Why competing in, winning NBA Cup should matter to Warriors

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Why competing in, winning NBA Cup should matter to Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

HOUSTON – Brandin Podziemski had the same natural reaction that any young player would have when asked about feeling the intensity of NBA Cup games after the Warriors improved to 3-0 in group play with a Nov. 22 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

“Hell yeah, we want that money,” Podziemski, 21, said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s Warriors Postgame Live.

Players on the championship-winning team will pocket more than $500,000, and those on the second-place team will take home over $200,000 – a significant chunk of change for veterans and youngsters alike.

The Warriors have multiple steps to take care of first before even sniffing that amount of money. Due to blowing a double-digit lead against the Denver Nuggets a week ago, they lost their chance of hosting a quarterfinals game on their home court at Chase Center and instead will face the Houston Rockets for the third time already this season, playing them Wednesday night at Toyota Center.

A win in Houston would send the Warriors to Las Vegas for the semifinals on Saturday night, and a possible championship bout in Sin City this upcoming Tuesday night. A loss would end their 15-game win streak against the Rockets, and wash away the good feelings of Sunday night’s win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Podziemski isn’t alone in sharing his desire for the Warriors to be crowned NBA Cup champions. And for more than the money, too. Draymond Green has expressed the importance of the game at every opportunity he has been given.

“A lot. A whole lot,” Green said in response to how much NBA Cup games mean to him after the Warriors moved to 2-0 in group play by beating the Memphis Grizzlies. “It’s an opportunity to win something, and anytime you have an opportunity to win something – unless you lack competitiveness – it should matter. So it matters a lot.

“We want to be competing and winning everything we possibly can, and the NBA Cup is one of those things.”

Winning, especially when it matters most, has gone in the Warriors’ favor since winning the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-competing-winning-nba-cup-174550702.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-12-11 17:45:00

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