sfgate.com photo: Stephen Curry practicing Wednesday to see if his ankle was going to be ready or not for game three in Dallas
On the Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor the Warriors Stephen Curry said he was feeling better and then the questioned was asked whether or not Curry can play in Thursday night’s game three in Houston. The answer let’s not be so much of a hurry to put Curry back in the line up yet. After practice on Wednesday Curry said he still has some pain in the ankle. There was some big news on Tuesday that the MRIs Curry had didn’t reveal any problem.
There’s no stress fracture as some people speculated there’s no major issues its just that he’s got pain in his ankle. Either way Curry is still questionable for Thursday night in Houston. The Warriors are being super cautious with this. Curry could play but the way everybody is talking about it it’s going to be a game time decision.
sfgate.com photo: Golden State’s Klay Thompson goes for the high percentage points as Thompson help lead the team without injured Stephen Curry in game two on Monday night
Without the services of their injured MVP-Steph Curry-the Golden State Warriors banded together with a solid team effort that featured a cast of supporters stepping into the spotlight in order to take a commanding 2-0 series lead at Oracle on Monday.
The other half of the Splash Brothers tandem-Klay Thompson picked up the slack for his injured teammate, pouring in a game-leading 34 points in the second game of this playoff series, to secure a 115-109 win for the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena.
Showcasing the type of depth that has made Golden State a nightmare for teams all year long, a slew of other Warriors stepped up in Curry’s absence to offer the Rockets no reprieve from their ruthless manner of scoring. Andre Iguodala was just one of many who had done so, coming off the bench to score 18 points while shooting a lights-out 7-of-10 from the field. Shaun Livingston- who replaced the injured Curry with his 11th career playoff start- did his part by contributing 16 points on an even better 7-of-9 from range.
The Rockets main source of offense came from James Harden, whose knack for getting to the free-throw line helped to contribute to his 28 total points on the night. Harden finished with 15 attempts, knocking in 13 free points. Dwight Howard attempted just seven shots on the night, connecting with five, in an effort that looked-at times- lifeless.
It wasn’t easy for Golden State, however. With just under ten minutes to go, the Rockets’ Jason Terry made it a one possession game on a pair of free-throws. But the Warriors responded with an 11-1 run that would ultimately put the dagger in the heart of any comeback attempts from Houston.
The Rockets looked more lively than they did in their stale game one, but were met with an answer almost every time they made a push against Golden State. The team would bend in the fourth, but would show the resilience that helped to make them NBA Champions last year by not breaking.
It was a resilient effort and a display of depth for Golden State, who finished with four starters in double-digits, and 37 points from the bench. The win also gives Curry extra time to heal his ailing ankle, as the Warriors don’t take to the court until Thursday in Houston. With a commanding 2-0 lead, head coach Steve Kerr could decide to give Curry an even longer break and rest his star again.
The juggernaut that is the Golden State Warriors steamrollered the Houston Rockets 104-78 in game one of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs. The Warriors led the game wire-to-wire en route to the win.
The dominate win has been overshadowed by an injury to superstar Stephen Curry. Curry tweaked his right ankle late in the second quarter and had to be taken into the locker room have the ankle re-taped. Curry would return to start the third quarter but played only 2:47 in the period before having to return to the bench.
In his postgame media conference, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr told reporters that Curry would not have been available to return to the game if Houston would have made a comeback. Kerr went on to say that Curry is questionable for game two on Monday night. In NBA terms, questionable means there is only a 50 percent chance that Curry will play.
Curry was the Warriors leading scorer with 24 points in his limited playing time of 19-plus minutes. Not only would the Warriors miss Curry’s scoring punch but the sight of Curry on the bench could serve as real source of motivation for Houston who do not want to go home down 0-2 in the series.
The Warriors defense was as impressive as their offense. Golden State held the Rockets shooting to just 35.7 percent (30-for-84) from the field. Houston who lives by the creed of “score in the paint or shoot the three” shot just 27.3 percent (6-for-22) from long range.
The Golden State defense kept James Harden off the free throw for the entire game. Harden makes his living driving to the basket and forcing reach-in fouls for opportunities to score from the free throw line.
Kerr told reporters after the game that not reaching in on Harden was major point of emphasis for the Warriors defensive scheme. The plan worked to perfection.
The Golden State defense also caused the Rockets to be sloppy in guarding the basketball. Houston turned the ball over 24 times in the game. The Rockets had more turnovers than assists (16). A negative assists-to-turnover ratio makes it literally impossible to win a game in the NBA.
The Warriors held the Rockets to just eight second-chance points. For comparison, Golden State scored 25 points when give a second chance to score.
