Tipped (Kings 122, Warriors 105)
During their decisive run into the playoffs last Spring, the Warriors rode up to Sacramento and blew the Kings out of their own building, much to the delight of the legions of Warriors fans in attendance. This year, there were still plenty of Warriors fans on hand for Bay Area ex-pat festivities. Unfortunately, the Kings had other ideas. Sacramento is still a cow town, but Tuesday night the Warriors were the cattle and the Kings were doing the tipping.
Sacramento is a much better home team than road team — reminiscent of the Warriors before they matured a bit — so Tuesday’s results aren’t a huge shock. Still, given what’s at stake generally for the Warriors and the specific chance they had to gain ground against the Nuggets and Mavs, the loss is yet another squandered opportunity. Of course, the flipside to that lament is that the team’s loss could have been much worse had their closest rivals managed wins. The loss is a bad one under the “controlling your own destiny” standard, but isn’t a disaster when it comes to the raw win-loss countdown. What concerned me more than the loss was how the team lost.
Crowding Ellis - NBA teams aren’t stupid or blind. They have tapes and pay for people to put their eyeballs in front of them. When the tape rolls on Monta Ellis, it’s clear that he’s less comfortable working when teams get physical with him early. He can handle contact around the basket, but getting bumped before he goes up for the shot can leave him scattered. Often, it’s as if he has a shoot reflex that’s triggered when he gets early-drive contact. Tuesday night it was bump, shoot, miss. I’ll give him a pass given the scary family situation this week, but the fact that the Jazz and other teams have used this strategy to consistently take Monta off his game leaves me more than a little worried. The Warriors had grown to depend so much on him for consistent scoring over the past eight week that they’re sputtering at times without his reliable production.
Opponents moving the ball - Although the Warriors do a good job of ball-hawking in the passing lanes, they typically feast off panic passes — situations when a player is confronted with a double team and throws the ball out in a scramble, allowing a third player to pick it off. When this works, even the best offenses grind to a halt (we saw it earlier this season against the Spurs). When teams make a conscious effort to make quick, decisive passes, however, it often leads to the Warriors woefully out of position. Far too often Tuesday, the Kings made the pass as soon as they saw the help defense starting to move. As a result, the help defender found himself going the wrong direction as Brad Miller, Mikki Moore, or Ron Artest caught the ball for an easy look. There’s not much to do about it — the Warriors defensive style is a gamble and the Kings found a clean way to beat it — other than to be more selective in when to commit. Unfortunately, when the team eased up on the help in the third quarter, the energy level plummeted and the man-to-man defense produced nothing in terms of turnovers. We’ve stressed offensive versatility quite a bit this year — scoring in both the half-court and fast break — but the real key to the Warriors’ success may rest with defensive versatility — being able to shut down teams in both scramble / help situations and straight-up / traditional match-ups.
Offensive passivity - Baron had an awful final few minutes, but spent the first half of the game fighting to keep the Warriors alive. In the third quarter, he appeared to make an effort to get others involved in the game offensively. Unfortunately, no one else seemed up to the task. Andris had a few nice moves to the basket but took himself off the court with his free throw regression. Ellis couldn’t get it going, Jackson struggled to find daylight and Harrington might as well have been on the bench. Somewhere around the mid-point of the third quarter, a dangerous hesitancy appeared in the Warriors’ offense. Nelson is famous for pulling players for the shots they don’t take rather than the ones they do. Although the Warriors were still taking some bad shots, everyone but Davis looked uncomfortable and out of synch. Regardless of what end of the mental spectrum caused the offensive clunkiness — lack of focus or over-thinking — the usually smooth Warriors gears were not turning. I’ll say this quietly to avoid the mockery sure to follow, but Tuesday night made me wish for a healthy Webber (or at least Croshere without the back of a 90 year old). The team needed half-court activity and a willingness to shoot. It eventually found both in Azubuike and Watson, but by the end of the third quarter it was too little too late.
Bright spots - There were a few — Azubuike’s offense and hustle, Watson’s smooth job running the second squad, Wright’s put backs, free throw shooting, and defense — but I’d be lying if I tried to spin the good outweighing the bad in this one. The awful free throw shooting from the starters, Pietrus disappearing, even the petulant look on Baron’s face in the final minutes were all reminders of games (and seasons) past that I’d rather not relive. In this type of blowout you’d love to be able to get some rest, but even that wasn’t the case for Baron, logging 39 minutes. (In fairness, Monta got 28 and Jackson 31.) So, this is one of those nights when I’ll raise my hand and own up to those calls of negativity. There was a lot in this game I’d love to go back and subtract.
