GAME THREAD: Magic @ Warriors (01/10, 7:30pm PST, FSN+, KNBR 680)

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Maybe the Warriors should ask to play with the nerf balls or whatever they are made of for the rest of the season for their own benefit.</div>
Haha. I was afraid this would happen with the leather balls.

 

Clif you said. Ike's weaknesses were certainly on display. Ike was 1-6 and those 5 misses were all his shots getting roofed.
Most telling for me at least was BArnes play. He just jacks up 3's and does his spin moves and nothing is falling. The wheels are falling off his band wagon.

Did we even get a fast break point?

Just dominated in the middle and made bogans and dooling look like all stars.... Plenty of Baron ball pounding, no movement and then a frustrated shot by baron.... ugly stupid turnovers...

And my favortie moment.... nelson yelling in Foyle's face after he falls asleep on the court while Howard goes back door on him.

 

Come on guys, I think you're overreacting a little bit. Ike just had a bad night like everyone else. He's has a career 52% FG%, one night of 1-6 doesn't negate that. And unlike everyone else, at least he hit his freethrows. No one on the team played well last night, it was just one of those nights.

 

I attribute it more to Orlando's defense.

Mark my words: I predict that by year's end or perhaps next year, the league and media are going to be talking about Orlando's D like they did about the Pistons a few years back.

edit: Okay, I just confirmed my suspicions with stats:

Orlando is second in the league in opponents FG% (.430), and third in the league in points allowed (91.3).

They also third in the league in allowing assists (18 per game). This means they are closing off passing lanes, preventing lane cuts and back-door cuts, and pressuring the ball handler. Just like we saw last night.

Conversely, GS is next to last (29th) in the league at giving up assists (24.56 per game) which indicates they fall asleep on back-door cuts, do not clog passing lanes as well, and do not pressure ball-handlers as well. LIke we saw last night with the CONTINUAL easy baseline back door cuts while Foyle and Ike were taking naps.

I had a hunch, but the stats confirm it. Orlando is one of the best defensive teams in the league. It looked plain uncomfortable to be in a Warrior uniform last night. No one looked like they were having fun (except Andris who still had a rough going, and AZ who is just happy to be in the NBA). Monta bounced about seven balls off his toe, Baron was getting run down, double-teamed and haggled every possession, and Foyle, Dunleavy and Murphy did nearly nothing to help their team out of the mess. They were blank slates.

Orlando just did everything correctly on the defensive end, and you just knew it was a matter of time before their shots started falling. This is a very dangerous team, IMO.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Clif25 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, the Warriors got bullied by Howard and Milicic.

My optimism for Ike Diogu is diminishing. He forgets to inbound the ball, which obviously seems to be his role. Everytime he comes in the team is waiting for Ike to inbound the ball. If he can't remember that role, then what can he remember? I can see how getting him to follow plays and such could be difficult for Nelson. Otherwise Ike's shortness was very evident tonight. I was waiting for Murphy to get his offense going, but that never happened. I was waiting for Murphy to box out on boards too, but that didn't happen either. Dunleavy passed to his imaginary friend a couple of times for turnovers. And it seemed like in the first half that the Warriors really had some trouble with the new leather balls with a lot of turnovers. Maybe the Warriors should ask to play with the nerf balls or whatever they are made of for the rest of the season for their own benefit. Maybe that will help them out. Basically nobody stepped up and nothing was clicking. It happens, but in such an intense race for the playoffs it is kind of devastating. Foyle played well tonight however, with some big plays. But otherwise you have to give it up for the Magic tonight who had the Warriors' number, and were extremely determined to not let Baron beat them again, like earlier in the season.

Next up is the Heat on Friday. Gotta come up with a win there. This is not the time to lose momentum with big games against the Clippers and other teams that we are trying to beat out for the playoffs.</div>

Nice recap Clif and trying to keep our heads above water in January is crucial. Last season, the first week of January started our undoing. Yet this season, we're in the second week and still treading water.

BTW I can drop 60 with the nerf ball and court.