It was good seeing the Warriors up at the half. I thought the Warriors were going to lose for sure since it was a 2nd of a back to back game and Nelson seemed to be refusing to play a center because of his starting rotation. Turns out Biedrins was very productive. The real stars of the show were Baron and Ellis combination (Baron posting up on Paul while Ellis plays off the ball). If either one of Harrington or Sjax shows up with 3's, we were definitely in business. If Webber starts to play, I can see how he might make guys like Barnes and Ellis a lot better because those two are very active nowadays when it comes to reading the offense and moving to where there is a play (instead of standing around). Ellis' passing skills were very good. His court sense is much improved from how he was at the beginning of this year. He's going to be an all-star for sure. I also liked the fact Brandan Wright actually got to play. He looks promising. He hit two perfect free throws out of two which is good because he usually sucks at that. When I mean by perfect, he got all net instead of grazing the rim like some of the other guys do when they don't put enough arc on the ball.
Ellis looked awesome in this game. Hes been fantastic lately but tonight he really showed great promise as a legit PG. He'll never be a "pure" PG per se but he can definitely be like a Tony Parker, A.I., etc. where he can efficiently run a team and make the right passes. His jumper is money now and its making him unstoppable. Hes learning more and more how to leak out on the break and without him our fastbreak wouldn't be that good at all. Plus hes getting a lot of nice rebounds in there, hes probably been our most consistent player for the last month or so. Also nice to see Jack string together two consecutive good shooting games, his shot was way off for about a month. I think the Webber acquisition has gotten him excited and more energetic in the dog days of January. Baron also had a nice game especially considering he had the flu. Barnes had a nice game on the stat sheet even though I was yelling at my TV screen whenever he touched the ball, nice to see him getting back on track and like Custodian said I think he and Ellis will be helped out a lot by Webber. Biedrins also had a nice game off the bench and was key in the 4th quarter. We kind of got lucky with this win though. We shot the ball extremely well which is the main reason why we won. I think that stretch where David West raped Barnes and Pietrus on about 20 straight possessions actually ended up hurting the Hornets. West is a nice player but hes just flat out not a very good inside player, Barnett and Fitz way overrate him because he eats Pietrus and Barnes alive. Get a decently competent big man on him and hes got nothing on the inside. He couldn't muscle Biedrins and he sure as hell couldn't get any easy shots over him like he could with Barnes and Pietrus. Once Beans shut him down (with ease I might add) they had lost any and all rhythm because no one else took any shots for the entire 3rd quarter. This next stretch of games before the all-star game will be key for us to get some separation. We've got Charlotte, Chicago, Sac, Washington, and Phoenix all at home. We'll have 5 days off after the Bobcats game to get rest and get Webber acclimated. If we can continue streaking (we're 8-3 in our last 11) while Portland (4-6 in their last 10), Denver (5-5 in their last 10), and the Lakers (6-4 in their last 10) keep struggling we can get up to the 5-7 spot and build a little cushion.
