It's Golden State Warriors Opening Night 2010 By Jason Ahh… it has finally arrived -- Opening Night. The Warriors open up their 2010 season on Wednesday, October 27, against the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena. I have some opening night memories, but for some reason it’s not that of the game (after all, it was still the Warriors under Cohan). I remember the electricity in the air as it’s a sold out crowd with pent up energy from waiting so long. Walking to our seats from the parking lot or BART station was a big deal as we scan what’s new or unusual. First, the fans are out in their Warriors gear. Some are wearing new gear that you haven’t seen before. Next, you wait to get into Oracle and the place is buzzing with Warriors talk or the chatter of people on their cell phones. Once you finally get past the turnstiles, you see more fans, more gear and now get to check out the new or unusual vendors they added. Perhaps one of the hawkers makes an offer that you can’t refuse -- free Warriors blanket for opening up a credit card account to -- I just “gotta” have this basketball court put up in our backyard to -- you can bid for these “cool” memorabilia at the silent auction to -- get a free night stay in San Francisco, Hawaii or somewhere exotic if you sign up to look at our timeshare and all we need is your credit card info. After buying our usual buffalo wings, nachos and primo beer, my friend or wife would hurriedly go to our seats and listen to the Warriors band. Yeah, they’re okay. Okay, they’re pretty good. Next, we waited to watch pre-game workouts. Basically, I was there to watch the players to see what they were doing. Then I ended up scanning the stands to see who else was there and eventually I would go walk around and check out some of the new foods and vendors they added. I remember that more than the games. Oh yeah, there was Run TMC. They shot lights out and Timmy had the killer crossover. Or Chris Webber and Latrell Sprewell. Those guys were athletic and had attitude. Even Mike Dunleavy Jr. looked awesome as a rookie. He’s skinny and white, but he’s got some real skills. After all, he went to Duke. Or some player like Dirk Nowitzki from the opposing team had an incredible shot during the course of a game. It was a dagger to the Warriors’ fans hearts, but it was amazing to see nonetheless. It was something new and different every year, but as Warriors fans, we got sucked up in the vortex of opening night. Preseason The Warriors ended their preseason with a losing 3-5 record, but it was not disappointing to this fan. First, the won-loss record doesn’t mean anything in the preseason. Sure, it means more to weaker teams like the Warriors compared to the Lakers, for example, but the Warriors made good accountability for themselves against the aforementioned Lakers. Your Golden State Warriors ended up playing two games against the Lakers in the southland. The Lakers ended up 4-4 and it appeared they were trying hard to win the last preseason game. Here are some of the key points that I took away from the preseason. First, David Lee and Andris Biedrins were playing TOGETHER. On the court at the same time. That was nice to see. Second, Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry were starting in the backcourt. Ellis appears to still have a tendency to try and do too much by himself, but he’s gotten better and he may have a 3-pt shot. Next, the rebounding has improved even though the 3-pt shooting has not. The defense looks to have improved, but it can be better. What was disappointing was the Warriors perimeter shooting at times. They were cold and needed a go to guy to get them going again. I’m still not sure who the go to guy will be, but he should be somewhere on the bench this year whether that will turn out to be Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, David Lee or all three. Don’t count on defense, shooting or rebounding to be there at all times, but hopefully during the season, we’ll be able to see what the identity of this team will be and who the real leader or leaders of this team will be.
Excited to see the regular rotation playing the whole game. Hopefully Smart uses the pick and roll more. Yao out for the opener. Houston isn't playing him on back to backs anymore so hes playing tonight in LA but sitting tomorrow.
I am excited too. I really want to see what this starting line up can do. Hopefully the defense can show improvement that it displayed statistically at least during the preseason for several games. But as the 49ers are showing, the preseason does not mean so much. I am not impressed with the team's bench, with or without the injuries. I think that was one thing that Don Nelson was great at, even in the down years. He could find players out of nowhere. This may be a little bit of a stretch, but I'd rather see Allen Iverson (who is now in Turkey) on the bench than Miles, Bell, Lin, or whoever else may be the back up PG. Greg Papa was saying that Reggie Williams would be this team's backup PG for the opener. I am not sure how accurate that was, but Reggie Williams did not suggest anything different. As much as I like the team's starting lineup, having a bench that they may not be able to count on could really hurt the team. If one of the starters is a little off, who are we counting on? Reggie Williams is decent, but there seems to be a sharp drop-off after him. All in all, I'm really excited to see what this team is about tomorrow night.
That could mean Jeremy Lin will get 3 minutes of PT instead of his usual two, but don't count on it. We'll have to wait and see .
I think there's going to be a lot of games where the Dubs play competitively through 3 quarters, then the bench just won't be able to compete. Or games where Smart rides the starters Nellie style. Either way, what I'm hoping out of the season is to see Curry avoid the Sophomore slump, see growth out of D Wright and see Lee and Beidrins work together. I also want to see Monta go back to his old efficient ways. Stretch hopes is to see B. Wright stay healthy and show us what this great practice player is all about, I hope Lin turns into a decent backup. I'll be there in the stadium with my cousin, my uncle and my dad. We used to all have season tickets in the Run TMC/Webber days before my uncle moved overseas. He retired and moved back to the states, so it's a true reunion of sorts.I really hope they pull this one off. Side note, the Rockets back court looked pretty damn good last night. I hope they have jello legs tonight.
