Category
đŸ¥‡
SportsTranscript
00:00This warrior thing is fascinating to me, and I want to do whatever I can do to try to actually make this not about Jonathan Kaminga.
00:10Even though it's totally going to be about Jonathan Kaminga, but he's simply the representative here, in my opinion.
00:17He happens to be the guy who's not playing.
00:20He happens to be a very big name on this team, and therefore, people are going to wonder how to inject him back in.
00:26And Steve Kerr did say some real interesting stuff after this game on Saturday night that affects this picture.
00:33But here's sort of my larger view of it, Dibs, and it's not specific to Kaminga.
00:38I don't care who's over there on the bench in street clothes.
00:43You don't mess with a streak in sports.
00:48Yeah.
00:49You don't do it.
00:51When you play like this, you play like this.
00:54Period.
00:55End of sentence, and you don't mess with it.
00:59You don't mess with it, but there is a certain amount of, like, being able to reintegrate somebody and get them ready,
01:06because it's a player that you may need and you will want if you get in the playoffs.
01:11So you're right.
01:12You're not just going to get Jonathan, all right.
01:14You're back in for 32 minutes a night and Moses to the bench and Guy back to Santa Cruz.
01:19No, you're not doing that because what you're doing is working, but you do have to also balance the ability to get Kaminga back in and up to speed.
01:29So that's where the delicate dance, I think, begins.
01:32Yeah, I'm not suggesting by any stretch that anybody who becomes healthy, Brandon Pajewski as well, for that matter.
01:38I know this is only going to be a second game, but, like, I'm not suggesting that you, like, keep them in purgatory.
01:45Don't let them come out.
01:46Don't hide his uniform.
01:47I'm not suggesting any of that.
01:49Of course, Jonathan Kaminga, when he's ready, is going to play basketball for the Warriors.
01:54But this automatic injection into a hefty role at the expense of others who are doing amazing things right now, I'm out.
02:05I'm out.
02:07How flippant can you all be?
02:08They've won almost every single time Jimmy Butler has put on shoes.
02:14I'm not messing with that.
02:16And by the way, those of you who were in the building last night, treated—not last night, Saturday night—treated to the moment of the night, which was not Draymond's three.
02:30It was Guy Santos's offensive putback and one, and then subsequently him getting up off the floor and practically threatening to walk into the fifth row and ignite the entire arena in a way that it rarely does.
02:47This man is energy in a box, and the box has no lid.
02:52You cannot suddenly be flippant about that and toss him back on the bench and hand 25 to 30 minutes over to somebody who hasn't played in two months and the Warriors have rarely lost during that time.
03:05Like, I just—I don't even get that.
03:08This is phenomenal ball they're playing.
03:11They are threatening everybody in this entire league.
03:14Steph Curry and Draymond Green walk down that hallway 20 minutes after the final buzzer, Saturday night, screaming and yelling in the hallway.
03:22That is organic, from the heart, serious, like, life.
03:28Life that they are just absolutely fired up right now.
03:32If I'm the Warriors, I am going to be very, very hesitant to mess with what they've got going on right now.
03:41And maybe that's why, in part, he's not playing.
03:45Because, you know, what they have going on right now is special.
03:49And so, think about it in terms of what we know about injuries and return-to-play protocol.
03:54Normally you go through a protocol and you lead up to the point where you scrimmage in full and then you play.
04:01And I asked Steve Kerr, point-blank, if there was a setback, and he did not say that there was a setback.
04:07So, why is he not playing?
04:09Well, it's either because he doesn't feel right, or they feel like things are going so well right now.
04:15You mentioned it, 11-2, since Jimmy's been here, and just one loss when Jimmy actually plays.
04:20That might be a part of it where they're encouraging him to, you know, let's give you a little bit more time.
04:26Let's wait, and like we talked about last week, if you don't play tonight, and he's not going to,
04:31you have tomorrow, you have Wednesday, and then you have Thursday.
04:35And if he doesn't play Thursday, well then now, what are we doing?
04:39Well, that would be really head-scratching.
04:42And we'll have Steve Kerr on the show between now and Thursday, I would imagine.
04:45And I would imagine he'll say not a damn thing about what their plans are with Jonathan.
04:49Well, we're going to ask him.
04:50Yeah, of course we are.
04:51And it's not about what are the plans, but how's he doing, what is he doing?
04:55And yeah, what are the plans, but what's going on?
04:58And the fans deserve to know, and I think that he'll be as forthright as he can.
05:02And I know it's a medical issue, and it's Rick Celebrini, and this and that,
05:06but you went through all the ramp-up, and then now we've kind of reached a stop,
05:11where it's been a week since his last scrimmage that we know about,
05:14and they've been tight-lipped, and he's not playing.
05:16But I agree with you about the point of you're humming right now,
05:20and the whole adage of, no, you can't lose your job due to injury.
05:25Can we officially now put this thing to bed?
05:28Because the old saying was, ah, you can't lose your job to injury.
05:32Of course you can.
05:33You can, you do, you have.
05:35Ask Trey Lance.
05:36Ask Alex Smith.
05:37Right, right.
05:38I mean, he never was the quarterback again.
05:40Of course.
05:41So whatever it is, whatever the reason is,
05:43it's made a little bit easier by the fact that they are humming without him.
05:48By the way, really quick, Steve Kerr did say Saturday,
05:51he did scrimmage Saturday before the game.
05:53He did, and actually he ended one of his answers, this was pre-game,
05:56and he did say, should be soon.
05:58Should be soon.
06:00He said that.
06:01Should be soon.
06:02I like soon.
06:03Soon is a great, nebulous, relative term.
06:05Like, you know, I don't know, like May.
