In and Out (Warriors 86, Mavs 111)
At various points through this long, winding, wild season, we’ve told ourselves not to panic. There were always more games, excuses, and reasons for hope. With seven games left, those stories won’t work any more. It’s panic time. One year later the Dallas Mavericks have upended the story of their bitter playoff defeat: Dirk is now the hero, Jackson is now the goat, Avery has all the answers, Nellie is grasping at straws. And above all, the Mavs are in the post-season, the Warriors are out. There’s no denying that it has been one hell of a fun ride. Unless the Warriors manage the miraculous, however, we should start coming to terms with that ride ending sooner than we expected or hoped.
Reader Passion Man suggested that I hold the analysis for this game because the details don’t matter. With the season on the line, the team looked as lifeless as we’ve seen them since they started 0-6. After nursing dreams of playoff runs, it looks like we may leave this season as we entered it. Out of pure frustration and disappointment, I’m tempted to leave it here.
Instead, I’ll hold my fire with these three general points:
The Warriors played their best basketball this year and last when they moved the ball, found open shots, and spread the court. For the second game in a row, we’ve collapsed into one-on-one basketball with little to no movement. You can put a lot of the blame on Baron and Monta, but the broken down and tired state of most of our rotation players also has to be considered. Moving without the ball takes energy, as does driving to the basket. The Warriors appear to have largely stopped doing either. All those missed lay-ups and tips? The lasting legacy of 70+ games of heavy minutes at breakneck speed. I don’t think it’s coincidence that two of our best players these past 10 or so games (Pietrus, pre-injury, and Azubuike) spent a good chunk of the season not playing. But whoever you blame, my overwhelming emotion is disappointment. When the Warriors got everyone involved in the run-and-gun game, it was beautiful and thrilling. We haven’t even seen the ghost of that style of game in the past 48 hours.
The Warriors’ defense, like their offense, relies on relentless energy. Players have to switch at the same speed or faster than their offensive counterparts can exploit the changes. The passing lanes need to be covered at the same time as opposing players. Guys aren’t free to just sit at the rim or lean on their men. Everyone has to move all the time. Far too many times over the past two games, we’ve seen players simply not moving. Whether it’s giving up on a switch, refusing to run out at an open shooter, or even step in front of a driving player - the effort is gone. The Spurs’ offense and Jason Kidd’s passing skills operate in tough situations with few errors. The Warriors didn’t even manage to put them under pressure. Both had their way against us, to the point of embarrassment.
Last year our confidence carried us into the playoffs, then the second round, when few believed we could. This year, our confidence may be our downfall. Somewhere it appears we crossed over into hubris, believing we could turn it on and off at will. In fairness, we did exactly that many times this season, pulling out amazing wins. Unfortunately, against the best teams in the league fighting for playoff positioning, that type of effort won’t get it done. You can only come back from so many double-digit deficits. We wasted our comeback magic against the Heats and the Griz of the league. Unfortunately, it looks like there’s nothing left.
So, now what? After watching so many missed defensive assignments and shots going halfway down only to bounce out, I’m very tempted to put this season in the ground. Despite that urge, however, I think we’ve gone way too far to bail out now. We’ve talked about the problems above all season. We’ve known that they could sink us. It’s up to the team now to prove us wrong. They’ve earned 82 games to make their case. April 17, we’ll judge them.
awww, Adam I really enjoy your analyses.
I won’t jump too far ahead though I know the end of the season is coming up quick… So let’s take it one game at a time… Let’s see how the guys do in Memphis.
No good at all. Painful to watch. Especially harrington trying to drive. The man has to play within his game. Not that he was the biggest problem or anything, but all his dumb shenanigans really bothered me.
We don’t deserve to be in if we can’t beat a healthy Mavs team or a healthy Nuggets team. If we don’t win on 4/10, I don’t even want to be in the playoffs. It’d be like we cheated.
I want to write some things that made me happy during the game, in hopes that writing the positives will cheer me up. Brandan Wright can jump about two feet above the hoop. Also, I don’t think any mavs player made a shot when Brandan jumped out at them with his ridiculously goofy snake arms. And Monta Ellis can secretely shoot threes. God just doesn’t want anyone to know so the warriors can sign him for cheaper next year. And by cheaper I mean at around 9 mil/season. I’m not trying to rip the kid off or anything.
Tough game to comment on. Because if we believe our eyes and our brains, then we know it’s over. Yes, it was a back-to-back. Yes it was the 4th game in 5 nights (or close - I’ve lost track). But it simply looked like a very tired team. And it’s not that they can’t come back from this. It’s that they have to be almost perfect - tired or not.
In my book, this does not go down as a bad season, no matter what. Warriors are improved over last season.
But if the energy tonight is all that’s left, I almost think it’s better to get the lottery pick, and hold our heads high as a winning team in an inbalanced/fluke year. (3 Sacramento level teams making East playoffs).
There, I said it!
I want to say again that I am not a fan of Mr Ellis. Yes, he can score often and alot but his defense is rapidly slipping to a dangerous level.
Actually, I want to go back to my early complaint about Nellie not playing big guys especially Biedrins in extended minutes. Biedrins has not been allowed to play under Nellie’s system this year. Then other bench players also were ignored by Nellie.
The big 3 of Ellis, Jax, Davis are tired. Jackson is not 100% healthy w/ injured foot.
The W’s must win in Memphis AND NO or the season is over. It will be Nellie’s fault if they dont make the playoff. If Nellie does not trust his bench, he should have told Mully to find him different bench players.
It’s hard to be too down on the Warriors. After suffering through the lean years, I vowed I’d be happy as long as the Warriors were a winning team. Unfortunately, this year, that’s not enought to make the playoffs. What team doesn’t have a little rough stretch in the course of a regular season? We just lost 2 games in a row for the first time since January. We’re 15 games above .500. We still have a chance at the playoffs, but if we don’t we’ll be the best team in history not to make the playoffs. Heck, at least we’d make history 2 years in a row.
Of course is Nellie fault and he will accept it too. No bench no playoff. Many of us were dreaming that the Warriors can play all the way with 6-7 man rotation. It is completely ridiculous to expect the starters to win for the whole season and then the playoff.
You have to play your bench to get a bit further. It is a lot better to lose a season knowing what you bench can do for the team than to lose a season and not knowing what your bench can do for the team.
Before rushing to blame and find faults, let’s put things in perspective: The dubs may be the best team ever who didn’t make the playoffs.
Seriously. Can a 50-win season be considered as a failure? We’re going to have about 7 more wins than last season. This is a major improvement!
The fact that the West has an unusual situation this year should not distort the reality, that the Dubs have made significant improvement this year, despite the short-term price of letting J-Rich go.
