SB Nation - Al Harrington

Tell it like it is, Mike!

Stop-n-Pop — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:59:37 -0000

There are two thankless jobs in the Wolves' organization. First and most obvious are the poor saps who have to sell tickets, especially the ones to the luxury boxes. We here at Hoopus have no idea how the ticket reps we come in contact with do it. We'd loose our cool by mid-afternoon on our first day...which is probably why we're no longer in sales.

Second, the Wolves' TV crew has to fill roughly 4 hours of airtime per game night. Think about that for a moment. When the Wolves start a game out going down by 10 with only about 5 minutes run off the clock, what are you going to talk about? How are you going to spend several hours describing a team that can be entirely defined by a haiku?

McHale's ghost still here

Out manned? Yes! Sasha Hollins!

Lower bowl upgrade.

You know what I'm talking about.

After watching hours of League Pass, I really have an appreciation for the Wolves' TV crew, commercial free halftimes, post-game tutorials, and the hours and hours and hours of material that J-Pete and Hanny come up with to describe the team we are starting to run out of ideas about with the written word. "They're not talented enough," "they have future assets," and "Kevin Love is really good" can only take a guy so far.

Anywho, my favorite TV moment of the year happened during the first half of last night's game. The TV crew is constantly trying to make a sometimes unwatchable product entertaining and to assure fans that at some point somewhere down the road, all of this...well, crap...will pay off for the long term benefit of the team. Like it or not, that's part of their job.

This little fact often leads them down the road of getting players and/or coaches from the other team to draw comparisons from their squad's questionable past to their current success. This angle is ridden hard when teams like Portland and Atlanta come to town.

Last night the Wolves' new sideline reporter (and Telly-slayer) Robby Incmikoski asked Atlanta coach Mike Woodson to wax poetic about the parallels he sees between this year's Wolves and a past version of his currently upper-level Eastern Conference Hawks. The answer went a little something like this: "I suppose they do remind me of what we were going through 6 years ago."

At this point several thoughts rushed through my head. First, I felt bad for Robby. That answer must have been the sideline reporting equivalent of getting shot in the face by Dick Cheney. He was clearly going for something inspirational and he ended up getting pointed to the second thought in my head: Mike Woodson just compared the 2009/10 Wolves to the 13-win Atlanta Hawk squad that was probably the worst team of the decade.

My third thought was "Who on god's green earth was on that putrid team and how on earth would any of them remind Coach Woodson of the Wolves?" This question is the fan equivalent of getting shot in the face by Dick Cheney. The 04/05 Hawks were led by Al Harrington and Antoine Walker. They had young wings Josh Childress and Josh Smith, as well as a young Boris Diaw. They also had Kenny Anderson, Tom Gugliotta, Jon Berry, and Kevin Willis. This is the team that reminds Mike Woodson of the 09/10 Wolves? Ouch.

OK, it's time to think a few happy thoughts before I get to the big downer.

Kevin Love is a fantastic basketball player. Last night he finished with 19 rebounds (8 offensive) and 15 points on .500 shooting. He carried an absurd 26.9 oReb rate for the game. He had a team-high 1.02 points contributed per possession used (the next closest teammate was Al Jefferson with 0.85). He filled in the action outside of the box scores with wonderful outlet passing, solid screens, as good of help defense as he could muster alongside Al Jefferson, and a few of his patented 1-on-4 impossible tips to teammates.

The best Love highlight of the night brings up an interesting question about the diminishing returns of defensive rebounding. Namely, is a defensive rebound in the hands of Kevin Love worth more than a defensive rebound in the hands of Al Jefferson or Ryan Hollins? The play in question was started with an Atlanta jump shot that was corralled by Love. The second the shot went off Corey Brewer started to drift towards half court. When he saw that Love had the rebound, he turned on the jets. Love pivoted and delivered a strike to an in-stride Ramon Sessions who took a few dribbles and delivered a perfect bounce pass to the cutting Brewer for a two hand dunk. If Ryan Hollins or Al Jefferson get that defensive rebound, what do you think are the chances for a Brewer dunk? How do you measure the impact of something like this? Are Love rebounds worth more than Jefferson rebounds?

Kevin Love is off to a tremendous start this season. He has extended his range, improved his rebounding, increased his assist and steal rates, lowered his defensive rating, and increased his offensive one. He's the best player on this team by a country mile.

Season	Age	Tm	Lg	G	MP	PER	TS%	eFG%	ORB%	DRB%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	OWS	DWS	WS
2008-09	20	MIN	NBA	81	2048	18.3	.538	.461	15.1	27.3	21.0	6.8	0.9	1.9	12.4	21.0	112	109	3.4	1.9	5.3
2009-10	21	MIN	NBA	11	341	23.4	.584	.530	16.1	30.0	22.9	11.6	1.8	1.1	11.6	19.7	121	105	1.0	0.4	1.4
Career			NBA	92	2389	19.1	.544	.471	15.2	27.7	21.3	7.5	1.0	1.8	12.3	20.8	114	108	4.4	2.3	6.7

Before we get around to what Love's improvement means for another very specific player on the team, let's take a moment or two to sing the praises of Corey Brewer.

At the end of the day it will be noted that Joe Johnson had 21 points on 9-18 shooting. It should be put into the record that Brewer made him work for each and every single one of those points while keeping him out of the paint and away from the line. Brewer fought through a maze of screens all night long and he showed an amazing ability to keep the smooth-scoring Johnson somewhat off-balance (as off-balance as you can get with 20+ points) with an array of long arms, oddly-timed jump-outs, and pure grit. Brewer is actually fun to watch on defense. He really thinks about it and his effort and thought is obvious. For instance, watch how he closes out on jump shooters. He tries to use his quickness to make the aforementioned oddly-timed jump out so as to distract the shooter as much as possible. It's distracting on the shot and it allows him to stay in better position to cut off drives to the hoop. He's also one of the best players I've seen in terms of being able to cut off a pass to the wing. 6'9" guys have no business being as quick as he is and he really uses that to his advantage with man-to-man defense. Now, if only he could turn into a solid weak side defender. My guess for this aspect of his game is that his man-to-man instincts kick in far too much when the ball is on the opposite side of the court and he sags away from his man far too much with the idea that he needs to help his awful defending interior teammates (cough...Al Jefferson...cough). He gets burned for a corner three on an almost nightly basis and last night's game was no exception.

