Dunleavy's numbers aren't quite adding up Janny Hu, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, December 23, 2005 Detroit -- The slow start turned into a slow week, which turned into a slow month, which is turning into something right out of a slow-motion horror show. It's been 26 games since Mike Dunleavy signed his five-year, $45 million contract extension, and Dunleavy's fourth season -- once projected by his college coach to be a "breakout year" -- has instead been among his worst. Not only is the Warriors' forward struggling to match his numbers from last season, but in most cases, he isn't coming close. Dunleavy's points, rebounds and steals are all down. His shooting percentage is way down. Possessions have come and gone without him ever touching the ball. And when crunch time nears, the starting small forward has been repeatedly left on the bench. The regression, at least from last year's slasher and finisher, has plenty of people -- including Dunleavy himself -- wondering where he fits in these days. "It's funny, I've been here for four years and I'm still trying to figure things out with this team," Dunleavy said Thursday. "I think I have a pretty good feel for the game, but trying to fit in with these guys. ... As long as we've been here together, we don't know each other as well as you think we would think." It's hard to know what to think about Dunleavy at the moment. He is averaging 9.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 38 percent from the field. That's compared to last season's 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 45 percent -- buoyed largely by a strong finish alongside Baron Davis in the Warriors' wheeling-and-dealing offense. That final stretch showcased Dunleavy's greatest asset: his ability to move without the basketball, spread the defense and fuel a motion offense. But the Warriors are moving less and shooting more these days, leaving Dunleavy without his usual method for contributing. His 8.5 shot attempts per game account for just one-tenth of the Warriors' offense, and neither he nor coach Mike Montgomery believe that scoring more is the key to Dunleavy's success. "There are other guys that are priorities in this offense, and if they want me to be there, then they'll make that clear and they'll do stuff for me or whatever," Dunleavy said. "I'm just trying to do as much as I can to help the team win and not get in anybody's way or take up too many shots, because other guys on the team need shots." Therein lies part of the trouble: Shouldn't a $9 million player be an integral part of the Warriors' offense instead of worrying about stepping on his teammates toes? "He's an important part, no question about it," Warriors vice president Chris Mullin said when asked about Dunleavy's role. "When he plays up to his level, it just makes everything run smoother. It spreads everything out and we become a harder team to deal with." Despite all the bandwagoning that went on during last year's finish, Mullin always insisted there would be no carryover into this season, and he was right. Whether the Warriors caught teams off-guard or with nothing to play for in March and April, this December has been a different story. There is no more sneaking up on Phoenix and Houston. No more trying to figure out how Davis was going run a freelance offense. Now, if the Warriors pick-and-roll, stick to your man: No sense leaving a perimeter shooter open when the Warriors have few options in the post. The predictability has left Golden State finding new ways to win games, especially when shots aren't falling. As it applies to Dunleavy, whose relevance declines without a fluid offense, further adjustments must be made. Against New Jersey last Sunday, for example, Dunleavy had Jason Collins in a one-on-one situation. He hesitated, pulled up for a jumper and missed. "These guys, despite what everybody thinks, are still kids, or young men," Montgomery said. "They have different degrees of confidence, different degrees of toughness, different degrees of ability to handle adversity. You just got to help a guy do whatever he can do and try to take the pressure off him. "At some point though, his teammates are dependent on him. He needs to do his job and he's capable. Everybody knows that." Including Mullin. The Warriors' executive has been through too many ups and downs throughout his playing and front-office career to hit any panic buttons now. He is concerned less with the Warriors' and Dunleavy's current struggles than how they come out of it. "What becomes the focus is how you deal with it, and when you get on the other side, does it catapult you?" Mullin said. "To me, the most natural thing to do is to almost embrace it. Whoever it is, embrace it, deal with it, use it. Don't let it use you." ------------------------ My problem about Dunleavy's extention is what is quoted from Dunleavy in this article that I put in bold font. He doesn't fit so greatly with Baron, Murphy, or maybe even with the rookie PG's because he is a player that succeeds when he is running the point or just making his perimeter shots. And now it seems as if he is not getting his shots that he had when he put up his best numbers, and he obviously isn't running too much point with Baron Davis(averaging 10 assists) and with the team taking many quick threes. I think if there is a problem with where the starters stand with their roles, then the coach ought to do something about it, to make it clear. Same goes for bench players too: Just my opinion though... I think the most worriesome aspect of Dunleavy's game this year, is how his rebounding numbers have fallen. The team could use Dunleavy's height and long arms, to help more on the glass.
