Centers Of Attention

In honor of Tuesday’s Manute Bol Bobble-head Night, I wanted to consider the Warriors’ recent history at the center position. I started watching during the Don Nelson/Run TMC era, and I’ve witnessed a revolving door of Nellie-ball novelty acts and exploitive experimentations (Bol, Chris Weber), stiffs and busts (Alton Lister, Todd Fuller). So I was wondering, who’s been Golden State’s best modern big man, and why, and does the answer provide us with any blueprint for a future fit in the team’s “big” picture?

Let’s lump the most notable recent bigs* into two overly generalized categories: Masquerading Power Forwards and Under-Skilled Stiffs.

Masquerading Power Forwards (Top Ten):

10) Carlos Rogers–Special sub-category of over-hyped, misused forwards; see Anthony Randolph

9) Anthony Tolliver–Are you kidding me?! Excluding Golden State this guy played more SF than C in his career!

8) Andrew DeClercq, 7) Chris Gatling–Represent vintage Nellie era run-and-gun, small-ball, out of position players

6) Clifford Robinson, 5) Jermaine O’Neal–Last-hurrah, headbanded retreads

4) Marreese Speights, 3) Al Harrington–Prototypical stretch fives

2) Rod Higgins–Slightly before my time, but the epitome of the Nellie-ball SF/C

1) Webber–Sent the franchise into a decades-long spiral and still easily tops this list

Under-Skilled Stiffs (Top Ten):

10) Todd Fuller (Tim Young, Patrick O’Bryant)–Character/size over skill draft busts that cost us at minimum Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginobili, and J.J Redick

9) Uwe Blab (Les Jepsen, Jim Petersen, Lister)–You can’t have a stiff list without a Blab–these guys represent the straw-man archetype of Golden State center history

8) Marc Jackson, 7) Victor Alexander–What they produced on O they gave back on D, and then some

6) Bol–Anomaly turned cult-hero; represents the best of Nelson’s creativity

5) Andris Biedrins–Points for longevity, but his ranking this high says more about the Warriors than him

4) Adonal Foyle–Defense and sportsmanship will take you far on this list

3) Erick Dampier–Moody big was the most well-rounded center we’d had in decades, but he was average at best

2) Rony Seikaly–Best offensive skill set on stiff list, which only means he had more than one go-to move

1) Andrew Bogut–Pretty pitiful that our best big by far has, due to injury, absolutely no shooting touch and spends most offensive sets in the post-extended with his back to the basket

C-Webb V. The Agile Aussie: And The Winner Is…

 

Webber and Bogut represent mostly opposing skill sets, with the main similarity being their gift for passing. Offensively, Webber had a remarkable handle and driving ability, along with a solid, medium explosive finish, while Bogut’s feel and confidence around the hoop are suspect. However, Bogut is a human (semi-legal) pick, opening up teammates on and off the ball, while I can’t remember a Webber screen that wasn’t simply a place-holder precipitating his own roll to the hoop. And while Webber was undersized and overmatched on defense, it’s more than that–Bogut sees the defensive end like a chessboard, like the most astute point guards see offensive sets, sizing up not only his man’s talents and tendencies, but all would-be drivers’ likely routes of attack to the basket, providing perfectly timed rim protection, generally retaining possession after blocks, as well as delivering hard, message fouls when necessary; I’m struggling to recall an instance of Webber help-D.

Webber provided one glorious year of excitement, followed by a twelve year curse; Bogut was slow to assimilate and injury prone, but he’s contributed to two consecutive playoff runs and is now the offensive and defensive hub for the best team in the league. Despite health issues and limited traditional offensive assets, Andrew Bogut is clearly the Warriors’ best modern big.

 

Lessons Learned?

So what can we glean from this little drive down memory lane? Well, a majority of these guys were short-term Warriors and/or single-skill players. Continuity and development seem key to the Warriors’ success. Nelson v. Webber and the ensuing trade/retirement sent the organization into a tailspin, and the Monta Ellis/Bogut move had a similar potential, with Steph Curry’s suspect ankles and the fan-base/Joe Lacob divide (plus budding Mark Jackson disquiet) on full public display at Chris Mullin’s jersey retirement. But by extending Curry and Bogut despite their injury histories, and retaining Klay Thompson and David Lee, the Warriors established a cohesion that has allowed them to not only withstand a coaching overhaul, but thrive within a group mentality in a shockingly short amount of time.

