Hornets vs. Warriors @ Home Nov. 9, 2006

Time to play POB and Biedrins together?

My reasoning? We need mobile tall players that can score inside or at least midrange. We let the guards work the outside and pull up midrangers or driving layups. We let the big guys rebound and also run the floor some. Biedrins against power forwards is better on defense IMO because he has the lateral quickness to keep up with those guys who can put the ball on the floor.

Size will dictate this game if we can't play bigger or quicker than the other team. We also need to make our shots inside the paint. We can't have the guards doing most of that or the big men avoiding contact because they are too finesse or scared of re-injury...

With Pietrus out, that forces us to go with Barnes or Dunleavy at SF and I just don't think we'll do well if we keep on pairing up Dunleavy and Murphy together on defense or offense. There's got to be some statistic out there that shows how incompatible they are especially slotted in at one position higher than they normally can play. Mullin drafted bigger, I hope we go bigger. I think Dunleavy can do okay against Peja Stojakovic if he isn't shooting himself in the foot first with the missed wide open jumpers and botched free throws.

 

BTW anyone here speculate that Don Nelson could bring Donnie Nelson, his son, to the Warriors? Oh man would I love him to replace Mullin or Rowell. Especially Rowell... There's got to be somebody that knows how to win because of foresight, experience, education and smarts. And hopefully that guy brings in other guys that are instrumental in winning because of same vision and similar talents.

 

I too would love to see more POB. Biendrins is a given.
I guess with Diogu out, we'll probably see a Foyle sighting tonight. I'm okay with the occassional Foyle sighting though.

I also agree that pairing Dun and Murphy is a bad idea. I'd like to see those stats when they are on the floor together.

I'd hold off on any speculation that Donnie Nelson would be taking over Mullin's or Rowell's positions.

 

With the way we got killed on the glass we could use all the bigs we can get. Heck play Murphy at the 3 and Dun at the 2!

 

Murphy/Dun at the 3 and 2 be would hilarious. Do it! Instead of small ball, it's big ball.

 

So is Pietrus really out for this game? If so do you think Dujan Wagner will be activated? And if Murphy gets 0 rebounds again, I think it will be time to bring Kosta to the States, to compete with Murphy for PT maybe...haha...idk.

 

What if we actually do the same as Montgomery's record? That definitely points to something and it ain't our coaches IMO. Coaches are going to find a way to get these guys to play together, but what if few long term guys can't because their skills just don't mesh? It's up to Mullin to find something that fits because he locked up a dud team for an intended 5-6 years... Or at least 4 if we have some team trading for an expiring contract from us.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">What if we actually do the same as Montgomery's record? That definitely points to something and it ain't our coaches IMO. Coaches are going to find a way to get these guys to play together, but what if few long term guys can't because their skills just don't mesh? It's up to Mullin to find something that fits because he locked up a dud team for an intended 5-6 years... Or at least 4 if we have some team trading for an expiring contract from us.</div>
It's certainly a possibility, especially with J-rich's knee, which is unfortunate because it really set this team back. If everyone was healthy during preseason then I think this team is capable of making the playoffs, especially if they begin to hit their free throws.

That to me is the key for this team to win games. Last years so many games were lost in the fourth quarter because of poor execution and missed free throws. In five games we are seeing something similar, so maybe it is the players like you say. But this team is not really that terrible. Severely flawed. Yes. But talented enough to make playoffs if they can hit their free throws and execute down the stretch. Tough to say whether that is the players fault or the coaches. Most likely a mix of both.

They are not a championship team, but good enough to sneak into the playoffs if healthy.

Besides it's still very early in the season. 25-30 games in and we'll know what this team is capable of. Again it's just really unfortunate about J-rich, and to a lesser extent Murphy's mask.

On an even more positive note, the warriors are scoring well tonight and up 5.

 

Yes, Gohn, but these guys really don't hit their free throws that often and I think that's what will kill us if we don't get exploited constantly with our charmin frontcourt. And if they can't keep that free throw shooting part honest, then they are not really a good offensive team. We know already that they aren't good defensively so we are counting on offense. Even if we did shoot free throws, we still don't have that inside presence that can dominate like a Shaq, Amare, or a Duncan. If we were to play like the Run TMC of old then we need a lights out shooter like Mullin was. That's hard to find these days. Reggie's gone, Bird's gone, Mullin's gone, who else these days is a good pure shooter than can keep the outside so honest, teams don't crowd the painted area. Opposing teams already know they own the paint defensively and offensively. We just can't run out on these guys if we can't make stops or if we can't even secure the rebound to push it out ahead. And if we're slowed down to a halfcourt, then we need at least 4 killer isolation players. I don't think Jrich is that great at iso, Baron is good, but he takes lousy shots, Monta doesn't really go left and guys will figure him out if they can compensate for his quickness. Then Ike is good, but he's been injured and we don't know which he players he won't match up well against, like Kendrick Perkins during the 06 Summer league.

