GT: Jazz at Warriors

Last home game before a road trip. I read somewhere that Jackson is resting and won't play tonight.

 

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I would be in tank mode, but I got a ten dollar bet with my friend on who will have the better record, the Knicks or Warriors.

 

The warriors hardly tank because they enjoy being the spoilers against good teams. It's just that we played some guys who aren't making the playoffs, so naturally we lose. We'll beat the Jazz, I bet, not because we'd be a spoiler for them, but because they're a good team.

 

Awesome -- Randolph gets 20 pts, 8 reb, and 4 blocks, AND the Warriors also tank another. Best of both worlds -- a young player does good and we also move closer in the lottery. Woo!

 

Perfect game by Anthony. Outlets on the defensive side, running the floor, cutting to the hoop without the ball, following up on every missed shot, shooting within the flow on catch and shoot. I mean, is this the same kid as the beginning of the season?

 

I can't imagine that he's mature enough to yet, but if he does then he'll be the 1st rookie to get mention for most improved player.

 

I'm not going to get THAT excited about Randolph. I still see a lot of things that I don't like. I don't like how unaware he is of his teammates. For example, I forget which game, but he came up with the ball on the defensive end, got it out to the outlet, ran the length of the court for the pass and finish. However, he didn't realize Maggette (I believe) was there to catch the pass and finish. They laughed it off, but those kind of plays are dangerous. Randolph, in his all out effort, is overlooking things like this.

Another thing is he often doesn't go to pick up his teammates when they get sprawled onto the floor because he's too busy being mad at himself for fouling the other team, for example.

Don't get me wrong, I love his enthusiasm and energy, but he still needs to slow down a little bit more and try to work on the intangibles. I feel he's got all the tools to be great talent, but not all the tools to make him great, if that makes any sense. He's 19. I'd give him several years, at least.

 

He definitely took over the game in the 3rd quarter. I'm not ready to pronounce him a future superstar yet either, but if you step back he's really a light that shines brighter than almost anyone else on the Warriors, except maybe Monta (when healthy). Sure, there's a lot of guys on the team who are currently better, more knowledgeable, more dependable, etc.. But Randolph makes a statement on the court almost every time he plays. He doesn't disappear, he asserts himself in the way that I wish Brandan Wright would. Some of those antics are annoying, like when he feels the need to gangsta-glare his defender after he dunks on them, he plays with a visible passion. And that is really what he brings to the Warriors, what we lost when Baron left: the burning passion. He's just too young to control it and take full advantage of it yet.

 

Future superstar? I don't think anyone's saying that, are they? I think he's proving himself to be worthy of decent minutes off the bench (assuming a healthy lineup). Earlier this year, I didn't see him getting to that stage until somewhere around the end of year 2 or year 3.

 

Well, I think the charisma and potential are there. But what we're seeing right now is not "superstar" or "star" ability. It's hustle and tenacity. The thing is, everyone can hustle and be tenacious. AR just has to build on the basics and then go from there.

 

I think Randolph will be a stud, and pass up Brandan Wright, once he develops the mid-range J. He will definitely get stronger (wiry strong vs the Hulk). It will open up the whole game for him.

EDIT: Are the Warriors smart, stupid, or a-holes? Why didn't they buy out Marcus Williams? Can he be traded over the summer?

 

Yes. Me.

 

^and odom...he said future hall of famer even

 

There are a TON of attributes of a Superstar other than ability. Randolph has shown that he has the emotional stability of a 19 year old (which he is). Personally I'd hold off calling him anything than having the potential of being a good player in this league until he can let the game come to hm and grow up emotionally. We've seen a lot of really skilled kids in this league fizzle out early.

...But that's just me.

 

Fair enough, that's a level-headed assessment. The reason why I say this, though, is because he has no ceiling. He has an Amare Stoudamire / LeBron James type ceiling. In other words, no ceiling. There are many skilled kids who fizzle out. But few have ever had what Randolph has. A freak body. The agility of a ballerina. The ball handling better than many guards. The wingspan to block Yao Ming shots. I mean, he's got the PF ceiling of a KG combined with the SG ceiling of a Baron Davis.

However, that's not the most important part. The reason I think he will be a superstar is because, for the first time in what seems like forever, the Warriors drafted a player who actually has the fire to be special. He has that "thing" that superstars have. Yes, we've heard about his anger. And his immaturity. But damn if it doesn't look like his teammates love him. With Jax/Craw/Azibuike jumping out of their seats on his spin-move and-1 the other night. Yes he has a lot of growing to do. But doesn't every 19 year old.

Right now, what I see is a player who has all the physical gifts -- size, length, athleticism, agility, ball-handling -- combined with that rare primacy, that "thing" that only the greats show signs of.

Did I say that about POB? No. the night he was drafted, i said the complete opposite -- here's a guy who has the physical gifts but will never go anywhere because he looks like he'd rather be playing Nintendo. 4 minutes after the Warriors drafted POB, I made a post about how he just did not seem to have "it." I compared him to a combination of the ears of Brian Cook with the goggly eyes of Popeye Jones.

Well, the night Randolph was drafted, I saw it. Just look at my sig. POB can't even make a face like that, let alone feel it. He has no passion. Randolph, on the other hand? To me, it's clear he has "it." The capacity to be a superstar. I know I could be wrong, but, well, I don't think so.