Needed: Grading the Warriors a Quarter Through the Season

Discussion in 'Warriors Lounge' started by Shapecity, Dec 16, 2005.

  1. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    We plan on having quarterly grades and analysis of teams posted on the Frontpage starting next week. If anyone is interested in doing one for the GSW. Let me know. Here's a sample of what we are looking for ...


    <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It?s 21 games into the 2005-06 NBA campaign, and the Houston Rockets are sitting at 9-12 on the season. For a team many predicted to be the lone challengers to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference, the Rockets, to many, appear to be underachieving and unable to produce the magical season that many had in store for them. The fact is, however, that when you lose a superstar and perennial All-Star such as Tracy McGrady (who has missed 8 games this season due to back strain), your team will in fact struggle. Especially when you consider that the Rockets? front office molded this team to fit McGrady?s vast array of skills. The Rockets are 0-8 in those games that McGrady has sat and not participated, meaning that the squad is 9-4 with him.

    It is a credit to Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy that this team has stayed competitive during McGrady?s absence. Due to a confounding defense (ranked 3rd in the league in opponents? field goal percentage; 2nd in opponents? points per game), the Rockets? worst loss without McGrady was by a margin of 12 points to the Phoenix Suns. Without McGrady, Houston lost by only four points to Miami; eight to Detroit; and five to Memphis. Considering that, aside from McGrady, the Rockets have no other players who can create offensively and claim a roster that basically consists of specialists, the Rockets have done an admirable job competing against top-tier ballclubs without even having the services of their top-tier player.

    With McGrady having less problems with his back the past couple of weeks, Houston has won three straight games as of late, and four out of five overall. Also, the team is having natural shooting guards (David Wesley and rookie Luther Head) taking major minutes at the point guard position while their own true point guards Rafer Alston and Bob Sura are still weeks away from returning from injury. This is a team that will not be of full strength until mid-February, at the very earliest.

    As long as Houston continues to play 100% and all-out on defense (they are the only NBA squad to have not allowed an opponent to shoot 50% or more in a game this year), they will stay close in games. Offensively, they still have a long way to go, but are starting to receive consistent contributions from players who were inconsistent to start the season. As it stands, it is still too early to judge Houston and their place among the NBA?s elite, but assuming all falls into place and this team comes together, the Rockets will be a scary team to face come playoff time.

    Individual Player Analysis- The following is an individual grade report of the 2005-06 Houston Rockets.

    Rafer Alston (7.1 ppg, 4.1 apg, 3.9 rpg)- Alston has played in only eight games due to a stress fracture in his right leg. When healthy, he?s Houston?s only legit point guard, and does a fine job of running the team. Alston has quick hands and speed that makes him a pest defensively, and while his shooting hasn?t come around yet (32%), he was beginning to penetrate more and get to the basket before his injury. Aside from McGrady, Alston is the only other Rocket who can penetrate effectively and create for others once he gets inside the lane. Alston is likely 2-3 weeks in returning from injury. Grade: B-

    Derek Anderson (10.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg)- Anderson started the season slowly but has started to regain his past form the last two weeks. When aggressive, Anderson is more than capable of being that third scorer the Rockets so desperately need. Although his days as a slasher are long gone, he has a nice midrange jumper, and does a good job of passing and playing the passing lanes on defense. Grade: C+

    Jon Barry (5.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 37% 3PT)- Barry has missed a few weeks due to a left knee injury and a right calf strain, so his effectiveness has been limited. However, when he has been healthy, he has shot the ball inconsistently and seems even more of a liability defensively. Once he comes back to full health, it?s likely he?ll see 10-15 minutes as a shooting specialist. Grade: C-

    Ryan Bowen (2.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 12 starts)- Bowen has provided the Rockets with great hustle and energy ever since he was placed in the Rockets? starting lineup. As the Rockets? defensive specialist, Bowen guards the opponents? best perimeter player most nights, and does a great job of securing extra possessions with his knack for offensive rebounding. If he could ever develop a consistent midrange jump shot, he?d stay on the court much longer than 13 minutes per game. But he?s a Van Gundy favorite. Grade: B+

    Luther Head (8.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 44% 3PT)- Head has been nothing short of spectacular in his rookie campaign. Already, Head has produced memorable fourth quarters, and shown an ability to score in crunch time. He?s been Houston?s most consistent shooter from downtown, and also has the ability to break down defenses. He?s had to play significant minutes early due to the Rockets? plethora of injuries, and he?s played remarkably well. Grade: A-</div>

    Thanks.
     
  2. Kwan1031

    Kwan1031 JBB JustBBall Member

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    I can do it today right after Toronto game stats are included...
     
  3. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    Thanks Kwan1031, looking forward to it.
     
