In today’s Dub Hub:
- Steve Kerr refuses to blame their schedule for Warriors’ 139-119 loss against the Trail Blazers.
- Al Horford ruled out for Monday’s game against the Grizzlies, expected to play against the Clippers Tuesday, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
- Lakers’ Luka Doncic out at least one week due to left finger sprain and lower left leg contusion, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
After opening the season with two strong wins, the Golden State Warriors stumbled for the first time on Friday night, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers, 139-119.
It was the second night of a back-to-back
on the road — less than 24 hours after an overtime win against the Denver Nuggets at home — but Steve Kerr wasn’t interested in using the schedule as an excuse.
“The NBA schedule is … everybody deals with whatever comes your way and there’s a lot of difficult moments to the schedule, whatever,” Kerr told reporters in Portland after the loss. “But tonight was not about that. It was about Portland and what they’ve built and the length and athleticism and the style of play. They were brilliant. I would be embarrassed to sit here and blame fatigue when a team just came out and just took it to us.
Portland’s energy and length overwhelmed Golden State from the jump. The Blazers outscored the Warriors 66-30 in the paint and forced 25 turnovers, turning defense into easy transition buckets.
Kerr made sure to credit Portland’s rebuild and how quickly the team has formed a new identity.
“It was about them and their great play and this city is really going to enjoy watching the Blazers because they play hard and they’ve got a real identity and they’re doing a really good job of rebuilding the franchise after the long run with Terry [Stotts] and [Damian Lillard] and CJ [McCollum]. It has been a rough couple of years but they’ve used that time wisely and built a really good roster.”
Even with the loss, Stephen Curry continued his scorching start to the season, scoring a game-high 35 points in 27 minutes. Curry said afterward that he’s pleased with how the Warriors have opened the year and expects them to build on that momentum moving forward.
For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Monday, October 27th:
Warriors News:
Power Rankings, Week 2: Warriors, Spurs, Lakers rise up | NBA
Jonathan Kuminga is starting and fitting in well, registering an effective field goal percentage of 65.5% (22nd among 126 players with at least 25 field goal attempts) and 4.6 assists per 36 minutes, up from a career-high 3.3 per 36 last season. The Warriors have outscored their opponents by 23 points (24 per 100 possessions) in 47 minutes with Curry, Butler, Kuminga and Draymond Green on the floor together.
Moses Moody feels ‘great’ after calf injury return in Warriors’ loss to Blazers | NBC Sports Bay Area
“It was really minor, no structural damage or anything,” Moody said of his injury recovery. “I got the MRI, but it was really just [about] strengthening it and [being] precautionary. So, I’m in a good place.”
Coach Steve Kerr added that Moody — who said he fortunately was able to get shots up during his absence — appears to be ready to ramp up after having roughly a 20-minute cap on Friday.
“I haven’t talked to [Warriors director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini] yet, but I did talk to Moses,” Kerr told reporters at Warriors practice on Sunday. “He said he came out of that game feeling good; he just didn’t have his rhythm or conditioning back yet. So, I’ll talk to Rick today.”
Al Horford will rest Monday’s game against the Grizzlies
NBA News:
Cooper Flagg ignites Mavericks’ offense in first NBA win | ESPN
The finish over the Toronto Raptors‘ Sandro Mamukelashvili elicited a roar from the crowd at the American Airlines Center, a far cry from the scattered boos heard during the Dallas Mavericks‘ 0-2 start to the season. It was the highlight of an excellent all-around performance in the first NBA victory for Flagg, the No. 1 draft pick who finished Sunday night’s game with 22 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
“The fans have showed up for the first three games, and I thought tonight was really the first time we gave ’em something to be excited for and be on their feet for,” Flagg said after the 139-129 win over the Raptors.
Luka Doncic to miss at least one week for the Lakers, per ESPN’s Shams Charania
In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:
Warriors keeping pace early with NBA’s tricks and treats
While everyone else is playing Halloween dress-up as “contenders,” the Golden State Warriors have quietly started 2-1 and they’ve done it the hard way. Their two wins came against Luka Doncic and
Nikola JokicAaron Gordon, both giving MVP dominance. Those two exploded like they bet the over on themselves on FanDuel lolol. Luka cooked them for 49 points, 11 boards, and 8 assists, scoring from every dimension of the floor. Gordon followed it up by hitting 10 of 11 threes, the kind of heat check that if it happened in NBA 2K would send a controller through the TV screen.
Follow @unstoppablebaby on X for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.