The beauty of the NBA is that the next game is never far away. For a banged-up Warriors squad, however, that might be more of a curse than a blessing. The Clippers haven’t been as feisty as the Kings lately, so hopefully the team can bounce-back after letting this one slip away. The Warriors may be inconsistent, but that applies equally to their good and bad play. This team has avoided losing streaks all year long. Given the tremendous competition in the West, now would be an awful time to start one.
You knew we were in trouble in the first quarter when Mikki Moore was looking like the old Shaq out there. Good analysis Adam, though you said in your predictions the King’d be tough to beat at Arco, and at least it was a night in which Denver lost too.
adam says “In this type of blowout you’d love to be able to get some rest, but even that wasn’t the case for Baron, logging 39 minutes.” I would say that BD only played about 30 minutes, so he did get some rest, even though he was on the floor for 39…
and I am not hating on BD either. he was the only consistent scorer on the team.
monta definitely gets a pass for this one game, but eyes should be watching him closely. he didn’t handle the pressure of the playoffs very well last year and is looking very average of late.
i don’t understand how the subs can be put in a game and start closing the gap, and then the coach subs them out and the momentum swings back. nellie should’ve committed to the second unit, win or loss, because they lost anyway…
this loss stings a little more because the warriors were anything but last night. they just laid a terd.
hope they rebound tonight in LA. maybe the energy of march madness can motivate them to play with more passion.
Bring on the Clippers! Come out with fire, crank up the D and forget about this game. W’s 120, clippers 105 prediction.
Monta has not looked like himself lately, he may have a lot on his mind (with his brother being shot) but it looks deeper than that.
Teams are crowding him before he can get them on their heels. I agree with Tim in that Monta does not like it when he’s checked closely (street ball terms “someone gettin in his A$$”).
If he’s going to be effective in the playoffs (if they make it) he has to get space and shake defenders off him. Sometimes that means forcing the action and making the other team foul you for being overly aggressive.
I’m not sure if anyone notices because we get so enamored by his offensive skills, but Monta’s very bad defensively. Nelson had to pull him out early in the 1st quarter because he couldn’t keep up with Martin.
I hate to bash on the guy especially with his family issues, but when Ellis isn’t scoring, he’s really just an undersized combo guard who can’t handle the ball or defend his position.
Adam you might want to replace “Watkins” with “Watson”.
Heard Keith Smart say in a interview once, the reason Nellie didn’t like to put in rookies with a big lead was because he was afraid of breaking the momentum…They feel momentum in the NBA is very fragile & large deficits are easy to overcome…With that said, I guess the converse isn’t true, its apparently OK to put vets back in & ultimately break the momentum…
It would’ve been fun to see the group finish that got them back into the game…This isn’t a slam at the vets, just don’t think Nellie “read the room last night”…He needs to look past his formlaic strategies sometimes…
Side obeservation: Only two Dubs had +numbers last night…both rookies…
Staticmotion - Thanks. “Watkins” is in one of my cases. “Watson” is on my basketball team.
Jackson is trying to hard to generate his offense. he is rushed on his drives isn’t waiting people out in the lane using his craftiness. but in the 4th qtr run he started getting it going. I think Nellie needs to play him with the reserves so he can get a chance to be the 1 or 2 option again, you can tell he’s pressing. dub’s should be alright although a mental monta can send this club in a tailspin, hope all is well with him and his family.
Eh yo, I want to know where each one of the Nuggets was the day Monta’s brother got shot. I don’t know, but they better have tight alibis.
Thank God for TiVo. This was one of those painfully officiated games. 2 fouls called when 2 Sac players fell without contact. Too many whistles; too many bad calls, missed fouls (Buke got fouled 4 or 5 times on one sequence before Artest finally got whistled for fouling Barnes).
Also a painful Dubs performance: Matador defense (especially Monta), piss poor foul shooting, poor coaching……
AND, they still had a chance to win if Nelly had let the come back subs finish the job.
Adam, you did not really discuss the fact that the bench brought the team back to within six points with over six minutes remaining. As soon as the “starters” came back in, we got blown out again. CJW is a much better defender than Monta, which is interesting because they look about the same size.
Let’s face it- when Monta is not scoring, he is a big liability.
I only got to see a little bit of the first quarter last night but what I did see was not a fired up team. That said, even though every game counts, I can live with this one. They know what they have to do, and they’ll get it done. They may get a win where we don’t expect one, or lose when they shouldn’t, but the final outcome will have us in the playoffs. Meantime, they usually bounce back after a loss, so the Clippers game should be a lot more fun than last night.
Wyatt Earp I presume? This is not CSI. Your conspiracy theories are but a light moment in a scary family tragedy. Really no laughing matter.
When we cut a 23-point defecit to single digits, Nellie brought back in our best players (some of the best players in the league), and because it didn’t work out, he made the wrong decision? Maybe wrong in hindsight (although there’s no proof that we wouldn’t have lost by the same margin if he’d left the subs in), but you know what they say about hindsight. If the same thing happens tonight, I want BARON DAVIS with the ball in his hands. Again.
