Category: Golden State Warriors

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors close to clinching Western Conference top seeding

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–The Warriors have just been playing amazing basketball lately and this might be the best that they’ve looked all season. That’s including that long win streak earlier in the first half of the season. This team is really clicking on all cylinders, they have the points and their just starting to pull away in the NBA Western Conference.

The W’s are ten games up on Memphis and their four games up on the Atlanta Hawks for the overall best record and they just beat Atlanta last week by just a dominating score 114-95. Then this last week the beat up on Portland 122-108, they then beat up on Memphis 107-84, they beat up on Washington 107-76, these are three playoff teams they beat up on.

They won those games and there was not a close match in any of those games the factor in all three of those games the Warriors kept it close through the first half and they just exploded in the third quarter and the fourth quarter was no contest to rest the starters for the most part. You watch these third quarters whatever adjustments they make and the feel they’ve got for the first half all comes to a head in the third quarter.

The Warriors just run away with it, especially in this game the other night against Memphis, their up by five in the half it was a good game. Mike Conley from Grizzlies had a very strong first half with 16 points and in the second half the Warriors made an adjustment to counter for him. Conley scored zero points in that second half.

Meanwhile Stephen Curry scored 17 points in just the third quarter alone and the Warriors just bombed the Grizzlies out of the building at Fed Ex Forum in Memphis this was a road game for Golden State. So to go on the road and beat Memphis by 20 and the Warriors hadn’t beat Memphis yet this season and they were the only team the Warriors haven’t beaten in the entire NBA.

When the Warriors faced the Grizzlies much earlier in the season it was the December 16th they lost 105-98, they didn’t dominate the game because there were just a few games where the Warriors have been blown out but it wasn’t a very close game based on how the Warriors have played this season. The Warriors are in Milwaukee on Saturday night and could clinch for the number one seed in the Western Conference.

David Zizmor does Warriors commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to his podcast below

Warriors Match Single-Season Franchise Wins Mark

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Stephen Curry continued his barnstorming campaign to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award Friday night, dropping 38 points on the Memphis Grizzlies to lead the Golden State Warriors to the 107-84 victory. The Western Conference leaders now have eighth-straight wins and have matched the franchise record for wins in a single season.

Curry went 12-for-22 from the field in 34 minutes of play, nailing 8 treys out of 12 attempted to push the Warriors passed the number two team in the conference handedly. The All-star guard also dished out 10 assists.

Klay Thomspon pitched in 28 points while Andrew Bogut matched Memphis’ Jeff Green with a game-high 8 rebounds. Green also topped the Grizzlies (50-21) with 16 points coming off the bench.

The Warriors (59-13) forced 19 Memphis turnovers while out-boarding one of the Association’s physical elite 43-40. Memphis did outshoot Golden State on its home court, shooting 44.7 percent to the Warriors’ 43.3.

The Warriors held a 7-point lead after the opening 12 minutes, putting up 31 points to Memphis’ 24. The Grizzlies cut into the Dubs lead with a 25-23 second quarter but a dominant third frame put Golden State up big. The Warriors scored 31 while limiting Memphis to 16 for an 85-65. The Dubs closed the game out with a 22-19 fourth for the 107-84 final score.

After the contest, the Warriors hopped on a flight for Milwaukee. They take on the Bucks in the second game of a back-to-back Saturday night, looking for win number nine in a row against a Bucks team hovering around the .500 mark.

The Warriors stifle the Washington Wizards

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland, Ca March 23rd, 2015

The Golden State won for the 57th time this season beating the visiting Washington Wizards 107-76. The Warriors shut down the Wizards totally in the third period as the Wizards were held to just eight points and they made just one field goal and that came after nearly eleven minutes of play. The Dubs outscored them 29-8 to put the game out of reach and their record improved to 57-13 for the season while the Wizard fell to 40-31.

