SB Nation - Monta Ellis

Briefing: There's no place like your old home

JakeTheSnake — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:01:05 -0000

Gilbert Arenas said before the start of this four-game road trip that he hoped going back to his hometown of Los Angeles would spark the rebirth of Agent Zero. Ten missed shots, six turnovers, and six fouls later, Gilbert looked further away than ever. Wednesday's performance provided some more hope, but only led to more disappointment when Tyreke Evans stole away Gilbert's chances to seal a win.

Last night? That was more like it. Sure, everyone will throw out the disclaimer about playing against the Warriors' porous defense, but 45 points is 45 points. Only four other players have scored 45 or more points this season, and no one else has done it while chipping in more than 5 assists (Gilbert had 13). Questions about whether or not Gilbert can fully integrate his game into Flip's offense will continue to linger until he can consistently put together some solid performances, but last night he put away any doubts about whether or not he still has the physical tools.

Wizards 118, Warriors 109: Arenas has no choice - Craig Stouffer, Pick and Roll

It's not a question of whether or not Gilbert Arenas is back after he had 45 points and 13 assists, his highest scoring game since Jan. 15, 2007 (thanks, ESPN). He has to be back. This is his team. He is the center of what it does and how it plays. Everything starts with Arenas, and the Wizards have spent the better part of two years waiting for him simply to finally take his place, one that they paid - yes, i'm talking about it - $111 million to reserve.

Wizards 118, Warriors 109 - Michael Lee, Wizards Insider

Arenas and Butler have both struggled to find their grooves this season, which has played a major role in the Wizards losing 16 of their first 23 games. But with the Wizards in desperate need of a victory, the two most maligned players in Washington helped snap a six-game losing streak by coming through with the type of performances that people have come to expect of them -- although few could've predicted that Arenas was going to score 45 points and hand out 13 assists, even against a very bad, or rather non-existent, Golden State defense. "The rhythm is coming back and I'm feeling good right now," Arenas said after topping 40 points for first time since March 21, 2007, when he scored 42 in a win against Seattle. "Feeling more confident handling the ball, getting into the lane. A lot more confident than I did a couple of weeks ago."

Wizards 118, Warriors 109 - Mike Jones, Outlet

"I’m just trying to get back in attack mode," Arenas continued. "I’ve been the coy fish for a couple of games. I’m just trying to get back in attack mode. I’m finishing off. I finished the game how I left Sacramento. I finally hit plays tonight. down there in the end, I made a shot and a pass to CB. The rhythm is coming back and I’m feeling good right now." So the pressures of D.C. are still weighing on Gil's mind, huh? You don't like to hear your franchise player dreading playing in front of the home crowd, but for now this is how he feels. "I don’t know. When you’re at home, sometimes you got pressure. You got pressure to win. It’s the pressure sometimes. when you get West, you’re away everybody, away from your family, away from your friends, away from most of the media. People off the street saying, ‘Why y’all losing? Get it together’ You get away from that and you go on a trip and it’s you and your team."

Gilbert's 'Greatness Was Overwhelming' - Jamie Mottram, Mr. Irrelevant

Arenas leads Wizards over Warriors - Associated Press

Arenas, who missed most of the past two years with knee injuries, had his 29th career game of 40 or more points. "When we got the ball in Gilbert’s hands he made plays," Wizards’ coach Flip Saunders said. "When you have a guy directly involved with 71 of your points, he’s made a huge impact."

Last Night's Action: Upside Down - Aaron Morrissey, DCist

Arenas, who has been putting up some big numbers despite the multiple losses, had another big night in the box score -- 45 points, his most since January 2007, and 13 assists -- but more importantly, Agent Zero was completely unguardable down the stretch. It was the vintage, clutch Gilbert we fondly remember; late in the fourth, Arenas was either making shots, almost effortlessly finding his way to the bucket, or creating open shots for his teammates.

Arenas Leads Wizards Over Warriors - Dave Johnson, CSN Washington

Wizards head coach Flip Saunders believes Arenas is only at 75 percent in his quest to fully return from his knee problems. "He is getting a little but more aggressive", Saunders added. If you notice he has a better sweat going. He doesn’t look cold out there. He looks loose and into it."

Arenas scores 45 points, Wizards top Golden State, 118-109 - Michael Lee, Wizards Insider

Antawn Jamison's string of three consecutive games with at least 30 points per game came to an end after he suffered a stinger on the left side of his neck in the second period. During a break in action, Arenas asked Jamison where he was hurting then pressed his fingers in the area where Jamison told him. Jamison angrily pushed back Arenas and playfully slapped him across the cheek. "I told him, 'Put some oil on it,' because he got that old neck right now," Arenas said he told Jamison. "But he said, 'Look at your knee.' The jokes stopped right there." Not quite. Jamison later airballed a free throw and Arenas joked with him some more. "He was Gilbert," said Jamison, who also started his career in Golden State.

Instant Analysis: Wizards at Warriors - Chase Hughes, CSN Washington

The Wizards were able to snap their six-game losing streak thanks to big nights from their starters. Antawn Jamison was out for most of the game with a shoulder injury but Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler each pitched in with double-doubles. Butler stepped up by scoring a season-high 28 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and 5 steals in what was his best game of the season. Brendan Haywood had 11 points and nine rebounds in the first half. He finished with 15 points and 12 boards, making seven of nine shots from the field. Haywood was able to take advantage of a Warriors team missing most of their frontcourt. Out due to injury were Andris Biedrins, Mikki Moore, Ronny Turiaf, and Brandon Wright.

Gilbert Arenas scores season-high 45 as Wizards defeat Warriors on the road - George Pangakos, Examiner

Last night's victory, and the fact that four Wizards obtained double-doubles in the win, are definitely things Washington and its fans can enjoy. However, the 8-16 Wizards still have a long road to travel, and allowed Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry to score career-highs of 30 and 27 respectively despite the victory. Washington will not have the luxury of allowing career-highs against the Phoenix Suns tomorrow, as the Suns are a much deeper team and free from some of the injuries which have plagued the Warriors.