Have to agree with #12 above. I found myself yelling at the TV for Nellie to pull the starters back out at the end and finish with the 2nd team that got us from down 23 to within six with a little more than three minutes left. Not quite sure where his head was at. Didn’t he watch the first forty minutes of the game? Anybody have any clue as to what Nellie was thinking there?
Let’s give Theus and the Kings some credit. They challenged the Dubs to shoot the 3 and it worked. The Warriors have a very difficult time beating the zone, and simply cannot if their not shooting well.
Nellie made a by-the-book coaching move bringing Teddy Pendergrass back in to Get up, Get down, Get Funky, Get Loose. But it was, obviously, the wrong move this time. Baron immediately pounds the ball at the top of the key for 5 seconds an takes a contested (fall-away?) three that misses badly. Next time down he clanks the defensive-3 tech. Looks like his legs weren’t there, but he said in an interview i read yesterday that this is the best he’s felt physically all year. His stats were deceiving, too. He shot 9-18 and 4-5 from the line.
But this one ain’t on Baron or Nellie. Or Kelenna or Beans, even. This one is on the rest of the team who shot a dismal 18-56 (32%) and 3-20 (14%) on threes. Jack, Monta, MB, Pete & AH shot 14-48 (29%).
That’s not gonna get it done.
Silver linings:
KAz warming up and getting more run, Goose playing more & stronger, BWright bringin’ the D and dunking like we haven’t seen since The Beard sh#t all over AK47 last year.
Must win game tonight.
equinox moon
a glimmer of light
hangs on the rim
Jan G-
Have you seen The Wire? This is how it works.
I’m sorry, you’re right- the Nuggets can’t shoot.
#8
Confusing your two lives a little bit? Welcome to my world.
The Kings have a lot of pride and they had an aggressive game plan. It’s how the Utahs and San Antonios of the league usually beat us. Our players are smaller and “softer”. If the jumpshots aren’t falling, we’re in trouble. And the foul calls usually go to the more aggressive team.
Bad news is that the intensity escalates even more in the playoffs. If we get there.
I agree with most commenters who said Nellie should have kept the subs in instead of breaking their momentum. Bad call, Don.
Overall the team seems to have had emotional letdown since the Phoenix loss. They barely squeaked by Memphis. Now this. They need to snap out of it soon. Can’t always depend on Denver losses to save the day.
Actually, Word (#17), the Kings DEFENDED the three pointer and tried to control the boards. MOst of the game, they succeeded on the glass.. They pressured, closed out, and face-guarded the Warriors’ singular offensive strategy very well and we had no clear Plan B.
As I’ve said all year.
Hope no one else around the league was watching.
Well, I’m seeing that most people disagree with me, but I think giving Baron the ball with a game on the line is a no-brainer. Jackson taking shots down the stretch (regardless of how badly he may have shot earlier in the game) is another thing that has helped to bring us to the level we’re at. It’s easy to criticize Nellie because it didn’t work out, but he did the sensible thing. In my humble opinion. What kind of message would it have sent to our leader to leave him on the bench with the game on the line? Also, I’m not sure how everybody can be so sure the subs would have maintained the comeback momentum and been able to pull this game out. Hindsight. 20/20. Anyway, full credit to Sacramento for a very good performance from start to finish.
SJ Jim…You make good points & I don’t think its necessarily disagreement. Just think its good to ride the “Hot hand”, usually thats Baron, but in this case it was the second string. For my money it was a positive that the Dubs didn’t give up & clawed their way back in it…and it would’ve been “fun” to see how the comeback group would’ve finished up…
Of course if Nellie had left them in & they still lost…we would be saying why didn’t he put Baron back in…thats what makes the blog go around…
I too was frustrated when the first team was sent in after the subs got us back within 6. Why not keep them out there and see what they can do? The starters had their chances and didn’t do a whole lot. If the 3’s weren’t falling, you knew Sacto was was going to pack the middle. And with no one able to cut to the basket, or any fast break baskets off of a neutralized defensive effort, all we had was Baron hoisting 3’s and missing at the end. Why stop the run?
The Warriors are a team that feels if it can keep it close at halftime, it can turn it on in the second half and pull out the V. This leads to either deficits in the first half or trading baskets, with little D, as we saw last night. The danger in this, beyond allowing a beatable team to hang around, is that it allows the fringe players to get rolling and have All-Star nights against the Ws. This is not news to anyone on this blog, but it remains a sore spot that must get remedied if they are to stand any chance down the road. Anthony Johnson? Mikki Moore? I guarantee that their next game will not yield half of what they did against the Ws. I was actually thinking how much better it would have been had Bibby been there still to ball hog with Artest. The Kings were simply the better team last night.