Skill Sets 

As far as skills, it’s essential that NBA players possess at least two but preferably three or more skills, the basketball equivalent of five-tool (average, power, base-running, throwing, and fielding) baseball players. Overly simplified: shooting, driving, passing, rebounding, and defending (blocks, steals, denials, etc.). While Bogut can’t shoot or drive, his passing, picks, rebounds, and blocks make him a multi-tool threat, the perfect compliment for an offensively prolific team. That’s why it’s imperative for Festus Ezeli to develop that jump-hook/etc. to go along with his D and boards, to separate him from the Foyles and Biedrins of the past.

We Must Protect This House! (Riding The Wave) 

Another key to the bigs’ development has been protecting them and putting them in positions to succeed. Requiring Webber at 6’9″ to play center was one thing, but surrounding him with an offensive-minded SF turned PF in Billy Owens and backing him up with similarly undersized, offense-first bigs like Alexander and Gatling was a recipe for disaster. Conversely, Draymond Green is a smaller four, but grounding him with a defensive anchor like Bogut and a developing buoy like Ezeli, as well as two-way cruisers Thompson and Harrison Barnes as well as a speedboat like Curry allows their skills to rise to the surface and for them to fluidly function and flourish as a unit. Likewise, Thompson, Barnes, and Green (along with subs Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, and Justin Holiday) provide interchangeable switch-ability on D that protect Curry’s newfound defensive cavalierness and Bogut’s tricky foul issues. Green’s studied defensive sagging counteracts Curry’s occasional head-turns and lack of adherence to ball-you-man mantra, while Thompson’s, Iguodala’s, and Livingston’s wingspans block all passing lanes, along with Bogut’s savant-like guile and timely rim-protection.

The point here is defensive fluidity, and it flows from the man in the middle. Bogut’s presence, reputation, and intelligence allow Curry-a heretofore defensive liability-to take advantage of his defensive assets (speed and quickness) by dogging his man with the foreknowledge that Bogut literally has his back. It also allows Green to go chest-to-chest with the opponent’s most skilled big, knowing Bogut-help is lurking; and it encourages those fungible pterodactyls (Thompson, Barnes, Livingston, etc.) to gamble and trap imperviously. Offensively, the sets also circulate through Bogut–despite his lack of range or drive, he untraditionally sets up just inside the perimeter, establishing sail-size drag screens on and off the ball. Or he encamps with the rock, methodically insisting the play run it’s course, be it a rim-flash, backdoor cut, illicit with-ball pick-and-pass, or a staggered dribble followed by a touch-less hook.

As always with Bogut- the pachyderm in the post- the central issue is health. This season’s discovery of a degenerative knee issue has changed his injury status from the freakish (elbow, rib, etc.) to the persistent, meaning his days of effectiveness are numbered. But even if the Warriors don’t re-sign him the year after next, they finally have a formula for “big” success–multi-skilled steeds that compliment each other within a team and organizational concept.

Posted by:DT
January 29, 2015

*For the purposes of this post, my sample-size was limited to Golden State players listed as centers from the ’89/’90 season-the present, as per http://www.basketball-reference.com/

Klay Thompson’s Video Game 3rd Quarter

…or “An Emotional Journey Through the NBA’s record for points in a quarter.”

The 3rd quarter started on depressing note. The Warriors came out of the locker room with a middling 5 point lead over a sub-par Sacramento Kings squad. Darren Collison started things off by hitting a 3 pointer and dishing an assist to Derrick Williams. Draymond and Bogut tossed up a couple of bricks before Boogie Cousins hit a baseline floater to put the Kings up by two points.