One more thing about Brewer: He is turning into something of a showman in the open court. Between the Derek Fisher poster dunk and last night's 2-handed transition slam, Brewer is taking the ball to the rim HARD and it has led to some of the only non-Love entertaining moments in several recent games.

OK, now that we have the good stuff out of the way, let's get around to the elephant in the room: Al Jefferson.

Here is a comment that was dropped in last night's game thread:

i hate that

people remember how good jonny flynn was with good teammates but nobody wants to believe that al jeff could be great with some solid shooting teammates…

by NuthinBurger on Dec 22, 2009 10:59 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I don't single out this comment because I think it's invalid; rather, it made me think about what Jefferson really brings to the club, especially in light of having the night kicked off with comparisons to the 13-win 04 Hawks squad.

The comment has an interesting point but it also begs a question going in the opposite direction: What else does Al Jefferson bring to the table that could be combined with solid shooting (and good) teammates? On a night when Big Al didn't have it going offensively, and on a night where the Wolves were getting torched in the paint early on, what does Jefferson bring to the table? My big Big Al memories of the night were a) watching him try and fight Kevin Love for defensive rebounds that were in no danger of going to an Atlanta player, b) getting a text from someone at the game saying he got into a tussle with Rambis in the 2nd half, and c) hearing a teammate yell "AL!" at him in a futile attempt to get the big fella to turn around and stop a Hawk with a clear path to the bucket.

Knee injury or no knee injury, what exactly will Jefferson bring to the table besides upper-level interior scoring? Let's say that the Wolves do get a solid supporting cast. Is he good enough beyond the low right block to be a functional defender? Can he facilitate the action out of the high post or on a pinch post screen? I don't disagree with the commenter that Jefferson will be an even better interior scorer if he were surrounded by better shooters, but what about the rest of his game?

Last night's tilt was the first time I really completely believed that he'll get moved at some point during the next 2 years. Last night's tilt was the fist time I really thought that there is no way this guy will ever "get it" beyond the low right block. This is in no way suggesting that he is not of value or that he is not a tremendous player. What he is is a flawed player who is being paid to be a building block. You can't build around a guy that is not a two way player. That should be a basic basketball principle. Knee injury or no knee injury, Al Jefferson is not a two way player. He's a scorer. He's the last person on earth you want to have as the lynch pin in a motion-based offense that is supposed to thrive on ball movement. He's the last person on earth you want to partner with in an undersized defensive front court.

I'm not at the point where I'll opine for a Shaddy/Foye-esque death match between Jefferson and Love but I am at the point where I no longer believe it can work and that one of them will go. I think it's obvious who I would side with if ever such a contest came down the pike, but I no longer see a good way of making this happen. Not with the coaching changes and the amount of assets they've sunk into the point guard position. It's gotten to the point where I mutter an "oh crap" when Al comes in the game for Love. This team is transitioning to a perimeter-based system and they will throw some money at someone like Rudy Gay and/or Joe Johnson while drafting another wing. Al Jefferson is the last Minnesota dinosaur at this point and he doesn't have much longer until the asteroid hits.

Let's wrap this up with a few bullet points:

It is really frustrating to watch Wayne Ellington miss open shots. I know that he is dealing with the new role of being a bench player but he was never a high usage guy at UNC and I was hoping that his ability to hit open shots would transfer well to the NBA.
The Hawks had 28 shots in the 1st quarter. That's insane. To give you an idea of just how insane that is, the Milwaukee Bucks lead the league with 87.2 FGA/game. At the half, the Hawks were on pace to have 122 FGAs in the game. Thankfully, they took their foot off the gas in the 2nd half. I wish I had the numbers for 2nd chance points. The Hawks were getting trips down the court with 3-4 shots/possession. It wasn't all just offensive rebounding. The Wolves were making ridiculous errors that gave the Hawks the ball right back after a missed shot.
Ryan Hollins developed a new way to lose hold of a ball during last night's game. He was going up for a layup when the rock suddenly shot out of his hands.
Lost in the shuffle last night was the fact that the Wolves took 11 more free throws than the Hawks...and that they missed all 11 of them. Ish.

Well, that about does it for now.

Until later.

lost this game at the line...and crawford can hit from the wing

Knicks 88, Bulls 81

Seth — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:41:57 -0000

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We've seen plenty of Jekyll and Hyde games from the Knicks this season. They've been known to race ahead in the first half only to lose their grasp in the second or, more commonly, follow a tepid first half with a spirited late-game comeback. Rarely, though, have the Knicks held on/come back to actually win one of those tales of two halves. In that sense, I guess the Knicks showed some signs of progress tonight. It sure didn't feel that way at some points, but New York came out on top, and that's what matters.

It started with a bang. Chicago was 24 hours removed from that epic comeback loss against Sacramento, and looked in no mood to play basketball. The Knicks, meanwhile, were passing and finishing like champs and cleaning the glass on both ends. They went into the half up 22, needing only a modest effort to sail to their third straight win. They couldn't manage modest, though. After almost two quarters of sub-modest basketball, it took a couple long-distance makes from Jared Jeffries (!), some late-game gaffes by Chicago, and one huge rim-rolling jumper from David Lee.

Take the jump for a few notes and thangs...

- Danilo Gallinari kept missing from the field, but made his presence felt in other ways. He shot just 2-13, but got to the line a little (6-6), rebounded (7), and played some nice man defense for stretches (3 blocks, including one spectacular swat of a Luol Deng drive). As ugly as his line was, I was pleased with Gallo tonight. He took the right shots and stayed active without forcing. They just don't fall on some nights. It was nice to see D'Antoni let Danilo work through his misses and find other ways to contribute.

- I'm not gonna rag on D'Antoni after a win, but with Jonathan Bender sitting the second half after straining his hip, the Knick rotation was actually only seven guys. I'm not saying that was the reason for the second half collapse, but I'm not saying it wasn't.

- I'm not entirely sure how the topic came up (presumably something to do with Chicago's mascot), but Clyde and Breen spent a good chunk of the second quarter discussing bullfighting.

