Postgame quotes after Game 3:

Greg Popovich: We made shots and they didn’t have as good a night shooting the ball. Sometimes it’s as simple as that. There’s other factors, you think about turnovers, blah, blah, blah. But we shot it and they didn’t.

Mark Jackson: This is a make-or-miss league. That’s all. If we don’t play our brand of basketball we are not good enough to just win.

Klay Thompson: Collectively, we didn’t shoot as good as we did in the first two games.

The Warriors first three games (respectively) this series in shot chart form:

For a team built primarily around shooting the basketball, can it be as simple as “make-or-miss” in relation to wins/losses with the Warriors?

Over-simplication is often short-sighted, but it holds true in this particular situation.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to make 1,134 field goals this regulars season, which accounts for 36% of the team’s shots. The starting backcourt attempted 2,594 field goals out of a team total 6,841 (38% of team’s total shots).

The narrative these playoffs — and especially after Game 2 — was the outrageous shooting numbers (48% FG, 40% 3PT) and the complementary play between Curry and Thompson. If one was off, the other was on. It wasn’t so much that these two players can’t both be off at the same time, it just hadn’t happened yet. That was the worst case scenario, and one everyone thought would never come.

Friday night, we saw what happens when that scenario indeed happens.

Curry and Thompson combined to shoot 12-for-37 (32%) and the team only made six (out of 20 attempts) three pointers. There simply wasn’t that third consistent option out there on the floor.

Jarrett Jack — since David Lee’s injury at least — has tried to be this third option, and for the first half kept the Warriors at bay with four shots in the 2nd quarter before failing miserably in the second half (on both ends of the floor). Harrison Barnes was aggressive going to the basket but couldn’t find his range from outside the paint, Andrew Bogut was 5-for-9 but can’t be counted on for consistent production and Carl Landry was 4-for-4 on shots inside the circle but struggled to get anything going from the outside.

The lone bright spot from was from David Lee himself, who in three minutes looked to be very much the Lee of old on the offensive end. Lee said postgame he’s feeling better than he did in the Denver series, but that bar was set pretty low. Coach Jackson said he didn’t keep Lee in the game because he didn’t like the way Lee was running his last trip down in the 2nd quarter. Lee’s performance in Game 3 was nothing more than a tease, and it doesn’t sound like that will change as the series progresses.

The Warriors simply weren’t getting as many clean looks as they were in the previous two games, and credit the Spurs defense. Danny Green hounded Curry all night, allowing limited open shots and not giving him much room to initiate the offense all night. Thompson was shaded by Kawhi Leonard for a lot of Game 3 and he did a solid job of not giving Thompson enough space to get off clean looks. With that said, Thompson had his chances:

Thompson succeeded in the mid-range but struggled from inside the free throw line, a scary (and troubling) trend.

Murphy’s Law was in full effect Friday night: Warriors were hounded on defense, missing shots, Curry turned his left ankle and the Spurs reminded everyone why they’ve been the class of the NBA for years. The Warriors were outclassed in every facet Game 3. For the first time this postseason they showed their age and inexperience. It was a scary sight for fans, and for the Warriors to have any chance this series they need to muster up the same urgency they’ve played with this entire playoff run.

If there’s anything the Warriors have proved this entire season is their incredible poise and resiliency. Bouncing back from each loss these playoffs with a win, the Warriors are incredibly mature for their age. This youth showed in Game 3, but it’d be foolish to assume a repeat performance is all but certain come Game 4.

The focus must start on the defensive end, as numerous players stated after Game 3. Throwing different looks at Tony Parker (Bazemore?)  in Game 4 or simply putting hands up on jump shots will pay dividends, but consistent effort and focus will prove to be the Warriors biggest improvement from their loss Friday night.

Will the Warriors shoot a measly 39% from the field in Game 4? Will Curry and Thompson combine to shoot 32% again? Will the team shoot 32% from deep while only making six treys? Will Parker score 32 points (25 in the first half) again?

All signs point to nay, but on even shorter rest (12:30 PST) and with Curry hobbling, the signs aren’t as clear as they once were.

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Another week of playoff action, another episode of the podcast! As the Spurs-Warriors series in full swing, we bring you three guests to get everyone ready for Game 3 and beyond.

In our first segment we welcome WarriorsWorld’s own Jesse Taylor as he discusses everything Jarrett Jack from Game’s 1 and 2. Jesse is doung a game-by-game analysis of Jack during the Spurs series.

We then welcome in former Warriors center and fan favorite Adonal Foyle as he talks the SA-GSW series, Stephen Curry, how the 2007 team compares to the 2013 team, the state of the center position in the NBA and more.

