Five (gripes) for Thirty (games), shooting worse than Klay on a bad day

First, let me state that the Warriors are doing awesome. Three starters are out (including Curry and Green, without whom the Warriors are barely even distinguishable as THE Warriors), and despite this they just keep winning. I don’t care the records of the opponents, this is the NBA and I think it has become too easy for dubs fans to take wins for granted. The negativity on recent game threads is almost too much to handle – Klay shoots 6 for 24 in a game and some practically want him off the team. Have you ever seen Paul George, Jimmy Butler boxscores? Klay is quietly having a career year, mind you. Doesn’t mean he won’t stink up the place now and then, it’s just part of the game.

Now that I have gotten it settled that you all are way too grumpy, it’s time to unleash my grumps.

1) KD handling the ball in crunch time is a frightening, frightening experience. I wish I had stats on how often he turns it over in the final two minutes of a game, but it seems almost a certainty. If I recall correctly, this is also precisely how the Warriors came back from a 3-1 deficit to the Thunder during The Postseason that Shall Not be Mentioned. Having said that, on the possessions he manages not to turn it over, he makes the dagger shot, so who am I to say it’s not the way to play. But, my blood pressure would likely fare a lot better if we had someone other than Curry who can a) successfully dribble under pressure and b) make FTs when fouled. I honestly don’t know if anyone else on the team meets those criteria, and it is somewhat terrifying in close games.

2) I have never fully understood the full extend of hype around Patrick McCaw. I hope the dubs can keep him, he has shown he can have a positive impact (exhibit 1: 2017 Finals), but simply by the eye test I am not sure if I have seen a player before who seems so uneasy, hesitant, and frankly scared of the ball. And on the rare occasions he does pull out an aggressive move, it more often than not seems to end in an awkwardly terrible layup fail. Of course he is young, and hopefully can still develop into the Iggy-esque player we hope for, but at this point I am not convinced of his All-Star fate. I am still rooting for him to stay with the dubs though, as long as it comes at a reasonable price (which his play thus far this year may help achieve!)

3) It feels like Casspi should be shooting way more 3’s. Maybe I am misinformed about his game, but I envision him as a player who makes defenses pay for leaving him open behind the arc. But, whenever I see that happen, he hesitates until a defender gets in range and then passes the ball away. How much do you think Nick Young would charge for the Ultimate Shooter’s Workshop? Teammate discount, right?

4) On this subject, I love Nick Young’s confidence as the anti-hesitation foil to McCaw/Casspi. How about everyone adopt this new goal: keep shooting 3’s until your % is worse than Steph’s. You won’t have to ask Young twice.

5) I don’t want to have two KD gripes, but WTF is with these technicals. I just witnessed him get a technical complaining when a foul WAS called in his favor. I feel bad for the poor ref – he complains about every no-call, then when you call a foul he complains even more. Sure it sucks to miss out on the easy basket… but did he ever consider that is WHY he was fouled to prevent that?? It also came amidst stretches of the refs allowing dubs to get very physical with the Lakers in the paint without whistles, just didn’t seem like an appropriate time at all to complain about officiating, and seems almost certain to backfire in the long run.

Having said all that – everyone on the team is awesome. Dubs are amazing. KD is like a winged unicorn mounted by Porzingis. McCaw bird arm-flaps have permeated my living room. Casspi may genuinely be the guy I am most excited to see on the floor. Long live the dubs!