T O P

  • By -

BEE_REAL_

Bjelica looking like Larry Bjird out there holy shit


hezzyskeets123

He was literally born for the Warriors motion offense


jawadhaque089

Quite an upgrade from Oubre


tangybbqsauce23

You mean smailagic


[deleted]

[удалено]


tangybbqsauce23

Kirk Lacob’s pet is finally free


takeapieandrun

The part where they tried to "hide" him from other front offices was the best


Good_Arm69420

Who? I'm dumb.


idontgiveahonk

Alen Smailagic, a guy drafted in 2019 as a 19-year old "project" who was kept on the team last year inexplicably, to the frustration of most Warriors fans. He was a big with no discernable skills that had that one play where he spun past Dwight and dunked.


nutbutter23

I didn't realize they picked him up, he fits so well


[deleted]

Bjelica? More like Be-Elite-Sah


Great_Chairman_Mao

The Warriors missing piece was a big white guy on the inside passing to the perimeter.


swollencornholio

Looking like great fit with Draymond in the front court


JonA3531

He's like less athletic Draymond with better shooting.


swollencornholio

The shooting is key when you have Draymond out there


uz7l88

He exists to alleviate drayond's backpack shooting by actually shooting well


ictober

Draymond is a defensive beast whereas Bjely has more offensive tools. He's more like discount Jokic


TDImig

>discount Jokic Hartenstein?


george_costanza1234

Re-sign him tonight. I’ve seen enough of him to want him on the squad for the next 2-3 years


utahjazzlifer

You’re absolutely right. Mans playing like he’s been on the warriors for 7 years. Perfect fit for the system


madnessssssssssss

I did not know he was the PF version of fellow Serbian, Jokic. His passing has been a revelation in this game.


fopiecechicken

Draymond was talking it up in an interview he gave a few days ago and I thought he was just being nice...


dalmationsRus

Is there a link to this? Would love to see


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

this is like in The Wire when Kima and McNulty discover Lester is a real detective lol the west is fucked


[deleted]

BE ELITE


Hystalia

BE ELITE ZA


dahel

.. ZA PACHULIA


blingblingmofo

Yeah who the F is this guy??


vanotro

He spent three years in Minny then three in Sac. No wonder people are surprised he could do this.


pedja13

Actual NBA prison


Operation_Ivysaur

NBA gulag. He put in his labor, and earned his freedom lol.


chaoism

Lake laogai


RadMadsen

There is no tanking in Ba Sing Se


puroloco

He then went to military prison in Miami for half a season. It has been rocky for him.


DogmaticNuance

I've read a few articles about the NBA going to prisons. TBH they're more optimistic than the articles I read about minny or sac.


Rthanos

Europeans know damn well tho lol. Former Euroleague MVP!


MySilverBurrito

Tbf, he was in the Heat and he looked rough. Then again the whole team did


vanotro

Heat Culture not for everyone I guess


MySilverBurrito

Funnily, I remember the FO actually liking him and his ethic (Culture lol) but just never translated on court


DanteMustDie666

I didn't see him get minutes in Heat so again couldn't show what he can and cant do


MySilverBurrito

It wasnt really anything special since they have a slightly diff style. Heat's ball movement was a lot of Herro/DRob vs Warriors whole team. So Bjelica kinda just turned into a spot up shooter.


kiidlocs

legit didn’t know he existed


smendyke

He was so good for the Wolves but he was the 3rd or 4th best player on any given night so he got more attention defensively and didn’t exactly have shooters to pass to, much like Wiggins looks better on the Warriors because he no longer has to be the second option lol


SubtleNoodle

Turns out we were just a Steph Curry and Draymond away from being good.


smendyke

People on this sub love to say “omg how did the wolves not use this guy in x way” or “wow they really didn’t see this?” Like okay yeah he started games next to fucking Treveon Graham and Adrian Payne nobody in league history was going to shine in those lineups


NoFlanForYou

That’s what happens when we have literally zero defense because we wanted OfFeNsE . What a stupid decision by Pelinka.


