If the tension between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets wasn’t thick enough for you, the Warriors think James Harden is faking his eye injury. Midway through the first quarter of Game 2 Tuesday night, Houston Rockets guard James Harden left the game with an eye injury after being inadvertently hit in the face
Golden State Warriors
It started innocently enough. It’s not that there wasn’t anticipation for their arrival. How could there not be? Stories had already been told, books had already been written, feats had already been accomplished… There was buzz. But it’s one thing to come along and make an impact; it’s another to show up and change everything.
The first game in all except one of the conference semifinals is officially in the books. In a second round in that many hyped to be one of the most all-around intense in history, we’ve seen two blow-outs and one nailbiter. No matter what happens or what reactions show themselves following the first game of
The Warriors once again separated themselves from the Rockets, using rebounding, defense and signature ball movement to take Game 2. Game 2 of Golden State vs Houston felt like a clear example of the most obvious NBA statement of the last three years: lots of teams are good, some are really good, but no one
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 26: Head Coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors speaks to the media after Game Six of Round One against the LA Clippers during the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 26, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by
By the end of the night, the NBA’s postseason second round will be officially set — first from 30 teams to 16 and soon just nine shall remain. Throughout the regular season — and for much of the last two years, actually — the biggest, most important question has been repeatedly asked ad nauseam: Can
We saw the best and worst of both teams in Game 1 and a frantic, chaotic finish had the Warriors holding off the Rockets. A few final seconds of chaos wrote the ending to Game 1, giving the Warriors a win over the Rockets and plenty for fans to dissect for the next few days.
Previewing the first-round series between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers with shot charts, assist maps, offensive style charts and expected win probabilities. Shot charts In a tremendous underdog story, the Golden State Warriors once again finished with the number one seed in the Western Conference playoffs. As always, they were led by
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 18: Patrick Beverley #21 of the LA Clippers reacts to his foul on Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during Game Two of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) NOTE TO
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 26: Golden State Warriors Forward Kevin Durant (35) warms up before game six of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers on April 26, 2019 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 05: Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the first half of the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on April 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User
Containing high-powered offensive weapons in the NBA often starts away from the point of attack, before a play really even starts. Make a scorer uncomfortable before he catches the ball, and he might become less threatening when he makes his move. Against elite shooters, that process often involves denying access to the screens and cuts
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 24: Patrick Beverley #21 and Montrezl Harrell #5 of the LA Clippers talk during Game Five of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors on April 24, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 21: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball against Jerome Robinson #10 of the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half of Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER:
When LeBron James missed out on the postseason for the first time in 14 years, he left a massively large hole in the proceedings. After all, James had dragged his squad to the NBA Finals in eight consecutive seasons, dating back to his inaugural season alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh down in Miami. Without
“Playoff Kevon” might be a thing. The designation is made available only to role players with a proclivity to take their game to another level in the postseason. See: “Playoff Rondo.” In the shadow of superstar DeMarcus Cousins and the happy reunion of Andrew Bogut, Kevon Looney has quietly been the Golden State Warriors’ best
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 13: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors reacts to a play during Game One of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the LA Clippers on April 13, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 13: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors has words with Patrick Beverley #21 of the LA Clippers during Game One of the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on April 13, 2019 in Oakland, California. Both players were ejected after the play. NOTE
The arrival of the postseason was supposed to engender the end of Golden State’s regular season bouts of disappointment. Instead, just two games in, they suffered a historic meltdown and more than one major loss. Word on the NBA streets is that teams aren’t as intimidated by the Warriors as they once were. That was
The Golden State Warriors had it all working, building a 31-point lead against the Clippers in Game 2. And then they blew it. It took back-to-back 40 point quarters, building to an 85-point second half. It took 22 Warriors turnovers, nine from Kevin Durant. It took Durant fouling out and 85 points from Danilo Gallinari,
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 13: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors stretches before the game against the LA Clippers during Game One of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 13, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or
Last year in this space, we introduced a metric called Wins Above Age-Derived Expectation, or WAADE. It measures exactly what it sounds like: how many more wins an NBA team actually gets than you would have expected them to based on their minutes-weighted age. In introducing the metric, we highlighted several teams that stood out
The Golden State Warriors will enter the 2018-19 NBA playoffs as the overwhelming favorites to win their third straight championship. Their victory isn’t a foregone conclusion — after all, the Houston Rockets were one Chris Paul hamstring strain away from potentially toppling them last season — but they know the stakes of this playoff run.
If Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving team up in free agency this summer, they’re shaping up to be a highly dysfunctional star duo. By most accounts, it’s inevitable Kevin Durant will be leaving the Golden State Warriors in free agency this offseason. Kyrie Irving professed a commitment to the Boston Celtics at one point, but
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MARCH 29: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors looks on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 29, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms
The Golden State Warriors have taught us more about DeMarcus Cousins since his return from a meniscus tear than he has shown us about the team. The truisms that players would have you believe about big men are pretty silly. You’ve got to “feed” post players, they say, reward them for running the floor or
Kevin Durant obtained his 15th and 16th technical fouls of the season, which will have him suspended for the Warriors matchup with the LeBron-less Lakers. Kevin Durant probably didn’t want to play the Los Angeles Lakers anyway. After all, the Golden State Warriors Thursday night nationally televised matchup with the fracturing Lakers doesn’t seem all that enticing
The Warriors haven’t looked like themselves for much of this season but they’re still the presumptive favorites. Here’s why they can win it all, again. Despite only intermittently looking like a great team this season, the Golden State Warriors are still the presumptive favorites to win the NBA Finals in June. Even though several other
It started with a pair of 3-pointers and a dunk on the break. He shot the next 3-pointer off the dribble, then fading away, then falling out of bounds. He pointed to the floor and pulled up from 28 feet. The opponents were double-teaming him, fouling him, and calling in reinforcements from the bench. It
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was caught on camera saying something that may get a lot of attention within the next few days. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is having a bit of a challenging season, at least at home. One of the biggest shocks from Sunday’s slate of hoops was