Dub Hub: LeBron James explains why double teaming Steph Curry is ‘the worst thing’ defenses can do

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Thursday, April 4th.

Warriors News:

LeBron James explains the difficulty of trapping Steph Curry on high ball screens: “The worst thing you can do”

How modern offenses blend old-school tactics with new-age skills | The Score

“For us, it’s always made a lot of sense to run Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) off of screens, because of what that can do to the defense,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, whose team routinely ranks at or near the bottom of the league in pick-and-roll frequency and near the top in off-ball actions.

“I always hear that we’re pick-and-roll averse, but we’re really not. It’s just kind of the way Steph is. He’s not James Harden or Luka (Doncic) where he’s gonna get the shot or the assist or turnover every possession. He’s much more likely to (pass early) and then run off-ball. That’s been one of the things that has made us a little different and unique. And I’ve had a lot of coaches over the years tell me that it’s hard to prepare for, because they don’t see it a lot.”

Draymond Green breaks down his clutch block vs. the Mavs

Kawakami: Chris Paul can balance the Warriors, who really need it now | The Athletic

“He’s getting more comfortable,” Draymond said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. You know, you come into a situation like this, it’s hard. Chris, we’ve played against C for years. You come into a situation, you’ve got Steph, you’ve got Klay. You know what those guys have done. And C is a pro’s pro, so he’s not gonna come up trying to impose his will or stepping on nobody’s toes. He’s gonna come in and feel the situation out.

“If I’m honest, I think he’s felt it out too much. Our thing all season long has been, ‘Be aggressive and use your voice.’ So many times he’ll preface it with, like, ‘I know you guys …’ Like, naw. We need your knowledge. We need what you bring to the table. We’ve had to face that all these years. To have him on the team with us now, we want that same guy. We don’t want you to come here and take a back seat. We don’t want you to come here and always defer to us. Like, naw, you’re Chris Paul, we know exactly who you are.

“That was the reason for the move. It wasn’t to get a guy who’s going to come in and fall in line with everybody else. It was to get Chris Paul. And I think he’s gotten more and more comfortable with his voice, with his game, finding his spots, understanding the playbook and all of those things. … He’s starting to come alive in a major way for us, and we need him.”

Draymond Green looking forward to playing the Rockets on Thursday

NBA News:

Celtics clinch NBA’s best record with runaway win against OKC | ESPN

Kristaps Porzingis had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks, helping the Celtics power past the Thunder 135-100 on Wednesday night to secure the best record in the NBA and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Boston, which won its 11th consecutive home game, improved to 60-16 on the season to notch its 14th 60-win season in franchise history. The only other franchise with at least 10 such seasons is the Lakers, who have 11, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

“We deserve it. I think it’s possibly going to matter if we follow through with the vision we have for ourselves,” Porzingis said.

Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups have been elected to the Hall of Fame, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania

Iowa-LSU Women’s College Basketball game draws 12.3 million viewers, most for any basketball game on ESPN in over five years

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

Player grades: Warriors vs. Mavs

Andrew Wiggins

33 minutes, 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 8-for-16 shooting, 3-for-5 threes, 4-for-4 free throws, 64.8% TS, +3

I’ve said it many times this season — sometimes as a compliment, sometimes as a criticism — good things happen when Wiggins plays with aggression and urgency. Sometimes the stats aren’t great and sometimes they are; but when he plays with aggression and urgency, the Warriors almost always look like a significantly different team.

In this particular game, the stats were great, for the most part. Just high-quality stuff all around for Wiggins. If he maintains this approach, the Warriors can have realistic visions of making some runs.

Grade: A

Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.

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