There will be much talk about the Warriors outscoring the Rockets by 26 points. The real discussion should be about the Warriors holding the Houston offense to just 78 points.
Warriors
Stephen Curry was the team’s leading scorer with 24 points. Curry went 5-for-7 from 3-point land. He also grabbed seven rebounds, had three steals and dished out two assists in his limited playing time.
As you might have guessed, Klay Thompson helped to fill the gap left by Curry having to leave the game. Thompson scored 16 points but had to take 14 shots to score those points. He was perfect from the free throw line going 6-for-6. Thompson finished with five rebounds, four assists and one steal.
Draymond Green had a double-double game scoring 12 points and recording 10 rebounds. Green led his team in playing time with 33:17 played.
Marreese Speights was the Warriors leading scorer off the bench with 12 points. He shot 5-for-11 from the field.
Andre Iguodala was real force on offense for Golden State coming off the bench to dish out a game-high seven assists.
Rockets
James Harden was the leading scorer for the Rockets with 17 points but he had to take 19 shots to score those points. He was just 3-for-5 from behind the 3-point line. Harden turned the ball over six times.
Dwight Howard was surprisingly a big factor in this game for the Rockets. Howard has experienced a less than stellar season for Houston. He put up a double-double in this game scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for his team.
Patrick Beverley was also a surprising non-factor for Houston on Saturday. After a first quarter skirmish with Curry that resulted in off-setting technical fouls, Beverley picked up three personal fouls and was sent to the bench. He played just 5:10 in the second half after picking up his fourth foul. Beverley finished just two points.
What they said after the game
Steve Kerr evaluating how his team played
“…Very satisfied. I thought our defense was excellent. We didn’t reach. We made them earn every point and we did have the brief spell when Steph (Curry) went out where we sort of lost our focus, lost our poise but we quickly recovered, a lot of guys played but it was a good, solid victory.”
Klay Thompson on the intensity of the game
“It did (get chippy). You expect that in the playoffs.No team is going to lay down against us. I’m just happy we didn’t let it phase us. We’ve got a strong group.”
Houston head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on his team’s first half performance
“One of their strengths defensively is their versatility. They do a lot of switching. They have guys who can defend multiple positions. We didn’t do a good enough job making them pay. When they switch, we have to move more. Instead, we moved less which made us easier to guard. They just sat … they has 10 eyes on the ball-handler. We didn’t put enough pressure behind them, move them around enough so our penetraters could penetrate and make plays for other people. This can’t be a one-sided game offensively. The ball has to move. There has to be a thrust to your offense.There has to be early action, early attacks. They’re too good defensively if you don’t.”
Up next
Game two will be played on Monday at 7:30 PM (PDT) in Oakland. The game will be televised on TNT.
photo credit yelp.com: front doors of Alfred’s Steakhouse 659 Merchant St downtown San Francisco
Cast: Michael Duca (host), David Zizmor, Morris Phillips, Jeremy Kahn, and Lee Leonard (producer), our thanks to Alfred’s Steakhouse at 659 Merchant St in downtown San Francisco for their fantastic hospitality, great selection of entrees, onion soup, salads, appetizers, and deserts. Also to Alfred’s great staff Managing partner Ron Boyd, co-owner Daniel Patterson, General manager Angela Neri, Amanda Smith Director of Marketing, General Manager Mark Ronkovski, Chef Charlie Parker, Manager Mark Mendoza, and our server Jessica.
Alfred’s a rich traditional history going back to their original location at 889 Broadway Street where Alfred’s was founded in 1928. Alfred’s now owned by Ron Boyd and Daniel Patterson follows a three generation tradition that started with founder Alfred Bacchini who opened the franchise in 1928. Alfred’s Steakhouse open daily for lunch at 11:30-2:30PM and for dinner at 5:30-10:00 PM.
You’ll enjoy Alfred’s fine selection of steaks, Filet Mignon, Rib Eye, New York, the Alfred’s cut, Porterhouse, also try Alfred’s house specialties Farro Verde, Grilled Chicken, King Salmon, Braised Lamb Shank, Surf and Turf for two. You’ll enjoy Alfred’s fine deserts, Pineapple Upside Cake, Bananas Foster made right at your tableside, Chocolate Mousse, Cheesecake, and Taleggio.
You’ll enjoy the fine food selection at Alfred’s a San Francisco experience. On the podcast coverage of the 2016 Golden State Warriors playoffs with the Houston Rockets and their exciting season. The Giants have run into a wall in Colorado losing two out of three headed into Los Angeles for the weekend. The A’s were swept by the Los Angeles Angels and get ready to face the Kansas City Royals for a weekend series at the Oakland Coliseum.
