Clawback (Warriors 104, Magic 95)
There are plenty of teams in the NBA that the Warriors can beat simply by outscoring them. Then there are the good teams — those that play actual defense — that are likely to be waiting for the Warriors in the post-season. The Hawks, Bobcats, and Heat fall into the prior category. The Magic fall into the latter. Fortunately, after three games of scattered defense, the Warriors finally locked down against Orlando. How did they manage it? To borrow words from the great Adonal Foyle, Andris Biedrins and Al Harrington “gave their bodies up to science” in a successful effort to stop Dwight Howard.
Stan Van Gundy is a great coach, but he’s cut from different cloth than Don Nelson. Van Gundy (and his brother) find one thing that works and ride it as far as it will take them. For opponents, the challenge becomes how to derail that one thing. For being a very good team, the Magic have a shockingly bad record when down at the end of the third quarter (1-16 if memory serves me). My guess as to the reason why? When teams crack the Magic’s gameplan, there’s little Orlando can do to creatively regain its footing and strike back. It took the Warriors a quarter or so to sort out the Magic’s plan. Once exposed, however, the flaws in the scheme only grew wider until Orlando seemed to crumble in the middle of the fourth quarter. The Jazz and the Lakers won’t be so easy, but this was a good place to start.
Here’s how the Warriors found a way to breakdown the Magic’s inside / outside threat:
Push Howard - Biedrins, Harrington, and Croshere deserve a ton of credit for fighting all night long with the freak of nature known as Dwight Howard. Carrying shoulders the width of Florida, Howard repeatedly rocked into Warriors defenders in the post. They took their hits and for the most part stood their ground. By picking up Howard early in the shot clock and fighting away from the ball to establish position, the Warriors’ larger defenders often forced him to receive the ball outside of his comfort zone. He then often had to put the ball on the floor to get into position, allowing the Warriors’ smaller players a chance at the strip. They were increasingly successful as the game wore on and Howard’s strength to fight for deep position wore down.
Close on shooters - The heartbreaking overtime loss against the Magic in Oakland was one of the season’s must frustrating for all the open shots given to the Magic’s shooters. Seemingly learning from their mistakes, Davis, Ellis, Jackson, and Azubuike all worked hard to stay within reach of their men. There were lots of hands thrown into the faces of shooters and — despite the Magic going 10-21 from three point range — the team missed some key mid-range jumpers late in the contest. Baron, in particular, seemed to be working harder than usual after being embarrassed by Jameer Nelson in Oakland. Here’s hoping the Warriors continue to show such discipline and effort when Derek Fisher and Kyle Korver are roaming behind the arc.
Limit second chance points - The Magic managed only 4 offensive rebounds. This would be a low number for any team, but when you have the NBA’s leading rebound at center, it’s particularly alarming. The Warriors kept the Magic off the glass with hard work from nearly everyone on the roster. Pietrus led the way with 11 boards, but Jackson and Davis each grabbed 9. Harrington and Azubuike only managed 4 and 2 respectively, but worked hard boxing men out to allow others to grab the boards. Andris only managed 2 boards, but had the most important job for much of the game: throwing a body on Howard to keep him off the glass. By working collectively to secure boards, the Warriors dramatically reduced the Magic’s second chance opportunities.
Force shooters to be passers - The Magic have a roster full of good shooters. They lack, however, anyone resembling a true point guard. Usually their offense clicks along without the need for much ball movement. Howard posts up and either scores or dumps it back to a shooter, who shoots. When the Warriors managed to slow down Howard, however, the Magic’s perimeter player were forced to do more with the ball. By putting the ball on the court or swinging it via pass, rather than simply draining open shots, Orlando opened itself to more of the Warriors’ swiping and slashing defense. The Warriors’ 14 steals were a product not only aggressive defense, but also Orlando’s poor decision-making triggered by the Ws’ activity.