I wouldn’t even rush to blame the front-office for the J-Rich trade. Without that trade, the W’s would have made the playoffs, because he would have contributed much more this year than Wright. But you could not foresee that at trade time. If Mullin knew that 50 wins will not be enough for the playoffs, he may have not done this trade. But we cannot judge a decision based on facts that were unknown at the time.
Also, in that case (not trading J-Rich last year), the dubs would have faced a crisis at the end of this year - no cap room to sign both Monta and Andris.
Now the dubs don’t have to let anyone go. There’s cap space for all free agents to come back, they’re all maturing, getting better, and learning how to play with each other.
If we improved this year from 42 to 50 wins, next year will likely be in the 55+ wins. I know, anything less than a championship is a disappointment, but when we look at the big picture, lets remember how many great games and wins we had this year and keep the hopes for the future.
Seeing as how the Warriors will have the most wins of all the lottery-eligible teams, they will own the 14th pick f the draft. What a prize! Well, maybe the ping-pong balls bounce our way or Mully makes a brilliant pick. Rather than be in a constant battle for 8th seed in a very strong western conference, maybe the Warriors should sign/trade Baron Davis, also trade Jax and Harrington and build around the core of Ellis, Biedrins, Wright, Azubuike and Bellinelli. Take our lumps for a year and aim for the future. Either that or depend on a helter-skelter style of ball to try to sneak into the playoffs year after year.
It’s not over ’til it’s over. I don’t care whether or not the W’s beat the Nuggets. If they get to the playoffs on paper they get there.
We’ll know it’s over if the Grizzlies take us out.
I think that our guys getting a day off between games will change the energy level.
Passion Man,
I appreciate your positive outlook.
That was really sad, and difficult to watch. I feel so bad for the players and coaches. It’s not like they don’t want to win, as they want to win even more than we want them to win. But when you haven’t got the energy, you haven’t got it.
I feel they have worked incredibly hard this year. They have had a great season, as have we. I can’t believe the number of fun and exciting games we saw this year (I watched every game that was on TV). So much entertainment for so little money! And we still have a chance at the playoffs. In this weird year of over .500 basketball for most of the conference, I feel we have had a great season. Now let’s hope we gain some energy, pick ourselves off the floor (players and fans), and finish with a bang! Playoffs are still possible.
The bench is getting a lot of the blame this year, which is the reverse of last year. With all the injuries we had in 2006-07, it was the bench players who kept us alive until the starters came back. MP, Barnes and AZ were huge as we battled without J-Rich and Baron at various times. This year those players have been inconsistent forcing Nellie to play with a short rotation. The Jackson suspension put us deep in the hole all year which is why each game was so important to win. Nellie kept telling us he played the guys he needed to in order to insure victory each night. He knew the guys would wear down but he felt he had no choice. Had he gone with the young guys more and lost a couple of extra games, we would still be looking up from the 9th or 10th spot.
I give huge credit to BD, Jack and Monta for playing at such a high level considering all the minutes they have logged. They rank in the top 22 players for most minutes per game and the top 30 in total minutes played. That’s insane! Looking at those stats further, The Spurs and Detroit have zero players at that level and Boston only one. Look at the quality of the depth these teams have and it is no wonder that San Antonio and Detroit have dominated the league the last few years and that Boston has risen this year. Iverson leads both categories and Denver as a team is still a disappointment.
Our guys are truly Warriors, but Nellie/Mully really need to bring in more depth next year with quality role players. Our bench has been loaded with guys who Nellie was never going to play. POB, Kosta, Belli and Lasme took key spots and never brought worthwhile minutes. Other guys had health issues like Croshere and Hudson. We need to start the year with a strong rotation of guys 10-12 deep that the coach is comfortable playing. The Spurs have 10 guys and Boston 9 that have played over 60 games this year. We have 8. That’s a huge difference in depth and is really the difference in being on the bubble and being a top contender.
We are still very much in the race, but I hope the front office commits to building a team that Nellie has a chance to coach deep into the playoffs.
UG
You cannot win with a 6 man rotation over an 82+ game season. It’s been great watching them progress, and while it would be disappointing to not make the playoffs, let’s remember that we’re talking about a team that, just two years ago, was a laughing stock. They are in a great position to improve themselves even more this offseason, with the cap exception and some intersting free agents loomnig. The Mavericks will be older, as will the Lakers, Suns and Spurs. (I was going to mention the potential lottery pick, but Nellie won’t play him, so the point is moot).
It was a great season, and better days are definitely ahead. Next year at this time, it will be an entirely different story, as we will be the ones ahead of the pack, with the rest left to fight for the playoff scraps.
LY
We are D-U-N like disco.
Meltdown. Only plausible explanation for the last two games. When Jason Kidd has seven more assists then your entire team, something is fundamentally wrong. With all due respect our esteemed blogger, fatigue alone does not explain the selfish, brainless, and lazy style of play. Tireness is definitely a factor, but there is more here.
These guys need a mini-retreat to sort this out and rediscover themselves and their chemistry. Quick, someone call Tony Robbins. And Jax needs to get healed from whatever injury he has fast. We need him.
Willy is right, it’s not over till its over. But these guys better find themselves quickly.
Interesting how this one loss exposed all that is wrong with the team this year. Unfortunately, it all happened in one game and at the absolute the wrong time. A few things I take away from this devastating game:
Baron Davis - 37 minutes, 1 assist. Ouch! And he was lucky to get just one.
Half court game is terrible when the other team defends the perimeter and the 3’s aren’t falling anyway. No inside game.
Not to put all the blame on AB, but he was exposed for his inability to score in any way, shape or fashion other than put-backs and pick-n-rolls. I know this may seem blasphemous but I just don’t see this guy having the ability to be a top center in the league. I know he’s young, a decent player, but countless times he let smaller players snag rebounds and drive the lane. He also was extremely slow on the defensive switches allowing wide open shots from Howard and Terry. Happened in San Antonio and all season. We need a Lambier, not a Joe Barry Carroll. If we’re going to stay with this small approach, then we need a rock down low. And a scoring threat!
So about that draft….I wonder if whoever gets the second pick in the draft will take Baron and our first rounder for it. Then we can draft Derrick Rose and have one of the hottest young back courts in the league!
Passion Man,
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for how you hold our heads up at this painful time. I am so very disappointed. This really hurts to see our guys get slaughtered in the battlefield. But, we believe. I am pretty sure we are indeed the best team to not make it (and we haven’t not made it yet, if I’m making sense).
Stupid Nellie Small Ball (SNSB) is dead.
Being outrebounded 56-38 is the death knell of midget ball.
Nelson can go back to Hawaii and figure out that if you don’t develop big, athletic men like Wright and OBryant during the season, you will be crushed by more balanced opponents when they dunk over you and crush you on the boards.
JanG - some of my blogs over the year have not been full of praise for Biedrins, but you have courageously layed it out in black and white. Yeah, he is the best we have in the middle, but he needs to do a lot to jump to another level. Still young and may get tougher inside, but he is not yet worthy of a $10mil/year contract. Nice post.