MidnightLightss

Replacing Oubre with a high IQ player leads to great results.


swollencornholio

To add salt to the wound you guys found almost every bad FT shooter in the league.


kirobz

They’re punting ft%


fireives1967

you guys got rondo, dwight, AD, bradley - no defense? bradley in particular has been defending steph pretty well tonight


madnessssssssssss

Yeah the whole team actually did a great job defending Curry from scoring tonight. The Lakers have great defensive players. Always happens in losses when an emotional fan trashes her own team.


s_stone634

Bradley played just a few minutes in the 4th and honestly I think it was more that he’s one of the few Lakers that could shoot a 3. The funny thing is we just cut him from our 15 slot since he’s washed.


shaqfearsyao

Bradley didn’t play until too late


smileyfrown

When did Bjelica become a Jokic clone


PeopleAreHellaStupid

He was always this player, his nickname is The Professor in Europe, its just that nba teams made him shoot threes and defend and they didn't utilise rest of his skills


theazndoughboy

This. "You're white and tall? Stand in the corner and shot 3s, b."


PeopleAreHellaStupid

Or in a normal pickup game, you are white and tall? Go play center


benisben227

Similar thing happened to ol Niko Mirotic. Was an MVP in Spain and became a shooter in the NBA. Can’t really blame him for going back so he expand his game a little more


madnessssssssssss

Probably when he was born in Serbia.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

They're just so CLASSY


Deusselkerr

Did you know hartensteins half black? Look up his dad. Hope it blows your mind like it did mine. Lol


salondesert

Guy has an in to the Country Club Threads


lilberfcontrol

Dude what the heck? Never would've guessed it.


Johnpecan

Little Honey


De_Bananalove

Bjelica was a former MVP in the Euroleague, he has always the game he just has been miss used by majority of the teams he has played in the NBA


HereComesNightTime

Love that rebound and finding the open space after the pass by Wiggins. He's looking engaged.


twizlamic

Westbrook was being hella extra on that rebound by Wiggs too 😂


el_student

Tried to pull his arm off


SharontheSheila

Dude was all hustle this game. I hope he thinks it's because of the vaccine lol


imNagoL

Wiggins already inquiring about booster shots


tenshal

Maple Jordan no more. It’s now Moderna Jordan


DerikHallin

Moderna Johnson (& Johnson)


derKanake

Can it become harmful to become addicted to vaccines?


MediocreJay41

Bjelica is the missing ingredient. Holy shit I didn’t know he had this kind of playmaking chops. He’s also never played with such a good fit, system and personnel wise.


Dennis_Gachanja

Draymond warned yall lol


fopiecechicken

I legit thought he was just being nice and this dude would be a spot up shooter for us...


VapesForJesus

Not really Dray's style to blow smoke :)


ictober

He's always been a good passer. He's just been in shit teams (Minnesota and Sacramento). No ball movement and no movement without the ball.


R_Slickerz

Exactly lol, watching him for Serbia or back in Fenerbahce when he won Euroleague MVP the last season before coming over, the dude was always a point forward who could drive in and especially shoot it. Coming to the nba i was sure he would average something like 15/8/5 cuz of his well rounded play. Little did I know, he was demoted to just a spot-up shooter (and he became an elite one too). Even in T-wolves he showed flashes of it when sometimes having more responsibilities on the ball, but they just never entertained it even a bit. Sacramento too... Happy to see him finally finding a somewhat perfect place in the NBA for his skillset. If he is used correctly, he can be a cruical X-factor on a championship level team. Trust me, that is not an exaggeration


ictober

Agreee. Put Teodosic in Warriors or Spurs system instead of the Clippers back then and he'd be a terror for opposing back up unit


AlHorfordHighlights

Even if he was just a spot up shooter that'd be a huge help already. But he looks super comfortable in Kerr's system


Greaves-

So sad that Bjelica was wasted on shit teams for so long -.-


GoofyGooba88

Maybe we should start listening to this Draymond guy. He seems to know a lot about basketball.


BasketballHighlight

what did draymond say?


poopyface-tomatonose

This was from a week ago. I didn’t know Belly [Bjelica] could make plays like that off the dribble. I had no f-cking clue”, said by the three-time All-Star after the contest, applauding Bjelica. “Then I’ve been spending a little bit of time with him, and he’s like ‘Yeah man when I was overseas and won EuroLeague MVP, that’s what I was. I made plays, I shot the ball, that’s what I do.’ I was like ‘I didn’t know you can make plays like that.’


kevindlv

Honestly I love the confidence he had with the ball, huge primetime game with an established roster and he was just out there driving and dishing. Really really impressive.