- Jared Jeffries was whistled for a foul in the second quarter and D'Antoni responded by immediately yanking Al Harrington off the bench. Jeffries looked confused, then glanced up at the scoreboard, saw that he'd just committed his third foul, and visibly uttered "Oh, fuck". Props to MSG for catching that.

- Al Harrington hit the halftime buzzer-beater to put the Knicks up 22, and turned to run down court with his arm still bent in a gooseneck. This meant that the guy sitting courtside who wanted a high five had to slap his elbow. It sucks to get left hanging.

- Jill Martin and Hugh Jackman conducted a halftime interview so fraught with sexual tension and intrigue, it might as well have been Swordfish 2: Gimme a Minute.

- I mentioned Bender's sore hip before, but it didn't sound like it was a big deal. They're just taking every possible precaution with Legs, which makes sense. By the way, there currently exists an extremely fly "Legs" t-shirt ready for production. I know it's far too soon for that, but are people interested?

- Derrick Rose is exceedingly good at basketball when he chooses to be. I harp on David Lee's poor help defense, but Rose would've made Dikembe Mutombo look wimpy with some of these drives. The former first pick single-handedly outscored the Knicks 16-15 in the third quarter, which is a testament both to Rose's majesty and to how messily the Knicks shat themselves in the second half.

- Walt Frazier cannot whistle, which is a late entry but likely front-runner for "Most Surprising Thing I Learned in 2009".

- Hey Wilson Chandler (16 points on 8-18, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals), I see you. Keep attacking.

- I mentioned it briefly in the intro, but I'll reiterate that two of the huge shots that ended up stifling the Chicago comeback were long bombs by Jared Jeffries. Jared canned a three from the right corner with about 10 minutes left, then took a step in for a long two around the 6 minute mark. Thankfully, he rimmed out a three that would've iced it in the final minute, or the world's bear population would've awoken from hibernation, vacated their caves, headed to the nearest ocean, and plunged headfirst into extinction.

- The Bulls also found every possible way to cough up the ball when the game was in the balance. There were bad passes, awful shots, violations, and all other manner of wasted possession. I think Luol Deng dribbled off his gouche at one point.

- David Lee's in-out-and-in-again jumper put the Knicks up 5 and in the clear with 6 seconds left, and it was a well-deserved flourish on a brilliant night by Lee. Joakim Noah is a damn tough cover, but Lee grit his teeth, held his breath to withstand the smell, and went toe-to-toe with Noah in a battle for the paint. Dave finished with a masterful 18 points, 21 boards, and 5 assists (including one gorgeous no-look dish to Chris Duhon. I've been waiting for Clyde to yell "Skip to my Lee!"), while Noah came up with 10 points and 21 bounds of his own. It was fun to watch the two former Gatorbros go at it. By the way, I'd bet that Noah is actually far cleaner than the average basketball player and smells like fresh flowers on the court. You know, just to mess with people's heads. Anyway, not to get all spoiler alert on Willy's stickers, but Lee was the man of the night.

- Last point: Don't mock Bulls fans. Isn't blowing a 35-point lead, then falling just short of a 22-point comeback exactly the kind of thing the Knicks have been known to do as recently as like a month ago? Our friends at Blog-a-Bull deserve your sympathy. Show some love, and remember that we're not that far removed from stretches like that. It could very well happen again.

And on that note, I'll leave y'all to your other activities. Next game is Christmas!

Game 28 Recap: Rockets defeat Clippers 108-99 behind Landry's 27 points

Tom Martin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:35:01 -0000

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You know, Carl Landry smiles -- scratch that, genuinely laughs -- while he's on the court more often than any player I watch. On two separate occasions, each after making a difficult shot over Marcus Camby, Landry jogged back down the floor, showing off whatever remains of his pearly whites, as if he had just gotten away with placing a whoopee cushion underneath the principal's chair. After all of the troubles that Carl has been through, it's a pleasure to see what has become such a rarity in today's game: an NBA player who looks like he is actually having fun.

Then again, scoring twenty-seven points off the bench may have had something to do with that.

More so than anything, Landry can thank his improved free-throw shooting for making him such a dangerous player in the post. If opponents foul him, it's nearly an automatic two points. Any post player shooting 87 percent from the free-throw line is going to be dangerous. Add Landry's intensity into the mix, and you've got yourself a moving landmine on the block - you touch it, you're dead.

Though it may have been Landry's final eight minutes of the game that served to determine the outcome, it was Tracy McGrady's similar amount of playing time that had everyone on edge. In all of my years of watching Tracy play, I have never once seen him that agressive driving to the rim. Perhaps it was because Rasual Butler was guarding him. Perhaps it was because he was guarding Butler, and wouldn't have to play much defense (trust me, he didn't). Or, it could have been due to his knowledge of how little he would play, and how much effort he could afford to exert in that time period. Whatever the case, McGrady looked as healthy as he has looked in the last two years. He attacked the rim, made his open jump shots, and dished out some incredible passes, including a mid-air, no-look ball through two defenders to Luis Scola for a lay-up.

Now, before you even think about it, catch yourself - this does NOT mean that Tracy's minutes should be upped. Keep him comfortable, keep him in rhythm game by game, and keep him healthy, either as trade bait, or, if he keeps playing well, for extended use during a playoff run. The last thing Rick Adelman needs to do is abandon the schedule that he laid out for Tracy. The fact that Jermaine Taylor played tonight (impressively, at that) indicates that Adelman doesn't plan on changing anything.

Shifting gears, Kyle Lowry had another great game, and has been really impressive of late. He may not be to the point of eclipsing Aaron Brooks for the starting point guard job, but he's certainly proved capable of running the show late in games when Brooks is having an off night. Normally, I'd say that Aaron needs to be more consistent, or something like that, but Lowry has been so good that there's really no point. At the end of a ballgame, I'll take whoever is more locked in. Isn't that a comfortable feeling?

Regarding the Clippers, Chris Kaman could be the worst possible match-up for Chuck Hayes. He's quick for his size, and keeps the ball high towards his chin, preventing Chuck from harrassing him with his hands during a post move. Sometimes, at least according to Barry Corbin, "you can't stop what's coming."