Funny how last nights game sucked the intensity out of me - with the Ws showing little heart, I found myself oddly relaxed as the Mavs poured it on. Usually, I’d be up in arms over missed calls and Harrington’s futility. But if they weren’t going to get excited about the butt kicking, I wasn’t either.
JanG#16,
Not blasphemous and you start thinking how much is he worth this summer and beyond if he’ll never be able to make a shot outside 3 feet. I can see him improving in other areas but shooting isn’t one of them. The release is too strange and probably engrained at this point (but 13-14 on FTs in the last 3 games was nice). Perovic can shoot but he’s soooo slow.
I’m definitely not giving up on AB and WANT to keep him, just wondering how much he’s worth-certainly not what his agent wants.
A win on Sunday norning would change everything, but I’m not holding my breath given the injuries/fatigue.
Was there a blogger last summer who asked, “Is April the Cruelest Month?”
Yikes.
Warriors can. the thing I remember most is BD/AB pick ‘n roll. We have totally gone away from that. the last couple weeks, it set up jack, it set up Monta’ it set up AB most of all. he is shooting 62%, but his attempts have gone way down. they have been deferring to Monta’ down the stretch, I don’t think to save Baron’s legs as much as Monta’ has become a dominating figure based on his success. time for a reality check. Baron is still the savvy vet here and needs to be the one to get things going with AB WHILE he still has energy, get goose in the flow, and let Monta’ set his offense up like before, able to catch defenses in rotation rather than the opponents boning up to stop the bullet.
too many things were wrong. jack was out of it, i don’t know if its fatigue or he just wasn’t in to it, but his game was as ugly as the mavs assistant coach, popeye jones.
the dubs have never stopped josh howard. kelena should be guarding every play. its better than jackson letting him shoot uncontested 15 footers. kelena and biedrins are the only players playing d right now. unfortunately, they’re both playing undersized
Finding fault with Andris Biedrins game doesn’t begin to get at the problems. He’s been the lone line of interior defense for the entire year. Notice what happens when he’s NOT out there. And why doesn’t have more of an offensive game? Despite his high percentage he is obviously told to board, clear the ball, and get back down inside to board again. No one EVER looks for him underneath. His demeanor shows he doesn’t expect to EVER get the ball, not even from Baron anymore on the moving pick and roll they used to do. Essentially the Warriors play 4 on 5 on offense.
The current cast of starters gives us very little to build on for the playoffs this year and certainly not for the future. Nelson has cleverly junked up a decent record (but probably worse than last year relative to the improvements of other teams in the West), and wait until Portland gets Greg Odom in the lineup.
The Warriors have peaked. There can be no improvement until other guys play significant roles. Baron Davis’ unjustified scowls and punches, Harrington’s idiocy, Jackson’s awful shooting, the Webber fiasco. I’m tired of it.
Ball movement: The Warriors don’t move the ball! Not just in the past couple seasons, but unless they’re running they haven’t really moved the ball all year. Baron sets the tone for that problem. His assists to minutes played ratio is horrible.
We only got a glimpse of what Wright and Belli can bring. Wright’s upside is unlimited–no knowledgable fan can miss that. And the case of Belli, he could be an extremely exciting player in the mode of Pistol Pete. He brings more than shooting potential. Watch him move on offense…always churning, moving to the right spot, seeing the floor, making the pass to the open guy. He NEVER had a chance to show what he can do. The sad part is that it wouldn’t matter. KA and BW got buried on the bench after spectacular play.
I’m not satisfied with a team that could possibly squeek into the playoffs this year. They’ve got some exciting possibilities that will never be realized so long as Nelson is the coach. Go West, old man!
Baron, for all his individual talent as a scorer, is not a leader and not a winning point guard. Never was that more clear than last night.
It has nothing to do with getting into the playoffs this year or not; it’s time to rethink the whole enterprise.
Mikey66:
That’s what I was getting at. For AB to get to the next level, he needs to be a scoring threat. If not, he needs to be at least a stopper. Needs improvement in both areas. The guy needs to get mad.
After seeing Howard, for what seems like the 100th time, go off on us (Bass a game earlier), how much do we need last year’s version of Matt Barnes or a healthy Pietrus. Just when MP was playing career ball, he goes down and stays down. And where was the defensive intensity of SJax the past two games?
What we need is an Antwan Jamison - someone who can score from anywhere, run the court, rebound, and play decent defense.
Did Antwan play decent defense? Not when I was watching, though his offense more than make up for it. He won’t be available is my guess. The Pietrus injury was tragic, but also tragic was our need to get wins late in the season in San Antonio or Dallas. In any other year we’re all set right now in the 8 or 7 slot. Right now they have to take it quarter by quarter and tell themselves they have to win all of them.
It’s always when Jackson sucks it up - 1 for 11, that I miss JRich. People think of last year’s team as a 42 and 40 team, but it was a lot better than that. Last year’s squad - with a healthy Baron and JRich and a confident Matt Barnes was winning 80 percent of it’s games.
If I’m AH or SJ or MB I’m in the gym today shooting a thousand shots, and if I’m MP I’m begging Nellie to let me play, hurt or not.
If I’m Nelson I tell my team that anyone who doesn’t get back on D, who doesn’t hustle to the point of exhaustion will sit.
We will win the next two games and then crush Denver at home.
Rebounds
W’s - 38
Mav’s - 56
Assists
W’s - 10 (BD 1)
Mav’s - 35 (Kidd 17)
2nd half W’s score 36 points. Talk about a total breakdown. Avery had a good game plan, the Mav’s ran the ball down the W’s throat and they kept running until the W’s suffocated. I had to look twice, it was as if the 2 teams switched uniforms, because the Mav’s were the ones running, moving, stealing the ball, getting layups. BD and Monta had their usual offensive games but everyone looked like they had 20 lb. boots on and didn’t move.The W’s D is weak as it is, but when it’s completely gone, game over. Sad for Jax, he has helped the team all year, too bad his 2 worst games came at the most important time.
The W’s are usually fun to watch, but last night was torture, it was as if they were the Timberwolves. Looks like the year has come to an end. Hang in there, you never know.
MStat:
Story of the game - BD and Ellis drive to the basket, SJax and AB crash the boards, KA back to defend 3 players! Left us wide open for their transition running game. Good game plan by Avery.
Hate to bring it up, but I get simply nauseous thinking about the Fisher flop and how that one call and subsequent loss may be the defining moment of the season. Sure there were other unfortunate events but none as important and timely as that one. Last year BD dunking over Kirelinko, this year Monta getting dragged down. Not the poetic moment I will savor!
The Mavs are at the Lakers, the Nuggets play at Sac and we play at Memphis on Friday. It hasn’t been good lately but we’re not done yet.