OAKLAND–The game of the season for the Golden State Warriors after winning their last two in San Antonio and Memphis was predictable on Wednesday night because once they got 72 and you just had to figure coming home for the last game they were going to get that 73 hell or high water. Except for that one point win over the Grizzlies last weekend 100-99 on the road. The Warriors have done pretty well against Memphis they had the 50 point win over the Grizzlies at the beginning of this season.
They crushed the Grizzlies in post season last year and this year’s team didn’t even have Mark Gasol or Mike Connolly their two best players who were down due to injuries. They were definitely fielding a depleted Memphis squad to top it off Memphis was already coming off a big loss to the Clippers Tuesday night as they were on a back to back nights.
SACRAMENTO–In the worst kept personnel move ever, the Sacramento Kings have fired head coach and future Hall of Famer George Karl. Multiple media sources – including this one – had been reporting that Karl would be dismissed since Wednesday morning.
The termination comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following the Kings for the past 18 months. DeMarcus Cousins did not want the team to hire Karl in the first place. Karl was almost fired over the summer for trying initiate a trade for Cousins, and vice president and general manager Vlade Divac wanted to terminate Karl in February when the team was in midst of turmoil. This was a relationship that was doomed from the very beginning.
“After evaluating the team’s performance this season, I determined it was necessary to move forward with a new voice from the head coaching position,” said Divac. “I have a great deal of respect and admiration for George and his accomplishments throughout his nearly 30 years in the NBA. On behalf of everyone in the Kings organization, I thank him for the contributions made during his time in Sacramento and wish him good fortune in the future.”
This will be the first time the Vivek Ranadive ownership group has a head of basketball operations in place before hiring a head coach. Michael Malone and George Karl were hired before the general manager was in place and the results have been disastrous and resulted in both coaches being fired.
There have been reports that the minority owners have been upset over the handling of the hiring and firing coaches by Ranadive. For instance, Karl walks away with a reported $6.5-million due him for the remainder of his contract. Investors hate to pay “dead money” to anyone knowing they will have to pay out big dollars to the new coach that takes Karl’s place.
The assumption is that Divac will have heavy input into the hiring of the next coach. Not that Ranadive will be left out of process but he will probably allow the experts to do their job in order to avoid another hiring fiasco.
The coaching merry-go-round has become a joke in the national press that covers the NBA. Ryen Rusillo of ESPN Radio spent almost five minutes decrying the coaching situation in Sacramento as ridiculous during his nationwide show on Wednesday. That is just one example of ridicule that is being flung at the Kings organization’s inability to hire and retain a head coach.
Hiring the right coach for this situation is critical. First, the coach must be able to adapt to the direction of the team as set by Divac who is said to want a more defensive approach on the floor. Secondly, the new head man (or woman) must be able to adapt to the available personnel. Finally, DeMarcus Cousins must buy in on whoever the Kings want to hire. That is not a good thing for management but they have empowered Cousins and will have to obtain his cooperation to make it work for the next coach.
Some of the names that are being floated are coaches with experience. Ex-Houston coach Kevin McHale, ex-Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek, former Bulls and Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro, ex-Cleveland coach David Blatt, former Warriors head man Mark Jackson and Charlotte assistant coach Patrick Ewing have been mentioned as possible candidates for the job. The search will also include top assistant coaches from around the league who are looking for their first job as a head coach.
The names of Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks have come up but both are expected to take higher profile jobs.
The interview process is expected to take some time because the Kings cannot afford to make another major hiring mistake as they move into the new arena.
USA Today photo: Stephen Curry put on a show on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena against the Memphis Grizzlies
OAKLAND–The Golden State Warriors ended the regular season with 73 wins and 9 losses, that is the best record ever during a regular season for a team in the National Basketball Association., They’re better then the record of the great Chicago Bulls of 1995-96, the Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen teams. Warriors coach Don Nelson could only dream of such a season, anybody in the NBA, not only Nelson, can only dream of having a team loosing nine games on an 82 game season.
As a person who covered and traveled with the Golden State Warriors in the 1990’s I can only admired this 2016-17 team in awe of such an accomplishment. Let us not forget that it comes on the season following their defending of their reigning title of 2014-15. Few teams in history, in any sport, have defended a title with such numbers. Now the Warriors had some great players in their history from Wilt Chamberlain, to Rick Barry and Nate”The Great”:Thurmond, but what Stephen Curry has done with this team and a cast of others, who actually check their egos at the gate, it is amazing.
