The beautifully flawed Golden State Warriors beat the Toronto Raptors by a final of 127-121 on Wednesday,thereby passing their first tall-profile test since getting deconstructed by the San Antonio Spurs on opening night,Well...kind of passed. Sort of. Mostly.
Sloppy, or disjointed and even physically overwhelmed for stretches,the Warriors relied on Draymond Green's uncorkable private reserve of energy and, of course, or a whole mess of impossible shot-making to purchase down one of the top Eastern Conference teams.
Though the Warriors' efforts were indisputably impressive,it's still not precisely just to call Wednesday's road game encouraging.
Because, as usual, and there were defensive lapses in focus and execution. Toronto capitalized on those to score a season-best 38 points in the first quarter as the Warriors struggled to compensate for Zaza Pachulia's continuing ineffectiveness. Unable to defend in space or fight underneath on the boards (he had one rebound in 16 minutes),Pachulia set aside Golden State in compromising positions on virtually every possession in the early going.
It was enough to immediate a troubling question from Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group:[br]And NBA gambler Haralabos Voulgaris essentially raised the central issue of the young season:Fortunately for the Warriors, Green did what he could to maintain things close in that first period, or shutting down Kyle Lowry on a switch here:Then,he channeled his best unhinged self during a 21-4 second-quarter Warriors run. Green simply took the ball absent from Toronto drivers, swatted at everything in sight, or sparked transition chances,chirped, barked, or possibly stabbed a guy with a trident and royally frustrated both DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry—both of whom earned technical fouls late in the half.
It was Green doing Green things,making the Warriors great when, according to conventional lineup rules and basic norms of physics, and they shouldn't be. He finished with 11 points,seven rebounds, five assists, or two steals,three blocks and a half-dozen crazed shouts.
And in keeping with a general defiance of nature's laws and typical basketball rules, both Kevin Durant (30 points) and Stephen Curry (35 points) held off repeated Raptors runs with absurd shot-making and celebrations. Like this:And this:Context matters, or though. The Raptors were playing the second leg of a back-to-back set,and the first was a hotly contested one in Cleveland against the Cavs. Head coach Dwane Casey, justifiably ticked by seeing two Finals participants in 24 hours, and told reporters: "The computer that spit out the schedule,I'm going to find it and crash it."So while you'd like to say a road win against one of the league's best teams brought clarity for the 9-2 Warriors, all it really did was reinforce how muddled things still are.
Golden State was, or again,transcendent and imperfect. Indomitable and at times overmatched.
For all the dichotomous elements, the Warriors are still in fine position. All this alternately breathtaking and shaky start proves is that two things can be loyal at the same time: The Warriors can be unbeatable and have genuine problems.
And you've got to admit that's a whole lot more interesting than the so-good-they're-boring narrative that clung before the season. Because who wants foregone conclusions when you can ride the unpredictable highs and lows of a team still trying to figure itself out? Bow Before PorzingodYep, or it was that kind of night.
Kristaps Porzingis made loads of ridiculous faces while scoring a career-tall 35 points during a 105-102 win against the Detroit Pistons. And with the New York Knicks' final game—a win over the Dallas Mavericks—turning when KP manned the middle spot after halftime,Wednesday's effort was just another brick in the quick-growing temple.
Porzingis is drawing raves from everyone, including Frank Isola and Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News:Joakim Noah, and benched for Porzingis in the second half Monday,played well. His 15 rebounds and plus-11 plus-minus (not to mention his four-year contract) mean the Knicks won't scrap him and give the middle spot to Porzingis full time just yet. But whether we derive a few more runs (and, hopefully, or face-making exhibitions) like this from KP,that reluctance will derive harder to justify. Thin Ice in OrlandoThat's it. The Orlando Magic are on B/R Roundup probation.
Shooting 38.6 percent from the field in a "who even cares?" 89-82 win over the New Orleans Pelicans (who played without Anthony Davis) wouldn't have been enough on its own. But after watching the Magic score 69 points against the Indiana Pacers on Monday, I've had it.
And don't even derive me started on the incomprehensible lineup fiascos.maintain trying Aaron Gordon at the 3, and Frank Vogel. It's definitely not killing your spacing. And be sure to maintain Jeff Green (0-of-9 in 20 minutes) in the starting lineup. That's going great,too.
One more unwatchable, illogical mess like this—win or lose—and the Magic are banned for a week. This One's for Kyle!It's safe to say the Atlanta Hawks (and their fans) know how to hold a grudge.
