<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Biedrins can be handy Young Warrior excels at catching passes in lane, also cuts down on fouls By Geoff Lepper, STAFF WRITER After so often landing him in trouble previously, Andris Biedrins' hands have warmed up to a new task this season: turning the 19-year-old into a possible answer to the offensive void in the middle of the Warriors' lineup. Plagued with a nearly fatal case of the dread "reaching disease" for most of his first year and a half in the NBA ? and suffering from bad cases of the accompanying "cheap foul" and "pine-time" syndromes ? Biedrins has finally started to flash some of the production that Chris Mullin envisioned when he made the Latvian his first selection as an NBA executive, No.11 overall in the 2004 Draft. At 6-foot-11 and a quick 245 pounds, Biedrins in his rookie season displayed the ability to block shots (24 in just 387 minutes) and outhustle many opponents to loose rebounds. But he couldn't use those skills very often, because he picked up a foul, on average, once every 4.4 minutes. By cutting down on the habit of automatically laying both hands on the opposing center in post-up situations ? a sure-fire recipe to pick up a cheap foul ? Biedrins has transformed himself from a bit player to an important part of the Warriors' rotation. "I'm excited that I can play on defense," Biedrins said. "If coach sees that you don't get the fouls early and you can play your man, that's how you can stay on the court longer." Biedrins has unquestionably been doing that over the past month. Starting with a 22-minute, five-point, five-rebound performance against Portland on Jan.28, Biedrins has averaged 23.4 minutes, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest. Even though those numbers give Biedrins the most sense of pride, incumbent starter Adonal Foyle is also an avid rebounder and an even more accomplished shot-blocker. The major difference between the two is at the offensive end, and it all starts with Biedrins' hands, which make catching a ball in traffic ? something of an adventure for Foyle even at the best of times ? look almost effortless. In fact, Biedrins' ability to snare the rock seems to grow exponentially as the degree of difficulty increases, regardless of whether it's from heightened defensive pressure or a greater margin of inaccuracy on the original pass. No wonder why other Warriors love to feed the ball to Biedrins in the low post. He's averaging 7.0 points over his past 11 games, having gone 35-for-46 from the floor. For the season, his 68.9 shooting percentage is best in the NBA among players with at least 100 attempts. "He's got good hands, and he runs hard," said Mike Dunleavy, who found Biedrins for a textbook-quality slam off a classic pick-and-roll in Houston on Friday. "When he rolls down that paint, you're comfortable throwing it to him. And you don't have to exactly hit him in the numbers. If you put it in an area, he's going to grab it." The same holds true for rebounds, although Ike Diogu acknowledges that Biedrins' fellow Golden State big men sometimes needle him for his propensity to lug offensive boards all the way from the dotted circle in the lane back out to the 3-point line. "We just tell him, 'Turn around and go back up,'" Diogu said. "He has some good moves down low, a soft touch. It's not that he can't do it. Coaches gave him the role of being an energy guy, and getting those rebounds, and as a result, he doesn't look to score." Warriors coach Mike Montgomery would probably dispute that characterization, because he would love nothing more than to see the perpetually sunny Biedrins develop a mean streak that manifests itself in the form of put-back dunks. "Sure, I think it would help him," Montgomery said of Biedrins developing a bit of a dark side. "I'm not saying he can't be a good guy and be happy-go-lucky and not be good, but it sure would help. Guys with an edge tend to succeed in this league and for a lot longer." That said, there's still plenty of time for Biedrins to grow hardened by the rigors of the NBA. In the meantime, his teammates enjoy him for who he is. "He's still just a kid," Zarko Cabarkapa said. "He's going to play like 10 more years. He's just starting to show what he can do, but he's able to do much, much more." Good thing he's got those hands to hang onto it all. </div> Source - http://www.insidebayarea.com/warriors/ci_3551357
I have to say watching Biedrins has been one of few bright points in this season. I don't know how he can keep up with his insane high shooting %, but it seems like his shots have some sort of homing device to the basket. You would think his shooting % would settle down once he starts to shoot more shots, but in Feb., he went 77% from the field, while recording 7.8 pts per game, easily a career high month for him He still is an extreme foul prone (4th in the league in terms of picking up fouls per min), but at least, he learned how to stay on the court lately. Also, he has very soft hands as well. Last night, when he had wide open dunk and he fumbled the ball when he jumped. Instead of causing embarrassing TO, he somehow recovered the ball in an instant and made a layup. It really is a matter of time before he starts over Foyle...
