The Warriors' problem

If height is what we are worried about, then play Zarko...

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Warriorfansnc93:</div><div class="quote_post">If height is what we are worried about, then play Zarko...</div> I thought the whole point of this dialogue was that "height isn't supposed to matter" it's who can defend, react, anticipate, and is tough and strong enough to body up and put the pressure on the guy they're trying to shut down. We just don't have a guy that's willing to get dirty, physical and has the necessary technique, agility, and strength to do so at the positions we're looking for. Zarko IMO guarding the 6'10 and 6'11 guys like Dirk Nowitzki is oversimplifying it a bit. Besides, only person that can stop a physical marvel and franchise player like Dirk is Dirk. He's got some shots and moves that are unstoppable. Bottomline is if we want to make it tougher for a difficult matchup to score, we need the guy that is going to play a bit dirty and studies up on his assignment and just anticipates. We can't have softies or players that just don't know how to play man-to-man defense. We also need the guys with energy and tenacity to chase these guys around screens and deny entry passes.

 

Last year there were times where we had 7 active players. I seriously dount having 10 solid players is a disadvantage, especially when the guys on the bench have different skill sets than the starters.

We have players that are still developing so playing time is a huge issue for them. We're not going to win a championship anytime soon so we need to find out soon who our championship run rotation is and give them experience. It's pretty consensus that we won't be able to keep everyone just about the time we are able to compete for the ring. So we should have a plan on who we want to commit to. I think around All-Star date is a feasible time to start making decisions. The lack of playing time for our developing players started to frustrate me a lot last year because we were eliminated from playoff contention so early. I understand the idea we have to win to please the fans, but that's the thing, our young players played very good and even great at times. They DESERVED more playing time. But hopefully we'll be in contention all year and find the most effective rotation.

As far as Pietrus on Lamar, Melo, and Rashard. Seemed scared to get physical because he didn't want to commit a bunch of fouls like he did early in the season. But I've seen him shutdown Redd and contain Kobe and Tmac very well. Kobe and Tmac did not like it when he guarded him, they were never comfortable. So I think he can guard those guys better than he has shown. If he gets stronger, which he most certainly can, I have a feeling he can D those guys up as well. His long arms will allow him to contest their shot or at least bother them. It's not just height but quick jumping and anticipation that allow you to contest a shot. Also, he needs to treat every opponent like they're a Kobe or Tmac. He definitely slacked off against the lesser competition. I'm sick of the Pietrus/Dun debate we just need to wait for the season. What I'm curious bout now is do you guys think Murphy and Foyle will be starting at the end of the season as our PF and C?

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting jzblaze:</div><div class="quote_post">Last year there were times where we had 7 active players. I seriously dount having 10 solid players is a disadvantage, especially when the guys on the bench have different skill sets than the starters.

We have players that are still developing so playing time is a huge issue for them. We're not going to win a championship anytime soon so we need to find out soon who our championship run rotation is and give them experience. It's pretty consensus that we won't be able to keep everyone just about the time we are able to compete for the ring. So we should have a plan on who we want to commit to. I think around All-Star date is a feasible time to start making decisions. The lack of playing time for our developing players started to frustrate me a lot last year because we were eliminated from playoff contention so early. I understand the idea we have to win to please the fans, but that's the thing, our young players played very good and even great at times. They DESERVED more playing time. But hopefully we'll be in contention all year and find the most effective rotation.

As far as Pietrus on Lamar, Melo, and Rashard. Seemed scared to get physical because he didn't want to commit a bunch of fouls like he did early in the season. But I've seen him shutdown Redd and contain Kobe and Tmac very well. Kobe and Tmac did not like it when he guarded him, they were never comfortable. So I think he can guard those guys better than he has shown. If he gets stronger, which he most certainly can, I have a feeling he can D those guys up as well. His long arms will allow him to contest their shot or at least bother them. It's not just height but quick jumping and anticipation that allow you to contest a shot. Also, he needs to treat every opponent like they're a Kobe or Tmac. He definitely slacked off against the lesser competition. I'm sick of the Pietrus/Dun debate we just need to wait for the season. What I'm curious bout now is do you guys think Murphy and Foyle will be starting at the end of the season as our PF and C?</div>

With late last year's success, we are not in a position to split mins for the development. That's why we drafted Diogu, who's NBA ready with limited upside. And, we would be lucky if Mullin doesn't spend MLE to add another vet like Fisher for the instant benefit. Also, it's not like our existing pieces are 30+ years old to begin with. The fact is that the pressure is on for Mullin and this ball club to finally end PO drought, and trading existing pieces for the development of young players are farthest idea from what Mullin thinks.