Despite all the focus on defense, the Warriors also managed a nice offensive game. After the most recent scoring bursts, 104 points seems awfully low, despite the fact that its more points than most NBA teams score on average. The Warriors shot miserably (40%), but played smart enough to compensate for the cold night. Davis repeatedly went to the basket. Ellis worked hard to establish his mid-range jumper. Even Jackson eased up on his free-firing ways to slash to the basket and embarrass some of the Magic’s poorer defenders. The Warriors’ big three had to do much of the work on its own, but was up to the task. Nellie should send Pat Riley a fruit basket thanking him for sitting Wade. Had Ellis and Davis been forced to confront Flash Friday night in Miami, neither one of them likely would have had as much left in the tank as they did for the Magic.
And now for everyone’s favorite question following a quality win: will the team keep it up? I’m encouraged by a few things. First, despite playing a miserable first quarter, the Warriors kept this game close until they could manage their own run. Down by 10 or 12, the team continued to go to the hoop rather than fire up early clock three pointers. They worked their way back into the game the honest way — through solid defense and high percentage shots. Second, the Warriors looked like they had circled this game following the loss to the Bobcats. After giving up a game, they knew they had to steal one back. The team, on paper, doesn’t beat the Magic on the road to close a 4 game in 5 night trip. Despite it all, they dug down to find what they needed for the win. Understanding the significance of these types of games and rising to the occasion shows how much this team has matured in the past two years. Now they just need to keep it up.
Mini-gat sits, Biedrins plays, the Warrior’s D oh so mysteriously reappears. WHAT A SHOCK!
Serious props go to Al Harrington, who manned the post like a MAN, and battled the Beast of the East to a draw.
You can’t send a boy to do a man’s job
At halftime, I told my aging parents (who came over to watch the game) “Watch the Warriors make adjustments now, and, starting in the third quarter, shut down what has been working for the Magic in the first half. And when you see that, know that it’s the work of the coach, Don Nelson.” And so it was. First props for this game go to Nellie (older than either of my folks), who broke down Ron Jeremy’s — uhh, Stan Van Gundy’s strategy and took away his greatest weapons. I’ve bitched about lack of play for the rooks, too much Piet, but after this game, I’ll shut up: Nellie rules, and we’re lucky to have him on our side.
Also: Baron Davis is God… OK, maybe not God, but an NBA player possessed of Jordan-like, Magic (Johnson)-like will and skill. He dictates, he commands, he leads. Follow the Beard, boys. And Fakers, Snores, Utah (were there ever two words more dissonant?) Jazz — Fear the Beard.
Biedrins: The conditioning coach said something like (I ain’t taking the time to look up his name or what he said exactly for a bunch of blog-posters) Dre has the best work ethic and the best attitude of anyone he’s ever worked with. You can see it: always positive, always working, always cool, appendix out or not. Thank you, Latvia. We f*ckin’ appreciate it.
Piet, Wats, Alley Cat: Way to WAR, boys! Keep it up, and there’s a Ring in it for ya!
Matt Barnes: C’mon baby! Focus! You are the guy more than any I wish to see make it happen. FTH, Matt! Wake up!
Hmmm… did I forget any —
Go Jack! Git ‘em Jack! Where the F is my Steven Jackson authentic jersey like CC Sabathia was wearing?!?
Prediction: Dubs v Fakers for the WCF.
Now who’s obsessed with Barrack Wright?
Wow, what a great defensive effort (and rebounding effort) by the guys in orange tonight. When Orlando did score down the stretch, we had an answer almost every time. Great leadership from Baron tonight, and a MUCH smarter performance by just about everybody compared to the Charlotte game. The level of concentration was outstanding, especially considering the fact that we were playing in front of a hostile crowd, against a confident team, and had to deal with some questionable officiating. Baron and Jack had that look in their eye (the one that says “we are NOT gonna lose this game”), especially after we took the lead and started to build on it. We WANTED this game more than they did, with the core evidence being the multi-player war we waged against superman in the paint. He won some battles, but Al and Andris (and also Austin) just would not back down. AB is so good at using his length to tap rebounds to teammates instead of always trying to pull them down. Smart. I like smart basketball. It’s great to have AB back. He looks sharp, strong, and focused.
