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00:00Oh, you all think the Warriors are going to make a run.
00:02I'm hopeful.
00:03I'm absolutely hopeful, but in this moment, what you're saying is you think that they'll
00:07beat the Lakers, the Nuggets, or the Thunder.
00:10I'm not there yet.
00:12I'm just not.
00:14I know how wonderful this is.
00:17I am the captain of Optimus.
00:20I run Optimus Lake.
00:23That's what I do for a living outside of this job.
00:26So I am not going to say that they can't do anything.
00:31I'm not taking their chances away of doing anything.
00:34But if you ask me today, are you saying, Mark, that they are going to be either favored or
00:42are going to beat on the road the Lakers, Nuggets, or Thunder in round one?
00:49I'm not there yet.
00:51I'm not.
00:53I would love to see more styles, more games, more high-level games, more health, all of
01:01those things as we move toward the playoffs.
01:06Let's be real.
01:07The Lakers have had their number.
01:08They've had their number for a little while.
01:09Now they've never played Jimmy Butler.
01:11They've never played Jimmy Butler's Warriors.
01:13Jimmy was there on the sideline, but did not play.
01:15In fact, he just officially became a Warrior that day, last time the Warriors were in LA.
01:21But the LeBron thing is a thing.
01:24And now it's Luka.
01:26And now it's Butler here.
01:27We haven't seen this group.
01:28April 3rd in LA, we'll take a look.
01:31And I would suspect that LeBron will be backed by that one.
01:34I would love to see some games against the Nuggets and the Lakers before I actually feel
01:40like they're going to win that series.
01:41And that's fair.
01:42And you could also look at them against OKC, and it's probably a little bit of a stretch
01:46to say the Warriors have had their number, but they've won two of three this year.
01:52And last year they won one of four.
01:54So they're three and four over the last two years.
01:56And again, none of that was with Jimmy Butler.
01:58So it's a little bit of a different thing.
02:01And I know that this year the Warriors have been better against good teams than they were
02:04last year.
02:05But for me, it's more about facing OKC, Denver, and LA in the second round.
02:11If you play them in the first round, that for me is a lot tougher.
02:14I think that if you can get by Memphis or Houston in the first round and get a little
02:19bit more playoff confidence than going into that series, I think your chances are better.
02:24Let's go to Max in San Leandro.
02:25Hey, Max, thanks for the call.
02:26What's good?
02:27Hey, guys, just wanted to talk about the Warriors' playoff chances.
02:32Yeah, so, you know, if you put us against OKC, any of the top teams in the West, the
02:39top eight teams, whether it be OKC or the Clippers, I'm going to have the series go
02:44in six or seven.
02:45And we're talking about a make-or-miss league.
02:48You look back to why we lost to the Lakers, the big reason why is Lonnie Walker's big
02:53game four.
02:54Yep.
02:55While it would beat the Kings, Steph's game seven.
02:57You could say also, you know, Looney, what he did with the board that game.
03:01That was awesome.
03:04But I think it's really coming down to, you know, the ball's going to be in Steph's hands
03:07late.
03:08Is Steph making or missing his shots?
03:11You know, we talk about matchups a lot.
03:13Who's going to guard who?
03:14Who's going to guard this guy?
03:15Who's going to guard that guy?
03:16It's going to come down to whether these guys are hitting shots or not.
03:20And, you know, we try to overcomplicate things.
03:23It's tough to say, you know, a month and a half out right now, whether Steph's going to
03:27be hot or not.
03:28But he's done this before.
03:29He did it in game four in Boston.
03:32I like having him on our side when we get closer to the playoff time.
03:36Yeah, I think all those are very fair points, Max.
03:40And you do, you bring up the health aspect of it.
03:44That's obviously the baseline for this.
03:45Here's one thing that you said that kind of caught my attention, and Max, thanks.
03:49He said, you know, he thinks if it's OKC or anybody there at the top, that it's a six
03:53or seven game series.
03:56And then it just comes down to, like, do you make the big shots or do you miss the big
03:59shots?
04:00Here's one thing I'll say.
04:01I don't think any series involving the Warriors doesn't at least go six or seven games.
04:08I am ready to say that.