Anyone else actually think Lin will be a part of the rotation? Obviously Miles is gone but his only competition is Charlie Bell. Now Smart may very well like Bell's experience but he doesn't do anything on the floor. Seemed like toward the end of the reseason Smart was going to Lin more. Hes more of a PG. I haven't seen any defense out of Bell yet but Lin is a pain in the ass for the other team. Bell can't shoot so he doesn't have that edge over Lin. For all of Lin's shortcomings hes shown some good with his bad. Sometimes he comes in and just turns the ball over constantly. Other times hes getting fouled non-stop and pressuring teams. IMO the key is that Lin will probably always be playing with Monta, Dorrell, or Reggie (maybe even Steph). Hes a PG but hes 6'3ish and pretty athletic and defensive minded. I think if we use him as a combo guard in tandem with one of these other guys to help facilitating it could work out decently. Lin has some trouble against the press but once hes past half court he seems fine. The bottom line is that our options here suck and while Lin is prone to some mistakes he also makes things happen which will ultimately be what we need from our bench.
I think it'll take him awhile, he'll get his opportunities simply due to little injuries and foul trouble. If he can prove he's a gamer, he can earn some minnutes. That's really all I hope from him this season. He has to find 1 thing he does well and perfect it, that way he can be a situational player.
What do you guys forsee for tonight? W's victory? Can't wait to see Lee vs. Scola. I'm actually hoping we put Beans on Scola and Lee on Brad Miller on defense but man it should be fun seeing our PF actually competing with other PFs in the west- maybe even outperforming! Not looking forward to seeing our crappy bench though. When Reggie struggles it'll be ugly because at this point I only expect B. Wright to make an impact every game or two and be invisible otheriwse. Vlad...ugh. Bell...jesus. Gadz shouldn't even make it on the floor. Hopefully Adrien and/or Lin can get the season started off well and earn some playing time. We'll need energy and hustle and they're the most likely to give it to us.
Lucky You Yao Ming is supposed to sit out tonight. The player I'm most curious to watch tonight is... Dorell Wright. He's the X factor for me. Sure I'm excited to see Steph/Monta/Lee... but can Wright shore up the SF position for us? He seems to me to be a sleeper... a guy who could have a breakout year. Shooting, rebounding, defending the perimeter... long, young, athletic... I want to see him sneak up on the league by surprise...
D. Wright is definitely an X-factor for this season. Nice win by the Dubs over a team that I assume will be in the playoffs. FTs against us were absolutely absurd first off. Hate to get on the refs from game 1 but DAMN. At least we got a few cheapies at the end to really take a stranglehold of the game. Monta was fantastic obviously. But I loved Steph's performance tonight. Was pretty quiet early and let Monta be a scoring machine. Then stepped up in the 3rd and 4th when we needed scoring from elsewhere. 25 pts, 11 ast on 9-16 shooting. Had a few bad TOs though. This is the kind of thing I'm looking for from those two. Let the game come naturally early- if one is hot or has a major advantage keep feeding him and then late the other can step in with fresh legs and carry the load. Speaking of X-Factors, Beans had an interesting game. The last several pre-season games as well as tonight he looked like his old self on the glass which is great for us. That being said he made a lot of mistakes. He pursued a lot of weakside blocks when he had no chance and jumped at several pump fakes by Scola that should have been easily read. Also was matched up with Chuck Hayes most of the night and I've never seen the dude look so good on offense. 4-6 from the field is also very Beans-esque. 8 pts 11 boards (4 offensive) in 27 minutes is beautiful though. Its great for us that hes back but hes really gotta get his head out of his ass on defense. IMO if he averages less than 30 mpg this season we're screwed. As for the news guys, Lee is an excellent pickup. Godawful defender but man can he snag some boards. 17 pts, 15 rebs, 6 ast and a block is a very nice debut. So many plays tonight where in years past the Rockets would have snatched the rebound and scored but Lee was there to clean up. Hes got a real nice offensive game although I don't like it when we iso him. D-Wright was more invisible than his stat line suggests. Got some really beautiful open looks and hit most of them. Shot well overall. Seems like he can't drive to the rim to save his life and didn't see much passing from him tonight. Would like to see him really hit the glass hard and become a force as a cutter. The Bench. I was worried when Vlad was the first man off the bench. But he played only 6 minutes. Carney came in and had some impact though hes a little wild and didn't hit any of his 3's. Drew some fouls and was fairly active, perhaps our best bench player. This is encouraging- not because I was overly impressed by him but because I'd rather have him playing than Vlad. Reggie did well there to end the first half and was decent but not as good as I hope he will be. B. Wright wasn't godawful but also didn't have that much of an imact. Adrien only got 1 minute but got a rebound and Scola drew a cheap foul on him. Gadzuric should not be playing. Hes huge but does nothing. Complete zero. Right now we've got to rely on Wright and Adrien because they at least give us the potential to rebound and have some rim protection. With Gadz in you are guaranteed neither. Charlie Bell was also a non-factor. I'm telling you its only a matter of time before Lin gets some PT. And I'm far from a Lin jock rider. As a team we outrebounded them 45 to 39 although those numbers are highly skewed because they got fifty-fucking-two free throws. We shot 55% from the floor which is encouraging as I would think Hou is a pretty good defensive team. Overall really looks like the bench will be an achiles heel and I don't see a lot of room for imrovement though Amundson should make a huge impact just by being an NBA level player. Right now we're lacking legitimate rotation players to bring off the bench. I'll trust in Reggie and Lou but someone else is going to need to graduate up to the next level- Wright, Carney, Adrien, Lin, etc. I don't have much hope for Vlad, Bell, or Gadz. Jury is still out on the defense. Beans and Lee aren't helping any up front but after allowing the Rox to shoot 57% in the first half we ended the game holding them to 47% overall. Offense looked awful good though Monta was very hot. Just glad to get a win over what I think is a quality opponent. Glad we got one game of Kevin Martin out of the way too- guy drives me f'ing NUTS. Now lets beat B-Diddy and the fuggin Clips on Friday!
