According to an injury list updated today at Yahoo!, Baron and Ike are still injured. Whether or not that means they're officially "out", I don't know. Ike's last game was 2 weeks ago, I'm getting a little nervous. How much longer can we rely on Ellis alone to carry the offense? Monta will have to be careful with his ballhandling, as he is prone to turning the ball over and the Nuggets are best in the NBA in steals. Baron is desperately needed back for this next tough stretch of 10+ games. I would guess Pietrus is going to get the defensive assignment on 'Melo, so tonight will be a lot about how well he performs. Plus, he's been great offensively lately as well, so I'd rather see him on the floor than Dun or really even JRich at this point. JRich will not be able to guard Anthony effectively right now IMO. Nuggets are third in the NBA in rebounding, a big key is that we need everyone to be active on the glass, not just Andris. I think Andris will do OK against Camby, he just needs to be efficient with his fouls as always. Nuggets are also seventh in FT%, so be smart with the fouls.
<div class="quote_poster">AlleyOop Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Do we know if this one is on TV? -- I don't see it</div> It's on FSN+. I think you need Comcast digital to view it.
Yeah, thanks to the Sharks. Rats. I really hate Comcast. Why can't Fox partner with some other local station like they did with KICU 36 before?
<div class="quote_poster">NewYorkBalla33 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Warriors should win this one on the road.</div> It's a home game, homey. They're in Denver on Friday.
If Baron is out, then Monta and McLeod would have to share the PG duties. Last game Monta took a lot of minutes, so don't think he'll play the same amount of minutes tonight. The turnovers could be costly. Dun, MP and AB all have had their share of turnovers, too. It's Nugz +3 right now. That spread may go down or up as the injury situation clears up. Is that a recent preview? I still can't get a game preview from Yahoo.
Well, if you believe Steve Kerr, our most dominant player is out and so we will lose tonight. Sheesh! "BARON DAVIS ("Baron is the barometer," Nov. 17, 2006) Sooner or later, you'll be forced to write a column about Baron and the Golden State Warriors without asking questions and making comments about previous years. I, with other Warriors fans, realize that Baron is not the "key" to our success. He as well as Monta Ellis and Jason Richardson are but notches on a single key to the Warriors' current and future success. When will you write a complete story on the Warriors' success as a team? Why don’t you address the great performances of Baron and Monta at the point and their great efforts to get the other players involved in the offense? More than ever before, the Warriors are about team success. Each person at each position is paying dividends toward their march into the playoffs. I look forward to your column on the TEAM. Brian Stewart San Francisco Brian, Baron is more than a "notch on a single key" to the Warriors' success. He's their guy. He's the man for that club. Listen, I love Monta Ellis, and Andris Biedrins is a really good player – he's big and active and has soft hands. But the Warriors have no chance to win without Davis. Period. (As Rafael Palmeiro would say). Don Nelson told me the other night that Davis is "his one dominant player." That's why almost every play is run through him. That doesn't mean the other guys aren't important, because they are. I'm just saying that Davis is more important to that team's success than anyone else."
Warriors got out-rebounded 54 to 34. With team rebounds included it's 65 to 48 -- ugh. JRich and Dunleavy played great, though, and Murph knocked down some key shots. Beans had a career high 7 blocks, too. But the Nuggets were able make so many mistakes (24 turnovers!) and still walk away with a win. Warriors looked bad on defense on many occaisions, in part because it looked like Reggie Evans could box out two Warriors at once lol. He and Camby combined for 30 boards, wtf. The Warriors need some bulk down low. I like Murphy's hard work but he just doesn't box out well or have any sort of lift whatsoever. I mean he just isn't a "big" bigman. The Warriors need to find some bulk and toughness at the PF position, otherwise they'll have a tough time beating the physical, aggressive teams like Denver.
I'm not sure we can out rebound Camby and Evans with AB and Murphy. Even if Ike was healthy, they would be boxed out. Evans has the ability to block more than one guy and go after the ball. Maybe you have to have MP or one of the guards go in and help rebound. I don't think it's lack of effort on the Warriors players, but their defense needs to improve. A lot of times they aren't even challenging their man and they give up too many layups.