Al Thornton continues to slowly develop into fellow statistical nightmare Al Harrington, though Harrington is actually capable of making three-pointers. I really don't see what some people like in Thornton. He takes way too many bad jump shots, and until he makes a shot and his name is announced on the PA, you forget that he is even there.

Finally, Steve Novak appeared in what was probably the most glorious twenty-one seconds of basketball that I have ever witnessed. Defense be damned, at least when Novak's on the court.

So, when is our next game? Tomorrow at Orlando, you say? Oh boy, do we love those back-to-backs or what!?!?

Bulls 98, Knicks 89

Seth — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:39:41 -0000

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At a certain point, it's time to change up your game. Sticking with what works works, until what works stops working, you feel me? When the three-pointers keep bricking, it might be time to stop attempting them. When your 6-man rotation is getting tired, it might be time to find minutes for men 7-12. When your team stops attacking the basket and rebounding, it might be time to play your guard that attacks the basket and your big men who can board. Sorry for being snide, but the Knicks' faults in tonight's loss to the Bulls were deafeningly obvious. The Knicks shot too many threes and played too few players (and the wrong ones), and it doesn't take an expert to see that.

Notes, after the jump.

- New York started unreasonably hot from downtown. Al Harrington and Chris Duhon were gunning from the outset, and we were looking at a 17-point lead in a matter of minutes. If you thought an edifice built out of Harrington and Duhon threes was going to stand tall, you haven't watched Knicks basketball. That lead evaporated faster than you can say "Checking into the game for the Knicks, number 34, Eddy Curry".

- And that was the first major hiccup of the night. Curry checked in alongside Danilo Gallinari with 2 minutes left in the first, and things went downhill from there. Eddy called for touches impressively, but swallowed the ball as soon as it came his way. He would take too long to make his move, invite the Bulls' double, turn into the double, and then either mishandle the ball or throw up a blind hook shot. I like the idea of allowing bringing in Curry and Gallo as a tandem so one can free up shots for the other, but it won't work until Eddy's confident and oriented enough to pass competently.

- Speaking of Gallo, he and the Knicks completely neglected the two-point shot this evening, and paid the price. Even after the first quarter heat had dissipated, the Knicks kept shooting early and often. Ballhandlers kept missing cutters, so the cutters stopped cutting, then everything went to shit. Though nearly every Knick had a hand, Gallinari was the most disappointing of the perpetrators. Some late-game buckets helped his overall numbers, but Danilo's 6-17 from the field on 6-16 from three was inexcusable. Gallo's far too versatile to limit himself like that, particularly when he can't get his legs under those jumpers. Particularly on the multiple occasions he was marked by an undersized Bull, it would have behooved Danilo to drive and pull-up from the midrange or back his way down for some close buckets. We all know he can do it. Word has it the Bulls' announcers were talking smack about our prized youngster, and they had every right to do so this evening.

- As for the team's three-point shooting as a whole, there isn't much to say past the numbers themselves. They shot 16-47 (.340) from three and 31-86 (.360) total. Those 47 three-point takes broke the Knick record for attempts. They were one short of the NBA record. The 29 attempts in the first half were an NBA record. It was as laughable on television as it is on paper.

- Regarding the missing of cutters, some of the best stretches in those wins over Phoenix and Atlanta came when Wilson Chandler and Al Harrington got hit for open looks off of backdoor cuts. Tonight, like I said, the passes didn't arrive, so the cutters eventually saved their energy. After 11 first quarter assists, the Knicks finished with 21 on the game.

- Taj Gibson should have goggles.

- At one point in the third quarter, Chris Duhon hit a three-pointer, then stared down the Chicago bench with maybe the grimiest, most perverted look I've ever seen on a human being's face, all while leaving David Lee hanging on a high-five. He went 1-5 for the rest of the game. This sequence, to me, sums up Chris Duhon's entire existence.

- I was happy to see Toney Douglas get some minutes, but Ghostface failed to impress in his time against Kirk Hinrich and Derrick Rose. Toney's a defender by trade, but he's outside his mind if he thinks playing close on Hinrich 35 feet from the basket is going to end well. Toney's got the agility to stay in front of people, but he compromises that by face-guarding everybody all the time. Gotta pick your spots.

- Somebody needs to keep a list of the NBA names to which Clyde adds and extra "r" or two. Tonight's victim was Joakim "No-er" ("Knower"?).

- It was nice to see Wilson Chandler back down Kirk Hinrich a few times in the second half. That doesn't come close to compensating for his 1-6 from downtown, though.

- David Lee got his chin cut open in the fourth quarter, undoubtedly because Joakim Noah hasn't clipped his nails since July, and got just about the ghettoest tape job I've ever seen. It looked like his jaw fell off and somebody tried to stick it back on with bandaids.

- I got a little sassy in the intro paragraph about the rotation, so I guess I should explain. The Knicks look tired tonight, and Mike D'Antoni gave significant minutes to only 6 guys. Even with Jared Jeffries and David Lee in foul trouble, he stuck with the same 6 dog-tired players. Energy and activity were lacking. If you're hampered by injuries, this is excusable. If you've got Nate Robinson, Jordan Hill, and Marcus Landry- all of whom fit the description of "energetic" and "active"- riding the pine, you look silly. I know D'Antoni sticks to his guns, but he's got to see the signs. Everybody else watching the game saw the obvious. Nate gets the picture and the youngsters deserve more of a shot, and tonight was the night to break the trend. You stick with what works until it stops working.

- 5-18 on the night for Al Harrington. Somebody ought to start up some trade rumors again.

Again, tonight's loss was maddeningly simple. The Knicks are flying back to New York now and playing the Clippers tomorrow night. If D'Antoni sticks to his six and those six keep this up, we'll be in for another long night.

Q&A: Marcus Thompson - Contra Costa Times / InsideBayArea.com (Part 2 of 3)- Don Nelson's media downfall, Chris Mullin as a front office hire, Chris Cohan's closeness to selling the Golden State Warriors

Atma Brother ONE — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:17:50 -0000

In Part 1 Marcus Thompson shared some bright spots on the Golden State Warriors dismal 2009-2010 campaign, players likely to be traded out of Oakland, and Robert Rowell's role in making basketball decisions.