The only thing that was a bit disturbing was seeing the Ellis express go a little cold and lose a little bit of aggressiveness. But on the other hand, he knew his mates would deliver, and he didn’t try to force it. He played under control and took good care of the ball. Smart.
Speaking of smart, how many times did Baron get good looks at the rim and easy shots by simply being patient and using a change of pace while going to the hoop. Patient, controlled, smart basketball. Besides the great team effort on D and on the glass, Baron’s timely offense was what put us over the hump tonight.
Big props to MP for his ferocious job on the glass tonight… and zero turnovers!
Only 9 turnovers by the W’s, while we turned them over 20 times. Another stat I like: almost 85% from the stripe tonight… I still remember pulling (what’s left of) my hair out after a few of the 50-ish % games back in December. THANK YOU Sidney Moncrief.
I didn’t get to see the game…
check out the youtube user xplor,
he uploads extended highlights of the warriors games…
very very cool
Adam,
I really like the last point about the team maturing. Captain Jack mentioned it in the post-game interview. He said that last year they would have lost their composure and this game.
Agree with SJ Jim that Baron and Jack had that look in their eye. You could see it in the 3rd quarter after every made shot. Monta was frustrated. It reminded me of the playoffs last year. I bet Toronto and Phoenix will see a diffferent Monta.
Jax’s Brain Surgeon, are you out there? Did you catch the 3rd quarter? 14 points from our man, Jax. How bout that early 3 to tie the game? And then another one to push it to 76-65.
By the way, he’s 60-130 (46%) on 3s in the last 18 games.
Oh, did you catch the Denver game? I can’t believe nobody mentioned it. Oh well, I heard Utah led 95-58 at one point.
I’m intrigued by Baron’s hook shot. That’s a move he can go to for the rest of his career, maybe a great in-season addition. It could turn into his go to post move. The work he did on his left over the summer has been evident with all these lefty finishes in traffic.
So the Warriors played 5 games in 7 nights and went 4-1. They had a lot of energy all week and in the second half vs. Orlando. Takes a lot of it to do what Adam described-pushing Howard, closing out on shooters, and keeping them off the glass. I wonder if the lighter schedule in the last 6 weeks, which included the February rest, had anything to do with it. Maybe there’s a difference between playing 16 games in 43 days and playing 27 games in 49 days. The easy win vs. Miami also helped.
Go Warriors. We believe!
Atlanta is now a playoff team!
They beat Miami after losing 4 in a row and just like that, that juggernaut EARNS its way into the elite class of 8 seeds!!!
16 teams clearly head and shoulders above the other 14 in the league.
Oh wait. More playoff teams than not playoff teams?
We’re only in the middle?
Missed the game to hear this woman speak.
Blessed be the lusciousness of victory against the odds!
Exerpt from Ode to the Watermelon
by Aracelis Girmay
“…Sandía, día santo,
summer’s holy earthly,
bandera of the ground,
language of fields,
even under a blade you swing
your quiet scent
in the pendulum of any gale.
Men bow their heads, open-mouthed,
to coax the sugar
from beneath your workdress.
Women lift you
to their teeth.
Sandía, día santo,
yours is a sweetness
to outlast slaughter:
Tongues will lose themselves inside you,
scattering seeds. All over,
the land will hum
with your wild,
raucous blooming.”
Bloom Diddy!
word
Mini-bot - as if BW was ever drafted to guard the Dwight Howards of the league? Are you purposely trying to elicit commentary or are you so in love with your own tripe that you’ll distort facts to suit your argument?
I think Nellie is doing a good job of only putting Brandan Wright into the game when he has a pretty good chance of success…
thats probably one of the reasons why we all love him so much- every time he goes in, he is in a good position to succeed. Also, i think he works well with Webber, cause webber likes to play the high post, b wright prefers the low post. and Webber has got the weight to throw at the bigger guy while B wright can be more free to roam the paint. he is going to be a shot blocking machine.
from Janny Hu, sun 03/09/08:
“They rode momentum to a sweep of the Florida teams for the first time since the 1989-90 season and finished a four-game, five-night set with a 3-1 record to keep pace in the ultra-tough West.”
