<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AnimeFANatic:</div><div class="quote_post">The Suns seemed to be doing well with some quick additions. Apparently to you a quick fix automatically means the Knicks. And I think it's common knowledge that Isiah sucks at being a manager.</div> The Suns were already good to begin with. The Warriors were not.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kensaku:</div><div class="quote_post">Yes, I have thought that and don't discount it, but why make rash decisions when there could be something better down the road if we're PATIENT.</div> I wouldn't say it's rash. And the key word is there "could" be something better, but if there isn't, what a waste of time.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kensaku:</div><div class="quote_post">The Suns were already good to begin with. The Warriors were not.</div> Suns already had Stoudamire, Marion, Richardson and Joe Johnson.
Weren't they a lottery team before Nash arrived? And their offseason additions most definately are making them a better team than expected with Amare out. Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Kurt Thomas, etc are having a big impact.
Yeah, Suns were a lottory team before Nash arrived with 29/53 record. The changes are necessary. Even if we hold this core for years, rebounding, inside scoring, inside/help defense, which are literary at the bottom of the league, won't improve dramatically, because our current players with long term contracts aren't just physically able to do it. And, even if we assume that Biedrins turns into a stud center and Diogu becomes next Brand. Without removing our current big salaries, we can't sign them. So, unless you have a faith that our current front line with Dunleavy, Murphy and Foyle will improve those aspects to the top of league... I am not asking for Mullin to shake the team till the end of this trade deadline. However, there should be some sort of trade/adjustments till end of next year, before we completely bottled ourselves with the existing salary. After 11-6 in Nov, we went 8-16. With that rate, we will win 33 games, so we can't even say this team will top previou years' win total. Tough time indeed...
I don't think the season is over but I agree, changes need to be made. Regardless of making a trade, Montgomery will be canned. He slows down the game but plays players that are suited for a fast breaking style. He benches the guys who would perform better in a half court style of ball. Ike setting picks and playing center is a complete waste. I really question whether Taft has back problems. Foyle gets injured, Taft miraculously is cured but Foyle returns and Taft's back problems are back, give me a break. Foyle is starting again and everything's coming back to normal, zero bball IQ. Not to mention our backup point guard killing the flow to our game. I'm 22 but I feel like I'm going to have an ulcer. On the bright side, Monty will be gone by the allstar break and we still have Baron for another 3 seasons.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting upsidedownside7:</div><div class="quote_post">Regardless of making a trade, Montgomery will be canned. He slows down the game but plays players that are suited for a fast breaking style. </div> I think we're not seeing the big picture here, but the short term progress of this franchise. It's halfway through the season, we're seeing some flaws that were on our team last year (lack of ball movement, lack of movement off the ball, lack of defense, small lineups). We've only made one player addition that really helps this team, but we're missing some ingredients. Whether that be coach or not, it really comes down to the attitude and the play. And I doubt Monty gets canned considering Mullin knows that the team hasn't really practiced and learned what it takes to play both an uptempo style and a well executed Utah Jazz style. And also how can we play fastbreak style when we can't even rebound, play smart or move well without the ball? We can't go running when our ballhandlers are forced to do most of the rebounding or we face teams more athletic than us. Those teams we'll be trading buckets and probably getting outrebounded and outscored in the paint down the stretch. 