Golden State Worriers, am I right?

Five straight losses for the team with Four (recent) Rings.

Good morning.

Hey, it’s Henri Matisse painting Henri Matisse. Self-Portrait, 1918.

Let’s basketball.

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Scores

Nets 115, Heat 122 — Three years ago when Duncan Robinson started all 72 games for Miami, he averaged 8.5 three point attempts and 1.4 two point attempts per game. This year in similar minutes, though usually coming off the bench: 7.5 3PAs and 3.7 2PAs per game. Nearly the entire growth in the 2PA frequency is in the restricted area and in the paint. Interesting!

Jimmy Butler:

Thunder 128, Warriors 109 — Klay Thompson goes 1/10 from the floor. Golden State cannot seem to get Thompson and Andrew Wiggins going at the same time. Without Steph Curry, doing so is critical. Been a brutal stretch for Golden State.

Shout out to OKC rookie Cason Wallace: seventh among rookies in minutes played, first in True Shooting and three-point percentage among those with at least 50 minutes played, third in two-point percentage behind Dereck Lively II and Anthony Black.

One more shout-out for Isaiah Joe, who survived the training camp OKC roster squeeze. He just shot 7/7 from three in San Francisco.

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Here Comes In-Season Tournament Day 4

Friday is our next round of NBA Cup games. What’s in store?

East A
Sixers (1-1) at Hawks (1-0), 7:30
Pistons (0-2) at Cavaliers (0-1), 7:30
Inactive: Pacers (2-0)

Indiana will be watching the Philly-Atlanta game closely: assuming that the Pacers will beat the Pistons in their final group stage game, the Hawks are all that stand between Indiana and the knockouts. A Philly win here would clear the path a bit more for the Pacers. The Cavaliers might want to crush the Pistons to have a shot at a wildcard as a 1-loss team.

East B
Bucks (1-0) at Hornets (1-1), 7
Knicks (0-1) at Wizards (0-2), 7
Inactive: Heat (2-0)

We appear headed for a Bucks-Heat showdown for the group on November 28. The Knicks are still alive and would prefer the Bucks lose twice or beat Miami eventually so that New York has a wild card shot.

East C
Celtics (1-0) at Raptors (0-0), 7:30
Magic (0-1) at Bulls (0-1), 8
Inactive: Nets (2-1)

Orlando vs. Chicago is an elimination game. Both teams have lost to Brooklyn in the tournament. I’m so glad that the Raptors finally get to join us: there are seven group stage days, and Toronto sat out the first three.

West A
Suns (0-1) at Jazz (2-0), 10, ESPN
Lakers (2-0) at Blazers (1-1), 10
Inactive: Grizzlies (0-3)

Memphis has already been eliminated. This is a must-win for Phoenix. If they don’t, and assuming L.A. can win in Portland, we’re headed toward an epic showdown for a berth in the knockouts next Tuesday between the Lakers and the Jazz. The Talen Horton-Tucker Bowl! No offense to the Suns, but I’m rooting for that.

West B
Nuggets (2-0) at Pelicans (1-1), 8
Rockets (1-0) at Clippers (0-2), 10:30
Inactive: Mavericks (1-2)

Houston-Los Angeles is really interesting because the Clips need to get a win in the Harden era badly but the Rockets are super motivated to win this group. They’ve already beaten the Nuggets once this season. The Pels have a strong point differential (+18) thanks to their blowout win over Dallas so they have a real shot at the knockouts if they can beat Denver and then the Clippers. An intriguing group!

West C
Kings (1-0) at Spurs (0-2), 7:30, ESPN
Inactive: Timberwolves (2-0), Warriors (1-1), Thunder (1-2)

Sacramento and Minnesota — the Rick Adelman Bowl? — could decide this on Black Friday if the Kings win here. But then of course the Wolves would still face the Thunder and the Kings would still face the Warriors (after Draymond Green’s suspension ends). The Group of Death is unrelenting. Except when you face the Spurs, then it relents pretty good. [knocks furiously on every wooden surface in reach]