This has been a nice season for Warriors fans and it almost seems redundant to hear “for the first time since….” We are all familiar with the dark ages aka as the last 13 years. But it sure is nice to be referred back to the days when the team had a good reputation around the league. First round exit or not, the Dubs are definitely making a name for themselves. Of course, Barkley will never show them love, but he’ll never be able to look down and see his feet again, either.
Always good to get a road win against a .500+ team. Warriors actually match up pretty well against Orlando. Overall, we’re far more athletic. We also usually do a good job on low post-only players (DHoward had 9 turnovers in the 1st game) with agressive double-teaming. Our Achilles heel is strong players who can shoot from both high and low posts.
Great post admoney… welcome to the cause. BDiddy is mystical. When his legs are bothering him, like last night, you wonder how he can get it done… but he does. A marvelous player.
Biedrins: Like all fans, I almost always follow the ball when watching a game. There was one player who made me stop and watch him. Dennis Rodman. I truly loved to watch him play defense. I loved seeing him melt Kemp and Malone’s brains in the playoffs.
Biedrins is getting that way for me. This kid is for real. We better lock him up.
Word: I’ve never compared watermelon eating to my favorite activity before…. hmmmmmmmmmm.
Back to your regularly scheduled programming:
Having studied the remaining games for the West, I wound up with a 3-way tie at 49-33 between Phoenix, Dallas and your Golden State Warriors. Here’s how the playoff seeding would work if 2 or more teams wind up tied at the end of the regular season.
Note: If a multiple team tie is reduced to a two-team tie at any point using the below criteria, the two-team tie will be resolved in accordance with the existing two-team tie procedure.
MORE THAN TWO TEAMS TIED
1. If applicable, division champions must be determined first.
Not applicable as Lakers will take the Pacific and the Spurs, Houston or Nawlins will win the Southwest.
2. Better winning percentage in all games among the tied teams.
Currently the Mavs are 3-1, Dubs 2-2, Suns 1-3. Suns & Mavs play each other 1 more time and each plays us twice – so they’ll each have 7 total games while we’ll have 8. Circle the following dates: 3/13 vs. the Suns, 3/30 & 4/2 vs. Mavs & 4/14 vs. Suns. I think this breaks the 3-way tie and pits us against the Mavs for 6th or 7th seed.
3. Better winning percentage against teams in own division (only if all tied teams are in same division).
4. Better winning percentage against teams in own conference.
5. Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs in own conference (including team that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position).
6. Best point differential between offense and defense.
TWO-WAY TIES
1. Results of games against each other.
If Mavs win one of out next two, they get 6th seed. If we beat the Mavs on 3/30 and 4/2, go to the next tiebreaker.
2. Better winning percentage within own division (only if tied teams are in same division).
Not applicable.
3. Better winning percentage against teams in own conference.
Dallas is currently 26-12 in conference, we’re 20-13. Here is where they would clinch the 6th seed.
4. Better winning percentage against playoff opponents in own conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position).
5. Better winning percentage against playoff opponents in opposite conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position).
6. Better point differential between offense and defense.
Based on above tie-breakers, with today’s records vs. each other and % vs. div. & confr., Dallas would be the 6th seed, Warriors 7th and Phoenix 8th.
Yes we CAN haz playoffs!
Impressive analysis, Wbf. Still, I don’t want to think too much about projections, or even upcoming matchups against western conference opponents. Let’s think about Toronto, if you know what I mean. Oh, and let’s make sure we enjoy the ride, however it turns out.