I agree Oldfan, it would have been interesting to see if the subs could have pulled it out. On the other hand, considering how important is to win these games, I sure understand Nellie’s decision.
“Of course if Nellie had left them in & they still lost…we would be saying why didn’t he put Baron back in…”
An understatement. People would be screaming at Nellie. And, Baron (and Jack) would not be happy about it. To me it’s an unthinkable scenario.
We’re at the point in the season where a message to Baron has to take a back seat to winning the game. It’s simple. The reserves brought the team back to within six and were still gaining on Sacramento. You just don’t change the psychology at that point by entirely altering the offensive game. Bring in Baron and he becomes the focal point. He’s not a guy who will simply fall in with the flow; he has to dominate. So suddenly you have the same offensive scheme that hadn’t worked all night before, and lights out, the party’s over.
I’m not saying that I’m sure that the reserves would have won the game. Too many times in the NBA a big run to catch up or nearly catch up is followed by the other team begin making some shots again and pulling away. But to have an exciting vibe that’s successful to that point and to just throw cold water on it - that wasn’t smart. The obvious approach would have been to let the subs go until they bogged down and started losing a little ground - if they did - then bring back the starters and hope that they could generate a new spark.
And again we see what an exciting, game-changing talent Brandan Wright is. Are we going to get a comment by Nelson that he was mistaken about BW, once again, this time by not continuing to use him in games?
Just because it’s fun to argue this (no offense to anyone or their opinions)…
“We’re at the point in the season where a message to Baron has to take a back seat to winning the game. It’s simple.”
Help me out here… is there a precedent for last night’s situation? Is it really that simple? I don’t think so. Baron is our heart and soul. You don’t send him a message that you no longer trust him to help you win.
“Bring in Baron and he becomes the focal point. He’s not a guy who will simply fall in with the flow; he has to dominate.”
Does he usually dominate? Do we usually win with him? Yes.
“I’m not saying that I’m sure that the reserves would have won the game. Too many times in the NBA a big run to catch up or nearly catch up is followed by the other team begin making some shots again and pulling away. But to have an exciting vibe that’s successful to that point and to just throw cold water on it - that wasn’t smart.”
How was Nellie supposed to know that the water was going to be cold? How many times have Baron and Jackson heated up when it really mattered at the end of games? How many times have the subs in question done the same?
The point is that basketball is a game best played with emotion. You ride your runs as far as they will take you. Don’t you see that bringing in Baron stopped the existing psychology - one that was working - in its tracks? It completely changed the Warriors’ game. As a matter of fact, any other starter would have been less disruptive to the flow. What would have been the problem with seeing if the reserves could have continued their emotional play, and if not, then bringing back the starters?
SJ Jim, my final thoughts on this…I think you’re misinterpreting Wilson? He seems to simply be saying that Baron’s style of play might have changed the rhythum of what was working for the already heated up reserves??
Also you seem to be implying that Baron would have been upset about not being put back in? IMO Baron’s a team guy(with a little bit of hero-complex), that would have loved it if the reserves could’ve brought home a win.
No one including me predicted that Ws will lose to Kings except for Adam. I don’t know how he got it right. A 2.5 separation would have been great. But we are still in driving seat with 1.5 sepration. Now only hope Ws win and DEN lose today to suddenly hot phillies.
Philly beat DET on road and SA at home last few days. Hope, they keep the momentum. Go Philly !! And yes, Go Ws !!
Play BWright
I seem to remember Nellie doing the same thing in another game earlier this season where Baron, Jax and the other starters were not doing well at all. The bench comes on, gets us back in the game, and then he put the starters back in hoping they would finish the job only to lose the momentum and the game by a wide margin. It’s his call, but it might have been a different result if he left those guys in a little longer.
Wilson, I see your point, I just don’t think that bringing Baron in (with the idea of taking the momentum, taking the game by the scruff of the neck, and trying to finish Sacramento off) was a bad idea. I do agree that Nellie could (not necessarily should, but could) have waited a bit longer to see how much more the subs could have done.
Oldfan, I think I understood Wilson (hopefully the above paragraph helps to explain my thinking). As for the idea of leaving Baron on the bench in that situation, I’ll ask again- is there a precedent you can think of? That is, when is the last time you can remember us winning down the stretch in a close game with Baron sitting on the bench (healthy enough to go)? He may be a “team guy”, but looking at it from another angle, some might say he IS the team (the engine, at least). He’s got plenty of ego, and he’s earned the right to be handed the keys in those situations. A player like that isn’t going to be satisfied with being left out at crunch time. I just can’t imagine Nellie telling him “I didn’t think you could help us win that game”. Inconceivable to me.
Hey I predicted a loss…sort of.
