Has Golden State Become the Dumbest Braintrust in the NBA?

There's a couple of reasons why it's hard to appreciate just how ass-backwards the Warriors' braintrust has become.  First is that Steph, when he's actually active here and there, remains a MVP-caliber player, at least offensively.  Also, if you compare GSW to the other older teams, like the Lakers or Nuggets for instance, it's like 'oh, these guys ain't that bad'.  It's only when you compare them to a team like the Thunder can you truly appreciate this braintrust's inability to transition into the current decade, even though it's already halfway over.

LITTLE RESPECT FOR YOUNG, DEVELOPING PLAYERS

It all started, of course, with the trading of Jordan Poole.  I'll admit that dude has his flaws, even back during his stint in Cali.  I'll also admit that he hasn't proven as good as I thought he would since leaving.

But trading away Jordan was like, say, a father trying to trade away his son.  The organization proved more committed to getting rid of than developing him like they should.  And this is something you probably can't fully appreciate unless you go back and revisit the 2022 season, like watch every game pass January.  The Warriors were facing some key injuries (like they are now) and sucked (like they do now), but man, were they putting up some admirable fights (like they are now?).  And it proved worthwhile in the long run, as those increased minutes for role players - learning how to live without Steph, if you will - paid off and eventually contributed to the Dubs winning an unexpected championship.

Besides Poole, the other key young player - the other budding star, if you will - was Jonathan Kuminga.  There were a lot of unknown dudes who stepped up in 2022, some since losing their place in the NBA even.  But Kuminga was someone you could look at and be like 'yeah, this team has a future'.

You have Poole and Kuminga and the Gauntlet and Moody, etc., hanging in games with contenders even with Steph or Klay absent - some of those guys really young or just rookies - and you could feel confident as a Warriors' fan, that Curry and co. would be able to age disgracefully.  Instead, it's become sort of a lebronesque situation where you have older divas, if you will, exerting so much financial control and overall influence over the braintrust that limited attention is given to younger players, totally neglecting the fact that you need someone to hold your hand once you're forced to walk with a stick.

So like the Lakers, the Warriors also suck at player development.  Beside Andrew Wiggins, they haven't drafted an all-star or turned a into an all-star since the acquiring big 3, well over a decade ago.  

Let's further go on to say, for the sake of argument, that GSW, in effect traded Poole and Kuminga for CP3 and Butler.  The latter two, it's safe to say, are future HOFers.  They are also the two most-notable additions this team has made since 2022, with Jordan and Jonathan being the two most-notable subtractions (besides Klay, who left in free agency).

That should help illustrate just how intelligent this braintrust is.  Paul wasn't a good fit, period.  I knew that from the jump and undoubtedly noted it in this blog but was also thinking like 'okay, if Steph and them want him, maybe they know something I don't'.  But now in hindsight, I realize no, they may be geniuses on the court but not basketball gurus.

Butler fit a lot better in the grand scheme of Dubdom.  But then there's the age factor of course, you know, dude being in his mid-30s and all, in the modern-day injury-ridden NBA, besides Butler having already established a notable injury history.  The logic should have been like okay, grab your Jimmy, but don't go as far as to like prioritize him over a younger, healthier and at this stage more-promising Kuminga.

STEVE KERR vs JONATHAN KUMINGA

The latter is someone who, since his rookie campaign, I've always been convinced was a potential star.  Like you could see it, but his name got lost in the sauce.  a couple of reasons.  A number of dudes drafted higher than him were generating more headlines.  Also, it's like Steve Kerr wasn't giving Jon ample playing time, compared to his draft classmates.

Steve Kerr is someone who, as a coach, I've always questioned his aptitude.  He's had his moments here and there and is tougher than he looks.  But he more or less inherited a championship-ready roster from previous head coach Mark "Selfie" Jackson.  Then, going on to win a couple more with KD, i.e. GSW fielding arguably the best offensive team in history, isn't anything to pat yourself on the back about as a coach.  It's the dude in the background, who drafted the big 3 and arranged for KD's acquitistion, who deserve more credit.

