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00:00River Island's guest line, it's Odyssey Sports NBA insider Nick Fridell.
00:05Check out all of Odyssey's newest sports podcasts on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
00:10Nobody has ever called Nick Fridell a mopey donkey. Am I right?
00:15No, Mark, because they call me Eeyore because sometimes I'm like,
00:19what the hell is happening here with whatever the situation is?
00:22Although I would like the record to state that I think we were looking for Snuffleupagus.
00:26I think so, too.
00:27Yeah, they both work. My mind was a little bit shattered on that whole thing.
00:33I'm just like, y'all know what I'm talking about.
00:35No, that was great, and I am so down on Snuffy.
00:39Constant head cold. First of all, stay home in the post-COVID era.
00:42Yeah, get a mask.
00:43I mean, brighten up, Snuffy, Snuffleupagus.
00:46I'm not quite a mopey donkey, but I liked where you were going with that.
00:49Yeah, you guys knew what I meant.
00:51It's a mopey donkey who might have COVID. Something like that.
00:56Okay, here we go.
00:57I would add this, though. I'm with you as far as the Warriors go.
01:01Yeah.
01:01I don't want anybody to be a mopey donkey right now because let's take a deep breath and look at the schedule.
01:09Look at the schedule.
01:10You know, they're playing the Thunder, although I would expect them to keep it closer than people think tonight,
01:16if only because historically this year they play up and down to the level of their competition.
01:22Now, I hear fans go, well, yeah, didn't they get absolutely demolished in Oklahoma City?
01:27Yeah.
01:27It would surprise me, though, with no Steph when they know they've got to give a little extra to see them go and get crushed by 35 again.
01:36Sure, it's on the table because we've seen what this team is all year, but that one would be a little bit of a jolt.
01:44As far as the next week goes, though, they go on this trip.
01:48You go Philly, Cleveland, and Chicago.
01:50You get one of those, you feel fine, and then you get back.
01:54They have all kinds of time in between games.
01:58You're going to get Steph back.
01:59You'd like to think, hopefully, in the next two weeks somewhere in there.
02:03And then look at January and look at April.
02:07They're just not really on the road that much.
02:09So I absolutely expect Mike Dunleavy to tweak the roster a little bit between now and the trade deadline.
02:16We all see what the flaws are.
02:18There are plenty of different layers to get into, as there always are with this team, but they still have Steph.
02:24We've seen Jimmy play at a very, very high level.
02:26Draymond's still Draymond defensively and has been awesome on that side.
02:31And you just let the schedule play out a little bit more.
02:34I think anybody who's hitting the panic button right now needs to take a deep breath,
02:40look at the way the schedule lines up here soon and at the end of the year,
02:44and I don't think they're going to fall in as big of a hole as we're used to seeing them in the last couple of years
02:51compared to where they ultimately land.
02:54And, Mark, to me, it's going to be in that top six somewhere when all is said and done at the end of the regular season.
03:00And even if it's top eight, I don't think it could possibly be below top ten
03:03because the bottom of the West is so pathetic, and the Clippers, five and 15, misery loves company,
03:09and they've got some down there.
03:11So isn't that one other thing, Nick, that should give Warrior fans a little bit of a boost
03:16is knowing that the West from 11 through 15 is god-awful.
03:21It's a joke.
03:22It is.
03:23I think you should continue to hammer that point home to the highest part that you can over the next few weeks
03:30because the bottom of the West is terrible.
03:33When you have Steph Curry and he is on the floor, and by all accounts, I know Steve talked to you guys,
03:41it doesn't sound like it's that bad.
03:44Everything will be okay in the short term and into potentially the playoffs.
03:50Now, do you think this team can legitimately win one more title?
03:54That's a much tougher argument, especially given how we've seen the first 20 or so games open up here.
04:00But when you look at the rest of the West, it's like looking at the back of the East on the other side.
04:06It's terrible.
04:07I don't think the product, the NBA regular season product is very good.
04:12We've talked about this a lot.
04:14I think it's worth repeating as you look at the standings.
04:17The bottom of these conferences, it's terrible basketball.
04:22That game the other night against New Orleans was a terrible basketball game throughout most of it.
04:28The Warriors won, good for them, but you want to see it be a little tighter on both sides.
04:34That was ugly.
04:35But as far as the Warriors go and that record goes, it will even itself out.
04:41You get healthy.
04:42You make a move or two at the deadline, and you feel like you still have a chance to make a little bit of a push here.