One minute in this 3rd quarter didn’t fit this season’s narrative. The Warriors have been absolutely murdering sub .500 teams- and the 3rd quarter is usually when they give the knockout blow. As I slowly sipped my Big Daddy IPA, I was anticipating an explosion, but nothing could prepare me for what happened next.

I’ve never seen anything like it in real life. It reminded me of when I visited my friend’s house who owned the NBA Jam video game that I’d never played. Before I knew what hit me I was down 100 points in the second quarter, trying to figure out what the “X-button” did, why his shots kept going in every single time, or what “He’s on Fire!” meant. Tonight Klay turned that video game into reality.

Steph stemmed the tide of Sacramento’s onslaught with a drive to the lane- a foul and two free throws. The two teams then went back and forth a few times and the score remained tied, until 9:44 to go, when Klay began his path to making history.

• 9:44 (2 points.)- The Warriors are in their half court and haven’t hit a field goal up to this point. Klay takes the bull by the horns and initiates a drive in on his man- Ben McLemore (ohh poor Ben, this is where the abuse starts). Klay pulls up right inside the free throw line as Ben flies past, bumping into Cousins. Klay puts in an easy uncontested close range jumper. “He’s Heating Up” 
• 8:21 (5)- Klay steals a pass to his man in the corner, leads the fast break, runs right up to the top of the three point line, stops, Tip-Toes up to the line, jumps straight up and sinks a three. No celebration. No reaction. Business. Just Business, sir.
• 7:14 (8)- Off a Williams miss from the corner, Steph grabs the rebound and initiates the break. As he has done a thousand times before, Steph strangles the entire right side of the floor with the threat of his pull-up, while his partner in crime takes the left wing. Steph finds Klay for a pull up three. SPLASH! A hint of a minor reaction can be seen on Klay’s face after the shot. A feint glimmer of a smile. Nothing more than a hint. This is what we do. We ball hard. We smoke teams. We’re the splash brothers. Klay saunters over to the bench all business. Takes a few high fives in stride and sits calmly, quietly. As small puffs of smoke are observed to rise off of his shoulders from the stands. “He’s Getting Hot!”
• 6:04(10). Curry has now missed 3 shots in the quarter and turned the ball over twice. The score is 66-64, but despite having the lead the Warriors look out of whack offensively. All except Klay that is. Bogut makes a block, Barnes outlets to Klay who forwards ahead to Curry in the open floor with Klay speeding down the right lane, and then… WHAT? are they really trying this? Another failed alley-oop attempt? The Warriors Lob-City usually ends in a pass about 3 feet too high sailing out of bounds, but not this one. Not in this quarter. Curry takes a little off the pass this time and it’s perfect, Klay only needs one hand to flush it down. “HE’S ON FIRE!!!!!!” The Splash brothers jog back on D, nonchalantly, as the entire crowd at Oracle Arena stands up.

• 5:32 (13) The lead is still only 2, but it might as well be 100. Sacramento is fiddling with their controller trying to find what the X-button does, as Klay calmly dribbles twice around the perimeter before stepping back for a 3 over Stauskus. At this point, Curry isn’t even looking for his own shot- or anybody else’s for that matter. Klay is the offense. And there is nothing anyone on the Kings can do about it. Klay runs back. Still no smile. No high fives. All business. Stone. Cold. Assassin.
• 4:57 (16) Klay has the ball three feet behind the 3 point line. Draymond is at the line. Klay points down as if to signal for Dray to set the screen, everyone waits for Dray- then Klay jumps straight up and fires off a 26 footer, and Stauskus and Oracle, and Dray and Klay and everyone else watching the game has no doubt. The crowd is on their feet. The animated Warriors bench mob of Barbosa, Speights and Livinstone are out on the court- falling all over themselves. Oracle’s foundations are beginning to shake. The referee literally stops play. It’s almost as if Klay’s last shot has lit the nets on fire and they have to wait to put them out. Sacramento is on the ropes. Klay allows himself to slap five with a teammate. Still no smile. No emotion. Gotta keep it together Klay. I can’t let them see me react. I have to keep it cool man. Ice Cold baby. Ice Cold.
• 4:19 (19) Catch and shoot 3 off a curl. Stauskus is baffled. The fans are standing after every shot. Let the video games begin.
• Klay posts up Ray McCallum on the elbow. He finds Draymond for a wide open layup. Even when he’s this hot he still finds the open man, makes the right play, stays within himself. Ice Cold Baby. Ice Cold. After the play a timeout is called and Klay shows his first emotion of the quarter leaping to celebrate with the bench mob. Cracks in the glacier. Klay’s emotions about to burst forth.
• 3:03 (22)Curry finds Klay on the right wing coming off a curl from a D. Lee down screen. Klay doesn’t have that much space and the shot hits the front of the rim. Then it bounces ever so gently off the glass and down into the cylinder. Klay affords us a genuine smile as he runs back down the court. The moment is getting to him. He can’t help it.
• 2:30 (24) Klay runs out on a break and drives the lane- pulling 4 of the 5 Sacramento defenders to him. It’s all good, let me bust a Klay-up real quick. You fools really thought I was nothing but a jump-shooter huh?!?