Lastly we welcome lifelong Warriors fan and rapper Mistah FAB to the show talking the atmopshere at Oracle Arena, the development of this current Warriors team, his officiating in the WarriorsWorld tournament and whether he’s changed his mind on the Monta Ellis-Andrew Bogut deal.

As always, you can listen to the podcast, subscribe and rate us on iTunes here.

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Our biggest show of the year comes at the most important time of the season for our Golden State Warriors. Fresh off their incredible series victory at Oracle in Game 6, we talk everything Warriors with a multitude of guests. We hope you enjoy.

In our first segment we welcome Ethan Sherwood Strauss of WarriorsWorld and ESPN.com. We talk David Lee’s surprising comeback, the Warriors 4-out lineup and how effective it was against the Denver defense, Joe Lacob’s epic turnaround and more.

We next welcome ESPN.com’s NBA writer Chris Palmer to talk Stephen Curry’s swagger, Mark Jackson’s coaching job, Andrew Bogut’s importance these playoffs and much more.

Next up is Bay Area News Group’s Marcus Thompson talking the future of Jarrett Jack coming back, whether David Lee will play minutes next series and the scene at Oracle Arena.

Finally, we welcome Ed Maisonet of SLAM Magazine to the podcast as he talks his affinity for Stephen Curry and where he ranks in the NBA’s pantheon of players, why he was rooting for the Nuggets on press row and how Oracle Arena compares to Chesapeake Energy Arena.

As always, you can listen to the podcast, subscribe and rate us on iTunes here.

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Although injured and done for the season, David Lee is still competing for something this season.  Lee is a finalist for the Kia Community Assist Award for his continued outstanding work off the court.  Here is some more information about the award and how Warriors fans can support Lee by voting for him.

The Golden State Warriors announced today that forward David Lee was named a finalist by the NBA for the Kia Community Assist Award for the 2012-13 season in recognition of his outstanding efforts in the community and his ongoing philanthropic and charitable work. Additionally, the NBA announced that for the first time, from April 29 – May 17, fans are able to show their support by voting for finalists on the newly launched Kia Community Assist Facebook Tab on the NBA’s Facebook page, highlighting the 10 finalists.

The 2013 Seasonlong Kia Community Assist Award winner will be determined by fans and a distinguished panel of NBA judges, including past J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award winners and NBA Legends Bob Lanier and Dikembe Mutombo. Kia and the NBA will donate $25,000 to the winner’s charity of choice.

Throughout Lee’s tenure with the Warriors he has proven to be an All-Star on-and-off the court. He is a national spokesperson for the Hoops for St. Jude program, which led him to visit the Memphis based hospital and research center in February of this year where he doubled his annual $25,000 donation to $50,000. He also pledged to donate $250 for every Warriors win to support Us Against Cancer and aid in the fight against cancer, totaling $12,500 to date. At NBA All-Star Day of Service he put his skills to good use by working with Rebuilding Together Houston to help rebuild and renovate homes. Earlier this season, David was presented with a proclamation from the city of Oakland for donating $25,000 to keep their annual Thanksgiving Dinner going that feeds nearly 3,000 of the city’s homeless, elderly and less fortunate.

If awarded the 2013 Seasonlong Kia Community Assist Award, Lee’s charity of choice to receive the $25,000 donation is Us Against Cancer, a 501(c)(3) public charity that is committed to raising funds to support cancer research and was co-founded by his childhood best friend and two-time cancer survivor Mike Bommarito.

To learn more, please log on to www.nba.com/kiacommunityassist.

It’s the playoffs! Nuggets vs. Warriors has proven to be the most exciting series in the first round by far, and Game 2 was one Warriors fans will remember for years to come.

In our first segment, we talk anything and everything from Denver as the Warriors head back to Oracle with the series tied 1-1. The amazing shooting night, Klay’s consistency, Mark Jackson’s moves and more.

In our second segment we talk Harrison Barnes: his incredible performance in Game 2, maturity and what he has to do now to build on his success.

Finally, we bring back Adam Lauridsen (@GSWFastBreak) who was in Denver for Game’s 1 and 2 to talk what has impressed him the most through two games, the shooting, Harrison Barnes and if he’s staying with his pre-series prediction.

As always, you can listen to the podcast, subscribe and rate us on iTunes here.

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Andrew Bogut has been the topic of much discussion this season. The talk around the Warriors big man revolved around the gross mishandling of his injury news on behalf of Warriors management and public relations department.

That wasn’t Bogut’s fault. The Warriors wanted their big man, their prime acquisition of the previous trade deadline, their centerpiece in what they were hoping was a playoff season and their big man that this very franchise has needed for years.

As Bogut began getting minutes criticism undeservedly increased. Fans clamored for more points, more rebounds, quicker switches and increased minutes. As is the case with many fans, their expectations were simply too high for such a delicate product. The idea of tame production as a placeholder for future success didn’t exist.