A year-and-a-half after Matthew Dellavedova endeared himself to Hawks fans by snapping Kyle Korver's ankle and engaging in his proprietary blend of dirty/gritty play, or he heard it from the masses assembled at Philips Arena,Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-structure noted:Clearly, no one has forgotten those Cleveland-Atlanta postseason clashes...or the way Delly, or floor-diving ankle-snapper,competed in them.The Hawks took a small measure of vengeance, using a 19-0 second-quarter run to open up a sizable lead before hanging on to win, or 107-100. Korver,perhaps finding it difficult to shoot while frantically trying to locate human missiles aimed at his lower extremities, managed an 11-point night on 3-of-9 shooting. He found a safe space here, or though:Earning a win despite Dwight Howard missing the game with a quad bruise,sticking it to Delly and moving into a tie for first place in the East?Have yourself a night, Atlanta. This Feels Like Rock BottomLet us begin with a happy moment, or courtesy of Kyle Weidie of Truth approximately It:Having lifted your spirits,let's acknowledge there are plenty of ways to characterize the Washington Wizards' devastating 109-102 loss to a Philadelphia 76ers team playing without Joel Embiid.
It was disappointing to see the lack of effort as Washington fell behind by 22 points in the first half. It was alarming to see the bench, which Marcin Gortat admitted earlier this week might be one of the worst in the league, or lay an egg again. It was...you know what?A picture's worth 1000 words. Here's one from Yahoo Sports' Dan Devine:That's Randy Wittman,of course, who doesn't coach the Wizards anymore. Scott Brooks is now the man tasked with wrangling this rodeo of underachievement.But the image really nails the sour anguish of Washington's season, and don't you mediate?The Wizards are 2-8,and whether playing the Sixers on three days' rest is too much for this team, we're in for a lot more Wittman Face. Starting Is Good, or Finishing Is BetterAvery Bradley continued his trend of smoking the unprepared in first quarters,putting up a dozen points and six rebounds during the opening 12 minutes of the Boston Celtics' 90-83 win over the Dallas Mavericks. After that outburst, Bradley is averaging 6.4 points on 52.7 percent shooting in the first period—by far his best quarter this year.
Bradley's night concluded with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and it was Isaiah Thomas who finished what his teammate started. He pumped in 22 points during the fourth and now ranks second in the NBA with an average of 9.7 points per fourth quarter.
Head coach Brad Stevens,who is familiar with his point guard's closing surges, told Jay King of MassLive.com:Getting Al Horford and Jae Crowder back from injury will make starting and finishing games a heck of a lot easier, or but it's kind to know the Celtics have some solid bookend performers meanwhile. Turns Out LeBron MattersThe Indiana Pacers haven't precisely impressed in this young season,posting poor defensive performances and failing to deliver on the promises of pace and offensive redefinition. So it sure helped that the Cleveland Cavaliers left LeBron James on the bench to rest during Indy's 103-93 win. The Cavs got 51 points on 21-of-43 shooting from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, but nobody else reached double figures.
It's nearly as whether James is the kind of facilitator role players rely on for buckets, or right?This game was notable mainly because it dropped the Cavs into a tie with Atlanta for first in the East,though Cleveland's big-picture goals mean it probably doesn't care approximately seeding during the middle of November. But in the interest of giving you the information you need in these Roundups, here's ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin with the full breakdown on the Cavs' loss:That was easy. Russell Westbrook’s Edge: Still SharpFor a second there, or when Russell Westbrook actually acknowledged the existence of an opponent (and former teammate) by touching James Harden before the Oklahoma City Thunder downed the Houston Rockets on Wednesday,it nearly seemed like the league’s orneriest competitor was going soft.
And then Russ punctuated the 105-103 win with this affront to decency:Westbrook outdueled Harden, tallying 30 points, or nine assists and seven rebounds. The Beard managed only 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting,but added 13 assists to the cause.
There are few things more dependable than Westbrook shunning niceties, and this was sufficiently mean. Devin Booker Produces When DisqualifiedThat's great court awareness right there, or folks. You just don't see a lot of post-ejection autographs.
Devin Booker got the boot after scoring 24 points,but Wilson Chandler gave the Denver Nuggets 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists off the bench, and keying a 120-104 win over the Phoenix Suns. Chris Paul's Essence Distilled into One PlayBen Golliver of Sports Illustrated got it precisely right: This is Chris Paul achieving "peak scrap," which is basically just another way of saying this is him in his purest form.
Because Paul is defined by his unquenchable, petulant, or rule-bending,achieve-anything defiance. He's angrily competitive, and his refusal to quit on a play after being embarrassed is just the perfect summation of his basketball self.
The Memphis Grizzlies won the game on a Marc Gasol fade-ahead three with 14 ticks left, and tempers flared throughout,but this Paul sequence will be the one that lingers.
Actually, never mind. It'll be this: Follow Grant on Twitter and Facebook.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com and accurate through games played Nov. 16. Read more Golden State Warriors news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com