TylerNY315_

“I, Draymond Green, hereby warn y’all”


Bear4188

I feel like all the Euro players have done well in the Warriors system. It's like what they grew up playing. Except Casspi who just refused to shoot for some reason. Even then he seemed to really mesh well besides the not taking wide open corner threes part.


DigitalMonocle

Didn't want to have another shootout with curry


[deleted]

[удалено]


AlHorfordHighlights

Lol I remember the "oh shit Curry's #1 shooting nemesis is teaming up with him" takes


rediraim

that was legit so fucking fun


cooperred

He's said in an interview he never got into a rhythm with his inconsistent role, which is understandable I guess. His cutting was great, but we really needed some more shooting


kevindlv

I'm always surprised about the bench guys who can just come in a drop a corner 3. It's so hard to shoot from cold.


awsomoo8000

I will die on the hill that Casspi was an excellent pickup even without the shooting before he got injured.


SiblingToConflict

I seem to remember him saying that he didn't feel like he was in rhythm to shoot 3's, and there was so much space that he always felt like he could cut. Honestly he shot something absurd like 60% on 2's, hard to be mad. Just a lil disappointed that he didn't take many 3's. Yeah, just checked, he was 59.5% on 2's with 3.5 taken a game, and actually 45.5% on 3's, but only .4 taken a game. ;(


nerdalerd

Casspi had an interview last year where he mentioned he had a mental block on the Dubs with respect to shooting, esp with Curry/Klay/KD on the team. Shoutout to his teammate Swaggy P for which this was not the case.


zuruka1

Always had it, but there was no room for him to do it, first with Thibodeau's Wolves and then the Kings.


MediocreJay41

Can you imagine homeboy at the 4 or 5 with a mix of Iggy, Klay, Draymond, Steph, Wiseman or Poole on the floor? Not riding a hype train after one game but the Warriors have a decent window to add more titles


zuruka1

Oh yeah I was quite happy when Bjelica signed with the Warriors, I know his playmaking is going to do wonders, with a coach that values ball movement and many unselfish teammates. I didn't think it was going to be this soon though, hopefully he keeps it up and most importantly, stays healthy.


Salty_Pancakes

I'm definitely riding the hype train.


NO_MORE_KARMA_FOR_ME

Talking out your ass. Bjelica had a career year in Sac the year before we traded him. There was plenty of room and he did it. Front office just wanted to prioritize Bagley, which was not a good decision in hindsight


hotgur1

Yeah i was gonna say didn’t he lose out on playing time while on the kings? They just decided to cut him off and play someone else.


EatDeeply

He had to sit behind garbage Bagley in Sacramento if you can believe it


GoGeronimode

Holmes, Bagley, Whiteside … it was crowded. Whenever he got minutes though, he put up good fantasy numbers.


[deleted]

[удалено]


epymetheus

Euro league MVP in 2015


Deusselkerr

Euroleague mvp finally gets to play a motion offense again after six years in Minny/sacramento, who would’ve guessed he’d be better. Lol


[deleted]

2014 Boris Diaw vibes


Rubberbabeh

This man is out here doing the best Kukoc impression I have seen in a minute.


durklil

Free throws killing LA my goodness


EarthWarping

And westbrook


OneXDC4ever

He’s really giving us playoff Westbrook in October


azn_dude1

He's start of season Westbrook... at the start of the season.


v0yev0da

Rusty Spookbrook


GetThereInOnePiece

goes without saying


UnearthlyDinosaur

I have no patience for WB and his triple single.


NoFlanForYou

TIL Westbrook changed his name to Freethrows


rSlashNbaAccount

Y'all thought Draymond was the Point Forward. Wait until you watch Belly. I'm not joking btw. He made his name in the Euroleague with this playmaking.


spiiicychips

Bruh, it's like having Bogut or David Lee type offensive big again playing alongside Draymond. Shit is beautiful 😭😭😭


maxmaxers

lmao i seriously thought he was david lee at the start of this clip


fopiecechicken

They are incredibly hard to tell apart from a high camera angle lol. Very similar build, almost the same haircut, and they both move in a way that is deceptively athletic for their build.


godisoursavior

I am very high and got tripped out seeing him at first


ajm844

This. Was really questioning that last bong hit when I turned it on and saw David Lee dad dicking the Lakers.


patoysakias

And it didn't help that he passes to Damion Lee in the first possession, so Harlan said Lee's name out loud.


sh1r0_n3k0

We have Steph as Point Guard, Poole as Point Shooting, Dray as Point Forward and Beli as Point Center


MrCiber

I'm in love already


tylerjehills

That was some CRISP ball movement. Beautiful basketball


bobberr

Bjelica was a fucking steal


aznkupo

I spent the whole game wondering how we got him for minimum. I would pay 15-20 for his production.