But that said, 2022 was once again amazing is definitely something Keer should be proud of.  The mistake he and the braintrust made was afterwards not reading the graffiti on the wall, that you need to really start having mercy on the Splash Bros' legs.

The argument was that as time progressed, Kuminga would inevitably get more run.  And he did but was never truly appreciated for what he brought to the table.  Coaches these days, more or less NBA-wide, are unable to properly strategize with different players' attributes.  So it's like if a dude can't shoot 3s, then he's instantly a liability.  Come on, man.  So Jon became more like a scapegoat.

Another theory I have is that Steve Kerr is intimidated by big black dudes.  Perhaps we all are.  But in the Kuminga case, I'm thinking more along the lines of hatin' then intimidated per se.

CONCLUSION

Steph is destined to go the way of Lebron.  Some aged superstars make too much money and have too much influence for a contender to be built around them during the latter years.  The Warriors make a little bit of noise here and there, but Al Horford and them ain't intimidating nobody.  So next year, we're going to have another season of Steph + Dray + Butler?  Okay.

2025 NBA Playoffs Ruminations (May 11)

NEW YORK KNICKS (2) vs BOSTON CELTICS (1)

The Celtics drubbing of the Knicks in Game 3 was, imo, the biggest win of any series in the Playoffs thus far.  Yes, Cleveland pulled off same thing in Indiana after falling into a 2-0, home-based hole.  But the difference, this is in fact BOS vs. NYK, with the Celtics being considered the opponent the Knicks must overcome to reach that next level.  Indiana beat NYK last postseason, not Boston, but still, everyone knows that beating the Celtics is the true mark.  Meanwhile, NYK failed to do so in four attempts during 2024-25 Regular Season, including having their asses handed to them, at MSG, back in February.

It was that February embarrassment when all of the pundits were like 'damn, these Knicks are stacked, but they still aren't ready to topple the Celtics'.  So it's like dudes really need to win.  If they don't, there's going to be more questions than answers.

One thing I'd probably suggest, if it weren't this late in the season, is starting Miles McBride, most likely over Hart.  McBride is sort of a one-trick pony who I wouldn't expect to be able to really defend any guard in Boston's rotation.  But he plays hard and appears to be really proficient at scoring, i.e. making threes.  So if given more of an opportunity, maybe he can counter some of the Celtics' shooters.  And as for Hart, maybe his energy will be more beneficial, in this series, coming off the bench.

All things considered, I don't think it's sustainable for Boston to continue shooting like 50% from three for the rest of the series.  But going back to the point I was trying to make earlier, it's like now they've reasserted their dominance over the Knicks, like some confidence, bully type shit, like 'you only won because I let you' type shit.  It sucks, from a New York fan's perspective, that they couldn't take Tatum & co.'s heart when they had the chance.

The Knicks won those first two games on last second plays, and obviously that type of luck, if you will, isn't sustainable either, not against a champion.  So the thing they need to worry about is not allowing themselves to fall into a big deficit early on, as has happened in all three games thus far I think.

DENVER NUGGETS (2) vs OKC THUNDER (1)

I'm sure I said even way back when this season began that if any team in the West was likely to give OKC serious issues in a series, it would the Nuggets.  I don't know if Jokic + Gordon would classify as a twin towers, but they have the size to counterbalance OKC's bigs.  Aaron Gordon has the bulk of a traditional PF yet the athleticism and shooting ability of a SF.  I can't think of anyone else in the NBA who fits that description besides Lebron and maybe Tobias Harris.  Besides those two or three, I can't even think of anyone else who's big like PFs from the 1990s, period.  It definitely ain't these tall, lean "unicorn" types.  When I hear the word "unicorn", I think of My Little Pony and shit like that.

By this point, I'm convinced that the mainstream media has something against Russell Westbrook, since they refuse to show him ample love, i.e. give him credit, consistently as due.  Every once in awhile they'll mention him, maybe.  He's getting like the DeMarcus Cousins treatment.  So with this being NBA Inception, the next step is to theorize on what it is they may have against him, though that's a post for another day.

