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Golden State Warriors (1-0) 108 - 100 Oklahoma City Thunder (0-1)

First published October 17th 2018
Damian Jones starting is the most Steve Kerr thing ever. The team really wanted to help him get going. I actually was pleasantly surprised with his positioning and the way he was always aware of Steven Adams, body-ing up and keeping him away from the offensive rebounds he so often feasts on. He tried hard to keep up and contest but that also resulted in a couple of fouls because he's still got a ton of issues in defending PnRs. A bit springy, although not Jordan Bell levels.
Meanwhile Durant came out to play against OKC, aggressively attacking the paint in a couple of plays. He broke out his crossover at least 3 times. The Warriors looked lively, sloppy passes and all, while a clearly short-handed Thunder were keeping up through free throws.
I did enjoy Dennis. I'll be really interested to see that small ball line up with him and Russ in the backcourt. However, he could never really keep up with Curry running around on offense, even when there wasn't really a body in his way to make it harder. Still, pretty positive look for him being the main guy getting his offense in.
In the second quarter the warriors unit depended a bit too much on Klay for scoring and the shots weren't really falling for that mid stretch. The end of the second quarter showed how Bell being the big wasn't working at all. The Thunder were now finally getting the second chance opportunities they look for. Looney would get back in. A similar thing would happen with Bell back in at the tale of the third.
Noel clearly is eager to do something, maybe a bit too much. But considering his role off the bench, there's a good chance those second quarter Thunder units (with Dennis at the point) might be fun to watch. Paul George was off for that entire first half and the Thunder could have used at least one functioning All Star level player.
But George heated up. His scoring and intense defense, coupled with Warriors starting with less intensity and then hitting a cold streak, made a 10+ point window vanish. He would be perfect in his field goal attempts almost the entire quarter. In back-to-back plays, the Warriors rushed to get the ball forward and score and only made matters worse. Kerr called a timeout after a 22-9 run.
I'm trying to find ways to describe what was going on in the fourth with the Warriors but most plays just seem to be some mostly soft screens with the ball switching until someone decides it's time to attack or shoot. Not a lot of meaningful ball movement or cuts. Shockingly, having Curry helps a lot on that department.
There's this big play towards the end sorry for the awful quality, where the plan is clearly for George to attack Curry on a mismatch. Just look at Curry coordinating the switch with Klay when the pass takes a bit to long to reach PG, therefore creating a much more contested look. Games are won and lost on these details.
Sloppy game. The first quarter was fine for the Dubs but as the game progressed less things started working and the Thunder can certainly be happy keeping the game close and even dominating the third quarter considering the limitations the came with tonight. Paul George found a pretty good game along the way but it's damn tough to win if your MVP winning guard and your best perimeter defender are both out. Even if the defending champions weren't blowing anyone away tonight. Both teams are expected to improve a lot.
Other notes:
Diallo looks really good for his minutes and considering his expectations.
Look at my man Looney rolling to the basket. And giving a damn hard time to PG when it matters. In the question of the center rotation, he seems a step ahead. I was curious to see McKinnie. Can't say i've seen much to draw any conclusion either way. It's good to keep him involved in games though, as much as possible considering the days restriction.
Already, Andre played only with the second unit in the first and was removed from the rest of the game...

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