Category: Sports News

Nuggets' Gordon cites Steph injury in plea to NBA over scheduling originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Nuggets star Aaron Gordon, who played through a Grade 2 hamstring strain in Denver’s Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday, cited Warriors icon Steph Curry’s Grade 1 hamstring strain in pleading for the NBA to offer players more rest in between playoff games.

“I think everybody could [benefit],” Gordon told reporters postgame on Sunday, before mentioning other derailing injuries to Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard. “You saw it around the league: Steph with a hamstring, JT, Dame.

“There are guys all around the league suffering fatigue-based injuries because the games are just so closely stacked together. It would just be nice for one or two more rest days throughout the postseason, just so we can come back fresh and compete. 

“Because a lot of the times, it’s the team that’s most healthy – it’s not even the best team, it’s the team that’s most healthy. When I tried to talk to [Michael Porter Jr.] about it, it’s just, ‘Rest your mind, rest your body, relax. And when it’s time to get back to training, refocus and narrow your focus, and understand what the goal is.’”

The San Jose native said what Dub Nation and several fan bases around the league want to hear, as fatigue-based injuries have clouded recent postseasons, including the current one. 

After the Warriors appeared to have the Minnesota Timberwolves on the ropes following a series-opening win, Curry’s four-game absence halted Golden State’s championship aspirations.

Tatum and Lillard’s injuries spoiled what were compelling Celtics-New York Knicks and Bucks-Indiana Pacers series. And Gordon’s injury, of course, made his Nuggets’ failed push for the Western Conference finals that much harder.

Gordon expanded on increasing rest days during the NBA playoffs.

“Health is a lot, you know,” Gordon told reporters. “I would really, really appreciate it if there were a couple of days in between games in the playoffs instead of every other day, regardless of if you go seven games. I understand if you do your work early and get first seed, you can have some time off. 

“But I think the days in between games – not just off days and a travel day, [but] a travel day – just two days. I think the product of the game would be a lot better, a better product on the floor. Just to give all these professional athletes just one more day of rest, and you’d see a higher level of basketball. Probably less blowouts.”

The Nuggets lost to the Thunder, 125-93, in Sunday’s Game 7. The younger Oklahoma City entered the series with a week of rest after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, whereas Denver had defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in a seven-game series.

Gordon makes a strong case for the NBA to consider expanding rest days during the playoffs. Curry and the Warriors certainly would be in support of updates to the current format.

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Warriors report card: Team grades for roller coaster 2024-25 season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The conference finals are set, and the Warriors will be watching like the rest of us. 

An injured Steph Curry saw the Warriors drop four straight games to the Minnesota Timberwolves to end their season. Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Co. couldn’t get the job done for who Steve Kerr called the sun of their solar system.

There were never-ending storylines this season, and playoff basketball at Chase Center with another star next to Curry. Telling the story of the 2024-25 Warriors would take hours. A close second is breaking it down by these categories, getting as close as we can to a final assertion of what all happened.

Offense 

From Butler’s team debut to the end of the regular season, the Warriors ranked 11th in points per game (117.5) and eighth in offensive rating (118.2). They were third in 3-point attempts (42.1) and makes per game (15.4), but 15th in 3-point percentage (36.6 percent) and 21st in field goal percentage (46.2 percent). Their offense changed in a handful of ways after Butler’s arrival. 

Most noticeable was the free-throw line. Butler’s ability to get to the line is something they haven’t had since … ever? Kevin Durant? Butler averaged 7.7 free throw attempts in the 30 regular-season games he played for the Warriors. The most Durant averaged with the Warriors was 6.5 in his final season.

The Warriors through the rest of the regular season made the most free throws per game (20.5), attempted the third-most (24.9) and had the third-best free-throw percentage (82.2 percent). Butler quickly figured out how to be Curry’s co-star. He’s an isolation player in a movement offense whose basketball IQ made it all work. 

But the Warriors’ lack of shooting without Curry in the playoffs was alarming. It became clear Butler really needs shooting around him. The offense will largely remain the same, but it will be very interesting watching a full season of it with Butler.