I think our biggest weakness was our zone. Our zone kept leaving people wide open and the nuggets had a clean look to knock down the J. It also didn't help at all that with this zone we weren't crashing the boards. Nelly played zone almost the whole game but in the 4th he played man and thats when we tied it up. Our zone to me, is not working for us, we diverted to the zone against the suns and the same thing happened. Bell and Barbosa were able to get open looks everytime because they would overload one side and that would leave another person open
I wouldn't sweat it. We probably won't make the playoffs. I know. I'm negative, but if Nelson was GM earlier, maybe we could have not wasted so much time collecting dud contracts and "waiting" to see what happened. Anytime, we play teams with athletic big man and athletic forwards, we get our asses handed to us. At least this time we kept it close. I heard the Warriors made a lot of mistakes tonight though. I think the only good teams with star big men and balanced backcourt that we beat were Dallas and the Pistons. But for some reason they got off to a slow start. Teams on the upside like Clippers, Nuggets, Lakers, Utah are hard to put down. I think if Biedrins can get better we can match up, but we also need at least another guy. Particularly at center and small forward. Somebody has to backup Biedrins in csae he gets in foul trouble again. I like POB, but man he's got to get nba ready soon. It was a winnable game, but it's a new coach system, new chemistry, and a lot of other new things... we're not very balanced just yet, but we're better than we were with all five guys being slow pokes and lacking necessary team/individual skills for their intended position.
Well, GS didn't get obliterated, it was a very close game all the way through. Biedrins is legit, though. He can block shots, rebound, and score. He's legit. But the Warriors need one other compliment big-man for when they play the tougher front-court teams. When they play the Suns, sure it's okay to have Pietrus playing the PF lol. But against the Nuggets, with Camby, Anthony, Evans, Najera, Nene, and KMart, there's just no way. The Nuggets were without Nene and KMart and they still out rebounded GS by 20. Plus, the GS players were getting banged up. Biedrins was the only "tough" presence, and if Murphy is going to continue to start at PF, he's gotta start working the plyometrics routine and increase that vertical leap. He is just SO slow and unexplosive. Tonight, there was one play when Murph had superior position for a rebound but just got out-jumped, Melo got the ball, and then leap-frogged right around Murphy for the 2-hand dunk before Murphy could even look up. It was sad. On a plus note, Dunleavy has been playing good ball of late. Pietrus too. Let's hope Ike can come back soon and provide some interior muscle.
<div class="quote_poster">custodianrules2 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I wouldn't sweat it. We probably won't make the playoffs. I know. I'm negative, but if Nelson was GM earlier, maybe we could have not wasted so much time collecting dud contracts and "waiting" to see what happened. Anytime, we play teams with athletic big man and athletic forwards, we get our asses handed to us. At least this time we kept it close. I heard the Warriors made a lot of mistakes tonight though. I think the only good teams with star big men and balanced backcourt that we beat were Dallas and the Pistons. But for some reason they got off to a slow start. Teams on the upside like Clippers, Nuggets, Lakers, Utah are hard to put down. I think if Biedrins can get better we can match up, but we also need at least another guy. Particularly at center and small forward. Somebody has to backup Biedrins in csae he gets in foul trouble again. I like POB, but man he's got to get nba ready soon. It was a winnable game, but it's a new coach system, new chemistry, and a lot of other new things... we're not very balanced just yet, but we're better than we were with all five guys being slow pokes and lacking necessary team/individual skills for their intended position.</div> Who are your dud contracts CR? I got Foyle, Dunleavy (he'd be okay if he wasn't paid so much!) and Murphy. The rooks that have suprised early this year are Paul Milsap (Utah), Jorge Garbajosa (Toronto) and Craig Smith (Minnesota). Even Shelden Williams is doing well with inconsistent minutes for ATL after being blasted as the #5 pick. He leads the rooks in rebounding. I think with our lack of rebounding, Nelson will be putting in POB in the coming weeks so we can match up against teams like Denver with Camby, Evans, Nene, Najera, etc. Also, I wouldn't throw out Anthony Roberson just yet. I still think he can contribute once he gets over the rookie jitters.
J. Smith Jump Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (1 BLK) Najera Layup Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (2 BLK) Anthony Layup Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (3 BLK) Diawara Jump Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (4 BLK) Evans Layup Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (5 BLK) Miller Layup Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (6 BLK) Camby Jump Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (7 BLK) Biedrins is 3rd best shot blocker at league now.
