Why the Warriors must avoid Game 7 vs. the Rockets
Why the Warriors must avoid Game 7 vs. the Rockets
Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Vincent Goodwill is joined by the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn to discuss Golden State's poor performance in Game 5 against Houston and how the squad could be in trouble if it blows another 3-1 series lead. Hear the full conversation on 'Good Word with Goodwill' and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
View more
Video Transcript
It would behoove the Golden State Warriors to get this series done with on Friday.
Advertisement
You do not want to go back to Houston for a game seven where any damn thing can happen.
For a veteran team, I was extremely disappointed with how they came out.
I think we, they fell behind like 46, 24, and it was just, it was one of those like, come on guys.
Like, you generally don't benefit by giving games away.
If you're the Warriors, you do not want to go back to Toyota Center for Game 7, you do not want to have that environment, you know, you, you've got them where you want them.
Like, Houston's gonna have to go into a tough environment as a young team and try to grind out a road win under the most dire.
Advertisement
circumstances like with their butts on the line.
Can they do that?
Houston, they don't have a closer.
Jalen Green was on the bench the last minute to game 4, and Fred Van Vleet was the one trying to carry him.
They are a fraudulent second seed.
The Oklahoma City is looking at them and going, that's the 2nd best team in the West?
Oh, OK.
But They can sneak out a win in, in, in, in San Francisco and bring it on home, and then that becomes anything goes.
And, and at this point for the Warriors to blow a 3-1 lead in the first round and lose that series, they're right back in the category as the Lakers of, OK, what do we do now?
Advertisement
Steph, Draymond, this is the, the final days.
And if you, you know, you would, there's gonna be a lot of questions if they bought a 3-1 lead, and a lot of questions about the future if they can't overcome this and win this series.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
NBA rumors: The Jalen Green ‘poison pill' that will delay finalizing Kevin Durant trade
The post NBA rumors: The Jalen Green 'poison pill' that will delay finalizing Kevin Durant trade appeared first on ClutchPoints. On the day of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the NBA didn't want to wait until tip-off to steal the headlines. Instead, the biggest move of the NBA offseason so far dropped on the morning of the biggest game of the year as Kevin Durant was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets. The Suns are getting back a package centered around Jalen Green and the No. 10 pick in the NBA Draft. Advertisement Phoenix is also getting Dillon Brooks and five second-round picks in return for the 36-year old superstar. However, even though the deal is already done and agreed to, it cannot be finalized until July 6 according to Bobby Marks of ESPN. 'Because of the poison pill restriction in the Jalen Green rookie extension, this trade cannot be finalized until July 6,' Marks wrote on X, formerly Twitter. The poison pill comes into effect because the Rockets signed Green to a rookie extension, but it does not come into effect until next season, so the trade can't go through until July. However, this should not affect the trade at all, instead it will just delay the official transaction for a few weeks. Advertisement The immediate reaction to the trade was that Green would likely be traded or moved from the Suns in one form or fashion, but that is not the case. Instead, the Suns plan to pair Green with Devin Booker in the backcourt, and will try to move on from Bradley Beal instead. The fit between Green and Booker is an interesting one, and will be one of the storylines to watch coming into next season that stem from this trade. Neither is a natural point guard, but playing the two of them next to a traditional floor general could really hurt the Suns on the defensive end of the floor. However, Green has not shown the level of playmaking to be that point guard, so the product on the court will be fascinating to watch. Regardless, Green has a ton of talent on the offensive end and the Suns are betting on him taking another step forward in his fifth season after a change of scenery. Related: NBA rumors: What Rockets 'never put in play' in Kevin Durant trade talks with Suns Related: NBA hypes Pacers vs. Thunder with 9-minute 'Game 7: The movie'
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Golden State Warriors help transform lives of incarcerated men through coaching program