[Inside the Warriors]

In this part MT dissects Nellie's media downfall, whether Mullin is a good front office hire, and how close Cohan is to selling the Warriors.

Golden State of Mind: After a string of 8 coaches during the Warriors 12 year playoff drought, Don Nelson was "the rebirth of cool" for this franchise back in 2006. He was an instant media darling. The Warriors improbable run to qualify for the 2007 NBA Playoffs and their exciting playoff run only cemented his darling status. But a little over two years later it seems like there's a daily piece from either the local Bay Area or national media questioning his every coaching decision and even his character. What specific events do you think caused Nellie's media downfall?

Marcus Thompson: Any instances causing Nellie's "media downfall" are inherently linked to his last stint with the Warriors. So I think all of it is tied to the bad break-up he had with Golden State the first time, especially handling of rookie stud Chris Webber.

With that said, his relationship with Chris Mullin, and the way he handled notoriously good guys in Al Harrington and Jamal Crawford, really made him look like the villain.

The perception was that Mullin and Nellie were linked, tight, best friends. That's how it was played when they brought Nelson back. I'm not going to presume to know what happened behind the scenes. I know what I've heard, and what I believe, but that's all speculation. Members of the organization will say and have said any talk of Nelson pushing Mullin out or getting him fired is nonsense. But what can't be overlooked was the lack of support Nelson showed Mullin publicly.

Considering how close those two were supposed to be, considering Mullin brought Nelson in, where was the outcry for Mullin to stick around from Nellie? Where was his lobbying for Mullin to keep his job and this winning pair to stick together? What's not said is sometimes as powerful as what is said. I think that led to the perception, whether true or false, that Nelson had thrown Mullin under the bus. And considering Mullin had made the moves that led to the turn around, that left Nelson as the easy target as the bad guy.

Then you throw in Nellie's conflicts with Harrington, one of the happy-go-luckiest guys you'll ever meet, and Crawford, another guy who is perhaps to professional and stand-up for his own good. I think those situations made Nelson look meddlesome.You starting putting all these things together, plus the past, plus serious questions about whether Nellie ball even works at a high level, plus public beef with Mark Cuban and agents talking bad about him, and it's easy to see why Nellie's reputation has taken a hit.

Golden State of Mind: Much was made about Chris Mullin's dismissal from the Warriors front office. Months have elapsed since the Warriors let him go and he still does not have another front office job. How much interest is there around the league in bringing him on as a front office executive? You covered his entire tenure as a VP of the Warriors from draft picks to trades to contract negotiations. Is he a good front office hire?

Marcus Thompson: I still think he will end up in New York with Donny Walsh. And I do think he is a good front office hire. He has relationships around the league. He has a pretty good eye for talent. And players love him because of his style of management. Say what you want about Mullin and his bad contracts, but he has his understanding of how to build a franchise. It has its holes, but it makes some sense. You make the franchise a place where players want to play, and they will come. You get players and you will win.

Of course, Mullin did that by overpaying guys to lend some kind of credibility to the franchise. Plus he gets enamored with players and he is loyal to them even when they are proving unworthy of the loyalty. But only one player ever left the Warriors unhappy because of Mullin, and that was Jason Richardson. And the reason he was unhappy was because he didn't want to leave.

Mullin, just like anyone else in the franchise, hasn't done anything yet. But I think over time he had a chance to be a pretty good GM. He has a much better chance under an owner who doesn't mind spending money, because his philosophy can be expensive. Plus some in the organization said he lets the players get away with murder, and there is probably some validity to that.

But since neither philosophy has won anything in Golden State, its hard to choose whose idea of how to run a franchise is better. You might have to lean towards Mullin's because they had their most success in recent years under him.

Golden State of Mind: How close is Chris Cohan to selling the Warriors? Are there any updates about that topic? Give us a prediction- when will he finally sell and to who?

Marcus Thompson: I don't think he's close. To be sure, the process to sell a team takes two or three years anyway. So even if he had an offer right now that he was willing to accept, the sale probably wouldn't go through for two years. I think he's got a number in mind that no one is going to reach. Not in this economy. Not on this team. Now, if the IRS knocks on his door demanding $200 million in taxes owed, that might change things. But Cohan's best business move might be to hold on until the team turns it around, thereby raising the offers if he believes things will turnaround.

**********

Keep it locked for the third episode!

Polling GSoM: Do Warriors fans need to stop booing Corey Maggette?

Atma Brother ONE — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:20:35 -0000

GSoM friend Marcus Thompson has a great piece on Golden State Warriors forward Corey Maggette over at Inside Bay Area: Golden State Warriors' Corey Maggette battles perceptions that he believes are unfair

The picture MT paints of Maggette is a great locker room guy who hasn't had the easiest trajectory to the association, but has prevailed.

Don't look at me- I ain't booing the man.

My thoughts after the jump...

Corey Maggette

#50 / Forward / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-6

Weight: 225

Born: Nov 12, 1979

College: Duke

			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 - Corey Maggette	20	25.1	5.0	10.4	47.8	0.3	1.2	21.7	5.2	6.7	78.2	1.3	4.1	5.3	1.9	2.1	0.8	0.2	3.2	15.4

Sure his game isn't perfect, but the man comes out every night to play hard and he's been a great teammate. That's a lot more than you can say about some of the recent and current "captains" of this squad.

This ain't Al Harrington faking a back injury or Stephen Jackson being a jack... or even Mike Dunleavy being well Mike Dunleavy (see Why Does Mike Dunleavy Get Booed So Much?).

I'll pass the mic:

Hurt. Confused. A bit angry. That's how Warriors forward Corey Maggette said he feels about his home fans booing him, which has been the case of late at Oracle Arena.

"It's not pleasant at all," Maggette said. "I remember the time when Al Harrington was here, and he was getting booed and he was asking to be traded. And I saw it when (Stephen Jackson) was here, and he was asking to be traded. And now, I'm getting booed for wanting to be part of this team through all this nonsense."

Seriously, quit booing the man.

Warriors fans are better than that.

Poll

Do Warriors fans need to stop booing Corey Maggette?

