[h1]16 things I learned about the Warriors[/h1]
http://www.examiner.com/x-6111-Golden-State-Warriors-Examiner
April 20, 4:32 AM ·
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AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Here are the 16 things I learned about the Warriors this season:
1. I was wrong about Baron Davis. I thought the Warriors should have rewarded him for what he did for the team the last two years and just pay him, never mind how old he was, what shape he was in or how many games he would miss or take off mentally. Well, he wound up getting paid by the Clippers ... and he was dreadful. His body language was terrible, clearly mailing it in some nights, and he finished the season shooting 37 percent.
37 percent! That hurts my eyes just looking at the number, never mind the actual memory of the bad shots he jacked up. The 37 percent ranked 119th in the NBA, and that's only because the NBA.com stat only went 119 guys deep.
So, if that was Bobby Rowell who vetoed the deal that Davis and Chris Mullin worked out, good job Bobby.
2. I was right about signing Corey Maggette being a bad move. $50 million out the window in what looked like a desperate move after Davis walked. Heck, even with what I know now about Davis, I would have burnt another $15-20 million on him if I knew the $50 million was going to Maggette. Maggs has been in the league 10 years and been on one winning team. Despite being buffed, he misses a lot of games -- an average of 23 the last five years, 31 this season.
He has photos of a lot of refs doing a lot of naughty things, or else how do we explain his getting the call every time he drives through a defender. He is a free-throw artist the way he gets to the line so often, and I salute him for that. I still don't want him on my team. He is a nice guy off the court, just not a guy who puts team ahead of himself. I was not surprised when I heard he was seen at the Winky Wright fight in Las Vegas the same night the Warriors were playing the Jazz earlier this month.
3. The Warriors are awful defensively. I mean, the worst I have seen in 10 years watching or covering the team. Golden State was the worst in the NBA in points allowed (112.3) and rebounds allowed (47.1)
4. Ronny Turiaf was a nice add, but people are getting a little too excited about all the blocked shots he had. I think ESPN's Mark Jackson said it best when during a telecast he said the Warriors play such bad defense, it's a like a freeway to the rim. Turiaf gets a lot of blocks because he has so many opportunities.
5. Don Nelson had a bad year. I know, I know, the injuries. And while he was criticized for his handling of Anthony Randolph, Randolph is coming along nicely so maybe he was right. But still, it seemed like Nelson never set the bar very high this season, with or without Monta Ellis popping wheelies on his moped.
"I didn't think that we were a playoff team even if we had Monta," Nelson said the last week of the season. "I said that early. Without Baron (Davis), it would be quite an adjustment. I think we would've won more games. Would we have been a .500 team? I don't know, maybe. I don't really know. I can't really anticipate what would've happened. But we would've been a better team, obviously."
Then there's the handling of Jamal Crawford. He is limited, true, but he can score -- he might be one of the top 50 scorers in the league -- and saying that he cannot help a 29-53 team because he doesn't fit on next year's roster doesn't fly. Especially when the Warriors have no idea what next year's roster will look like. They don't know what trades they can make, or where they will draft, heck Nelson can't even commit to Ellis being the starting point guard next season.
6. Stephen Jackson reminds me of Antawn Jamison. You would love to him on your NBA team, but he has to be your second or third-best player. Otherwise you're 19-63 like Antawn was in 2000 or 29-53 like the Warriors were this season. And many Warriors people have tried explaining why the timing of Jackson's contract extension wasn't ludicrous but I don't get it. I must be dense.
7. Ellis could still become a point guard (he hasn't had a full training camp at the position), but I don't know about becoming a leader or franchise player. I know he is young, but there a lot of young players in the NBA who would have apologized to the fans for getting hurt on a moped and missing 57 games.
8. Anthony Morrow can shoot. And he works hard to get better. Those two sentences look great together. Much better than: Marcus Williams is out of shape. And he is still struggling to find a jump shot.
9. Andris Biedrins is a tease. He is pretty good, but the way everyone raves about him shouldn't we have seen more glimpses of "great" by now.
10. That said, I do think the Warriors are
set up front with Biedrins, Turiaf, Anthony Randolph and Brandan Wright.
11. C.J. Watson is a keeper.
12. Kelenna Azubuike took advantage of being on a lousy, injury-riddled team and put up some nice numbers. That's cool. He is a piece to the puzzle.
13. The whole Bobby Rowell-Chris Mullin thing could be easily resolved by making Mullin available to the media before the draft. If he wasn't forced out, have him say so. But until he does, I am going to assume he was forced out. Which is fine. VPs and GMs get forced out all the time. Just not with a wave of a cape, a cloud of smoke and no explanation.
14. Warriors fans continue to amaze me. The Warriors registered their 12th sellout of the season in their home finale and averaged 18,943 fans this season, ninth-highest average in the NBA and second-highest in franchise history. That's love - for a team that has gone to the playoffs once in 15 years.
15. The best reward for the fans would have to come from up above, like Golden State winning the draft lottery (a 3-percent likelihood) and getting Blake Griffin. C'mon, God ... One time!
16. I just thought of a nickname for Randolph:
"The Milkman" He delivers just like the Mailman but always has that look on his face like he just drank some sour milk.
That's it for now.