This off season will be interesting in the flexibility the W’s have. Hopefully, they will continue to build on the success they’ve had this year and put together a team that will be successful for years to come.
I don’t know what I’m most disappointed in… Harrington’s inconsistency or Barnes failure to get back to how he played last year.
Did anyone catch Pietrus laughing and joking with Andris on the bench last night when the Warriors were flat out getting KILLED in the 4th quarter?
JanG,
I’m with you.
I still think that was about the most ridiculous call at the worst time against a gutty team with zero margin of error. A great comeback spoiled by a cheat. Kobe mugged Baron on the same play.
But, we move on, play on. The only thing unforgivable over the next two weeks would be a lack of total, all out effort.
BTW - did it look to you last night as if the Mavs in their futility simply decided to become the Warriors? Dominant point guard, lots of running, small lineups, role players out on the three point line drilling jumpers.
Dirk became Jackson, Howard became JRich, Kidd is Baron, Deavon George is Barnes, Eddie Jones is Pietrus.
eerie.
Very strong all around post, James Online at #26, particularly your take on AB. How AB is the goat escapes me. He has had a good year. In fact, its troubling that he has played limited minutes despite being the only player with strong post presence in Nellie’s rotation. He has played effectively within his limited role all season before his operation. He’s finally coming around again, the last two games notwithstanding.
The question is, is his limited role defined by his abilities or by the system he plays in. My guess is both. But I can’t help but feel that the system has shackled AB, not allowing him to develop a more rounded post game. He’ll never be Kareem (I’ve said this before) but he is a very good NBA center, and that is valuable commodity to any team. He cannot shoulder the inside duties alone, nor should he be expected to. Yet that has been the case this season. AB is not the problem here.
i need to toot my own horn here.
earlier this season i stated that biedrins was incredibly limited for his position and didn’t deserve the significant contract people were clamoring for.
i was vilified for my comments (or pissy rants) by a lot of posters. thank you Jang for validating my claim.
as far as the loss. i claimed on the last thread that the Dubs have no heart. That statement is directed at the team as a whole, not just individual players who fought to get their numbers last night. when i play at the rec center on saturday mornings if i don’t win i may have to sit out three or four games. we may be down by 10 and have an inferior team talent wise but in basketball you can impose your will on others and it does affect the outcome. i don’t see any of the bench players seizing this opportunity to make a name for themselves. i can’t relate to and don’t understand this mentality. either you want to win or you don’t.
i also claimed many times before and after the trade deadline that if nellie refused to expand his rotation then he had to make trades so that he could. again i was vilifed for suggesting that “god” nellie was making a mistake.
i acutally relate very well to Gary D in #22. i found myself oddly at peace in the second half after taking my blood pressure meds at halftime. if they don’t seem to care, why should i.
Worst b2b in years. W’s obviously don’t care as much as they used to.
Baron is a 2guard now, I guess.
All the worst coming out of everybody: Jax just casting away, Baron going solo, Harrington frustratingly ineffective, Pete sitting it out, Barnsey looking NBDL, Nellie bewildered, AB outmuscled.
And BTW Monta- lova ya, buddy, but defense is HALF OF THE GAME!
Well, we’ve been saying all year that Nellie’s obstinately running this team into the ground by refusing to spread minutes and bring the young guys up to NBA speed. Still, it was sad to watch the guys get “Warriored” by the Mavs last night. There’s just no gas in the tank — and Jack is the emptiest tank of all, worthless both on O and D, Ellis quit playing D months ago, and BD is valiantly trying to maintain mediocrity in his exhaustion.
Defense? Whazzat? Only AB and KA seem even to understand the concept, and the Big Three have gotten decidedly worse over the last month — as has been painfully obvious. (MP is MIA, but that’s been the case in crises ever since he came into the league: immense talent, but neither brains nor guts.)
As smart as he is (BBall wise, that is), Nellie is the architect of failure here. And he’s become even more brittle in his approach as he ages. This ain’t a great team, but it was a playoff team, until Nellie decided to play his six man rotation come hell or high water. So, for all those who excused this idiocy all year — while the rest of us have clammored for Nellie to take the risks of playing the kids some (and the result of that could NOT have been worse than this reality) — the chickens have finally come home to roost.
Sure, it’s still possible — however unlikely — for this team to make the playoffs. But even if they do, in their worn out condition it’ll be one-and-done.
BTW, calling out Goose on ANY of this is pure idiocy. Nellie has broken this guy down all year. The appendectomy is hardly a minor issue. (You try playing all out within two months of this operation.) Now, he’s got turf toe — but unlike some (Hello, MP), he’s still giving it his all.
Goose is now the only guy playing D in the paint, one of the few who understands the importance of defensive positioning, and he keeps running the PNR even tho Ellis seems to be the only one able to hit him on it. Plus, he’s fast, has a great outlet pass, and can even bring it up in a crunch.
He’ll be well worth every penny the W’s have to pay to keep him.
So, sadly, wait’ll next year.
James Online post is right on.
Ws players do not deserve any criticism here. It is the system that should be examined and put under the surgery knife to see what the problems are.
Despite all this, I predicted that Ws make the playoff and I stick with that prediction even after the last two games.
Go Ws…
This has been a very positive season overall.. i have to tell myself that after two ugly losses where the team looked out of gas. but we still have a chance to make the playoffs. Dallas has a tough schedule coming up, and they could very easily slide right out of the playoffs if the Warriors come back strong after these two losses.
…and, even if we don’t make the playoffs, there’s still good news. with improved draft position, we’d be in a good place to pick up some great players, who can potentially contribute in their first year. I know you’re thinking Nellie won’t play them, but that is not neccessarily the case. Nellie won’t play players who are raw because he’s a worrier. but there are several prospects coming out of the draft who have polish.
Brandan Wright, for all his talent, was raw after one year of college.
Look at the prospects: Darren Collison, an experienced, savvy PG who plays tough D, runs, shoots, and plays clutch.
Darrell Arthur. He’s a bit more raw, but he’s a tough inside player with great defense and off the charts athleticism.
Tyler Smith of Tennessee looks good (he played against Brandan Wright in HS) as does DJ White. Brandon Rush, even Cal boy Devon Hardin.
There are more, and this list doesn’t include international players like Nicholas Batum (who is overrated IMO). so things aren’t as glum.
the real question is what do we need? everyone has been complaining about various defaults of the W’s roster, but what do we really need? another wing player? a post presence? will nellie use a more traditional post player? is kosta going to stay?
Looks like some bloggers have jumped out of the wagon. I’ll stay on until the end of the ride.
JanG and Mikey66 - agree w/ some of your sentiments but totally disagree about your thoughts on Biedrins.
