Much to Davis' chagrin, Golden State falls flat against Kings By Geoff Lepper, STAFF WRITER SACRAMENTO ? Warriors point guard Baron Davis' theory on losing, as stated earlier this month, is simple: If you grow accustomed to it, you stop caring about it, and that's a problem. Based on Sunday's 114-99 loss to the Sacramento Kings, that philosophy extends even to the exhibition season. In a game that won't count on anybody's statistical record ? much to the Warriors' relief ? Davis refused to give into the conventional wisdom that a preseason loss doesn't matter. By alternate turns he scored (22 points), he passed (six assists) and he cajoled (chewing out teammates during the Warriors' first timeout) his way through 28 minutes on the floor. He even debated enough with the officiating crew to draw a technical foul. "We've just got to condition ourselves not to fall into that low of (thinking) it's just a preseason game," Davis said when the Warriors locker room finally opened after an unusually long 25-minute cooling-off period. "We just didn't have the energy and the spunk that we normally have as a unit." Said Warriors coach Mike Montgomery: "Baron was doing what he could dthers should have been doing what they could do." The defensive improvements the Warriors made in their previous contest against the Los Angeles Lakers, when Lamar Odom was held to two baskets in a 31-point Golden State victory, were absent. Peja Stojakovic had 11 points in the first quarter. On the evening, the Kings shot 51.4 percent. "Defensively, we didn't establish ourselves," Davis said. "We definitely took a step back. I think it was our energy more than anything. A lot of times, defense is a display of energy, and we didn't have any." Montgomery commented Saturday that his team seemed less focused after its return from a crisp training camp in Hawaii, and that fact was exacerbated Sunday by a loss of energy in the backcourt. With Jason Richardson away on a team-approved personal leave, sixth man Mickael Pietrus stepped into the starting lineup. His usual vitality did not come with him. "It's kind of hard get in the starting five being used to coming in as a bench player. I'm more efficient coming off the bench," said Pietrus, who still feels fatigued from his stint with the French national team at this summer's European Championships. "I'm going to keep practicing hard. I have to find a way to get some rest, I hope." On a positive note for the Warriors, Troy Murphy converted a couple of baskets from the low block, where he was too seldom seen last year in the coaches' opinion. But even he was left searching for a bit of an energy boost. "We just got our butts kicked tonight," Murphy said. "This game really let us know where we stand. We have to have more of a sense of urgency and bring some focus to each and every game." TIP-INS: Ray Young dropped a 19-foot jumper at the third-quarter buzzer, prompting one of his supporters behind the Warriors bench to cry out, "Sign him! Get the contract!" But the front-runner among the quintet of unsigned Warriors looks to be Aaron Miles, since point guard is the position where the team has the least depth. "They've all done a nice job," Montgomery said of the training-camp invitees. "I just think that in the case of Aaron, because of the position he is, he's been particularly impressive. It's such a hard position to play, and he's done it well." ... Chris Taft, who had been out with a strained groin, clocked 9 minutes and scored four points, all from the free-throw line. "We lost, so there ain't no highlights," Taft said. "I was just happy to be out there." ... Murphy was still in mourning over his alma mater Notre Dame's last-minute loss to USC on Saturday and his favorite NFL team, the New York Giants, falling to Dallas in overtime Sunday. "It's been an ugly weekend," he said. ... Richardson is expected back in time for today's practice. http://www.insidebayarea.com/warriors/ci_3124316 A few things really bother me from this article. 1. Coming out with no fire or intensity 2. Pietrus saying he's tired from Euro league play
to comment on your concerns 1. It's just preseason, I imagine it has to be difficult coming out with that necessary fire you need in the regular season when it's more like a pick up game. 2. Hopefully it's just jet lag, he came back to the states, then flew to Hawaii, then back, he'll get his legs back soon.
Mister Keith Jennings brings up a good point. Hawaii is 2 time zones away and they travel and mostly work all day or are doing stuff. Preaseason ain't just a cake walk either when you got coaches screaming in your ear and the pressure of making the team or trying to impress the brass. Plus, there is the fact the Warriors are really trying to adapt to a halfcourt game for when Baron goes out. We can't play open court ball without a floor leader that can make fastbreaks successful and we can't beat the zone unless we have some open looks at the basket or some guy that can attack it and dice it up. Baron is one of those rare players that can draw double teams and beat them, but unfortunately there's nobody inside that does that except for the hope that Ike Diogu can draw that sort of respect in the paint. I'm skeptical, but I think he's got the I.Q., strength, and footwork to punish a lot of people at the line and get players when they're off balance. Long arms, low center of gravity, lots of bulk, quick jumper, ultra aggressive and is a heavy contact player. You can't mess with that sometimes. So whether or not Baron flourishes in the open court/isolations and Ike flourishes on isolations, we need some kind of system to get guys open so we don't run into the same problems we had last year, creating our offense and getting better looks at the rim. I predict JRich will capitalize the most when fewer guys are worried about him because he can just tear it up when he gets close to the rim or when he's hot enough to shoot from 3-point land. We just need to have those guys who are inside/outside threats and at least two of them, and they are clever enough to find the open guys who can knock it down. Either that, or Jrich has to be more of an inside threat with the ball so he can create for others. If we don't have any real strong or athletic guys on the floor, the Warriors need to organize themselves so it gets the other team so confused they don't know who to rotate on, allowing open looks for jump shooters to receive the ball. If we don't score, our defense certainly won't save us.
Said Warriors coach Mike Montgomery: "Baron was doing what he could dthers should have been doing what they could do." I wonder what Montgomerys philosophy on this topic is. And if so, what was he doing to help out his players to become more focused? Obviously he knew that his team hadnt been focused for a few days. I dont know, my question might be; Is Montgomery doing what he should be doing? The players attitudes on a team are directly connected to the coach, in my opinion at least. If the coach is aggressive, so is his team. If hes energetic so is his team. I just have doubts with Montgomery, I think he puts too little responsibility on his self.
I think Monty's philosophy is start learning quick or we're screwed. If the players don't buy into the system, we need to start finding either somebody that can or find a new coach. We just can't be the over .500 team some fans predict if we soley have to rely on Baron Davis to create offense for our scorers. Also Diogu or Taft might not be "the man" inside the paint so we got no way to create down there. We're pretty much like we were last year which is all perimeter offense and very little inside action or off the ball movement. Nobody is that great of a playmaker from the high post in terms of centers, except for maybe Murphy who isn't really a center. He's not too creative on the fly like Dunleavy, Jrich, Zarko, Baron or Ellis so he never passes anyway, but when he does he's pretty good. Also, our defense just really sucks. Damn I just repeated myself from an early post. Sorry!