Steph Curry led the Dubs with 24 points, six assists, and five rebounds. The Dubs are now an amazing 34-2 at the Roaracle Arena. Andrew Bogut had twelve rebounds and Draymond Green added thirteen points and six boards. Klay Thompson saw action in Monday night’s win as he had eight points and three rebounds in eighteen minutes of action. Thompson missed the last three games with a sprained ankle,

The Wizards’ Bradley Beal scored twelve and John Wall added eleven as Washington lost its third straight game.

After the game Dubs’ coach, Steve Kerr said, " I think the last few games have been a real progression for us in terms of just being very methodical and Professional."

The Warriors honored the 1974-75 NBA championship team throughout the game. Many players, including Hall of Famer, Rick Barry, were on hand to see this year’s team continue to excel as they seek to go all the way. Barry spoke to the team after the game, praising the current players and wishing them well.

The Warriors travel to Portland to face the Trail Blazers Tuesday night.

Curry, Warriors silence Jazz

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Stephen Curry scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the second quarter and Leandro Barbosa finished with a season-high 19 points helping Golden State pickup its 56th win of the season with a 106-91 win over the Utah Jazz Saturday night after disposing the New Orleans Pelicans at home Friday night.

The Warriors take the season series from Utah, 3-1.

Curry had his jump shot going, finishing with 8-of-18 from the floor (3-of-6 on 3s) to go along with three assists and three steals in 32 minutes of action. The Warriors’ league MVP candidate was struggling with his shot, shooting just 35 percent from the floor in five previous five games.

Barbosa, who has been huge for Golden State this season, played 28 minutes off the bench.

Draymond Green scored 15 points (11-of-13 from the free throw line), while Harrison Barnes chipped in with 12 points, and Andre Iguodala finished with 13 points off the bench for Golden State, who dominated Utah on fast break points, 25-6.

Justin Holiday, who has started the last three games in the place of All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson, finished with just seven points.

“L.B. has been magnificent this season,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “His defense has been tremendous for us, he’s a worker, a wonderful teammate.”

“We’re a deep team,” said Curry. “It goes to show you what our record (56-13) is. Everyone is playing great and contributing to the team’s success.”

Andrew Bogut was aggressive in the paint tonight scoring eight of Golden State’s game high 46 points in the paints (Utah finished with 36 points in the paint), and played great defense against Jazz promising young center Rudy Gobert. Gobert finished with just five points and nine rebounds in 34 minutes.

“Bogut played a great game tonight,” Kerr said of Bogut, who finished with eight of Golden State’s 37 rebounds. “He was a rock in the paint for us, and that is what I’m looking from him every night.”

Derrick Favors finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Trey Burke scored 20 points (5-of-11 on 3s) for the Jazz, who drop to 31-35 on the season.

Before Golden State dropped 106 points tonight, Utah didn’t allow 100 points in 12 consecutive games. Opponents were averaging just 86 points per game during that span.

Utah was 12-3 since the All-Star break, which was tops in the league.

Golden State continues to pile up wins at Oracle, improving to an NBA-best 33-2 in front of arguably the best homecourt advantage in all of basketball and are beating teams by an average of 15 points per game at home.

When holding teams to under 100 points, Golden State are a staggering 37-0.

With just three more wins, Golden State can tie the 1975-76 Warriors team for the most wins in franchise history with 59. The Warriors’ magic number to clinch the Pacific Division is down to two games.

The Warriors can finish their six-game homestand Monday 6-0 (and extend its current five-game winning streak) with a win over the visiting Washington Wizards.

Golden State will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the organization’s last championship that night, which was won against Wizards (formally the Bullets).

 

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: What’s in the water? Warriors can’t be contained win streak hits eight

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–This is just a special team and Golden State Warriors fans have to step back and savor these victories and they have. If you listen to talk radio in the Bay Area no matter what the station folks are universally in awe of this squad. We watched them last year and yeah they were good. There is no doubt they were a good team they made the playoffs you can’t deny that.