VACAVILLE, Calif. (AP) — One day last fall, Ray Woodfork found himself being challenged to a fight by a fellow inmate half his age on the grounds of Solano State Prison. Woodfork would have been tempted not so long ago. The Golden State Warriors have helped turn him toward a different way of thinking. This time, the once-aspiring college basketball player, who was serving as referee for the prison football league that day, immediately made it clear he had no interest in an altercation. Woodfork said he chose to walk away and return to his dorm. He acknowledges had he fought there's no way he would now be part of a peer mentoring program or have a chance for the governor to review his case. And Woodfork certainly wouldn't be a certified basketball coach either if adrenaline and anger had won out. 'I was just like, 'That's not who I am, that's not what I'm about,' and I walked away,' Woodfork recalled. 'It's hard to do, because the flesh wants to do that.' The incident happened before Week 5 of a six-week program run by youth coaches from the Warriors Basketball Academy as part of the Twinning Project that is teaching incarcerated men at Solano coaching skills and showing them there is the chance for meaningful transformation. Woodfork successfully utilized a skill learned in the program: palms down. With palms facing down, it allows someone to move forward and focus on the next moment or play, forgetting whatever trigger might be right in front of them or something that already happened. Woodfork began writing rap lyrics about his experience with the Twinning Project, which started in the UK by pairing professional soccer teams like Arsenal and West Ham United of the Premier League with prisons to contribute in the rehabilitation process. U.S. clubs such as D.C. United, Angel City FC and Miami FC have become involved — and other NBA teams are showing interest. 'Golden State will be a hard act to follow,' Twinning Project CEO Hilton Freund said. 'With my palms down, I calm down, next move is on them.' ___ Several months later, Woodfork grabbed a mic and began rapping those very words in celebration as his 15 basketball teammates danced alongside him and hugged one another. It's graduation day. That means a stroll in front of the group to receive a certificate and Warriors jersey with each man's last name on back. The hope is these graduates will now use their skills to teach other incarcerated men not only how to coach but to be positive influences. When Warriors academy coach Ben Clarfield circles up the group at midcourt to give the men and instructors a chance to provide feedback, there is a common theme. The Twinning Project has provided these men a sense of self-worth and purpose, a break from the isolation of prison. Many of the participants expressed feeling loved and seen — often for the first time in years. This has been about grace and forgiveness, inclusion and acceptance. Oftentimes, those ideas have had to be learned or re-learned — and the Twinning Project played a crucial role in that process. 'It reintroduced me to my love of basketball, that people on the outside haven't given up on us,' former Fresno State student Jonquel Brooks said. 'It's wanting to coach but not knowing how to coach, then now being given the tools to have the opportunity.' Jeff Addiego, vice president of Warriors Basketball Academy, and his staff have also been changed by the outreach. They beamed and fought tears at the same time, overjoyed to see these men finding meaning in their new roles. The way this program works, the Warriors players and coaches aren't participating as some of the European professionals are, though former Golden State big man Festus Ezeli has been a regular visitor. 'We've gotten to know each and every one of these guys. If one of these guys was anywhere else I would give him a hug the first time I saw him,' Addiego said. 'It's amazing. We don't pry or ask them anything it, but what they've been willing to share with us, it's powerful stuff." Woodfork's mentor, Viet Kim Le, took part in the second coaching cohort. He has observed the commitment by Woodfork to show remorse for his crime and better himself while serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for murder. 'His beliefs have changed," Le said, "so he looks at life through a different lens.' ___ 'I don't react, I respond, I take a breath and I move on." ___ Spanning four hours each Tuesday, some of these men felt like actual basketball players again. They stepped into a changing area in the Solano gym and traded their prison blues for jerseys featuring the Warriors logo on front and Twinning Project on back before making their way to the court for drills like shooting, dribbling and defense. There was also mental training to find strategies for every situation they might encounter in prison or, for some perhaps eventually, life on the outside. They backpedaled with extra self-confidence, they high-fived, dishing out good-natured trash talk here and there, but more than anything they cheered each other