2023 WC Semifinals: (6) Golden State Warriors vs (7) Los Angeles Lakers

[TheRealMcCoy]

Definitely think this will be the case. It would’ve really hurt if Lakers flubbed that lead they had with half a quarter left and then probably gone down 2-0.

[J-ALL-DAY]

Blaming Poole for the loss is hilarious. Once Steph got rid of the ball, he was not getting it back. Poole should have gotten a little closer but Steph having Russell on him and then driving right to AD was just as bad.

Oh well, got going just a little too late and the Lakers had outplayed us for much of the game. Need to mix in the zone more, need more high ball screens for Steph and we should be in decent shape. 

On to game two…. 

[agarcia34]

Kerr needs to go small and run. Saw the effects that can have on this Lakers team down the stretch. Run and run some more. If it takes AD to have 30/20 stat line every game for them to win then you tip your cap. History shows that he consistently won’t do that 

[jrry32]

3 minutes ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Blaming Poole for the loss is hilarious. Once Steph got rid of the ball, he was not getting it back. Poole should have gotten a little closer but Steph having Russell on him and then driving right to AD was just as bad.

Oh well, got going just a little too late and the Lakers had outplayed us for much of the game. Need to mix in the zone more, need more high ball screens for Steph and we should be in decent shape. 

On to game two…. 

With the way Poole was playing, I say let him pull. This one isn't on him. He had a good game. As you said, Lakers were the better team for most of the night. Golden State got hot at the right time, though. Just couldn't quite finish it.

2 minutes ago, agarcia34 said:

Kerr needs to go small and run. Saw the effects that can have on this Lakers team down the stretch. Run and run some more. If it takes AD to have 30/20 stat line every game for them to win then you tip your cap. History shows that he consistently won’t do that 

Draymond has to stay out of foul trouble for that to work. But I agree. Wiggins will have to step up, though.

[Geezy]

11 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

The Lakers' backup PG had four more FTAs than the entire Golden State team. Those darn Warriors. They just shoot too much.

Keep shooting spot up 35 ft 3s lol 

[agarcia34]

Kerr would remove Poole from close games during the regular season, but kept him in this game…. Very strange decision. He can’t be trusted and no one is faulting him for taking the shot but get closer dude. Then he had the awful drive to the basket. He doesn’t have the patience or IQ at this point to trust him in a game like this down the stretch. 

[11sanchez11]

warriors got to guard ad like he is the best player on the team, cause he is. and play hard for the entire gm cause ad and lebron will be exhausted by the end of it. and attack lebron

[Trey Lance]

37 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

The Lakers' backup PG had four more FTAs than the entire Golden State team. Those darn Warriors. They just shoot too much.

I mean why do you think the Lakers lead the league in ft differential. It all just boils down to philosophy. Was there bad calls? Of course. But trying to create a narrative out of almost nothing is just sad. 

[jrry32]

7 minutes ago, Trey Lance said:

I mean why do you think the Lakers lead the league in ft differential. It all just boils down to philosophy. Was there bad calls? Of course. But trying to create a narrative out of almost nothing is just sad. 

"Were there bad calls? Of course. Did they overwhelmingly go one direction? Yes. But trying to create a narrative that there was one-sided officiating just because the bad calls overwhelmingly favored the team that shot 29 free throws and not the team that shot 6 free throws, that's messed up, man." Hey bro, I think the Lakers' philosophy of benefiting from favorable refereeing is a good one lol. Golden State should borrow it for the next game.

[Trey Lance]

25 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

"Were there bad calls? Of course. Did they overwhelmingly go one direction? Yes. But trying to create a narrative that there was one-sided officiating just because the bad calls overwhelmingly favored the team that shot 29 free throws and not the team that shot 6 free throws, that's messed up, man." Hey bro, I think the Lakers' philosophy of benefiting from favorable refereeing is a good one lol. Golden State should borrow it for the next game.