It comes down to FT's and rebounds. It's crazy how poorly the Warriors did on the boards yet they still shot more FG's than the Nuggets. That is probably due to how many steals and blocks they got 12 steals and 10 blocks. So maybe if the Warriors rebounded just a little bit closer to even, it could have been a much different game. If they shot better than 64% from the FT line it could have been a different story as well. I saw that end of the game highlite of Pietrus' shot, since this is the only clip of the game I could see because of stupid Comcast Digital Cable or whatever, but I thought that shot was going in. I thought it was going to be money. Then Monta...he was off balance a little bit, but darn, so close. The question now is, what can the Warriors do about the rebounding? Will Zarko and POB help rebound? or what? Murphy is not getting his boards like previous years. Maybe that is the effect of the zone defense. Maybe Nelson wants rebounding to be a team effort which means including the guards like Baron, Jason, Monta, Dunleavy, and Pietrus who are pretty decent rebounders or can be? I don't know... Hopefully it's a different story next time. The Warriors can't manage to lose twice in a row to the Nuggets within three days. Oh, and Monta has been doing a great job at PG over the last week or so. He got 9 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 steals, and knocked down all three of his FT's. Even though he didn't shot superb from the field, he managed to do some good things on the court still. Monta is averaging 7 assists in the last five games, while only averaging a little over 2 turnovers per game in that same stretch (2.4)
<div class="quote_poster">jason voorhees Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Who are your dud contracts CR? I got Foyle, Dunleavy (he'd be okay if he wasn't paid so much!) and Murphy. The rooks that have suprised early this year are Paul Milsap (Utah), Jorge Garbajosa (Toronto) and Craig Smith (Minnesota). Even Shelden Williams is doing well with inconsistent minutes for ATL after being blasted as the #5 pick. He leads the rooks in rebounding. I think with our lack of rebounding, Nelson will be putting in POB in the coming weeks so we can match up against teams like Denver with Camby, Evans, Nene, Najera, etc. Also, I wouldn't throw out Anthony Roberson just yet. I still think he can contribute once he gets over the rookie jitters.</div> The dud contracts were Fisher, Foyle, Dunleavy. We essentially got nothing from the Fisher trade but cap relief and Fisher has more value than three utah jazz players. We probably won't get anything for Foyle if the Warriors buy him out. Nobody wants Murphy's two category production just yet. Dunleavy is essentially an overpaid bench player like many thought he'd be. The warriors organization simply wasted money by getting Montgomery when they all knew it wasn't a halfcourt team if there was no quality center or power forward emulating center. If we didn't have these problems the last two years maybe we could have improved in the areas we needed most like forward and small forward depth. It is possible to land a quality free agent of impact for once without overpaying if other players want to play with a guy like Baron Davis or somebody like Nelson. It just sucks to not be able to gain momentum once the Baron Davis trade was made or once we landed Don Nelson. Moves were already committed in 2004 and many salaries were committed until 2009 or 2010 with no teams interested in the talent for the price involved. Gross underestimating of the market, aside from Jrich. Many bad lotto bound teams did this though. Like the whole overpay for role players like Mark Blount/Jerome James fiasco. We had Foyle/Fish/Dunleavy. All three were guys not quite starters, and two of them were either involved in trade for three nobodies and the other is being discussed in a buyout. Dunleavy was so hated, he was booed by fans for missing free throws even though people know JRich/Baron/Biedrins/Pietrus shoot even worse. Then we got Murphy who some say gets in the way of an open court chemistry (I'm not the only one saying this that we need great one-on-one players that can also swing the ball and play the passing lanes, finish shots inside, shoot off the dribble, block shots, and essentially play bigger). There's no more moves we can make when we're flirting with luxury tax. Something has to give because Foyle contract still counts against us and we're stuck with Dunleavy for quite a while. I mean Foyle hardly plays, so he's looking like even a bigger mistake than in 2004 where we could at least imagine him backing somebody better like Dunleavy is doing now. Let's just say if we have a fixed budget, we need balance so that other teams don't pound the ball into the same positions that kick our ass frequently like big athletic forwards, for instance. They just murder us. It's always some young star forward or unknown role playing forward that gets a season high or career high against us. It just sucks. If we can work out something that gives us more balance on defense and offense, then we won't be exploited so much. Hopefully, we have the kind of player that can exploit other teams defenses like Baron Davis, but he won't be so injury prone or at times selfish with the ball. Bdiddy has gotten better slightly, but there's probably room for learning to share the ball in crunchtime or calling something so other guys don't stand around. PG's got to lead and direct.
<div class="quote_poster">hipokrat_x(LV) Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">J. Smith Jump Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (1 BLK) Najera Layup Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (2 BLK) Anthony Layup Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (3 BLK) Diawara Jump Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (4 BLK) Evans Layup Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (5 BLK) Miller Layup Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (6 BLK) Camby Jump Shot: Missed Block: Biedrins (7 BLK) Biedrins is 3rd best shot blocker at league now.</div> If the guy can stay on the floor as much as he wants to, the guy will be a top 5 center/forward guy. I thought that way when he got his first start, averaged a double double, and blocked somebody important, I believe. He's just not intimidated and he's uber aggressive. Everyone could see his potential as a potent defensive guy who can also rebound at both ends of the floor. Now if Pietrus could have been where Jrich is right now, I think he could have been a very affective player sooner. But damn, the guy was super raw for the longest time and he also battled many injuries. Right after 2004, I thought Biedrins would have the best chance of being a sure thing for euro project becoming a big impact. Or maybe it is because we hadn't had a decent power forward/center in so long, Biedrins looks this good!
