All I can say is Jemele Hill is a moron. At least give us reason's why "they can't handle expectations."</p> http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?pa...tatePreview0708</p>
It's better to be underrated than overrated I always say. If we want to make the playoffs again, it really depends on our abiltiy to shoot consistently, limit turnovers, play defense, and rebound. Oh and health. I think one of the reasons of last year's winning surge was not only having a guy like Jrich and Baron back on board, but having the ability for guys to drive and kick, cut to the rim, make 3 pointers, and convert fast break opportunities. There was definitely chemistry with our double digit scorers. We had two setup guys (with playoff experience) who could drive and kick very well (Baron Davis and Sjax). That made it easier for guys who could not create their shot well in a halfcourt setting. We've added two guys who can create their own shots a lot better than Jrich, so they might produce some decent numbers if they prove to be consistent numbers. However, they won't attract the same attention as a near-allstar just yet.</p> We also obviously lacked post scoring and rebounding, but I think we have a chance to shine if our big men keep getting better for us. Consistency is key and that's something of an uknown when dealing with rookies and 2nd year players. You could get POB on fire one moment, and then the next he could be in foul trouble. But it's all part of the development process until the players become more natural in the nba environment/team environment.</p> I do think our ability to compete with the loss of Jrich depends on a few factors with/without Baron:</p> 1.) the center play. Even if we are a running team we still need a guy to control the paint because we're going to give up a lot of points if the other team has strong scoring solutions inside. We also need a guy who can rebound our own misses and get putbacks. We need a guy who can block out or snag down defensive rebounds so we can actually play defense one time per trip down the floor. Biedrins is awesome, but we still need depth at that 5 position so we don't wear our starter down. If either of POB or even Austin Croshere/Al Harrington shine at this position, I think we could be better than last year where we didn't have very many size options. But we need rebounding from all of them since we lost Jrich. One thing that impresses me is that POB, Wright, and Biedrins seem to be pretty speedy coming from the weakside shotblock. That is essential if we're playing 3-2 zones and the center might need to defend the basket and cover a lot of ground moving from opposites sides of the post.</p> 2.) We still need to play defense. If we become a fastbreaking team, we need to cause deflections and get opportunities to run that ball the other way as quickly and under control as we can. It's the whole defense feeds offense type thing. The problem is if we get smaller and faster, we tend to give up the kinds of defense that can defend against taller shooters and strong back to the basket scorers.</p> 3.) Guard play. We need lots of guys who can step up and make passes. If we didn't have Baron Davis, it'd obviously be a lot more difficult. But I think if Monta Ellis shows something a little more than that pitiful 8 turnover preseason game, we might get by. I think it's just rust and Monta Ellis will get better this year and add more weapons to his game. He's just an awesome scorer and on-ball defender. He's still got weaknesses, but the fact he's so much further along than most high school guards gives me faith that he can become a decent playmaker. Then we also got guys who can make plays like Marco Belinelli (who is also still a player in question in my mind) and Troy Hudson.</p> So I think many of the reviewers have good reason to believe the Warriors aren't as good as last year. To them it is like standing pat because we just added guys that might not be ready to play right away. We didn't see much from Marco lately and I totally expected that he wouldn't be good every single night like the future all-star hype on him is. The plus side to me is we got Kelenna Azubuike who shows a great deal of promise as a starter and might catch attention by playing important minutes like the Suns' Raja Bell or Memphis' Terrence Kinsey or Toronto's Anthony Parker. We just want a solid, consistent role player who can also defend in addition to scoring and I think that is Kelenna Azubuike. He's strong, fast, long arms, and he seems to possess a better shot and better guard fundamentals. He's an asset and not a liability like some starters in the past. We need less liabilities on the floor and guys who can contribute in a positive way so I think that's Kelenna's opportunity to be another one of those undrafted/2nd round guys that turns out to be really decent or extremely good. I think as a bonus, having Brandan Wright in there might give us another weapon to have. Just as long as he is strong enough to handle the more physical play.</p> I'm not too much of an optimist here for this season, but I think there's a good chance that next year we'll at least be twice as better as last year's playoff team. We got more money, talented rookies will get more experienced, and hopefully our inside scoring and rebounding will have greately improved as guys will figure out how to earn their minutes and stay out of foul trouble.</p>
I did not see this thread and started another thread but I think these analysts are missing the bigger point that SJax and Harrington are here from the start of the season and Azubuike is more than ready to fill JRich's shoes.</p>
1) This is the first year that Biedrins is officially on the map. He'll start getting calls on offense and not getting as many ticky-tack calls on defense. I know that shouldn't be the case, but this is the NBA where reputation matters in the refs eyes.</p> 2) This is a much improved defensive team. I think the first 7 games without Jax may be tough, but at least we're at home a lot.</p> 3) I'm actually most worried here. There are a lot of new players at the guard spot. Monta has to handle the load of being a guy that people look to for consistancy. Hudson's a bit of a chucker, and Belli, although an "all-around" baller, still hasn't played an 82 game season. K.A. has the chance to be the "most improved" guy this season, or... he could be back on the bench...who knows. And Baron needs to stay healthy for those same 82.</p> If the 1st 2 points are more consistant then this team will be improved, if they're shaky, then the guards will have to pick it up (which I don't have much confidence in). I think games 8-18 should give us a good idea of what to expect. I'm psyched for tonight though.</p> We believe!</p>