Biedrins deserves a fat contract and he’ll most likely get a max contract. You say he’s been getting outrebounded and stripped by smaller players. I have seen a couple of instance where that has happened. But if you look at the whole floor, you see Biedrins being bodied by 3 or 4 defensive guys everytime because they know that he is the only one to box out. Yes you get MP,Monta and Kelena getting in the mix but those guys are being guarded by guards. Whoever is guarding Jax or Harrington can cheat off them because they don’t board at all.
You say he needs to take it another level. What’s the next level? Develop a low post game? Develop a jumper?
Biedrins can run the floor as good or even better than any big man. Yes, better than Howard or Camby or even Chandler. He has great hands (although, lately he has bobbled a number of passes).
He might not have a shot past 3 feet but when you supposedly have 4 other shooters on the court, you don’t need him to shoot that far. He might not ever develop a mid-range, but it wouldn’t be for a lack of effort. As for his post-up, he is developing one. It’s nowhere near good or consistent but if they call enough plays for him he can improve a lot quicker.
The Warriors have completely gone away from the pick and pop w/ Biedrins. Don’t know if teams have just figured it out or BD, Jax, and Monta, who usually initiate this play, have just resorted to one-on-ones.
But the Warriors need him now and for the seasons to come.
As for the “posters” who claim they were right all along…good for you guys.
It’s always great to point out the negatives and potential of failure and to see it come to fruition at the end of the season as opposed to being excited at the possibility of success and hoping for the best.
Your stop should be coming up.
I a Dub fan for life, just think our chances of makin the playoffs this year are now slim to none. We don’t have the momentum or energy of last year’s team so barring a complete Denver collapse, I just don’t see us making the necessary push. Was a fun season though and should be an interesting off season.
AB has really hurt his market value which is GREAT for us, maybe we can retain him at a discount. Monta mid year would have by super high priced but now his defensive non existence has brought him down to Earth some. I’m glad I’m not in Mully’s shoes cause this off-season is going to be filled with tough decisions.
#6 Alberto
I agree you have to play the bench players, because
of the fatigue factor. However the bench players have
to produce, or the team will not be in the play-off
hunt. Barnes and Pietrus have been inconsistent, AC,and
KA have been injured, BW and MB are rookies. Nellie
acknowledged all along that the team has little margin
of error. They seem to be running out of gas, but it’s not over, there’s still 7 games to go.
Home losses to the T-Wolves, Bulls, Hawks were tough
but I still think back to last Monday’s Laker loss in
OT, with a 2 point lead and a wide open ME, BD decides
to go for a 45 foot lob, instead of a easy pass and
lay-up. They were up 4 before Fisher’s 3 but they should have been up 6. And ME had no reason to leave Fisher.
For the Ws to get to the next level, they have to have a solid 9 man rotation, like the Suns had before Shaq.
None of their starters averaged more than 33-34 minutes.
People, let’s not lose our common sense here. Write off any chance for the Warriors? We’re only one game behind Denver, we play them again, and the only tough opponent remaining other than Denver is New Orleans. Things don’t look good, but I hope the team has more heart than you posters do.
Warriors can still make the playoffs.
We have to win a lot and one of those D Teams has to lose a bit more than us.
No problem. We got this.
PLAYOFFS FOR SURE!!!
^^^CC, u reinvigorated my apparently diminutive heart. Thank you my man, I still Believe!
What JanG raised about Bierins was not a clamoring for his head or a bashing, and not an attempt to single him out as the reason for all that is ill in Warrior land, so stop taking it to the extreme some of my fellow bloggers. She pointed out some valid weaknesses in his game that do need to be worked on (more on the defensive end than offensive). I would add a few more:
1. Turn your head and see the ball when you jog back on defense. Maybe then you’ll pick up the ball and a driver in time not to be out of position to challenge a shot and commit a reaching foul or allow an easy layup.
2. Don’t just stand with your arms up most of the time when a driver heads in, and maybe you’d pick up less of the ticky tack body fouls. This has been pointed out by Barnett numerous times.
3. Get more physical in terms of boxing out. Balls fall behind him for long rebounds by the opposition because he oftentimes doesn’t close the space behind him by backing up. Simple rule for boxing out that he rarely follows.
4. If you’re stuck on a smaller forward that can shoot a 10-15 shooter - don’t play half-way out on him inviting the easy J. Commit one way or the other.
OK - I’m just a blogger, so rip me if you want for my observations, but I’ll continue to believe every one to be valid. And I’ll continue to support Biedrins at the same time because he generally hustles, tries to play D and is the best we have on the inside.
Put a tough, big body newcomer at PF and move Wright out to SF and watch Biedrins’ game improve defensively and offensively. As Baron and Monta miss on their steal attempts, he’s under constant pressure to pick up their man driving to the basket, cover his own guy, and be ready to switch to anyone else cutting to the hoop. No one in the league could do all that better.
His points and rebounds are exceptional given the limited playing time and the jerking around–starting, not starting–and general lack of respect he gets from the coach. On offense, AB would benefit from interior passing and chemistry between big men on the front line.
JanG and GaryD raise important points. Try thinking about how he would perform under the scenario raised above, though. And, yeah, he is young.
The future is Monta, Brandan, Andris, and Kelenna. Let’s see what we’ve got with Belli too. Until they get another legit interior presence, this team will never get beyond where they are now. Wasn’t what we were saying last year at this time?
Good points, James Online.
Kdiggitysf:
“You say he needs to take it another level. What’s the next level? Develop a low post game? Develop a jumper?”
Yes and yes! Is that too much to ask of a starting center, destined to make millions of $, on a very good NBA team. Lots of Euros come over here with shooting skills.
Why all the coddling? I never suggested shipping him. I merely said that he may never be the type of player to build a team around and the sooner the organization understands that, the sooner he can get the inside help that we will need to compete at a championship level. And sure, he’ll make a bunch next year but does that make us any more competitive?
Kdiggitysf,
I agree about the bandwaggoners here. A lot of closet (or not-so-closet) Laker’s fans here. Sure it’s a tough loss but that’s part of the game too. I’m standing behind my team until the end. I’m proud of my team.
You all realize that if we had jax at the beginning of the season, it would not have been unreasonable to assume after 7 games we would have been 4-3 instead of 1-6. And if we had those 3 games, we would, even now after losing to Dallas, be in 7th place, a game ahead of Dallas and 2 ahead of Denver. So, can we really say that this team sucked this year? If we had those three games in hand, how many of you who are complaining would be saying how great our team is?
And it ain’t over yet. Any of you remember when you gave up on the team last year?
GaryD:
The she is a he!
In one game we went from exciting to losers. This is a fun team to watch but we all know without some make-over we are never going far. Even if we do make the play-offs does anyone really think we’ll get past the first round? Second round tops. Hey I will still take 50 wins (+ or-) over the prior 12 years. Amazing how our expectations go way up in one year.