04:49And you get Steph back, and as usual, he will write everything that seems a little bit rocky right now.
04:56Talking with Odyssey Sports, NBA insider Nick Fridell.
04:59Check out all of Odyssey's newest sports podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
05:04Hey, Nick, let's go back to your comment that we all see the flaws, and I'm sure Mike Dunleavy will tweak this roster.
05:11Can you put that into words for us?
05:13What are the flaws, and what kind of things do you see him doing?
05:17Well, I think we've already started to see it in much smaller ways because, Mark, what does this team need desperately?
05:25They need shooting.
05:26And so here comes Seth Curry, who shot it 45% from beyond the arc last year.
05:32He's going to get a chance to produce.
05:34I think it may start as early as tonight.
05:37I mean, there's a reason Steve Curry said, yeah, he'll be active.
05:39Seth has been waiting in the wings, trying to keep himself healthy and ready to roll,
05:46and he's going to get a chance to show what he can do.
05:49What else do they need?
05:51They need people to create off the dribble.
05:53I mean, how many times do you watch this team and you go, what is happening out there?
05:59You know, without Steph, especially on the floor, Jimmy can still dominate when he needs to,
06:04but he doesn't seem to want to impose his will the same way as he's done earlier in his career.
06:10I think part of that is he's 36 years old.
06:12You know, it's just at a different time.
06:15People will laugh when they hear this, but I think LJ Cryer is going to get a chance to show what he can do at some point
06:21because the guy can shoot the hell out of the ball.
06:24I mean, they need people to get going offensively, and it's why, and again, Steve Curry has talked to you guys about this several times throughout the year already.
06:36It's why when you point to the flaws or what's going on, you hear Draymond and Jimmy go, oh, the defense, the defense.
06:44The defensive numbers look okay.
06:46It looks like they can hang in there.
06:48They have got to push the pace, get to the rim, and create open looks for each other.
06:53That has been more of a struggle.
06:55So, as far as what that looks, Mark, going into the next month or so,
06:59the name that is going to continue to hover at the front of everything is the same name that we've been talking about for three months now.
07:06It's Kaminga.
07:07What happens with Kaminga?
07:08We're going to see.
07:10But when he came back the other night, and you've got to give him a little bit of a break because he missed seven games.
07:16He just didn't look like himself out there, but he's taking threes and going, eh, that's not really your shot.
07:22You need him to get to the rim and to make the extra pass and get the rebounds, all the things that the coaching staff kept talking about early in the year.
07:32If he doesn't fill that kind of role where he's making a difference in a variety of areas, maybe he is the piece that you slide off somewhere else and you bring in guys who can help.
07:44But what this team needs right now, especially without Steph on the floor, is guys who can create and generate offense.
07:52And that has been a struggle for them early in the year.
07:55Yeah, J.K. Day, as we call it, January 15th, now just 44 days away.
08:00Nick Friedle, Warriors Insider here with Willard and Dibbs on 95-7 The Game.
08:04You watch this team as closely as anybody.
08:06What's the story with Buddy Heald and what's felt like a long, prolonged shooting funk?
08:15Mr. Dibbs, he's just not hitting open shots.
08:19I think he started to hit a few the other night.
08:21That is a good sign.
08:23He's going to get plenty of opportunities, at least in the very short term.
08:27But this goes back to, truly, here comes Seth Curry, who you know can hit open threes, and L.J. Cryer, you know, a G League guy who's going to get a chance.
08:38Somebody's going to get a chance to knock down shots.
08:41Buddy has had plenty of chances early this year to knock down open threes.
08:46I think that's the scariest part for the Buddy Healds.
08:50Quinn Post comes to mind as well.
08:52Draymond keeps shooting these threes.
08:54They're not going down, especially the other night.
08:56He's capable.
08:59I mean, same with Kaminga.
09:00The thing that would terrify me if I were a Warriors fan, but specific to your point about Buddy Heald in this case, is the looks are there.
09:08This is not, all right, well, he's forcing up these shots, and Quentin Post is forcing up these shots from somewhere else.
09:17No, no, no.
09:18I mean, these shots are clean.
09:20They are wide open in a lot of cases, and they're just not going down right now.
09:26If your Buddy Heald and you see the roster changes, let's say, that are taking place already right now, and you're not continuing to take advantage of the open looks that you got, you could have a problem rotationally.
09:44And, again, we'll see what happens at the deadline.
