Fantastic effort from all the Warriors tonight, who ended Kevin Love’s consecutive double-double streak at 53. While Love is happy to have the streak’s burden lifted, the Warriors are content to erase the memory of his 37-23 night from their previous match-up. Who would’ve thought the Warriors, 1st and 5th in rebounds and points allowed, would be the one to end this epic streak? While he did manage 12 rebounds and only took 6 shots, the Golden State made a concerted effort to keep him off the glass and deny him the ball. It also doesn’t hurt to have Beasley helping out by taking the most shots (12) and dishing out 0 assists.
While they couldn’t stay hot from long distance, the Warriors held Minnesota to 36.6% from the floor and forced 26 turnovers. Sure, the T’Wolves aren’t exactly an offensive force, but it was great to see the W’s completely dominate them after their heartbreaking 123-126 loss in February. The 16 steals, 10 blocks, and a +3 rebound edge the Warriors earned barely does justice to their activity on defense tonight. They deflected passes and challenged shots and anticipated Minnesota’s every move. Truly a sight to behold as they finally played defense for a full 48.
With a 5-point lead at the half, the Warriors pushed the lead to start the 3rd. They often come out flat in the 2nd half, pretty much losing the game before they even start the 4th. It was nice to see them humming along offensively while still causing chaos on defense. None of the Warriors were particularly aggressive on offense, but it wasn’t necessary with their ball movement (23 assists) and transition offense (32 fastbreak points).
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Three Stars
1st Star: Stephen Curry
Curry had 9 rebounds and 6 assists to go along with 24 points on 15 shots. Better decisions by him tonight, including another Curry-Wright oop. He grabbed a few long rebounds to spark fast breaks which the Warriors absolutely feasted on. Even though Curry can’t match Monta’s explosiveness in the open court, he runs the break well enough to ensure an easy bucket. Hopefully, we’ll see more of this from the backcourt.
2nd Star: Monta Ellis
Nothing big from Ellis, just 16, 5, and 4 with a steal and a block. However he played just 28 minutes, his 2nd lowest total of the season. Great to see Monta get some rest for all the heavy lifting he does.
3rd Star: Ekpe Udoh
5 blocks and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes for the rookie. He had 4 blocks in the first half alone, helping the Warriors set their defensive tone early. If David Lee handles the glass like he’s paid to, Udoh can continue grow as a defensive playmaker.
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Notes
Defense: The biggest reason defense wins championships is because it’s much easier to be consistent on defense than on offense. Also making defensive plays helps spurs easier points in transition, whereas great offense doesn’t transfer to the defensive end. While the Warriors don’t have great individual defenders, they can still be great defensively as a team. Hopefully this game will help them realize that if they put in the effort defensively, they can make their lives, and ours, much easier.
Fast break: Without a true post presence, the Warriors have to work much harder in the half-court set. While they won’t hit 32 every night, the Warriors should take advantage of their talented guards and wings to score in the open court. This doesn’t mean pull-up transition threes, although Curry can hit those. Attack the basket and if there isn’t anything there, kick it out to any one of the streaky shooters.
Lou Amundson: If he was an athletic freak or amazingly skilled, he could have respectable NBA career. Unfortunately, he’s neither and so we’re left celebrating his 11 and 7 nights. Only in an alternate universe could we say that his biggest flaws are that he works too hard and cares too much.
T.G.I.F: If Udoh is going to become a good, if not great, rebounder, he needs to work on his outlet pass. He can look pretty lost trying to find an outlet and with the Warriors’ backcourt, his tentativeness can prove costly.
Acie Law: I wasn’t excited when he first joined the Warriors (was anyone?), but he has been solid in leading the second unit. He takes care of the ball, makes sound decisions, and defends well. He isn’t exactly a force on either end, but what more can you ask for from your backup point man?
Jonny Flynn: Speaking of backup pgs, I now see why he Rambis doesn’t start him. Always having been more of scorer than a passer, he just doesn’t know how to lead an offense. He takes terrible shots while his passing and vision are still rudimentary at best. Passing up on Stephen Curry twice to take two other pgs who contribute next-to-nothing (Rubio, you coward!) adds to the growing list of bad draft picks (Prove us wrong Darko!) by Minnesota.
Michael Beasley: He mentioned in an interview that he plays as himself in NBA 2K11 and constantly calls for the ball to take all the shots. Hilarious, but it’s sad to think he might actually want to do this in real life. He’s unbelievably talented with his size and scoring ability, but until he becomes a more willing passer and a smarter shooter, he won’t be missed in Miami.
Anthony Randolph: He was supposed to help return the Warriors to relevance, yet even in his 3rd season he still seems raw. He’s only 21, but I feel like time is running out for him to get his act together. If he wants it enough, he’ll get there, but that’s a big IF.
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The Warriors are heading north for a back-to-back against the Kings who have the season series locked up with 2 overtime wins. Missing their ROY in Evans, Golden State should shift their focus to containing Cousins. He’s volatile, but he’s a key to their success with Tyreke out. I don’t expect this to be an easy game, but hopefully the Warriors can get a streak going again with a win here. I will religiously predict scores until I nab one: 110-99 Warriors.