Peruse the unrestricted free agent list guys we need a big guy. Shawn Marion will be available, not big but he sure knows our style, can rebound and can score hmmmm.
#26
“The Warriors have peaked. There can be no improvement until other guys play significant roles.”
So you’re assuming that these other guys can’t play these significant roles. I mentioned last post how this team still hasn’t played a full season together. Shouldn’t a team have a couple of seasons at a certain plateau (45-50 wins w/ playoff berths) before we assume they have peaked?
those of us who are posting today and reiterating claims we have made all along, are not bandwagoners. on the contrary. us being right does nto equal being happy.
i am sure that we would be happy to be wrong and have the Warriors be a legitimate playoff threat.
now that the team has shown their true colors, i don’t see why we (posters) shouldn’t have an opportunity to hold up a mirror to them. i honestly feel betrayed this year. the team has been soft and opportunistic but hardly a threat to anyone in the league. they have more wins than last year but the quality of their play has regressed (IMO).
i am willing to bet that each of us who has posted negatively today is still going to watch each remaining game and still want the Warriors to win. our STOP will come in the offseason!
#53
Not giving up, just tempering expectations after a brutal nearly fatal blow last night. Of course I will still support them and hope for the best but the reality is there isn’t much time left and they aren’t playing with the same intensity they had at the end of last year. Nothing to do with their heart as some people like to say, just when your most important players are some of the league leaders in minutes per game something’s got to give. Baron and Jax, in my opinion, have big heart but your heart can only do so much on tired legs. I hope we make it but I think the liklihood is marginal.
Arrrgh - my apologies JanG. Second time in a week I made the same mistake (the other time in a work-related email). Next time I’ll just do the he/she thing until I know for sure.
just cruised the Dallas blog to see if the fans are relishing the victory and there are only 4 posts so far. after arguably the largest win of their season.
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/
it says a lot that we are conversing today and have 59 posts and counting AND OUR TEAM LOST. we all love the team, and are pretty knowledgeable about the sport. now if only we could get to the next level…
I realize that it’s been a couple tough losses on a ridiculous schedule. 4 games with top notch teams in 5 days. People are down and see the mirror of failure and disappointment refecting from their own lives. Okay, I’ll kill the psychoanalysis now.
I think by now we all know we could use a tough bigman or 2. A healthy and productive bench. I just wonder if some of the posters ever enjoy this game.
Everyone’s a top notch coach and a rich GM in their own mind. So buy the team out yourself and harness your glory! We all know you could do so much better. lol
Go Warriors! I’m in it until the end.
Willy:
We’re all very passionate W’s fans. Just damn disappointed. No need to play the hostility card!
JanG - not sure if you were just itching to make your rebuttal but if you read further on my post I gave my reasoning for his “slow development” down the post and jump shooting.
from my previous post:
“He might not have a shot past 3 feet but when you supposedly have 4 other shooters on the court, you don’t need him to shoot that far. He might not ever develop a mid-range, but it wouldn’t be for a lack of effort. As for his post-up, he is developing one. It’s nowhere near good or consistent but if they call enough plays for him he can improve a lot quicker.”
I’m sure you’ve heard this before…big men take longer to develop. I’m sure you know how old biedrins is. So it’s not so much coddling, it’s having patience.
Also, how many starting centers in the league are doing BOTH:shooting mid-range jumpers and killing people in the post? Besides Yao and maybe Ilgauskaus?
your post:
“he was exposed for his inability to score in any way, shape or fashion other than put-backs and pick-n-rolls.”
-exposed? did he hide that fact before. did anyone say he had a Yao Ming kind of array of shots? He is playing w/in Nellie’s system.
Can you do me a favor? In your opinion can you rank the centers in the league right now? I’m curious as to where you would put Biedrins?
your post:
“Lots of Euros come over here with shooting skills.”
-how many of them are centers? how many of them play defense? Besides Kirilenko(who is not a center), I think Biedrins is in pretty small company.
your post:
“countless times he let smaller players snag rebounds and drive the lane. He also was extremely slow on the defensive switches allowing wide open shots from Howard and Terry.”
-I believe this was explained my JamesOnline pretty well: “As Baron and Monta miss on their steal attempts, he’s under constant pressure to pick up their man driving to the basket, cover his own guy, and be ready to switch to anyone else cutting to the hoop.”
Not only is he our last line of defense, he is pretty much our only line of defense lately.
I agree he’s not a player to build around, but he is a player to include in the rebuilding.
So is it us coddling or is it possible that we are just asking for a bit much from this young man.
Willy
I see failure and disappointment refecting from your wack post.
If you enjoy getting run by 20 b2b, then I want some of what you’re poppin’
Brian Chavez: unlike your Warriors blog that has only one story, the DMN site has numerous blogs about the Mavs victory last night. There is definately alot of posting on the blogs. Check all of them before you post something you don’t know what your talking about.
GO MAVS !!!
I wonder how much AB is affected by the appendicitis or if that’s just an excuse at this point. He definitely looked sharper before the surgery.
After focusing so much on getting the 8th spot all year I actually won’t be that disappointed if they miss the playoffs. Also, the suddenly reduced expectations will make it that much more gratifying if they right the ship and get past the double D’s.
Just having consistently exciting basketball to watch for an entire season has been an absolute pleasure. Even with last year’s amazing run, it was still pretty ugly before the big trade. I think that too many fans have a championship or bust attitude when we should be thankful that this team is relevant after countless years of mediocrity.
They’re exciting nature is also they’re downfall. They’re very human and very flawed from the coach on down, yet I can’t think of another team I’d rather root for.
This offseason is going to be absolutely crazy with all the FA possibilities! We also can look forward to BW getting in a full training camp and being ready to play consistent minutes next year. Mullin has also done a great job with the cap.
Seriously, how much would it suck to be a Knicks fan right now? They’re like the NBA version of the sf giants.
OK, with all that reverse psychology out of the way, what if last night was the wake up call they needed to finish 7-0, sneak into the playoffs, pull off another 1st round upset and make Barkley shut his fat face? (My WE BELIEVE gland is still fully functioning)
Wow a proud resident of the state that brought us George W Bush, didn’t know those existed anymore.
Kdiggitysf:
I know he’s young. I know his skills are improving. I know he’s under pressure. I know big players take longer to develop. I also know the Mav’s defense exposed the fact that he’s a liability anywhere other than around the rim.
Why such the apologist? Again, I merely said that he may never be the type of player to build a team around and the sooner the organization understands that, the sooner he can get the inside help that we will need to compete at a championship level. Why is that so difficult to admit? I just did.
Oh, and -
Shaq can score
Bynum can score
Curry can score
Garnett can score
Tim Duncan can score
Chris Bosh can score
Yao can score
Dwight Howard can score
Camby can score
Tyson Chandler can score
Chris Kamen can score
Okafor can score
Burn me at the stake but I don’t see AB as one of the top defensive centers. Watched the same games as you and didn’t see a stopper in the paint. Can he become one? Hope so.