on — through every great shot or errant pass. Many might never have mixed otherwise. Community-building is a big part of it. Freund launched his charitable foundation in 2018, and he and his wife attended the Feb. 11 graduation of the second group of 16 men at Solano receiving coaching certificates. He is thrilled the Warriors became involved. Freund references a study from the University of Oxford published last year showing the program's 'wholistic benefit" for the incarcerated leading to "better behavior, less propensity for violence, improved relationships amongst themselves and improved relationships with their prison officers.' ___ 'Making coaches out of convicts, we're taking over cities ... coaching with a passion, that's how we set the tone.' ___ The palms-down approach is about having the power to choose a response. That message and other learning tools came from mental skills coach Graham Betchart, who works regularly with the UConn men's basketball team. On his first drive to Solano, Betchart came up with the rhyme "let it go, give it back, next play I attack.' He had no idea Woodfork would soon begin turning those words into rap. 'Inspiring to the world," Betchart said, "and it comes in a way that I've never seen anybody deliver it the way that he does. ... And everything he's saying is PG-13 but it's delivered in a way that's so powerful you don't even realize that you'd want your 9-year-old kid listening to this.' ___ 'I let it go and get it back, the next play, you know I'm going to attack.' ___ Woodfork was arrested at age 20 for killing a man during an attempted robbery. He had expected to start playing college games in a summer tournament mere days later. 'So I was right there, right there,' Woodfork shared. Now he is hopeful his hard work will be considered by Gov. Gavin Newsom. A former gang member both outside and inside prison who once had dreams of playing in the NBA, Woodfork has trained to be a peer mentor — a program requiring he have five 'clean' years without trouble in order to participate. The Warriors' program has filled a major void. 'That's an understatement,' Woodfork said, 'due to the fact my aspirations were to play in the NBA one day, as a kid that was my end all, be all, that was my identity. Basketball was everything.' ___ 'It's deeper than the game and that name on your shirt, it's the Twinning Project, where real men put in work.' ___ It brings Addiego and the others to tears at times witnessing the progress — like Woodfork deciding not to fight that day. 'I talked myself off the ledge by speaking out loud about what happened,' said Woodfork, now working as a drug and alcohol counselor. 'This is an opportunity to show the world I'm not the person I was. It doesn't define me. I feel like I've outgrown prison, I feel like a fish swimming upstream, a salmon.'
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Ted Cruz praises Rockets after reported trade for Kevin Durant
Print Close By Ryan Gaydos Published June 23, 2025 Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, welcomed Kevin Durant to his new home as the 15-time NBA All-Star was reportedly traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets on Sunday. The massive trade will see Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 draft and five second-round picks go to the Suns, ESPN reported. The trade will not be official until July 6, when the offseason opens in the league. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Cruz congratulated the Rockets for the deal in a post on X. "Congrats to the #Rockets! Losing Brooks really hurts—he's ferocious on defense—but KD is an absolute beast," Cruz wrote. "GREAT trade!" Rumors of the Suns trading Durant swirled for weeks after the team missed the playoffs with a 36-46 record in one season under Mike Budenholzer. Phoenix believed adding Durant to a team with Devin Booker, and later Bradley Beal, could help elevate them back to the NBA Finals. 2025 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS: THUNDER REMAIN FAVORITES AFTER GAME 6 LOSS Phoenix was unable to propel itself back to the NBA Finals, losing in the Western Conference semifinals during the 2022-23 season, being ousted in the first round in the 2023-24 season and failing to even make the postseason this year. Durant, 36, has still proven to be one of the top scorers in the game when healthy. He averaged 26.6 points per game and shot 52.7% from the field. He has been an All-Star each year he has been available to play since the 2009-10 season. He missed the entire 2019-20 season with an injury. It has been a busy offseason for the Rockets so far. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Houston reportedly extended head coach Ime Udoka as well following its second-place finish in the Western Conference. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter . Print Close URL
