How the heck did we win? After Randolph got injured with the Kings up, I was like... "Okay, I think I'm done for tonight..." Now I wish I recorded it... Anyone watch? Looks like Mags and Ellis really tore things up.
I saw the game. 1st half was pretty brutal. They got down by 18 points. The HUGE size difference of the Kings (they had Udoka 6'5", Evans 6'6", Casipi 6'9", Thompson 6'11", and Hawes 7'1") seemed to make the difference. Not much the Warriors could do. The Kings are just a very big, strong team. Maggette got his points but damn he was awful. I have a little game I play now, where I rewind possessions and just spotlight on Maggette. It's fun to catch all of his fart-brained movements and selfish decisions. I don't even think he means too -- I honestly think he's a really good guy. I just think he is a super-athlete that was never really able to learn much about this precious art-form that we call basketball. The way he awkwardly moves his feet... doesn't box out... watches on defense... plays like he's 5'11"... ignores the play that is begging to be made... forces the play that is just not there... refuses to understand he is a bad outside shooter... clangs jumper after jumper instead... blows on his hands when he makes a mistake, even though his hands aren't cold (it's as if, "Aw, man, my bad, that was a terrible pass, I don't know how that could have happened... my hands must have been frozen...that's what it was!!)... he also fiddles with the white tape on his shooting hand when he bricks a jumper, like "That would have been cash money if this hand wasn't so injured!" Now, of course he will have some good plays. He had some athletic moments last night, got to the line, had a few dunks... Everyone in the NBA can play. But it's the grand total of everything you, the sum of each play you make, over the season, that affects and impacts your team in a positive or negative fashion. Maggette's a really good guy, I believe, but there's a reason why he's never been on a winner, and never will be. He doesn't make his team better. Honestly, if it were just that, I wouldn't mind. But I really think Maggette actually makes his team worse, despite the points. It's the old comparison I always make: A guy like Shane Battier gets half the numbers, but is twice the player. Because he defends, sets brutal picks, spaces the floor, makes quality decisions, and knows how to win. When was the last time you actually saw Maggette set a decent screen? Have you ever wondered that? Show me. I dare you. He doesn't. Once every couple games, he'll go in motion like's he's setting a pick, but he just trades places with his teammate. He does nothing to help that teammate get open. Watch the next game. If you see him set even ONE screen, let me know. Maggette also just hung Turiaf out to dry on many plays last night. Typical defensive set: CJ Watson of course gets smoked by the point guard, so Turiaf comes over to help, Maggette stands there like an oaf (or starts leaking out on the fast break even though GS doesn't have the ball) and Turiaf's man is wide open for the dunk. Another typical defense set: CJ Watson of course gets torched by the point guard, so Turiaf comes to help, Randolph scoots over to get Turiaf's man who is open underneath, and Maggette's stands there like a damn oaf, letting Randoph's man free for a dunk. And, how many times have I asked WTF is wrong with the fast break in this game? When was the last time an NBA team went an entire game without running a 2-on-1 or a 3-on-2 correctly. For being such a "run-n-gun" team, they sure are plain shit at running the fast break: Watson going too fast and leaving his wings behind him... Maggette, ignoring the wings entirely and going 1-on-3 bulldozer for a charge... Those two guys just seem to know nothing about the fast break. But the team in general usually does something incorrectly on the fast break. And I put that on Nellie. This team misses probably 20% of their fast break shots, it seems. Terrible passes, putting the recipient in a position where it's almost impossible to finish easily... late passes that do the same... bad angles that make it SO much easier for the defender... poor spacing that does the same.... no court vision, resulting in missed opportunities and FORCED plays that just aren't there... The only exceptions really seem to be Curry and Ellis. Oh, and Biedrins. That dude is smart. But Curry is by far the most intelligent guard on the team. Monta gets by because of his quickness. But even he, too, takes poor angles and ignores the spacing sometimes (he just gets away with it because he is downright amazing). How has Nellie gone this long without getting his team to run the FB correctly? There's no excuse. It's laughable. You hear Jim Barnett drone on about it every other night. He sounds like a broken record. You've all heard it: " A 3-on-2 needs to become a 2-on-1." In other words, if you're the third wheel, you DON'T go charging at the hoop to try to clean up the miss. You slow down, and space out to a wing, so that the other two runners can attack one of the defenders, hence, a 2-on-1. How often does GS do that correctly? Um.. like... never. 4th quarter... Kings just seemed to forget what they did well in the 1st half. Tyreke Evens was great but he seemed to get a little selfish (maybe caught up in the matchup with Ellis/Curry). He turned it over twice, on careless dribbling plays, in the last minute, to basically lose the game for his team. Still, he's going to be very good (although I don't like the way he chews his gum). Ellis just got on fire in the 2nd half, and put the team on his back. Morrow sank a clutch three at the end to basically seal it. That was great to see. He was so happy, he went dancing over to the sideline for the timeout, Biedrins was all pumped up and came flying off the bench to greet, it was a nice moment for a kid who has been struggling. You can see that shot and the dancing on the highlights, here: http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300108009 Nice to get a win, but some ugly basketball at times. They fought hard though, and the Kings are tough. When they get Kevin Martin back... they're going to be very, very good.
