave time for Warriors’ unnoticed guards to make baskets for the team. In their recent victory against the Utah Jazz, two guards off the bench finished with double figures. Nick Young and Patrick McCaw got significant minutes and scored 15 and 18 points respectively. These two guards were very efficient and productive. Warriors found a saving trump card in some games that Steph may experience foul troubles.

Conclusion

Steph’s absence seemed to go drastic at first but in the long run, it acted as an opportunity in disguise to dig deeper through the bench and let others become the offensive focus.

Kevin Durant’s been leading the offense. Not just leading but balancing it as well. Warriors aren’t just about shooting long buckets. They’ve got big men who can go head to head against stonewall defenses.

Slowly but Surely: The Thunder are Starting to Gain Ground

They are on a 6-game winning streak after beating the Toronto Raptors.

They started on the wrong foot, terribly. They stumbled near the bottom of the Western Conference and even lost to some of the worst teams in the NBA. Many fans were beginning to question the ability of Russell Westbrook to play with his two superstar teammates. Then, the “trade Paul George” rumors came out of nowhere. It seems back then that everything was beginning to fall apart for the Oklahoma City Thunder despite having Carmelo Anthony and Paul George on board.

Then, things began to brighten for the Thunder. They first defeated the formerly league-leading Houston Rockets and continued on their winning streak after beating one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors.

Question: Is this a sign that the Thunder are becoming the team everyone was talking about when their Big 3 was first assembled?

That’s still up for a debate but if anything, the Thunder have finally figured out how to play with each other. Russell Westbrook has been playing like his MVP self during their winning streak. They may be sitting in 21st place in the league in terms of points per game but defensively, they are the third-best team in terms of limiting their opponents’ production, forcing opponents to only 100 points per game. They are the best teams in steals per game, averaging 10 snatches per night. Additionally, they are forcing 16 turnovers per game- also a league’s best.

Conclusion

While the Thunder were able to beat an elite team in the Rockets, both teams are still due for two more games this season and mind you, folks, Chris Paul wasn’t in uniform when his team lost. Clint Capela just sustained an orbital fracture which is said to be putting him out of basketball action for two games.

Will the Thunder continue their streak? That’s up to them. After all, they should be challenging the Golden State Warriors for the top spot in the West. But given the fact that they have already made the climb up to 5th place owing to their 20-15 record, they are only 8 games behind the Warriors. They only need to maintain their consistency and who knows, we might actually see them challenging the Rockets and the Warriors like they were made to do in the first place.

JaVale McGee to Milwaukee: Who would win in this trade?

Trade rumors surrounding JaVale is popping out anew.

The defending champions, the Golden State Warriors have finally overtaken the Houston Rockets atop the standings of the stacked Western Conference as they have won 9 of their last 10 games including their Christmas Day game against LeBron James and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mind you, folks. They’ve been winning despite missing the services of 2-time MVP, Steph Curry who is currently nursing an injury. And given the fact that the Warriors have played amazingly over the past few weeks despite missing their stars, just imagine what the Warriors if they are in full strength. Scary, isn’t it?

If you watched last season’s Finals series between these two teams, there were other factors that enabled the Warriors to finish the series in 5 games outside of Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry. Among those factors is having a bench who can step up anytime Steve Kerr called them up. And among those players who played a critical role in the Warriors’ dominance against the Cavaliers is none other than JaVale McGee.

JaVale McGee has been known worldwide due to his funny antics on and off the court which produced a good number of memes online.

But more than that, he finally found a home with the Warriors and was a vital piece to the Warriors’ championship run. In fact, he averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds per game in 77 games while making 73% of his shots.

However, the emergence of Jordan Bell has left JaVale McGee scratching his head and he even didn’t play on Christmas Day. In fact, JaVale McGee hasn’t scored in double figures in a month and only played in 1 of the last 3 games.

Recently, trade rumors surrounding JaVale McGee have started to come out on the Internet. One of the rumors that have been making the loudest of the noise is the one involving McGee being sent to the Milwaukee Bucks

Who would win in this trade?

Regardless of who the Bucks will send in exchange for McGee, both teams would win in this deal. Steve Kerr can now focus on maximizing the potentials of Jordan Bell. On the other hand, the Bucks will be gaining an athletic big man who can defend and get the rebounds. He will be a perfect addition to the Bucks who already have Giannis Antetokuonmpo and Eric Bledsoe. Having McGee will add a much-needed depth for the Bucks.