Forget the NBA, this is a season almost impossible to compare to any team in any other professional league in this country. Defending a title, I think the Warriors had the best season of a-n-y-b-o-d-y. And actually the fans they have recruited during these past seasons is unprecedented here in the Bay Area. Truth-be-said, the Warriors always enjoyed great fan support in the Bay Area, as many years as they never won anything, no other pro-sports team here in Northern California can compare to the support the Warriors have enjoyed.
If they played at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, next to the Oracle Arena, they could have filled the Coliseum, even the seats on the upper-deck that are permanently closed, would be open and selling like hot cakes.
I am very happy for the Warriors success, they make the Bay Area proud,and even though they might move to San Francisco in the future, they are a Bay Area team, congratulations to Mr.Peter Guber and Mr Joe Lacob for buying a team in distress a few years back and putting together one of the jewels of sports.
sfgate.com: Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry beams after the game winner that put the Warriors as the winningest team in NBA history on Wednesday night
The Golden State Warriors achieved on Wednesday a record few thought would ever be broken — a 73rd win, accomplished in typical, dominant fashion with a 125-104 win over the Grizzlies at Oracle Arena.
In doing so, they finish the season with a 73-9 record, one win better than 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls team that recorded 72 wins.
Stephen Curry added another accomplishment to cap off a spectacular regular season, dropping 46 points and 10 3-pointers, eclipsing 400 3-pointers made on the campaign.
The Warriors piled up 70 points in the first half, taking a 20-point lead into halftime. The game was essentially decided early on, when Curry made three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Warriors a double-digit first quarter advantage.
The Oracle crowd, raucous as usual, helped the Warriors blow the Grizzlies away. Golden State broke the 100-point mark late in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Curry.
By the end, the buzzer sounded and the confetti stream, capping off the greatest regular season in basketball history.
The Warriors’ march toward the championship will begin on Saturday against the Rockets at 12:30 p.m.
The Kings lose again to end a season with some promise on another disappointing note as they fall to the Houston Rockets 116-81. The Kings played with DeMarcus Cousins who was inactive and Rudy Gay (rest) and Rajon Rondo who did not even travel to Texas for the last game.
George Karl may be fired as of this hitting print. Under his leadership the Sacramento Kings have become the talk of TMZ and almost the joke of the NBA. On a wonderful evening of NBA basketball as the Warriors made history with 73 wins and an aging Kobe Bryant threw down 60 points in his send off, Kings fans are left with a season full of lack luster play and disappointment.
The Kings head into a new arena next fall and hopefully they can leave the baggage they have build up in Sleep Train Arena, what would The Kings of of ten years ago have to say to this team. Once this was a franchise built on hussle and teamwork, now is a reality show that has reach epic portions.
Cousins the best at his position in the league plays when he feels like it, Rondo designs his own plays and Karl looks like he gave up in November. There is not stat line to help make this look like a moral victory. It is just another loss in an other wise lost season.
Hopefully Vlade Divac can find the person to help him make the basketball decisions to right this ship before a loyal fan base is lost forever.
The Sacramento Bee and other news organizations are reporting that Kings head coach George Karl will be fired on Thursday when the team returns home from Houston. Sports Radio Service’s Kings Podcast predicted that Karl would not be retained as head coach based on his statements in the pregame and post-game news conferences on Saturday.
Karl has been on the “hot seat” since last summer when he sent up some trial balloons about possible trades for All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins. Reports had majority owner Vivek Ranadive wanting to dismiss Karl at that time.
Karl was also rumored to be close to termination in November following a confrontation with Cousins in the locker room after a game. Karl wanted Cousins suspended for two games but was overruled by vice president and general manager Vlade Divac.
Cousins was suspended for one game without pay in early March following a tirade during a timeout aimed at Karl (stop me if you are seeing a pattern here).
That fact is Cousins was against the Karl hiring from the beginning. Reports had Cousins “camp” telling management they thought Karl was not a good fit for the team and Cousins. The chances of a working relationship between coach and player was doomed from the beginning.
Karl is still owed $6.5-million from the 4-year contract he signed in 2015. He will be the fourth head coach to be fired by the Kings under the Vivek Ranadive ownership group.
League sources – speaking under the condition of anonymity – have indicated the Kings are interested in several people to take Karl’s place. The usual suspects of Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks have been named and are reportedly not interested in Sacramento.
Other names that are being floated include Vinny Del Negro, Boston Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, ex-Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt, Atlanta Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson, ex-Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek, Charlotte Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing and ex-Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale. Ironically, Del Negro was in Sacramento on Saturday night for the Kings final game in the old arena.
No matter who the Kings settle on as their next head coach, if DeMarcus Cousins does not buy in on the choice then Sacramento had better looking for their fifth head coach. That is a horrible situation to be in but the Kings created the problem when they allowed Cousins to become more important than his coach.
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