Game 22 Preview: Blazers vs. Knicks

Dave — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:32:05 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Kmonicek - AP

You know what they need in order to win this game? The Perfect Cheer.

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Game Time: 4:30 P.M. Pacific TV: Comcast

The Blazers face a semi-rejuvenated New York Knicks team as they enter the Garden tonight. The Knicks have won three of their last four games including impressive victories over the Hawks and Suns, two of the best teams in their respective conferences. They've been spearheaded by the return of forward Al Harrington who, while never physically absent this season, seemed to have mentally checked out, perhaps in protest to coming off the bench in favor of young Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari was out for one game and Harrington took to the starting role with gusto. He played 40 minutes in each of the last two games, lead the team in scoring, shot well over 50%, hit threes, rebounded, and generally make an all-around nuisance of himself. Gallinari is now back, packing his distance shooting along, but he's not regained the starting role. In addition to those two, forward/center (center on the Knicks) David Lee has also had a fine year averaging 18 and 10 and providing a nightly scoring threat.

None of that changes the fact that the Knicks, even with the winning streak, sit at 6-15. They've got problems in multiple areas. The first thing you think of when you envision a Mike D'Antoni system is point guards and wings streaking down the floor looking for quick opportunities at the rim or from three. Chris Duhon and Larry Hughes are not those guards. Duhon is shooting 32% from the field on the year, Hughes 39%, and neither one can hit a three. Neither can small forward Wilson Chandler. You've a far better shot seeing New York's center and power forwards take a shot from the perimeter than their guards or small forwards (unless you move Harrington to SF). This leads to a lot of teams running back against the Knicks and packing the lane, daring them to shoot as quickly or slowly as they please. The Knicks have little functional bench to speak of and almost no bigs worth a second look besides the ones we've mentioned. They suit up 12 players and depend heavily on 4, maybe 5 on a good night.

The Knicks also have systemic problems. One glaring issue is fast-break points, where they rank 28^th out of 30 teams on the year. That's not fatal if your roster is built to grind it out in the halfcourt and you're not coached by a fast-offense guru. But the reality for the Knicks is that they don't win until they start approaching 110 points in a game. It's awfully hard to do that when you're netting fewer than 10 on the break.

That 110 number brings up another problem: defense. The Knicks are allowing 109 per game, a bunch of them coming in the paint. They don't have shot-blockers at all. Smart opponents don't waste time shooting jumpers. They push inside knowing that they're either going to get an easy look or a foul. New York is running a 5+ attempt deficit at the foul line per night. Their perimeter defenders are marginally better...sometimes. But they're still getting killed by the fact that most of their best offensive players lack defensive chops and vice-versa. This is one of the reasons Nate Robinson hasn't been playing.

Topping it off, the Knicks are getting killed on the boards on a nightly basis. They have some decent individual rebounders (Lee in particular) but the corporate effort just isn't there. They're among the worst offensive rebounding teams in the league and in the lower third defensively. Now maybe you're saying, "Mike D'Antoni...rebounding...his guys never have emphasized it." But remember this offense is not running like a typical D'Antoni system. They're slow, at least compared to the Phoenix days, depending more on possessions than the blitz. If you're going to run almost -7 on the boards every night you had better have some kind of souped up offense under the hood. That would be a "no" on most nights here.

Despite all of that, New York is a dangerous opponent for Portland tonight and not just because of the 3 in 4 momentum. Portland has been strong in interior defense. The Knicks shoot jumpers and loft shots over your forwards instead of scoring at the rim...a process the Blazers have yet to stop consistently this year. Robinson has been in D'Antoni's doghouse but if he's unleashed he's a matchup nightmare for the team. Ditto Al Harrington. They are able to probe specific weaknesses that the Blazers have trouble compensating for. If the Knicks do get on a roll and get near that magic 110 number the Blazers are highly unlikely to match. Nor do the Blazers have the option of brutalizing them inside with Oden anymore. Joel Przybilla is a fine option but realistically anybody could grab rebounds and protect the cup against this team. Someone to muscle through them and score at the rim would be helpful. That's not Joel...at least not on his own. If Joel is scoring tonight it means a bunch of things are going well for the Blazers. But Joel's not going to be able to turn a game around at the offensive end like Greg could have.

Pivotal Points to the Game

1. Energy is the key in this game: first, last, and always. Without energy the Knicks get easy breakaway buckets that push their offense. Without energy you take stupid shots when you could have quality ones. Give the Knicks a reason to break down on either end and they will. One or two guys might go off but they won't be scoring 40 apiece and you win. Let guys like Duhon and Hughes have strong games along with their frontcourt and you're in for a long night. Just keep the pressure on.

2. On the defensive end realize that their forwards aren't traditional and focus your defense accordingly. It's perfectly OK to double team outside of just the post tonight. Ideally you want to hawk their forwards anytime they get near the painted area, not just when they're near the rim. Get the ball out of the hands of Harrington and Lee and into the hands of that starting backcourt, shooting long balls.

3. On the offensive end you just have to make them make decisions. They're decent at getting back so you'll need to run your halfcourt offense but that shouldn't equate to dribbling and jumpers all night. Penetrate and kick. Screen and pop. Make them play coordinated defense and they'll probably not do it.

4. A big game from Martell Webster wouldn't hurt, eh?

Final Thoughts and Links

Effort. I want to see effort tonight no matter what. Give me that and I'll be pleased.

One of the best blogs in the universe for, like, forever has been PostingandToasting. Check it out for the Knicks vibe.

You can enter tonight's Jersey Contest form here. Remember, just enter "0" for the Oden question and send your well-wishes to Greg as you do so.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Knicks 106, Nets 97

Seth — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:11:22 -0000

More photos » by Mary Altaffer - AP

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Like many Knicks games this season, tonight's win over the Nets was a tale of two halves. Thankfully, the opponent was helpless enough to render New York's own mood swings less than fatal. In the first half, we saw the familiar Knicks. They actually scored pretty effectively, but gave the Nets absolutely anything they wanted on the other end. The first two quarters today comprised the Nets' best half of the season. They league's worst team scored 61 points in the opening periods, keyed by Devin Harris, who drove to the rim and pulled-up from midrange pretty much unimpeded. In the second half? 36. The Knicks tightened up their defense and (aided slightly by the Nets' natural instincts to implode) turned a losing effort into a decisive win.