Conclusion

If anything, JaVale McGee’s diminishing minutes under Steve Kerr is one sign that the former isn’t going to be with the Warriors in the long run so we can expect him to be traded before February. While he is already in the near climax of his career, JaVale McGee can still dunk, run on the break, defend and get those rebounds- at ease. Any team who would trade for him will definitely benefit them in more ways than what they can imagine.

Scrutinizing Dubs: 3 Reasons Why Curryless Warriors Beat Cavs

Kevin Love’s double-double of 31 points and 18 rebounds ended in a pit after losing against a Curry-less Warriors.

It would indeed hurt a lot for the Cavs to be beaten by their rival in the last Finals in three years. What made this defeat more painful is the fact that Steph Curry was unable to play. They were beaten despite the Warriors being handicapped.

What could’ve happened in the match that the Cavs weren’t able to capitalize on a short handed Warriors?

1. Worst Shooting Night for Both Squads, But Warriors did a little bit better.

Imagine two of the best teams in the league shooting so bad. That explains the low scoring ball game relatively speaking to both squads considering they are both offensive.

Cavs made 28 out of 88 (31.8 %) while Warriors were 38 out of 82 (46.3) from the field. It is not usual for these squads to miss a lot. 60 shots missed by Cavs. Their offense were way too inefficient.

2. LeBron wasn’t the offensive focus

Kevin Love became the main man of the Cavs when it should’ve been a great chance for James to go all out.

3. No Pachulia for Warriors, Better Inside Production and Faster Pace in Transition

Warriors without a center severely outscored Cavs inside, 44 – 20 in terms of points in the paint. Not just that but also in terms of defense, Warriors blocked Cavs 8 times while Cleveland? Not even once.

Cleveland may have not let the Warriors win the rebounds but still Warriors had the control.

Another thing is that Warriors dominate the transition game, scoring 33 fast break points but Cavs with only 9.

Conclusion

It is worse for the Warriors but way even more for Cavs. They failed to take advantage of Curry’s absence. Set up a wrong offensive focus and became inefficient on the field.

Scrutinizing Dubs: A Completely Different Team Without Curry

Steph Curry’s absence is just a huge void for the Dubs.

It is evident that the Warriors lost due to being completely lost with their rhythm, especially on the offensive end. One good example of this drastic scenario is their latest game, which happened to be their latest terrible loss.

96 – 81. Losing so badly is unusual for the Warriors but what makes this even more unusual is the fact that 81 points is very much low when speaking of the Warriors which is an extremely offensive team.

We already know that Warriors’ suddenly shrinks without Curry. What’s interesting are the possible reasons lingering behind.

1. Klay Thompson could not focus as a shooting guard and could not play point guard at least as effective as Curry.

It is indeed a fact that Klay aside from Steph is also one of the best shooters in the league, but his playing position contributes to it much and thus the position he plays would extremely affect the way and the intensity of his performance.

Without Steph as the main playmaker, Klay could not primarily focus on his own play to make shots but his time and energy are subdivided into making shots for his teammates before making shots for himself. Thus, Thompson’s outside domination and the entire play of Warriors would be adversely affected.

2. KD Would be Offensively Inconsistent

Kevin Durant is a ferocious offensive monster and would score enormously from time to time. But without a point guard which sets him up most of the time, we could expect a great finisher to struggle and stumble at times, which was exactly what happened during the Nuggets game. Durant shot 6-17 from the field and missed all his outside attempts, 5 to be exact. Which leads us to the 3rd reason

3. Outside Shooting Significantly Drops

Steph is the main trigger to be pulled whenever outside shooting is urgent. Without him shooting impeccably, Warriors’ production would drop down and the game would probably result in a loss, to prevent this, Warriors have the instinct that they need to cover up this insufficiency. Thus somebody must take outside shots either with comfort or with force. Durant doesn’t have it that night against Nuggets but still as one of the team’s key player, he needs to do the shooting and unluckily, all five missed.

Conclusion

Warriors’ isn’t all about Steph Curry but a team diminished by a major role player will always turn out to be a different one in the late phase of the story.

Balls-Eye: Warriors-Cavs Match Up Already on Hype, How Crucial Is this Game?

Stephen Curry shooting over Tristan Thompson

Two weeks from now, two teams who clashed in the recent NBA Finals will go head to head once again. Two weeks is still a long wait but not to both squads and to their fans and pretty much everyone who knows about the NBA in every inch of the world.

Given the hype, what’s the buzz behind the buzz? Just how significant will this game be for both ends?

