The Warriors are about 1/3 through the season and are 3rd in the Pacific Division, with a record of 16-15. Although 16-15 may not look like the best record in the league, the Warriors are playing better basketball than they did last year when they had a much better record 30 games into the year. Coach Don Nelson has made his team into a running and gunning team that has beat some of the better teams in the league with a injury plagued roster. Jason Richardson has been playing on one leg so far this season, Monta Ellis has had ankle problems, and recently hurt his shoulder, Troy Murphy is having foot problems, Dajuan Wagner was never able to get off the bench due to fear of aggravating his stomach, Mickael Pietrus recently broke his nose, Chris Taft was cut at the beginning of the year due to back problems, Zarko Cabarkapa is out for the year with back problems, and Andris Biedrins recently bruised his tailbone. Still, the Warriors play through it.Individual Evaluations:Centers:Andris Biedrins: A+The 20 year old Latvian came into the league 18 years of age raw and talented. In his first year, Biedrins only played 3 games before the All Star break. After Baron Davis came to the Warriors, Biedrins started to get playing time and became the Warriors energy rebounder off the bench. His role was limited to that last year as well and Biedrins would get benched for tiny little mistakes. This year, new coach Don Nelson showed confidence in Biedrins, and the Latvian is averaging a double double and has had multiple games where he scores 15 points and grabs 15 rebounds. Biedrins' defensive presence alters many shots during the course of a game, and his rebounding is vital to the Warriors fast break style. As of today Biedrins is third in the league in field goal percentage, trailing only David Lee and Erick Dampier shooting a .628, is in the top 10 in the blocked shots per game, and in the top 15 for rebounds per game.Adonal Foyle: C+When Warriors fans found out Don Nelson was to be the new Warriors head coach, most fans expected Foyle's usage during games to be minimal after having to watch former head coach Mike Montgomery give Foyle 25 minutes a game. In the first 15 games, Foyle barely saw the floor, but after Andris Biedrins couldn't contain Yao Ming, Don Nelson sicked Adonal Foyle on the Yao, and Foyle came through blocking shots, making it hard to get the entry pass into Yao, and was the reason that the Warriors were able to win. Since then, Foyle has been used more as a defensive plug and to grab a few rebounds, and he has provided.Forwards:Troy Murphy: CTroy Murphy went into pre-season as the Warriors starting center, the role assigned to him by Don Nelson. 1 game into the year, Nelson scrapped that idea and moved Andris Biedrins to starting center and Troy Murphy as the Warriors power forward. Since then, Murphy has been consistent, getting 10 points, maybe 6 or so rebounds, and an occasional double double, but the stats don't tell it all. Murphy often disrupts the ball movement with a three point shot, his defense causes the Warriors problems in the post, and Murphy has publicly admitted to not fitting in during his time down with his feet problems.Mike Dunleavy: B-Constant underachiever, Dunleavy was picked number 3 overall in the 2002 draft and Warriors fans have been awaiting the Larry Bird protoge that Dunleavy was hyped up to be. For 3 years Dunleavy has shown nothing. This year, Don Nelson moved Mike Dunleavy to the power forward, hoping to make him his patterned "point forward" a bigger player who can handle the ball and create a mismatch problem for other teams. A week into the season, Mike Dunleavy was sitting on the bench. Since then, Dunleavy has been one of the better all around players for the Warriors, being able to shoot a bit, pass well, rebound well, and has been a huge part of the Warriors bench.Ike Diogu: B-In 2005, Ike Diogu's rookie year, Ike broke his hand and missed the first 15 games of the season. When he came back, he was a force to be dealt with in the post. Diogu crushed the Wallace brothers of Detroit and scored 27 points on them, and for a while was the Warriors starting center. This year, Diogu played in 5 games, and then had a severe ankle sprain and missed a bit more than 15 games. Diogu has yet to fit into Don Nelson's style of play and has not picked up the defensive rotation, and Don Nelson publicly called Diogu a blamer. However, since Diogu has came back, he has given the Warriors low post scoring off the bench and rebounds which are two things the Warriors need with a short handed roster.Matt Barnes: A-Matt Barnes came into the Warriors training camp, fighting for a spot in an NBA team. The battle for the last roster spot was supposed to be between him and Anthony Roberson, and then, Chris Taft was cut, allowing both Barnes and Roberson a roster spot. During the first few games of the year, Barnes played very little and played with energy and was a good rebounder off the bench. Then, when Troy Murphy got hurt, Matt Barnes was thrown into the starting lineup, and has kept his spot. Barnes is shooting over 45 percent from the three point line, after being a career 20 percent three point shooter, and recently tied the Warriors franchise record for three point shots made in a game.Mickael Pietrus: AIn Mickael Pietrus' rookie year, Eric Mussleman, the head coach of the Warriors at the time, sat Mickael Pietrus for a while, and then opened up the box, and unleashed an athletic French freak who could dunk the ball, jump high, and above all play killer defense. When Mike Montgomery came to the Warriors, the Frenchman played well, but would sit if he made any mistake and was often confused as to what to do on the court. This year Pietrus has been fitting in perfectly into Nelson's system, hitting three point shots, making defensive stops, and initiating fast breaks. Guards:Jason Richardson: C+In the 2005-2006 season, Jason Richardson averaged 23 points a game, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists and made a franchise record, 183 three point shots in a season, all while playing through multiple knee and ankle sprains. After coming off a late knee surgery in the summer, J-Rich is averaging a grand 13 points a game, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists and has made only 