  4. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

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    Kwan is the ideal candidate to do it. We'll also help out too once Kwan comes up with a rough draft. [​IMG]
     
  5. Kwan1031

    Kwan1031 JBB JustBBall Member

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    by Kwan1031

    <div align="center">[​IMG]</div>

    Live with 3 and die with 3. If I have to describe Warriors with one sentence, this has to be it. Warriors have been shooting league leading 25.4 3 pts per game, and there are many critics who don't trust Warriors because Warriors are shooting 33.4% from the behind the arc, 23rd in the league, and 43% in overall shooting, 27th in the league, showing that Warriors can’t shoot very well at all. To make matters worse, Warriors are the last in rebounding differential (-4.8 per game) and 16th in overall rebounding, so it’s not like they secure rebounds for number of second chances. In addition, Warriors are 21st in FT (72.5%), 16th in opp. team shooting % (44.5%), 19th in pts allowed (98.2 pts), and their interior scoring and defense are non-existence. You may think Warriors are heading toward top 5 in lottery just based on those stats. However, ever since Warriors acquired Davis in February 24, 2005, Warriors have been winning consistently with this unbalanced style. After Warriors acquired Davis last season, they finished the season with 18-10, 14-5 with Davis in starting line up, and in first quarter of 2005-2006 season, Warriors are 14-11, 10th in the league and only two games behind impressive Clippers in Pacific.

    Warriors backcourt is without a doubt one of the best one in the league. Davis have completely turned the team around with his skills and leadership, Richardson have improved each year, providing consistent 20+ pts every night, and is a worthy of being an All-Star, Fisher should be considered as 6th man of the year, and Pietrus provides hounding defense and instant scoring punch. That’s why most of times, Warriors backcourt has been dominating other teams every night. However, frontcourt is holding Warriors from being a contender. Murphy is capable of providing 15 pts and 10 rebounds every night, but that’s where good news end. Dunleavy is in horrible slump ever since he signed a big extension, and Foyle is better suited for back up center role. In addition, Cabarkapa has struggled all year, and both Diogu and Biedrins are still too raw to contribute. Since, both Dunleavy and Murphy are defensive liabilities, our frontcourt has to outscore opposing team’s frontcourt in order to contribute. Unfortunately, that rarely happened in first quarter of 2005-2006 season, and so far, either lack of production of frontcourt or lack of interior defense has been the main reason of defeat in most nights.

    One of the main reasons Warriors shoot too many 3 pts is because Warriors have no interior offense. As a matter of fact, both Davis and Richardson should be considered as the best post up players on the roster. Therefore, many times, other teams close the middle in order to prevent dribble penetration and force Warriors to hit outside jumpers. Warriors do not have too many 3 pts specialists, and that’s why offense suffered quite a bit in early season. Good news is that Warriors is starting to run and score more. In other hand, Warriors surprised fans with their defense (ranked 4th in opp. Shooting %) and even brought number of victories with defense in early season, because they were not a good defense team by any stretch of imagination. However, as offense starts to roll, defense starts to suffer considerably.

    Individual Player Analysis – The following is an individual grade report of the 2005-2006 Golden State Warriors.

    Baron Davis (17.5 ppg, 9.7 apg, 4.5 rpg, 1.8 spg): The captain of this club. Ever since Davis came to Warriors, He has been scoring, penetrating and finding an open man at will. Because of his passing ability, other players have been involved into the game more, and they are having the best seasons in their careers. That’s why Warriors were able to have their best start in last 10+ years. When Davis was injured his hamstring in November 2nd, Warriors have to drag him out from the injury just after missing one game. Only downside with Davis is that he is a horrible shooter and shoots too many 3 pts, which he improved considerably in last 4 games. A-

    Jason Richardson (22.4 ppg, 2.5 apg, 6.0 rpg, 1.3 ): The engine of this club. I have to say I was worried about Richardson in last season, because he was one of few players, who had bit of trouble coping with Davis last season. However, Richardson’s off-season improvements blew my worries away, and he became the best mate for Davis on the court. Not only his outside shootings, defense and dribble has improved considerably, little improvements like catch-and-shoot or fade away made himself unstoppable time to time. Also, he has been the most consistent player on the roster, failed to score less than 15 pts only 3 times. Like Davis, without Richardson, Warriors would have collapsed long time ago. Only problem with his game is 68% FT, which is unacceptable for SG. A

    Mike Dunleavy (9.2 ppg, 2.5 apg, 2.8 rpg, 30.7 mpg): You know you are doing a horrendous job, when even your die hard fans couldn’t defend your performance, and that’s what Dunleavy has done in first 25 games. Ever since Dunleavy signed 44 mils for 5 years in this off-season, fans had hard time tracking Dunleavy down on the court, because he managed to become an invisible for couple quarters, three quarters or even entire game. Because he is not a defense specialist by any stretch of imagination, he needs to put numbers for the club. However, that just didn’t happen enough and Warriors are forced to play 3 vs 5 in offense one too many times. He had nice 7 games stretch, but in last 4 games, he again made himself disappear. There is no doubt that Dunleavy will eventually break out from the worst slump in his career. However, even at his best, will he be an enough contributor for this club? D-