It will be redemption for the Cavs of course. Though not totally because that match is a different story when we talk about a ‘finals series’. For the Warriors, it’s for their team’s morale as well. They do not want to show their rival any signs of weakness at any point. They want to stay as ferocious as they are ’til they meet again in the final stage (if possible).

Finals Rematch Uncertainty

All teams will try to take both of them off the race to the finals especially these two special teams who snatched their usual no. 1 spot in the conference — Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets which even made this game more crucial.

Why?

Warriors are on no. 2 in the West while Cavs hangs on no. 3 in the east. Who knows? The teams above them may slide all of a sudden and whoever wins between Cavs and Warriors will have the higher probability of climbing up the top spot. Though from the looks of things, their spot in the playoffs is secured. It is still best for teams like them to finish second to none in their respective conferences.

Conclusion

Whenever Cavs and Warriors meet up, it will always be more than just winning a game. There’ll always be side dishes that are even more blazing than the game itself. Their story would never end ’til both of them will be shut down completely by an even more powerful squad.

Who knows? That team might be here right here, right now.

Balls-Eye: What if Warriors Play Big Games without KD?

It’s not as though Kevin Durant is a piece of offensive machinery. Well in fact, even most highly calibrated machine that currently exist needs to shut down from time to time.

The Dubs seemed to be fine without Steph during Hornets game as Kevin Durant exploded and leveled up his performance from best to ultimate.

Well, Steph and Durant are both powerful players yet very much different in style, playing different roles in the team.

So what might happen if Kevin Durant will be the one who’s unable to play?

There’s a lot of lingering possibilities but the bottomline will be a weaker Warriors squad. Warriors may revert to a team which the Cavs had beaten in the finals — the time before they have acquired KD.

Durant averages 25 points a game and him unable to play will diminish offense this much. Or so it seemed to be?

Steph averages 26 points a game but Warriors still managed to win so its not as though the absence of a player with a high point average would dramatically decrease a team’s firepower.

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But it’s just averages we are talking about. We all know that a game isn’t just about scoring but about a holistic impact instead. A strong player’s presence is enough to shaken up an opponent if you really are a monster on the floor.

Now which has the holistic impact?

Well, It’s Steph offensively knowing that he directs the plays and dish out passes plus outside shooting but it is KD defensively, of course a bigger man would weaken the defense. KD’s presence inside intimidates the opponent’s slashers and without him, the small guys on the other end would have the esteem to penetrate and have a chance to score easier.

Conclusion

Steve Kerr said that Curry’s absence is good for the team in the sense that other players have some room to step up because of the open playing time Steph left. Now Durant being the team’s ace like Steph, Kerr could’ve said the same thing.

The Chef is Out for Two Weeks: No Notable Effects to GSW

The defending champions should be just fine without Steph Curry

The Golden State Warriors are getting their groove back as they are currently on a 4-game winning streak after a stunning loss at the hands of the Sacramento Kings. At 19-6, they are now just half a game behind the West-leading Houston Rockets.

However, things might need to change a little bit for the defending champions as they are currently dealing with another injury problem. This time, Stephen Curry, the two-time MVP, is reported to be sitting out for the next two weeks owing to the ankle injury that sustained during the Warriors’ win against the New Orleans Pelicans which was highlighted by a spat between Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins. Both players were ejected, by the way.

The good news is, MRI results came back positively, showing that Curry’s ankle is still intact but also shows a significant amount of swelling and has to be evaluated for the next two weeks which means the Chef will be out starting against the Charlotte Hornets.

While Curry’s injury adds to the injury problem of the Warriors who also have Shaun Livingston, Zaza Pachulia and Patrick McCaw all doubtful to play against the Hornets, GSW will be just fine even without half of the Splash Brothers.

Why? Here’s why:

Kevin Durant has been playing like an MVP although he’s in 9th place in terms of total points per game, 4 places lower than Curry. With Curry out, expect Durant to take over much of the scoring load for the Warriors along with Klay Thompson and of course, Draymond Green. Sure, you will lose Curry’s 26 points per game average but Steve Kerr shouldn’t be worrying right now because GSW still has more scorers.

Conclusion

Steph Curry has always been one of the main reasons why the Warriors have been successful as of late. But mind you, folks. Even without Kevin Durant and Steph Curry in the line-up, the Warriors have been able to win some games. That’s how fully-weaponized the Warriors are. They can play with or without their Big 3.That’s one of the reasons why they are the defending champions.

