The Wednesday night National T.V schedule gave us to games that had a little extra juice to them. The outside story between Steve Kerr and Jayson Tatum and Paul George returning to face his former team for the first time set the table for some possible revenge.
The Warriors came into their matchup with the Celtics at 6-1 and getting back Stephen Curry. The Warrior's early season success has mainly been defined by their depth and defense. They have been consistently been playing close to 11-12 players in Steve Kerr's rotation. They also boast the 2nd best defensive rating in the entire NBA and are top 5 in forcing turnovers as well. They came up against the best offense in the NBA, however they were missing Jaylen Brown with a hip issue. Jayson Tatum has been off to a fantastic start in the early season. The Celtics are 7-1 and have the best offensive rating in the NBA. They shoot and make the most threes per game and offer similarities between the Kevin Durant era Warriors (I did not they were as good). Warriors head coach Steve Kerr coached in the Olympics and a rift between him and basketball fans happened because of him not playing Jayson Tatum in particular matchups. Overall it was a really fun game to watch. Let's dive into the recap and reaction.
Recap
As noted previously the Celtics were without Jaylen Brown. The Warriors were without Brandin Podziemski. The Warriors started with a lineup of Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Tracye Jackson-Davis, and Moses Moody. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum, Neemias Queta, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford. The Celtics started Queta to help matchup with the Warriors large lineup. At the start, the Celtics, mainly Derrick White, got out to a fast start. The Celtics lead early on 14-3 with White having 12 of those points. The Warriors were a little out of sorts. They moved the ball well, but they weren't getting advantages to attack the Celtics defense. They also turned the ball over early on as well. The Celtics started switching screens and mixing in some drop coverage. The Warriors also don't have a ton of shooting in their opening lineup with both Green and Jackson-Davis. Queta guarded Jackson-Davis and roamed off to help with rim protection. They also top-blocked Curry screens to try and force him towards Queta at the basket. Warriors started to come back using some blitzes on Tatum ball screens and using Gary Payton II as a screener. His playmaking puts a lot of pressure on the defense and he was able to find some shooters. The Warriors bounced back and keep it close while the Celtics took a 24-19 lead after the 1st quarter. The second quarter was probably the best team defense I have seen this year vs a caliber opponent from the Warriors. They made the Celtics look totally out of control in the second quarter. They forced turnovers and bad shots and were able to change the pace of the game. The defensive rotations were incredible and it was really fun to watch them pressure the ball so high on the floor while not giving up easy shot attempts. the Warriors were able to get back into game and extend their lead out. Steph Curry had a phenomenal quarter. He only had 6 first half points, but he also 6 assists and 3 steals in the first half and played great defense. The Warriors usually hedge with Curry on ball screens to avoid switching him on to bigger defenders. the Warriors lead 51-40 at the break. Derrick White after 12 early points was held scoreless, Jayson Tatum had 8 points on 2/7 shooting. Buddy Hield and Andrew Wiggins added in 8 points each for the Warriors. The Warriors held the Celtics to 6/19 from three. In the third quarter both offenses started to get going. Each team went back and forth making shots. Jayson Tatum really got going putting in 17 points and Curry had 11 points in the quarter for the Warriors. The defensive intensity dropped a little bit for the Warriors, but the benefit of having 12 players in rotation is if one isn't playing well you can always go to the others. The way these two teams play is very similar, but has unique differences. The Warriors offense is unique to the fact everyone moves on the floor and Draymond Green is great at finding passes to make. The constant slips and split actions make it really challenging to defend. The Celtics offense is different because of the ball movement and spacing they have. Typically, all 5 guys on the floor can shoot the ball well. The Warriors took an 82-81 lead into the 4th quarter. Neemias Queta had really good start to the 4th quarter and he was very active on both ends. He blocked a couple of shots and was able to get some put back dunks to swing the momentum towards the Celtics. The Warriors however, counter by putting Curry back into the game and went on a run of their own. Curry's gravity cannot be underestimated for the Warriors. He pulls some many defenders away from his teammates it's crazy. He's able to create such easy looks and can generate easy points without getting assists. Curry was able to push the Warriors past the Celtics. Hield hit a big three to take the lead to 111-104 and effective seal it for Golden State. They ended up winning 118-112. Curry finished with 27 points 9 assists 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Hield and Wiggins each at 16 points as well. Jayson Tatum had 32 points on 10/20 shooting and 5/10 from three. Derrick had 26 points on 8/19 shooting and 7/16 from three. The Warriors move to 7-1 on the year while the loss puts the Celtics at 7-2.
Reaction
I had a concerned Warriors fan ask me last night if he thought this run the Warriors are on was sustainable. The answer is absolutely. The Warriors defense is real. They made everything hard for the Celtics and the IQ of Green and Curry on offense and defense can carry this team. Their next 5 games are against the Cavs, Thunder, Grizzlies, Mavs, and Clippers so we will fund out how real they are. But I think its sustainable and if Curry starts to get going like he did against the Celtics they'll be in good shape. They looked great tonight.
