Dub Hub: Steve Kerr believes Warriors are still ‘good enough to win a championship’

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Monday, December 11th.

Warriors News:

Steve Kerr after Friday’s loss against the Thunder: ”It’s turnovers and fouls, that’s what it comes down to”

Warriors experience deja vu with overtime collapse against Thunder | The Athletic

“Something we’ve been talking a lot — foul while we’re up three,” Green said. “So I was hyper-sensitive to it. I’ve gotta foul. Don’t want to be the guy to give the 3 up.”

But the split-second steal attempt combined with the foul-at-all-costs approach created an opposite version of the same disaster. Green’s whack was ruled a shooting foul. Holmgren went to the line and made all three free throws. The game went to overtime. The Thunder again won the five extra minutes, finishing off the Warriors 138-136, sending the league’s most veteran and accomplished core reeling into a reflective postgame as they try to reconcile a 10-12 record.

“I gotta be better,” Green said. “He’s facing the rim. I can’t foul him … That’s a mistake a young guy should make, not a guy in his 12th year.”

The Warriors will be FINE! - Bob Myers on GSW but Stephen A. doesn’t believe him | NBA Countdown

NBA reveals refs missed critical OKC 5-second violation vs. Warriors | NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors led by three points with 8.4 seconds remaining in regulation when Thunder guard Jalen Williams inbounded the ball with a high overhead lob to 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren. But, as shown in the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report and in a video highlighted by Bballbreakdown on X, Williams should have been whistled for a five-second violation, which would have meant a Thunder turnover and Warriors possession.

Former Warriors GM Bob Myers admits he ‘screwed up’ by not picking Tyrese Haliburton in 2020 NBA Draft

Phoenix Suns troll Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr after his take on their loud arena music

NBA News:

Lakers’ NBA Cup win proves one thing: Stars like LeBron, AD are key | ESPN

This is why teams scheme, tamper, tank and even pray to get their hands on a superstar like Davis, whose mega 41-point, 20-rebound game broke the undersized Pacers’ backs. It’s only been the Lakers’ game plan to group stars together for 50-some years — and it will be for the foreseeable future.

“We’ve been doing it together for a long time, five years now, and we just figure it out,” Davis said. “We know each other’s tendencies. ... We feed off one another. Thursday, LeBron had it going [scoring 30 points in just 23 minutes in a blowout over the New Orleans Pelicans].

“Tonight, it was me, and he still did his thing.”

The Lakers having two superstars is why, regardless of what their shortcomings might be from season to season, they remain such a threat. James has been on better teams; the Lakers won Saturday despite making just two 3-pointers because their shooting remains a problem. But all his trophies have come when he has had at least one future Hall of Famer at his side.

Silver happy with In-Season Tournament, open to changes (NBA)

Using overall point differential during group play as a tiebreaker for Knockout Round qualifying is a common tactic in international basketball and soccer. But it grated for some with the sports culture here, as far as “running up scores.”

“I’m not ready necessarily to move away from it,” the commissioner said, “but if ultimately there’s going to be a sense, particularly from our American fans, that somehow it is an indication of poor sportsmanship, that’s not a good idea for us to be doing it.”

Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving avoids major injury after scary collision with teammate Dwight Powell

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

The Warriors’ turnover problem is an indirect consequence of the lack of secondary scoring

The Warriors’ most notorious Achilles’ heel with Steve Kerr as their head coach has always been turnovers. It’s a byproduct of their desire to play the beautiful game: pass the ball, constantly move, set hard screens for shooters, and cut into space created by the advantages of the initial action.

Whenever those notes hit, the Warriors manage to produce the most melodious style of play in all of basketball, one that rivals the early-to-mid 2010s San Antonio Spurs that became the standard for motion offenses in the NBA.

But whenever it falls flat, the opposite is true: tons of record scratching, out-of-tune strumming that sounds like grating on a blackboard, and lots of discordant play that would make one think this team hasn’t been playing together for more than a month.

Player grades: Warriors vs. Thunder

Brandin Podziemski

23 minutes, 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 5-for-11 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 1-for-1 free throws, 52.4% TS, -1

I just adore watching this dude play. The way he rebounds, hustles, and disrupts plays is fantastic. His offensive creativity, and ability to take care of the ball, is mesmerizing. He’s freaking awesome.

Grade: A-

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