Tag: Philadelphia 76ers

Speights’ career night leads Warriors blowout over 76ers, 123-80

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By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (31-21) thoroughly dominated the rebuilding Philadelphia 76ers (15-33), 123-80, Monday night, at Oracle Arena. The 76ers came into this contest as one of the league’s worst, and the shorthanded Warriors made them look like it. The game was never close, as Golden State had the clear edge in every respect. Marreese Speights was going up against the team that drafted him, and certainly made it a special one.

In what would be a good indicator of the rest of the night, the game began with a Philadelphia turnover leading to a Stephen Curry three-pointer. As a team they hit four of their first five shots, including 3-3 from beyond the arc. They kept pouring it on from there.

It was the surprising Speights who provided the majority of the entertainment tonight. He has spent most of the season as a bench player with minimal impact. He was once again a bench player, but on this night his impact was anything but minimal He entered the game with four minutes remaining in the first quarter, and seemingly out of nowhere turned into the human highlight reel.

Soon after entering, Speights was fouled and hit two free-throws, and much like the Warriors as a whole, he just kept scoring. He hit his first seven shots from the field, including a rare three-pointer, and 5-5 from the free throw line. At the half he already had 22 points, his season-high. Heading into the locker rooms, Speights had helped the team build an already insurmountable 66-33 lead.

He kept it up in the second half. Golden State coasted to the easy win, and when the dust had settled, he had scored a career-high 32 points, in just 26 minutes. For good measure, he added eight rebounds and three blocks. At one point the beaming Warriors faithful rained “M-V-P” chants down on him. He received a resounding standing ovation once he was removed, when the Warriors emptied their bench in the final minutes.

In all, six Dubs finished in double figures. On a rare night when he won’t dominate the headlines, Curry was still fantastic. He contributed 23 points, including 6-9 from three-point range, along with eight assists.

Draymond Green started for the third consecutive night, with Andrew Bogut still out, and notched his first career regular season double-double. He posted 11 points, 10 boards, and four blocks.

For the 76ers, Michael Carter-Williams was probably the only bright spot. He had a team-high 24 points, as one of three Philly players to finish in double figures.

The Warriors have one more game before the All-Star break. It’s not one they can write off, however, as they always dangerous Miami Heat are coming to town. The game is this Wednesday, at 7:30 pm.

Iguodala press conference highlights; “we have high expectations”

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By Gabe Schapiro

This afternoon new Warrior Andre Iguodala was made available to the media for questions, during which he covered everything from his expectations for this years squad to his sons favorite San Francisco 49er (Colin Kaepernick, for those wondering).

Earlier this offseason Stephen Curry revealed that the team has a wins goal for next season that is written in the locker room, and that the number “starts with a five.” When asked about this goal, Iguodala responded that he has “high expectations for us,” but that he “won’t say too much about wins. I would rather fly under the radar.”

While the buzz would still likely qualify as under the radar, for one of the few times over the last 20 years Golden State begins a season with legitimate playoff hopes and beyond. Iguodala was asked about how that changes preparation, to which he said that it’s “a different type of focus. Everything you do is with a winning mentality.” Along those lines he said that during his career with the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets he has never been in camp this early, and that the workouts during the offseason were never this organized. It goes a long way towards establishing a “sense of team,” and “building a foundation.”

As that foundation is being built, Iguodala spent a fair amount of time discussing how he has begun fitting in to this new environment, on and off the court. Off of it he said that he has played with a lot of good character guys and with pretty cohesive rosters, but that it has been “even easier with this team.”

On the court, known for his suburb defensive ability, he was asked about adjusting to the Warriors defensive strategies compared to what he was used to in Denver. He responded “it’s not much different” and that it makes for an easy transition because “there are some defensive principles that don’t change. There is no gray area, it’s just plain black and white.”

In regards to the impact he had on a vastly improved Nuggets defense last year, Iguodala remarked bluntly “I would say I had a lot to do with it. I had a lot of responsibility.” He continued that in general “I don’t get enough credit for what I brought to some teams.” He touched on the fact that he will be guarding the opposing teams best player most nights, which was a task issued to Klay Thompson much of the time last season. He said that Thompson is “a better defender than people think,” and that he looks forward to being able to help “take the pressure off of Klay. Let him do more work offensively.”

On the offensive side of his game, he again voiced that the adjustments he has to make are minimal. “If anything to just be more aggressive. Go into an attack style.” His ability to drive the ball and be that aggressive playmaker should open up a lot of looks for the dynamic backcourt of Curry and Thompson. On the topic of having those options Iguodala said, half jokingly, “that will be a little stressful. It’s hard to pick one, both can knock it down.” He added that he is “planning on some high assist nights.”

It was all good news from Golden State’s new swingman, as he seems to be fitting in perfectly. It should be noted, however, for anyone who hasn’t already gotten the public service announcement, don’t call him Iggy, “I’ve never liked to be called Iggy.” More creative and fitting nicknames are sure to come for what appears to be a very exciting group. Expectations are high for this club, and they have the expectations of themselves to match.