It's almost like the Lakers lead the league in ft differential and the warriors were bottom 5. Damn, what a coincidence for 82 games. 

[Spartica4Real]

I posted this on reddit very early into game 1 when the FT differential was like 8 to 0, glad to see it's holding true.. 

 

"I'm not looking forward to the Free Throw discourse throughout this series. We have a full season's worth of data that says the Warriors are the worst team at drawing fouls and one of the worst at fouling, while the same data says the Lakers are the best team at drawing fouls. So unless you believe the refs are rigged against the Warriors (terribly unlikely) or rigged for the Lakers (much more likely but fwiw the historical free throw data didn't seem to suggest much of a pattern between big market teams getting the best free throw rates) then it's going to be completely understandable for big FT disparities to keep happening in this series."

[Geezy]

I’m sure all the extra chirping from Draymond and Poole don’t help, not even their stars act like that. I’m sure it gets old. 

[4thandInches]

The team that shot 53 3s didnt get foul calls, lol

[J-ALL-DAY]

6 hours ago, jrry32 said:

"Were there bad calls? Of course. Did they overwhelmingly go one direction? Yes. But trying to create a narrative that there was one-sided officiating just because the bad calls overwhelmingly favored the team that shot 29 free throws and not the team that shot 6 free throws, that's messed up, man." Hey bro, I think the Lakers' philosophy of benefiting from favorable refereeing is a good one lol. Golden State should borrow it for the next game.

Officials weren't the issue to be honest. Some questionable touch fouls but for the most part they were fine.

This series is going to need more J. Green if Draymond is not going to be taking or making his outside shots. Lakers are sagging off so much on him as they are with GP, Looney and even Wiggins. The best thing the Warriors can do is have AD's man set the ball screens from the perimeter and force him to come out leaving Looney alone in the paint to clean up the glass. 

Poole gave what he needed to give but Donte is going to need a game soon where he is being aggressive and giving around 10 or so points. He was quiet for the most part against the Kings as well. 

One thing I did like was that the Lakers despite the extra days off,  were the team that was more gassed in the 4th quarter. I see them punting game 2 if it gets away from them early in the 2nd half. Playing AD the entire 2nd half was interesting but he started to miss some bunnies as the legs started to get tired. AD will come down to earth some next game but it will come down to LeBron and if he could hit some jumpers and score 30+. He was far more aggressive than he was for the majority of the Grizzlies series.

Thursday night can't come quick enough. 

[J-ALL-DAY]

8 hours ago, agarcia34 said:

Kerr would remove Poole from close games during the regular season, but kept him in this game…. Very strange decision. He can’t be trusted and no one is faulting him for taking the shot but get closer dude. Then he had the awful drive to the basket. He doesn’t have the patience or IQ at this point to trust him in a game like this down the stretch. 

And Steph had an equally bad drive where he had Russell on a switch and ran right to AD for a 15 foot floater. THAT play was as bad as anything we saw from the Dubs late in the game. 

I read someone last night say (can't find the post now) that Draymond passed the ball to Poole so he could set a screen for Steph and get him the ball again....That definitely did not happen. Watch the play again as once Draymond got rid of the ball, he didn't even look in Steph's direction and re-screening would have made little difference as there were TWO defenders on Steph. 

It is fair to say Poole should have taken that shot a step closer but if he takes a dribble, Vando would be able to recover on him forcing him into a tough contested three. When you are down three in that situation, you are unlikely to get a great look. The Lakers weren't going to let Steph or Klay get a good look so it was going to be a Poole type of three or someone like Wiggins taking a shot from the corner. That one play is getting overblown as that is not why we lost last night. 

AD obviously had a huge game on both ends but in the 2nd half he went something like 2-8 and was hardly a factor offensively. He's going to get his some games but will have some low scoring outputs like he did against the Grizzlies. It just takes him far too much energy defensively holding down the paint and coming out to the perimeter to be able to go back on the other end and dominate. I just hope we are able to better contain Schroeder and DLo. That's where the game was lost.