Balls-Eye: Stronger Warriors, Zaza Building-up Efficiency

Warriors bounced back after loss against Kings, beating the Lakers in an overtime thrilla. Kevin Durant exploded with 29 points. Splash Brothers unleashed a wave as Steph Curry sizzled with 28 points while Klay Thompson with 20 points put Brandon Ingram’s 32 point performance in vain. It was a tough offensive battle, Lonzo Ball dished out 10 assists and 15 points but it was the defending champs that stood tall after a 48 minute plus five more.

Behind this victory, of course it would not be possible without the Warriors’ triple threat who all scored beyond 20 points. But there is something concealed in the shadows of this superstars.

Zaza Pachulia shot a smooth 100% from the field. Not that impressive when it comes to a tiny 11 point production but it is far from his previous bad performances. And just to spice it up, He only played a total of 14 minutes and scored double digits in that short span? That is far from impressive. Zaza showed a huge improvement during the Lakers game.

Pachulia also did a great job in covering the big guys of the opponent. Brook Lopez with 17 minutes of play finished with only 6 points while Bogut barely had a time to play and scored only 2 points. Despite a not so high scoring, still he had the highest production compared to the other big guys.

Conclusion

Zaza may earn extra playing time with this impeccable performance he had shown. He has already done a bit of his part in scoring and it will surely make an even stronger Warriors if he’ll be consistent in the remaining games.

Aside from scoring, he needs to be more focused on rebounding, they have no problem in offense because they have a lot of scorers especially beyond the arc. With his rebounds, outside shooters will be more comfortable to take even the most crucial of shots.

Balls-Eye: 3 Reasons for DubNation to Celebrate for Warriors’ loss against Kings

With Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry being sit out due to injuries on the defending champs’ game against the team in the abyss, Sacramento Kings, Warriors fell a step short to victory 110 – 106.

Celebrate for Warriors' loss against Kings, DRaymond and KLay

If you’re just a fan, of course, you’ll be disappointed. Who’s fan wants his team to be defeated? Of course nobody except if you’re an extreme bandwagonist.

It is a bit disappointing yet in this loss, the Warriors’ had unlocked many chains holding down their team. A handicapped match it is, Warriors faced Kings without two of their main daggers and yet ended up in an ‘almost’ win situation if only Bogdan Bogdanovic was unsuccessful of his bank shot in the final 12.6 seconds.

It’s not as though this loss drained the hopes of the whole Dubnation to make it to the playoffs. So let us cheer up for here are 3 reasons to celebrate this milestone loss.

1 – Close Fight

Well, who would’ve thought? Warriors being outnumbered in terms of ace weapons still almost clinched the victory. This implies the team not solely being dependent on KD and Steph. It’s a good thing that the rest of the team stepped up to fill in the absence of two huge role players in the team and maybe in the league.

2 – High Scoring

Curry and KD dominate and lead the Warriors in offense and without him, we would expect Warriors’ production wind down, yet they still managed to reach more than a hundred points. Five guys finished in double digits – three starters: Thompson, Green, McCaw and two off the bench: Iguodola, Livingston. Their offense still is highly fluid without their main point guard and main finisher duo.

3 – Outside Presence

Curry and KD as said above are offensive leaders. They run their offense mainly on outside shooting and without them, their outside efficiency may have decreased dramatically. But that isn’t what happened against the Kings. Still, they made 16 from the outside led by Curry’s Splash brother with 5 hits and Draymond Green with 4.

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Conclusion

It could’ve been better if the Warriors less KD and Steph bagged a victory but nevertheless, these will still be the reasons to celebrate if it was a win. Warriors’ core is starting to enlarge ’til it will be a team that everyone is the main weapon with equal extraordinary skills in their own roles.

Is LeBron Better Without Kyrie?

Break-up with Kyrie Irving enabled LeBron James to LeBron James

LeBron James isn’t missing Kyrie Irving.

When LeBron James returned to Cleveland after his stint with the Miami Heat, he formed a “Big 3” alongside Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love who came from the Minnesota Timberwolves. That alliance produced three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals for the Cavaliers who won the championship in 2016 after the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 series lead.

Fast forward to 2017, Kyrie Irving demanded a trade and that demand was granted as Irving was traded to the now, league-leading Boston Celtics in exchange for a still-recovering Isaiah Thomas plus additional role players. While many people thought LeBron James lost in that deal, his numbers are saying otherwise. Why?

Here’s why:

Sure, the Cavs endured a 4-game losing streak during the first few weeks of the new season. They may have lost a ton of bad games including ones against mediocre teams. They lost to the Knicks and the Nets in a span of one week.

Now?