Thanks for the article, Clif. Dunleavy definitely helps the team more than he hinders it. I think what Dunleavy is possibly trying to say is the guys we have on the floor are good players, but they aren't fitting into a desired role or could be possibly breaking away the gameplan. When Dunleavy gets the ball he is thinking, when he is off the ball he is thinking. When others players don't have the ball they don't think as much and when they do, they're waiting like everyone else to make a move. Dunleavy is a setup guy, but unfortunately he's so old school, it'll never work with the makeup of this team who is bent on run n' gun and no organized play execution. This team tries to be a jump shooting team and fastbreak team, but it's got no organization to play the more athletic and tougher defensive teams for an entire season. On top of that, they have very few options in how to create their own shot and for others who don't have the ball. You take Baron Davis out, there's nobody good on this roster like that. Dunleavy needs the Warriors to play old school. If they can't or aren't built for it, then the Warriors need to trade and find a new coach that will open it up. The reason we got Montgomery is probably because the management felt his system would open up Dunleavy for more shots, but apparently the type of guys we have and the way Dunleavy is in nature, make Dunleavy #4 on offense. I feel like Murphy's got to be dealt because he takes away Dunleavy's perimeter and triple threat game, but Murphy keeps us in games with his shooting, free throws and his rebounding. There's definitely a bright side to losing though, if we don't make the playoffs because we're out of the race, rookies like Ellis/Diogu will see a lot more playing time like Pietrus and Biedrins did last season. Then we can gain the desired center/forward with good hands and athleticism and a power forward that can bang inside, pass from the high post, shoot midrange shots and block shots. I think we should wait and hold to see what moves will be made by all-star break, because I think this team can't win very well unless they're sacrificing defense and organization for running fastbreaks. The Warriors can't beat set defenses, so they need to run if they fail and fail to grasp thise off the ball movement they are learning. The Warriors will also need Pietrus because he provides the scoring punch in the open court and activity on D that Dunleavy lacks as a starter. Our team needs balance in the frontcourt and the middle if we want to win big and play a lot better as a team. It's hard to run plays for all 5 players, and two of those players kind of suck in certain areas. Dunleavy's perimeter shot for instance. Foyle inside shot for instance. I say make Dunleavy the Calbert Cheaney on offense but with Murphy's triple threat ability on the baseline, don't let him shoot 3's! Take out Foyle for somebody that can actually catch the ball and won't jack up easy layups and dunks.
For the Warriors, watch how many times they actually reverse the ball to the weakside. Not very often. Its usually one pass to someone on the baseline and that's it. Swing the ball. That's what gets the offense going. Dunleavy excels in that type of offense. Its partly Dunleavy's fault too, I see him get the ball and he's hesitant instead of catching and making an immediate move. Against the Sixers he went below the baseline in transition and Baron got him the pass under the bucket, instead of going up, he got called for a travel. He's got to take it up strong or Baron is just going to ignore him next time.
Man, I wasn't very clear on the early post. I'm halfway between rambling and ranting. Oh well, like philsmith says we need to move the ball. Like Kwan says we need an upgrade in talent, especially center and our forward starting lineup. Also, Montgomery needs to start putting in matchups that favor the Warriors and support the backcourt play even if means benching Dunleavy, Foyle, Murphy or whoever. No more Cheaney! Please! He's got good midrange offense, but the Warriors aren't going to get him open. They can't play old school ball against set defenses. The Warriors should just run like they did last year because we can't slow it down unless we have a legit threat inside. We may have it in Diogu, but Monty doesn't want to play rookies much like any other nba head coach trying to make the playoffs.
Now,after Ike dominated in a game against the Pistons great D,there is writing on the wall. Tonight was sort of like about 10 yr ago when donyell Marshall had been deep doghouse all year-till an injury forced them to put him in. As I recall he scored 25 with about 14 boards..and they had to let him play after that. Adonal may still start games,for now,but Ike will get more minutes than Foyle from this point. Pietrus had pretty much snatched the SF job away when he got injured. Since then,Dunleavy has played better,but not good enough. Dun needs to be active,moving more rather than waiting out on the perimeter. Moving without the ball can get him in situations where his passing can become a factor. Mike D has to be a good % shooter and a good passer or he doesn't rate a big role.
I hope Foyle doesn't start anymore. He's a big reason why the warriors always start off in a hole. If Foyle could have converted those gimme layups the warriors would have been in good shape in the first quarter. I think he missed four easy ones. Anyways I agree with what Custodians and Philsmith said. They're right on the money. EDIT: I also think that Dunleavy should come off the bench, so that when Davis is sitting they don't have to use Fisher to run the point because he doesn't run the offense well and has no court vision at all. He will also benifit from not having to play alongside Murphy. But I guess the warriors wills have to wait for Pietrus to come back before that can happen.
I've been saying all along that when Baron sits, Dunleavy needs to be in the game as Fisher clearly doesn't know how to run PG. I don't know if benching Dunleavy to synch his PT with Fisher's is the solution, but I do know that Dunleavy's at his best when he is controlling the game.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kensaku:</div><div class="quote_post">but I do know that Dunleavy's at his best when he is controlling the game.</div> Unfortunately it hasn't happened much this season.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AnimeFANatic:</div><div class="quote_post">Unfortunately it hasn't happened much this season.</div> Yup, so maybe the answer is an emphatic "NO" to the question posed in the title of this thread?
