Panel:
First Half
Monologue: Warriors play in WCF highlights sacrifices they’ve made
With Kevin Durant out with a calf strain, DeMarcus Cousins out with a quad injury and Andre Iguodala out with his own calf issue:
What impressed you most about Warriors sweep?
“It was about their offense and the fact that they did it without Kevin Durant” – Pippen
“Steph has got the defense so extended, 35 feet away from the basket. That’s unheard of. How do you defend that? Kevin Durant not being there and all the attention went to Steph, it reminds me of where the Warriors were 4 years ago” – Pippen
“Steph Curry just had 4 and 1/2 of the most mastiful games of his career and I’m extending it to the second half that he played in Houston to get them through that series. I don’t know if we’ve ever seen Steph play better. We are seeing peak Steph Curry” – Windhorst
Significance of Warriors 5th straight NBA Finals appearance?
“This is unbelievable. We have put KD in the forefront of this team but this really about Steph Curry. It’s about the threat and the pressure that he puts on your defense night in and night out” – Pippen
“There’s no one standing in their way as far as I can see that’s going to knock them off” – Pippen
“Here they are 5 years in a row and not without adversity. It’s not like this has been a merry-go-round, especially this season” – Windhorst
May 21, 1986 – Ralph Sampson (Rockets) with the game winning series catch and shoot shot over the Lakers to advance to the NBA Finals!
Were you worried another Warrior was injured?
Did Steph get too greedy here?
Will you remember Game 4 as the Meyers Leonard game?
Had a career high 30 points, including 25 in the first half
Credit Seth for ending Steph’s FT streak?
Entering Game 4, Steph hadn’t missed a free throw in the 4th quarter/overtime since 2015. 81 straight makes. His brother, Seth said something to him and Steph finally missed
Moving on…
How can Bucks get Giannis going in Game 4?
“They’re going to have to put him off the ball a little bit. They have to utilize him more in the post. And he has to shoot the ball better” – Pippen
“Giannis has to move [on the defensive end]. He just can’t let Kawhi rest” – Windhorst
Second Half
With the Blazers eliminated, it’s another edition of…
What’s next for Blazers?
“There’s a lot of guys lining up to get paid” – Windhorst
Should Blazers extend Lillard?
Windhorst:
Pippen:
Nichols:
“They are hamstrung to give it to him. He’s a franchise player” – Windhorst
Should Frank Vogel be worried about Jason Kidd?
He called Kidd “an incredible asset”
Via Ohm Youngmisuk:
“It’s a great addition. You have a lot experience there as a coach and as a player. All great coaches are going to hire a great assistant” – Pippen
“He’s being hired as a weaker head coach because he was their third choice. Rob Pelinka made the hire that he wanted” – Windhorst
“Talking privately with Jason Kidd before he interviewed for the job, he really does like Lonzo Ball. It’s a legitimate thing” – Windhorst
Zach Lowe on how Raptors can compete in Game 4
Who, besides Kawhi, is under most pressure on Raptors?
“Kyle Lowry. It’s really his team. He has to come to play. Kawhi has bailed them out” – Pippen
“Pascal Siakam. He has got to play better” – Windhorst
Tougher potential matchup for Warriors: Raptors or Bucks?
“The less dominant team will probably be the Toronto Raptors. When you talk about Milwaukee and the way that Giannis has been playing, his dominance, his ability to push the ball and attack you downhill, getting guys in foul trouble he’s going to be a bigger load than what Kawhi has done. He puts a lot of pressure on your defense” – Pippen
“Milwaukee. I wouldn’t say they were built to beat the Warriors but if you look at what the Bucks have: They have length, they have three point shooting, they have depth, they will have home court advantage” – Windhorst
“It’s all downhill now for Golden State. They control their own destiny” – Pippen
“No one’s weeping for anything with the Warriors” – Windhorst
May 21, 2012 – Russell Westbrook with the incredible flip shot, plus the foul vs the Lakers!
Mile High Mindset
Understand why Tim Connelly chose Nuggets over Wizards? (Via Woj)
Connelly is from Washington DC
“The Nuggets situation short term is fantastic. He built it and hopefully they paid him because he’s earned it” – Windhorst
No Thanks
Smart for Dwight Powell to decline $10M player option? (Via Yahoo! Sports)
“Unusual decision, especially since Mavs owner Mark Cuban said they were going to extend his contract. So I’m not sure he’s done in the Mavs uniform but there are some machinations going on behind the scenes” – Windhorst
“There’s probably a bigger opportunity out there for him. But something’s going on” – Pippen
Knickstape
Buy that Frank Ntilikina wants to stay with Knicks? (Via New York Post)
“If you’re looking at the landscape here, there’s a possibility Anthony Davis could get traded for by the Knicks and that they may not have a point guard because they may trade their point guards and they may use their cap space on Kevin Durant and if they don’t get Kyrie Irving, maybe you just want to wait and see. Now is not the best time to want to be off the Knicks” – Windhorst
Ryan Saunders emotional in Timberwolves news conference:
Panel’s reaction:
Warriors right about needing KD to win title?
“I think he’s right. The game is a lot more fun for them without Kevin Durant out there, but it’s a lot easier for them with Kevin Durant” – Pippen
“When you have Kevin Durant, it opens up your margin for error so of course you want one of the great players of all-time on your team” – Windhorst
Finally…