They’re on an 8-game winning streak, the second-longest streak this season, so far. That is after the Cavs beat the Philadephia 76ers, 113-91. And LeBron James- the monstrous LeBron James that was missing during the last few years, has been the main reason why the Cavs have been so successful as of late. He’s averaging 28 points per game (3rd leading scorer in the league) and is leading the Cavs in 4 of the 5 major categories.

Conclusion

This basketball pundit on wheels is not saying that Kyrie Irving was hampering LeBron’s ability to dominate. This pundit is simply saying that the departure of Kyrie Irving enabled us NBA fans to witness the dominance of LeBron James anew. If anything, don’t be surprised if LeBron James goes on to win another MVP award this season.

By the Numbers: Champs Win Despite 0 for 10 Start for Curry

The Warriors recover from an early deficit to beat the Pelicans without Durant

Despite Curry’s offensive woes, the Warriors still won.

If you are playing against the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors, with or without Kevin Durant, you can only pray that the Splash Brothers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson woke up on the wrong side of their beds. Why? Over the past few years, we’ve seen them broke notable records in terms of shooting especially from behind the three-point line. Even if one of them struggles to make his shots, the other one will make up. That’s how fully-weaponized the Warriors are. And yes, they are winning without Kevin Durant.

Steph Curry started this game by missing 10 consecutive shots- the first time he did that since 2012. The Warriors put themselves in a 14-point deficit. Kevin Durant is still nowhere to be found on the court. And yet, despite these woes, the Golden State Warriors won over the New Orleans Pelicans, 110-95. What happened? Below are the numbers:

Steph Curry’s 27 Points

Sure, he took 25 shots and only made 9. Sure, he went 3 for 13 from the rainbow distance but these shooting woes still enabled Steph Curry to finish with 27 points to lead the Warriors in scoring. Why was this important? It’s simple, folks. The Warriors played without Kevin Durrant and Draymond Green only scored 6 points so the scoring loads went back to the hands of the Splash Brothers. Klay Thompson, for his part, added 24 points on 9 for 19 shooting.

The Warriors Shot Slightly Better

Golden State: 41.5%
New Orleans: 40.5%

Sure, the Pelicans were slightly better than the champs in shooting threes as evident by their 35% shooting from downtown, better than the Warriors’ 30% but that doesn’t away one thing: the Warriors shot slightly better than the Pelicans throughout the game despite a horrible shooting night from Steph Curry.

How poorly the Pelicans were shooting? Jrue Holiday had 24 points but took 20 shots and only made 8 of them. Rajon Rondo went scoreless as he missed all of his 9 field goal attempts. New Orleans’ bench also struggled to get anything going offensively as they only combined for 10 points.

Conclusion

Antonio Davis top-scored with 30 points and 15 rebounds for the Pelicans but we all know that it will take more than one man to take down the Warriors. As for Golden State, they can miss more shots as long as they are making more, too. However, Steph Curry must avoid missing that much or they will eventually suffer.

Balls-Eye: Awful Reason Why Dubs isn’t a Real Super Team Yet

There is someone or something holding back the Warriors that conceals the true potential of a so called ‘Super Team’.

If you’re thinking that this is about teams that may or can stop the Dubs being the conqueror of the league, this is actually far from it. We know some of the teams regarding this matter like the OKC, Spurs, Houston Rockets and their biggest rival, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Let us now talk about the team’s interior. Literally it is their weakness. It is just covered by their mighty outside shooting which is considered to be the league’s best. But outside shooting couldn’t be as accurate as it can every single game. In case of misses, there must be a tough duo or even a single big man ready to dominate the battle for the boards, which the Dubs does not possess. Why?

Their primary center player is Zaza Pachulia. Zaza showed inefficiency every single game. He’s not being deprived of playing time yet he failed to yield points and snatch rebounds for his team. Now, the warriors being a super team was put into a big question mark.

Zaza has a very low insignificant performance of only 4.2 points per game. He also has a poor defensive power. It is evident in most of Warriors losses that they were dominated in terms of points in the paint which is a result of poor interior control on both ends of the court. Thanks to Durant and other power forwards like Andre Iguodola that the Warriors somehow, someway can battle on the inside for easy baskets and 2nd chance points.

I am not saying that the Warriors is a weak team. No champion team is weak because it takes more than just being strong to win a long season all throughout up to the final round. It’s just due to the very high expectation on their performance, they seem not to meet the norm of being a ‘super’ team which is hypothetically, a team with no weakness and the only way to win is to play better than them. With defense? No way.

