HOUSTON - No matter how you judge the effectiveness of this Ike Diogu-at-starting-center experiment, it's working. If wins are the barometer, the Warriors are 3-0 with their rookie in the middle. If it's offensive production from the low post, Diogu already has outscored former starter Adonal Foyle (141-127) -- in 17 fewer shots, no less. If it's team morale, the Warriors clearly feel better about themselves than they did before he was a starter. "I've been doing all right," Diogu said, showing off his humility after Saturday's 94-89 victory at Houston. "Still making mistakes on the floor. But I'm improving with each game, getting better and better." Diogu has made 30 of his last 38 field goal attempts. He shoots a team-best 64.4 percent (56-for-87), which is the highest in the league for anyone who's taken more than 45 shots. Perhaps the best way to gauge the impact Diogu has is the "points in the paint" statistic, which tracks any point scored in the key. For the season, the Warriors are minus-130 points in the category and have been outscored inside 18 times. The Warriors (17-14) would figure to struggle in this area because they rely so much on the outside shot. But it's not a coincidence they are plus-74 in the nine games Diogu has logged more than 15 minutes. "I'm very impressed," guard Jason Richardson said. "That's what we drafted him for. He's making it happen." Diogu has been plagued by foul trouble; he's averaging five fouls in his three starts, including one foul-out. Still, the Warriors would seem to benefit from getting Diogu more touches. Not only would a stronger establishment of the low-post game open up more things for the perimeter, but the Warriors could go a long way toward preventing the elongated runs they're prone to allow and better control games by using their new-found inside presence. Such was definitely the case in Saturday's win over the Rockets. The Warriors led 64-48 after a hook in the lane by Diogu. But they went away from the inside game, allowing Houston to come back. Their lead was down to 74-71 midway through the fourth quarter because 13 of the Warriors' next 17 shots were from 15 feet or farther. They were 1-for-12 on those shots. They regained control of the game by going back inside. They put together a 16-9 run to take a 90-80 lead with two minutes. Of the 16 points, 14 came in the paint or from the foul line. Diogu scored seven of them. "He can really score down there," forward Mike Dunleavy said. "You've got to go to him. He's got talent. Not a lot of guys in this league can score down low. ... I don't know what we're waiting on, we've got to go to that guy. He can play. He provides offense." The Warriors will see more capable big men in the near future in Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal (on Thursday) and Miami's Shaquille O'Neal (on Jan. 11), against whom their only defense might be Diogu answering their production. But Diogu said he's fine with the workload he has now. He's not going to turn down touches or discourage his teammates from dumping the ball down to him, but he's OK with the five or six shots he's averaging per game. "We have our go-to guys on this team -- J-Rich, Baron (Davis), Troy (Murphy)," Diogu said. "That's our big three right there. Those guys deliver for us. What I've got to do is, since those guys command so much attention, keep constantly coming up with hustle plays. I know that's my role." http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctime...rs/13533504.htm
The games we've been winning we're such narrow margins, it just goes to show how important we need the team to score. When Foyle weas actually scoring the easy buckets he was supposed to make, we won. When he was missing the easiest looks of the night, we lost. It's also the same with Dunleavy missing wide open looks. We need our starters to set the tone and take good shots. No more missed wide open long jumpers or missed lay-ins.