04:10Nobody's beaten this team in five.
04:12I don't see that.
04:14I don't see that from Cleveland, Boston, OKC, Denver, Lakers, whatever.
04:19I don't think anybody's beaten, like, the Gentleman's Sweep or whatever.
04:24That kind of, that's a dominant series to beat somebody in four or five games.
04:28So I think the Warriors have, in my mind, they've moved beyond that.
04:32I would put them competitive enough against anybody to at least get to game six.
04:39But I'm not ready to say the Warriors are going to go on a run.
04:43I'm just not there yet.
04:44That's all.
04:45I hope.
04:46I hope.
04:47But until I know who they're playing and how they're playing against those teams, I'm not
04:51ready to firmly say I think the Warriors can make round two.
04:54And that's fair to think that.
04:55And I'm kind of with you.
04:57And you know, he made the point about game four and Lonnie Walker.
05:01For me, that series was lost in game one where you lost to the Lakers and you shot 41 percent
05:06and Draymond wasn't good.
05:08And Clay was really erratic and you were coming off a game where you had to go to Sacramento
05:13and Steph Curry had to put on his cape and he had to basically call out the entire team
05:17on a bus ride.
05:18You went to Sacramento and you won game seven and then you had one day off and you turned
05:23around and you had to host the Lakers.
05:25And that for me is where that series got lost because you lost game one and you won game
05:30two at home and then you went to L.A. and you dropped them both.
05:32And the Lonnie Walker game in game four was one where everyone could look at it like Lonnie
05:37Walker the fourth and shout out Reading P.A.
05:39Steinmetz again.
05:41That's his hometown and that's where Lonnie is from.
05:43And so you were down 3-1 and that series was mostly over.
05:46But for me, it was lost in game one because of that very thing you're talking about.
05:51You were tired.
05:52So can you get the sixth seed?
05:54Can you get a week off?
05:55And then can you avoid a first round series where you have to go seven?
05:59Because if you go seven, then you get no break before you start round two.
06:03Clay Thompson was also relied upon in that series and was awful.
06:08Oh, yeah.
06:09He was awful.
06:10Yeah.
06:11I mean, it's just that it is what it is.
06:14No judgment.
06:15No, he was.
06:16Yeah.
06:17I mean, he was awful.
06:18That's my judgment.
06:19Well, you don't have to.
06:20He was awful.
06:21It doesn't have to be a judgment.
06:22No, it's also a fact.
06:23I'm looking at game one.
06:24He was 9 of 25.
06:25He had 25 points.
06:26Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:2725 points on 25 shots.
06:28Not, not.
06:29That's not.
06:30It's not great, but I'm like, he's not.
06:31I mean, he wasn't awful every minute of all six games.
06:34But as that series kind of dragged on, there were moments where he needed to make shots
06:39and toward the end, he made none.
06:41Yeah.
06:42I mean, the one constant of the last two seasons of warrior basketball is that on the night
06:47they bowed out, Clay was epically bad.
06:52Epically bad.
06:53Last year against Sacramento and at the end of the Lakers series the year before.
06:58That affected him.
06:59Oh, yeah.
07:00I mean, it affected him.
07:02I do think that a big effect was the fact that they had no break and, you know, you
07:05mentioned it where, you know, you, you got in the playoffs with a little bit of rest
07:09and then you went seven games and Steph had to put the cape on just to even make it to
07:13the Lakers series.
07:14And then you went up against the Lakers and a motivated LeBron and don't sleep on Dennis
07:19Schreuder and all the rest of the future former warriors.
07:23And, you know, you talked about game five and I'm looking at it here and Clay was three
07:27of 11.
07:28He had nine points in the game, in game four that you lost to Lonnie Walker and company
07:33and then where was he in game five and game six of that series?
07:38I don't know if there was a game six, but yeah, there was a game six.
07:42Game five, he was three of 12 and game six, they lost by 21 and Clay was a grand total
07:53of three of 19.
07:56Like add up those last three games.
07:58It was unbelievable.
07:59Unbelievable.
08:00You know, who played great, right?
08:05No one.
08:06Oh, you can say it.
08:07A David Jens.
08:08Oh yeah.
08:09I like him.