The Celtics still look like one of the best teams in the East if the Cavs ever decide to lose a game they'll be right there at the top. Overall I like the Queta lineups. He didn't look out of place next to Horford, but the Warriors get expose the lack of shooting the Celtics need. I don't really care as much for the reliance on the three point line, that's how they'll play, but the Celtics will be fine. Having Hauser find his rhythm will be key for the bench after missing some time.
The next game featured Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers vs his old team, the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers have been playing well so far this season. James Harden, Norman Powell, and Ivica Zubac have lead the charge so far. The 76ers have been struggling, getting back Paul George has helped, but it hasn't translated to wins. The 76es really just need to find some chemistry between George and his teammates. Let's dive into the recap.
Recap
The 76ers had Kelly Oubre, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, Andre Drummond, and Caleb Martin start for them. The Clippers had James Harden, Normal Powell, Terrance Mann, Derrick Jones Jr, and Ivica Zubac. The early on was very sloppy for both teams. The 76ers had 7 first quarter turnovers. The Clippers defense has been very so far this season. They rebound the ball well on defense, and are fifth in defensive rating at 109 per 100 possessions. James Harden has been solid so far this year. He's been turning the ball over a lot at close to 5 a game. Obviously, that's not good, but given his usage that's a little above the average for high volume ball handler. The Clippers were able to jump out to a 27-24 lead after the first quarter. Tyrese Maxey got going in the first quarter, it still feels like they need to figure out the chemistry between George and Maxey. They seem to involve each other a lot in actions. The 76ers really struggle to shoot the 3 so far. They're 29th in the league in threes made so far. The Clippers also run a ton of pin down and zoom actions for Harden and Powell. Both have been good this year out of those actions, with Powell being one of the best in the league. He's been able to find his shot early on this year and had really provided the Clippers with much needed shooting so far this year. In the 2nd quarter George and Powell went back and forth for both teams and the score was knotted up at 51-51 at halftime. The Clippers defense really caused a lot of issues for the 76ers and they got some easy run outs in the transition. The Clippers has been middle of the pack so far this year, but one area they've done well in a offensive rebounding. The Clippers play a lot of wings guys 2-4 and typically have a size advantage. Zubac has also been really good on the glass this year. He's been averaging close to 17 points and 13 rebounds so far this season. He's averaging almost 4 offensive rebounds a game too. George and Maxey had 12 points each and Powell lead the Clippers with 15 points early on. In the third quarter the Clippers started to separate with their defensive pressure. Coach Stan Van Gundy was brought on to the staff this year and they've really seen the defense improve. The Clippers have a lot of very solid defenders on the roster, particularly off the bench. Their energy helped them sperate coming out of halftime from Philadelphia. Harden started taking over late in the quarter with 9 straight points. The Clippers started setting some high pick and roll, which allowed for some of the guards to slip out of it and play 4 vs 3. The Clippers like using the guard to set it high on the floor so Zubac can stay near the basket and rebound while the other space out. Typically, Jones Jr. or Powell sets the high set. The 76ers did not respond well to this as they trailed 84-68 heading to the 4th. The 4th was very similar to the 3rd as the Clippers eventually grew their lead out to 20+ points. Tyrese Maxey was injured late in the third quarter adding on to the beatdown. Philly looked totally lost on offense no one seem engaged, they didn't move the ball well and no one helped out Maxey or George. Philadelphia has a lot of problems to solve before they can even think about competing in the Eastern Conference. The Clippers won the game 110-98. The Clippers moved to 4-4 and .500 for the first time this year, while the &6ers dropped to 1-6. George had 18 points in 24 minutes. Powell lead the Clippers with 26 points on 8/10 shooting from the field and 6/8 from 3.
Reaction
The Clippers' defense is really good. They sped up Philadelphia and were able score out some of the turnovers. Harden ahs been really good at balancing his passing and scoring. Norman Powell is having an absolutely absurd start to the season. He's the Clippers leading scorer and his been shooting the ball at an efficient clip. think the Clippers things is real. They've beaten good teams so far this season and are still without Kawhi Leonard. Ty Lue has this team flying around on defense and they've been killing teams on the offensive glass so far this year. They'll be an interesting team to keep an eye on this year.
It has gone from bad to worst the for the 76ers. Maxey being injured is not what you want right before Embiid gets healthy. They still don't seem to be clicking on offense. The movement of players and ball isn't synced well at all and they need to find other ways to score. They play slow, don't shoot the three well and struggle getting to the foul line. Having Embiid comeback will help, but it looks shaky right now. I also want to see Paul George be more aggressive he was very passive on the game tonight. Maxey always relentlessly attacks the basket and is super aggressive when it is just him in the lineup. I'd like to George take some more shots then he has so far.
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