I keep remembering last year when we W’s fans had to keep telling non-fans that the whole 8th seed thing was misleading due to our rejuvenation after “the trade”. We weren’t who people thought we were. I have a similar recurring feeling this year, with regard to the fact that we got off to such a bad start without Jack. Most people will just look at our current W/L record and compare it with Denver or Dallas or whomever, and not realize that we’re realistically good enough to be sitting at something like 42-20 instead of 39-23 right now. Maybe even 43-19. I like it- it’s almost like a secret now, with those opening losses being so long ago. Just like our “worst defense in the league” reputation based solely on points allowed is misleading, our W/L record is a little misleading. If we get into the playoffs, whether we’re an 8, a 7, or a 6, let’s bite someone in the arse again. In fact, let’s do it twice this time.
Ah, the sweet smell of … success. They played a strong second half which gave the W’s another win. You can work up all the stats you want, but it really comes down to watching and appreciating what they do on the court. Andris did a great job of taking care of biz on Howard while Jax and Baron led the charge. This team is more mature than last year and should go further as well.
I take this for granted now, but Adam, you continue to be right on the money. Thanks once again.
Felt-byiotch: congrats on showing the out like a true playa hater. Lose the squareness. Enjoy the Warriors. You’re the kind of cat who should get slapped for rushing to post some smug wackness like that. At the same point BW’s at in his career AH was living in Dale Davis’ garage like a stepchild.
The only mini-gat is this verbal .22 pointed at you.
CC: Chris Cohen.
Tired of it
Anyone notice that the Bobcats have won 5 in a row? This continues a common trend this year that when the nobodies in the league take out our Dubs and we’re all jumpin ship, those same nobody teams are going on a terror against the rest of the league.
I know the loss to JR & his Cats will probably keep NO PLAYOFFS in our blog for the rest of the season but you just can’t deny the only stat that counts. 39 - 23 Baby!!! It says beyond any doubt (no further analysis required) the Dubs are one of the NBA’s best teams. In ANY other season, there would be no conversation about if we will make the playoffs, we would only be discussing if we could earn HC advantage.
I’m really happy with how Nellie has been managing the matchups and PT ever since Boston. Bright Boy didn’t play last night and it was definetly a game he didn’t belong in.
Don’t know about you other blogs but I am so happy to see Buke doing the blue collar stuff again. He doesn’t determine the game or dominate the stat sheet but he is once again becoming my favorite bench player. I am sure happy to have him on the team. He is definitely a keeper.
Feltbot, what’s up wit da whine? Biedrins has got 2 plus seasons on B. Wright and all you want to do is make him look like a punk…
Anyways, way to push the Beast of the East around. He had nothing in the tank for the second half and I mean nothing. Seemed like he wasn’t even in the game. Big ups Dubz. Wow! Coming home 3-1…and to think we should be used to this, lol…good times man….
Ho Ho Ho Yaaaaaaaaa!
Fear da Beard!!!
It looks the Dubs can play fast, and disciplined. The effort almost always pays off in a win, It may not come as second nature to a lot of the players, but Nelson could make a good case that with their present talent, the Dubs could find themselves well into the playoffs by adding discipline, at both ends, to their other skills.
On an *off* night Monta goes for 16 points.
But its clear Monta can only get off if Baron (and Capt Jack) let him.
Baron decided to take this game over and dominated the ball. Dubs win, in a sweet back-back effort.
Royk, I agree. I used the term “smart” basketball, but I think we’re saying the same thing.
Soem, I think part of Monta’s slight decline in aggressiveness/assertiveness was voluntary. There were a number of times in the half court set that he had just a guard between him and the basket, but he chose not to drive. Whether it was due to: a) a perception that the guard (Nelson in most cases?) was going to be tough to get by; or b) that Howard was going to show up and snuff him; or c) a slight decline in confidence after recent games where teams have been collapsing in on him… he definitely opted for fewer attacks when the ball was in his hands. I mean, a week or two ago, he was taking it to the hoop with three or four potential defenders in his way. Anyway, I have no problem with it really, because we still got good shots most of the time, and Baron was feeling it.
