- 4 months ago
Should the Golden State Warriors prioritize a shot at the NBA Draft Lottery over a grueling first-round matchup against OKC? Steiny and Guru dive into a polarizing take from Anthony Slater, suggesting that missing the playoffs might be the best organizational move for the Dubs. Guru isn't buying the "relief of losing," but as the reality of minute restrictions for Steph Curry and Al Horford sets in, the guys wonder if this roster even belongs in the postseason.
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00:00Dude, I did. The games were fast last night. Would you say that?
00:04Up and down. Davion Mitchell's gone to the lab. Bridges for the Hornets.
00:09I mean, it was. Wiggins was balling. How he didn't get that last shot, Spolstra.
00:14I'm done with you. I just don't understand it.
00:16Done with Spolstra. Done with Durant. Who else are you done with, Goop?
00:20I'll let you know after tonight's games.
00:23Everything.
00:23All right. Anthony Slater.
00:26Slate.
00:27ESPN.
00:30I think he captured the feeling of a lot of Warrior fans, but how do you guys all feel about
00:35this?
00:35Is it accurate, or do you want to tell Slater to go pound sand?
00:39Well, they're not not trying to get into the playoffs, right?
00:42Draymond's going to guard Kawhi, and he's going to try to have a good defensive night
00:45and then probably tell us all about it afterwards.
00:49Hopefully the voters, for him, will swing his way a little bit.
00:52Steph's going to try to get hot. It's a showcase stage for them.
00:55Draymond said it. They don't have many of these type of nights left,
00:57but I think it is fair to wonder organizationally whether it's better for them to lose
01:01because I'll give you an example. Last year, I covered the 9-10.
01:04Dallas Mavericks were in that game. They won it.
01:06They then played the final playing game, lost.
01:08Memphis goes and gets swept by the Thunder.
01:10Dallas keeps their lottery odds, jumps up, gets Cooper flag.
01:13If the Warriors lose, they keep their lottery odds.
01:159.4% chance to jump up in the top four of this draft.
01:19If they win their way into the play-in, they lose those lottery odds,
01:21and then they get the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
01:24Our graphics guy is right here.
01:25Better chance to get 9.4% chance to get into the top four or to beat the Thunder.
01:31All right, that's Anthony Slater talking about where the Warriors are
01:35and what they want to do and whether organizationally,
01:38if they're better off, missing the playoffs.
01:41Evan, I'm sorry. I've got to do this. I've got to put the rat on the table.
01:45But Slater hit it.
01:47That is the one good thing that is somehow they don't win.
01:51We can't front and act like just having a chance in the lottery in this draft
01:56is not a godsend, man.
01:58So that's the Geico I'm playing with.
02:00And somehow the Clippers get the best of us.
02:03I am going to be excited when that day does come with those lottery balls, man.
02:08I'm actually kind of surprised at the one thing Slater said.
02:11Did he really say, well, yeah, Draymond's going to play so that he can try to cover Kawhi
02:16and turn some heads in terms of the all-defensive teams?
02:21Swat some voters, yeah, yeah.
02:22I mean, I've got to tell you, like, that would bother me if I were Draymond
02:25and it weren't true.
02:28That's great.
02:31Well, he says so much.
02:32I'm just saying, like, I hope that's not the case.
02:37Well, I've told you the lights, and I told Fitz yesterday when we had them,
02:41Dray's been, you know, the furnace has been on.
02:45And tonight, if he can just make it difficult, I'm not saying stop the cyborg.
02:49You can't.
02:50But can you make it difficult?
02:51Like a 9 of 26, 9 of 27.
02:56No.
02:56Oh, damn.
02:57No chance.
02:58I'll tell you what.
02:59I'll bet you Kawhi Leonard.
03:00Right now, he's slated 28.5 as his points.
03:04What I'm saying is I'd like to know how many 9 for 26s Kawhi's ever had.
03:09That's wild, man.
03:10Because he just doesn't shoot that much if he's not making shots.
03:14Oh, man.
03:16But this from the 415, I think Slater's right.
03:19I'm looking to the future.
03:20The relief of losing tonight will outweigh the joy of winning,
03:24and that's Jim Mole.
03:26I love Jim, but I can never subscribe to that.
03:29He said you'd be fine if they lose.
03:31Well, because of the lottery, but then when we lose that, I'll be hurt again.
03:34But what's the relief of losing?
03:36What's the relief?
03:38What relief do you get just because this season's been such a labor?
03:41Well, like somebody will finally be able to kind of put you out of your misery.
03:47Like I think if the Warriors lose tonight,
03:51I think you will be ready to acknowledge
03:54that they probably couldn't have won a championship this year.
03:58No, now you're having fun.
04:01But come on, man.
04:05You know, I'm a lover.
04:07I'm a dreamer.
04:08I'm a fighter.
04:10And tonight's everything, and you know that for me.
04:12You, Evan, and the listeners.
04:13So we're going to have a ball.
04:15We're going to come together and try to watch it and make things happen.
04:18But the bottom line is, Stony, I just don't like where this ship is headed.