08:10Yeah.
08:11Me too.
08:12I like that guy.
08:13He's in that series.
08:14He's become an even better player since he left.
08:15Correct.
08:16He was restaurant quality.
08:17Yeah.
08:18Yeah.
08:19He was really good.
08:20He was really good.
08:21Yeah.
08:22I'll never forget that game.
08:23That's the game where the dog got out.
08:24It was really hot.
08:26Yeah.
08:27Not the Warriors.
08:28You did.
08:29But yeah, the window was open.
08:30It was an excessively hot day here in the Bay Area and the Warriors were down in LA
08:35and had people over, you know, kids are out, lovely Christie's over, we're all watching
08:39the game and something walked by the house.
08:42I don't know.
08:43It was a car, another dog, a deer.
08:45I don't know what the hell happened, but Penny just kind of walked over to the window and
08:50looked and I don't have a screen on that window.
08:52I thought it was closed enough that, I mean, it was open like just, you know, yay so much
08:56like a foot and a half opening and she just kind of poked her head out the window and
09:00the next thing you know, whole body went flying out the window.
09:04Gone.
09:05Gone.
09:06Yeah.
09:07Gone.
09:08And we, I missed a quarter of the game looking for her.
09:10Yeah.
09:11Lucky you.
09:12Yeah.
09:13I know.
09:14I came back and I'm like, are the dogs barking?
09:15They're like, no, not in this game.
09:17No.
09:18So the last three games at clay in that series, three of 11, three of 12, three of 19.
09:24Okay.
09:25So nine shots.
09:2642.
09:27Oh God.
09:28That is a 21.4%.
09:29And again, this is not to disparage, this is a great run of clay Thompson, but the end
09:35of clay was three of 11, three of 12, three of 19.
09:40And that series went from that maybe to, yeah, boy.
09:45Yeah, exactly.
09:46So yeah, I want to make sure, and again, we'll take your calls right now, 888-957-9570 with
09:52regard to where, where would you take your warrior confidence?
09:55I have a ton of confidence in what they're doing.
09:57And if you do want to use this word, I'm there belief.
10:01I have all belief in, in the team and what they're doing.
10:06I I'm still concerned that what happened early in the year will bite them.
10:11And what happened early in the year is going to depress their seed, whatever it is, whatever
10:17it is.
10:18It can be six.
10:19It could be five.
10:20It could be four.
10:21The bottom line is, is that they had played a little bit better earlier in the season.
10:23It could be two or it could be three and that's going to change a lot of things in the playoffs.
10:28So in this moment, I believe in what the warriors are doing and I believe that they'll have
10:32a shot.
10:33I am still not yet ready to favor them and predict them in a round one series against
10:40the Lakers nuggets or thunder.
10:44But I also think that they definitely have belief.
10:47Listen to this answer from Steph Curry, who again was on with Stiney and Gu earlier today.
10:51And we will have the whole conversation for you coming up at four 15.
10:56This is what Steph said with regard to the idea of a fifth ring.
11:00Somebody asked me this summer, like, what are you still playing for?
11:03That's literally the only thing you're playing for.
11:05And when you feel far away from it because you don't have a consistent, you're not rewarded
11:09consistently with wins on a nightly basis or there's, there's growing pains with a team.
11:14It does kind of, you know, knock at your, your confidence and your ability to, to imagine
11:19what it's like to be, you know, a relevant contender.
11:22And like I said, I like where we're at right now.
11:24I think we have what it takes to do it, but I'm not fast forwarding to saying, oh, we're
11:28a championship team right now because we have another level to get to before we get to a
11:32playoff type environment.
11:34And I'm, I'm excited about that challenge.
11:37All I wanted to be is in the fight.
11:38All I wanted was a chance.
11:39All I wanted was an ability to, to look across the Western conference and say, yeah, we can,
11:44we can go toe to toe with whoever.
11:46And I feel like we're knocking on that door.
11:47Look, I'm not going to lie to you.
11:49That's a pretty inspiring answer.
11:50Oh yeah.
11:51That's pretty.
11:52That'll fire you up.
11:53That'll fire you up.
11:54All we wanted was a shot.
11:55Go back to Steve Kerr's comment, give Steph that at that.