For Murphy and Foyle, I really don't have a problem for either of them at this point. We definitely need Foyle, or anybody for that matter, and his interior defense, and unless Diogu is radical improvement from Murphy in defense end, I don't think we will bench Murphy, who just started to collect his 6 years 60 mils contract...

 

While Pietrus will have some difficulty defending bif SF's-they will have even more trouble defending him. Last year he often just shot past a guy,and flew to the rim with the defender way late catching up. Though 6-6 Pietrus strength and leap make him a problem to score on for even a 6-9 guy. The big guy may get a shot off-but it's contested.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">While Pietrus will have some difficulty defending bif SF's-they will have even more trouble defending him. Last year he often just shot past a guy,and flew to the rim with the defender way late catching up. Though 6-6 Pietrus strength and leap make him a problem to score on for even a 6-9 guy. The big guy may get a shot off-but it's contested.</div>

This is true, however the Warriors weren't struggling to score last year. Putting Pietrus at the 3 won't help that. Hopefully Dunleavy keeps improving (His team D was actually soso at the end of the year). Until we have a legit defender at the 4 Pietrus at the 3 doesn't make much sense to me.

Dunleavy helps with ball movement and spacing...So he'll be starting. I wish there was a quick fix. unfortunatlely I don't see it

 

I think what REREM was getting at is if you put Pietrus at the 3, he could be virtually unstoppable if his one-on-one game is similar to Kobe Bryant's. We figure at one point somebody guarding him is going to have to foul and if it's an important guy, he gets taken out and then we don't have to deal with him back on defense. Also, it softens up the defense if the other team is over the foul limit. Add Diogu or Taft into the mix or some other guy that can move the ball, rebound, get fouled, and that's deadly. It seems like the only blackholes on offense left on the team is Troy Murphy since Rodney White is a FA.

Unless the whistles aren't going our way, it's probably best to run with Dun against the bigger, heavier forwards.

 

Until Pietrus can take a guy off the dribble, I'd say that's a stretch. He's more of a slasher and outside shooter now.

 

Well he certainly would make SF's work a lot harder chasing him around screens and backdoor cuts. His ballhandling is pretty good actually. He just sucks at figuring out what to do to create his own shot. He basically decides before he moves rather than create on the fly. And his move is usually from the right wing with the crossover hesitation dribble or right to left crossover all going left inside and down the lane. Pretty predictable. But he's got some good raw moves along the baseline and a quick shot release. He's still raw, but he improves every year and he's the most productive warrior in terms of scoring in per 48 minute stats. Hopefully, a healthy Foyle will make this per 48 minute measure somewhat legit since Foyle was our most productive warrior defensively in terms of per 48 minute stats (especially rebounding). Many earlier hopes that Foyle would at least produce Ben Wallace like numbers.

Anyway, I just like Pietrus' guts to go in there tough and get hammered while dunking or laying it in so he can get a good And1 type of play. We have no starting player other than Baron that can command double teams or can get free from their defenders except for J-Rich. Plus Pietrus is pretty darn good in the open court. I guess he's fine where he's at as the Ricky Davis type sixth man.

 

You may be right, but I think the offense moves better with Dun and Davis in the game. I think Pietrus has about 2 years of work before he can get away with being a starter, at the 3 or the 2.

It's pretty sad, but I don't see him ever really starting for the Warriors because I don't think he's a legit 3. That being said, if he can prove that he should be the cheaper alternative to JRich when that time comes around then maybe we look to upgrade at either 3, 4, or 5 with a package deal by moving him. Or, we can move Pietrus at that time.

Hopefully Pietrus proves me wrong and shows that he's a legit starter at 3, cause I think if he could learn to create his own shot off the dribble, then I think that Dunleavy could be moved this offseason for an upgrade at 4, or 5 cause I anticipate a major improvement for Dunleavy. He has guys around him that can get him the ball where he likes it, move well without the ball, and his frame is finally in line with his skill (He reportedly has put on another 15-20 lbs again this year.) We'll see. I hate that in the NBA you can't really hold on to a core of players without having to move them, because I think those 4 guys are guys that will continue to improve every year.

 

I agree with the more conservative, "moving the ball lineup" there CohanHater with Dunleavy in there. Also, If J-Rich wasn't so awesome I would advocate a real 2 guard in the mold of Ray Allen or T-mac that can just drive, dish, shoot. J-Rich plays like a forward, but at least he passes like a top guard which is good. It's frustrating because Murphy doesn't play like a real power forward to get touch fouled enough, J-Rich doesn't play like a true 2 guard to get fouled on the drive and Dunleavy plays like a point guard who has troubles creating his own shot even though he can create his own shot. Dunleavy should be posting up and hitting midrange jumpers using his size. J-Rich should be driving more, getting fouled more and stretching defenses with outside shooting off the catch or off the dribble. Murphy should be posting up and playing more like a center rather than a small forward. I guess as long as we win we stick with what works. Some of the most bizarre lineups won quite a bit of games actually like the Suns, the Wizards, the Pistons, etc.