Good play from beans, david lee, curry and ellis. I don't know about you run, but I hated Carney. I thought we still had Pietrus and he was suddenly bad on defense. Carney was not only atrocious on defense, but he didn't know where to be on offense which caused some crappy team play. But then again if you had to choose a small forward, it'd better not be Radmo. I'm sure Smart was struggling to find a backup 3.
Pretty much agree with you but its a testament to how bad our bench is. Carney is pretty bad and yet I like that he at least gives us hollow stats as opposed to just 0's across the board.
What a vibe. That was a lot of fun tonight, between watching the Giants and watching Monta torch the Rockets backcourt. I thought DWright tried to do a little too much at the beginning, but played well later once he let the game come to him. I can't wait to see Amundson come in though. He'll allow Beans to play more aggressively in short bursts. He would've been a nice counter to Scola tonight. Speaking of Scola, Lee's defense is absolutely atrocious. Griffin is gonna have a field day with him. Hopefully Smart can fish around in the D League to replace Carney. We'll see.
The Warriors are in first place. It's time to celebrate! Maybe? 1-0, undefeated, way to go. This team is very interesting. There are its weapons, especially in the starting lineup. But the team also has its pretty big holes, all which were in display tonight. I think the main thing is depth. Without both Biedrins and Lee in there, the rebounding drops off pretty significantly. So perhaps getting more minutes for Adrien is a possible needed adjustment for the future. With my expectations of the bench, I thought they actually did pretty well, though my expectations were extremely low. But rebounding from the bench is important and I felt was lacking a bit from the bench in a couple of stretches. Also the rebounding overall statistically is better than last year. But I think giving up 15 offensive boards is too much. Fortunately the Warriors themselves grabbed 14 offensive boards which helped them keep the overall rebounding advantage - which is impressive since the Rockets had fewer field goals to rebound from (but perhaps more free throws to rebound off?). Defensively, well I guess there was none on either end in the first half, improved in the second half for the Warriors. They were pretty decent on that end besides giving up numerous offensive boards and committing a lot of fouls. Unlike Bob Fitzgerald, I kind of think Houston deserved to have the free throw advantage. It's really just a product of how the teams play. The statistics of the four core players were strong. I like Lee's 6 assists. Hopefully that keeps up. And it was nice for Yao not to play tonight too. I mean for the Warriors at least.
One thing to keep in mind... Bad Vald and Gazuric are both expiring contracts this year, at ~ $7 mils a piece. That's either two separate $7 mils deals, or 1 $14 mils deal... I wonder what chance we have to make a move and get a solid back-up big man...?
B. Wright is also expiring so that brings the total up to 17 mils and Lou Amundson has a player option and he could decline it (probably unlikely if we go into a lockout though). IMO if we make a move with all those expirings or sign someone it'll be a starter and/or core piece. DWright aint bad but he could be upgraded. Monta may be an odd man out, Beans too. In the mean time though we still have at least one 2 mil trade exception from the Morrow trade (I think we might have got one from CJ Watson trade too?). I'd love to snag a free bench player with that. Indy was looking to move Dahntay Jones and Solomon Jones and Hou just signed Damp so they have to get rid of someone. Plus there are just a lot of cheap ass owners who want to shed all the money they can.
I doubt Lee will ever be a stopper, i.e. shot blocker, like AB. But I would like to see him get a few steals. It would be nice if Lee could bang guys around inside when blocking out or making a good, hard foul when necessary. I would think he could make his man go towards the strong side shot blocker AB, Amundson or Wright. If we can get Dwight Howard, then he would be a good complement to Lee. Smart is supposed to improve the defense and defensive schemes, so we'll have to see. At New York, Lee averaged a steal a game.
He needs to learn to play post D. Also has Ike Diogu syndrome where he tries to be a shotblocker when he should be a Dunleavy-esque charge-getter.
