Curry: "not going to sacrifice anything" after adding KD

[jpotter33]

http://www.insidehoops.com/nba_rumors.shtml

Klay has been quoted saying "he ain't sacrificing sh*t" after adding KD. Now Curry is saying that adding KD won't require them to sacrifice anything.

Does this really sound like a team to you that's going to gel right off the bat and not have chemistry issues? They all seem clueless at what kind of sacrifices it's going to take to make it work for them, especially with as free as the GS offense is with Curry and Klay never seeing a three pointer that they didn't like.

I've said it all along, and I'm sticking to it now - this is going to be a rough transition for them. They're going to really struggle to gel at first. They'll still win some games, but don't be surprised to see them hovering around .500 for awhile, just like Miami did in 2011. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they're going to ultimately move one of their Big-4 before it's all said and done, probably next summer. And I'm betting that it will be Klay.

[saltlover]

People read way too much into these statements.  Curry and Klay aren't going to sacrifice much, of any at all.  A sacrifice isn't giving up shots, it's giving up open shots.  And with KD on the team, their open looks should stay the same or even increase.  Since they figure to get the same number of open looks, there will be no sacrifice.

Likewise, KD won't have to sacrifice because he'll get more open looks too.

[jpotter33]

People read way too much into these statements.  Curry and Klay aren't going to sacrifice much, of any at all.  A sacrifice isn't giving up shots, it's giving up open shots.  And with KD on the team, their open looks should stay the same or even increase.  Since they figure to get the same number of open looks, there will be no sacrifice.

Likewise, KD won't have to sacrifice because he'll get more open looks too.

How so? That's merely a semantic argument, because the style of play that both Klay and Steph play with means they take quite a few contested shots each. It seems pretty silly to say that only losing open shots counts as a sacrifice, because contested shots are a major part of both of their games. For example:

"Curry made 200 contested 3-pointers off the dribble, which exceeded the total of 26 entire teams. He shot 43 percent on those attempts. He was the only one of 33 players who took 100 of those shots to make more than 40 percent of them."

http://www.espn.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/117810/stephen-curry-is-a-difference-maker-in-so-many-ways

The same argument can be made for iso-heavy KD, too. Further, they all took quite a few shots per game as it is - Curry 20.2, KD 19.2 (replacing Barnes at 9.6), Klay 17.3, and Green 10.1. You can't sit there and tell me that at least one of them (most likely Green and/or Klay) isn't going to see a significant drop in touches and/or shots.

It seems pretty obvious that one or more of them will have to significantly sacrifice due to them replacing Barnes with a former MVP with a shooting rate of +10 shots a game, and you can't just redefine the concept of sacrifice to fit this situation, especially when contested, non-open shots are a major part of the games of Curry, KD, and Klay. That's just not how it works when significant pieces come together like this, and you can look at all of the other "super teams" in the recent past as evidence for this.

[KG Living Legend]

 Agreed J Potter.

 Curry could take 2 Less shots per game

 Klay takes 3 less shots per game.

 Green 2 less shots per game.

 That should give Durant around 17 shots per Game. That's where it should be roughly.

 18 For Curry
  17 For Durant
  14 For Thompson
   8 For Draymond

 

[makaveli]

http://www.insidehoops.com/nba_rumors.shtml

Klay has been quoted saying "he ain't sacrificing sh*t" after adding KD. Now Curry is saying that adding KD won't require them to sacrifice anything.

Does this really sound like a team to you that's going to gel right off the bat and not have chemistry issues? They all seem clueless at what kind of sacrifices it's going to take to make it work for them, especially with as free as the GS offense is with Curry and Klay never seeing a three pointer that they didn't like.

I've said it all along, and I'm sticking to it now - this is going to be a rough transition for them. They're going to really struggle to gel at first. They'll still win some games, but don't be surprised to see them hovering around .500 for awhile, just like Miami did in 2011. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they're going to ultimately move one of their Big-4 before it's all said and done, probably next summer. And I'm betting that it will be Klay.

there is no way that they will "hover around .500", you can compare them with Miami and the troubles they've had early on, but i think that GSW has a much much deeper talent pool with 3 franchise type players and a near superstar and a defensive monster in Green. at worst they will get 60 wins.

[TheSundanceKid]

When they say they aren't sacrificing I think they mean the way that they play. As in neither will stop and think "hang on i shouldn't take this shot because I need to feed KD". The problem to me is they have to evolve their offense with KD in the fold, there will be times when a KD iso is the best option. The question is whether the other guys can adapt to that.