This season we didn’t expect this, the Warriors are sitting at the end of March and there are 14 games left and the Warriors right now are unquestionably the best team in the NBA. You look at all the power rankings published by all these websites that are published on a weekly basis the Warriors are at the top of it all the way around.

There is no question about it, especially after they just destroyed the Atlanta Hawks last Wednesday by 20 points there is no other team in the NBA that has 50 wins right now. This is a team where you can look at them and say they have a shot at the NBA Championship. For 39 years they haven’t been able to say that since they were the defending champs in 1974-75.

Also in 1976 was the last time you could think of the Warriors as a contender, ever since that 1976 season after their 75 title you couldn’t say that. It’s been a long time and these Warriors fans have been so long suffering and so great in spite of all the lousy basketball they’ve seen over the years you sit back in amazement and say “hey this is special.”

You have to soak it all in at the same time it comes with expectations, the W’s go into the playoffs with the best record in the NBA with home court advantage secured throughout the playoffs and the finals if it comes down to that. Then there’s a little bit of pressure on you if you actually come through. If you get that number one record people kind of have that expectation of you.

Warriors fans to a certain extent are saying “hey the western conference is difficult we would understand if something happens in the post season and anything is possible given the state of the west” the conference is just tough from top to bottom but you can’t just look into the western conference and say it’s good enough. When you have that number one record like the Warriors do they have the inside track to get into the finals.

David Zizmor does commentary each week on the Golden State Warriors for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast below

Warriors Spoil Pelicans Playoff Push with 112-96 Triumph

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Despite a poor shooting night from Stephen Curry, the Golden State handedly topped an Anthony Davis-less New Orleans Pelicans squad 112-96. Curry went just 4 of 17 from the field, finishing the night with just 16 points, but Harrison Barnes continued his run of torrid play to beat the playoff-hopeful Pelicans in front of the Oracle Arena crowd.

Barnes, getting the starting nod from coach Steve Kerr, finished the night with 9 made shots in 13 attempts for 22 points. He now has back-to-back 20-point games for the first time since his breakout 2013 playoff campaign .

The Pelicans saw 6 different players post double-digit scoring totals Friday headlined by Norris Cole’s 16 off the bench. Quincy Poindexter and Alexis Ajinca added 15.

Golden State hit half their shots, sinking 44 of 88 Friday while New Orleans to a 42.3 shooting percentage knocking down 33 of the 77 would-be baskets.

The Warriors built a slim 30-26 lead after the first quarter, but outscored the Pelicans 56-42 over the middle two frames for the 86-68 edge heading into the final 12 minutes. New Orleans (37-32), two games back of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, outscored the Warriors 28-26 in the fourth. By then it was too late, as Golden State rolled to its 55th victory.

The Warriors (55-13) now sit just four games shy of matching a franchise record in wins. A win Saturday over the visiting Utah Jazz Saturday night could move them one step closer.

Warriors Trounce Hawks

Published on by bentleonard18Leave a comment

By: Ben Leonard

//
The Warriors wanted to send a message after falling to the Atlanta Hawks (53-15) in February, only due to Atlanta’s unsustainably hot shooting. They sent a powerful one to the entire NBA on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena, trouncing the NBA’s second-best team 114-95 and moving to an NBA-best 54-13.

Even without star guard Klay Thompson, the Warriors still thrived. As Andre Iguodala put it in a post-game interview on CSN-Bay Area, with Thompson “out…we knew we had to make three or four passes….[something that was] just working for us tonight.” Even though the Hawks sold out to double team Curry, the Warriors succeeded in “rel[ying] on one another to make tough shots.” The Warriors had five players in double figures, including two bench players, Leandro Barbosa and Iguodala, the latter scoring 21 in a winning effort.

Even without Thompson and Curry being played tight, held to *just* 16 points, the Warriors managed to play patient basketball and take good shots, making 52.4% of their field goal attempts. They did not have to rely on their stars to take the victory, all the more impressive for Golden State.