Best of Twitterville

Twitter / Jack Kogod
Anthony Randlolph has a touch of Blatchitis. He needs to get that looked at.

Twitter / George V. Panagakos
Quick math here: if Gil is 75%, his line right now would be 57 points and 17 assists if 100%, right?

Twitter / Mike Prada
A good point. RT @Truth_About_It: Are shoulder issues ultimately to blame for Jamison's 47-77 from the free-throw line on the year?

Twitter / Truth_About_It
Wow, that last shot by Gilbert ... make that the last two shots ... are about nothing but determination.

Twitter / Mike Jones
I don't get how Arenas can stroke one-handed 3-pointers in practice but can't make free throws in games.

Twitter / Jamie Mottram
45, 13 and a W; Gil needed that. We all did.

Twitter / wizznutzz
glory years redux!!! back to 42-40 here we come!!!!!!!! RT @Unsilent: Agent Zero ft. Vintage Tough Juice + Unbreakable 'Tawn

Twitter / Agent Dagger
did we just....win?

Cavs snap Sixers 1-game winning streak

jsams — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:53:05 -0000

More photos » by Michael Perez - AP

Browse more photos »

Box Score

The Good

Jrue Holiday continues to be a baller. The 19-year-old added Mo Williams to his list of point guards who "Kissed The Baby" during his three December starts.

Russell Westbrook (Dec.2) 1-11 from the floor.
Monta Ellis (Dec.14) 3-14 from the floor.
Mo Williams (Tonight) 2-8 from the floor.

Total: 6-33 (18%)

Not only did Holiday shut down an All-Star (look it up) tonight; he also ran the offense beautifully. His vision and passing abilities are those of a 10-year veteran. Very impressive considering we're talking about the youngest player in the NBA. He still makes mistakes and his offense is very raw, but he's going to be a stud, and absolute stud. I'm so convinced. Offense comes and goes, but defense stays forever. Put that in your Christmas card!

In the past three games Thaddeus Young has three double-doubles. In the 183 games prior to this stretch he had three total. My two biggest criticisms of Thad have always been defense and rebounding. His offense will come, and he'll eventually average 20 PPG, but averaging four rebounds a game isn't going to cut it. For someone who plays significant minutes at power forward, Thad needed to rebound for his team to be successful. How does 35 boards in the past three games sound? Message receieved. The only difference has been Thad's effort, but it's been a huge difference. If he keeps this up I see a 20-10 season is in his future. Oh by the way, he's 21 years old.

For those of you scoring at home, that's two future studs at the ripe ages of 19 and 21.

As a Sixers fan, I was pretty happy with what I saw tonight as far as development is concerned. The four guys I'm interested in (Jrue, Andre, Thad, Speights) all played pretty well, and showed glimpses of a possibly bright future for the franchise. Speights was somewhat rusty in his return from injury -- as expected -- but still managed to score 14 off the bench. I don't consider him a stud like Holiday, Thad or Andre, but still a big part of the team's future. Andre was Andre. I still cringe every time he takes a jumper, but once a legit franchise player comes to town (John Wall), Andre will become Robin instead of Batman where he's much better suited, in my opinion.

Just remember, as long as Eddie Jordan is the head coach the scoreboard doesn't reflect wins and losses, the development of the young guys does.

The Bad

Speaking of Eddie Jordan, his coaching skillz lost the Sixers another game. He's the basketball equivalent of a rooster-block. Just when things start to look promising and the players say to themselves, "Let's seal the deal!", he pulls super-rookie Jrue Holiday for Billy Green. Not only did he pull his one of his best defenders/facilitators for free-firing, no defense Green, he took Iguodala off LeBron and gave Green the assignment of Queen James. Really? You decide to put Bill Green, of all people, on LeBron James to end a game? If I was a conspiracy theorist, I'd accuse EJ of trying to lose the game. Maybe he's on the John Wall bandwagon? Yes, the Sixers were already losing when Jordan made the switch, but who says the Sixers couldn't have gotten a couple stops with Jrue on Mo and Andre on LeBron? It's not like they were down 10. It was a two possession game, Sixers ball, and 2 minutes and change. Alas. The move perfectly sums up the Eddie Jordan era.

If you're into the +/- stat, Allen Iverson was the worst Sixer with a -11 tonight. Don't worry, it was strictly a basketball decision.

Game Preview #23: San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors

CapHill — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:09:12 -0000

Thank you, Suns. Why don't you stomp on it too.

Well, that was fun. I hate losing, especially when you manage to crawl out of the abyss, but then fail to close out on the best 3-point shooters in the League!

More doom and gloom after the jump.

Please, FSM, I can't take much more.

I thought that I would have some time to distance myself and do a real preview, but no, this is a SEGABABA. Crap. It's Game #23 and, according to Lauri, it's okay if I start panicking. Time to redo that poll, dfjmed. (My "Now" vote isn't looking so crazy, is it?)