That's why I was hoping we could get a polished player that knows all the moves and has decent upside. Guys like Chris Paul, Andrew Bogut, Kirk Hinrich, Brandon Roy, Emeka Okafor. But we keep getting these #5-11 picks and we end up going too safe or too much like a project... It's debatable who we should have gone with in '05. So many good players to choose from... Only the Magic jacked up their choice of pick.

 

We're going to blow it if we keep up with this Dunleavy, Murphy lineup...

The problem I have with Murphy is he's too lazy or unaware to play any help D and move his feet when other defenders are moving around. He needs to help. Dun's problem is although he helps out and tries to, he just isn't very good or productive, not even valuable intangibles wise unless we're counting effort and the type of plays Murphy should do. This no center thing is driving me nuts. argggg

We are shorthanded tonight, so I bet Don Nelson is trying to buy time so that Biedrins doesn't foul out by the time we need him.

Also, I'm grateful that New Orleans has few ballhandlers on the floor. Outside of Chris Paul, who else is there? We know Desmond Mason ain't doing anything and neither is Peja. They are both forwards, and neither can play a true shooting guard. I'm happy that we are taking advantage of turnovers and the fact very few people can create their own shot that well unless they're just camping the paint and using sheer size. I bet though, Coach Scott will use Bobby Jackson or Jannero Pargo to fill in the two and use Peja and Desmond Mason as small forwards. They already have David West, Tyson Chandler, Cedric Simmons.

 

Good points CR2.

I agree that they do not hit their free throws on a consistent basis, and that probably will not change. Unless that Ft guru that Nellie brought in is really that good. So far, like I said, there has not been much improvement in that area. Maybe it will take some time to the effect that this guru has.

I agree that the team is severely flawed, especially on the defensive end. And they are going to allow a ton of rebounds.

And definitely it is not good to rely on offense only, especially with a team that has no shooters. Like tonight they are only winning because they are shooting a really good percentage from three. But at the same time I do think this team has the ability to score a lot of points on a consistent basis. And we've seen that from this team. They are capable. And under Nellie's system which is geared toward offense, I think that it is possible in time. Chemistry is important.

Obviously I do not think this is a championship team. They do need to make changes to this roster. I agree. But this team has a chance of making the eight seed, which is not a position that this team wants to be. The last seed is always up for grabs. Pretty much all teams have a chance at the eighth seed. They just need some luck, things to go their way, since teams are have similar talent levels, it all depends on small things, like chemistry, injuries, distractions, maybe winning a few extra 2 point games instead of losing them. So I'm not saying they are a good team per say, but rather that they can make the playoffs with this team, but they have low margin for error, and again it's unfortunate about Richardson's knee.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">That's why I was hoping we could get a polished player that knows all the moves and has decent upside. Guys like Chris Paul, Andrew Bogut, Kirk Hinrich, Brandon Roy, Emeka Okafor. But we keep getting these #5-11 picks and we end up going too safe or too much like a project... It's debatable who we should have gone with in '05. So many good players to choose from... Only the Magic jacked up their choice of pick.</div>
Yeah it's tough figuring out which way to go. Project or Safe pick. It's a crap shoot. There is no sure pick. It's all in hindsight. Plenty of safe picks that turned out great and plenty of projects that turned out great. I agree that it's a lot tougher to pick at 9 - 11 where the warriors have picked the last four years.

I would be happy with any of the guys you listed. My least favorite would be Hinrich because he seems to be more of a sg, and I like the pure point guards in the mold of John Stockton.

 

Stockton is hard to find I'll take Sam Cassell a shoot first, pass second combo guard to play point. He can at least help win championships and made Garnett a lot better. He made the Clippers a lot better. Guys like Bibby, Paul and Hinrich are my kind of points. I like Baron too, but he gets selfish like Stevie Francis or Marbury during crunch time.

BTW how about Pietrus? He's showing flashes of Ricky Davis!