The Warriors shot lights out. But they also played decent D. I think West is a legitimate low post threat. The difference this time (vs. the loss at Oracle) was that Peja did not go wild and Paul did not take over at the end. Monta is making as big a step this year as last year and that's simply amazing. I've always heard that the move from okay to good is a lot easier than from good to great. Monta is not yet great, his D is pretty lame at times (how does he end up trailing a dribbler and/or cutter?), but his passing and rebounding are a huge improvement from before. No doubts about him playing the off guard now.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Jan 31 2008, 10:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Ellis looked awesome in this game. Hes been fantastic lately but tonight he really showed great promise as a legit PG. He'll never be a "pure" PG per se but he can definitely be like a Tony Parker, A.I., etc. where he can efficiently run a team and make the right passes. His jumper is money now and its making him unstoppable. Hes learning more and more how to leak out on the break and without him our fastbreak wouldn't be that good at all. Plus hes getting a lot of nice rebounds in there, hes probably been our most consistent player for the last month or so.</div> You're definitely right about consistency. When a player that quick, finishes so well inside, you can't just take outside jumpers like the way Harrington and Sjax try to do. When both those guys' games are off or one of them, we just suck as a team. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Jan 31 2008, 10:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Also nice to see Jack string together two consecutive good shooting games, his shot was way off for about a month. I think the Webber acquisition has gotten him excited and more energetic in the dog days of January. Baron also had a nice game especially considering he had the flu. Barnes had a nice game on the stat sheet even though I was yelling at my TV screen whenever he touched the ball, nice to see him getting back on track and like Custodian said I think he and Ellis will be helped out a lot by Webber. Biedrins also had a nice game off the bench and was key in the 4th quarter.</div> I used to get mad at Barnes until I realized that everything bad that he does is not because he's stupid (like Pietrus), but because he's incredibly risky as hell. Barnes is actually a pretty smart player (pretty decent understanding of the game when it comes to passing), he's just freakin' risky as hell. I think his way is actually better than the Jaric/Dunleavy approach in Nelson's roster. The Warriors need to be aggressive in an attacking sort of way until they can learn to work more by moving off the ball. Barne's aggressiveness and willingness to make a risky play is probably one of the reasons why Barnes showed up in the playoffs last year and guys like Harrington and Pietrus didn't. Aggressive means hustle, try to initiate rather than stand around and never giving up on a play. Barnes has heart and he's showing some things that Harrington and Pietrus fail to do in games like pass the ball or make a smart cut. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Jan 31 2008, 10:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>We kind of got lucky with this win though. We shot the ball extremely well which is the main reason why we won. I think that stretch where David West raped Barnes and Pietrus on about 20 straight possessions actually ended up hurting the Hornets. West is a nice player but hes just flat out not a very good inside player, Barnett and Fitz way overrate him because he eats Pietrus and Barnes alive. Get a decently competent big man on him and hes got nothing on the inside. He couldn't muscle Biedrins and he sure as hell couldn't get any easy shots over him like he could with Barnes and Pietrus. Once Beans shut him down (with ease I might add) they had lost any and all rhythm because no one else took any shots for the entire 3rd quarter. This next stretch of games before the all-star game will be key for us to get some separation. We've got Charlotte, Chicago, Sac, Washington, and Phoenix all at home. We'll have 5 days off after the Bobcats game to get rest and get Webber acclimated. If we can continue streaking (we're 8-3 in our last 11) while Portland (4-6 in their last 10), Denver (5-5 in their last 10), and the Lakers (6-4 in their last 10) keep struggling we can get up to the 5-7 spot and build a little cushion.</div> West is such a tweener in terms of size (like Ike Diogu, but I like Ike). Don't get me wrong, he's a very good forward tweener with a well rounded game, but Biedrins would have been a more kick ass NATURAL power forward if he had West's scoring and passing skills. But he doesn't... he's just a body right now with some hustle. Biedrins' size and quickness would have been so excellent against power forward matchups that it makes me sad that he has to be used as a center. He'd be power forward in the weight class of guys like Jermaine O'neil, Pau Gasol, Sheed, and KG. But... that offensive game and confidence isn't really developed now... I'm hoping someday it will soon because he'd be an nightmare against power forwards. I'm hoping by then, he'll weigh up. Don Nelson had him running around at 230 or 220, I heard, when he should be at 245 or 250 lbs. Biedrins was drafted to be our bruiser... one of the few Euros willing to take contact in the paint... but he's too easy to push around. I wonder if this is what Biedrins wants for himself... to be used as a Jeff Foster rather than a Tim Duncan. I remember that one badass dunk he had against some 6'9 power forward on the Wizards. Beans got him real low and then spun right around him. Biedrins just absolutely owned him on the post up, went under the hoop, and threw a dunk on the other side of the rim that blew Jim Barnett's and Bob Fitzgerald's socks off.