San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors
Where: ORACLE Arena - Oakland, CA
When: December 16, 2009, 9:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: FSNSW

How They Stack Up


10-4	Home	4-5
2-6	Road	3-12
101.8	Offense	107.0
96.6	Defense	111.7
48.0	FG%	47.1
39.2	3-pt%	36.9
73.8	FT%	78.2
42.0	Rebounds	37.0
14.2	TOs	16.3
7-3	Last 10	2-8
Lost 1	Streak	Lost 3
2nd, Southwest	Position	5th, Pacific


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	12:30 AM
West Coast	7:30 PM
Philippines	11:30 AM
Central Europe	4:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	5:30 AM
East Coast	10:30 PM
Last Night's Massacre	8:30 PM
Perth, AUS	11:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	12:30 PM
Sydney, AUS	1:30 AM

Spurs (12-10)	Matchups	Warriors (7-17)
Tony Parker Meh	Point Guard Tony still seems to be having trouble integrating to the new offense. Plus, he seems a step slower. However, he actually is a point guard, unlike Curry, who's a shooting guard (emphasis on shooting) in a supermodel's body. Advantage: Spurs	Stephen Curry Not a Point Guard

Keith Bogans Meh	Shooting Guard Bogans is another one of those players whose contributions don't always show up in the box score. However, his non-boxscore contributions haven't been showing up lately either. Ellis isn't really big enough to play the 2, having a supermodel frame just like Curry. However, dude can shoot the damn ball. Advantage: Warriors	Monta Ellis Not a Point Guard

Richard Jefferson Meh	Small Forward RJ is still not showing up during some games. Morrow is a young kid who hasn't been starting the whole year. I could probably figure out who has the advantage by looking at advanced statistics, but I don't feel like it. Advantage: Neither	Anthony Morrow Summer League Stud

Tim Duncan Spurs' Savior	Power Forward I don't know why we even bother with rating this position. Timmeh is far superior to any Power Forward out there - don't even try arguing. Hollinger's PER compooper can't comprehend the greatness that is Tim Duncan, even though he's old and can't play anymore. Take that, you freakin' "experts". Advantage: Spurs	Vladimir Radmanovic Laker Cast Off

Antonio McDyess Meh	Center McDyess has been down lately. We need to see the boards and the pretty jumper come back. Mikki Moore has the height to play the center position, but not much else. With the way Dice has played the last few games, no one deserves the advantage here. Advantage: Neither	Mikki Moore Token Big Man

DeJuan Blair BAM	Bench & Role Players Corey Maggette seems to be the first player off the bench, but the Dubs also have Anthony Randolph, the other Summer League Stud. However, we have DeBeast, who will promptly dive on the floor to recover the flailing arms that he has ripped out of the sockets of the Warriors' front court. I love this guy! Oh, and we have Manu Ginobili and George Hill too. They're not bad. Advantage: Spurs	Corey Maggette Who Knows

Gregg Popovich No Beard for Mojo	Coach Even though we don't always agree with Pop and his crazy small ball lineups, at least we don't have to deal with Nelson and his game-by-game, throw the dice decision-making process when filling out the lineup card. Advantage: Spurs	Don Nelson Mr. Crazy Lineups
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
Intangibles
We really, really, really, really, really need a road win, especially against a team that's this bad at home. Advantage: Spurs
Mojo
We have none, after the Suns killed us. But then, the Dubs just lost to the Sixers. It's a tie for crappy karma. Apparently, both teams suck at sacrificing chickens. Advantage: Neither
Winner: The Spurs (I Hope)
The Spurs need another victory after that heartbreaking loss to the Suns. The Warriors want to trade all of their players. It should be a blowout, but it'll probably be too close for comfort. Prediction: Spurs win by less than 10.

Keys To The Game

Starters Show Up - Other than Timmeh, our starters have been wildly inconsistent this year. We can't continue to depend on Duncan to carry the team in the first quarter, or depend on BAM to pull our butts out of the fire.
No Crappy Quarters - Each game, the Spurs have one really bad quarter, or two, or three. It's hard to win when you start the game in a 20 point hole. No more RQCs (thank you, romes).
Defense - Defense is supposed to be a hallmark of the Spurs - not this year. Too many open 3s, too many easy jaunts down the lane - this is NOT acceptable and needs to be cleaned up.

Strength of Schedule

This is a SEGABABA on the road, after another crappy road loss, TO THE SUNS. This does not bode well for the team or our livers.

The Warriors are coming off of a road loss to the Sixers. However, they will be playing on one day of rest, at home. But the Dubs are less than .500 at home, so who knows.

Last Time They Met

Our last meeting with the Warriors was November 25th. We won 118-104, but not because of our defense on Ellis. Monta went off for 42 points, but no other Warrior did much. We had six players score double digits.

Here's some old school Bernard King and the Warriors vs. Iceman and the Spurs.

And now for my second favorite playoff upset of all times.

Some Other Reading

Warriors

Golden State of Mind - The Warriors' SBN blog is one of the most enjoyable blogs around. You gotta give it to Warriors fans, no matter how hard Nelly tries to destroy this franchise, the fans just keep coming and coming at you in waves.
Warriors World - The TrueHoop blog for the Dubs. Their tagline says it all: "We Got Suck and Salary Protection." Perfect.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Best damn TrueHoop affiliate out there. Always a must visit Spurs site.
Project Spurs: Features live chats, call-in shows and podcasts, with lots of content. Give 'em a try.

Twitter Musings

Nothing worth sharing (unless you count some more LOLs by Blair), but you can always find all the official Spurs Sports & Entertainment Twitter accounts here: http://twitter.com/spurs/official/members

Where to Tune In

TV

This game will be aired on FSN Southwest. If you have cable or satellite, you'll have to look up your individual channel. And of course, there's always League Pass for the haves. For the have nots, read on.

Online

As always, NBA League Pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Most Spurs games will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area.

Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in the game thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate. In fact, nobody can stop you from googling "atdhe". You can also shoot an email to dmenendez@gmail.com for more assistance.

NBA League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM).

RUMOR: Anthony Randolph like every Golden State Warrior on the trading block

Atma Brother ONE — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:44:07 -0000

Before we move forward flip back to my colleague JAE's insights on Anthony Randolph before the season began: Anthony Randolph- Hope Beyond the Hype :: 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Player Recaps and Previews

Regardless of who you want to blame, I don't think it's a stretch to say that we were all expecting more than 11.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, and 1.2 blocks from the second year big man. At the end of last season we polled folks on whether Randolph or the Kings forward Jason Thompson would have a better sophomore campaign. I don't think there's any question right now that JT is having the better campaign.