BWright looked awesome. Great dunk, great swat. He needs to be playing more. Our team too many times lacks energy and hustle. BWright brings that in spades so I don’t know why he can’t get 20 minutes a game.
Barnes is having possibly the worst non injury contract year of all time. He is not playing like an NBA quality player.
BoomDizz frustrates me man. He can get into the lane at will for either a layup or a dish but at the end of the game, when we were CLOSE, he just started jackin up threes. Still love the big lug but come on man! You have Anthony frikkin Johnson guarding u and Brad Stiffler guarding the rim, take it to the rack man!
On a lighter note, I don’t think our defense was THAT bad. In the 3rd quarter where most of the damage was done, the Kings were just on fire. They were hitting some low percentage, highly contested shots, especially Artest. They just got in the zone and we couldn’t keep up.
Kings are a player away from being serious playoff contenders so this wasn’t a terrible loss. Still hurts but doesn’t majorly suck.
Mully,
According to Greatest Hits Collector, the Kings suck and have no business being in the same league as the Warriors. And that was before they traded Mike Bibby.
Their record speaks for itself.
Their head to head mauling of a supposed playoff team does not.
Jeez.
#29,
Baron little bit of hero-complex ??
It is an understatement.
I love Baron’s game and there are something I wish he doesn’t do or show. His presence on the floor is immense, can’t name more than 5 players in NBA right now with the same presence. That said, I would love to have Baron not show that hero-complex, not shoot those fade-away(sideways especially), keep passing the ball to hot guys etc..
But in all, he is the caliber of the player Ws not had for over a decade. If we can have couple of more seasons like this, BDavis should be talked the same way we talk about CWebb resurrecting Kings.
The extremely streaky Warriors have a bad shooting night and suddenly we’re throwing our great whiskered leader under the proverbial bus. What gives?!
Baron got cold at an inopportune time, but he did not lose this game. We need to be praising JAH that we have Baron Davis. C’mon now!
“BWright brings that in spades so I don’t know why he can’t get 20 minutes a game.”
I think it’s because he can’t really guard anyone. The more atheletic 3’s take him off the dribble. The traditional 4’s and 5’s pound him instead. I don’t doubt the energy or blocks (help defense) but 20 minutes a night would make him a liability on D (like they need that even more).
“That said, I would love to have Baron not show that hero-complex, not shoot those fade-away(sideways especially)”
I agree, but if the game’s on the line, Baron can do whatever he wants.
Baron was a bright spot on offense in the first half, though he was moving at half speed much of the night. Testament to his talent, that was enough to get points off of the Kings early on.
I think the major difference in this game in terms of individual performance, if that’s a worthwhile critical avenue, would have to be Stephen Jackson neither defending nor scoring against Ron Artest successfully most of the night.
When Jackson had his best runs, it seemed to be him and the B Squad while Kevin Martin, Brad Miller and/or RonRon got their rest.
Artest and Johnson were in Jax and Barnes’ heads, respectively.
Matt had to smack an aging B List trade throw in Anthony Johnson on a timeout because he was so frustrated by the vet’s talk and play.
Anthony Johnson abused Baron Davis. Anthony Johnson?!
Where is CWebb? Nellie Genius Meter: Low until tonight.
Big can to be opened up tonight.
We storm the Caveman-less Clippettes. Pillage. Trounce. Dominate. Destroy.
Just curious why can B. Wright play on the floor the same time as Biedrins. At least we could expect some interior defense. Sometimes Nellieball just drives me up a wall.
Jazone,
You’re tripping. Him and Biedrins are the only ones that play defense on this team now. Everyone else stands around and slaps at the ball while their man is going to the hole. Bwright plays the pick and roll better than most people on this team. He challenges every shot and has had his fair share of blocks already this year. It’s painfully obvious that this team just plays better when he’s on the floor.
If you want to talk liabilities you have to talk about Pietrus, Barnes, Harrington, and Buike to a lesser extent. Each of those guys are prone to very stupid things on the court and all are defensive liabilities. Pietrus may get a nice block or steal and have a nice stretch here or there but he just fouls way too much to be considered a good defender. Standing in the corner while offensive rebounds bounce in front of him is irritating as well. When given playing time it becomes clear that BW has produced way more consistently than those 4 guys. He may get outmuscled sometimes but he definitely makes up for it with his speed and length. You say he gets burnt? Well who else on our team has swatted the hell out of Durant and Joe Johnson? Who else has the potential to do that on our team even? Once again he gets put in because of a desperate situation and once again he delivers, contributing heavily to getting us back in a game Nellie had given up on. And yes this is the guy Nellie proclaimed wasn’t ready. I love our record I love that we finally matter but seriously guys the blind support for Nellie must be fading. No defensive commitment, countless letdowns, curious rotations, terrible game management(where’s the timeouts?), and now our team is fatigued. I think we have an excellent chance to make the 2nd round but that’s it. We’ll be totally worn down by then.