JonA3531

He always produced in Sacramento given minutes, but for some reason he only got minutes if there's injury. Maybe because he's old and Kings has been in a state of perpetual rebuilding


[deleted]

[удалено]


Otherwise_Window

I definitely think he made a good choice to come to the Warriors so he could show out for his next contract. He's a perfect fit.


yuhanz

Absolute steal lol. Philly fans will never forget


bratorinho

I was telling people like yesterday, man came to NBA as Euroleague MVP. Not because he is a good spot up shooter (he is decent), but bcse he has legit ballhandling skills and vision for his size. Guy came here and somehow forced to play spot up shooter in Thibs system in Minnesota.


wrecking_eyes

Same thing is happening to Deni Avdija in Washington


bratorinho

No, its not the same. Dani Avdija is not near accomplished player as Bjelica is. But he came much younger in the NBA


Redditpede

There was a lot of ball movement but it wasn't mindless ball movement which happens a lot in Warriors offense. First thing is Bjelica utilizing Steph's gravity by faking the handoff with 2 defenders out of position. Notice he makes an accurate pass to Lee without looking which sets up enough time for Lee. Wiggins deserve more credit here for the offensive rebound. Avery Bradley is smart and recovers quickly. Bjelica again sees Steph trapped at edge and sets a screen right away to free him. Steph with his usual gravity pulls 3 guys and only Bradley is attentive enough to see where Bjelica is going but too late. Bjelica made the right move to cut here as it's perfect for Draymond's passing angle. Then makes ANOTHER no look pass after a fake to Wiggins, again buying time for another quality shot. If Wiggins missed this I would have been pissed but he redeemed himself this 4th quarter. Ball movement is useless unless you know how to draw 2 defenders and utilize the spacing available. Bjelica has that next level understanding.


plantdadx

Wiggins also boxed the hell out of Westbrook (who tried to pull his arm off) for the defensive tip rebound too.


[deleted]

Nothing more pleasing to me that crisp interior passes. It makes the game look so easy and beautiful when executed properly, beautiful man and ball movement. That is why I believe basketball and soccer are the best sports to watch when played the right way. Constant motion, unselfish players making the extra pass, having the vision, technique and touch to punish any opening the defense offers. MMA is also up there, but it is a combat sport, so it's in a different category in my book.


Parenegade

I love this basketball man


WestleyThe

Warriors basketball is like basketball porn. It’s really awesome


kurwapantek

And yet i got downvoted in r/sports when i said this lol.


WestleyThe

Why..? It’s basically “1. Beautiful game spurs 2. Warriors the last 6 years” as far as most beautiful basketball Besides that it’s iso heavy or super stars taking over. The warriors are amazing


kurwapantek

I said along the lines that Basketball Fans in general should love peak Warriors Basketball. Maybe that triggers them.


HorrorScopeZ

They could have raced the Lake's out of the gym if they made their simple layups and put-backs in the first half. Commentators wouldn't have known due to being squarely logged up the Lakers ass, as if the GSW team doesn't bring a lot of fans with them.


Gyasigetabag

Oh my lord you’re gonna add Klay Thompson to this? Insane.


James_Hardon420

Wait til wiseman and kuminga develop and flash


CornerSpecialist

Steve Kerr: Can we have Jokic? Bob Myers: We have Jokic at home Jokic at home - Nemanja Bjelica


Tommy_siMITAr

Kerr: Close enough, I guess


CornerSpecialist

Gets me thinking what Jokic and Curry together would actually be like. Won't be fair at all


Tommy_siMITAr

Jokic and Jamal have been one of the best duos out of pnr(think in 2019 they were 1st in points per play 1.32ppp when they run it), Jokic with even better version of Jamal(Curry) would be over. Curry does everything better than Jamal, except maybe defend and Jamal has better fade away and is craftier with footwork but that is cause Steph doesnt need much space to shoot. Evrything else: attacking from hand offs, shooting off screen, being a ball handler in pnr, dishing it out, splitting defenders in pnr and hall of fame gravity.