4th quarters, it's no secret the Warriors start jacking threes and defenses start zoning up and closing out on Baron Davis. Also, teams know to drive on Dunleavy and Murphy forward/center tandem. The only thing softer on the inside is a poptart, especially if the team moves the ball so they got Baron/Jrich rotated inside. That's why I pray for good individual defense starting five! I just hate team defense, people just can't pick up the slack for the worst defenders on the team. Also, Don't forget we've lost a few games we could have won just from free throws. That's just pitiful. We're a small team, we should thrive in the free throw game because of our quickness going smaller. But even if we are quick, we just can't expect to outrun every single team like during the Jamison/Arenas days. Our defense isn't that good in transition and we've even less inside presence than before. At least Jamison/Arenas can play with their back to the basket/hit free throws and we had a real center who was at least decent when he played at leat 80% effort. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting upsidedownside7:</div><div class="quote_post"> He benches the guys who would perform better in a half court style of ball. Ike setting picks and playing center is a complete waste. I really question whether Taft has back problems. Foyle gets injured, Taft miraculously is cured but Foyle returns and Taft's back problems are back, give me a break. Foyle is starting again and everything's coming back to normal, zero bball IQ. Not to mention our backup point guard killing the flow to our game. I'm 22 but I feel like I'm going to have an ulcer. </div> The guys who are benched are rookies still making adjustments and learning the team game, lots of coaches do that. Even Larry Brown went through stretches where he did not play David Lee at all or Channing Frye, even after they posted great games. I don't know why this is, but I'm just as eager as the next person to see big players playing their ideal position. Ike (offense) at PF, Taft (defense) at F/C, Biedrins (defense) at F/C. What I'm sick of is the Murph at center/Dunleavy at PF bit and of course Fisher, shooting guard. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting upsidedownside7:</div><div class="quote_post"> On the bright side, Monty will be gone by the allstar break and we still have Baron for another 3 seasons.</div> First of all, how are you so sure? It just seems kind of a spurious assumption to make. Even if we do fire the coach, I think the style of play we have won't equate to good post season play or we might even miss the playoffs (like it looks now). But I guess some just want us to make the playoffs period, first round exit or not. I just want the Warriors to become both good at offense/defense/uptempo/halfcourt and play with an inside/outside game. If we can't have that, we might as well go back to the drawing board... again. Anyway, lot of things can happen in a month or two. We'll be okay, better than last year at least. Edit: Sorry forgot a few things.
We just need a friggin center who can catch the ball and finish. And no, not Diogu, he's a 4. We need a 7-footer. Foyle, for all his wonderful defense and awesome blocks, is a liability every time the ball comes near his butterfingers on offense, and that's not good on a team where the PG likes to dish to the big fellas. The Warriors need a legitimate 7-foot center.
Plus, Foyle just can't protect anybody's ass anymore. He needs to be planted for defense. If he shuffles his feet, he's out of position, which causes more problems because it gives a dribble penetrator an opportunity to drive and give up a weak foul. I say just let them all shoot. I can't believe how many layups or dunks we give up because we have Foyle and Murphy inside and they either overcommit or undercommit on team defense. We might as well give the keys to the carjacker and save the trouble of breaking in windows. We need a miracle upgrade to set the tone inside and on the glass. Somebody who can box out and not just play for stats. Somebody who can set really nice screens without causing turnovers. Somebody who can catch and kick out. Somebody who can read defenses and know where to be. Hopefully, it's a vet. It's just hard to trust rookies to close out games after what we saw today against the Lakers. Too much hesitation and nervous time.
