I feel good about where this team is at right now and it is the first time I have been able to say this all year. So we'll probably lose by 45 points tonight
But this team is in a better place than anytime on 2015 with resurgence of Cousins...which is sort of overshadowed by the near collapse vs. the Lakers and heartbreaker in Dallas.
The thing that Boogie has to know going up against the Warriors is the shots he gets easily against guys like ZaZa and Randle and Hibbert are not available against Bogut and Ezeli. He has to work harder and be more patient to get quality looks and he has not played with this prudence in previous match-ups. Not only does this lead to bad shots it leads to offensive charges and frustration fouls and foul trouble.
3-9 FG 5 fouls 1 ejection in 12 minutes L
Last year
10-21 FGs 3 TOs 3 FO L
9-19 FGs 5 TOs 4 FO L
9-19 FG 5 TOs 2 FO L
4-14 FG 4 TOs 6 FO L
Only once in previous 5 games has Boogie not had foul or turnover trouble against the Warriors. Increase patience and discretion will determine our competitiveness tonight.
Yet this patience balanced with beast mode to which I am referring has been on display over 4 games and 63.5% TS and will be tested against the third best defensive team in the NBA
(based on defensive efficiency)
This gets lost in the Dubs offensive firepower is they have strong defensive principles (they don't gamble much or trap or double much) and get you to play faster than you want and make you prone to mistake and Boogie has fallen into this trap.
I raised concern in last match-up that Omri's brilliance was predicated on Boogie being sent to the bench with foul trouble and that for one player to go off like that should not require your best player to be on the bench. In other words I want to see Omri go 5-5 in 3s in one quarter and Boogie be on the floor at the same time!
With the play we have seen from Boogie so far this year this possibility becomes more likely which is his willingness to act as a decoy while his teammates carry more of an offensive load.
123 PPG over 4 games is because Cousins is making better decisions than any time this year when to defer and when to attack. (I kind of exclude the 10 turnover game in Dallas because without Rondo he was put into position to handle more than he otherwise would, and besides the TOs he played a great game)
If Cousins makes similar smart reads tonight we can win. We also need Rondo to lock in Curry and make him work for every open 3....and hope Klay Thompson just has an off-night because I don't have confidence any of our perimeter defenders (Ben, Anderson, Darren) can remotely slow down Thompson if he brings his A or B game.
I also think Karl should sub Seth Curry into the game with 11:59 in the first quarter to guard his brother. Steph be like
![Eek! :eek: :eek:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)