The thing that's really fuckin OKC up is that all of the Nuggets' starters - surprise surprise - are both healthy and effective.  I, at least, didn't see that coming, especially not this deep into the Playoffs.  Let's hope it remains that way, so it won't be one of those series like 'the only reason this team won is because an integral player on the other squad was injured'.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (1) vs MIINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (2)

Speaking of which, the T-wolves are the luckiest team in Playoffs thus far, as even without Steph, they had to go almost down to the wire to beat GSW in Game 3.  So if Curry were around, you already know.

Minnesota came out arguably better from that KAT deal, but, I mean idk with this squad. They've had issues maximizing rosters for like the past decade, now even post-KAT.  Well, I guess I can't really say that until they maybe beat the Warriors and then face whoever it is they'll be facing in the WCF.  But beating the overrated Lakers and then maybe GSW with an injured or hobbled Steph, like those shouldn't be counted as major accomplishments for a squad of this caliber.

I'm starting to respect the coaching stylings of Steve Kerr.  He's been doggedly loyal to the team's (star) vets, even as they've aged, yet at the same time makes bold, unexpected roster moves.  But by this point, if Steph must come back next season, then they really need to start exercising the option of him coming off the bench for a number of reasons.  None of us (outside of Minnesota) want to see him hurt at this point in the season.

INDIANA PACERS (2) vs CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (1)

I guess the implicit lesson of Game 3 is Darius Garland being more important to the Cavs' success than a lot of us assume.  Cleveland is stacked, but apparently they need all of their stars to win against a quality team or whatever.  That may come back to haunt them if they go on to face the Celtics.

The way Haliburton fizzled out of Game 3 reminds me of Myles Turner unexpectedly doing the same against Boston during one of those pivotal games during last season's Playoffs.  I don't know what to make of these types of occurrences, especially for someone who's a perennial allstar, like Tyrese is supposed to be.  Maybe the Cavs' defense is really that good?  Anthony Edwards sometimes does the same thing, i.e. disappearing during big games.  So I guess shit happens or whatever.  But now you see why dudes be calling Haliburton overrated.

Speaking of Edwards, earlier I forgot to mention the way he banged on Looney in Game 3.  Golden State's interior D is atrocious - as it's more or less been for the past few years - so there were a number of times it looked like "Ant-Man" could've banged it if he really wanted to.  Btw, "Ant-Man" is the most nonimaginative, unapplicable nickname in the NBA.  But that said, the 2025 Playoffs have featured some of the illest dunks ever.  Remember what Gordon did to Holmgren in Game 1, what Nesmith did to Spida in Game 2?  And there's at least one or two other ones from this postseason I'm forgetting at the moment.

Reflections on Draymond (and Ja)

Draymond Green made $25mil last year.  I'm not talking about throughout his entire career - just his salary for last season for $25mil.  Granted, he's not going to take all that money home.  But let's say he does bank about half of it, i.e. $13mil.  That's the type of money most of us dream of, the type of which if we were able to generate, especially within a single year, would instantly go about quitting our jobs.

The reason I'm bringing that up is because I don't believe Draymond needs "therapy" or any of that shit that the media or Steve Kerr and them may be talking about.  Green has always been, excuse my French, an asshole, the type of player which if you crossed him or one of his beloved teammates the wrong way, you can probably expect some type of on-court, physical retaliation.  In the NBA they refer to such players as "enforcers", and they're usually a valued part of a team's roster, especially if the team is actually winning.  For instance, if the Grizzlies had managed to beat the Lakers during last season's playoffs, then Dillon Brooks would have came out looking more like a hero than a pariah.

Under normal circumstances, these types of players tend to become more reserved with age.  It may not have anything to do with them becoming more compassionate or peaceful per se but more like people in general just tend to fight less as they grow older.  But instead, we see Draymond getting worse, dangerous even.  And I believe that whether consciously or subconsciously, he's trying to send a message.

When I refer to his recent antics, I'm talking about the shit that's happened this year, not him snuffing Jordan Poole in 2022.  Him attacking Poole like that, all factors considered, was perhaps to be expected.  Sometimes, shit like that can even help the team's chemistry and comradery.  But as I've argued in the past, the Splash Bros. + Draymond, let's say for their own respective reasons, never rightfully embraced Poole as the future leader of the Dubs he was poised to be.  And now, they're smarting for it.