Meanwhile, i’s not as though this weak link became a big problem. But in the long run it will be. They may suffer from losses for example, they lose a crucial rebound that may have cost the game or even the series when the play offs commence. As cliche as it may sound, he who controls the rebounds controls the game.

By the Numbers: OKC’s Big 3 Outpower GSW’s Super Trio

Westbrook with another near triple-double as the Thunder win in Durant’s return

Russell Westbrook scored a victory over his former teammate.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant used to be one of the most exciting and probably among the best dynamic duos the NBA has ever seen during their days together with the Oklahoma City Thunder. In fact, they had the chance to dethrone the Golden State Warriors but the Thunder blew a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals two seasons ago. And that was the last time the NBA saw Westbrook and Durant in the same uniform outside of the All-Star Game.

Since then, the duo has been viewed as archnemesis as trash talks mired all of the games between the Thunder and the Warriors and this game was no different.

Despite their inconsistencies which made them a laughingstock for failing to win despite having their own Big 3, the Oklahoma City Thunder let the numbers do the talking for them as they scored a win over the defending champions, Golden State Warriors, 108-91 in a game that was mired by boos and trash-talking between star players.

Take away the boos. Take away the emotions. Take away all of those nonsense trash talking. Let’s take a look at the big numbers that propelled the Thunder to beat the Warriors:

OKC’s Big 3 Dominated

Now, this is something we all have been expecting of the Big 3 of Oklahoma especially after landing Paul George and Carmelo in two separate trades that shook the entire NBA. And not.

Against one of the top teams in the West, Russell Westbrook recorded 34 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists plus 4 steals. Paul George had 20 points and 11 rebounds while Carmelo Anthony had 22 points and 5 boards.

One may ask: Where were they during the early goings of the season?

Defend. And Run

Oklahoma had 15 steals. They forced the Warriors to commit 22 turnovers. And they were able to run on the break which produced 33 fastbreak points. The Thunder also had a 50-39 advantage on the rebounding department. Now that’s how you play like a super team and that’s you beat a super team.

Conclusion

While this is only the first of the 4 meetings between the two teams this season, the Thunder needed a victory as big as this one because whether we like it or not, they are failing expectations. Big expectations. As for the Warriors, one bad game doesn’t change anything at all. One bad game doesn’t mean that they can no longer dominate the West. After all, the West is still for the Warriors to dominate, right?

A Wheeler’s Opinion: Who are the Most Disappointing Teams in the West Right Now?

After promising starts, big roster moves during the offseason, these teams are still faltering

The Thunder, despite having a talented Big 3, are failing to live up to expectations.

There’s no doubt in everyone’s minds that the Western Conference is still for the Golden State Warriors to dominate, no matter what the other teams in the West do with their respective teams. They can try to challenge the Warriors of Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson but not every West team have enough firepower to even match the offensive outburst of the Warriors. But despite that, all teams in the West have made notable moves whether it’s signing of new guys, to the hiring of new coaches and yes, some have assembled their own Big 3.

Now that the season is 5 weeks-old, the Warriors are back on top of the standings after struggling during the early goings of the season and yes, they are tied with the Houston Rockets with an identical record at 13-4. Following them are the San Antonio Spurs who are still without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker.

But let’s not talk about how good the West is right now because not all teams in the West are doing great this season so far and this basketball pundit on wheels listed down below the three teams in the West who are failing miserably to live up to expectations:

Oklahoma City Thunder: 7-9 (tied with the Memphis Grizzlies in the 9th spot)

There’s no disappointing team in the West than the Thunder themselves. Why?

They have Russell Westbrook- a triple-double machine who won last season’s MVP award. They also have Paul George and Carmelo Anthony- two players who were traded to Oklahoma City during the offseason- and two notable offensive players.

The problem is, they haven’t found any kind of rhythm that will enable them to go on a notable winning streak. So far, they already dropped against some of the West’s elite teams including the San Antonio Spurs and yes, they even lost to the Sacramento Kings- one of the West’s worst teams.

With a game against Warriors coming their way, this basketball pundit on wheels really thinks that the Thunder will need to win that specific game to gain some sort of confidence because if not, there’s a chance that they might not even make the playoffs.

Memphis Grizzlies: 7-9 (tied with the Thunder for the 9th/10th spot)

Speaking of Marc Gasol and the rest of the Memphis Grizzlies, this is a team that used to be in top 3 in the West a few weeks ago and now, they are not even in the top 8 thanks to their 5-game losing streak which included two defeats from the hands of the Rockets. They’ve lost 8 of their last 10 games and with a game against the Dallas Mavericks coming up, the Grizzlies can use that game to return to their winning ways because they are fading right now.

