2023 Warriors: Game 81 Loss (Record: 45W-36L)

Game 81 is in the books – and the regular season is down to one home game…  Tonight the Warriors lost to the New Orleans Pelicans (49W/32L).  Although we have already qualified for the “play-in round”, the questions remain:  where will we finish and will we play at home or on the road?
The Warriors now sit at 9 games over .500 after a 5pt loss to the Pelicans.  Based on team records, I had predicted a mid to high single digit loss by the Dubs.  That’s pretty much exactly what we got…  What I didn’t expected was the Dubs would not play Jonathan Kuminga due to a groin injury.
The final score in this game:  114 to 109 in the Pelicans favor.  The Warriors starters played just well enough to lose to a better team. The Pelicans are 49W / 32L this year.  The Warriors bench depth got them back in the game in the third quarter, but it was not enough to make up for a horrendous second quarter where the Dubs gave up 45 points – mostly from beyond the 3pt arc.  We also gave up nine turnovers!
Regular Season Record – (45 Wins – 36 Losses)
Game 81:  Warriors 109 / Pelicans 114
Initial Observations:  The game projected (by me) to be a mid to high single digit loss for the Dubs, but was actually almost a runaway win for us – for one quarter anyway.  The Pelicans started cold and we started hot and we jumped to a double-digit lead.  We finished the 1st quarter with a 9pt lead.  We then lost the game in the second quarter.  The Dubs lost our three-point shooting touch and then failed to defend the Pelicans at the arc.  Combined with constant turnovers (9 in the quarter), the Dubs gave the Pelicans opportunities to stay in the game and find their own touch.  The Pelicans did and it ended up being a crushing quarter.
The Warriors won three quarters of the game and outscored the Pelicans by:  87pts to 69pts (18pts).  The problem is we lost the game in the second quarter where the Pelicans outscored us:  45pts to 22pts (23pts).  And that made it a 5pt loss…
Conclusion:  Steph Curry (33pts) lead the team in points, but he also accounted for almost half of the team’s turnovers (7 of the 16).  To our credit, the team played hard for the whole game.  We were just a bit out of sync on defense in the second quarter and the Pelicans shot the ball phenomenally well from 3pt range – particularly in the second quarter.  They finished the game with over 52% from beyond the arc.  Low 40% is considered good.
Game 82 is Sunday against the Utah Jazz (31W/50L) in SF…  Based on the teams relative won-loss records, the game promises to be a mid- to high- double digit win by the Dubs.  This game is a MUST win for the Dubs if we are to have any chance of hosting the 9th place vs 10th place play-in game.
With only the final game remaining, the Warriors are tied with the Sacramento Kings in the standings for ninth (Kings) and tenth (Dubs) place(s)…  If the Dubs can win and if Los Angeles and Sacramento lose one more game (each) we will end up with home court advantage for at least one playoff game – hosting the Lakers.  If the Lakers win their last game or if we lose our game, we will play the Lakers in LA.
So, now we have to win this last game to have the best chance of advancing in the 9v10 match-up and then win a second game against the loser of the 7v8 match-up.  Either way, we need two wins to make the proper playoffs.  The question is do we get to play one of them at home…  And, I would be remiss in not mentioning that if we do all that, we’ll then get the honor of being the 8 seed and facing the Conference one seed in the first round…
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On This Day In:
2023	Once Is Rarely Enough
2022	Or Less Perceptive
2021	We Need Professional Journalists AND The First Amendment
	It Was Rainin’ Hard (Taxi)
2020	Neither Alone, Nor Lonely
	Giving
2019	That’s Why It’s Called Faith
2018	So We Agree, #45 Is Dumb – Too
2017	The Morality Of Spying
2016	He Doesn’t Remind Me Of Me
	The First Rule
2015	Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow
	The Man Without Fear
2014	I Blame Robocop
2013	Future Trustees
2012	Praise Not The Day…
2011	Educated Living

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Respected And Repaired

The body of the earth does not belong to me;  my body belongs to it.
…
I want to see the land respected and repaired.  I grew up wandering the woods around my home, a child of the wind who whispered his secrets in my ears, the trees who taught me to tap deeply into the ground and patiently stand tall, and the great rivers who taught me respect and awe.  I didn’t grow up with material wealth, but I had the richest of playgrounds and a lavish education.  Nature never asked about my DNA.  She captured my attention and inspired my imagination without questioning what percentage of me was hers.  I am 100% human.  The body of the earth was not born of me;  I was born of it.
—    Tanya Cliff
Tanya Cliff is a published author and (also) owner / writer of a blog:  https://tanyacliff.com/
This quote is from one of the posts on that blog.  The post is titled:  100% Human and is located at:   https://tanyacliff.com/2018/10/29/100-human/
I have been following Tanya’s blog for several years.  Please visit her site if you have some free time.
Disclaimer:  The above quote was excerpted from a longer post on Tanya’s blog and is presented without prior permission.  I am making no claim of ownership to the quote, post or blog site.  I am posting this because the writing moved me and I wish to share the words with others.  I will modify or remove this post / quote if requested by the original owner.    —    kmab
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On This Day In:
2023	Once Is Rarely Enough
2022	Or Less Perceptive
2021	We Need Professional Journalists AND The First Amendment
	It Was Rainin’ Hard (Taxi)
2020	Neither Alone, Nor Lonely
	Giving
2019	That’s Why It’s Called Faith
2018	So We Agree, #45 Is Dumb – Too
2017	The Morality Of Spying
2016	He Doesn’t Remind Me Of Me
	The First Rule
2015	Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow
	The Man Without Fear
2014	I Blame Robocop
2013	Future Trustees
2012	Praise Not The Day…
2011	Educated Living

Read Full Post »