Grade: B

Defense

Defense became the Warriors’ calling card down the stretch. They had the best defensive rating in the game following Butler’s trade (109.0), and had everyone buying in. The Warriors held teams to under 100 points seven times post-Butler in the regular season, and three of their four wins against the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. Same with their one win in the conference semifinals. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves also figured out the Warriors’ defense the final few games and shot 62.8 percent in the season-ender. That’s a tough way to end, but the Warriors’ defense was a problem when it was humming. 

The best of Andrew Wiggins was missed, though Butler improves the unit in ways Wiggins doesn’t. This was a group Jerry Stackhouse can be proud of. 

Grade: B+

Stars 

Bringing in Butler revitalized Curry. He played 28 games to end of the regular season and averaged 27.3 points on 47.3 percent shooting, 40.8 percent from 92.4 percent from the free-throw line. Curry played his way into a real argument for All-NBA First Team. 

Green nearly became the oldest Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history. He finished third in voting instead, but will be All-Defensive First Team, which was his main goal coming into the season. 

Butler proved exactly who he is at this stage of his career. He’s incredibly smart, makes his teammates better and does a little bit of everything. He also isn’t a 3-point threat, will likely float closer to 20 points than 30 points and can frustrate some fans after watching a different brand for so long. 

Butler averaged 17.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game for the Warriors in the regular season, and 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assist and 1.3 steals per game. He scored more than 20 points in six of his 11 playoff games, and fewer than 20 five times. The Warriors went 4-2 when Butler scored at least 20 points in the playoffs, and 0-5 in the games he didn’t score at least 20 points.

Grade: A-

Additions

Really, this could just be another section about Butler. Let’s dig a little deeper. 

General manager Mike Dunleavy in the offseason brought in four players: Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Lindy Waters III. Only Hield made it through the season on the roster. The Warriors traded for Dennis Schröder in December, and then dealt him to Detroit two months later as part of the move that added Butler. 

With the loss of Klay Thompson, the Warriors needed another outside threat and Hield held down the fort. The longtime 3-point ace made 200 threes for his seventh consecutive season. The experience is up-and-down on the floor, but the Warriors love having Hield in the locker room and the stars are fond of playing with him.

Some additions found success and others struggled. They all led to Butler.

Grade: B+

Youth

Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody were the two pieces that fit best next to Curry, Butler and Green, forming a starting five that rarely lost. Podziemski and Moody then struggled more than not in the playoffs. The good still outweighed the bad. 

There aren’t enough words to go through Kuminga’s season. It’d be easy to forget at one point Draymond was sent to the bench to hand the keys to Kuminga. His season was then derailed by an injury and not fitting next to Butler once he was healthy. He proved what a scorer he is without Curry, but that never amounts to wins.

At center, the Warriors had two young players who had much different seasons. Trayce Jackson-Davis was a Ring Star at All-Star weekend, but was mostly out of the rotation by then after beginning the season as the Warriors’ starting center. Rookie Quinten Post went from being on a two-way contract and calling Santa Cruz home, to carving out a needed role for the big team and signing a standard contract.

Gui Santos, 22, should be part of this conversation too. Kerr has always been a fan, and Santos this season earned his trust to get minutes in big situations. His energy is infectious, making up for what he lacks elsewhere.

Grade: B-

Health 

Curry played 70 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since he did from his age-24 through age-28 seasons. Green played 68, and Butler only missed one in the regular season after the trade. 

The Kuminga injury threw a wrench nobody expected. There’s only one reason why this section deserves two thumbs down: Curry’s left hamstring. 

Golden State’s season ended on four straight losses without Curry. Butler missed the majority of a Game 2 loss to Houston because of a pelvic contusion, and missed all of Game 3. The effects from that fall were underplayed. As was Curry’s right thumb, and his own pelvic contusion. 

Multiple illnesses ran through the Warriors in the playoffs, Podziemski was beat up and so was Gary Payton II. 

Grade: F

Coaching 

Between injuries and a giant mid-season trade, Kerr had his hands full. He adjusted and also had to use some of the most starting lineups in the NBA. Even in the playoffs, and not just because of injuries, he still was searching. 

The coaches Kerr brought in during the offseason, Stackhouse and Terry Stotts, made positive impacts on both sides of the ball, and this might have been the best integration between Santa Cruz and San Francisco yet. 

Grade: B+

Overall

As previously noted, this season was a win. Curry having to watch it crumble without him made it an incomplete win. The Warriors ending as one of the best eight teams in the NBA does deserve its due. 