I love Biedris. You have to look at what he's doing now and project it to realize what a valuable asset he is. He's just starting to find his game. He's nearly 7 feet with good mobility and hands and he's not a head case. As a Euro, he's not used to being coddled. I hope we do not trade him this summer. He's an untouchable, even if Garnett were available.
If Garnett was available I dunno... Anyway, I love Biedrin's. Surprised he isn't starting yet considering he gets as many or more minutes than Foyle. We could use his energy early in the game (if he didn't foul). Also, am I the only one who thinks he shoots like he doesn't know how to shoot but everything goes in? Whenever he shoots, it just looks like he's throwing it up in the air (besides dunking) but it goes in. As Kwan said, it's like he has homing.
If you put your faith in Biedrins and have some patience, he will deliver in spades. The kid is the real deal, just needs a sustained chance.
I was thinking that same way about Zarko and his chances to develop into a good player. Didn't he shoot above 60% last half season for a month or so? He was getting most of his shots up close, he caught all the passes, made passes and he was always where he was supposed to be. I believe the ball movement at that time was a lot better than this season. The only reason he doesn't play is probably because management decided he wasn't going to make the rotation ahead of all these other power forward and centers that can play defense and rebound the ball a lot better. Plus Dunleavy getting re-signed hurt his chances the most, because who plays point forward now?
I really like Zarko as well, I just think he isn't given as much an opportunity as the others have gotten. I actually think he's a better point forward than Dunleavy. Problem is they always play Zarko at the 4 or 5 spot a lot. Despite his size, I think he's more comfortable playing the 3 spot. He's a very finnesse guy and can handle the ball. Not a power player like Biedrins.
I think the reasons Zarko is playing bad is because since last year, we've slowed down the offense and when he's in Baron is usually on the bench. Zarko really is useless in the halfcourt, his best assets are that he can beat other 4s or 5s down the floor as well as handle and pass. Hes a bad rebounder, shooter, and defender. His shot was pretty good last year but his confidence seems to be low this year and his shot rarely falls. He doesnt seem to be getting any stronger either. I don't think he'll improve very much, he is what he is other than maybe bulking up or improving his shot.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kwan1031:</div><div class="quote_post">I have to say watching Biedrins has been one of few bright points in this season. I don't know how he can keep up with his insane high shooting %, but it seems like his shots have some sort of homing device to the basket. You would think his shooting % would settle down once he starts to shoot more shots, but in Feb., he went 77% from the field, while recording 7.8 pts per game, easily a career high month for him He still is an extreme foul prone (4th in the league in terms of picking up fouls per min), but at least, he learned how to stay on the court lately. Also, he has very soft hands as well. Last night, when he had wide open dunk and he fumbled the ball when he jumped. Instead of causing embarrassing TO, he somehow recovered the ball in an instant and made a layup. It really is a matter of time before he starts over Foyle...</div> If I were Monty, I'd have AB starting right now. So what if he gets fouls. At least, he'll learn to stay on the court. Unless Foyle delivers more than blocked shots, you cannot have him starting. AB seems like a good help defender with Murphy, too. It's no secret that Murph can lose his man so someone needs to be there to help out. Foyle's better when he's on somebody than coming over to help. And with Biedrins great hands, he should be able to catch some balls in the post. He's another low post threat even though he can't dribble the ball that well.
Zarko had a nice run last year but from what I've seen, he's a big who has a little body, is not an explosive jumper and if his outside shot is not going down or in transition, he's not a big threat. His J was on last year. Whatever Dunleavy's faults (many), he's a better ball handler than Zarko, plus he cuts and passes better.
