OT: Why is Golden State suddenly so good?

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by Rastapopoulos, Dec 17, 2012.

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  1. Mediocre Man

    Mediocre Man Mr. SportsTwo

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    Coach.

    Jackson is a good head coach, and that team is finally buying into his defensive philosophies
     
    Mediocre Man, Dec 18, 2012
    #21
  2. STOMP

    STOMP mere fan

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    a Big who isn't a shotblocking threat is like a baseball corner infielder without HR power. Hitting for a high average and being a gold glover are valuable skills too, but it's hard to be considered great when a player is missing a skillset that benefits the effectiveness of a team so much. Randolph and Lee are quality players and they put up great stats, but I sure don't consider them great because of this glaring hole in their games

    STOMP
     
    STOMP, Dec 18, 2012
    #22
  3. mook

    mook The 2018-19 season was the best I've seen

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    Barkley and Malone weren't great shotblockers. But then they put up a lot better numbers than Lee and Randolph did. If you are going to have that kind of hole in your game, you'd better not just be really good at the other stuff, but utterly fantastic. In the end, even though they were great players, they still never won championships.
     
    mook, Dec 18, 2012
    #23
  4. Run BJM

    Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

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    This is a surprisingly big factor. GS' roster has a lot of very smart players and they're totally buying into what MJ is preaching.

    Mike Malone has also lived up to his billing as one of the better defensive x's and o's guys around the league. Hes the mastermind behind their team defensive schemes and hes got them playing very well on defense despite two major liabilities in Curry and Lee. All of our rookies have been surprisingly good on defense, Draymond Green is the best defender on the team aside from Bogut. Klay Thompson and Jarret Jack are solid defenders at their positions. And they're also the top defensive rebounding team in the league so they aren't giving up any extra opportunities.

    MJ and Malone apparently didn't get a full training camp last year, and with a Monta-centered team it was bound to be inefficient on both ends. This team has been much healthier, had a full TC and a year under the coaching staff, and despite no Bogut they've added talented players who play intelligently. Defense and rebounding are easily the #1 reason for the turnaround, but they've REALLY started to get it going as Curry is morphing back into second-half-rookie-season Steph, Lee is playing a stretch where hes been the best PF in the league by pure productivity, and Klay pulled out of a godawful slump to start the season. In December Curry is averaging 22/8/4/2 on 45% from 3 pt range, Lee is averaging 22 and 13 on 57% FGs and has the longest streak of consecutive 20/10 games in the league.

    They really haven't been that healthy either. Bogut is obviously out. Brandon Rush is a top 5 player on the team and blew out his knee in the second game of the season. Curry's been healthy enough to play but he has tweaked his ankle a little and just played through it (I think its getting to the point where we all have to start expecting him to just live with that issue for the remainder of his career). GS has proven to have arguably the best depth in the league with Jack and Landry as two top notch reserves, Festus Ezeli and Harrison Barnes have stepped in and started and played their roles like they're 10 year veterans. After Rush and Richard Jefferson went down Green started playing and hes been shockingly effective on defense. You PER whores would hate him, but hes a fucking winner, great defender, great rebounder, and provides a ton of energy and toughness. Charles Jenkins has gotten some minutes due to injury and hes hitting like 60% of his shots, mostly on a money mid-range J. Even Andris Biedrins has been effective on defense and rebounding when hes played.
     
    Run BJM, Dec 18, 2012
    #24
  5. crandc

    crandc Well-Known Member

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    Exactly, Lee & Curry were injured a lot. They are both healthy and they picked up some good role players. Everyone accepts his role. Personally I still think something is going to happen, maybe wishful thinking on my part.
     
    crandc, Dec 18, 2012
    #25
  6. BLAZER PROPHET

    BLAZER PROPHET Well-Known Member

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    DING DING DING!!

    We have a winner.

    And this is what I've been saying to those who want to take all our cap money and get one player. We're about 5 players away. We need depth. It isn't always about a particular player, but quantity of talent.
     
    BLAZER PROPHET, Dec 18, 2012
    #26
  7. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    But for the most part; depth only works in very rare occasions when talking about champions. Most championship teams have 3 all-star caliber players; with at least one being a superstar. Then the bench and other players are specialists like shooters, defenders, rebounders and enforcers. I'm hoping Lillard becomes our superstar and Aldridge the all-star. Maybe Batum could be the third all-star caliber player; but I doubt he makes the all-star team unless we are the most winningest team in the league. As for the intangibles... I think Hickson is that rebounder and almost can pass for a decent defender too. We have Babbitt as our shooter and Matthews as our defender. We need more role players to build around this core.
     
    magnifier661, Dec 18, 2012
    #27
  8. Eastoff

    Eastoff But it was a beginning.

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    this is what you sound like to me right now.
    [video=youtube;XPzTq7PJIQQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPzTq7PJIQQ[/video]
     
    Eastoff, Dec 18, 2012
    #28
  9. Eastoff

    Eastoff But it was a beginning.

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    Depth wins games, but stars win championships.
     
    Eastoff, Dec 18, 2012
    #29
  10. mook

    mook The 2018-19 season was the best I've seen

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    I agree about a lot of that. But Hickson is not a starting-quality center on a championship team. The rebounding is there, but the defense isn't. Wish we could keep him, but coming off the bench. He's the kind of guy who just flat out out-works other bench players. But as a starter there's just not enough presence there on the defensive end.

    I wish we could throw Leonard into a time machine and see what he's like in 4 years.
     
    mook, Dec 18, 2012
    #30
  11. B-Roy

    B-Roy If it takes months

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    Yep, these warriors are going to struggle hard in the playoffs.
     
    B-Roy, Dec 18, 2012
    #31
  12. Run BJM

    Run BJM Heavy lies the crown. Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Couple fun facts:

    GS is 16-1 when out-rebounding their opponents.

    14-0 when leading heading into the 4th Q.
     
    Run BJM, Dec 19, 2012
    #32
  13. Mediocre Man

    Mediocre Man Mr. SportsTwo

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    And undefeated when outscoring their opponent
     
    Mediocre Man, Dec 19, 2012
    #33
  14. tlongII

    tlongII Legendary Poster

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    Golden State will contend for a high seed if they stay healthy. They have a great fan base and will be tough to beat at home.
     
    tlongII, Dec 19, 2012
    #34
  15. BlazerWookee

    BlazerWookee UNTILT THE DAMN PINWHEEL!

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    I'm firmly against white people dancing in the street being met with hordes of police in riot gear. But after seeing that video, I now completely understand the other side of the argument.
     
    BlazerWookee, Dec 19, 2012
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