Recipe for success: The last two or three games Nellie has kept Barnes off the court more than ever. Addition by subtraction. DEFENSE!
AB: Back!
Monta has every team trying to stop him now with double teams, etc. He is adjusting to that and the specific teams he is playing. Awesome!
Lack of point guard and a great strategy beat the the Magic. Pietris grows up. Nellie is getting it done.
Baron and Jax brought it! Everyone who played chipped in.
Ws will win 52 games at least this year. They would have to have a .500 record to stop at 49. I don’t see that happening. They looked like a playoff team last night to me.
Go Warriors!
After just re-watching the 1st quarter of last night’s game, two things stood out that are contrary to what is so far been written.
1. Dwight Howard abused all the W’s inside the paint on both offense and defense. AB, AH, and AC all took turns racking up fouls and giving up easy baskets. End of the 1st quarter score was 36-27, them. Howard was blocking and changing shots on defense. Making him work so hard and run the whole game and then double-teaming him in the 2nd half took it’s toll on him (George Foreman in the late rounds vs. Ali). Give it up to Nellie on neutralizing another bigman superstar. Good thing BDub was not a part of the 1st quarter abusing or we would never hear the end of it. Although AB is the best defender in the paint that we have and AH draws his man away from the basket, there isn’t any one Warrior who can matchup with the NBA’s elite bigs. That’s OK, because that’s not their game. Nellieball is a unique way of taking the Goliaths down. And it’s entertaining as all hell.
2. While Monta didn’t have his usual 20+ pts., he did keep the W’s in the game in the 1st quarter with an array of efficient baskets. He had 10+ pts. in the 1st 9 minutes of the game. Otherwise, with the way Orlando started out, they may have built an insurmountable lead and could’ve rested Superman more in the early game and had him fresher for when the game was on the line. Sometimes it isn’t so much that M8E loses confidence, than it is that BD and Jack take over so Monta defers.
We won with without 3PT shot, great game plan, great defence and execution. If Cro’s couple of 3pts went in, this would have been a blowout.
Ws really knew their advantages at pt guard, took advantage of it.
Too bad for Ws, competing teams are also winning, Denver and just now Suns have won. Denver still have couple of tough games, hopefully Ws will gain more lead.
The Kings sprung rookie Spencer Hawes on the Lakers tonite. 7 ft. tall, mobile, skilled, good hard-nosed defense on Gasol and Odom, great shot out to 3pt. range.
10th pick in the draft.
Hmmmmm………
Lakers lose at home to Kings…we can get their spot…
Felt at #15 — thanks for the kind words. I’ve been following your contributions with interest as well.
I do have to say that I disagree about BWright — through the fog of years and tequila, my memory of Chris Gatling more resembles a Dampier with good hands… I could certainly be wrong — anyone who can capture Gat highlights and get em up to YouTube should feel free.
Our boy Brandan seems to me to have huge upside. He’s fast, he can handle, he seems bright (BWright?), and he’s almost always in good position. I allow myself the brief reverie of imagining him and Dre with an extra 25 lbs each and two more years of NBA seasoning — and I wake up in a cold sweat! They could rule the key!
And even this year, I expect Brandan Wright to be a positive force in the Dubs’unthinkable run to the Championship!
#29 feltbot—
not sure what your point is since he was not available to the warriors, perhaps you prefer his 3.5 ppg/45%fg/74%ft/2.5rpg to BW 4.2ppg/55%fg/62%ft/3.0rpg.
But then it seems you have only one bone to chew. Spit it out.
The dubs have bought the Nellie package, welcome to the ride. Players are more and more put on the roster to fit the style, so we won’t be playing anything different for a while.
Defensive responsibilities will be difficult to discern, and defensive coaching responsibilities will not be discussed.
The dubs have heart, the front office has moved well for the future, even Nellie-ball is a step forward, but this year is the max for that option.
Even when we match up exactly with an opponent all you hear Nellie say is well, we’re just not big enough to match up. The league and its players evolve forward—that’s the next step for the dubs.