Notes, after the jump...

- Danilo Gallinari was back in uniform tonight (with a shooter's sleeve!), but Mike D'Antoni opted to ride the hot hand and keep Al Harrington in the starting lineup, which paid off nicely. From the outset, Al recognized the speed advantage he had over Josh Boone and exploited it mercilessly. Harrington's spin move is deadly, and he utilized it early and often to blow past Boone and finish at the rim. On the game, Al limited himself to only three threes, and did most of his work around the basket. He didn't just score either, finishing with a superb 24 points (10-18), 14 boards, and 5 assists in 40 minutes. Al's a hell of a player, and if he was always this motivated, nobody would be in favor of trading him.

- Just to emphasize that the quality of Harrington's dominant performance was a welcome departure from the usual, Clyde reacted to a gorgeous pass thrown Al to David Lee with "where did that come from!?".

- David Lee couldn't do much to stop Brook Lopez on offense (as Clyde said, "size matters"), but give credit to both Lee and Harrington for superb box-outs throughout the game. Lopez was muscled out of a number of rebounds, and finished with only 6 of his own. Lee and Harrington had 9 and 14 boards respectively, and worked hard for them.

- Lee also had his offense going, and kept Lopez honest by nailing his mid-range jumpers. That opened up the paint for Lee and others, as big Brookie had to step out to contest the J. That's an under-rated weapon, and it was a pleasure to see Dave score confidently from outside.

- Chris Duhon started attacking the rim, but just couldn't get a roll. He ended up 2-12, but I will say that he was, for the most part, missing the kinds of shots we'd like to see him take. There were more quick drives to the rim and less out-of-rhythm threes. That counts for something, I think. Not a great game, though.

- Danilo Gallinari made a relatively brief appearance today, probably owing to both his still-injured forearm and the recent resurgence of Al Harrington. Gallo was able to make an impact in his 21 minutes, though, with 3 three-pointers and 4 rebounds to his name.

- The Knicks were at their very worst in the second quarter, and it was a little disarming. One would like to think that the main advantage the Knicks have over a team like the Nets is their second unit, but Kiki Vandeweghe's bench thrived against the second-string Knicks. Rafer Alston (3-11) didn't shoot well, but had an easy team finding teammates like Keyon Dooling (4-7) for open shots. The pace quickened in the second, which you would think of as Knick-friendly, but New Jersey actually opened up a double-digit lead for part of the quarter.

- Chris Douglas-Roberts is very talented, very cool, and makes Joey look very wise. I love Gallo and wouldn't change a thing about that draft, but...damn.

- I'm disappointed in Clyde for not rhyming "Dooling" with something.

- This game was especially well mic'd, and we got to hear a lot of the on-court banter, including Al Harrington, after taking a hard fast break foul from Devin Harris, grumbling "I'm never gonna try and dunk again" while being peeled off the floor.

- Mike D'Antoni wielded his zone defense a few times, including in that second quarter in order to stifle the Nets' run. It worked pretty nicely for stretches, as Jared Jeffries or Wilson Chandler was able to roam the middle and help out on Brook Lopez to limit his touches and force other Nets to create offense.

- Al Trautwig casually snuck in a pretty ominous line during the halftime show: "The Knicks are what Chris Duhon is". Yikes.

- The young Garden audience (it was a noon start) spent much of the second half huffing and puffing at Mike D'Antoni's doghouse, begging for Nate Robinson. Chants of "we want Nate!" rained down even as the Knicks pulled away for the win, which leads me to conclude that the majority of New York-area youth don't do what Toney Douglas do just yet. This disappoints me. Weren't you little brats listening?

- In the third quarter, it was Larry Hughes of all people that keyed the run that eventually became the win. Hughes scored 12 in the period, including a personal stretch of 8 straight, and the Nets could never recover. Can't blame them. I've only just recovered.

- The guy who initiates that "I SAY D, YOU SAY FENSE!" chant sounds a lot like Xzibit to me. Since I haven't been to a game in a while, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that the Garden hype guy actually is Xzibit, since that's not at all out of the question, given his other work.

The Knicks have now won three of their last four, and look to add to their recent success tomorrow night against the Blazers. I have to be in class for pretty much the duration of the game (I know, right?), so I'll be in the market for a guest-recapper if anybody's interested. Let me know.

Knicks 114, Hawks 107

Seth — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:06:47 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

I would've liked to include a picture of Chris Duhon, but all photos taken of him scoring tonight are apparently being analyzed by the AP to guarantee authenticity. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

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That was confusing. After a three months of berating Chris Duhon and a full night of fawning over Al Harrington trade rumors, those very two Knicks co-piloted a convincing win tonight in Atlanta. Harrington dominated the first half with 25 points through the opening quarters, while Duhon was steady throughout, dropping a cool 25 and 10 in jaw-dropping, head-scratching, brain-melting fashion.

Details on those fellas and much more after the jump...

- Danilo Gallinari sat tonight because of a sore forearm. You might remember Matt Barnes decking Gallo into the Magic bench on Wednesday. Well, that apparently didn't feel too good on Danilo's shooting arm. The word is that there's no serious damage and Danilo should be back soon. In related news, I didn't commit infanticide this evening.

- The Knicks started this game down 11-0, at which point many people probably turned off their televisions. I, in fact, had yet to turn on my own. I arrived mid-way through the first, when the Knicks had nearly erased the deficit. That being the case, I feel no responsibility to go back and watch those first few minutes and rehash them for you, and I'm very happy about that.

- After all that, the Knicks actually finished the first quarter leading the Hawks 35-34. Once the Knicks started hitting, it became an old-fashioned shootout. The killer combo of Al Harrington and Chris Duhon had 28 of the Knicks 35 points in the first quarter. They each hit 3 three-pointers. I couldn't make this up.