30 threes 31 games into the season. J-Rich is playing smarter basketball this year, and it is probably a result of Don Nelson coaching him, but J-Rich has no elevation in his jump, hasn?t dunked the ball with authority for what feels like ages, and he isn?t the old J-Rich. I love the fact that he?s trying, but I think it?s better for him if he sits out till he?s 100 percent, and then he can work on upping his points per game average for the 6th year in a row and set an NBA record.Monta Ellis: B+Last year, former head coach Mike Montgomery stated at the beginning of the year, that Monta Ellis was not a point guard and that he would not play as one for Montgomery. Ellis only started playing last year when Baron Davis was hurt, and even then in limited minutes, Ellis showed great potential and did things that very few players in the league could do. This year, Don Nelson has let his 21 year old 2nd year player play the point guard and the shooting guard, switching off with Baron Davis, and Ellis has not disappointed. Ellis leads all second year players in scoring averaging 18 points a game, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists and has shown amazing quickness, good perimeter defending, and looks to be a future star.Anthony Roberson: CAnthony Roberson came into training camp as a nobody. Warriors fans expected him to be gone after a week in training camp, but he survived and he earned himself a spot with a 29 point performance in a pre season game against Denver. Roberson showed himself to be the Warriors best pure shooter a few games into the season, but poor decision making, and bad ball handling skills have sent him to the bench and he now only plays in times when the Warriors need quick points.Keith McLeod: DKeith McLeod came to the Warriors in the Derek Fisher trade. Warriors fans expected a player that could pass, play a bit of defense, and knew his role. The fans were dead wrong. So far this season, McLeod has shown nothing, but a willingness to shoot when other players are open, when the shot clock is winding down, at the beginning of the shot clock, and at almost any time. This year, when Keith McLeod scores 5 or more points in a game, the warriors are 3-7. McLeod has taken the Derek Fisher role, the trigger happy jump shooter, but can?t hit his jumpers and has been sent down to the bench as a result. Baron Davis: AWhen Baron Davis came to the Warriors in after the All Star break in 2005, the Warriors were one of the hardest teams to beat. Baron could pass, he could handle the ball, he could shoot, and everyone on the team fit in great with him. The Warriors had been statistically out of the race for the playoffs, and sports analysts started picking the Warriors as the 8th seed for the playoffs in the 2005-2006 season. Baron Davis promised to come in his best shape ever for training camp. Everything sounded great and the Warriors were the next best team in the league. The Warriors started out the year great, going 10-6, and then everything went bad. Mike Montgomery started showing how bad of a coach he was, and the league caught on, Baron Davis got injured, and the season was lost before we knew it. This year, Don Nelson came in as head coach, and Baron Davis really was in his best shape ever. Nelson and Davis? communication showed how well the team played, and Baron has been playing like the best PG in the league, averaging 21 points a game, and 9 assists proving all doubters wrong.Team Evaluation:Coaching: BDon Nelson is a great coach, no doubt about it, and the team is showing us why. The Warriors can run a fastbreak well for once, they run a great offense, the execution of the plays is good, the Warriors try new things, and they play with confidence. The only problems right now with Don Nelson?s coaching are the rotations. Nelson came to the Warriors a week before training camp, and had a week to study film, and training camp, and 30 games to get used to his team, Unfortunately, big parts of the team have been missing, Jason Richardson, the team?s usual leading scorer, Troy Murphy, the Warriors rebounder, and multiple injuries to key role players have left Nelson short handed, and he has had to use players that usually would not be in the rotation and the Warriors have never had a full roster.Offense: BThe Warriors are running Nellie ball offense great. The Warriors look to get the extra pass, the ball is always hopping around, and the ball goes inside and out to get points from every Warrior, the fastbreak execution, starting with the outlet pass, all the way to bucket looks great. But if Baron Davis is tired, or the rest of the team isn?t playing with intensity, things get ugly real fast. The ball will be dominated by Davis for a long time if no one else can make shots or play with intensity, and the ball movement looks reminiscent to the Warriors of last year, give the ball to Baron and pray that he makes his shots. When Davis is tired, Monta Ellis will sometimes have to handle the ball, and turnovers come flying. Ellis is a good ball handler, but his passing is average and needs work if he wants to become a full time point guard, and the ball movement looks confused without Davis.Defense: B-Critics of Don Nelson always say that his team will never win, and for one reason; Nelson coaches no defense, and his teams play none. Fans who have watched the Warriors this year, know that is not the case. Although the Warriors give up many points to opposing teams, the defense is a lot better than the stats show. The Warriors trapping zone leads to plenty of turnovers and gets the Warriors the ball and other teams into shooting slumps. Right now, the Warriors only true defensive trouble, is low post defense. Andris Biedrins is a great defender, but when he is against a player like Yao or Shaq, he stands no chance against the bigger, stronger players. No matter how much of a good shot blocker Biedrins and Foyle are, both players can get by them and double teams, but with the real centers in the league gone, the Warriors have it a bit easier.
looks good, except if we're basing this on compared to expectations,(which is appears you are) then barnes and Monta should both be A+And you forgot to mention the warriors have had the third toughest schedule in the league to date which is part of the reason for their problems