Also I don't think FT gurus will help. They've tried to get them for Tim Duncan, Shaq, or maybe even Antoine Walker, but it just doesn't work. I think Jrich will continue to hover around low 70 or high 60. Baron will probably be higher but more or less the same. Biedrins is so bad of a free throw shot, he's got nowhere to go but up, I think. But I think he'll shoot worse than Foyle or Joel Pryzbilla or Bo Outlaw.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Also I don't think FT gurus will help. They've tried to get them for Tim Duncan, Shaq, or maybe even Antoine Walker, but it just doesn't work. I think Jrich will continue to hover around low 70 or high 60. Baron will probably be higher but more or less the same. Biedrins is so bad of a free throw shot, he's got nowhere to go but up, I think. But I think he'll shoot worse than Foyle or Joel Pryzbilla or Bo Outlaw.</div>
Me either. They'll shoot well for a few games then shoot sub 70's.

I just checked the box score for the last two games. 80% in both those games. And tonight around 77%. I hope they can keep it up.

They're up ten right now, and I'm so worried that they will blow it in the last minute.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Gohn Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Me either. They'll shoot well for a few games then shoot sub 70's.

I just checked the box score for the last two games. 80% in both those games. And tonight around 77%. I hope they can keep it up.

They're up ten right now, and I'm so worried that they will blow it in the last minute.</div>

I'm worried too. But the good news is that we had good team rebounding and our backcourt provided good punch in creating and setting other people up. Guys like Ellis, Pietrus, Baron are pretty darn quick and were dishing out assists, blocking shots, stealing the ball, rebounding, etc. We have to play quickly and athletically if we don't have a whole lot of size... It's the only way to break down defenses. That and making our threes, which we did tonight.

Dunleavy... there are three things you can count on in life

Death, Taxes, and Dunleavy missing jump shots over a smaller defender.

But luckily the Hornets are shooting themselves in the foot with the silly turnovers.

 

Well the warriors won, but not in the fashion that gives me much confidence, unless they can shoot 38% from three all year long.

But 81% FT shooting tonight. Three games straight of of over 80 is a good start.

 

We played pretty well, but the Hornets made so many mistakes they just handed us the game it seems like. But we did very well on capitalizing on their turnovers, getting a decent % from the line, hitting our threes when there was no action from midrange or in the paint. But let's be realistic. Three pointland is not a good way to win in basketball games. It spread the floor, but it doesn't create opportunities inside because teams will actually allow us to shoot the three if they know our misses fuel their own fastbreak. Plus, we need to move the ball around a lot more and we need paint action to get people moving from side to side and collapsing inside or out. Then we can sneak right in between the gaps in their shuffling D because there is space to move and receive the ball for a better shot. So I'm hoping Don Nelson can get these guys to play and to move better without the ball because if they stand around, chances are they will not produce a very good shot. It's the equivalent of Dunleavy shooting a wide open jumper... it'll probably miss more times than it goes in

 

I think in this game, the Warriors' best defense was their offense. It was scarey at the end. The Hornets seemed to get a lot of close shots at will...but the Warriors always countered with consistant offense and good FT shooting. The three point shooting helped tonight as well.

 

I think a bad pattern will form. Dunleavy did decent tonight. Ever notice how he does bad then gets put in a 6th man role then he does well then after he does well he goes back into the starting line-up then sucks then goes back to bench? I hope Nelson just keeps him as a 6th man (hopefully 12th man) throughout the entire season.

Anyway, man Ellis is really stepping up his game. Where would we be without his production, especially with JRich out.

And another thing, Murphy's feet are made of stone. I mean the guy is slow, but damn, he's REALLLLY slow. If Murphy had Biedrin's mobility or if Biedrins had Murphy's shot, we'd have a winner.

 

<div class="quote_poster">custodianrules2 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">BTW anyone here speculate that Don Nelson could bring Donnie Nelson, his son, to the Warriors? Oh man would I love him to replace Mullin or Rowell. Especially Rowell... There's got to be somebody that knows how to win because of foresight, experience, education and smarts. And hopefully that guy brings in other guys that are instrumental in winning because of same vision and similar talents.</div>

You don't want Donnie Nelson here because that would be nepotism. We had that trouble last time around.

I think Mullin and Nelson will be a good management combination. Nelson hopefully will tell Mullin off when it comes to doling out contracts. He's got the experience to be able to tell Mullin he sucks to his face and not worry about getting fired. I can't see Monty ever doing that.

Mullin will be able to reign in Nelson, too, when he starts trying to take over. It's still Mullin's team after all. However, Mullin will probably listen to Nelson more in terms of personnel. What was good to hear was Nellie say that he will start looking at changing the team if he has to. The team has responded and after tonight, they are 3 and 2 and have only had one bad game. Not a bad start.