I am double-posting to start a new thread about the Warriors run-n-gun philosophy. Basically, IMO, the Warriors are taking the "Run" out of Run-N-Gun. My post was in response to HiRez, who said: Great comments, HiRez. It's funny how quickly a team's identity can change. They can call GS run-n-gun all they want, but this team is about the farthest thing from a fast-break team that I can think of. Sure, they shoot quickly, without passing the ball, lol... but is that run-n-gun? No, that's just "gun" GS is a gunning team, because everyone on the team shoots as soon as they touch the ball, but that's not going to win anything. As far as the run part... c'mon, Nellie, gimme a break. This is a laugher. The only rotation guy on the team who resembles a point guard -- CJ Watson -- is HORRIBLE on the fast break. Dude doesn't even know basic highschool fast-break stuff like spacing for 2-on-1, 3-on-1, jumpstop at the FT line, and filling the lanes. How is this possible? I have no f***ing clue. Mags on the fast break? He'll run down on the break, get the ball on the wing, and stop running, wait for every one to catch up, waive off his teammates, clear out a side, and then go 1-on-5. Jax on the fast break? Run down, ignore his teammates, pull up and shoot a lazy fade away three from 40 feet. Crawford on the fast break? It's and-1 time, regardless of who's running with him. Straight to the hoop without a thought to pass. Watson on the fast break? See Crawford. Azibuike on the fast break? See Crawford and Watson. Wright on the fast break? Awesome! Beans on thef ast break? Awesome! Problem is, there's no one to get those guys the ball. And Wright doesn't even play anymore. This team sucks on the fast break. They suck in the half-court set, too. They also suck on defense. ANd they've lost 8 straight. Maybe it's time to try something different, eh Nellie?
There was a 2-on-1 off a missed shot where Jackson had Crawford for the easy layup. He had the defender perfectly split and he jacks up the 3. That was the worst play of the night. The second worst play was Rob Kurz not throwing the ball up court after a rebound, where I think we had a 3-on-2. I forgive the guy as he's a rookie but I don't forgive Nellie for putting him in instead of Wright.
Our greatest need was a PG this season, so we loaded the team up with psuedo-PG's. The only "true PG" is Marcus Williams, and well, I don't think he made the trip with the rest of the team. Stephen Jackson is the only player that plays that has the awareness to pass the ball to an open man, but he needs to be more judicious. I think he got at least 3 or 4 turnovers because of bad passes off the pick-n-roll. It's like he's praying the ball is going to make it to the roller. He needs to learn how to pass with two hands or just learn how to pass. The player that probably knows how to run the fast break the best is Marco Bellinelli. Sweet.
Yep, that's a perfect assessment of Jax's passing. Sure, he looks like he's trying to be unselfish, and I like that. But the thing about Jax is his ego. Even when he's passing, often times it's about him. It's like he only wants to pass if it's a situation where it makes him look good. It either has to be a flashy one-handed gamble pass or no pass at all. Here's the thing about a fast break: the ball travels faster through the air ( a pass) than it does bouncing off the ground (by dribbling). No ball handler can dribble the ball faster up court than a pass can travel. So, good fast-break teams don't dribble. They push the ball up court by making outlet passes. You can whip three passes from baseline to baseline in about 1.5 seconds. Meanwhile Jax is still dribbling and hasn't even crossed half court yet. On the ideal fast break, the ball never touches the court. Not one dribble is made. Just pass-pass-pass-layup. I haven't seen GS make two consecutive passes on a fast break all year. Rather, I see Jax with an open man leaking out on the wing, and he just keeps dribbling and dribbling all the way into one of his patented 1-on-3 turnovers. When will they figure this out?
This team needs a point guard (try marcus williams?). Or we need a new coach. When our coach is in doubt he puts in the smallest lineup possible. He doesn't think to go bigger against a smaller lineup. And obviously because of that philosophy he also doesn't think much about halfcourt, playing in the paint, boxing out, getting team rebounds, or playing much D. F Don Nelson's strategy, it'd bad. It's stubbornly horrible. He could at least get this team (that has talent and firepower) to play more team chemistry. It's about playing the right types of players that bring something to the floor. We need rebounders, two shotblocking rebounders and a guy who can run plays for the team.
Its just bad basketball when the players think fastbreak means leaking out cherry picking. An ideal fastbreak is someone securing the rebound and the others beating their man upcourt while the PG brings it up. Pretty simple, either you get the rebound or you beat your man upcourt on the wing after your team gets the rebound. Watching the Warriors, they do not seem to understand that.