The Warriors didn’t come into this season expecting to compete for a championship. They wanted to play meaningful basketball and establish more of a foundation. Another star was added, and the Warriors know the three aging players who will lead their championship window that appears to be open for maybe a year or two. 

Many of their goals were achieved, and it’s still impossible not to wonder what-if.

Grade: B+

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After 25 long years, the Knicks find themselves on the cusp of the NBA Finals, with the Indiana Pacers as the lone obstacle in their way.

After beating the vaunted Boston Celtics in six games, some may feel confidence going against an arguably worse Indiana squad that took seven games to eliminate the injured Knicks last year. 

But this isn’t the same Knicks team. And although they boast the same players, it’s not the same Pacers team, either.

Let’s dive into this historic matchup...

New York went 2-1 against Indiana during the regular season, with the two teams swapping blowouts. Although we can’t overly rely on those games to predict postseason results, there are insights to glean.

For one, the Knicks need to win this series on defense. In all three games against the Pacers, they scored above 120 points, and have some glaring advantages on the offensive end. But it’s a matter of how much they can slow the Pacers on the other end. 

That starts with their engine Tyrese Haliburton, who is averaging 17.5 points and 9.3 assists this postseason. The natural matchup for him is Mikal Bridges, who possesses the requisite speed and length to handle someone of Haliburton’s size and dexterity.

But the Pacers will fight to take away New York’s preferred matchups, and pick on their "weak spots" Jalen Brunsonand Karl-Anthony Towns by targeting them in actions. The Celtics tried and failed at the same strategy, but the Pacers arguably have a deeper rotation of threats. 

There’s also Pascal Siakam, the mid-post monster currently averaging 19 points on 55 percent shooting in the playoffs. He’s a tough cover for smaller wings likeJosh Hartand OG Anunoby, and can punish them on the offensive glass. So it will be curious to see if head coach Tom Thibodeau maybe employs Towns on him for stretches.

The Knicks have reasons to fall back on the defensive approach they used against the Celtics. This is another team that thrives off advantage creation, ball movement and open threes.

Switching against them could force them to iso-hunt, which has proven out to be a not-so-simple solution.

Indiana has the potential to be much craftier than Boston in adjusting, working in more off-ball action, slips and other counters to this scheme. 

There was some success last year in deploying aggressive coverages to make Haliburton give it up and have a big make a play in open space. Siakam and Myles Turner can sneak up on you with 20 points though, so it’ll take a huge team effort equivalent to what the Knicks brought against Boston. 

The Knicks need to be ready for it. The Pacers are much quicker than the Celtics, much deeper, and have stayed relatively healthy through two quick series. 

If Brunson and Towns can pick up their individual efforts again, and Thibodeau can adjust on the fly with his schemes, the Knicks should be in a good spot. But their offense has struggled these playoffs, and they’ll need their best version to go shot-for-shot with Indiana. 

The Pacers have the second-highest offensive rating this postseason, and a much improved defense from last year.

Luckily, the Knicks have two massive problems for them to deal with defensively.

First is Brunson, in full playoff mode, who gave the Pacers fits when they met last year. There’s no real one-on-one answer for him, but expect a lot of Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard to try to bother him with size.

Indiana has gotten burned trying to send extra attention his way, so perhaps this series they let Brunson get his and shut everybody else out? This will be tough given their second weapon in Towns.

Towns has owned this matchup all year, averaging 30.3 points and 12 rebounds in those three games. Turner can’t be his effective self defensively having to stretch out to guard Towns, who has a mobility edge and can blow by him if he’s out of position. 

For all its depth, Indiana is lacking in the backup big position, and its wings are much less suited to guard Towns than Boston’s were.

There’s a chance the Pacers still go ahead with that strategy, but the Knicks have gotten used to it and should be able to find Towns and Hart opportunities to take advantage. 

New York has a chance to secure this series on the glass, and should look to more Mitchell Robinson minutes to do so.

They also need Bridges and Anunoby to maintain their confidence in attacking the rim and smaller mismatches, as they can poke holes in this Pacers defense.

In a postseason full of things people thought the Knicks couldn't do, it feels odd saying they should win this series and advance to the NBA Finals. The Pacers are no pushovers, and will put up a hard fought series, but the Knicks have the talent and coaching to trump them.

Prediction: Knicks in 6