Boom.
Just like that, The Golden State Warriors The Western Conference Finals are back for the sixth time in eight years.
It’s not beautiful. It was often ugly. But Taps closed the door with more pressureBeating Memphis Chryslice 110-96 in the 6th game.
Turnover training can be a nightmare for staff, but for now we’re celebrating Game6 Clay, Kevon Looney’s prowess and some Andrew Wiggins ingenuity.
And we rank the players and weigh everyone’s expectations.
Note: The league-average reality-shooting percentage (TS) this season was 56.6%.
Tremond Green
39 minutes, 14 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 theft, 4 turnovers, 4 mistakes, 6-for-14 shooting, 0-for-3 three, 2-for-2 free throws, 47.0% TS, +19
It’s not a good scoring performance, but it’s always nice to see a green score in double digits. Everything seems to work best when he is ready to shoot and ready to attack.
The turnover was horrible – it felt like he had seven or eight. Also the delivery was not as good as we expected. But Trey is still one of the best players alive, and deserves a major stumbling block to his resurgence.
Quality: b
Post-match bonus: Led the team in assistance.
Andrew Wiggins
41 minutes, 18 points, 11 rebounds, 1 theft, 3 volumes, 2 errors, 2 turnovers, 7-for-16 shooting, 3-for-5 triples, 1-for-2 free throws, 53.3% TS, +20
Like many Warriors, this was not a good first half for Wiki. But the second half was the best basketball he had ever played.
He hit several big shots, and there were many possessions where he took the ball.
His defense was unique, and he was on the mirror everywhere. If these were just second-half classes, he would have easily gotten an A +.
Still, just like that …
Quality: a
Post-match bonus: Led the team in plus / minus.
Kevon Looney
35 minutes, 4 points, 22 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 volume, 2 turnovers, 4 errors, 2-for-7 shooting, 28.6% TS, +10
Before praising Looney’s outstanding performance, Greene and Steph Curry should be commended for speaking out against the bizarre coercion of starters who did not really want to play, as they did with Jonathan Cummins in Games 4 and 5.
Steven Adams led Chris Lice with 10 rebounds. Looney had 11 Attack Arises again. He is an animal and the main reason for getting 70 (70 !!!) rebounds on this game.
Looney was a force to be reckoned with. And while his scoring was not strong, he did a lot to ease the offense. As his role changed from night to night we can not say enough about the work he did, returned to the starting lineup, played 35 minutes and the paint dominated.
Grade: A +
Post-match bonus: He took the team to the rescue.
Step curry
40 minutes, 29 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 theft, 2 volumes, 3 turnovers, 3 errors, 10-for-27 shooting, 6-for-17 three, 3-for-4 free throws, 50.4% TS, +16
The curry was very sweet for Grizzlies after the game. He embraced Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks. He spoke brightly about Morant’s media and the future of the organization. I admired their mediocrity.
Steph Curry in Ja Morant: “He’s a problem.”
In ChrisLice: “All the weirdness and whimsy and all that, I love it.” pic.twitter.com/urHhqbLcy9
– Anthony Slater (antonyVslater) May 14, 2022
He did not say how happy they would be if they were in the rear view mirror. Memphis plays charcoal better than any team in the NBA, which was put on display again on Friday. Could not get the curry three-quarters. When he finally found his shot, the buckets started to flow, and he pushed the game away.
But it was not a good game for him. You know the highest quality in his sky. To the next round. He did not want to be the dude who would protect him in the conference final.
Quality: c
Clay Thompson
42 minutes, 30 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 volumes, 3 turnovers, 2 errors, 11-for-22 shooting, 8-for-14 three, 68.2% TS, +14
I would like to give Clock A + for social media work done from the locker room after the game.
What a symbol.
But the game deserves an A +. Statistically, is this Clay’s best game? Not even nearby. But when the Warriors were turning the ball out of style, locked in by Memphis, Clay knocked on the shots. And when they started to take the lead, Clay scored on shots. When they started to stop the game, Clay knocked on the shots.
This is a tough, tough, needed game. Difficult Performance, and Clay delivered it.
Game 6 Klay Forever.
Grade: A +
Post-match bonus: Highlighted the team in points.
Nemanja Bijelica
8 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 mistake, 0-to-1 shooting, 0-to-1 threes, 0.0% TS, -2
Bijli did not play much time, but I thought he played well. He smashed the glass more than his numbers, and did decent things in crime.
Quality: b
Damien Lee
11 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 mistake, 1-for-2 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 75.0% TS, -4
Lee had to play a role in this game with all the injuries that Tubbs accumulated. He was on his own, but not particularly good. He had a bad income, but again, who didn’t?
Grade: B-
Post-match bonus: Bad plus / minus on the team.
Jordan Pool
24 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4-to-15 shooting, 2-to-11 triples, 2-to-3 free throws, 36.8% TS, -3
Pool will be very happy that he will not have to face Chris Lice again until next season. He got a little locked in the series, and Friday was no exception. He added sippinus, which was fun, but didn’t add much on the court.
Too many buckets to miss, some bad shot results and not much control.
Quality: D +
Friday DNPs: Jonathan Cummins, Moses Moody, Juan Toscano-Anderson
Friday Inactive: Andre Iguodala, Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., James Wiseman
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