Draymond, say, yoking Ruby Gobert on court, of course he has to know that an action like that can get him in serious trouble with the NBA.  Shit happens sometimes, but still.  Over the years, the league has firmly established the fact that they're not tolerant of thugism.  Part of it, like with Ja Morant for instance, may have to do with the image athletes portray.  But another aspect of it I believe is that some of these guys are from the 'hood or whatever, you know, like Javaris Crittenton and them.  And if you take the reins off, they can really do something stupid.

So the point I was trying to make in the first paragraph is that human psychology can be a tricky thing.  For example, as much as many of us may hate our jobs, there's something inside that will not allow us to quit.  Usually, I guess you can say it's a fear of the future that prevents us from doing so.  So you would think that someone who makes tens of millions of dollars annually wouldn't have that fear.  But you know, people tend to accumulate debt in accordance to their income.  And also, there could be deeper psychological factors.

For instance with most of us, if we were to suddenly quit our jobs, all we'd have to worry about is like our girlfriends or family members calling us stupid.  But imagine if, say, an NBA player, a star even, were to suddenly quit?  Remember what Ja went, how people were calling him dumb and all types of shit, even though he didn't actually break, as far as I know, any written rule.

There was this other dude back in the day named Royce White.  You could just tell, or at least I could, that even though he had the physicality and the talent, his spirit wasn't for the NBA.  I'm on his Wikipedia page right now, and it's saying that dude also had a very serious fear of flying, which, by the way, is an activity NBA players engage in regularly.  But at the end of the day, that didn't tank his NBA career as much as the fact that he appeared disinterested.

CONCLUSION

So my personal belief is that the reason Draymond is acting out is because he wants to quit.  Another thing about these NBA players it that they're actually under contract, which is another reason they can't just quit like that.  But whether Green is doing so consciously or subconsciously, he no longer comes off as someone who actually wants to be out there.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the Warriors are not only suck but also, unlike when they also stunk a few years back, are doing so in a way that doesn't offer much optimism for the future of their long-standing core (or Steve Kerr, imo).

And the same may be true for Morant also.  If you really pay attention to what he says, you'd get the impression that he'd probably bounce if he had, you know, a gazillion dollars or whatever.  No amount of money, once you become accustomed to it, is ever enough to quit.

Being an NBA player is what most of us consider a dream job, but of course the reality is different from the fantasy.  It's very rare, if ever, you come across someone who, granted the opportunity to become a high-paid, famous professional athlete just isn't interested.  But maybe sometimes, after doing it for a while, some players respectively get bored and want to quit, but the money and fame is so much that they can't.

NBA Playoffs Ruminations (19 April 2023)

Right after I got through dissing the Cavs' bench, Caris LeVert showed up and had a Malik Monk-type game, looking like the difference maker in Cleveland prevailing over New York.  The Knicks appeared morally defeated, but you have to keep in mind that they have Evan Fournier and even Derrick Rose are straight riding the bench.  In other words, the Knicks have more viable rotation players than perhaps any other team in the league (except the Lakers).  So now, I guess we'll see just how much of a mastermind Thibodeau is, or if these pieces are actually good enough to hold up against a quality opponent.  But still, the Cavs are likely going to have to depend on at least one or another player on their bench also having a big game, every game, and you can't presume that's going to happen throughout the series.  But still, I'm sticking with my prediction that they'll emerge victorious.

I still don't know who I'm going with the Clippers vs. Suns.  No one one on Phoenix's bench had a really spectacular game, but they were still able to beat L.A.  That's what I mean when I say they have the best starting 5 in the NBA.  But it required CP3 looking like he turned back the hands of time to do so.  So he really needs to stay light on his toes throughout for the Suns to have a chance, imo.