And one other thing, I hate this underdog/lack of respect bs Nellie tries to spin. We are a very very talented team. I know we sucked before but take a look at our roster. We’ve obviously shown we can beat the better team in this league playing total streetball offense and defense. Then we turn around and lose critical games to far lesser competition because of our lack of discipline. Phil Jackson would have this team as a top 4 seed. He would play the guys that deserve to play. We will be much better once Nellie leaves.
CC
You’re right, their record DOES speak for itself, as in 21-12 at home. They’ve beaten Detroit, San Antonio, Utah, Houston, Orlando, Dallas, New Orleans, and LA at home. Is that enough contenders for you?
I’m not denying it was a tough loss, it was. But was it a crushing loss? I don’t think so. Sac has quality players, which I pointed out BEFORE the game, and they have a great home court advantage.
Plus this is the team you pimped before they went on a bad run so I’m guessing you’re closer to agreeing with me than not, so personally I don’t understand the basis of your beef.
Jeeza Louisa.
44,
“Phil Jackson would have this team as a top 4 seed. He would play the guys that deserve to play. We will be much better once Nellie leaves.”
I disagree, Nellie is milking as much and more than the sum of talent. And PJackson, unless he has a Kobe kind of player in the team, he will not even coach.
46
I respect your opinion and you may be right with the Phil Jack observation. However, when you lose to subpar teams or have to squeek out victories against bad teams to me that’s not milking talent. If this had happened only once or twice during the season that’s definitely forgiveable. But it’s happened way too much to just ignore it, especially when we’re locked in the closest playoff race in a very long time where every win is important. A good team can gameplan their way to victory very easily against us in the playoffs. It’s frustrating because it doesn’t have to be that way. Hopefully Nellie will give up the reigns. The players love him, but a big reason is he lets them do whatever the hell they want, unless you’re a talented rookie.
A loss categorically but a victory for the bench’s psyche. Down 23 points and still playing against the Kings’ starters was great to see. They closed the gap to 6 points. I was very impressed.
As for Baron coming in for the final minutes to try and steal this game from the Kings, it’s a move I believe all NBA coaches would do. Believe me, I wished Nellie had let the bench keep going since Nellie pretty much “tipped” his king over and accepted defeat.
But what if Baron came back in like gangbusters and scored 6 points and had 3 assists and 3 steals?
Nellie’d be a genius. And w/ Baron, that’s the stat line you’d bank on more often than missed free throws and 3 point attempts. You can’t blame Nellie for that move.
As for the starters, a disappointment for sure. Correct me if I’m wrong, but when the Ws are blowing teams out, Baron’s scoring is not that high and his assists are in the double digits. But when he scores in the 30’s, it’s usually a close game or a loss.
This is not all his fault, when he becomes a scorer the rest of the team start to become spectators. Or even worse, they have a hard time getting in a groove themselves. The Warriors as a team, are made up of streaky players from the bench up to Baron, maybe w/ the exception of AB and Monta, although they seem to have hit a wall themselves. So Baron, as a leader, needs to get his teammates going by making them active and alert. Get their adrenaline going. Because when they don’t get touches early, they become passive and hessitant in all they do.
Back to the bench: Kelena’s back!!! BW is going to be a stud next year. I like CJW but he still defers too much. The coaches told him to be aggressive but he’s not doing it enough.
Predictions: Baron plays 44minutes and we win by 5pts.
I agree w/ #46.
Phil Jackson will only coach a team that has an MJ or a KB.
There’s some coaches who love turning teams around. Like a Larry Brown or a Don Nelson.
Phil’s not one of them.
regardless, if he coached our team our record would be way better. We already made the turn, now we need to take it to the next level and that’s where philosophy and approach become more important. Goin to the elite level is much tougher than turning a team around IMO.
Kings in Arco have beaten this year the Spurs, the Rockets, Utah twice, the Lakers, Orlando, the Pistons, New Orleans…you get the picture. Not a horrendous loss. But still a winnable game and it means there’s less margin for error now.
It’s such a tough conference, and the best way to play these games is intensely and with a sense of fun. It’s easy to get tight, and our guys don’t play well tight.
This is clear, if Jackson and Monta have crappy shooting nights we’re not going to win.
Ay!!! I hadn’t read Mully’s post at 45 listing the Kings’ home wins.
Don’t I feel superfluous.
Don’t sweat it Otis, it’s still good info, even if for a second time.
BTW - why was Baron shooting the technical FT at the end and not Jackson, who was in the game? Bad decision, whoever made it.