• 

  Swagg on a hundred trillion

  2:06 (27) Steph comes up with a steel and it’s another break. Only this time there isn’t really much thought. All 10 players on the court and all 19,596 fans know where this is going. Steph to Klay on the right wing for three. All Net. All Roaracle. All Klay. All-Star. And Klay’s got his tounge out. And his swag is on a hundred trillion. And all those thoughts about keeping it cool are OUT THE WINDOW BAYBAY-BAYBAY!!! And did I mention the entire arena is on their feet? And the lead is now 17. And there is no looking back.

• 1:37 (29) Forget Steph! D.Lee outlets the rebound straight to Klay. Forget a screen! Klay waives off Draymond past the arc. Forget a defender! Klay dribbles into the key and pulls up over the entire Kings Franchise. Swish! Try and stop me now! I’M ON FIRE!!!!  Klay highfives Lee and is as juiced up as he’s ever been in his NBA career. Pumping his fist and yelling. Real. Raw. Emotions. All it took was 29 points on 11 shots to get there. And we’re not done yet.
• 1:06 (32) Lee to Steph. On the break he thinks about it. Fakes at the 3-point line, then reconsiders. The context, the situation, it would only be right. This is a team that is all about letting the next man shine. And he does, and when Klay hits the off balance flat footed 3 from the corner, it’s all Stauskus can do but put his hands up, totally perplexed. He can’t find the X-button on his controller, and Klay happens to own the game.
• Klay is shaking his head in disbelief. He’s pounding his chest. He’s doing the Ric Flair “WOOOO!”. He’s making a B-line for the bench mob. He’s getting slapped on the ass by Bogut. The entire arena is worshipping at the Church of Splash tonight.  He’s taking a breather. Emotionally and physically drained. But it can’t stop now. We need to beat this game.
  WE HAVE THE CHEAT CODE!

• 0:35 (35) D.Lee and Draymond create a modified version of the picket fence screen play at the free throw line and open Klay up for an easy catch and shoot 3. The whole team is in on it now. They’re riding this wave as long as it’ll take them. There’s no come down from a high this sweet.
• Ramon Sessions loses the ball on the ensuing possession and Klay dribbles the length of the floor as Justin Holiday sneaks into the lane,  and then… WHAT? are they really trying this? Another alley-oop? No. Another failed Alley-oop attempt. The ball sails past Holiday, and is turned over. It’s OK, Klay. You’ll work on that in the off season.
• 0:04 (37) As he crosses half-court, he’s fouled lightly and his NBA record setting 36th and 37th points come at the free throw line. A mellow end to the quarter. The charred remains of the net are replaced during the TV timeout.

Klay takes his seat on the bench and his place in the record books. An emotional roller coaster. He looks exhausted, elated and genuinely happy. The fire has melted the ice. Klay smiles and gives his teammates daps. Early tomorrow he’ll be back the gym, taking thousands upon thousands of jump shots. Like he does every day. All business. All the time. That’s Klay.