And finally, there's the Draymond suspension.  With that, whether or not Kerr moves Poole into the starting lineup, it looks like he's going to be forced to give Kuminga major minutes, and it probably wouldn't hurt to play more JaMychal Green also.  This is sorta what I meant when I said that the Warriors should've given the keys to car to the youngsters earlier, so they could be ready for a moment like this, but it's all good.  Golden State really needs this victory, and if they can help the Splash Bros. pull it off then I guess the up-and-coming core really is worthy.  But that said, if GSW do end up getting swept, I wonder if Kerr and Joe Lacob are still going to be on that 'we're sticking with Steph and Klay to the end' type shit that they like talking.

Should Steph Come Off the Bench?

I always try to be ultra sensitive when talking about the Dubs, because when you negatively criticize them, like I have a lot of respect for Draymond.  But when you have players like Steph (and Klay) especially on your team, no opponent's lead is safe unless it's really high and like in the last minute.  If the Splash Bros. get hot, there's really isn't anything an opposing squad can do except like hope one of them gets injured or that a role player fuksup or something.  When you have a team that can consistently shoot better from three than their rivals are able to do from two, again, the only thing you can hope is that something fuksup with them internally.  So you can sit here and watch the Warriors lose to some lowly team and be like 'man, they're washed'.  And then the next thing you know, they're winning another championship or some shit.  It's just that 'easy' when you're like the best-shooting team in history.

So when I suggest Steph should come off the bench, that's no disrespect to him.  Last season when he came back from injury and Kerr had him play a sixth-man role, he was averaging what, like 34pts a game?  That's when you really knew, that late in the season, that the Warriors were going to be a problem, because they managed to stay competitive without Steph, and then when he came back, his skills once again pushed them over the top.

Also, it's hard for me to say that Steph's game has declined.  I said some shit like that once or twice in the past and always ended up eating my words.  Even now, offensively he looks just as good as ever, with the exception of Father Time now being firmly on his ass.

Usually when a superstar reaches this point in their career, you know what I mean, shit ain't easy.  Remember when Allen Iverson, as a grizzled vet, refused to come off the bench?  And how much more accomplished is Steph than AI?  Iverson was asked to come off the bench behind, if I remember correctly, OJ Mayo and Mike Conley.  Conley esp went on to become a star vet, but still, you can kinda see why AI might have been offended.

The thing about Steph that differentiates him from every any other alltime great that I can think of at the moment - Jordan, Kobe, and even the likes of Magic and Lebron - is that when they got old or whatever, there teams didn't have any viable replacement, i.e. someone who can come off as the bench and start jsut as well as they had.  But Steph has been blessed with Jordan Poole.  No, I'm not saying that Poole will ever be as good as Curry.  But I will say that at about this point, hefty contract extension aside, he's the most unacknowledged star in the NBA.  And it's also like Steph is so good that people, including Kerr as far as I can tell, are afraid to suggest that he come off the bench.

Jordan Poole is getting plenty of run, but at this point it's obvious, at least to me, that he should be starting ahead of Steph.  I also said that last season, but the Warriors were able to squeak by (I'm sure with the help of the NBA powers that be) with a championship nonetheless.  But there's no reason to tempt fate.  If you already that you're going to have to make a change eventually, then sometimes the sooner the better.  Or let's say that as Golden State currently stands, it'd be better for them to have someone healthy starting as opposed to a player who gets injured every couple of months.  And that was pretty much true last year also, even if they did win the Larry O'Brien.

Steve Kerr made an excuse last night, after the Warriors' winning streak was snapped due in part to, the way it reads, Steph chuckin during the 4th quarter (though he did score 19pts therein) by saying that "He strikes fear in our opponents and opens up a lot of things for his teammates".  Yes Steve, but that's even truer when he comes off the bench, because if starting linesup can't fukwit Curry, than how much more the bench players?

And I wouldn't say that Kerr insisting to start Steph is stifling Poole's development per se.  But it's like, maybe you should start getting the team more accustomed to the future, you know, before they become garbage.  Now that GP3 is hurt and Kuminga likely needs to be traded to reach his full potential (hopefully to the Grizzlies), might as well adjust and starting preparing for the inevitable now.  You know what I'm saying?  Give dudes enough time to properly develop and form chemistry while the big bros are still around to have their back.  There isn't any reason to jeopardize a winning streak and the Warriors looking formidable for the like the first time this season to accommodate an aged superstar, even if the alltime great Steph.