If Phil Jackson were our coach…
If we hadda got KG…
If we didn’t start 0-6…
GROUCHO: “You know, I’d buy you a parachute if I knew it wouldn’t open.”
CHICO: “Haha you’re crazy, I got a pair of shoes.”
Bwright Believer,
I don’t really want to argue too much about this since I really like Wright. I never questioned his potential, but if you were to put him on the floor 20 minutes a game like someone suggested, you’ll see teams pick on him defensively.
By the way, Baron and Jackson are the anchors of this team defensively. When we’re playing well it’s usually fueled by their defensive efforts (even though Baron takes a few possessions off here and there). Biedrins is key as well but it starts with the Baron and Jackson.
Phil Jackson will only coach a team that has Jeanie Buss . . .
Wordbfree- Marxism has its place.
“I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. What he was doing in my pajamas, I’ll never know.”
What we have established about Phil is that he is one smart man.
Why would BWright get picked on, because he’s skinny? Do alot of teams pick on Tayshaun Prince? His wingspan, speed, and timing more than makeup for any strength deficiencies he might have. During their 4th quarter surge last night, which player made the most impact. I’d argue that it was BWright providing the energy, hustle, and CLUTCH FREE THROW SHOOTING that the rest of the team seems allergic to. Will he make mistakes? Of course, but will they be any worse than MP’s, Barnes, or Harringtons? I doubt it. The reward far exceeds the risk in this situation. I say we play him 15020 minutes a game and he’ll be a force in the playoffs, kind of like Tayshaun his rookie year against the Pacers.
* 15-20
Jazone,
All good thanks for the civility. I just think our defense is so horrendous that all our guys are getting picked on defensively. Sadly that includes Baron and Jack for long stretches of games. BW is our best shotblocker already and he has the ability to change momentum. And we are a team that can go lose our defensive intensity and focus for very long periods of time. If he were on the floor I would still probably attack others first and definitely be more wary when I get to the rack. 3 backdoor alleyoops to the same guy is almost high schoolish to me.
Yes, BW would get pushed around and make rookie mistakes if he played more. All rookies go through this. But he has risen to the occasion, regardless.
Yes BW would challenge/change/block more shots than anyone else the Ws have.
Yes, BW would stop some of the bleeding caused by the smurf players on the boards. On one play last night the Kings had something like 5 or 6 offensive boards on one possession. BW was the tallest W on the floor at the time.
Yes BW would score points. The more he plays, the more he scores.
Yes, BW would learn to play his game better against the bigs. He needs to play to do that. He needs to learn every player in the league, or at least the division, this year. He won’t do that on the bench.
Yes, BW has an effect on the game that transcends his stats. Its called talent.
Yes, BW will not be the Ws savior this year. But who would you rather have out there, BW or MB?
Yes, BW and AB together would give the Ws at least a semblance of a front line, and it would only get better. We know how smurf ball does as a full time strategy. How about something different.
The lost to the Kings must be on Nelson. He knew that we need a type of player like Webber since last year yet the Warriors organization were not able to find one except Webber himself.
Knowing that he has not Webber type of player he should have develop another types of plays that fits BW and AB. Why they have stop training on free throws?
Nelson, small ball will not give results. You can not say that you do not have the players to do it. You kill their legs and you have not develop/trust your youngsters to do the this job.
Look how the Piston uses their youngters. Look how Boston builds its bench. These teams prepare themself to be champions. While the Warriors do nothing.It is even worse, Nelson, you do not use what the team has. This is your weakest point Nelson to be a great coach and get a championship while you are a coach.
Tired @ #62…
Today on KNBR Fitz was saying he asked Nellie about playing BW & AB together. Basically Nellie told Fitz he couldn’t because he likes to spread the floor with 3 point shooters & it would jam up the paint so BD, Monta & Jax would have a tougher time driving…So doubt we’ll see much of them together…
And yes our resident “namecaller” made just that point several threads back…and I’m sure he’ll pop-up any minute now to roast Brandon…
That Fitz had to ask Nellie why he wouldn’t put two non-three point shooters on the floor at the same time and that Nellie defended it by saying Baron and Jackson needed open keys to shoot their dumb three pointers over is just more all-too-available evidence that
1. Fitz is an idiot.
2. Nellie is drunk and senile.
Or something a little less hyperbolic but in this general vein.
#56 & 58
…and we all know Jeanie is the kind of girl that always celebrates March 14th with gusto.
#65. CC, right on. Now you see it in black and white. Our god has spoken. The strategy is to shoot threes so they can drive. Well, we knew this, but now it is clear there is no plan B. I guess Dirk was the ultimate big man for Nellie. With him he could put another one under the basket. Guess we will have to find another 7 footer to shoot threes.
Talk about myopic. Solve one problem and create three or four more. Good idea. Not.