Posted by eL Dogg. Friday January 23, 2015

The Best Trade the Warriors Can Make…

January 19, 2015

Over the past two months, the Western Conference has seen major personal movement among the top contenders. Dallas acquired Rajon Rondo, the Rockets added both Corey Brewer and Josh Smith and more recently the Grizzlies got Jeff Green. Reportedly the Thunder are hot on the heels of Brook Lopez, and more likely than not there will be a few more major pieces moving around before the February 19th trade deadline. Impact players like Wilson Chandler, Aaron Afflalo, Deron Williams, Lance Stephenson and Jose Calderon are being actively shopped around by teams who have already packed in any hope of reaching the post season and would prefer to move up in the draft and dump salary.

What should the Warriors do? Should we take this opportunity to dump salary so that we can re-sign our young front court duo of Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green next offseason (see previous post). Should we add another big, to sure up a defensive presence during Bogut and Ezeli’s inevitable stretch of missed games? Are we being left behind while other teams are adding pieces to solidify themselves for playoff basketball? In order to answer these questions and contemplate the Warriors best option is moving forward, I’d like to quickly analyze the impact of the other big moves that teams have made so far.

Dallas Mavericks: On December 18th when the Mavericks sent Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson and two draft picks to the Celtics in a trade that netted them Rajon Rondo & Dwight Powell. On the surface this looked like a huge splash of a trade. Most casual fans of the NBA remember Rondo for his dominant post season performances against the Lakers in the Finals and the Heat in the Celtics’ last series of playoff relevance. What they fail to recognize, however, is that the Rondo of our memories is gone. Rondo is now in his 9th season. The last full season he played was the strike shortened 2011-2012 campaign. Since then he’s missed large portions of two seasons, and seen his production fall off in most major categories. While he is still only 28, he will be a free agent and most likely expect close to a max deal. He’s basically a high priced rental that Mark Cuban hopes he can convince to resettle in the Lone Star state. When the trade was made the Mavs were 14-6 and had the highest rated offense in the NBA. While they are still highest in offensive efficiency as of today, they are 14-7 after the trade. They are currently tied for the 4th seed with the Rockets.

This trade was supposed to make a huge splash, but I don’t feel any water The Mavericks are still only a middle of the pack defensive team ranking 16 of 30 in defensive efficiency. The memories of Rondo outplay the reality. Of the 8 teams who currently qualify for playoff spots in the West 5 have point guards who are superior to Rondo (Curry, Lillard, Connely, Parker, Paul). While Rondo is a huge improvement on Jameer Nelson, he hasn’t made their offense any better than when Nelson was at the helm. Things have worked out better than expected between Rondo and Monta Ellis in terms of offensive chemistry, but what about what the Mavs gave up? Jae Crowder is a solid wing defender and Brandan Wright is an athletic big-man who was leading the NBA in field goal percentage. Neither were essential pieces, but both fit nicely into Carlisle’s system. Clearly Wright knew his role well enough to rarely take a shot he couldn’t make. It took the coaching staff and players real effort to integrate Rondo’s ball dominant and poor shooting court into their already fluid offensive scheme. I’m not sure this trade made Dallas measurably better, and it may end up costing them in the long run.

Houston Rockets: The thinking behind adding Corey Brewer is obvious. Brewer’s skill set is a perfect match for McHale’s current system. He hustles, pushes the ball, plays relentless defense, and spaces the floor very well, as he is an excellent spot up 3 point shooter-especially from the corner. Josh Smith, however, is a mystery. He can’t space the floor. He pushes the ball but at a much slower and clumsy pace than any of the Rocket’s backcourt players. His defense used to be elite. But that was two teams ago. Josh Smith is literally the worst 3 point shooter in NBA history. The Pistons immediately underwent an entire franchise turn-around since he was released. Since he landed in Houston the Rockets are 9-6, compared with 20-7 before he arrived. Some of this is accounted for with strength of schedule, but again I’m not seeing how Josh Smith has had a positive impact on this team. He began by starting the first 4 games and has since found a role as a bench player, averaging 23 minutes a game, with 10.6 points on 43% shooting (including 21% from 3). While he is contributing on defense with 0.9 blocks and 5.3 rebounds, he’s also turning the ball over 2.7 times a game.

