Game Thread | 2021-2022 Season | Game #17 | Warriors @ Cavs | Nov. 18, 2021

[KilgoreTrout]

Really enjoyed the discussion, last night.

I learn so much about basketball, when you fellas post.

Thinking about how best to make a useful NBA player out of Okoro is not a simple issue!

 

[Los216]

Regardless if Steph plays we need to win this game

 

[Lee]

Who the hell made this schedule. We've played like 2 losing teams so far, but now have the Warriors and Nets in a back to back.

If Curry is playing, this is going to be ugly. 150-78.

Its because of Curry's face right?

 

[daytripper]

Markkanen, Allen and Stevens (don't really care about Lamar tbh) should all be back for Monday's game per Fedor's last tweet. Doesn't really help for tonight though.

 

[Randolphkeys]

View attachment 7084Nobody:

KD in June:

God decided the Warriors can fuck right off a year too late. Those guys never even caught a cold when LeBron was in Cleveland. As soon as he leaves, poof... Old Testament shit came down on the whole franchise.

 

[bigfoot5415]

Well, if Steph plays, we are fucked. Good news is, we play the following games the remainder of the year lol.

Pacers x4
Pistons x3
Orlando x3
Wizards x2 (I think theyll regress)
Bucks in game 82
Nets in game 81
Rockets x2
Pelicans x2
Wolves x2
Kings x2
Thunder x2

Thats 24 games against shit teams lol. Not saying we will win out, but we have played a ton of tough teams already, and a lot of them on the road. Nor does that include all the teams coming back to earth like the Raptors.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Regardless if Steph plays we need to win this game

Why?

 

[Los216]

Why?

Because we have 3 days off after this. We could fall from 6 seed to 11 seed by Monday with a loss tonight. A win keeps us at probably no worse than 8 seed with Allen and Lauri coming back on Monday in a winnable home game against BKN.

 

[bigfoot5415]

Well, if Steph plays, we are fucked. Good news is, we play the following games the remainder of the year lol.

Pacers x4
Pistons x3
Orlando x3
Wizards x2 (I think theyll regress)
Bucks in game 82
Nets in game 81
Rockets x2
Pelicans x2
Wolves x2
Kings x2
Thunder x2

Thats 24 games against shit teams lol. Not saying we will win out, but we have played a ton of tough teams already, and a lot of them on the road. Nor does that include all the teams coming back to earth like the Raptors.

Also worth noting, if we can hit a good stride going into Feb (where we historically saw Collin, Darius, and Isaac play better); while getting healthy and evolving our team. It is not out of the realm of possibility of only losing a handful of games in Feb & into mid March. That momentum can be a huge game change into the final weeks of the season and playoffs.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Well, if Steph plays, we are fucked. Good news is, we play the following games the remainder of the year lol.

Pacers x4
Pistons x3
Orlando x3
Wizards x2 (I think theyll regress)
Bucks in game 82
Nets in game 81
Rockets x2
Pelicans x2
Wolves x2
Kings x2
Thunder x2

Thats 24 games against shit teams lol. Not saying we will win out, but we have played a ton of tough teams already, and a lot of them on the road.

Beat me to it. Our schedule is loaded early.

After we play the Nets Monday we'll have 53 games left with 20 against the bad teams you listed. The Wizards are in first place and we don't know that the Nets and Bucks won't need a win to improve their playoff positioning so I subtracted four games from your list. However, it they are locked into their playoff positions they could easily play mostly subs those games, or at least reduce the starters' minutes.

It's exciting to think what the Cavs might do once Mobley gets back (and eventually Sexton) and the schedule lightens up.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Because we have 3 days off after this. We could fall from 6 seed to 11 seed by Monday with a loss tonight. A win keeps us at probably no worse than 8 seed with Allen and Lauri coming back on Monday in a winnable home game against BKN.

It's way too early to worry about seeding. We're only 16 games into the season and the schedule has been brutal. Plus, all the other EC teams are going to lose their games to the Warriors so those games will cancel each other out.

There are only two games difference between the 5th seed (9-7) and the 12th (7-9). That's eight teams within two games of each other with 66 to go. Teams are going to be going up and down by the day.

The Cavs need to try and win a few games against the weaker teams while Mobley is out. Staying away from further injuries and C19 issues will be the key.

 

[Rich]

Seeding?

THat's just not a priority. Or shouldn't be.


Again, pretty unwinnable game tonight if Steph plays.


Again, a good opportunity to get some extra rest for Rubio and to give a bigger role to Okoro and Windler.

Confidence is a tricky thing. Sometimes you can find it in one single game.

If you can turn Okoro and Windler into positive contributors it can make all the difference going forward.

 

[Dr No]

I think this game is pretty simple - if Curry plays we likely lose. No one else their team is all that scary, but Steph is a walking bucket and an excellent passer. With his average of 29 & 6.6 he is directly responsible for 40+ points per game and probably indirectly responsible for a lot more because of the attention he receives. If he doesn't play, we have a chance. A back to back with a very short bench, and playing guys who just aren't used to this kind of minute load, isn't ideal, but if we aren't out of gas, I think we can hang with a Curry-less Warriors.

 

[Rich]

On the flip side if they're actually trying to win the game then Osman needs 35+ minutes and Okoro needs somewhere around 20.

 

[bigfoot5415]

Beat me to it. Our schedule is loaded early.

After we play the Nets Monday we'll have 53 games left with 20 against the bad teams you listed. The Wizards are in first place and we don't know that the Nets and Bucks won't need a win to improve their playoff positioning so I subtracted four games from your list. However, it they are locked into their playoff positions they could easily play mostly subs those games, or at least reduce the starters' minutes.

It's exciting to think what the Cavs might do once Mobley gets back (and eventually Sexton) and the schedule lightens up.

Also few more things I am also realizing after diving into the schedule.

We have 11 back to backs left. Here is who we are playing in the second nights: @Milwaukee, Sacramento, @Atlanta, Atlanta, @Sacramento, @OKC, New Orleans, @Philly, @Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia. Obviously anything could happen, but a handful of those teams were mentioned in my post regarding quality of teams we have left. Having some of these guys on the 2nd night of a B2B will lessen the blow IF we remain healthy and continue to play hard.

Edit: I am not even going to look at who plays us on the 2nd night or during long trips.

Some additional note on the back to backs:

• We have greater than 24 hours between game 1 & Milwaukee. Previous day is a 3:30 game
• None of the travel is considering excessive IMO (greater than 2.5 hours)
• Pelicans we get on more than 24 hours, and are only coming from Detroit

We do however have a west coast road trip that is 6 games in 8 days (who the fuck planned this). There are 2 nights going into Portland so that is a plus. Id even consider punting on the GSW game. The schedule isnt overly difficult; we should be able to win atleast 3 games (OKC, SAC & one of SA or Port), but could win more.

• Portland Fri 1/7
• GSW Sun 1/9
• Sac Mon 1/10
• Utah Wed 1/12
• SA Fri 1/14
• OKC Sat 1/15

To me it looks like even the "rough patches" arent terrible. Not like previous years where we play 4 games in 5 nights with 3 of them against legitimate contenders. I think we got that stretch out of the way on the 1st west coast trip & are undergoing the other right now. Luckily the next 4 are at home. If we could steal 2 of the big games....it will be absolutely huge for our team.