06:07That's pretty soon.
06:08The full quote from Kerr pre-game on Saturday was,
06:11quote, he scrimmaged just now.
06:12He looked good.
06:13Conditioning is getting there.
06:14He's feeling positive, and that's a good sign.
06:16He's had a couple good days in a row, so we'll keep going.
06:19Should be soon, and we're excited to get him back.
06:21There you go.
06:22There you go.
06:23Again, I know it won't sound like it because it's sports radio.
06:26There's no controversy here.
06:28All I'm sitting here telling you is Warriors are maze balls in this moment,
06:33and I'd be real careful messing with that.
06:35If they were 5-7 since Jimmy Butler, there would be controversy.
06:39Well, no.
06:40Then there would actually be more, I think,
06:42excitement about Jonathan's impending return.
06:44There would be more of a drumbeat.
06:45Yes.
06:46I think there would be a lot more people like, you know, where is he?
06:48Why isn't he playing?
06:4911-2 since Jimmy Butler, it feels a little less urgent,
06:53like we need Kaminga now more than ever.
06:55Yeah.
06:56So here's what happened after the game, though,
06:58because we keep referencing this lightly,
07:00and I don't want to assume that our audience has any clue
07:02what the hell we're talking about.
07:03Okay.
07:04Saturday night, the Warriors were kind enough
07:07because they are the classiest damn organization
07:09I've ever encountered in my life.
07:11No, like absolutely no doubt about it.
07:16The Warriors allow for me to bring my Cal Poly journalism class
07:20basically on a field trip for their final exam,
07:23and they do a bunch of content writing around.
07:25Totally.
07:26Right?
07:27Grandy sat next to, there was a group of about 15 Cal Poly students,
07:31and they made their way to the Bay Area over the weekend.
07:34It had to be weird for you, Grandy, like being.
07:36It was a busy media room.
07:38Well, and you're kind of the OG for once,
07:40like you're 28 and a bunch of these young pups at 21 and 22.
07:43Grandy's enough, you whippersnappers.
07:45Exactly.
07:46Old man Grandy, that's how I introduced him to him.
07:49I'm like, that's old man Grandy.
07:50Let me tell you about the early OIs, kids.
07:52I'm like, don't talk to me.
07:53He's got a big attitude.
07:54He just won a trophy.
07:55Just leave him alone.
07:56He's in the corner of the room.
07:57He'll do his thing.
07:58But anyway, there's about 15 Cal Poly students, and yes,
08:02they filled the interview room and filled the media section,
08:05and we were just hard to miss, right?
08:08Because they don't know where they're going.
08:09Everybody's walking on the wrong side of everything.
08:11It's funny, but the Warriors handle it absolutely beautifully
08:14and open the doors for them.
08:15And Steve Kerr and the players who are answering questions for students
08:19who aren't writing for an actual outlet or anything like that,
08:22like they're just doing it for their assignment.
08:24So I'm so thankful, and they are so thankful that all those guys did that.
08:30But here's what happened.
08:32Toward the end of the post-game press conference,
08:34everyone's asking about the Pistons game, coming off the roadie
08:38and a rock fight and this particular win.
08:41And it gets toward the end of the press conference,
08:43and I want to shout her out.
08:45Her name is Jocelyn Jimenez.
08:47Jocelyn Jimenez is in my class, and the microphone got to her,
08:51and she immediately looked down at her notes because she had her question prepared,
08:55and her question was not about Cade Cunningham or anyone else.
08:59Her question was, hey, Steve is going pretty well.
09:03How are you going to inject Jonathan Kaminga back into this when he gets healthy?
09:09Knowing that that sort of topic had already been touched on pre-game.
09:14So Steve looks at her with a wry grin and goes, you know,
09:17I don't like these hard-hitting questions.
09:20And then he gave me a little wink, and the whole room laughed.
09:23And then he proceeded to go on and say this.
09:26It's a really difficult thing when you are playing really well,
09:31and then you have a key guy coming back, and it's always tough.
09:34So I think the idea is just bring him along slowly, play him in short bursts,
09:39help him get his rhythm back.
09:41But, you know, we've got to keep playing Guy Santos.
09:44We've got to keep playing the guys who are helping us win right now.
09:48And so usually this stuff has to kind of play out, and so we'll hope that it plays out.
09:54I mean, I think that is an incredibly revealing answer.
09:59I didn't hear him anywhere in those 30 seconds say,
10:01can't wait to get him back and just inject him all over the place because that's who we need.
10:07He said short bursts.
10:09Short bursts.
10:10Which that's going to be what it's going to be.
10:12He said we're going to go along slowly.
10:14He also said it is very difficult when a big-time player comes back and you're playing well.
10:20And then he said something that is very key.
10:23I am going to keep playing Guy Santos.
10:29Guy Santos.
10:31Exactly.
10:33Go back to the beginning of the year and imagine this scenario.
10:37We're in March, and Steve Kerr is like, yeah, I know Cominga is about to be healthy,
10:42but Guy Santos, am I right?
10:45Right, everybody?
10:47Guy Santos.
10:48Yeah.
10:49But that's what he said.
10:50And I take him at his word, and he's absolutely right.
10:53That guy is having a huge effect in multiple areas of this game right now.
10:58The Warriors are winning almost every night, and he shouldn't mess with it.
11:00Right, and they've won 9 of their last 10, and they've won 11 of their last 13.
11:05And if you look at all those games, those are Guy games,
11:08and Guy is a plus in the plus-minus in almost every game, including the last 4,
11:14where he's a plus 45 over the last 4 games, which is better than what the team has been.
11:20Guy is like the glue guy right now.
11:22So, yeah, you've got to play Guy.