<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">As if missed free-throw attempts and layups weren't contagious enough, the Warriors are now battling ankle-itis. Jason Richardson joined Baron Davis in the sprained-ankle ward Monday, and both appear doubtful for tonight's game against Orlando. Richardson said his left ankle was still feeling tender less than 18 hours after he landed on Keith McLeod's foot. Like Davis, he watched Tuesday's practice from the sideline and will begin a daily monitoring of the ankle in hopes of a quick return. "It's fine right now," Richardson said. "A little swollen, a little sore. Just going to try to see what happens tomorrow. Try to go to shootaround, not push it too much, try to save it for the game if I can play." Richardson credited an adrenaline rush for playing out the final 15 minutes of Monday's loss to the Jazz. He went down with 9:50 left in regulation, returned with 9:06 left on the game clock, and made his next four shots to give the Warriors a chance at victory. Though teammates lauded his plucky performance, Richardson brushed aside the accolades Tuesday. "That's how badly I want to win, to get to the playoffs," he said. "I didn't feel any pain. I was just in one of those zones where I wanted to win the game. I wasn't doing that just so guys can sit back and go 'Yay, Jason.' ... "I don't care what anybody thinks about it. I just wanted to win games." He'll need some help getting those victories. Davis said there was still no timetable for his return from a right ankle sprain and he seems unlikely to return before the Warriors depart for a five-game East Coast road trip on Saturday. Davis was limited to the treadmill during practice. Coach Mike Montgomery wouldn't say who would start should Richardson and Davis both be unavailable for tonight's game, but he has few options. Unless there is a major revamping of the lineup, rookie Monta Ellis and former starter Mike Dunleavy are the likeliest options. </div> Source
I wonder where the offense will come from. It's a good time for Dunleavy and Pietrus to get out of their slumps.
At least we'll see more of Monta and Ike. Of all the people injured why Baron and J-Rich. Why not Foyle!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting CohanHater:</div><div class="quote_post">Ya, I think Foyle, Murphy and Fisher should trade injuries with Baron and JRich and Taft.</div> My coffee almost came out the nose on that one.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting vcwannabe15:</div><div class="quote_post">That's just what we needed. So who are we gonna pick in the lottery?</div> I vote Josh Boone. We need toughness and athleticism inside and he brings it.
Let me say I'm no expert on draft prospects. I once was pushing for Tiago Splitter, but he hasn't done much since he withdrew from the draft and plus Biedrins could essentially be the same guy plus/minus a few things as F/C. I just don't know what we need more, a center or a small forward, but since we don't even know the big man depth of this draft or what the best available player will be, I'll focus on needs based on what I think might be a draft full of swingmen. Here's the thing: I think we need more pure position guys that play like their position requires. Jrich, the 6'4-6'5 shooting guard, plays like a forward more than a guard and that definitely is a problem when you need ft%, ballhandling, and more quickness to create shots and play defense. I wish there was a T-mac like or Lebron James like player in the draft or something that could serve as a secondary ballhandler and guy to take on the extra scoring load so the point guard doesn't have to... Reason I say those guys is mainly for their guard skills at that size and not really their defense... otherwise for pure position players, going after a 6'5-6'6 prototypical shooting guard might be a nice thing to get instead of the super athletic small forward that can't dribble the ball or shoot very well. Also I don't like guys who can't shoot threes and I don't like guys who settle for too many threes because they have no discipline, creativity, or realization that they could take that shot anytime they want. Kmart's half brother, Richard Roby I heard is an athletic prototype two guard, but I don't know much about his defensive game or other things he does. The other guy I'm hearing about is Rudy Fernandez. They say he's the second coming of Manu Ginobilli, but not as strong or as high energy. He's quick and good at shooting and passing though. I'd pass on Redick, but go for Adam Morrison for a guard-like small forward or Lamarcus Aldrige at F/C if he's available. For small forwards, I heard Memphis has this guy that's really good. I think his name is Rodney Carney or something. I really don't know much about the big man depth of this draft, but maybe instead of building on Jrich or Baron we should focus more on the possibility of building around guys like Monta Ellis or Ike Diogu/Biedrins. What kind of players would we want at shooting guard or small forward if Baron was too injured to play and Jrich wasn't doing the stuff his position requires outside of scoring. Obviously we want a swing player to play defense, outproduce the opposing guard, shoot, pass, handle the ball, hit a high free throw %, not necessarily posess super athleticism, but posess quickness and the ability to finish strong at the hoop and hustle for loose balls. Also what if Biedrins makes a better PF, Ike isn't worthy of starting and we need a true center? For center, we want strength, good hands, large body frame, mobility, coordination, a nice standing reach (i.e. height + wingspan), some good elevation, passing skills, ability to read defenses, intimidating presence, the ability to finish strong at the hoop and do the dirty work. I guess besides our inconsistencies on the wing, we might also want to add more big men that can play physical and are really strong defensive guys sort of like Emeka Okafor or an Alonzo Mourning. I don't know if Josh Boone fits the deal, but he's definitely a dirty work kind of guy that can play D at the college level. He can pass, but I don't know if he can score at the nba level playing at a lighter weight than Emeka Okafor does at center. I guess the question is how much faith do we have in Taft or Biedrins to play center? Do we want to draft a backup for Biedrins or Ike, especially a defensive specialist? Seems like a waste of a pick. So I guess unless we land LaMarcus Aldrige (a projected Chris Bosh like player that could play some center in theory), any swing player would be nice as long as they posess an all around game and do several things very well at the nba level. I hope its something that can make up for Jrich's weaknesses playing the two guard. 60% free throw shooting for a high scoring guard is just a horrible dynamic to have and he can't create his own shot very well or shuffle his feet on D. Plus he's not the all around shooter like Michael Redd or Ray Allen is. Or we could do what some suggested. Focus efforts on the young guys we have now and just trade the pick to get out from under these horrible contracts we have and this time not screw up our salary structure by wasting our MLE. Also, If we draft more guys, we'll have to develop them and find them playing time and put up with their growing pains and mistakes.
Good points CR2. As for swingmen, prospects that we can realistically get are Rodney Carney, Brandon Rush, and Mardy Collins. Carney seems like a hybrid of Pietrus and J-Rich. Super athletic, has an inconsistent outside shot, inconsistent overall, has the ability to play very good defense but slacks off sometimes. He'd be a solid pick but seems like more of what we already have. Of course, he could fill in for Pietrus if we decide to let him walk. I don't know much about Brandon Rush, seems like another one of those raw athletic swingmen that are full of potential. Mardy Collins is considered to be a pure PG but he could be a good passing and ball-handling 2. His shot isn't very consistent from 3 point range but hes got a nice mid-range game. Other prospects are Rudy Fernandez, as you mentioned, compared to Ginobli but hes so young and very weak its difficult to tell whether he'd be strong enough to compete with other 2's in the NBA. Also, Bobby Jones would be a good 2nd round pick (if we have one this year). Hes an athletic defensive swingman with little offensive game but he can finish pretty well. He'd be a good fit on a fastbreak team with his good perimiter defense and athleticism.