Were we hoping for too much?

JUMP for the rumor and more!

Anthony Randolph

#4 / Forward / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-10

Weight: 205

Born: Jul 15, 1989

College: L-S-U

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2009 - Anthony Randolph	22	22.0	3.9	9.0	42.7	0.0	0.2	20.0	3.5	4.3	81.1	2.1	4.4	6.5	1.0	1.3	0.8	1.2	2.9	11.3

From Adrian Wojnarowski over at the super purple Y!:

Warriors' Randolph on block again

For two seasons, the Warriors have had an odd time with Anthony Randolph(notes). Sometimes, they're in love with his sheer athletic ability in that 7-foot frame and considered him untouchable. As a rookie, they dangled him in deals, too. Well, it's happening again. Several NBA teams say Golden State officials have offered Randolph in trade discussions, but as one Eastern Conference executive said: "I think all of their roster could be had."

Says one Western official: "The Warriors are willing to do anything and everything."

Randolph is 20 years old and blessed with terrific talent, but his staying power and maturity have frustrated Golden State officials. It appears they're willing to cash his potential for more mature assets. After destroying the summer league in Vegas, Randolph has averaged 11.1 points in 21.8 minutes per night for the Warriors.

Even with his patriarch, Keith Smart, substituting for an ill Don Nelson, Randolph's productivity hasn't improved. Still, he's so young, so gifted, it's a move that would come with a great deal of long-term risk.

I'm pretty enamored with Anthony Randolph's potential, though I think he has a long, long, long way to go. However, with the Warriors currently holding the 2nd worst record in the mighty Western Conference and only 2 Eastern Conference teams (the New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers who the Warriors just lost to last night- see my man Feltbot's RECAP: Warriors 101, Sixers 117 -- The Answer) having worse records, I'm ecstatic to read these words:

as one Eastern Conference executive said: "I think all of their roster could be had."

Says one Western official: "The Warriors are willing to do anything and everything."

There simply are no untouchables on a team this bad whether it's the quite possibly overhyped Anthony Randolph to turnover machine Monta Ellis (see Polling GSoM: Will the Golden State Warriors lead the league in turnovers this season?).

Let's play this game in Warriors land.

For more on Randolph's season thus far let me pass the mic to JAE who eloquently summed up the Dubs first 24 games earlier this morning in So many deck chairs, so little time:

Randolph's rookie season was rather bipolar. He opened up as a wildly out of control talent who failed miserably in attempts to be an NBA SF, but started to shine as a big man, a rebounding machine with an ever climbing FG% once inserted into that role. The quite-possibly-overstated news stories said that he was putting in the hours over the summer, getting bigger and stronger and working on being the player we need him to be. When Brandan Wright went down, it looked like Randolph would see more time. When Ronny and Andris stopped playing in favor of some quality time with Tom Abdenour, it seemed like Anthony was due major minutes.

But the 21 minutes a night Randolph's averaged seems insignificantly greater than those 18 a night we've seen from Mikki Moore. Moore's previously mediocre to poor rebounding significantly over-predicted what he'd do this year. Apparently no one told him that as the only "big" in the lineup, his rebounding totals would be "padded" in the same manner some allege has happened for Biedrins (but not Turiaf) over the last few years. [We don't know much about Chris Hunter, but for what it's worth, he's been a poorer rebounder than Moore. Either he too didn't get the memo that his totals are supposed to be padded as well. Stop the hollering for Hunter, people. That's the wrong tree to bark up.]

More Randolph and less Moore would be a start. Yes, the foul rate limits how much time Randolph can be out there, but it does not explain why we're seeing Randolph on the bench more often than not. Has he 'regressed' some from the end of last season? Perhaps. But overall the trend still seems up. It's just perplexing why he's not playing far more often. At least we'd have something to hang our hopes on.

Definitely make sure to read the rest of JAE's piece.

The good news Dubs Nation: There's only one way to go up from here and that's up. It really can't get any worse.

Thanks to kenntoe for the FanShot.

Poll

Should the Warriors make Anthony Randolph untouchable in trade discussions?

So many deck chairs, so little time- 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors season through 24 games

jae — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:00:36 -0000

With the season now passed the psychologically all-important 28.012455% completed mark, it's time to assess where the Warriors are and what can be done about it.

For starters, let's get this out of the way. If anyone still held out playoff hopes, let them go. You're wasting valuable wishing on more likely things, like hitting the jackpot in the state lottery. The Thunder, currently 8^th in the west, are on pace for 47 wins. To best that, we'd have to win 41 of the remaining 58 games. Even an outside shot means winning more than 60% of the remaining contests. While we are losing to Chicago and Detroit and looking lost against Philly, that sort of performance is tooth-fairy level fantasy. Getting close to 0.500 is going to take some awesome basketball from here on out as well, and unless everyone gets healthy and starts playing some good ball, and soon, I wouldn't hold out for anything there either.

Going out and not being an embarrassment every night and doing something that remotely resembles building on the future, doing *something* that makes us think that there's reason to pay attention in the future. That has to be the goal.

So what can be done there?

Let's start with the bright spots.

...um...um...

OK, that's enough of that. The bright spots haven't been that bright. Moving on with the "not burned out bulb dark alley" spots, Stephen Curry is putting in more time than a Warriors' rookie has in quite a while, with results that still suggest that they may have done well in the draft. No, he hasn't been the top rookie point guard. That honor likely goes to Brandon Jennings. Even though he's cooled of a bit from the start, Jennings has been rather sensational. And though his scoring efficiency drags down the overall output a bit, he's shown the ability to do everything you can ask of an NBA point guard and has done it well. Additionally, Ty Lawson hasn't played nearly as much, but in his more limited minutes, he's shown all the tools as well.