11:59And I really love the inflection in his voice when he goes, I think we have what it takes.
12:05I really do.
12:06I think I believed in, there was a sincerity to that.
12:09I really do.
12:10I think we have what it takes.
12:11We're not there yet.
12:13Excited to find out if we can get there.
12:16I think we have the ingredients.
12:17We just got to mix them together.
12:20That's fantastic.
12:21Yeah, that's fantastic.
12:22But I'm with him.
12:23They're not there yet.
12:24They're not even close to there yet.
12:25I mean, they are in a spot where they could be there yet.
12:28And I'm just looking at basketball reference and their projections.
12:33If you look at the projections right now, according to the math, they've got a 44% chance
12:38of being one through six, which means they've got a 56% chance of being seven through 10.
12:45They don't have them beyond 10, but right now it's 44% one through six and 34% they
12:52get the seven.
12:53So they have a slightly better than even chance to be one through six.
12:58But if you add seven and eight together, that's 50%.
13:02So they have a 50% shot that they'd be seven or eight and a 44% shot that they would be
13:07number six.
13:08So that's where-
13:09So six percent that they're not in the top eight.
13:11Yes.
13:12It's 4.9 that they're ninth and 1.1 that they'd be 10th.
13:15Those things aren't happening.
13:16Agreed.
13:17They're not falling.
13:18Agreed.
13:19But if you want to just play with these numbers of 50% playing seven or eight and 44% that
13:26they'd be one through six, that tells you where the math, and I know the math is not
13:31everything, but-
13:32I'm actually a little surprised that it's supposedly less than 50-50 that they're a
13:35top six seed.
13:37That's kind of what I'm getting at.
13:38It's 44 that they'd be top six and it's 40, it's 50 that they'd be seven or eight.
13:43Right.
13:44But isn't that wild?
13:45A little bit.
13:46Why is it 44% like, and again, every warrior fan I know, self-included, is walking around
13:53like right now, like, oh yeah, six seed.
13:56That's the worst thing that could happen.
13:58Right.
13:59Five, probably four, just keep winning every single night and you're telling me that there's
14:04data out there that would suggest that it is less than 50-50 that they secure a top
14:09six seed.
14:10It's close.
14:11And right now the five seed is 11.4.
14:15The five seed would be, right now the favorite is the Lakers, followed by the Rockets, then
14:19the Grizzlies, then the Timberwolves, then the Warriors.
14:23Interesting.
14:24Yeah.
14:25That's a new basketball reference, which looks at records and probably point differential
14:30and schedule and all the rest of it.
14:31And remember, Minnesota's schedule is the same as the Warriors, basically.
14:35It is, although they're in Denver tonight, this big game, big, big national television
14:40game tonight.
14:41Minnesota in Denver.
14:42One more from Curry.
14:43I look forward to your underdog picks on that game coming up.
14:45Oh, I avoided underdog on that one.
14:47I have my underdog picks in.
14:48No, no, no, no, no, no, no, we'll be doing a straight number on that one.
14:53I haven't hit you with the chicken in a long time.
14:55Well, I'm conflicted on that game.
14:58I'll tell you why in a sec, but there's one more from Steph here.
15:03And the guys asked him like, okay, do you daydream about this?
15:07How crazy would it be if you did go on that run and get to the end?
15:11I think about it all the time.
15:12I even think about how unbelievable it's been to be where we are right now.
15:16So you just kind of recreate that confidence and that internal belief.
15:21Even the fact that most people didn't think I'd still be playing at this level at the
15:25age that I'm at.
15:26So we defy odds consistently.
15:28So why not do it again?
15:29Why not?
15:30Why not?
15:31I mean, and I've said this before about Steph.
15:34This is one of the things that makes his brain work the way it does.
15:38Like we think about it in terms of warrior basketball.
15:41Think about his life.
15:42That's the only thing he's done, and he's done it over and over and over and over again,
15:48which is face absurd odds and then come out like glowingly on top of them.
15:55Davidson, little kid, little, little, little soaking wet, 150 pound kid from Davidson.
16:02And now we're sitting here having conversations about top 10 player all time.
16:07Like that guy's not afraid of odds at all.