09:47But that was a real part of where they thought that they could grow this year, that he would come in after being around a year, know the system, know what to do.
09:57Buddy's gotten his looks.
09:59They just haven't gone down yet.
10:00If they continue to go like that, I think Buddy could be either somewhere else or not seeing the floor much moving forward.
10:09It's interesting we're having this conversation, Nick, because just after that Saturday game, which was very ugly, especially from three for a period of time,
10:19after the game, Steve Kerr said he sees the Warriors as a very, very good outside-shooting team.
10:26Do you agree with that in theory?
10:28On paper, Mark, yeah.
10:33I think that there's a point to that, but I also tell you, and you guys have talked to Steve just as long as I have for years and years,
10:42there's a reason a lot of times that Steve Kerr says what he says publicly.
10:46He wants to pump up his team.
10:49I've noticed it a lot.
10:50I'll give you a prime example.
10:52There's actually two that come to mind.
10:53Who has Steve praised publicly as much as anybody early in the year, and very clearly the praise hasn't matched the production on the floor?
11:05To me, that's Brandon Pajemski.
11:07Steve has gone out of his way repeatedly to say, Pods is one of our most trusted young players.
11:14We know he's a very good player.
11:16We know he can be very good for us in the future.
11:20Pods has just struggled early on.
11:21But there's a reason that he is pushing that out publicly, because he wants Pods to see it, to hear it, and to say, hey, we've got your back.
11:28We believe in you.
11:30I'll give you the example of Kaminga as well.
11:32When Kaminga was playing well, nobody publicly was giving him more praise than Steve Kerr.
11:38But every day, it seemed, since basically when Kaminga got into camp, Kaminga really looks good.
11:45He looks like he's worked on his game.
11:47When the game started and he was playing well, he is doing all the little things that we need him to do.
11:53And he's doing those things, and we couldn't be happier with where he's at.
11:57He had earned his place in the starting lineup.
11:59So, Mark, I would bring it back around in saying, I think that the talent is there, the production just hasn't matched the talent that we've seen.
12:11If it does not change, it's another move that Mike Dunleavy is going to have to face, because you can have all the talent in the world on paper and in a box score.
12:21But when you continue to watch the games, and guys like Heald and Pods and Moody, I throw his name in there, are not making open threes, well, you've got a problem.
12:32And you can't keep giving those minutes to guys that aren't getting the job done.
12:35So, things could change roster-wise.
12:39And, again, we see what the flaws are.
12:41But I think I agree with Kerr's point in principle in that these guys have the talent to do it.
12:48They just haven't done it yet that we've seen.
12:51Yeah, second to most threes per game attempted, but I think 14th in three-point percentage.
12:57So, it's not matching up.
12:59And do you get to a point now, Nick, where Seth comes in, and Melton gets healthy, and here comes Steph, and you mentioned Cryer from the G League,
13:06and Grandy asked Coach about him yesterday, and he was a little sheepish about, you know, really putting too much into it.
13:13But are we past the point now where it's time to start finding a 10-man rotation and just rolling with those guys who can do it?
13:21Mr. Dibbs, the best answer right here is whoever shoots well and hits those open looks is going to play.
13:28And I'm glad you mentioned Melton because I think he can really help.
13:32I think Melton, if he stays healthy, he told us yesterday he's feeling amazing on the floor, if he can be out there and he can hit open threes or open jumpers and defend well, he's going to play.
13:46If Seth comes in and starts knocking down shots from the outside, he's going to play.
13:51Cryer, if he gets his chance at some point, he didn't play that much in the preseason, but he was absolutely lighting up the G League offensively.
13:58If he gets his chances and he knocks down shots, he will play.
14:03So, to your point, absolutely it's time.
14:06It's past time.
14:07Kerr's the one that said, I want to look at it after about 20 games, get everything set, know what the starting lineup's going to be, know who's coming off the bench in what places.
14:17The problem when you look at this team, and there are many because they're a 500 team and have been up and down all year, is the consistency.
14:26And I'd say, to Draymond and Jimmy's point, there's problems defensively where you look like they're just kind of going through the motions sometimes, but problems offensively where they're getting some of the looks they need and they're just not going down.
14:40So, anybody who plays well outside of Steph, Draymond, Jimmy, because we know who they are, we know they're Hall of Famers, we know what they're going to be.
14:50If you are playing well, Steve Kerr is going to ride the hot hand, but we are way past the point of, yeah, it should be time.