[For what it's worth, I never understood why the electrically fast Jonny Flynn was touted so highly and eventually went high in the lottery while the equally electrically fast Ty Lawson sunk to the late stages of the first round. Lawson was better in college and so far has been the better pro. Yes, Lawson's in a better situation, surrounded by better players. But that doesn't explain all of it. What he did in college suggested that Lawson was going to be better, that he would make more of his shots, and per minute on the court, hand out more assists and turn the ball over less and grab more rebounds. And that's exactly what we've seen in the pros. Denver is playing real well. Lawson is part of the reason why. Minnesota stinks. Flynn hasn't changed that. The future may change all of this, but for now, whatever 'reasoning' that had Flynn much more highly touted should be examined closely. Their relative performances are more or less what their previous play predicted.]

But getting back to Curry, he's likely here for a while and for the while, that still seems like it could be a good thing. He's demonstrated that he's the best distributor on the team (setting the bar low certainly withstanding). The assist total could be higher and it probably would be without the overall dysfunctional nature of the Warriors offense. The turnovers are a bit high given the number of assists. But he's shown himself to be a reasonable, though not spectacular shooter, efficient enough to suggest that he should shoot it more often and the offense has shown some life when he's been running it. Still he could and should do more. One suspects that Curry is still trying to show the detractors who said he was just an undersized 2 from a small school that he has the chops to make it as an NBA point guard. And he has shown that he really is a point guard, but now it's time to also show that he's able to put some points on the board, to use that sweet stroke he was known for in college to extend the defense.

So is there a move to make? Curry should continue to play. No huge change there. Calls to send him to the pine in favor of C.J. Watson, a player on a one year deal who by almost all counts will have his bags packed to depart the Warriors locker room for good come the final game of the season, seem a bit misguided. That is except for the fact that C.J. should play more, simply because the team has played better when he's been in. And in the long run, reinforcing lousy play across the board will hurt those who don't clean out their lockers come the night of April 13^th, 2010.

So if Curry should play and Watson should play, the minutes have to come from somewhere. And right now, those minutes should come at Monta Ellis's expense.

Please do not interpret this as advocation for sending Monta to the bench, or ditching him entirely. But the nightly Allen Iverson tribute band he's cast himself in is not working out for anyone involved. Forty-one minutes of ball-hoggedly predictable high-volume shooting pads his point total, but makes for a stagnant offense where Monta's points come at the expense of a more efficient offense with a better distribution of the scoring load. At the end of games, opponents know that the shots are coming from a tired Ellis and when defenses can key on a tired player, they tend to win that contest. One gets the impression that Ellis thinks he needs to take every shot, and to some the extent that no one else should be taking 18 shots a night, he's right. But no one should have the opportunity to turn the ball over 9 times a game either. So far this year, Monta has accomplished that 3 times. As a benchmark, Kobe Bryant has done that 4 times in his entire career. An honest 35 minutes a night keeps him fresh and it just might help Curry to become a bit more aggressive when Monta isn't there to take all the shots.

So some Curry spiced with a bit more C.J. Watson, at least until his shooting cools, is in order. Still not the most exciting way to avoid catastrophe, and hardly something to feed our psychotic visions of success sometime in the future. For that, we still have to turn to the off-season's savior apparent, Anthony Randolph.

Randolph's rookie season was rather bipolar. He opened up as a wildly out of control talent who failed miserably in attempts to be an NBA SF, but started to shine as a big man, a rebounding machine with an ever climbing FG% once inserted into that role. The quite-possibly-overstated news stories said that he was putting in the hours over the summer, getting bigger and stronger and working on being the player we need him to be. When Brandan Wright went down, it looked like Randolph would see more time. When Ronny and Andris stopped playing in favor of some quality time with Tom Abdenour, it seemed like Anthony was due major minutes.

But the 21 minutes a night Randolph's averaged seems insignificantly greater than those 18 a night we've seen from Mikki Moore. Moore's previously mediocre to poor rebounding significantly over-predicted what he'd do this year. Apparently no one told him that as the only "big" in the lineup, his rebounding totals would be "padded" in the same manner some allege has happened for Biedrins (but not Turiaf) over the last few years. [We don't know much about Chris Hunter, but for what it's worth, he's been a poorer rebounder than Moore. Either he too didn't get the memo that his totals are supposed to be padded as well, or he's just terrible. Stop the hollering for Hunter, people. That's the wrong tree to bark up.]

More Randolph and less Moore would be a start. Yes, the foul rate limits how much time Randolph can be out there, but it does not explain why we're seeing Randolph on the bench more often than not. Has he 'regressed' some from the end of last season? Perhaps. But overall the trend still seems up. It's just perplexing why he's not playing far more often. At least we'd have something to hang our hopes on.

So what do we have? Reel in Monta a touch and push Curry to step it up and play Randolph the minutes his production warrants? No, the changes probably won't make a huge difference, but rather they try than stick with this Titanic mess that we're seeing.

Make it happen, coach. Those deck chairs ain't gonna rearrange themselves!

Poll

The brightest spot so far this year has been:

RECAP: Warriors 101, Sixers 117 -- The Answer

Feltbot — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:01:53 -0000

More photos » by Jesse D. Garrabrant - NBAE/Getty Images

(Is that Mikki Moore waiting under the basket? Tasty!)

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Final Boxscore | Game Thread (820+ Comments) | Warriors Web Links

There was a little intrigue surrounding this battle of Eastern and Western Conference cellar dwellers. Would this be the game that the desperate Sixers broke their 12 game losing streak? Would the short-handed and undersized Warriors have anything left in the tank for the fifth game of a long East-coast road trip? And perhaps most intriguing, who would win the battle of lightning-bug scoring machines, the reigning title holder in that category, Allen Iverson, or the man many have called Iverson's successor, Monta Ellis?

Unfortunately, we got early and decisive answers to all of our questions, and they all came down in favor of The Answer, Allen Iverson, and his Philadelphia 76ers.

