Some questions ahead of a pivotal playoff game.
On Tuesday, in between the Golden State Warriors epic Game 4 victory on Monday and their Game 5 showdown with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, I put out a call for some mailbag questions.
The Golden State of Mind community delivered with some excellent questions. Sadly my internet went out for an oddly long amount of time, so this mailbag isn’t getting up as early as I would have liked, but hopefully some of you are able to use it for some pre-game reading.
I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest Ime Udoka fan, in part because of the shady stuff that transpired in Boston, and in part because I think old-school, hard-ass coaches usually don’t find long-term success in the modern NBA.
But there’s no denying that he’s done a fantastic job with the Rockets this year. The Western Conference certainly has a contextual asterisk next to it — Jimmy Butler III and Luka Dončić didn’t join their new teams until the deadline, Kawhi Leonard was injured for. much of the year, etc. — but still. When you look at Houston’s roster and then you look at the other teams in the West, it’s damn impressive that they ended up with the second seed.
Admittedly, the West was so bunched that the Rockets were only four games ahead of the eighth seed, but still. You get the point. I’m a huge Alperen Şengün fan, he’s simply not a star on the same level as the best player on most of the teams in the conference. Nor is Jalen Green a weapon the way that most team’s second-options are.
Udoka has flaws, like all coaches. His offensive sets leave a whole lot to be desired (and no part of me understands the “play” call he drew up at the end of Game 4). But in a conference where the Phoenix Suns missed the postseason and the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks finished with losing records, I can’t see the Rockets go 52-30, earn the second seed, and play the Dubs tough in the first round and arrive at any conclusion other than “they massively overachieved.”
I do think Steve Kerr has been the better coach this series, though. Kerr has made more successful adjustments in the last two games. Udoka will have to prove tonight that he can do the same.
Kevon Looney is still going to be the answer some of the time. He has looked over-matched a bit at times, but he’s still a very good defensive player and rebounder.
But honestly? My controversial opinion is that Jonathan Kuminga could really help on the defensive end of things. He’s still not a great defensive player, but he’s a good one and, just as importantly, he has the length and athleticism to switch everything and be disruptive.
Disruption is the name of the game for the Warriors defense in this series. Houston isn’t talented enough offensively to pick the Dubs apart. If Golden State can throw them off their rhythm, things will far apart in a hurry.
Update: Kuminga has been ruled out for Game 5 due to an illness.
Having the best record is always a good thing, but in sports, betting on the field is almost always the right move. Here are the last 10 champions by regular season record:
2024: Boston Celtics (64-18, best in the NBA by 7 wins)
2023: Denver Nuggets (53-29, 4th-best in the NBA, 5 games behind 1st)
2022: Golden State Warriors (53-29, 3rd-best in the NBA, 11 games behind 1st)
2021: Milwaukee Bucks (46-26, 7th-best in the NBA, 6 games behind 1st)
2020: Los Angeles Lakers (52-19, 3rd-best in the NBA, 4 games behind 1st)
2019: Toronto Raptors (58-24, 2nd-best in the NBA, 2 games behind 1st)
2018: Golden State Warriors (58-24, 3rd-best in the NBA, 7 games behind 1st)
2017: Golden State Warriors (67-15, best in the NBA by 6 wins)
2016: Cleveland Cavaliers (57-15, 3rd-best in the NBA, 16 games behind 1st)
2015: Golden State Warriors (67-15, best in the NBA by 7 wins)
The Thunder are a fascinating case. They’re clearly the best team in the NBA, but they also are not battle tested yet. I sure hope we get to see the Warriors face them in the Western Conference Finals.
I’d say it’s a combination of all four of those things, although I’m not really sure that Houston made very many adjustments on Monday. They’ve defended Steph Curry brilliantly, and, until Monday, it had just been a case of great offense beating great defense.
He was definitely worn out. He had to shoulder a huge load on Saturday and then only had one rest day before Monday, and the thumb splint on his shooting hand is certainly impacting him.
I do think some of it was by design, though. Not that Curry was struggling by design, but I do think that on Monday he made a concerted effort to get the rest of the offense involved. The Warriors had a 121.2 offensive rating in Game 4, after marks of 107.7, 101.0, and 110.6, respectively, in Games 1-3. Udoka quite literally said during an in-game interview that they’re going to let a lot of non-Curry players shoot, and I think Steph was making an effort to run the offense through those player, which not only worked, but could pay huge dividends later in the series.
So I’d say it was equal parts random off night, physically compromised, and great defense, with a little sprinkle of self-inflicted strategy on top.
It really depends on what we’re ranking. Are we just discussing historical placement? If so, Butler is third. He’s no Curry or Kevin Durant but, in 10, 20, and 50 years, I’m fairly certainly Butler will be remembered as a better player than Draymond Green or Klay Thompson was.
Are we discussing their peak with the Warriors? If so, Butler is still clearly behind Curry and Durant, and I’d put him firmly behind Green in the early years of the dynasty, as well (I think Dray, during Curry’s MVP years, is one of the most underrated players in NBA history). I’d probably place him behind Thompson as well, but that’s a closer discussion.
Or are we talking legacy with the Warriors? If so, that’s a question we’ll have to revisit later. For now, he’s way behind all four of those guys, definitely behind Andre Iguodala, and quite possibly behind Andrew Wiggins as well. But a deep playoff run can change things in a hurry.
Thanks for the questions, everyone! Enjoy Game 5!