Pretty depressing posts today.
Fact is it’s a very good team trapped in a pile of very good teams.
And we still might make it out. As to whether this team has heart???
Are you kidding?? What team have you been watching?? They’ve got it to spare.
The season’s been a grind, but the basketball has been fascinating.
I’ve gotten my money’s worth and then some. The idea of a Warriors fan feeling betrayed or disappointed by this bunch is absurd, no?
Who saw us trading our best scorer and our spiritual leader and winning at a .600 clip?
If you did you expect too much and deserve to be disappointed.
Baron had one assist is that Harrington, Jackson and Biedrins had like one basket between them.
Teams have nights like last night. They know they need to play better.
And they will.
JanG- I hope you know I’m not trying to step on your toes. We are afterall, rooting for the same team.
I already agreed w/ you the he’s not a player to build around. You didn’t need to reiterate that.
It seems that we’re just going in circles w/ the Biedrins argument.
But as for your list: Only 9 are actually centers. And I would be shocked if you’d pick Curry over Biedrins. Curry is lazy and plays 0 defense.
So would you put Biedrins at the bottom of this list? If so that would make him top 10.
That’s not bad.
I’m not denying any of those centers can score. But aside from Yao and Howard, all the other centers’ scoring and rebounding avg. are all close to each other, including Biedrins’ avg. It would also be a safe bet the he gets the least touches out of all of them. But yet he has the highest fg%.
Also, there are only 5 players on your list that I would trade him for.
Putting KG, Duncan, Bosh on your list was a little unfair. They are powerforwards as is Amare.
I couldn’t watch the game all way the way through. Painful. Something was wrong with BD. He was sick, or hurt or tired.
Regarding AB not scoring, I hope those of you saying he needs to score more realize he is not given opportunities to post up and score. It’s not part of the system. AB did what he was asked to do, and what he was given opportunity to do.
I am on the record, from months ago, saying that Nelson doesn’t value or use AB to his full potential and he therefore might not be resigned if the price tag is high. Nelson doesn’t really want or need a Center in his system. AH can play center in Nelson’s system, and if you don’t believe me, look at the minutes where he played center while POB, a legitimate young (yes soft and inexperienced) sat on the bench. I am on the record as saying no legitimate big man would want to come here and play for this coach, because the system doesn’t emphasize low post scoring (or defending).
I’m not saying I agree with AH at center, I’m just pointing out to me the obvious of what coach thinks. 20+ years of coaching and no dominant big man is a lot of years of evidence. The fact that POB never got a chance also shows how unimportant a big man is to this coach and system.
I think Nelson deserves all the credit for putting together a winning team. And this is truly a strange year to have a chance to win 50 games and still not make the playoffs. This is Nelson’s team and his system. The team is fun to watch, exciting as hell, and won enough games in almost any other year to make the playoffs.
I also think he deserves the blame for refusing to expand his rotation, to develop his young 1st round picks (POB, BW, Bell).
Mullin and Cohan get the blame, along with Nelson, for underestimating the double whammy of coach Nelson’s undervaluing big men, and not trusting rookies, and trading a proven rotation player that Nelson would play for BW, who he would not. Why trade a proven leader and strong player for a big man rookie who they should have known Nelson wouldn’t play? JR could have played 2 and 3 in this system.
One last thing about this style. This system is weak on both the offensive and defensive low post. AB couldn’t do it alone. It’s a big disadvantage to give up the big men, give up low post scoring, give up low post defense and give up rebounding on both ends. We get the advantage of mismatches, fast break baskets, 3 point shooting. The low post sacrifices on both ends and reliance on 3 point shooting means that we can beat almost any team if we are hot, but that we can lose to almost any team (as we proved this season) if we are not.
We need a PF that can run and score to help out BD. BW would have been nice if developed. Maybe next year. He does need to gain some size and strength.
I actually think this loss will strengthen the warriors and they will probably kill Memphis. The warriors made a nice playoff push last year and there almost the same exact team so just believe.
Next year Nelson will ask BW to learn to shoot 3s just like he did to Manute Bol after Manute failed attempt to put on a few more pounds
Amazing how people are after AB’s offence. I would like to think, offence will come to him automatically if he becomes a better defender and shot blocker. At his position, he needs to his job on the defence side more than on offence side. I did see that he improved on offence this year. He is putting ball down more often and converting. FT% improved also. Give him couple of more years and he could be a 15ppg,12rebs, 2blks guys for us. He is fine, leave him alone.
The problem is we don’t have another big and BWright seems like he needs two years to be a major contributor or starter. But I expect him to get role player minutes next year and contribute 12pts, 6 rebs in 20 mins.
Al seems to be working hard, but he is inconsistent and even when he scores, he won’t rebound. He doesn’t seem to bring all in one game. May be we can trade him this offseason to a team who wants him as a SF.
Ws can still make playoffs, though chances are slim. Irrespective, a 6-8 game improvement in NBA in west is huge. The summer is critical and hope Ws build on this season. They just need to sign some role players.
JanG, all you did was list the best big men in the league. Thanks for reminding us that it’d be good to have one of those guys. Also, some of the guys you listed should not be there. Okafor, Dwight, and Chandler actually can’t score any better than AB. And I have no idea why you think Camby “can score.”
Brian Chavez Says:
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:23 am
“i need to toot my own horn here.
earlier this season i stated that biedrins was incredibly limited for his position and didn’t deserve the significant contract people were clamoring for.
i was vilified for my comments (or pissy rants) by a lot of posters. thank you Jang for validating my claim.”
I wouldn’t be so proud of JanG validating your lack of knowledge. You are both so wrong. And I guess if you get one person to agree with you out of several hundred, that is good enough for you? AB has fought valiantly all year against 2 or 3 bigs every night. He has saved several games for us when Nellie finally decided to put him back in the game when the small ball wasn’t working. There are many CHAMPIONSHIP teams that have won without a scoring center. Look it up. AB is doing plenty. If he had some help and a defense where he was not running around defending threes and the paint at the same time he would do even better. But don’t hold your breath on that thought. He might decide to go somewhere else where he can, though. Small ball isn’t for everyone. One of these days i am going to continue my quest to find who it IS for, besides college teams. No luck yet.
“as far as the loss. i claimed on the last thread that the Dubs have no heart. That statement is directed at the team as a whole, not just individual players who fought to get their numbers last night. when i play at the rec center on saturday mornings if i don’t win i may have to sit out three or four games. we may be down by 10 and have an inferior team talent wise but in basketball you can impose your will on others and it does affect the outcome. i don’t see any of the bench players seizing this opportunity to make a name for themselves. i can’t relate to and don’t understand this mentality. either you want to win or you don’t.”