04:23And the fact that ESPN to our right said not just Steph is on restrictions,
04:28minute, minute restriction, Porzingis and Horford.
04:33Like, even if that's the case.
04:35It's the case.
04:36But why does everybody know that I got a bump on my ass?
04:40You know, sometimes you keep Steph to yourself.
04:43You don't got to tell.
04:44You know what I mean?
04:45We're going into this game like everybody knows.
04:50Yes.
04:52Yes.
04:53I don't think that's a good thing.
04:54Okay, I, if, if Steve Kerr doesn't say that Steph's on a minutes restriction,
05:01does that change the strategy of the Clippers?
05:06I'll give you that.
05:08This is more Steve Kerr on these minutes restrictions for the Warriors.
05:12It's not like, hey, we want to limit this person, you know, to a certain number of minutes.
05:18It's literally that that person cannot play that many minutes.
05:22This is all about health.
05:23You have to be mindful of health as you, as you play these games.
05:27And you have to be mindful of how many minutes can a guy play and be expected to be effective.
05:34So that's really what we're facing.
05:36Al has only been back for two games and he's 39.
05:40And, you know, he's probably 24 minutes max.
05:44If we tried to play him much more than that, I think it's diminishing returns.
05:49And probably say the same thing about several guys.
05:52So it's not about how badly we want to win.
05:55And it's just how many minutes guys can literally play and stay effective.
06:00Yeah, I don't like anything I'm hearing out of the Warriors right now.
06:05I can appreciate that.
06:06I just don't.
06:06Wow.
06:07Whether it's Draymond last week saying he's not really into the play-in.
06:11Wow.
06:12Whether it's, look, we can't play our best players as much as we want.
06:18It's just something I don't like about going into this game.
06:21The other thing is that, you know, the Warriors, like if we look at the teams that have played, you
06:30know, the Charlotte Hornets, the Heat.
06:32Thundercats.
06:33Like the Warriors, they're not.
06:34Go ahead.
06:35Say it.
06:36Five games below all the teams that are in the playoffs right now.
06:39Like they, they might not belong even in the play-in.
06:43And I don't have a good feeling about tonight.
06:49I'll just be honest with you.
06:50And I don't think you're by yourself, but I'm going to say this to what you're talking about.
06:55And if I had a one-on-one, let's say I was at Chipotle.
06:57I'm going there later today.
06:59Was that the place, Evan?
07:01No.
07:01No, not Chipotle.
07:02No, he was a pizza.
07:03Oh, okay.
07:04So I would ask Joe, I would just pull a Stiney.
07:07What did you think was going to happen?
07:09Because that's what line I'm in now.
07:11But I want to liken the Warriors' style and Thundercats or lack of Thundercats compared to my watching pleasure.
07:20And that's why I was so hard and I didn't miss a game nor a minute when Steph was out
07:24for umpteen games.
07:26But, Stiney, if we were a sprinter, our 40 speed would be a 4.7 or 4.8.
07:31Is that good?
07:32No, it's terrible because all we have is Steph Curry.
07:36And we got Pods and Guy Santos, but they're okay.
07:40I'm watching the game last night in Charlotte.
07:43They were 4-3, 4-4.
07:45I'm watching Portland, 4-3, 4-4.
07:49Athleticism length above the rim.
07:52We no longer have that.
07:53So from a view and pleasure standpoint, I am bored.
07:57But I'm in love and I'm going to stay in love.
08:00But now we can't even be healthy.
08:02We can't even stay healthy.
08:05That's just, it's bad, man.
08:07That's why I want DeBonza or whoever.
08:10Yeah, but, Goo, the reason that the Charlotte Hornets and the Portland Trailblazers have young players who are way better
08:18than the Warriors players is because neither of those teams has made the playoffs for the last six years.
08:23Or they didn't miss a No. 2 pick, Wiseman, or they had to miss a No. 7 pick, Kaminga.
08:27Right, but they had a bunch of picks because they never made the playoffs.
08:30Like the Hornets, I think, have been in the lottery seven straight years now.
08:35Portland hasn't made the playoffs.
08:36But you know what I mean.
08:36I think you get the gist of what I'm saying.
08:39Well, I do get the gist.
08:40They don't have as many young players as these awful teams who have had bad five-year strids.
08:45They're not going to.
08:46Well, I'll use the Spurs when they're running.
08:48I don't want to be a jerk, but how can you have good young players when you're still married to
08:52your old players and you're still a playing team?
08:55You're not, you only, you know, you got in the lottery five years ago.
08:59But you had a chance, Donnie.
09:00Yeah, but that was five years ago.
09:02But had you hit or had something remotely close.
09:04You'd have one or two young guys.
09:06And maybe that's all it takes and we wouldn't be playing in the playing game.
09:09And Steph wouldn't have runner's knee because he wouldn't have to do all the heavy lifting.
09:14It's just a thought.
09:14I get what you're saying.
09:16But I will never forget the heirs of the Warriors' way by blowing those picks.
09:21This is when you needed them.
09:23They would be seasoned.
09:25And I'm not saying superstar.
09:27Just have a pulse.
09:29Be in the starting lineup.
