Derrick Rose. Makes. Everything.
Let's just focus on the positives, ok?
1. Jackson, Maggette, and Biedrins all played well together for the first time this season. This has never happened before. This is an exciting thing. The guys just didn't get the help they needed from the role players tonight: Morrow was only 2-9 from the field. Watson was 2-10. Measly bench play from Wright, Belinelli, and Turiaf turned up a combined 8 points. That, combined with a forgetful, if not mournful appearance by Marcus Williams (1-3, 0-2 ft, 0 reb, 0 ast, 0 blk, 0 stl, 2 pts), proved to be too much for the not-so-big three's efforts to overcome. But still, they were absolutely great tonight.
2. Randolph looked incredible. Despite missing a dunk/layup in the closing ticks of the game that would have cut the deficit to one, Randolph just played out of his mind. The first round pick was rewarded with significant minutes closing out the game, and managed to put up some incredible numbers. In just 13 minutes (get this! just 13!), Randolph was just one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points, 9 boards - 5 offensive, and 4 blocked shots. He did have two turnovers in those minutes, but I'll take that play any day of the week.
3. Despite the loss, the Warriors kept it close. Actually lead most of the game. And considering the New Orleans, Toronto, Grizzlies(#2), Pistons, and Bulls losses, the Warriors are only a combined 24 points away from being a 10-2 team and having the second-best record in the Western Conference. Don't you think either Jamal Crawford or Monta Ellis is good for 24 points in any single game? Consider for a second just how promising that is.
Like I said before, playoffs just aren't out of the picture yet.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Warriors 110 - 115 Bulls
Friday, November 21, 2008
Warriors Have Every Right to Think Playoffs
What started out as a rebuilding year has become an '06-'07 repeat
This season was supposed to be about rebuilding. Well maybe not rebuilding, but retooling. Tinkering. Tweaking. Whatever you want to call it, fans, coaches, and players definitely thought the "P word" was a ways away -- the Dubs of the future, not the present.
But things have changed.
Mullin (or Rowell, or whoever is actually pulling those strings) has done it again and gotten something for nothing. A big something. A something that can turn this season around.
Like I've said before, Crawford may not have been the best all-around player on the market, but he's something special on the offensive end, and the Warriors can use his help.
Many nay-sayers have questioned the Warriors and their style of play - opting for high scoring and brushing aside defensive fundamentals - stating that a team so bad on the defensive side of the ball could never win a championship. The Warriors can never win a championship while giving up 105 points per game. I disagree.
What I believe - and the Dubs' personnell moves mirror this philosophy - is that, in today's NBA, it's more effective to have an identity that plays to your strengths than to try and be a great all-around team. Defense works for some - the Spurs for example.
But look at the Suns. They traded away their identity along with Shawn Marion for the Big Diesel. Would you say they're closer to winning a championship now? The bottom line is the players on the Suns simply work better in an uptempo system. Nash is at his most effective when running the floor. Same thing with Barbosa, Diaw, and Amare.
Same thing with the Warriors.
From signing Maggette to trading for Crawford the Warriors have made a definitive statement - screw defense, we're about scoring points. Aside from the development of Andris at the center position, this is actually a significantly worse defensive team than we were last year: Baron has been replaced with Watson/Nelson/Williams who are all terrible perimeter defenders. Harrington has been replaced with Crawford - also a defensive liability. Pietrus and Barnes were two of our better on-ball defenders and they're also gone.
And all this has been replaced with firepower. Maggette is a top-tier scorer when he wants to be. So is Crawford. So how will the Warriors' little experiment play out? Hopefully the extra points on the board will outweigh the exceptionally high oppenent ppg this team is looking to end up with.
And hopefully a team recognized by it's high power offense will be able to keep playing to the identity that made them relevant again.
Type rest of the post here
A New Beginning
The Warriors welcome Jamal Crawford
Screw the catchy introduction -- let's get down to brass tacks. Al Harrington's long-numbered days as a Warrior are over and Jamal Crawford of the Knicks will be taking over the roster spot.