As with Rondo, I think about what the Rockets game up to add Smith. While Josh came to the Rockets after being released from the Pistons, the Rockets still had to release back-up Center Tarik Black to make room for Smith. Black is clearly not as productive a player- but he is also a lot less redundant than Smith given the rest of the Rockets roster. If the past 4 seasons are any indication, Dwight Howard will miss quite a few mid-season games due to various maladies. During these stretches in the early Spring, Black’s physical presence in the post will be missed more than GM Darryl Morrey anticipated in December when he got greedy and added Smith to a roster that had no place for him.

Josh Smith doesn’t make the Rockets a better team and he doesn’t fit into their over-all scheme on offense. Ultimately this move will end up hurting the team as a less efficient player is now taking away minutes from players who were increasing their efficiency as the year progressed. The Rockets cohesion has also suffered.

Memphis Grizzlies: A week ago, the Grizzlies traded away Quincy Pondexter,  Tayshaun Prince’s ghost, and a few draft picks in a three team deal that brought them Jeff Green. This trade is very fresh thus and more difficult to evaluate. At first glance it seems like a massive upgrade to go from Prince’s ghost to the actual physical presence on the wing of Green. This move was made with the theory that the Grizzlies were one wing scorer away from making a Championship run. They thought that Courtney Lee would be that guy this year, but he hasn’t turned out to solve all of their problems yet. Memphis ranks 9th in Offensive efficiency and 11th on defense. With their style of play they are going to be a tough out in the playoffs and will no doubt contend for the Western Conference title. Is Jeff Green the answer? Not unless you can find a way to combine his offensive skills with Tony Allen’s defense into one body. I do think this was a savvy move, however, as the Grizzlies identified a specific area of weakness and improved their team without much long term sacrifice.

And now to the Warriors. The difference between each team above and the Dubs is that there really isn’t any identifiable need that the Warriors are looking to fill. Today they played 13 guys against the Nuggets in a game they won by 43 points. All 13 players scored. The Warriors don’t need to acquire any players, because Kerr is barely able to find enough time to play all of the players that he currently has. Ranked #1 in defensive efficiency and #3 on offense, the Warriors haven’t shown a single real weakness (besides health) all season. Not to say they won’t- but at this point they haven’t.

This brings up another point. Making major moves decreases team cohesion. The Warriors core roster has been together for three years now and they made no major moves during this past off season. Of the 5 Warrior starters, the 4 young guys are all having career years. This is from playing together, and playing in a cohesive system. Instead of having to re-learn major schemes, the Warriors can now spend their practice time improving their fundamentals. For Klay Thompson than means he can work on his moves to the hoop. For Steph Curry, that means he can work on his on-ball defense and fighting through screens. Both of these players have taken major strides in these areas over the past twelve months. Even though they have the best record in the NBA, I believe that we haven’t seen this team’s best basketball yet.

So for now the answer is obvious, the best trade the Warriors can make is no trade at all.

Posted by eL Dogg

Don’t Panic!

Scarce resources are always valuable. A basic rule of economics is that the more scarce the resource the more valuable it is. At this point in the season, with a record of 31 wins in 37 games, a loss for the Dubs is a valuable commodity among the rest of the league.

Losses can also be valuable for the coaching staff. As the season progresses, blowout wins against Eastern Conference fodder like the Heat, LeBron-Less Cavs, and Pacers don’t provide much insight into how this team can improve and take their game to the next level. Losing a road game, the 3rd in 4 days, with Andrew Bogut and Andre Iguodala both on the bench isn’t anything to get worried about. If anything, the loss provides some valuable take-aways moving forward. Hopefully the coaching staff can work with the players to take away some lessons from tonight’s game. After watching the game tonight I had a few take aways as well.