15:00Kerr's the one that said it would have been time, but guys have not shown consistently that they have been out there enough to do what they need to do.
15:08I think the one guy I'm keeping an eye on, guys, another name we haven't even mentioned, which is hilarious given all the different issues the Warriors do have.
15:17The guy I think he's going to go to a little bit more right now and see if he can be that consistent guy is Will Richard.
15:25He's kind of, he's been in the starting lineup, but he hasn't played that much.
15:30When you watch Will Richard, he knows where to be on the floor.
15:33Can he, as a second-round pick, as a rookie, maintain that over the course of the next couple months?
15:40We're going to see, but again, the point is the same.
15:44If you produce and you hit your open looks, you are going to find time in this rotation.
15:50Nick, you don't need to be definitive with this because it's going to be a building topic and we talk to you every week,
15:56but today, December 2nd, what kind of percentage chance would you say Jonathan Kaminga has to be on the Warriors on January 16th?
16:07I would, if we were sitting here right now betting, Mark, I would bet it is straight up 50-50 at this point.
16:14Wow, okay.
16:15Because I think there's too much time to say, oh, well, he's gone.
16:20Or it's 70-30, he's out of here.
16:22I think we're right at the time, especially now that he's healthy, he's back on the floor, he's feeling better.
16:28If Kaminga can be what the Warriors want him to be, what so many in the fan base wants him to be,
16:35the difference maker defensively, the solid rebounding player who can hit from the outside,
16:40but he's really at his best when he's pushing towards the rim and he can make the extra pass, get everybody else involved.
16:46If he can be that guy, the door is still open for him to be what he wants to be within this team.
16:52I think we'd all agree, does he still want to really be on this team?
16:56It never has really felt that way long term for a variety of reasons.
17:01But as we're sitting here right now, I think we're 50-50 because if we all agree that there are flaws on the roster,
17:09and he's still, to teams out there, is a young, talented player who has a vast part of an upside that is still within him,
17:21then somebody will be there, whether it's Sacramento or otherwise, sitting there at the deadline saying,
17:26hey, maybe we can make something work.
17:28But I just don't see, as we're looking at this team this year, Kaminga being the difference-making player,
17:35he wants to be and the Warriors need him to be.
17:40And if you know that now, the only thing that would change that over the next couple months or six weeks,
17:46whatever it ends up being, is for him to go out and play at a much higher level more consistently than what we've seen.
17:54Nick, great stuff as always, and I'll see you down there tonight.
17:58I'm coming down there for Cupcake Night.
18:02Well, Mark, make sure you take a nap in between after the show.
18:06These 8 o'clock games, and it's another reason I feel like I'm down on the league in general.
18:11Oh, Snuffy, here comes Snuffleupagus.
18:13Yeah, you mopey donkey.
18:15Yeah, exactly. Here comes Eeyore, baby.
18:17We started with Eeyore, we're ending with Eeyore.
18:18If you're sitting here and you're the league and you want to sell this championship team that nobody still really knows much about,
18:26SGA is the MVP, but I mean, I walked in the shoot around and I'm like, oh, my gosh.
18:30Like, the general public doesn't know this team.
18:33They don't know who most of these guys are.
18:36And you're trying to sell the product against the Warriors who everybody knows, even with Steph out.
18:42And you're starting the game, and I remember this was the first one.
18:45I think it was the Clippers the other day, whoever that first 8 o'clock game was.
18:50That game started at 8-13 Pacific.
18:54How in the world is that the best thing you can do for your business?
18:59I will never understand.
19:00And people on the West Coast, guys, they say, oh, who cares?
19:03It's great for us.
19:05We're coming home from work.
19:06We can watch a game.
19:07Great.
19:08There are so many basketball fans all across the country.
19:11And if you're cutting more than half of them out before the game starts,
19:16I just don't understand how that makes good business sense for the league.
19:20But money is money, and business is business.
19:23It's a school night.
19:24It's an abomination, Nick.
19:26Yeah.
19:27Yeah.
19:28We'll figure it out.
19:29I'm not napping, though.
19:30I'm just going to do extra coffee.
19:33Well, there you go.
19:33That's the other way.
19:34That's what we're doing.
19:35All right, Nick, thank you, sir.
19:37Appreciate you always.
19:38Guys, love being with you.
19:40See you next week.
19:40All right, there he goes.
19:42That's Nick Friedle, Odyssey Sports NBA Insider.
19:47Check out all of Odyssey's newest sports podcasts on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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