09:31Think about it.
09:33Yeah, it happens.
09:34There you go.
09:35It happens a lot.
09:37Michael Oluwakandi, Anthony Bennett, Pavel Polkazin, Starko Milicic.
09:46It happens.
09:49It happens.
09:51And my thing is, are we going to be talking about Wiseman in 2030?
09:59It sounds like we may.
10:01No, we're not.
10:02Donnie, until it gets better, I can't forget it.
10:05I, they drafted a player, like, when you say, well, what if they would have, like.
10:10This is James Wiseman.
10:11They drafted a player who literally isn't good enough to play in the NBA.
10:17And the guy playing last night, I know he's two for 16, LaMelo Ball.
10:20I would love for him to be in a Warrior uniform, just passing to Steph and Klay.
10:24Well, you didn't want him five or six years ago.
10:27But you said, take the best player.
10:29You said in that draft, I thought he was one of them.
10:33I can't unsee it.
10:35Well, you're going to have trouble, then.
10:37You're going to have trouble moving forward.
10:39Story of my life.
10:41Free the People is in Oakland.
10:43Free.
10:43What's up, Free the People?
10:46Hey, guys.
10:48Hey.
10:48My question to you is, is Joe Laker turning into the new Jerry Jones of the NBA?
10:53It's starting to get really crazy how involved he's forcing himself to beat.
10:56Wow.
10:56My next thing I want to say is, I want us to lose tonight.
10:59We don't win anything if we win tonight.
11:01The only people that are going to judge this team are probably Warriors haters and pundits
11:06who usually don't like the Warriors that much anyway.
11:08So, I don't feel bad if we lose tonight.
11:10The draft pick is the way to go.
11:11This season is a lost season.
11:13I think we all agree on that.
11:14The last thing I want to mention is, Steve Kerr is the Phil Jackson, Greg Popovich of
11:19this era, but he has so many people that doubt him and doubt his judgment.
11:23But he's a made man.
11:24He has proven as a coach, and he's won a crazy amount as a player.
11:29I feel like his judgment on what's best for this team makes more sense than what Joe Laker
11:33thinks they should do.
11:34And definitely the, what do you call them, the couch surfing guys who just watch a lot
11:38of sports, I don't think they have as much knowledge.
11:40Steve Kerr has an idea of who should be playing.
11:43I think playing the right way, playing smart, playing with grit are all things that lead
11:47to winning.
11:48I think Steve Kerr has proven that that formula has worked four times as a coach and other
11:52times as a player.
11:53And I think we need to give that guy some grace.
11:55And I think there's no coach they could find that's better than Steve Kerr at this moment
11:59to coach this team.
12:00That's my time, guys.
12:01Thanks for taking my call.
12:02Thanks, Free.
12:03Wow, is that the first fan that we've heard say they want him to lose tonight?
12:09I would want him to lose tonight, too, if I were a Warrior fan.
12:13I would, just because, like Slater said it, organizationally, it probably makes more sense
12:23for them to be in the lot.
12:24Man, oh man.
12:26So, I look at it this way, why don't we look at it as a win-win?
12:31You're either going to get what you want, and Steph will get what he wants, which is a
12:36meaningful series against Oklahoma City, or that doesn't happen, and you're in the lottery.
12:43Why can't we look at that as a win-win?
12:46Because it's got a lot of loser mentality, but one of the best seasons in this franchise's
12:53era is we believe.
12:55Nobody saw it coming.
12:57I got to disagree with you there.
12:59The Warriors owned the Mavericks that year.
13:02They beat them three out of four.
13:04Forget the names.
13:05Just the one versus eight.
13:07But look at the roster.
13:08Those guys were all in their prime.
13:10This Warrior team is so freaking old.
13:13I hear you.
13:13Like, here's the other thing that I think a lot of Warrior fans, they get, is, okay,
13:20best case scenario, Warriors win tonight.
13:24Then they win Friday.
13:26Got a series Sunday.
13:27Yeah, who's playing for the Warriors on Sunday afternoon?
13:30Arson, say we're down 0-1, we play Wednesday.
13:32Okay.
13:34Say we're down 0-2, we come here Friday or Saturday, game three.
13:39And now we're in the habit of playing every other day against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
13:43Are the minutes restrictions going to expand?
13:46Like, that's the thing.
13:47The minutes restrict, like, people are like, well, they'll play more minutes as the playoffs
13:52go on, and I understand that.
13:54But, like, they might play less because they might be breaking down if they get a series.
14:05Like, that actually is what I'm worried about, is if they actually get a series, you know,
14:10what's going to happen to some of their older players if they've run out of gas?
14:18888-957-9570 is the number.
14:23Warriors play the Clippers tonight in L.A. at Intuit Dome.
14:29They're as healthy as they've been in the last, you know, couple months, as good as they can
14:35be without Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody.
14:39But on the bright side, even though the Clippers have beaten the Warriors nine straight, the
14:44Warriors are a little different with Porzingis and with Al Horford.
14:48So they'll try to go into L.A. tonight, steal a game, and then try to steal another one.
14:53And then try to steal another one, if they can steal the first two.
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