FINAL - 12.14.2009	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Golden State Warriors	24	33	11	33	101
Philadelphia 76ers	36	35	26	20	117

COMPLETE COVERAGE >

The Sixers deserve a lot of credit for this win. Their coach, Eddie Jordan, made a bold move by starting a quicker and smaller unit than usual. He took Elton Brand out of the starting lineup, and put Thaddeus Young, normally a small forward, at power forward. T-Young was the Warriors killer in this game. His quickness and athleticism ate up Vlad Rad, and made Mikki Moore look like the old man in the rec league. He finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds, most coming in the first half. Taking Brand's place in the starting lineup was rookie point guard and defensive specialist Jrue Holiday. Holiday did a nice job hawking Monta, and his length appeared to bother Monta's jumper. And yes, The Answer delivered: Iverson got an efficient 20 points on 10 shots. Have you ever seen Allen Iverson play within a team concept, and take only what the defense was giving him? It happened in this game, and may be the way of the future for the noticeably slower 34 year old legend.

But mostly, this game was about what the Warriors couldn't do. Perhaps exhausted in the last game of their long road trip, they simply didn't show up to compete. Monta Ellis couldn't get anything going, shooting 3-15 from the field, many of his misses coming on open layups. But even if Monta had played well, it wouldn't have mattered in a game in which the Warriors simply surrendered the paint to the Sixers.

Here's a couple of stats that tell the real story of this game: The Warriors total number of rebounds, 26, was only one more than the number of offensive rebounds they gave up, 25. If you had tried to count the number of Sixers layups and dunks that resulted, you would have run out of fingers and toes. Overall, the Sixers outrebounded the Warriors 59-26. Now that's a bloody massacre.

Obviously, this was a game in which the Warriors greatly missed their injured big men, Andris Biedrins and Rony Turiaf. But even more obviously, they missed the comfort of their beds at home. As Coach Keith Smart memorably put it in his post-game interview, the road-weary Warriors played "like a horse trying to get back to the barn."

Sticking with Smart's barnyard theme, I'm going to initiate a new feature, that hopefully doesn't get too much use going forward. This is where I try to find some nice things about the Warriors' performance in a blowout loss. I'm calling it:

Lipstick on a Pig

I liked the play of two Warriors in this game:

Anthony Randolph: The Warriors' version of Where's Waldo? showed up for this game, on a night when no one else did. Go figure. Here are the highlights:

Have you been looking for a clue as to why Randolph's playing time has been so sporadic in the last few games? You may need to look no further than this: Randolph virtually never took a jumpshot in this game. He took the lumbering Dalembert to the rack again and again, finishing beautifully, and drawing fouls. Randolph took 11 free throws in this game.
After a slow start in which he again got burned by leaving his feet for pump-fakes, Randolph settled down and gave a solid defensive effort. I think he got more than the 2 blocks he was credited in the box score.
He played under control at all times, even when leading the fast break. Only 1 turnover.
Keith Smart praised Randolph after the game, and at the same time dropped a few more tea leaves to read for puzzled Randolph watchers. Smart said that Randolph was "decisive," and "tried to compete at a high level." And "even with everything going on with him, he was ready to go." A reference to the family emergency that took Randolph away from the team a few games ago?

Devean George: When George came in for Monta Ellis at 5:25 in the third, we knew the plug had been pulled. But surprisingly, George looked pretty darn good in his first extended action this season. He drained three threes, and really competed on the defensive end, helping turn a sickening 30 point blowout into a "respectable" 16 point blowout. Keith Smart praised his professionalism after the game, and said he hoped it would serve as a lesson for his young players.

It will be interesting to see if the Warriors intend to give George real minutes on the front line going forward. From the looks of this road trip, they may need him.

This is a tough choice. This would be the first Warrior Wonder of Devean George's career! And will I ever get another chance to give it to him? I gotta go with the young fella though: Mr. Anthony Randolph. He needs our support.

Sixers snap 12-game losing streak

jsams — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:10:40 -0000

Box Score

I come away from tonight's game with the same feeling one has after hooking up with a super-hot, really drunk chick at a party. The feeling being, "Man, that was fun and really easy, but I wonder how I'll fare tomorrow night, and I wonder how differently tonight would've went if that girl hadn't consumed 13 captain and cokes." The Sixers dominated tonight, but it was against a free-wheeling, disinterested, discombobulated, defenseless Golden State Warriors -- the same team who allowed a 20 year old rookie to drop 55 on them. So, they're a lot like my drunk sorority chick; everyone score on 'em, even rookies. The dubs were also playing the final game of a long road trip and playing without their head coach. The Sixers showed a lot of positive tonight, both as individuals and as a team, but until I see it against a good team -- one who plays defense and doesn't jack up bad shots -- then I'm going to hold off on the excitement. Is this team beginning to turn the corner or was tonight a product of the hot mess known also known as the Golden State Warriors? The answer will come soon enough; the Cavs and Celtics are up next. On to the positives...

Thaddeus Young was an absolute man. He torched people on the block, converted offensive rebounds and mixed in a couple jumpers. Yes, he was being guarded by Vladimir Radmanovic most of the night, but an impressive showing nonetheless. In the past, Thad would get hot and then not touch the ball for the next 20 minutes. Tonight was a different story, and since I'm in an awesome mood, I'm going to give Eddie Jordan all the credit. Thad's 26 points was impressive, but what impressed me most -- and left me quite thrilled -- was his career-high 14 rebounds. That's two games in a row Thad had double-digit rebounds. If he keeps it up I'll stop calling him overrated.

Tonight, Monta Ellis was 3-14 from the floor. On December 2nd Russell Westbrook was 1-11 from the floor. The common denominator? Both were defended by Jrue Holiday. 'Nuff said. (The reason I went all the way back to December 2nd is because that was Jrue Holiday's last start before tonight.)