Dunleavy stayed with this team for 4 years, he will get 9 mils for next 5 years, and he was pampered in NBA from the day he was drafted. And, he still doesn't have a clue where he is with this club? How about shooting better? Or hitting wide open shot most of times? Really, when you think about it, Dunleavy is surprisingly a mediocre shooter. Sure, his jumper has a pretty arc, but I am not sure he is a better shooter than Richardson right now. Indeed, Dunleavy plays better when he handles the ball. But, it's no more than being a back up PG, and with Davis, there is no reason for Dunleavy to handle the ball. Maybe, we can leave Dunleavy to handle the ball, when Davis isn't there. But, if he ever wants to survive in this club, he must learn to play like SF. It has been 4 years, so isn't it really a time for Dunleavy to play like SF? I don't see much improvement since his rookie year. I don't know. Dunleavy played very well with Davis in last year, so he may turn around some time. But, at this rate, I am not sure when. Sometimes, I don't know if teammates really like Dunleavy. I mean, I don't think I ever remember him getting mingled with teammates. I just thought it's because of his personality, but lately, I am getting a feeling that teammates are starting to ignore him. Even today, there were few occassions where teammates decided to go with another players instead of Dunleavy. Maybe, I am overreacting or it's coincidence, but I got that feeling ever since the season started. So who knows...
That would be very painful, though maybe not unusual if the other players on the Warriors have lost some confidence in Mike Dunleavy. The thing is that, the Warriors will never play its best unless if Mike Dunleavy can fit into the starting 5(and until the bench can be utilizied near its maximum capability or at least more often- but this is for a different thread or topic), or unless if they change their starting 5, which is unlikely since Pietrus is injured, and I don't think having Fisher in there will help so much, especially for rebounding. I think the Warriors were playing it's best, just for a glimps earlier this season when Dunleavy's production slightly went up. Also the Warriors have played their best the last 3 seasons when Dunleavy finally started to produce. Thus leads me to something else about Dunleavy and his production. I think a lot of it can be mental or something. Because in the last three seasons, Dunleavy has always played his best at the end of the seasons. But at the beginning we are always having these same discussions about when Dunleavy will show up. Is this because at the beginning of the season he is more in cruise control? thinking to himself how long the season is. But then at the end of the season, he just decides to play, and wa la! or what? The Warriors look playoff contenders and superb and unstoppable, defeating all of the playoff teams and etc. My final say is that I would hope that Mike Montgomery would see this problem and do something directly to fix it, rather than let it run its course. Maybe this is where Montgomery will call a few more of his plays(that he is usually good at drawing up) for Dunleavy, each game, maybe a few times each quarter or half, just to let him get into the flow. The thing with Dunleavy, it just seems like he'll just go with whatever, and he will never, or at least hardly ever, step up his game to do anything. I mean, I think it would have been nice so far this season to see Dunleavy go attack the boards more(even if his offensive game isn't there just yet), with his 6-10 body and long arms a few more times than he seems to be doing from what I see in the box score. Anyway my thought is that the Warriors will play their best when Dunleavy is part of the game and being active. Someone, even if they don't want to, must either design a play for Dunleavy or just give him the ball a few more times and demand him to start playing. Because until then, there will only be three starters producing, and whatever Montgomery decides he wants out of his bench. And maybe Foyle has the slight excuse that he isn't so skilled, but Dunleavy's excuse...well Dunleavy's excuse isn't very excuseable in my opinion. But something must be done, especially since Pietrus is out. My final plead: Mike Dunleavy, please get yourself out of cruise-control and start deciding to make plays on the basketball court. If you aren't part of the offense immediately, you can still start by possibly rebounding more on both ends of the court. Starting to hit the offensive glass for starters would be miraculous! But on the defensive glass would be greatly appreciated as well...please.
Rick Barry mentions the flaws in Dunleavy's shot all the time. Now I know Barry's full of himself and loves to inflate his ego, but the flaws he talks about are there. So why don't the Warriors hire a shooting coach for the kid and work out the kinks in his shot. I mean, increasing his FG% would directly translate into more wins. I think it's important enough to spend a little more and get that worked out. Now as a shooter, much of getting your shot down is feeling comfortable in the flow and shooting in rhythm. It's true that Dunleavy gets uncomfortable because people move to the wrong space and deviate from the offense, but he needs to find a way to improvise as well. You can tell when his shot is going to drop and when it's not just by the way the play develops. He's like an outsourced job. They can get you from a to b by following step by step, but once you change something, they're completely useless. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm starting to doubt this BBALL IQ stuff
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kwan1031:</div><div class="quote_post">Sometimes, I don't know if teammates really like Dunleavy. I mean, I don't think I ever remember him getting mingled with teammates. I just thought it's because of his personality, but lately, I am getting a feeling that teammates are starting to ignore him. Even today, there were few occassions where teammates decided to go with another players instead of Dunleavy. Maybe, I am overreacting or it's coincidence, but I got that feeling ever since the season started. So who knows...</div> It's possible, but the only people who know this are the people on the team and I bet not everyone on the team thinks the same way. So, it's all just speculation. If he can start making shots, I'm sure those speculated Dunleavy haters would become friendly once again.