    Troy Murphy (16.5 ppg, 1.0 apg, 8.8 rpg, 38.6% 3 pts): Just like Richardson, Murphy has been solid and consistent contributor for this club. Murphy refined his game during this off-season, and he improved his FG%, FT% and still maintains 39% from 3 pts line as well. Also, he only scored less than 10 pts 3 times during this season. Murphy’s rebounding number has been down, but he improved his rebounding during December as well. Murphy will not provide any inside game or inside defense presence. However, those are something people knew from the day he was drafted. Therefore, it would be hard to blame Murphy for lack of those aspects. B+

    Adonal Foyle (4.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 52.2% FG): Foyle is on the court to provide inside defense against other team’s best post up players, inside help defense, and rebounding, which Warriors need desperately. So far, Foyle did the decent job playing his role, but it is bit alarming to notice that his blocks are down from usual 2+ per game. Foyle is not a refined basketball player, and he probably suits better as a back up center. However, lack of quality centers in the league and minimal defense contributions from both forwards force Warriors to start Foyle at center position during this season. C+

    Derek Fisher (13.2 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.6 rpg, 1 spg, 45.7% 3 pts): Warriors initially brought him as a starting PG, which made nobody happy, including Fisher. However, Fisher found his role in back up SG during this season, and he has been challenging 6th man of the year so far. Although he may be a back up for this club, he always finish the game because of his defense, additional ball handler, and consistent outside shooting. A

    Mickael Pietrus (10.5 ppg, 0.8 apg, 2.8 rpg, 22.1 mpg): Because of the injury, Pietrus was only able to play 12 games so far. However, Pietrus provides energy, instant scoring, dribble penetration and 3 pts in offense end, and provides hounding defense against any PG, SG or SF, and needless to say, Warriors missed Pietrus a lot during his absence. It was bit disappointing to see that Pietrus didn’t seem to improve from last year though. His basketball IQ still is quite low, and he didn’t seem to improve mid range jumper yet. B-

    Zarko Cabakapa (4.1 ppg, 0.4 apg, 1.6 rpg): After impressive 2004-2005 season, Cabakapa has been a big disappoint in this season. He failed to become an instant scoring machine Warriors expect him to be, and failed to secure back up PF role when Diogu was injured. Because he does not provide anything but offense, his contribution to Warriors in first quarter of this season has been minimal. D

    Andris Biedrins: (2.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 67.7% fg): Biedrins is long, quick and raw, and there is no question that he is a long term project. Good news is that he has shown steady progress from last year. Biedrins has uncanny nose for offense rebounds, sneaks under the basket for a dunk, showed little post up moves time to time, and does not pick up 6 fouls in 6 seconds anymore. He still is too raw to consider anything more than a back up center, but with this rate, it won’t be too long before he starts for Warriors. B-

    Calbert Cheaney (2.0 ppg, 0.5 apg, 1.6 rpg). Cheaney is a type of veteran who does anything a coach asks him to do, and helps young rookies to adjust NBA life. He has solid mid range jumper and decent defense, and due to Pietrus’ injury, we had to rely on Cheaney to contribute once again. It’s unfortunate that he no longer hits half of his midrange jumpers like he used to do in two years ago, and that’s the reason why he has been nothing more than 12th man on the roster. C

    Ike Diogu, Chris Taft, Monta Ellis, Aaron Miles: There is no question that those rookies have talents to play in NBA someday. But, all of them are currently playing like they have no clue, and it will take a while for them to contribute. Other than little excitements Diogu and Taft provided, their contributions have been minimal. I

    OK. Feel free to edit, rip, add, substract, leave a comment and do whatever necessary...
     
  6. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    Very nice Kwan. Do you have any specific player pictures you want to use for this?
     
  7. Kwan1031

    Kwan1031 JBB JustBBall Member

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    Feel free to insert any pics you want. I don't know how to do it anyway...
     
  8. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    No problem, we'll take care of the beautification of it.
     
  9. Custodianrules2

    Custodianrules2 Cohan + Rowell = Suck

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    I like it Kwan. BTW is it Kwam or Kwan because I noticed it says "by Kwam".

    [​IMG]

    We definitely have no inside presence or ways to set somebody up on the outside from with inside unless Baron drives a lot. But we can't do that if the defenders crowd the middle and surround Baron Davis so he can't kick out. Plus our perimeter guys don't move enough to get open.
     
  10. Kwan1031

    Kwan1031 JBB JustBBall Member

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    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I am not Kwam nor Kwame. [​IMG] [​IMG]

    I kinda got depressed while writing this one, because our team is so flawed. Hope we can survive...
     
  11. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    Ok it's on the FP. Great job!
     
  12. Kwan1031

    Kwan1031 JBB JustBBall Member

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    Thanks for everything. Looks nice...
     

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