For sure though this won't be easy. Think of the sacrifice Green has made already for Klay and Steph, I can't imagine him doing much more. Bosh had to sacrifice a huge amount in Miami, in GS there are 4 of them. To think you won't sacrifice at all is ignorant.

[sirnastee]

I think golden states system allows them to not really "sacrafice" anything.  It is built on ball movement so the ball will be passed around quite a lot until there is an open shot.  The crazy shots we see from curry and klay are usually highlights as part of their heat checks.  When curry or klay are on fire, they should be able to chuck up any shot they want because they go in.  I'm sure KD will catch on fire and be given the leeway to chuck up his own share of heat check shots. 

[bopna]

 Agreed J Potter.

 Curry could take 2 Less shots per game

 Klay takes 3 less shots per game.

 Green 2 less shots per game.

 That should give Durant around 17 shots per Game. That's where it should be roughly.

 18 For Curry
  17 For Durant
  14 For Thompson
   8 For Draymond

This team will implode
8 shots for Draymond is not going to cut it...Id be laughing my ass off if they start to complain about shots. Heck Bogut even sacrificed a lot of his offense just to accomodate Curry, Klay and Draymond taking most of the shots, now he is gone this will mean the shots of their starting five will be extremely predictable...only Curry, Klay and KD will take most of the shots.. I feel it would be easier to game plan for them. Boston will destroy this team...book it!!! 

[hpantazo]

So basically they are implying that they expect KD to come in and be a glorified Harrison Barnes?

[dreamgreen]

It will be interesting no doubt. They are going to win a lot of games of course but I agree that at times some of them will be unhappy. There are not enough shots to go around and include role players. Sooner or later one of them will want to be traded or leave as a FA IMO.

[Snakehead]

I love to hear this as someone who would love to see GSW crash and burn.

[BlackCeltic]

At this point, does it really matter what they say? I want GS to find a way to not win the title next year, but I'm not crazy enough to think this is a bad sign.

[jpotter33]

http://www.insidehoops.com/nba_rumors.shtml

Klay has been quoted saying "he ain't sacrificing sh*t" after adding KD. Now Curry is saying that adding KD won't require them to sacrifice anything.

Does this really sound like a team to you that's going to gel right off the bat and not have chemistry issues? They all seem clueless at what kind of sacrifices it's going to take to make it work for them, especially with as free as the GS offense is with Curry and Klay never seeing a three pointer that they didn't like.

I've said it all along, and I'm sticking to it now - this is going to be a rough transition for them. They're going to really struggle to gel at first. They'll still win some games, but don't be surprised to see them hovering around .500 for awhile, just like Miami did in 2011. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they're going to ultimately move one of their Big-4 before it's all said and done, probably next summer. And I'm betting that it will be Klay.

there is no way that they will "hover around .500", you can compare them with Miami and the troubles they've had early on, but i think that GSW has a much much deeper talent pool with 3 franchise type players and a near superstar and a defensive monster in Green. at worst they will get 60 wins.

I'd say "hover around .500 for awhile," which is much different than saying they'll end up around .500. I wouldn't be surprised to see them around 15-15 before they start really figuring out how to play together, though I still think that their fit is suspect due to having too many big mouths to feed. Their GM even admitted as much recently when he said that he expects a rough start and a lot of controversy to start off the season, yet the players just don't seem to get it yet. There's almost certainly going to be a rough start to the season while learning to play together.

[jpotter33]

I love to hear this as someone who would love to see GSW crash and burn.

True that. I soured on them after their composure and body language in the playoffs, and KD going there only made things worse. He literally could've went anywhere else, and I wouldn't have held it against him. But you simply just can't do what he did in that context without burning some bridges and becoming the villain.

[jpotter33]

When they say they aren't sacrificing I think they mean the way that they play. As in neither will stop and think "hang on i shouldn't take this shot because I need to feed KD". The problem to me is they have to evolve their offense with KD in the fold, there will be times when a KD iso is the best option. The question is whether the other guys can adapt to that.

For sure though this won't be easy. Think of the sacrifice Green has made already for Klay and Steph, I can't imagine him doing much more. Bosh had to sacrifice a huge amount in Miami, in GS there are 4 of them. To think you won't sacrifice at all is ignorant.

Yep, and Green has already been on record numerous times discussing his lackluster role on the team. He and Klay are the prime candidates to see their shots and touches decrease significantly, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Hell, that halftime outburst he had in the locker room during the OKC series (I believe it was) was due to his offensive role.