Sicne Justbball was conveniently down all of the Warriors' winning streak, let's talk about it and how it affects things for next season- Musselman, Dampier, Pietrus and Richardson... The best part about our winning streak was teh defense we played, and it was sparked by Pietrus. His shot has been getting better and he has led the team in scoring frequently the last few games. JRich is starting to get expendable, IMO, for someone just as athletic but a much better defender (let's face it, both their offensive games are quite raw at this point, though JRich's is better now). I think the thing that hurts our team the most is the lack of one solid superstar. We have a lot of good players, but no one great player to lift us over the hump. Maybe we can trade Jrich, our draft pick, and someone else for a star player in return- sounds liek a pretty good deal for the receiving team. Any scenarios that you guys have heard of? I just wanted to make this thread so we could giev credit where it is due. While teh Warriors got blown out yesterday (the game was sad, btw, especially the 3rd quarter- we saw the same frustrating lack of execution we've seen most of the season), they played well and are promising for the future. I gotta ask a question though. How many years of being a "promising" team are you willing to take? /edit I also forgot to mention Musselman's status- while the statements by the team president point toward Muss' departure this year, Tuesday's (or Monday's) Insider report on ESPN with an interview with St. Jean show that he is satisfied with Musselman's work.
The insider word I got from a sportswriter friend is that Muss is good as gone once Mully takes over. I've been defending Muss all year but it looks like he's simply not Mully's type of guy because Muss really has no offensive plays.
Go figure, once JBB goes down, we have something great to talk about with the winning streak. Pietrus has simply played amazing. This guy does so much for this team with his defense. His offense has been picking up as well. I agree that Richardson has become expendable but only for the right price. Regarding Musselman, I really don't want to see this guy go. How many other coaches could have got the Warriors to keep fighting till the end and come up with a nice winning streak like the Warriors have done?
I'm not going to base Richardson's performance on that one game, but I do know that Pietrus brings flashiness, and consistent man-to-man defense every night that you have to put in the starting rotation if you want early scoring runs. If you add him and Claxton you've got a very tough backcourt to try to set your offense up against. Then if Troy Murphy and Erick Dampier stays it's pretty sweet because they're a pretty big front court that can score against weaker competition. Not many good near 7 footer power forwards in the league. Jrich could play forward. The question is does he have the arm length to prevent shots from going over his head all the time.
I think its pretty safe to say that Dampier is gone after this season. He didn't hire a new agent for nothing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">Maybe his agent was the same as Terrell's.</div>
Well I hope the warriors can draft a quality big man. I'm just afraid we're going to wind up with a "Big Jake" or a Cezary Trybanski type draft pick. I like Arujo but he's too much of a finished product it seems and he gets too winded easily, plus he's not a big shotblocker for that emergency "last line of defense". He's a tough rebounder and banger though and he's had success in college. There's nothing really special about him other than the fact he's almost a 7 footer and just big. 280 lbs. He gets tired easily and picks up cheap fouls. If we got a 5 or 10 pick I'd say its better to go with Biedrens if he's still there and shift Murphy or Foyle to the starting rotation spots. If we get 10 to 15 I'd go for Arujo. Then again maybe Kosta Perovic or Ha Seung-Jin (both could be really huge busts/long term projects since they're both like 18 year old big men). Both are 7'3" but I think Ha weighs like 60 lbs more. They say Ha has more range on his shot, with a softer touch and is more nimble too, but I'd have to see to believe which would be the better rebounder/shotblocker. Defense and positioning is the most important thing you need in a center.
Oh yeah, another thing about the warriors' run- Cardinal almost never played. As a Warriors fan, this sucks because he was often the only spark on an otherwise dead ballclub. Early in the season, he was the only reason we were doing as well as we were. I hope he signs with a good team next year and gets the big minutes he deserves. How long is Cliff's contract for?
We get Cliff for one more year but he can retire if he wants to. BTW I am not going to change my name if Cardinal is no longer a warrior. That guy still rocks. You gotta love the underdog nobody expects to be any good.
If Cliff leaves or retires after this year, Cardinal would be perfect at the backup PF spot... but the management is too stupid to realize that they have to keep him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kobeonfire:</div><div class="quote_post">If Cliff leaves or retires after this year, Cardinal would be perfect at the backup PF spot... but the management is too stupid to realize that they have to keep him.</div>I'm pretty sure they will keep him. There are always teams that will offer a player like this more than he deserves though.
Well, I dunno if Cardinal would wanna stay here seeing that he won't get much PT next year if Cliff stays. If I was him, I'd be like Earl and take a good contract while he's still young and teams want him.
Even if they didn't draft a good PF, where would there be room for him? After all, we do have Cliff and Murphy already ahead of him in the depth chart... Cheaney at the backup SF/SG, and Piet the same... we have a logjam at the swingmen spots and PF as well.
The fact is that if the Warriors can stay healthy next year, Cardinal is going to get very little playing time. He is a solid player and uses every bit of talent he has but there are just bigger, stronger, more athletic guys on the roster that will get PT ahead of him. He is the type of guy every club needs on the roster.
Yeah. I think Musselman could have used him a bit more against the Sixers in teh 3rd quarter the other night; the team looked completely dead and Cardinal would have given them the perfect spark on the defensive end and offensively as well with his hot shooting that night. This is true for any team at any level- when you see a teammate busting his ass to get the ball or play D, you're inspired to do the same thing.
I love the fact that Brian's attitude is that he will do whatever he can to make his team better and help the team win. I love players like that. He could be shooting horribly but he'll still play the other end as best as he can by being physical, taking charges, and diving for loose balls. And adding to his high energy style of play, he also plays smart and under control. Dunleavy should be taking notes because Cardinal isn't that fast but he makes up for it with hustle on both ends of the floor.