Bogut was never going to be 100% this season and is still not 100% entering the Warriors first round series with the Denver Nuggets. That doesn’t mean his presence isn’t any less important. In fact it only heightens, especially after the injury to fellow big man David Lee.

The Warriors aren’t looking for offense from Bogut, nor should they be. Any production on the offensive end is an extended bonus, at least until Bogut feels comfortable making his own moves down on the block. This aspect of his game, according to Bogut himself, most likely won’t be shown on the floor until next season.

With David Lee out with a torn right hip flexor, the dynamic passing between both Warriors bigs leaves as well. One of the more underrated aspects of a player’s game is his ability to pass. This skill is especially rare for a big man, and the Warriors were lucky to have two very capable (and willing) passers down low. Without Lee, Bogut’s ability to pass out of the block and make plays for others increases.

Where a lot of big men are one-and-done on the offensive end — deciding what they’re doing before they actually start their move — Bogut has the skills to pass out of every situation and make plays for other players when needed. On a team so dependent on shooters — even more now with Lee out — this will be crucial for the rest of the series.

With each possession increasingly important, the playoffs are often decided by turnovers, rebounds and increased possessions. Bogut only had nine points in Game 1 (also carried a team high +10), but will surely get more looks as the series goes on simply by default. Whether that means more set plays for the Aussie is an unknown, but his importance on putbacks and on the offensive glass stays vital for a team now missing their most productive offensive force down low.

It’ll be interesting to see how Mark Jackson approaches the hole in the frontcourt as the series progresses. First instincts point to Carl Landry sliding into the starting lineup with some combination of Green/Barnes/Ezeli sharing time at the 4. Landry and Bogut have only shared the floor for 53 minutes together this season, something I asked Landry about in my one-on-one with him just last month. Landry expressed confidence in more potential floor time with Bogut. This wasn’t any shock, but the proposition is a scary one considering the circumstances.

Lee loved to work off the pick-and-roll with Stephen Curry, something we haven’t seen Landry do much at all this season (Jack is often handling PG duties when Landry is on the floor). The Landry-Bogut duo could work simply because Landry can score for himself and is physical inside. Landry will have to work off the P&R more than he’s used to and start hitting the midrange jumper we became so accustomed to him hitting early on this season.

While Klay Thompson had an impressive game and Curry hit the game tying three with seconds to go, Bogut might’ve been the most important Warrior on Saturday. 14 rebounds (5 offensive) and four blocks are the stats, but his presence down low can’t be overstated (nor recorded). He adjusts shots nearly every possession by either altering shots themselves or forcing passes out of drives or the block. We saw a taste of this in the regular season, but to see it in the playoffs has been huge for an otherwise mediocre defensive team.

Lee’s struggles on the defensive end have been well chronicled, and Bogut is often the linchpin in covering up many defensive deficiencies from both Lee and everyone else on the floor. With that said, the defensive end is where Lee won’t be missed as much. Not that Landry is a superior defender, just a more than adequate replacement. Similar size and weight, both aren’t your ideal post defenders, but Landry is slightly more aware of his defensive surroundings than Lee is. Not losing your man on back cuts or being between your man on the basket are simple but highly important traits for a defender. Lee often failed at both.

Since Bogut’s insertion in the lineup he has been the on-court leader the Warriors hoped he’d be. In addition to being the best inside defender on the team, Bogut is vocal. He leads by example and isn’t afraid to call other players out on the court if need be. While this isn’t a breaking development, it may be new for Landry, who as noted hasn’t shared much time with Bogut on the floor. They know each other’s games, but playoff minutes is entirely different that practice time in downtown Oakland.

Bogut has always been an important member of this team, whether on the floor or not. Now, as the playoffs are upon us and his backcourt-mate no longer here, it’s up to Bogut to anchor the defense and make his unique passing abilities and aggressiveness on the glass a known commodity. The Warriors won’t go down easy in this series, and Bogut will be a big reason why.

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Warriors exit court (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images).

The Golden State Warriors caught a horrible break with David Lee’s hip injury. He is currently sidelined for the remainder of the postseason and consequently the Warriors must now battle for their playoff lives without their lone All-Star.

Let’s not mince words here, it’s an incredibly difficult proposition for the Dubs.

Lee was essential to everything the team did. He provided the team with low post scoring, a good mid-range shooter and a terrific release option against defensive pressure.

His absence puts added pressure on Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli. Not only must they patrol the paint and serve as Golden State’s defensive backbone, but they must now clean up the boards on their own for the most part.

Mark Jackson isn’t being dealt any favors in his first postseason head coaching experience. As our very own Ethan Sherwood Strauss noted, Jackson might have to turn to Nellieball.