• Steve Kerr clearly sees the big picture.
  This is the first game that Kerr has gone full Popovich on us and rested two major contributors without injuries. This bodes well for the Warriors long term goal of going deep into the playoffs. It seems like the coaching staff are reflecting the prevailing the philosophy shared by the majority of fans that I interact with; in order to seriously contend for the title we need to limit Bogut’s minutes and games played as much as possible now- in order to maximize him in April, May and hopefully June.
• Iguodala’s presence on the floor cannot be measured with traditional stats.
  Without Iggy down the stretch in the 4th quarter of this game, the Warriors simply couldn’t get stops. There was no one to harass Durant, clog passing lanes, cause deflections and generally disrupt the offense. Iguodala’s leadership both bolsters the second unit and the crunchtime lineup. While Andrew is the rim protector, Andre is the perimeter protector- stopping the drive and kicks and pick and rolls before the develop.
• The Thunder are not the team we beat in Oakland ten days ago.
  Despite what Scott Brooks claimed after the game, his team was slumping when they suffered a 25 point defeat at the hands of the Dubs. Their shooting was horrendous, their offense stagnant and their defense lazy. Much of that was due to the Warriors high level of play- but not all of it. Two nights later they repeated a nearly identical performance in Sacramento- losing by 21 to a lackluster Kings team. Tonight showed that OKC is a threat at home, that Serge Ibaka can be a factor when engaged on offense (and when Russell decides to share the ball) and that the Warriors certainly can’t take this team for granted.
• OKC has no answer for Klay Thompson.
  It isn’t Andre Roberson, and it most definitely isn’t Dion Waiters. In the 3rd quarter Klay got what ever he wanted in the paint. He mixed in jump shots with dunks, and drive-and-stop pump fakes for easy looks in the lane. As fans we’re seeing a new Klay this year and his relentlessly attacking the rim during the 3rd quarter tonight was a great example of how far he’s come. (For more on Klay’s “6 new lethal moves” check out this great article by Ethan Sherwood Strauss)
• The Warriors will aiight.
  Without Bogut. Without Iggy. On the road. Against the Thunder. The Warriors still scrapped and clawed their way to within 4 points with 9 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. Down the stretch they traded baskets but simply couldn’t come up with a stop. They trailed throughout much of the game, rebounded poorly and played their worst defense of the season- with OKC shooting 52%. In the grand scheme of things though, the Warriors rested two of their veterans, are 8-2 in their last 10 and are still sitting on top of the Western Conference (2.5 games up on the Trail Blazers). Meanwhile OKC is chasing the 8 seed at 3.5 games back of Phoenix and is only now really getting it together to make their run. These two teams may very well meet again in first round of the playoffs. This would make for both a competitive and highly entertaining series. With the presence of Bogut and Iguodala, however, I don’t think OKC would stand a chance. #FullSquadposted by eL Dogg on January 16, 2015

Un-Like-Lee

With the emergence of Draymond Green this season we must revisit the David Lee conundrum. I like Lee, in the same way I liked Troy Murphy, Antawn Jamison, and Joe Smith before him, as effective, nice-guy scorers on ineffective, mediocre teams. But the current Warriors are far superior to those clubs, and likability in sports can be a detriment. Andrew Bogut, Andre Iguodala, and Klay Thompson bring a chippiness, stubbornness, and pouty arrogance, respectively, that would annoy me in a pickup game, but which serve there purpose for an aspiring champion. Lee’s been our token All-Star and he’s besties with Steph Curry, but he’s also grown accustom to bad teams and stat-stuffing. So what is his current role and value, and what are the Warriors options for him?

Lee’s league-wide value is trending down–he’s been injury prone, his stats are declining, and his shooting touch and knack for rebounds have left him. Trading him now–while clearing cap space that could be paired with other moves to make an offseason run at a Marc Gasol and/or resigning Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes–will not net equal return value. Despite the excitement and novelty of all this year’s in-season transactions, basketball is much more of a team game than a sport like baseball, where midseason moves are more common and effective, largely due to the individualized match-ups and specialization that are inherent to that game. Basketball teams take much longer to gel and even the shrewdest trades (Monta Ellis for Bogut; Speedy Claxton for Baron Davis) can take years to fully develop and rarely equal same season success.