 

I don't understand the bashing of Pietrus' offensive game. The arguements have been that he can't penetrate or create his own shot. However, can Dunleavy do any of those things? I believe Pietrus is actually better at both- creating his own shot and penetrating- than Dunleavy is. So I believe that arguement against Pietrus' offensive game is kind of mute. Also watching Pietrus play at the end of last year(and the year before), he was becoming quite good at shooting off the dribble from 15-20 feet away from the hoop(though there were a few that didn't look the most graceful-but he's still young and developing). Also he was taking it the hoop more as well, to go along with an improving and accurate three point shot. To go with the Warriors' lineup and the NBA today; is there a team with 3 strong perimeter defenders on it? I think not. So if the opponent wants to put their better SF/wing defender on Pietrus, then so be it, and beware to take the wrath of Baron Davis and Jason Richardson. Thus is another plus to Pietrus' (offensive) game. Pietrus is much more adept and able to exploit mismatches and exacute on advantages than Dunleavy. Since Pietrus would be up against the weaker of the opposing team's perimeter defenders, then this is where Pietrus will also flourish. Being able to blow by the sluggish, slightly unathletic defender with his long, fast, and quick first step, or just shooting open shots on the perimeter as his defender falls asleep, by paying too much attention toward Baron, Jason, Murphy, etc.

I agree that there are many times where he seems as if he doesn't know what he is doing and gets out of control or just isn't in-tune with the team and the current strategies. However since he has had to get used to different coaches, a different language, and a seeming misunderstanding or mis-communications with Mike Montgomery, along with a lack of confidence from the rest of the team- hopefully by now, going into his 3rd year in the NBA and his second year with Montgomery, that they could be more insync with each other and the rest of the team. Which seemed to be more of the case as Pietrus seemed to fit in when Baron "The Boss" joined the squad. Because, yes, there were times when he would shoot a little too much from the perimeter at times. However I think he matured and became a little better in his decision making like that. In fact, I believe it is his decision making, and a slight lack of experience that are Pietrus' downsides on offense. But these are things that ought to improve as he continues to get comfortable in the NBA and continues to grow and mature.

 

Werd, Clif. I'm a pretty strong believer in Pietrus' ability. Not too many athletes can guard smaller players like point guards, lockdown those lightning quick 6'6 shooting guards that J-Rich can't handle, and create their own shot with the ball (and go left and jump high and long off one foot). I think his athletic ability and explosiveness stands out quite a bit, actually. His game is pretty rugged, but he sort of reminds me of how a raw Kobe Bryant or a Vince Carter would play if they weren't so polished. Pietrus doesn't seem inclined to pass much off the drive or act as a secondary point guard, but he's had his moments. He set Jrich and Dunleavy up a couple of times with some great passes... one was a behind the back pass and another was the one where he ran the break and set up Jrich. He pointed at Jrich and gave him the wink. Funny guy. There's a reason why both Fisher and Baron both love Pietrus. A lively, team-spirited guy, that hustles and ends up on the floor a lot while going for poster dunks or shooting long bombs from 3 point land in huge bunches. He's like Brian Cardinal, only more explosive, he's not slow and he's a Carribean dude that mistakenly thought of as French because he's a big superstar in French basketball and he moved to there.

 

I'm with Clif25 on the Pietrus situation. Early on,he didn't play enough to be in a grove. Late season he was zipping through defenses,and hitting the outside shot,and there were several games where the D just had nothing to stop him. Pitrus would hardly be a midget,Jefferson,Q-Rich,Reuben Patterson,are similar sized. Prince is longer,but way thin,so is Carmelo...and Melo hardly plays D,so his size is hardly relevant. Sometimes we will face a Zarko size guy,and that would be when Z gets more play.
The Suns played "undersized" at every position-had the best record in the league,because they put 5 skilled,quick,tough guys out there and set a pace teams could not match. I feel that when we run with both J-Rich and Pietrus on the floor,we will be able to put teams on their heels. When we need big we have Foyle,Murph,Iike,Zarko,Taft and Andy B,we can stick in 2 6-11 F's.

Who says Pietrus needs to get stronger? Take a look at the arms on that dude.

 

Bruce Bowen weighs a listed 200 lbs. So it's not always about mass, even though every bit helps in not getting knocked around.