For Igoudala, this game was no different than any other, unlike many who were looking forward to this marquee matchup: as he described it, “every team is the same.” After the “Lakers…almost got us [Golden State],” Igoudala and the Warriors had to treat every game the same. Iguodala certainly put a good effort in on Wednesday, throwing down an impressive dunk on a fast break midway through the second quarter.

Small forward Harrison Barnes was also key in the Warriors’ victory, scoring 25 points while making 11 of his 13 field goal attempts. He took advantage of the easier matchups the Hawks handed him, passing the ball when needed and showing good shot selection.

The Warriors set the tone early, with center Andrew Bogut containing the dangerous Al Horford, holding him to just 8 points. Bogut might not have scored any points, but his presence down low, grabbing 14 rebounds, was instrumental in the victory. Bogut altered the dynamic of Atlanta’s offense, and keyed the victory for Golden State. The result was never in doubt for Golden State, who controlled the game throughout.The Warriors rose to the moment on Wednesday, trailing only in the early stages of the game.

Watch out, NBA. The Warriors are hungry for more. 

 

 

The Warriors squeeze by the Lakers

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

March 16, 2015

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors had their hands full Monday night against the lowly Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are now 17-49 for the year, but they battled the Dubs tooth and nail all the way, but they lost 108-105. Golden State improves to 53-13 and with the win clinched a playoff berth for the third consecutive year in a row and also improved their record at Oracle Arena to 30-2.

The Warriors had won two out of three against the Lakers this year but the Lakers dealt the Dubs their worst loss of the year in December and came into town wanting to play the role of spoiler and gunning for the upset.

Play was even in the first period as both teams scored 30 points. The Warriors and an 8-point lead early in the second period and then a nine-point lead with just 4 minutes left in the half. The Lakers went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 52, but Dubs finished the half with a four-point lead 58-54. The teams played it even in the third period. Each team scored 24 points as they headed into the fourth period. The Lakers actually outscored the Warriors by one point in the final period, but they made it a very close game. The Warriors pulled away at the end as the Lakers had to foul and Steph Curry made them pay.Final score 108-105 in favor of Golden State.

Now for the stats. The lakers had 6 players in double figures.Jordan Hill(15), Jordan Clarkson(17), Wesley Johnson (16), Wayne Ellington (17). Jeremy Lin(15) and Carlos Boozer(10) were strong off the bench. The Lakers shot 45.9% from the floor and were 8 for 15 in 3-point shots. They had 11 offensive and 34 defensive rebounds. They had 24 assists, 11 steals, 5 blocks and made 18 turnover in a losing effort.

The Warriors, on the other hand, were 47.6% from the floor but made just 7 3-point shots in 27 attempts. They had 7 offensive and 30 defensive rebounds. They had 28 assists, 16 steals, and 7 blocked shot and turned the ball over 14 times.

Klay Thompson led the scoring with 26 points. Harrison Barnes had 11, Draymond Green 16 points, 3 assists and 8 rebounds while Steph Curry scored 19 (17 in the second half0 plus 9 assists and 4 rebounds. No other Warrior was in double figures. The bench played well but did not score a lot. Andre Iguodala had 8, David Lee five and Festus Ezeli and Shaun Livingstone each had six.

Next game will be a doozy as the Warriors, best team in the Western Conference, meet the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks at the Oracle Arena Wednesday night, March 18th at 7:30pm. The Warriors will be trying to avenge a loss earlier in the season to Atlanta. Don’t miss this one.

NBA Edit

About rxslugger

Retired pharmacist who now has a career as a sports writer and broadcaster

View all posts by rxslugger →

Warriors roll over Knicks on Curry’s birthday

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — A night after head coach Steve Kerr rested all his starters and the reserves came up just short in their place in a 114-103 road loss to the Denver Nuggets Friday night, the Golden State Warriors bounced back in hurry, trouncing the hapless New York Knicks 125-94 Saturday night to begin a six-game homestand.