I'd spend more time on how much potential this team has when Lou and M16 return from injury, but again, I want to see them do it against someone other than a hammered sorority girl.

Player of the game: Thaddeus Young

Q&A: Marcus Thompson - Contra Costa Times / InsideBayArea.com (Part 1 of 3)- Warriors bright spots, the next to be traded, Robert Rowell and basketball decisions

Atma Brother ONE — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:00:35 -0000

We recently mic'ed up Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times/ InsideBayArea.com to get his thoughts on the Golden State Warriors.

Click and roll to MT's Dubs blog

Jump for some positives about the Warriors season, who will be the next players the team ships out, and Robert Rowell's future in making Warriors hoops decisions.

Golden State of Mind: We're in the midst of some seemingly endless "Dubs Drama" (again). Let's hit the pause button on the dysfunction for a second though. You cover the Warriors extremely closely, so you're the best person to ask this. What are some of the bright spots for this organization either on or off the court that aren't getting enough ink across the hoops world?

Marcus Thompson: The bright spots are obvious: Monta Ellis, Anthony Morrow, Anthony Randolph, Stephen Curry and I will even throw Kelenna Azubuike in there.

The brightest is no doubt Monta Ellis. Say what you want about him, the kid is showing he is special. He hasn't done anything yet. But the prospects look good. He will benefit the Warriors extremely down the road, whether as a player or as trade bait.

Morrow is right behind Ellis. He may not have the superstar power Ellis has, but Morrow at the very least could be just a solid starter for years to come. That is nothing to sneeze at.

Randolph, though he is up and down, I think is still promising. His fate may be more in the hands of his coaches, who have to figure out a way to help him progress. But that is what organizations have to do sometimes. Sure, the onus is on the player. But he didn't invest in himself, the Warriors invested in him. It is on them to do everything they can to maximize that investment. Because if Randolph turns out to be a bust, it's the franchise's fault for drafting him.

The cap flexibility is also pretty good. As it is now, they have the flexibility to add a big contract for a player they really want. The chance is there to really get someone good. If they don't take advantage, that is on them.

Golden State of Mind: Within his first few months on the job as the GM of the Warriors Larry Riley has already given the roster a shake-up. Jamal Crawford, Marco Belinelli, and recently Stephen Jackson have all been shipped out. This still isn't a contender to say the least, so more moves seem likely. Considering the big money deals still on the books, expiring contracts, young and raw talent, and lingering in-house drama, who do you think will be the next player(s) headed out? Does Monta Ellis "got next"?

Marcus Thompson: Ideally, it would be Corey Maggette. They aren't getting the bang for his buck, and he certainly would like to play more. But everyone knows it's tough to trade his contract. With that said, I think it has to be either Monta Ellis or Andris Biedrins. I don't see how they can land a difference maker without giving up one of those two. Those are the two big money guys, so if the Warriors want to give someone $15 a year, they will probably need to move one of those two (unless they can get rid of Maggette's contract). But mainly, those two guys I think are the only commodities the Warriors have that will make another team give up a stud.

If you're Phoenix, who would you want in return for Stoudemire? If you're Toronto, who would you want in exchange for Bosh? Sure, they want young talent, but for the money the Warriors will have to shell out, young talent won't be enough. Maybe if they decided to package Curry and Randolph with Maggette, they might get another team to bite. But I really don't think they'd do that.

Curry and Randolph are among the untouchables currently, but I wouldn't be surprise if their status changed between February and August. Especially in the case of Randolph, the Warriors may be more willing to include him in a deal down the line than they are right now.

Golden State of Mind: Golden State Warriors president Robert Rowell has had his fair share of critics for personally inking Stephen Jackson to that questionable early 3 year extension, among other recent front office decisions. With Larry Riley and Don Nelson firmly entrenched as the Warriors GM head coach is this the last we'll see Rowell making basketball decisions such as negotiating player deals and extensions? How safe is his job with the Warriors?

Marcus Thompson: I think it's the last he'll be taking or given credit publicly. There was a time when the Warriors wanted his name mentioned for the good things the Warriors did. Of course, with that comes your name being mentioned when bad things happen.

I think everyone in the organization, even Rowell, realizes that he needs to either become the GM or let the GM run the show. I don't think that means he is out of the loop on decision making, though. In the end, he's still got to approve all financial moves, and sell them to owner Chris Cohan. So he's in the room, and at the very least in the loop. But Riley will get all the credit and the blame when it comes to basketball decisions.

**********

Stay tuned for the rest of our Q&A with Marcus! In the mean time make sure to check out Inside the Warriors

Orlando Magic News for December 13th: The "Magic" Behind the Scenes; Update on the Amway Center

erivera7 — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:31:40 -0000

Orlando Magic receive a big boost from their video coordinators, Ahmad Ajami and Adam Glessner
Josh Robbins writes a fantastic article highlighting Ahmad Ajami and Adam Glessner, the video coordinators for the Orlando Magic.

It's 10:42 on a Saturday night, and Ahmad Ajami and Adam Glessner are sitting in front of their computers, working to make the Orlando Magic a better basketball team.

Ajami has planted himself near the Magic locker room at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. His laptop screen displays a live feed of the Golden State-Orlando game and shows Rashard Lewis intercepting a bad pass into the paint by Warriors point guard Monta Ellis.

Ajami clicks his computer mouse a couple of times. He's recorded and logged his first video clip of the night.
Orlando Magic analysis: 2-2 road trip reveals some NBA vulnerabilities
Brian Schmitz points out some of the defensive flaws that plagued the Magic on the West Coast road trip.

Against the Jazz, the only way [Stan] Van Gundy could stop them at times was to call time-outs. [Anthony] Johnson said the defense was "absolutely terrible."

On the trip, the Magic didn't always run back in transition and didn't get to 3-shooters in time. They fouled too much. Point guards Steve Nash and Deron Williams carved them up like Benihana chefs.