What the Warriors need is an identity. It is sad what the Warrior's identity is now. It's between being 6 highly paid players on the court to a 1 man show. Sadly enough, nothing has really been done to change this. However maybe luck has come to make it different, to open Montgomery's eyes. Everyone says that the team needs to make moves and moves and more moves, for this and that and this and that. Really there isn't so much faith in the current set of players. The six that usually hog the minutes aren't bringing wins, and the bench doesn't even play, which would make them all terrible. This I see has brought down many fans esteem and probably the media's and maybe even the team's confidence in playing with organization because they may be looking to break this spell. But now, hopefully as a lesson learned for Mike Montgomery, the team's identity must change. The team is without Jason Richardson and Mike Dunleavy. This means more minutes for Ellis, Pietrus, Zarko, and even Diogu and Biedrins(since Dunleavy plays so many minutes at the 4). Last night the bench showed up well and produced. They played their best defense in the second and third(especially) quarters and the rebounding was excellent. I have confidence this performance will be repeated with great regularity if they were given the chance, I mean especially Zarko who isn't a rookie at all, but usually a very productive player. Zarko would also help this team's rebounding a lot, like he did last night with 5 rebounds in 10 minutes(due to foul problems). This team has been looking for rebounding help all year and they are always playing small lineups with three guards and Dunleavy as a PF. The team is looking for good defense, especially on the perimeter, and they don't let Monta Ellis the quickest player on the team play minutes. I really wonder if the Warriors will abandon these players again once Jason and Mike come back, as they did with Diogu and Taft. But I really hope they don't. The team will only be it's best when the bench is coming in the game for the right times and being able to produce. Like people have said, the team gets a bit predictable on offense. If the Warriors can get some new faces and play with new energy and bring new things to the table, it will have to make the other team adjust and it will also make the way the team ends the game less predictable in their style of play. For the past three years, this team has always been carried by its bench, when the team was succeeding. One year it was Earl Boykins being the player, then Brian Cardinal and a whole bunch of other players who contributed like Sean Lampley, Pietrus. And last year just for a short period it was Pietrus, Baron Davis, Zarko, and Biedrins who really performed well at the end of the season. This core of players have always needed that extra player to give them that oomph at the end of games and during games to propel the core's game. There is no difference now. As I have been hoping for most of the season, I wish that the bench got more decent minutes for playing time on a consistant basis. I am also hoping that Mike Montgomery can provide more answers and be a lot smarter on rotations.
Nice post Clif. The bench player definitely need to play a bigger role in the game. Kind of like Memphis under Hubie when they hada ten player rotation and no one played except I think Gasol played over 35 minutes. Monty's one minute and out rotations of the bench players don't really put the bench players in a good posistion to get into a rhythm.
Can you give insight when you post? If you just say something like that, we are going to think you are a bandwagon fan that doesn't follow us at all.
the loss to the lakers last night was just horrible blow to the warriors' confidence and momentum hopefully they can regain it as soon as possible, or should i say, before playoffs really become a reach? Young teams tend to falter bad in 2nd half of the season, especially on road...can the warriors avoid what happened to cleveland last year?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post"> We might as well give the keys to the carjacker and save the trouble of breaking in windows.</div> Ooh, I like that analogy. Nice one Custodian. As for Clif25, great post. I loved watching the bench players play D last night, four kids and Baron Davis causing turnover after turnover, stripping Kobe and George and whoever else. And I'll tell you, Pietrus looks a lot taller than JRich out there. He was grabbing rebounds -- high above the opposing bigs -- like he was a power forward. Also Monta Ellis can friggin jump! He grabed a couple of boards over guys like Brian Cook, and those phat dunks he threw down? Kid looked like Steve Francis. Those two guys on the glass -- Ellis and Pietrus -- that was all about desire. They were just more alive on the glass, boxing out, scrambling for loose balls, trying to jump for it even if they didn't think they had much of a chance. That tenacity and energy is exactly what a few of our starters lack at times. Bottom line -- that reserve group of young bench players did some things last night remarkably well. Monty must find away to build on that or this ship just won't have much steam coming into port.
Ellis has something to prove, and rookies who strive to prove their worth = hard working / hustling players. While he made rookie mistakes, there was no doubt he was giving 110%. I saw a lot of passion in his game, like when he played good D on Kobe and made him go out of bounds. Kid was damn happy from what I saw. Also, Ellis got some major hops. His head almost touched the rim on the first dunk and on the second dunk he got to the rim lightning fast, I don't even think J-Rich can be that fast.
Dunks are nice (Ellis) but I like the rebounds better. Basics, when was the last time you saw the Warriors out hustle a team? Loose balls, long rebounds? Some teams use a stat, "hustle points" or whatever, combines loose balls, steals, etc. I bet you the Warriors are sub .500 in that stat.