So there it is. Apparently there is NO other way to get to the basket other than playing small ball and drawing the other team out and keeping our guys out of the way. This might have worked before there were ZONE DEFENSES allowed and teams were forced to play man to man defense under the threat of penalty shots. But then, that was just recently changed, right? Only a few years ago. No time to figure out a new plan yet, I guess. (And it would help if we had some real 3 point shooters on the team.)
Am I impressed with the genius of Nelson’s plan? I WAS impressed with the genius of Bill Walsh. But then he didn’t plan to use all players under 200 pounds to out run the other team into submission. He won with young and older players and with the run and the pass. He new that there were matchups you just can’t get around and he got the players to make those matchups. He knew enough to hire some of the best assistants ever and let them do their job. Nellie just doesn’t quite measure up to that.
Come on, all you Nellie apologists. Make sense of this to me. I want to believe. I am afraid, however, that none of you can convince me that this so-called strategy will ever bring more than a quick exit from the playoffs, if that. And it may mean a big exit of players who don’t want to play center when they are 6,9 or 6,7.
If you can’t adjust, you can’t win. The other teams are the ones doing the adjusting.
Maybe next time they will ask him how we are supposed to get rebounds when the other team has three people taller and bigger than our tallest on the floor. Or, how does giving up easy baskets to mediocre big men by not having anyone to contest them fit into the big picture? How does that work again? I forget.
Somehow, I think I have heard his answers before. They sound good when he says them, don’t they. Remember that old story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes?” Look it up.
Nellie is stuck on stupid.
Nellie’s three point strategy would be a winner if he had really good three point shooters. He doesn’t. Harrington and Jackson are average. In the fourth quarter Jackson and Baron are pretty good, Harrington is pretty bad. Pietrus and Barnes haven’t been good this year on threes and Azubuike hasn’t gotten much playing time. Belinelli might be that deadeye three point shooter but we won’t know until next year.
I think the real reason that Brandan isn’t getting any playing time now is that Nelson doesn’t want to look like an idiot for overlooking him.
A smart coach will try various approaches to see what works. Try small ball, try tall ball, try POB, BW, Belinelli, and AJ Watson, try BW + AB. Try stuff for brief periods in the first halves of games. Not everything you try will work, but some will, and maybe you’ll find a player or combination of players that will give your team a different approach when the usual game plan isn’t going well. It’s frustrating that Pietrus, Barnes, and Harrington have gotten playing time regardless of performance, and Brandan can’t get playing time regardless of performance.
this update is brought to you by: “Nelli Ball, sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t”.
with 2 minutes left in the fourth, Denver 110-110 Philly.
another update for some of you that are scoreboard watching.
with 50 seconds left in the last period, Denver 113-113 philly. nail bitter
32 seconds left…. philly takes a 115-113 lead.
GO 76ERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11 SECONDS LEFT SAME SCORE!!!!
ladies and gentlemen we have a winner……. final score PHILLY 115-113 DENVER.
yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
i love this game!
Let’s all just observe a moment of silence for the Miami Heat:
http://www.nba.com/games/20080319/MIATOR/boxscore.html
I have a good feeling about the Warriors tonight. I just dropped 8 straight 3-balls and 12 of 15 out in the driveway. It’s gonna rain in LA tonight. Eff the scoreboard, the Dubs are gonna set the Staples roof on fire.
The roof, the roof…
Denver doesn’t want the 8th seed either, huh? Naw, Sixers are playing well, they remind me of the Kings in that their tough at home.
#74- whatever you are doing in your driveway, don’t stop doing it. 3s are raining in the staples
Let’s look at it this way:
Houston was down 21 pts in the start of the 4th quarter to celtics, I already knew they lost the game.
GSW down 23 pts in the start of the fouth quarter, I think “warriors run and gun and play nellieball, they’re catch up in no time, 12 mintues don’t faze the warriors”
Back to Houston game, still down, an answer from boston for every bucket by houston.
Flip back to the warriors, WHAT we’re only 6 pts down???
This proves to me something, Nellie MUST be doing something right. His style of ball, is fast and forces other teams to T.O. the ball. If the warriors are down by 2 digits, throughout the whole game, I don’t get worried until there are 5 mintues left in the game. We play so fast paced taht 21 pts doesn’t seem like anything. But for teams like the spurs, or jazz or houston; 20+ pts are too much for them to comeback form during the 4th quarter.
Yes Nellie’s a little boneheadish for putting in Baron, but what coach WOULDN’T? Baron’s consistent and trustworthy, I’m not saying the bench isn’t but during these games where we CAN’T afford to lose, it’s okay to put Baron in right? Nellie’s not being messed up to the bench or anything, because i think if we were the 6th seed and locked in for a PF spot, he’d let the ench continue to play. So Nellie isn’t wrong for putting baron in.