Teams still penetrate at will, especially point guards, undermining the defense.
Orlando Magic's Amway Center: $4.6 million streetscape work will make area pedestrian-friendly
Mark Schlueb of the Orlando Sentinel points out how the city plans to spend money to upgrade the area surrounding Orlando's new arena - the Amway Center.

The city plans to spend about $4.6 million to dress up the area around the new arena, including arty "light trees," asterisk-shaped benches, speakers and light-pattern projectors beneath the I-4 overpass; landscaping and a fountain at a retention pond; and sidewalks, decorative streetlights and oaks along Division Avenue.

An additional $15.7 million streetscape project — to be paid for with federal money — will upgrade a 1-mile stretch of Church Street through Parramore, from the new Amway Center to the Citrus Bowl.

The idea is to create a space around the new arena that will encourage fans to walk to events, linger in the plaza area — and then walk to downtown Orlando and spend money.
Game Notes: Magic at Suns
Dennis Tarwood of SLAM ONLINE posts his game notes of the contest between the Magic and the Phoenix Suns; a matchup in which Orlando lost by 3.
Jameer Nelson could practice with the team starting next week
UPDATE: Tania Ganguli provides an update on Jameer Nelson ..

Jameer Nelson was running up and down the court, shooting a bit, toward the end of practice today. Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said the team is hopeful it will have Nelson back at practice next week.

The Magic point guard had athroscopic knee surgery on Nov. 18 and the initial prognosis was that he would be out four to six weeks. It’ll be four weeks since that surgery this Wednesday and Nelson said he’s made steady progress since then.
Vince Carter misses Sunday practice with a stomach bug, Magic expect him to play Monday
UPDATE 2: .. and Vince Carter.

Carter left Friday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns with a sore hip and knee. Because he wasn’t well enough to practice, the Magic couldn’t evaluate his injury. Van Gundy said he thinks Carter will play on Monday.

Tracking Hustle Plays in the Magic’s 126-118 Victory Over the Warriors

jonnichols — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:00:17 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

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A week ago I tracked the hustle plays in a game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies. Tracking hustle plays is presumably something most, if not every, NBA team does. After all, box scores are pretty limited. Even if we use the play-by-play data to do thorough analysis, it still doesn't include things such as diving for loose balls, deflections, missed blockouts, etc. But teams would like to know these things, so they must track it themselves.

I decided to track the hustle plays during last Saturday's game between the Magic and the Golden State Warriors. During the game, I kept track of five things. First, I tracked players going for loose balls. In my experience with a college team, we only record plays where a player dove for a loose ball. But since this is the NBA, and effort is often lacking, I include all plays in which a player ends up with the ball, regardless of whether or not he dove. A second thing I track is drawn charges. You can somewhat glean this from the play-by-play data, but it is much easier to just record it yourself.

Thirdly, I kept track of good sprints. I define these as plays in which a player creates a play for himself or others by sprinting the floor and forcing the defense to adjust. For this game featuring the fast-paced Warriors, I had to be more selective in my criteria or else we'd have a lot of good sprints. A fourth thing I tracked for this game was deflections. This is relatively easy to define and track. Basically it includes any deflection that is not recorded as a steal, rebound, etc. Finally, I kept track of missed blockouts. These were most noticeable when they led to an easy offensive rebound, and they were much more rare in this game than in my first one.

Of course, these aren't all the hustle plays that players can make. Traditional box score stats such as offensive rebounds and steals often reflect hustle plays. Defense is also largely a product of effort, but that is something I will track another time.

Below is a link to a spreadsheet that contains the hustle stats for the Magic-Warriors game. On the left side of each tab is the raw numbers. On the right side are the per-minute numbers. Instead of presenting them as "statistic per minute," they are presented as "minute per statistic." I did this because the numbers are so low. As it turns out, this method is not too difficult to grasp conceptually. For positive statistics such as deflections, a lower number is better (a blank number means the player did not record any deflection at all, which obviously is bad). For negative statistics such as missed blockouts, blank numbers are the best and low numbers are the worst.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvNKNGJ_AHijdHo3UEZHLUtnMVlUY2NDQ1Q1MEpSa0E&hl=en

I have a few observations about the data:

Marcin Gortat, Brandon Bass, and Matt Barnes showed great effort off the bench. All three were active on the boards and had active hands. Per minute, they were all special in terms of the number of deflections they had.
The Magic did not draw a charge all game, and they certainly had some opportunities. Vince Carter in particular had three opportunities in which he failed to draw a charge. In the first, he was just late and recorded a foul. In the second, he turned his shoulders and avoided contact (Monta Ellis was coming like a speeding bullet). In the third, he watched Ellis blow by him. A charge on any of the three would have been an excellent play, but they certainly were possible.
Overall, though, Carter was not lazy. He recorded a few deflections and went for loose balls.
Dwight Howard created a few opportunities by running the floor. Barnes had an easy dunk after he sprinted down the floor after a dead ball and caught the Warriors sleeping.
Anthony Randolph had a great game and killed the Magic with his effort. He crashed the boards, ran the floor hard, got to loose balls, and even drew a charge. My only complaint was the amount in which he flopped. He was forced to guard Howard for extended periods of time, though, which is something he shouldn't be asked to do. Perhaps he figured flopping was his only option.
Vladimir Radmanovic showed more hustle than I thought he would, but his defense certainly wasn't spectacular at all times.
Except for a mistake by Stephen Curry, both teams did a good job of putting a body on each man when going for the defensive rebound.

The Magic did not win this game because they outhustled the Warriors. In terms of effort, both teams were solid and about even. The Magic won, obviously, because of a huge run late in the fourth quarter in which they hit their shots and the Warriors made silly plays.

Up next I'd like to track the defense of the Magic. With a few games in the data set, we may be able to rate the defense of Magic players in other ways besides Defensive Rating, plus-minus, etc.