[2016-2017] and [2017-2018] Official Players Only Meetings watch thread

Anonymous GS player: "we got problems and it ain't basketball"

looks like the warriors have internal issues...may need a PO meeting

 

That team is so soft. They can't handle any adversity. It ain't complicated. They lost the 2nd best player in the world to injury. Wins are gonna be tougher to come by. So grin and bear it.

 

"Is this malaise of theirs about not feeling motivated, not thinking they have something to play for," said Strauss on the True Hoop Pod. "Is it just being tired? There's one guy in particular on the team that keeps saying the same thing to me, and I can't say who he is, but he keeps saying 'We've got problems and it ain't basketball.'"

Durant, Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston will be free agents in the offseason.

"The Luke Walton question is an interesting one. I think what happened with Luke Walton in some ways speaks to some of the issues this team has where his success undermined Kerr's authority," said Strauss. "They played the best basketball they ever had when Kerr was not coaching the team, when Luke was letting them do a lot of what they really wanted and Draymond (Green) was essentially player-coach and that has ratcheted up the tension, I believe, between those two figures. And so it's so hard to say. Is it because they miss Luke Walton? Or Luke Walton's presence on the team and the success that came with it came to haunt them in some way."
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http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/245309/Unnamed-Warrior-Weve-Got-Problems-And-It-Aint-Basketball

 

This gsw news makes me so damn happy.

 

Wow I hope all of this is true and they are destroyed!

 

Seriously? The departure of Luke Walton is the problem? I highly doubt a team with the level of success of the Warriors is gonna fall apart because of the absence of an assistant coach.

The fatigue factor could be legit though. Remember that teams over the last 30 years who sought a three-peat(I know the Warriors lost last year in the Finals, but they were one shot away from a 2nd straight title) had a really rough time that third time around:

The 1989 Lakers suffered a rash of injuries and got swept in the Finals by the Pistons.
The 1991 Pistons succumbed to old age and got swept in the ECF by the Bulls.
The 1993 Bulls managed to three-peat, but it was on a last second shot by Paxson. And that followed an 0-2 comeback over the Knicks in the ECF and a 57-25 regular season record(10 fewer wins than the year before).
The 1996 Rockets suffered a rash of injuries and got swept in the Semifinals by the Sonics.
The 1998 Bulls managed to three-peat again, but again it was on a last second shot(and pushoff) by MJ. And that followed a grueling 7-game series over the Pacers in the ECF and a 62-20 regular season record(7 fewer wins than the year before).
The 2002 Lakers managed to three-peat, but it was thanks to a last second shot by Horry in Game 4 of the WCF and some questionable foul calls in Game 6.
The 2011 Lakers were destroyed in a 4-game sweep in the Semifinals by the Mavs despite having home court advantage.
The 2014 Heat were destroyed in 5 games by the Spurs in the Finals after barely outlasting them the year before in 7 games.

Maybe those legs are tired after nearly 3 long seasons and that's why the jumpers suddenly aren't falling like they used to. Of course the loss of Durant hurts, but the lack of depth and the number of games they've played are likely factors as well.

 

Welp sooner or later their health history may be an issue as well.

 

Do they have fun like that?

Spoiler

 

So the Warriors can only thrive if everybody in the media is behind them, everything goes their way, Draymond can keep kicking people and everybody's healthy? What a bunch of pansies, they would've been destroyed in the 80s and 90s by the media and teams alike. They wouldn't have this perception of a great organisation with all great character guys they've tried to sell.

 

you know they won more games with him as HC last season right?

 

I can't help but think this was said by, or about, Green. His in-game "counseling" of other players is probably getting tiresome. So, the quote is either him saying essentially "Sometimes, no one listens to me, even though I'm right" or others saying they wished he'd just shut up.

 

Kerr's inability to rein Draymond in has caused a lot of this tension. Draymond needs a strong figurehead above him to keep him in line, and it's obvious Kerr doesn't have that kind of persona. Draymond probably thinks Kerr is afraid of him, which only eggs him on even more.

If they die, they die.

 

Me when I heard the gsw news:

 

Does it mean that the Rockets have a shot at Steph Curry as a free agent this summer?

 

They also won a ton of games under Kerr when he returned last season not to mention the year prior and this season before Durant's injury. This isn't about Luke Walton. This is about a team that's been mostly healthy for nearly 3 years suddenly falling apart the moment a key player is injured.

 

Whatever the reason for their struggles (some obvious ones have already been mentioned), the least acceptable excuse is Luke Walton.

 

Damn Beard and KD planned this very well...KD went there and signed just for one season to leave this summer for Houston, meanwhile the Warriors lost Barnes, Bogut and most of their bench...one hell of a plan

 

Curry can come off the bench yo