CONCLUSION

This is just my argument.  I know it's a lot easier to sit here and say Steph should come off the bench' than for someone to actually say that to his face.  We live in a pansy world, and even though dude has already won just about every NBA award possible, still, it's like no one can ask him to maybe humble himself.  So I have a lot of respect for Wiggins and Poole and Looney and those guys.  But if the Warriors are going to continue like this, well, let's hope some ideal free agents do become available in the near future and that they actually have the money to pursue them.

Shoutout to Gary Payton Jr.

All jokes aside, my original intent today was to write an article entitled "Gary Payton Jr. - My Favorite Player in the NBA".  But since he got injured last night I can't put it like that anymore, because he's no longer active, and, when he does return, like who knows if he'll come back the same.

Earlier, during the 2022 edition of the NBA Inception Awards, I actually advocated "the Gauntlet", as I like to call him, for DPOY.  Most people would rather advocate Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart obviously or perhaps Payton's teammate, Draymond "the Golden Spaz" Green.  But the thing I really admire is how effective the Gauntlet is in the post, both offensively and especially defensively, considering his size.  

But something else I had to acknowledge while continually biggin' Payton's defense up is the fact that sometimes he relies on... questionable tactics.  When you do those sort of things, of course you're going to occasionally run into other players and teams that decide to retaliate.

I also knew that in this series, he would logically to be the player the Warriors would have to rely on most to effectively defend Ja Morant.  And I'll give it to Steve Kerr - he did go as far as actually starting the Gauntlet in Games 1 and 2.  And no one can lock Morant down, who I've already hinted somewhere in this blog may be the next Jordan.  But that strategy did work in Game 1, in that at least the Dubs won.

And Dillon Brooks is one big dude.  Brooks is so top-heavy, or at least he looks that way on TV, that the first couple of times of I saw him play I actually thought he was a stocky G, until I looked dude up and found he's really like 6'7" .  But like the Gauntlet is also pretty big up top, definitely being the dieselest player on the Warriors.

So now, it's like I finally got around to seeing that play.  Dillon basically slapped Gary in the head (with his forearm) just as Payton sorta did to some player a while back, though I can't remember who exactly.  And it does look like Brooks meant to hit him like that, but he obviously didn't expect to cause any type of injury.  Pain and discomfort?  Yes.  But injury?  I'm not so sure.

Either way, what ended up happening was sort of a fluke injury, kinda like what Alex Caruso suffered a while back.  But I guess that's one of the reasons why you aren't supposed to make malicious plays, especially when the target is up in the air.

The reason Payton has grown on me is because at the beginning of the season, he deadass struggled to to make the Warriors' roster.  And even when he did, it looked like he'd be one of those players who'd be lucky to see playing time, despite being the son of an alltime great.

But instead, he ended up being an indispensable part of Golden State's 2021-22 rotation.  And it's kinda ironic that the Warriors , in reality, are kinda thin as far as guard depth goes.  And I'd like to use this opportunity to say that instead of going back to the Cavs, I hope Rubio signs with the Dubs next season.  He'd be like the perfect fit with all of their wings and cutting guards.

Another thing is that Payton Jr. always has an impact on the court.  Always.  Sometimes it's good to be a player who can't really score, because you can learn to shoot and shit like that as time progresses.  What's more difficult to master is defense and intangibles.  But a lot of that comes to the Gauntlet naturally or like from his upbringing, since he's the son of the Glove.

But what I adore best about Payton Jr. is how he plays downlow.  Offensively, he creeps around the rim to grab rebounds or perform easy layups.  And defensively dude, as short as he is, can like effectively play against centers.  Payton's stats aren't going to knock you out.  But anyone who understands the game of basketball would, I think, recognize that he has the type of defensive presence that, as far as the Warriors go, is only really comparable to Draymond Green.