Los Angeles Clippers: 5-11 (13th spot)

The Clippers have lost Chris Paul. They have lost JJ Reddick. They even lost Jamal Crawford. Sure, Blake Griffin is healthy. So is DeAndre Jordan. But that didn’t prevent the Clippers from losing all of their last 9 games. They lost to the New York Knicks, the Spurs and most notably, the Cleveland Cavaliers in a game that they could have won. In effect, the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers are laughing at the Clippers right now. Why? The Lakers are currently in the top 8 and the Clippers are not.

By the Numbers: Warriors Hold on For Win #13

Curry sets season highs but fouls out late

Steph Curry’s season highs reminded everyone that the Warriors are still the team to beat.

With super teams left and right being formed heading into the 2017-2018 season, most people have predicted that it will be harder for the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors to dominate the league or at the very least, the Western Conference- something they have been doing during the past 3 seasons, to say the least. Sure, they were already countable times this season where the Warriors have been playing lost but most of the time, they were dominating. Most of the time, they are winning regardless of who Steve Kerr sends out on the floor.

Kevin Durant was out. Steph Curry fouled out. The Brooklyn Nets scored 42 and 27 in the 3rd and 4th quarter respectively and yet, none of those things mattered as the Warriors held on to beat the Nets, 118-111.

What happened? Check the numbers below:

39 and 11 from the Chef

With Kevin Durant not in uniform, Steph Curry carried most of the scoring load for the Warriors. He set two new season-highs with 39 points and 11 rebounds plus dishing out 7 assists. He made 14 of 24 field goals including 4 of 10 from three. Aside from that, the Chef also had 3 steals, 7 turnovers and yes, 6 fouls. The latter two didn’t matter after all as long as you get the big W, right?

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More Made Baskets

The Warriors won the game by making most of their scoring opportunities. As simple as that. As a team, GSW made 46 of 90 shots- good for 51% field goal shooting. They were even better than the Nets from three- making 10 of 24 attempts from rainbow country. Sure, the Nets made more threes than the Warriors but it all boiled down to making the shots that mattered, right?

Missed Free Throws Doomed the Nets

The Nets were awarded 39 free throws which were a far cry from the Warriors’ 23. Now, out of those 39 attempts, Brooklyn only made 27. Imagine the possibilities had the Nets made more of those freebies. Given how close the final score was, making more free throws would have allowed the Nets to pull out an upset win. Yes, they were able to fish 27 fouls from the Warriors and yet, they missed a big chunk of their free throws.

Conclusion

Wins like this can prove one thing: the Warriors are a dangerous team no matter who is out. They won an NBA championship before Kevin Durant joined and won another after Durant joined the team. Despite the fact that the rest of the West have been reloaded, Golden State will still find ways to win, to dominate, one way or another.

14th Straight Triumph: Celtics Refuses to Bow Down Infront of Defending Champs

Is the Celtics just the future top team of the East? Or the future top team of the league?

Jaylen Brown and the rest of the Boston Celtics vanquishes the unready Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, 92 – 88. All Green starters finished with double figures. Curry just didn’t have it today.

It was a thrilling final minute deadlock at 88, but it was Kyrie’s and Tatum’s free throws that sealed the game.

As the game approaches the final one minute, it was Warriors who have the raging momentum as they drilled the hoop twice in a row from beyond the arc, one from Kevin Durant and the other from Klay Thompson pushing the team up ahead 88-86 but it was the last run they’ve made.

Durant missed the crucial basket that could’ve tied the game at 90 whilst Al Horford secured the defensive board and Curry ended up giving the foul on Tatum who managed to hit both free throws, the deciding moment which favored the Boston to break away.

Steph Curry played after recovery but is not in good shape, playing 31 long minutes with only 9 points.

Durant was alone in the ultimate fight with 24 points barely backed up by Thompson with only 13 points, and Draymond Green with 11.

It was a close game yet the superstar showdown failed to commence. It seemed like KD was the only one pumped up for the Dubs.

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The Dubs had a huge edge on the early minutes, even sizzled with an 8 to nothing run to stretch an 8 point lead in the 1st quarter, and ending the 1st 12 minutes with a 10-point lead 28-18.

But the Boston crawled behind slowly as the lead was chopped won to just 5 at the half and tied the game at the end of the 3rd at 68.

It was a close game despite Kevin Durant being a one-man team, it’s just that Celtics had the final push and drained the time to dilute comeback possibility of the Dubs.