Ever the tactician, George Karl unleashed a trapping defense in Game 1 that flustered the Warriors’ guards on occasion. Jarrett Jack struggled with it and picked up his dribble at inopportune times while Stephen Curry made some questionable passes in a few instances.

The Denver Nuggets’ defensive scheme forced the Dubs into somewhat of an accelerated pace. Lee was the player that helped them on this front.

Much like he did throughout the season, he camped out at the free throw line and waited for the pass that relieved the defensive pressure. From there, he could shoot, drive or pass. Executing these tasks was fairly easy for him considering his skills and good judgment.

But with Lee in street clothes, Golden State needs someone to replicate that. And honestly, they don’t have another big man capable of doing so.

The closest they’ve got is Draymond Green but his jumper has completely betrayed him this year. Consequently, he is not the triple-threat the Warriors need.

Draymond Green 2012-13 regular season shot chart courtesy of NBA.com/Stats.

Thus, Jackson might have to downsize. That’s the conventional train of thought.

This might sound counterintuitive, but in the 19 minutes that Lee spent either on the bench or in the training room, the Warriors generated 131.7 points per 100 possessions according to NBA.com’s advanced stats tool.

The sample size is incredibly small but Golden State did a couple of things with their starting power forward off the floor to manufacture points.

The Nuggets trapped the pick-and-rolls headed towards the corners and also attacked players with a live dribble in that area of the court. The Warriors’ perimeter players got themselves into some tough situations in these instances and coughed the ball up a bit.

Avoiding these key-trapping areas on the floor is almost mandatory for the sake of ball security.

Nonetheless, the Dubs used a few wrinkles to their advantage.

For instance, late in the fourth quarter, Denver doubled Klay Thompson when he ran curl screens. Stephen Curry had his shooting guard run the action and fed him the ball before he even got open.

Once Thompson caught the ball, he immediately dropped off the ball to his center as he rolled to the hoop.

In addition, with Jarrett Jack running the point, his defender often cheated in the direction of the curl screen. The Warriors’ backup guard countered by simply driving the ball to the hoop for scores or dishes.

As the contest unfolded, the Warriors slowly figured out their points of attack. They scrapped the two-man game attack because of the trap and instead ran some screen-the-screener action for their shooters and sprung them loose.

Denver adjusted late in the final period by simply switching on screens and trusting their athletes would stay with the 3-point shooters. This resulted in the Denver “bigs” defending the perimeter and the guards on the interior.

The Warriors lack a huge post threat and thus couldn’t take advantage of this tactic in that manner. However, with big people playing on the outside, it created driving lanes for the Warriors as well as offensive rebounding opportunities.

The Warriors got by without Lee in Game 1 and nearly stole the contest. Mind you, as Zach Lowe demonstrated, doing so for an entire series against the Nuggets is a completely different proposition.

Mark Jackson will more than likely mix and match his lineups, alternating his small lineups with his big ones and truly open things up. It’s risky, but it could yield some terrific results.

Statistical support provided by NBA.com.

Questions or comments? Feel free to leave them in the comments section or you can contact me by email at [email protected].

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David Lee is out for the playoffs with a torn right hip flexor. This brings doom, gloom, and a potential 4-game broom.

In a vacuum, the injury is awful news for an already thin team. There is opportunity in destruction, however. Something may be gained by GSW resorting to guerilla tactics.

Mark Jackson has been averse to using a small frontcourt. I don’t have many criticisms of Jackson, but this is one of them. On account of his size and athleticism, Harrison Barnes should be a prototypical stretch four. That hasn’t happened yet, even though the Warriors might reap rewards from spreading the floor with four three-point shooters.

Not only can Barnes help Golden State’s offense by allowing it to stretch the opposing D, but such a strategy can help Barnes individually. The rookie is an explosive leaper, though his first step is slow. If GSW operates with more space, that should spring Barnes for layups and dunks. The four-out (four three-point shooters) often makes the average player look magnificent, as guys tend to flourish with more space.

The key would be playing Harrison alongside Andrew Bogut, so the Warriors can compensate for a small power forward with Bogut’s shotblocking and board work. That’s a lot of pressure to put on the big fella, but he might benefit from playing next to a faster defender. The small forward slot can be filled by Klay Thompson whenever Jarrett Jack is in the game.

It’s far from an ideal solution, as Barnes is a rookie, and not quite used to playing power forward. But desperate times call for desperate measures. The Warriors are not going to win this series by merely being less of themselves. They must shake the snow globe up, change the terrain. It’s not enough for everyone to “step up” in David Lee’s absence. The Warriors must wholly alter their offensive constitution. To avoid going out in four, Golden State must go four-out.

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