1) Omri Casspi probably shouldn’t have done that. He probably shouldn’t have scored 21 points in the second quarter on seven 3-pointers and 9-12 shooting. He probably shouldn’t have taken shots from 30-feet and made it look so effortless. Those are Stephen Curry plays. Other guys don’t come into the MVP’s house and treat his rims like a pop-a-shot game. All that did was wake the sleeping dragon. And wake he did…
2) After not scoring a single point in the game’s first 20 minutes, Curry registered 17 points in the final 3-plus minutes of the first half. He started the surge with an off-the-dribble, step-back three on Darren Collison and ended the scoring binge with another three from 30-feet on a backpedaling Ben McLemore. The Warriors trailed 58-61 heading into intermission, but anyone who has followed the team this year knew the game was effectively over. The Dubs had woken from their post-holiday slumber.
3) The Kings played so Kings-like. Each time they had a chance to go on a run they would make a dumb turnover where two guys would fight for a rebound or someone would take a low-percentage jumper. The most egregious Kinging came in the second when Casspi was shooting like a real life version of an NBA Jam’s player in full “He’s heating up!” mode and Rudy Gay or Collison would take a shot with 20 seconds left on the clock. How about running the play where everyone waits for the guy who just shot 7-9 from threes to run up the court and give him the ball?
4) Curry got a triple double (23 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists), but after the game, he was seen gingerly walking in the locker room. Prior to tonight’s action, Steph had been shooting 28% from deep in the last five games. Add in the injured calf and a DNP-CD might be coming soon. He can keep Marreese Speights company, the only healthy Warrior to not see action last night.
5) Andre Iguodala is in the midst of a shooting slump hitting only 32% of his shots in the last five outings. But he was sent in to guard Casspi early in the third. Casspi had only 10 points in the second half.
6) The game started with three ominous foul calls on the Kings in the first 21 seconds of the game. Rajon Rondo and Demarcus Cousins wound up having to sit with foul trouble and Boogie eventually got tossed after picking up his fifth foul and two quick technicals for demonstratively arguing the call. Sacramento was up two at that point but without their franchise player the Warriors immediately went on a 15-0 run to commence the blowout.
7) But I wouldn’t give up on Boogie. He has the highest potential of any player in the league that could immediately improve the trajectory of his career with a change of scenery. He was drafted at 19 by one of the wackiest franchises in the NBA. He’s played for four different head coaches. He has had to adjust to a new starting point guard just about every season. Yes, he leads the league in technical fouls and sometimes he inexplicably pulls teammates up by the leg, but he’s also just 25 years old and a top-10 talent. Look no further than Zach Randolph, someone who once had to go in hiding after sucker punching a teammate, to see how much age and a stable front office can help transform a malcontent into a franchise cornerstone. Boogie is going to be a star player on a good team someday.
8) Andrew Bogut again looked spry coming off two night’s rest. He had a couple of nice blocks early and protected the rim well in his 14 minutes on the court. He also completed a Thor-like hammer dunk off a high Curry lob.
9) The game was so quirky with the technicals, the scoring binge, the foul trouble and the ejection that I almost forgot the Curry brothers played against each other on an NBA court for the first time.
10) By the way, Casspi finished with 36 points on 13-18 shooting … and a minus-16 point differential with most of his minutes coming while Curry was on the court. Should have let the sleeping MVP lie.