Well, now we know the source of you expertise- the Rec Center! Very impressive. So you are saying the Ws don’t want to win. Brilliant
“i also claimed many times before and after the trade deadline that if nellie refused to expand his rotation then he had to make trades so that he could. again i was vilifed for suggesting that “god” nellie was making a mistake.”
I will gladly validate your prediction, since i made the same one a long time ago.
“i acutally relate very well to Gary D in #22. i found myself oddly at peace in the second half after taking my blood pressure meds at halftime. if they don’t seem to care, why should i.”
Thank God for modern medicine, or should i say medication? I felt an odd calm too- because i knew this would happen 3 months ago.
All of you AB blamers- GROW UP. Do some research besides statistics. Learn the game. Watch the games, preferably with someone who knows basketball.
Chuck/Oracle
I would agree in concept about your complaints about under utilizing AB except he doesn’t have any game more than 5′ from the basket. Just look at his FT motion. Horrendous line drive.
The plays you are professing be run through AB at low post you need to be a good threat going either way, stepping back to shoot a 12 footer, holding your ground in a double team, and be a good passer. Everything run to AB (pick & roll) is ensure he can’t be double teamed b/c he turns it over everytime. The only thing he currently does well is rolling (usually left) to the basket and he has a decent little hook (close in).
I do think AB will come back next year with a whole new arsenal of weapons because each year he has developed.
For me its not worth arguing if Nelson would theoretically run plays through AB if he had those kind of low post skills (like he did with Webber - Round 1 or Dirk, etc), but at this point I think you are overating AB’s shooting and passing skills.
JustinR
AB essentialy has a broken toe (turf toe) which is incredibly painful.
Some players are winners. AB is one of them. He may not be the centerpiece, but he’s got to be part of whatever goes forward. His value goes WAY beyond the statistics, and even those are very, very good for the role and minutes he plays. AB is the consummate team player. He’s got an impossible job and endless positive energy. You don’t let that get away.
SS #53
That argument is DONE.
With Jackson since the break the Warriors are 13-10 overall and 2-7 against the 8 Western Conference playoff teams. They’ve feasted on bad teams all year and now, as some suggested a long time ago, they are tanking as the meat of the schedule hits them. No rush of easy teams to beat up on like last year, no Jason Richardson to add a potent scoring force who was rebounding, passing, and defending at high levels this time last year (and this time this year, too).
Jackson was pathetic in these two crucial games. He had been doing well with his shot of late but, still, we have been losing to the best in the West and occasionally even the least of the East.
This has nothing to do with the first 6 games anymore.
If the team were as legitimate as you feel they are minus those 6 games, they would be beating good teams in the second half and playing the most important games of the year like they were, you know, the most important games of the year.
Instead it’s more excuses and Nelson Doublespeak adoration.
They have to win a lot now. No more excuses.
“They have to win a lot now. No more excuses.”
Nailed it!
To those of you who don’t like what some of the dubs best fans are offering up again as the same constructive criticism we have been proferring all year—TOUGH. Get over it. Even if the dubs fall into the playoffs again it won’t change how I feel nor my loyalty to the team. So there.
In camp Nellie wanted a renegotiation and my first post of the year was essentially nuts to that. Now he is extended to a third year. I accept it, moving on.
A couple deficiencies for the dubs are lack of a bonafide star and a seriously weak coaching staff, both of which don’t work well for Nellie. At the trade deadline I offerred that I thought a deal of BD and MP for Jason Kidd would work for the dubs, but even with the trade exception dollars and valuable talent CWebb was all that happened. Who cares if it was ever on the table, or if the dubs ever considered real deals for Garnett, Gasol, O’Neal e.g.
To focus on low post defense also has missed the point, which is that the dubs are very bad defenders(intentionally, I think) against the first dribble and move up top. A very good defensive coach with some autonomy would be a good investment, re: the Celtics.
Just to pass the time, a light read:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR2007050802130-pf.html
When I clicked “submit comment” this morning and walked out, I knew the 3 posts about AB wouldn’t be taken lightly.
Again, I like AB and want him to remain a Warrior. I have visions of him and BW ruling the paint for years to come. I’m just wondering what he’s worth. If he signs anything near a max contract as suggested in #41, then I think that’s a huge mistake.
I don’t blame him or any other player for the last two losses. I leave the blame game for Baron/Jax haters. I think Monta is the only healthy body out there. Jax has been hurt (foot/ankle/toe)since before the all-star-break by the way, making it hard to defend and drive to the hoop.
As it stands now, AB has only one post move and absolutely no jumper. Every night before the game (if you get there when the doors open) you’ll see Russ Turner working with AB. He’s working on a left handed post move and a face-up jumper from just outside the key near the baseline. The post-up move is currently in slow motion and the jumper is a difficult to watch.
On the other hand, watching him sink FTs as Sidney Moncrief watches is great.
I’m hoping that an entire summer of work (instead of playing for Latvia) results in big improvemnets. If so, he’s worth a lot.
Mikey, you’re judging his post work conservatively.
His instincts are excellent, his mobility, speed, and explosiveness typically outstanding. The appendix has a lot of Beans haters coming out of the woodwork, to cop a typical defense of Jackson for Beans’ case– Jax was great when he hit his dumb shots and you didn’t bring up injury much then.
Biedrins’ nose for the hoop is evidenced by his league-leading field goal percentage. What he is adding are some of the traditional moves associated with pivot man responsibilities. His natural game is what pushes his value, not his quick learning of the fundamental big man NBA skills. He has some great post moves you apparently have never noticed. Sorry for you.
Good luck convincing the league not to overpay a bigman this talented. Foyle is the minimum for Biedrins, pricewise. Pony up, Warriors, or lose him.
Biedrins is left handed, Mikey.
damn tired, i guess you woke up to put me in check…
first i get attacked by a random ass dallas fan when I never made a negative comment against the team or their fans, then this.
boy, talk about miscomprehension.
to say that Biedrins has a limited skill set in no way implies that one does not like him or want him on the team. what i said earlier was that the warriors should not overpay him since his skill set is limited. whether 1, 5, or 50 people agree with me is irrelevant because i firmly believe my opinion. it was just nice to hear it reiterated by someone else.
if you read my posts at all this season you would also acknowledge that i was arguing for more pt for biedrins a) to expand the rotation b) to give him more game experience. i was arguing that on a per minute basis he NEEDED more playing time.
the “no heart” comment may have been a knee jerk reaction to getting their ass kicked 2 nights in a row but the general sentiment is valid. there is no one on the team this year who utilized their opportunity and made a name for themselves other than Monta. we needed a deeper squad and more passionate play to establish ourselves as a potential contender. no one stepped up. that’s not on me cuz they all had a chance.
“Well, now we know the source of you expertise- the Rec Center! Very impressive. So you are saying the Ws don’t want to win. Brilliant”
i didn’t