And I am a happy man.
After a dismal start to the season and a nagging back "injury", Al Harrington was just starting to become a serious problem for this team. His salary easily eclipses his production as a player for the Warriors (note the use of "production", not "potential"). I, for one, was very worried Al had seen his last days in a Dubs uniform and that the team would have serious issues getting decent value in return if they opted to honor his trade request.
Instead, the Warriors have managed to finagle a star-potential caliber player who I personally thought was untouchable as a Knick. And nobody should be happier about this than Nellie.
Don Nelson is often times a hard man to read. Many times he sends mixed signals - intentionally or otherwise - making it impossible to decipher what's really going on in the mad scientist's head.
But when Nelson describes himself as "stoked" to have Crawford on board, you'd better believe he means it.
Crawford is just about as close as we'll come to replacing Baron on this team. While Crawford is fairly dissimilar to BD as a player, they're almost exactly the same as a concept -- something that Nelson finds very compelling.
In his years with the Knicks, Crawford has acquired ample experience running the point. And at 6-5 he can create mismatches against most traditional point guards in the league. Which is exactly what Don Nelson has always wanted for this team -- a combo point/shooting guard to run the team alongside Monta Ellis, also a combo 2.
While Crawford is abysmal defensively (yes, even worse than Al), he's a legit shooter than can make it rain with the best of them. Here's what Nellie's lineup looks to be when Crawford starts playing with the team on Tuesday:
Jamal Crawford - CJ Watson
Anthony Morrow - Kelenna Azubuike
Stephen Jackson - Anthony Randolph
Corey Maggette - Brandan Wright
Andris Biedrins - Ronny Turiaf
Though that lineup looks to be downright bad on the defensive end, there isn't a single player on the floor a team can forget about. Absolutely every player in the Warriors' starting lineup has the potential to torch any team foolish enough to relax defensively.
Which will open up the lane for Crawford, Jackson, and Maggette. Which will open up shooters (aka everyone) on the wings for open threes. Which should make the rest of this season pretty darn fun to watch.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Don Nelson: Morrow is the Real Deal
If Nellie says it's true, then I believe it.
I don't really care if I sound like a sheep, just taking orders from the man in charge. The bottom line is that Nellie is going to be around for a long time. And whether he'll admit it publicly or not, he'll be exerting a great deal of influence on personnel decisions.
So after the Portland game last night, when Nelson said to media, "He’s the real deal. And we haven’t even learned how to play with him... When he’s working off screens, we’d better get him open. Because he looks like the real deal".
There you have it, Nellie law. If the Don says run, the Warriors should run. If he says jump, the Warriors should jump. And if Don Nelson says an undrafted beanpole of a rookie is the answer to the Warriors' woes, then let's go sailing - I'm on board.
Nellie continued, saying that the key advantage Morrow provides isn't his scoring - it's the threat of his scoring. Morrow can be so aggressive moving without the ball coming off screens, and has such a quick release, that teams have no choice but to defend him with a little more urgency. Yup, keep a sharp eye, Morrow's around. Since he demands that little extra defensive focus, just having Morrow on the floor should make the rest of the team better offensively, Nellie contends.
For his part, Morrow downplayed his role on the team after the game. "I know we have guys on this team that are all-stars, all-star caliber players. I just do what I do and play off of them", Morrow said. "It’s a huge transition, but I feel I can do it".
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Stephen Jackson Interview
Fellow blogger and FSBA sideline reporter Matt Steinmetz with a great interview of Cap'n Jack.
You can read the interview HERE.
*Update - Hyperlinks don't appear to be working right now, so here's the direct copy-and-paste link:
http://www.examiner.com/x-441-Golden-State-Warriors-Examiner~y2008m11d18-Stephen-Jackson-on-Palace-brawl-gunplay-at-strip-club-and-Warriors-president-Robert-Rowell