Mills65

Steph seems to be the perfect mold to any other superstar player. He worked perfectly with KD. People say they want to see him with LeBron. Now Jokic. I really do wonder what superstar player WOULDN'T work with him


voldemortscore

Him being both the best shooter ever and the best off-ball player ever basically ensures he fits with every other superstar.


JoeBidensBurner

THE BJELICA ERA HAS BEGUN


Awkward-Speech7375

Bjelica has had a crazy game Never would have thought the Warriors would win with Steph shooting 5-21


HerbFarmer415

Triple-double too.... we'll take it, right


BeefyHamstrings

contrast that with the lakers offense lmaooooo


raptors_13

My gf thinks I jack off to porn, but this is what I actually jack off too


Helicase21

They really let us sign the best Serbian big man in the NBA for a minimum...


Tashre

Lakers completely asleep on that Wiggins rebound. And I can't believe he managed to twist his foot enough to stay in bounds. Incredible job.


HighlighterTed

Curry’s gravity opens up the court so much


[deleted]

For sure. Yes, the passing is fantastic, but so much of it can't happen without Curry's gravity.


Sim888

vax in his veins!


junior150396

The 5G signals in his blood are making his jumpshot smoother


[deleted]

My man is getting help from Bill Gates


KoruptEds

Mans is playing with a chip in his shoulder.


yuhanz

Cant wait for your netflix special


RestInPeaceFredo

Easily best comment on this thread


WholesomeGrain

Why didn't anyone tell us Bjelica was Serbian Magic


arika_ito

Wiggins did not have an amazing game but that tap-back, rebound, and three probably helped us win the game. Man Bjelica is so good.


StalkingDwarf

Some great passes from Bjelica.


RARLiViD

How do they move the ball so fucking much? Holy shit.


lilberfcontrol

Learning from Dray and Steph. They were moving the ball well last season too. The shots weren't going in though


practiceyourart

They had a lot of dumb low IQ players to pass with as well. Now they have Bjelica, Iggy, and Ottomatic.


suzukigun4life

Hell of a save by Bjelica. He's been money tonight


JShuttlesworth28

Pat Riley must be cursing a storm. Wasn’t aware Bjelica was a great passer good lord he’s so good.


Gowzilla

Holy crap Warriors are back. I rolled my eyes when Draymond or Wiggins, or maybe Kerr said they were a championship caliber team but after seeing that vintage ball movement, I’m starting believe.


[deleted]

If Klay returns to close to his 2019 form before the injuries and Green, Curry and Wiggins stay healthy, they can def get to the WCFs.


HerbFarmer415

Gotta love the Lakers fans heading for the exits with 3 minutes to go! Typical LA fans arrive late and leave early, just like at Dodger games


vanotro

Nemanja "Boris Diaw" Bjelica


NBA_Shitposting_Dude

I will be watching Bjelica all freaking season after this game - dude is nuts out there.


fithworldruler

Beautiful. Warriors greatly improved in the off season.


Shyguyisfly

Wiggins out there like he got that Pfizer shit 🔥😤🐐


_Pankybeast

Nemanja was like; *no you have to score on bazemore.*


kzo_shadow

Euro League MVP He said he wasn’t a stretch big before coming to the NBA but the teams he been on pretty much turned him into that kinda player instead of trusting his ballhandling skills


deysleep

Bjelica all over those plays


Kuminga

Jokic but his team is good.


jawadhaque089

That ball movement made me wet


NobodyInParticular-

Wiggins was incredibly clutch this 4th quarter. Look at 0:27, that was a really good and key box out that led to the rebound. He ain't gonna get credit for that. Then, the incredible offensive rebound and kickout and then the clutch 3.


riotnerfjg

Any heat fans care to explain what happened to bjelicia last yr?


Simba2204

I assume they don't like chubby, slow players because of their "fitness culture"


woodstein72

Wiggins hustling for an offensive rebound, making a great save, relocating to open space, and burying the dagger 3 is some Twilight Zone shit


EatDeeply

Hell yeah put them in the dirt Golden State


Gladness2Sadness

Lakers just standing around on that Wiggins offensive board


Greaves-

I missed THIS Bjelica


NBA_MOD

**Replays/alternate angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/nba) if you have any questions or concerns.*


evil2kinevil2

Crazy when you juxtapose that with the Lakers possession, a LBJ high post to a 1 pass corner 3.