- Harrington, overall, did his part to answer a lot of the criticism that's fallen upon him since the Tyrus Thomas rumors blew up. Al didn't suddenly become unselfish or anything, but he did manage to drain a lot of the shots we tend to scold him for taking. Al finished with 27 points on 11-17 shooting, including 4-8 from three on the night, and was nothing short of brilliant in the first half. If there's anything to buoy our demands that he be dealt, it was his stark drop-off in the second half, in which he was 1-4 by my count. Sticking with the here and now, though, Al Harrington was key in the New York victory tonight, and we thank him for that.

- Chris Duhon was something else entirely. First, let me remind everybody that Du has caught two months of grief not because he's a bad player, but because he consistently failed to flex his muscles and assert his bounty of point guard talent when it counted. At least that's how I've felt. Anyone who saw his stretch of brilliance early last season or his passionate play in training camp this September knows Chris possesses the skills to be an effective lead guard. For perhaps the first time this season, he showed that. Duhon not only ran the pick-and-roll brilliantly, he looked for his own shot both from the outside and, most importantly, at the rim. When David Lee's roll to the basket was shut off, Du would take off and glide to the rim for acrobatic lay-ins. It was a sight to be seen, and something we've been waiting on for months. Hats off to Chris Duhon, and here's hoping his newfound mojo is here to stay.

- Josh Smith got pretty frustrated with Al Harrington's savior-like play in the first half, and eventually blew his top. Smith's already got a chronic case of Meanface, but he took it to another level after a non-call and eventually got tossed by Bob Delaney. That didn't help matters for a Hawks team that just couldn't get it done on offense.

- Oh, can we all agree to call Josh Smith "The Flying Pug"? I'd really like that nickname to stick. My attempt to anoint Marvin Williams "Milk" (since he was a bad choice over Chris Paul and Deron Williams) didn't really pan out. I need at least one of my Hawks monikers to amount to something.

- That "Two Generations of Cool" thing with Frank Sinatra and Jay-Z concerts is on MSG tonight, and Walt Frazier and Kenny Albert had the following conversation in that vein:

Kenny: "Clyde, did you ever see Frank Sinatra in concert?"

Clyde: "Once, I did."

Kenny: "And how was it?"

Clyde: "Asdfasdfasdfasdf"

- The Knick defense and shot selection was superior to their previous game against Atlanta and, well, about 15 other games this season, but the Hawks also deserve recognition for failing to make shots from absolutely everywhere on the floor. They shot 4-23 as a team from downtown and I'm pretty sure I saw someone miss a tip-in from inside the basket. Sometimes the rim's got a lid.

- I don't think I'd want to play pick-up ball with David Lee. At least not in a game where you call your own fouls.

- Just to emphasize how well Duhon played tonight, I should mention that he personally generated two of Clyde's favorite rhymes. Du was both "swishing and dishing" and "driving and thriving" this evening, whereas he'd spent the first 19 games totally rhyme-free. If anything, he was "chucking and sucking" or something.

- Also, Clyde used the phrase "scoring extravaganza" twice tonight, which is exactly two more times than that phrase has been used by any other announcer in the history of color commentary.

- Shit, Clyde was on fire tonight. "Ain't that Pachulia"? That's goddamn brilliant.

- There was a fun little stretch in the third quarter during which Al Horford and Al Harrington kept going one-on-one with each other to determine who was the superior "Al H.". If I could pick one adjective to describe the showdown, it would be "mouthguard".

- We shouldn't forget Wilson Chandler in the midst of all this Harrington and Duhon hooplah. Wil put in hard work against Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams, and finished with 18 points on 8-17 shooting. He kept himself to 1-3 from downtown, and instead did a nice job attacking the rim. He even caught an alley-oop at one point, which made me feel a little like the announcers in Semi-Pro. I hadn't seen an oop in a long time.

- A monstrous 17 and 18 for David Lee. Top-notch, David.

- Larry Hughes had 10 in the fourth quarter. Marvelously done, Lawrence.

- Other than Hughes, D'Antoni kept his bench rotation typically short. Tonight, it was just Marcus Landry, who did nothing of note in 6 minutes, and Toney Douglas, who played some excellent off-the-ball D, shot 3-5 for 6 points, and pretty much did what Toney Douglas do.

In summary, I can't say I saw that coming, but I'm plenty happy with the results. Next game's Sunday against the Nets, who thankfully recorded their first win of the season tonight against the Bobcats. Consider that a bullet dodged. Everybody have a splendid night and I'll talk to y'all tomorrow.

Rumor: Knicks in the market for Tyrus Thomas?

Seth — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:21:48 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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This sort of came out of the blue, but Adrian Wojnarowski's a reputable fellow. From Yahoo Sports, Woj's most recent piece focuses on the Bulls' options to ditch Tyrus Thomas. Sure enough, the Knicks are mentioned.

Several sources believe the Bulls are agreeable to a package of Thomas and Jerome James for Knicks forward Al Harrington. Thus far, Walsh has resisted parting with Harrington, but discussions are still active and the teams have explored different combinations in recent days that would ultimately deliver Thomas to the Knicks.

"Nothing is imminent, but both sides would like to figure out a way to do this," one league executive briefed on the talks told Yahoo! Sports.

The Bulls are determined to shed more salary-cap space for the summer of 2010, and believe Harrington’s ability to score coupled with a $10.2 million expiring contract make this a worthy exchange. Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni has long been fond of Thomas, a 6-foot-9 forward whose nimbleness and athleticism makes him an intriguing fit for New York.

Forgive me for getting caught up in the fine print, but...Jerome James!?

As for the actual meat of the deal...I just don't know. Harrington's an expiring contract and Thomas is, I believe, a restricted free agent this summer. If the Knicks were to trade for him then let him walk, it could be a wash financially, though it's hard to see the logic of making such a move unless you're actually interested in keeping the incoming player. As far as actual output, Harrington's tendency to swallow the rock on offense has had P&T up in arms all season. Thomas is more athletic and capable of blocking a shot now and then, which is something we've been missing. Very interesting. Does this sparkle with all you crazy kids? Tyrus has always struck me as someone either love or hate, although I've never really felt that strongly one way or the other about him.

In closing...Jerome James!?

Update: I forgot to mention that Thomas is a few weeks away from returning from a fractured arm. Also, adding two more players with last names that end in "S" might make me rip the apostrophe key off my computer.