And there's really nothing more athletic in the NBA than a small guy making powerful dunks.  That something that Payton rather gets from his mom, Monique James.  The Gauntlet was doing that a lot earlier in the season, kinda how he caught Desmond Bane out there in Game 1.  And he can do it a thousand times, but like dude is so short you still wouldn't see it coming.  "Luckily", Payton's elbow got injured and not any part of his leg.

CONCLUSION

Damian Lee got some quality though brief minutes in Game 2, which I guess is Steve Kerr's partial answer to filling the hole left by Payton's injury.  And that's a pretty good decision, as Lee is just as feisty as the Grizzlies, perhaps being overzealous even.

And now with the injury, I can't say that the Gauntlet is my favorite player in the NBA.  But what I can say, at least for me, is that now the Playoffs are less exciting without him.

Where Do We Go From Here? (Denver Nuggets Edition)

I'll be honest and say that at the beginning of this season, I predicted (on another website) that the Nuggets, if healthy, would win the Championship.  That was when Michael Porter Jr. was playing, and rumors were circulating that Jamal Murray could come back on any given day, like they've saying for the past two years now.  Well, I don't know if Porter will ever be "healthy" in the NBA sense of the word.  And as for Murray, like what exactly is wrong with him anyway?

So instead of contending, now the Nuggets look like they're going to swept out of the 1st Round.  I know that anything is possible.  But what the historians are saying is that a team has never come from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA Playoffs to win a series.  And I doubt if Denver is about to break that record.

Even though he isn't really a bad coach, I wouldn't be surprised if Mike Malone is the first to go, because he seems to lack Playoff creativity, even worse than Steve Kerr.  At least with Kerr, he has the Splash Brothers and a championship caliber team to depend on no matter what.  Malone doesn't have that luxury.  So it was kinda surprising for instance how he insisted to staying with Monte Morris during crunch time of Game 3, even though Morris hasn't done like shit the entire series.

You have Austin Rivers who was doing an admirable job taking Steph out of his zone.  Sometimes it's like that.  No one is going to argue that Rivers is better than Steph.  But there's just certain players who are able to guard certain stars well.  And even if I am overexaggerating, it isn't like Rivers is a scrub.  He has a history of showing up in pressure situations, and I don't see how it would have hurt letting him play out the fourth quarter.  In fact, I would even played Bones Hyland over Morris during crunch time in Game 3.  I mean by that point, why not?  Hyland may not have done anything spectacular during the game, but at least he wasn't making bad decisions with the ball.  Sometimes, having a lack of confidence is a good thing.

I also would have put Boogie in at the same time as Jokic.  I even heard one of the announcers suggest that.  Having both of them in at the same time would have made it more difficult to chase around the wily Warriors, but it isn't like they really did a good job of that anyway.  With Boogie and Jokic in simultaneously, they would have really been able to punish Golden State in the post.  And then, it wouldn't look so stupid with Jokic lingering around the key, as he seems to prefer to do.  And then it's like slide Aaron Gordon over to the 3, which I believe he has experience playing that position from his Orlando days anyway.

Outside of Jokic, Boogie and Hyland, I don't really see why Denver would be breaking their necks to keep anyone else on this roster.  But sometimes it's like that.  The thing that separates stars from role players is moment like these.  You know what I'm saying?  Every player theoretically has superstar potential, until they're placed in a situation which proves whether they're actually a star or a role player.

CONCLUSION

Denver doesn't look like a team that's worried about their future.  What that means to me is that they're banking on the return of Murray and Porter.  And I'm like, why?

I also wouldn't be surprised if they don't re-sign Boogie.  The NBA hates Boogie, which is a discussion for another day.  So who knows what's going to happen this offseason?

Last year, after they got embarrassed in the Playoffs, I suggested (on another site) that the Nuggets go after a player like Mo Bamba who could cover Jokic's defensive deficiencies.  Bamba just had a career season with the Magic and probably isn't even available like that any longer.  But the Nuggets do have trade chips, even outside of their big three.  But at the same time those long, skinny defenders are now kinda popular, and there aren't that many of them out there anyway.  So it looks like unless they try something really creative and risky, the Nuggets will remain a "what if" team into the foreseeable future.