[gocard14]

BTW, Poole is a flailing turnover machine for Washington (last in the Eastern Conference) with a net negative +/- score, who nonetheless turns and mugs for the cameras when his shots don't fall -- he's shooting 30% from 3 point range. Baldwin has gotten into two games for 9 minutes and Rollins has played 8 minutes in four games for this last place team. Interestingly, Poole's turnover rate has increased every year. Did the Warriors dodge a of immense proportions bullet, and should Dunleavy be NBA Executive of the Year for getting rid of these potential albatrosses, while keeping Kuminga, Moody, Davis-Jackson and Podziemski, all of whom seem to be working out?

And separately re: Warriors...I'm very happy that Chris Paul is leading what is probably the best second-string in the NBA...but shouldn't the starters be better, starting with perimeter defense? Other teams have stratospheric three-point percentage shooting against the W's. And yes, I realize that the Warriors currently hold the #4 power rating on www.nba.com. They're 9th in offensive rating and 12th in defensive rating.

Core concerns:

- The Warriors scored just 104 points on 102 possessions against the Cavs, and the problem wasn’t turnovers or 3-point shooting. Their 12-for-32 (38%) shooting in the paint was the second worst shooting performance for any team in the paint this season.

- The Warriors have seen the league’s biggest drop in ball movement, from 381 passes per 24 minutes of possession (first) last season to 352 (sixth) this season.

- Chris Paul ranks 138th in true shooting percentage among 139 players with at least 50 attempts. And yes, I know the team has fewer turnovers, fewer fouls, a better bench and they're 4-1 on the road.

- Their schedule has been ridiculous. After playing at Detroit today and at NBA champs Denver on Wednesday, the Warriors will have had 7 road games and nine games in 16 days.
Warriors vs. Detroit at 4 p.m. today.

Warriors definitely may have dodged a bullet by getting rid of the Poole contract, not to mention getting CP3 out of the deal. Not ruling out that he could get it together at some point, but he seems happy to be a chucker that plays losing basketball now that he has a ring and a payday.

Overall there is a lot to like about the W's so far. As you mentioned, they were dealt a brutal schedule to start the year, and espite that they are 6-2 with 5 road wins. It took them until game 44 to get to 5 road wins last year.  The second unit with CP3 is leaps and bounds better then the second unit with Poole. The Warriors depth is insane. CP3, Moody, Kuminga, Saric, GP2 are 5 guys who can easily be in a playoff rotation, and Podziemski and TJD are looking great when they get minutes, which is rare due to the aforementioned depth. They also have a lot more lineup flexibility then last year, and Saric especially (combined with Draymond's improved 3 point shooting) helps them go 5-out to counteract their traditional weakness of going against elite rim protectors like against the Lakers last year.  

Furthermore, they are doing all this while only playing steph 31-32 minutes a game, which is brobdingnagian for keeping him healthy and fresh for the playoffs. Barring major injuries, this looks like a very solid regular season team and should win 50+ games.

Now for the concerns: While the warriors are loaded with depth/talent, they lack elite top end talent after Steph Curry. In a series with Boston, Boston would have the second, third, fourth, and fifth best players. Boston is an extreme, but in the playoffs top end talent tends to beat depth, and we are short on elite talent outside of the chef. Wiggins was our second best player in the playoff run, and he looks awful to start the year. I don't know if it is lack of motivation, or if his absence was something health related that he still has effects from, but he just doesn't look like the same guy. Related to this, some bad shooting luck, and Dray being out, our starting 5 has been shoddy on D. If he can't recover, unless Kuminga takes a giant leap its hard to see this team winning 4 playoff series. I'm not worried about CP3's shot. He'll find it (and started to last night), and even when his shot is not falling he is still a winning player. Also not worried about the lower pass count, that probably just comes from how CP3 plays on the second unit.

[gocard14]

BTW, Poole is a flailing turnover machine for Washington (last in the Eastern Conference) with a net negative +/- score, who nonetheless turns and mugs for the cameras when his shots don't fall -- he's shooting 30% from 3 point range. Baldwin has gotten into two games for 9 minutes and Rollins has played 8 minutes in four games for this last place team. Interestingly, Poole's turnover rate has increased every year. Did the Warriors dodge a of immense proportions bullet, and should Dunleavy be NBA Executive of the Year for getting rid of these potential albatrosses, while keeping Kuminga, Moody, Davis-Jackson and Podziemski, all of whom seem to be working out?

And separately re: Warriors...I'm very happy that Chris Paul is leading what is probably the best second-string in the NBA...but shouldn't the starters be better, starting with perimeter defense? Other teams have stratospheric three-point percentage shooting against the W's. And yes, I realize that the Warriors currently hold the #4 power rating on www.nba.com. They're 9th in offensive rating and 12th in defensive rating.

Core concerns:

- The Warriors scored just 104 points on 102 possessions against the Cavs, and the problem wasn’t turnovers or 3-point shooting. Their 12-for-32 (38%) shooting in the paint was the second worst shooting performance for any team in the paint this season.

- The Warriors have seen the league’s biggest drop in ball movement, from 381 passes per 24 minutes of possession (first) last season to 352 (sixth) this season.

- Chris Paul ranks 138th in true shooting percentage among 139 players with at least 50 attempts. And yes, I know the team has fewer turnovers, fewer fouls, a better bench and they're 4-1 on the road.

- Their schedule has been ridiculous. After playing at Detroit today and at NBA champs Denver on Wednesday, the Warriors will have had 7 road games and nine games in 16 days.
Warriors vs. Detroit at 4 p.m. today.

Warriors definitely may have dodged a bullet by getting rid of the Poole contract, not to mention getting CP3 out of the deal. Not ruling out that he could get it together at some point, but he seems happy to be a chucker that plays losing basketball now that he has a ring and a payday.

Overall there is a lot to like about the W's so far. As you mentioned, they were dealt a brutal schedule to start the year, and espite that they are 6-2 with 5 road wins. It took them until game 44 to get to 5 road wins last year.  The second unit with CP3 is leaps and bounds better then the second unit with Poole. The Warriors depth is insane. CP3, Moody, Kuminga, Saric, GP2 are 5 guys who can easily be in a playoff rotation, and Podziemski and TJD are looking great when they get minutes, which is rare due to the aforementioned depth. They also have a lot more lineup flexibility then last year, and Saric especially (combined with Draymond's improved 3 point shooting) helps them go 5-out to counteract their traditional weakness of going against elite rim protectors like against the Lakers last year.  

Furthermore, they are doing all this while only playing steph 31-32 minutes a game, which is brobdingnagian for keeping him healthy and fresh for the playoffs. Barring major injuries, this looks like a very solid regular season team and should win 50+ games.

Now for the concerns: While the warriors are loaded with depth/talent, they lack elite top end talent after Steph Curry. In a series with Boston, Boston would have the second, third, fourth, and fifth best players. Boston is an extreme, but in the playoffs top end talent tends to beat depth, and we are short on elite talent outside of the chef. Wiggins was our second best player in the playoff run, and he looks awful to start the year. I don't know if it is lack of motivation, or if his absence was something health related that he still has effects from, but he just doesn't look like the same guy. Related to this, some bad shooting luck, and Dray being out, our starting 5 has been shoddy on D. If he can't recover, unless Kuminga takes a giant leap its hard to see this team winning 4 playoff series. I'm not worried about CP3's shot. He'll find it (and started to last night), and even when his shot is not falling he is still a winning player. Also not worried about the lower pass count, that probably just comes from how CP3 plays on the second unit.