Scores:

Celtics 92 – Brown 22, Horford 18, Irving 16, Morris 12, Tatum 12, bench – 12

Warriors 88 – Durant 24, Thompson 13, Green 11, Curry 9, Pachulia 6, bench – 25

A Wheeler’s Opinion: GSW will Beat the Celtics

Boston may be on a streak but the Warriors are the champs

GSW’s trio of firepower will definitely cause problems for the Celtics

When the 2017-2018 season started, one of the major storylines that most people are following is the inevitability of another Finals duel between the Golden State Warriors of Stephen Curry and, the Cleveland Cavaliers of LeBron James.

Even when the Cavs swapped Kyrie Irving for a still-injured Isaiah Thomas from the Boston Celtics, the Cavs are still relatively a talented team- at least on paper, thanks to the signing of former MVP Derrick Rose.

With the regular season almost a month old, after dropping their first two games which were highlighted by a freak injury that hit Gordon Hayward, 6 minutes into the season, the Boston Celtics went on a rampage, winning 13 straight games. Mind you, folks. Various injuries hit various players along the way which included an injury in the face that forced Kyrie Irving to wear a mask. And yet, they’re flawless in 13 games heading into their match-up against the Warriors.

The Warriors, on the other hand, are on their streak on their own- a 7-game winning streak and yes, they’re back on top of the West after stumbling during the early goings of the season.

Question: Will GSW beat the Celtics?

Yes. They have their Big 3 intact

Let’s begin with the obvious one. Sure, Kyrie Irving may have been playing one of his best seasons despite wearing a mask. Sure, Jayson Tatum is making a case for the Rookie of the Year. But the Warriors have one thing that the Celtics don’t have at the moment: a healthy and playing Big 3. Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are averaging over 20 points per game.

Firepower

Firepower is another thing that will enable the Warriors beat Boston. They are the best offensive team in the league as of the moment, averaging 119 points per game. They are also the top shooting team making 51% of their attempts, including a league-leading 41% from three.

The Durant Effect

Like it or not, Kevin Durant is one guy that will cause more problems for Boston. Why? The Celtics have no one on their team that can match-up against Durant. He’s the second-leading scorer in the league with small forwards, averaging 24 points per game. He’s also the top rebounder in his position with 7 rebounds per night. Kevin Durant may be the reason why GSW will keep their streak going after playing against Kyrie Irving and company.

Conclusion

The Celtics may be undermanned against the defending champions but they are not certainly lacking talents. But they may need more than the talents of Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum to beat GSW team. But who knows? Brad Stevens may have prepared something for Steve Kerr and the Warriors.

What’s and How’s: No Curry, No Problem Beating Celtics

Okay folks, here are today’s What’s and How’s.

On the Dubs game against the Orlando Magic, the Curry-less Warriors managed to slip pass the Orlando Magic led by Kevin Durant. Can they do it again once they faced Kyrie Irving and the rest of Boston Celtics?

If they can bag the victory against the green guys, then we’ll start our what’s and how’s so here we go.

What would Dub’s Victory over Celtics mean?

No question about it, the defending champs are a very strong team with or without their core Steph Curry.

If somebody iss absent, then anyone from the team may suffice the gap and it’s not a piece of cake to fill in the void left by a Superstar. Why? Steph averages 25.2 points a game and that performance is just humongous and not all players can do it, some could not even reach it even once in their whole basketball career. But if the Dubs successfully win huge games like the one coming against Boston, then it will be an achievement even better than best!

It would give the Warriors an even tighter hold of the number one spot in the league and will only have one problem – The Rockets. These three teams are currently sitting in the top three spot and if the Warriors defeat Celtics, then they’ll redeem themselves after their loss against the Houston Rockets.

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How will the Dubs overthrow Celtics without Steph?

Well, Steph and Klay Thompson aren’t called the Splash Brothers for nothing. Once you’re in a duo, that means your performance and capabilities are somewhat close to each other.

Klay Thompson must suffice the outside shooting needed by the Dubs. It will be Kevin Durant who’ll carry the game but it is Thompson responsible for killer three pointers coming from anywhere. He needs to double-up his dominance beyond the arc to make Curry’s absence seem insignificant with what they do.

What would it mean for the Celtics if they lost against Warriors without Steph?

It would be disastrous. We know that the best match for Kyrie is Steph, and with him losing without his rival, it will be shameful. It would mean that Kyrie could not carry the whole Boston team with his current offensive power. Or if it is not about his point production, then it is a mission fail in terms of play making.

The game would not be a matter of defense, it would be a total shootout, the more you miss the higher chance of losing.

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