With all this in mind, I’m against moving Lee, not because he’s a fan-favorite or for loyalty’s sake, but due to his depleted value and the ineffectiveness of in-season NBA trades. Best case scenario: continue bringing him off the bench as hopefully the instant-offense compliment to defensive sub stalwarts Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, and Festus Ezeli; get him touches and shots early and often (see the recent Indiana Pacers game) to get his feel and confidence going; and finally, play him big minutes against inferior teams or match-ups in order to inflate his stats and value for the chances of an offseason trade. This might not seem like the kindest treatment of a franchise fixture, but the road to a championship isn’t about making friends, and in sports, we all know where nice guys finish.

posted by: DT

January 12, 2015

The Case for Harrison Barnes

Harrison Barnes must go.

“Trading Barnes is our only way to open up cap space to re-sign Draymond.”

“We’ve got to get rid of Barnes now, while he’s at his peak trade value.”

“Harrison will never grown into the player we expected him to be.”

The above quotes summarize the basic sentiments of the increasingly vocal Harrison Barnes nay-saying contigent. Juxtapose that with the rawest athleticism on the entire Warriors team- as evidenced by the Black Falcon’s monster dunk pictured above and Warrior fans are left with a serious quandary; what should happen with Barnes moving forward? I’m here to make a stand and make a case for keeping Harrison Barnes as an essential piece of our team moving forward.

As of January 10th during his 3rd NBA season Barnes is averaging 10.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 30.4 minutes per game. He’s started all 34 games so far, despite suffering a broken nose. Drafted in the same year as Draymond Green, the two players are often compared- with Draymond coming out as the clear fan favorite. There is no denying that Dray is having a better season than Barnes on both ends of the floor, and has a much bigger overall impact on the court. Green has also improved much more dramatically throughout his career going from a rookie season that saw him playing limited minutes and averaging 2.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game to this season’s  averages of 11.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg and 3.4 apg.

Comparing the growth of Draymond and Harrison, however, doesn’t do justice to either player and pulls attention from some serious strides that Barnes has made this year. Clearly Barnes entered the NBA much more ready than Green. His athleticism, ball handling, and finishing around the hoop was good enough to convince Mark Jackson to start him in 81 games as a rookie. Last year MJax’s theory of having Barnes “lead the second unit” turned out to be very detrimental to Harrison’s growth. His stats all plummeted, and his game didn’t pass the eye test either. His shot selection turned ugly, as he exchanged his slashing, penetrating style for mid-range pull ups, and post up’s that seemed to go nowhere.

This season has seen Barnes’ offensive game turn a corner. Under Stever Kerr’s system his abilities are being utilized effectively. The Black Falcon has been soaring at Oracle; he leads the team in dunks this year with 30. His 3-point shot has also reached new heights, as he is hitting 44% beyond the arc. This year Barnes has abandoned isolation plays in favor of back-cuts and spot up corner 3’s. These are much more efficient shots and this is reflected in his over field goal percentage which has climbed to 50.6%- up from a career low of 39.9% last year.

Barnes is actively engaged on both ends of the floor this year- playing excellent ma- to-man and help defense. He is actively rebounding and making the type of hustle plays that seemed more rare last year. According to Jim Barnett he is actively involved with the coaching staff- breaking down tape and analyzing where he can improve his game. Barnes is an intellectual player- and while he sometimes comes off as emotionless, his personality fits in well on a team that plays for each other and without ego.

What we have learned so far from the aborted Klay Thompson-Kevin Love trade this summer is that sometimes your best move is to stick with the roster that you have. That seems to be the general thinking behind GM Bob Meyers current view of the roster, and I hope he keeps it that way. The current rotation has great chemistry and young players like Barnes and Green are improving on almost a nightly basis. They are also improving within an effective system that Kerr and assistants Alvin Gentry and Ron Adams have only begun to implement this season. To trade Barnes away and open up cap space for re-signing Green would be a huge mistake. Barnes and Green will continue to grow together under this system and will make a perfect front court compliment to the Splash Brothers. If last night’s thrashing of the Cleveland Cavaliers was any indication, the Warriors young duo will be linking up for many more alley-oops to come.

posted by eL Dogg

January 10, 2015