Klay Thompson finished with 27 points in 26 minutes, and MVP candidate and birthday boy Stephen Curry, who turned 27 Saturday, scored 25 points and 11 assists with just one turnover in 27 minutes.

The Splash Brothers knocked down 12 of the Warriors’ 19 3s. Golden State shot 19-for-34 (56 percent) from behind the arc.

The game got off to a sluggish start for Golden State in the first quarter, shooting just 35 percent and allowing New York to take a 27-26 lead at the end of the quarter.

But Curry and the Warriors exploded in the second half, outscoring the Knicks 47-25 in the second quarter, thanks in large part by runs of 10-0 by the Warriors’ reserves, and a 14-1 run by the starters.

“We we’re playing hard, but we just couldn’t get off to a better start in the first quarter,” said Curry. “The bench came in a did a great job for us tonight and gave us a real boast.”

Draymond Green chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Justin Holiday scored 10 of his 13 points off the bench in the second quarter, nailing back-to-back 3s. Holiday, who started in place of Thompson in Denver Friday night, scored a career-high 23 points, including 5-for-7 on 3s.

David Lee added 10 points and four rebounds, while Marreese Speights scored nine points as Golden State’s bench outscored New York’s bench, 49-41. The Warriors outscored the Knicks 28-11 on fast break points.

“That as good as it gets,” said Kerr, “We didn’t get off to a good start in the first quarter, turning over the ball and forcing a few shots, but I thought we did a fabulous job responding.”

Andrea Bargnani led New York with 18 points, and Alexy Shved scored 14 points and dished out five assists.

Tim Hardaway Jr., son of Warriors’ great Tim Hardaway Sr., finished with 13 points off the bench for the Knicks, who shot 39 percent from the floor (38-for-96), and an abysmal 36 percent (9-for-25) from 3.

New York (13-52) falls to 5-29 on the road this season.

With the win, Golden State improves to an NBA-best 52-13 (surpassing the 51 wins from last season), and 29-2 at Oracle Arena. The Warriors are 34-0 this season when holding opponents under 100 points in a game.

Golden State hosts the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Curry, Thompson, Bogut, & Iguodala rested up and ready for some home cooking

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–The Golden State Warriors at some point in the season were going to attempt to rest some of the core of their players and they did on Friday night in Denver benching Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Bogut, and Andre Iguodala. They rested Bogut on the last big road trip they had in February when they went back east.

Bogut was going to sit in the game against Brooklyn on March 2 but in a game prior to that in Boston the Warriors Festus Ezeli got a technical foul and a one game suspension for pushing and shoving. Since Ezeli was out and he’s the back up center he would have started in Bogut’s place with him suspended the W’s had to put Bogut back in the line up.

The Warriors were definitely looking for a spot to get Bogut some rest as we already knew prior to this season the Warriors are very concerned about Bogut’s minutes he has that injury history. Anybody whose seven feet tall and as big as he is there is just a lot of wear and tear that would limit his time on the floor as much as possible.

In general everybody fresh in their memory from last season remembers Bogut was healthy for most of the season but he got an injury right at the end of the year and because he was out of that series in the first round you could argue that was the difference between winning and losing. That series went seven games and the Warriors didn’t have Bogut and if they have him they have a presence in the middle and their able to defend the Clippers Blake Griffin and Andre Jordan in last season’s post season and they don’t let anybody get by on the Clippers drive and that could have been the difference maker.

They want Bogut healthy and want him rested and their giving him rest whenever they can. This won’t be the last time Bogut sits once the Warriors wrap up their playoff position Bogut is barely going to see the floor until the playoffs. As for the other guys Curry and Thompson, now remember with them their obviously important to the team and they have played a lot in the last year.

Not only did they play all of last season the also played in the World Basketball Championships they logged extra minutes in the summer where a lot of guys normally wouldn’t. The Warriors have been doing their best to keep those guys from playing too much during the season. With Curry and Thompson they average around 32 or 33 minutes a night which is on the low side.

David Zizmor does commentary each week on the Warriors at http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to his podcast below