SB Nation - Stephen Curry

RECAP: Warriors 102, Hornets 108 – Good Effort

Fantasy Junkie — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:21:13 -0000

Beaten by 7 year olds. Sigh, it's been a long season

Final Boxscore | Open Thread (550+ comments) | Warriors Web Links

The Warriors almost won. Does that count for something? This is loss number 21, 7th in a row, 11th in the last 12 games with the one win coming against the Nets. So here's what we've established - the Warriors are better than the Nets and Timberwolves. Like I wrote in the preview, this is looking like the 1999 19 win season.

But wait! If you think the losing is bad now, close your eyes, the next opponents are Phoenix (18-11), Boston (22-5), @Lakers (23-4), @Portland (19-12), and then @Denver (20-9). Are any of those 5 teams going to slip up and lose to the Warriors? I don't think so. So we're looking at 12 straight losses. The game after Denver is @Minnesota. That's the best chance the Warriors have of winning but it's on the back end of a back to back and the very last game of a 5 game road trip. Won't be easy. I'm sure Minnesota is looking forward to that game as well since it's just one of very few they have a shot at winning.

If you think it's ugly now, just wait. You ain't seen nothing yet.

Why does David West look like he's smiling?

Tonight's game saw the beginning of what will hopefully be some more minutes for Anthony Randolph. 36 whopping minutes! And he rewarded the team with 8 blocks, 6 of them in the first quarter. Glad to see him being more active in the paint. It's about time! He still had a poor shooting game (5-14) which is nothing new, but at least he was active in the paint. If he keeps that up and works on not shooting the ball outside of 5 feet, he'll get back to the success he had at the end of last year. Keep playing the young guy Nellie!

I think tonight's loss really exemplifies how badly injuries are hurting the Warriors this year. The Warriors got essentially nothing from the bench tonight while the Hornets played 11 guys, all 5 starters scored in double digits, and 3 of the 6 bench guys had 8 points. Distributed scoring, distributed minutes. Only David West and Chris Paul played more than 30 minutes.

Hornets bench = 90 minutes, 40 points
Warriors "bench" = 34 minutes, 11 points

Then you look at our bench.

Vladimir Radmanovic may well have not even played. 10 minutes, 1 point, 1 rebound, -19 plus/minus. If not for being one of a few healthy bodies, he'd most likely be getting DNP-CD's.

The other bench player, Anthony Morrow, had 10 points and 3 boards in 24 minutes. On a tangent, I'm glad to see Morrow is producing something again. Maybe not at the pace he was before, but in the games after he had to attend the funeral, he did not play well. These last 2 games we've seen him score in double digits and shoot 4-9 from the field. Is he back to where he was before? No, but at least it looks like he's getting his mind right again. The Warriors need him back.

Chris Hunter, DNP-CD.

The Warriors just aren't going to win many games, especially on the back end of a back to back, without quality minutes from the bench. Monta cannot play 48 minutes, Curry cannot play 47 minutes, and CJ should not play 37 minutes. That's just too much. But there's really no other choice if Vlad and Morrow don't start stepping it up.

Nellie resorted to the macarena and some sexy belly dancing to distract the Hornets.

When will Biedrins and Turiaf get back? This team will continue to get murdered on the glass until some more big bodies can get in the game. The Hornets had 14 more rebounds. Okafor had 9 offensive rebounds which helped the Hornets net 12 more shots than the Warriors. That was a big difference right there. Those extra shots kept the Hornets' possessions alive allowing them continual second and third chance points.

Speaking of rebounding though, I have to give props to Corey Maggette and Stephen Curry. They both had 10 rebounds. If not for their efforts on the boards, that rebounding differential would have been even worse and the Warriors would have had no shot at winning. Curry even had 7 assists and 17 points for a near triple double while Maggette chipped in with 22 points on 8-12 shooting.

Julian forgot this is basketball, not football. You don't need to tackle.

The starters played quite well tonight and just ran out of gas tonight. The Hornets didn't blow the Warriors away in any one quarter, they just beat them by a little each quarter. Overall, it was a good effort, the Warriors just don't have enough healthy bodies to win a game against a better team.

Monta Ellis. Kept the Warriors in the game with his high percentage scoring - 35 points on 15-26 shooting. The 5 assists and 4 steals are a nice bonus. But all these nice games are coming in losses. When are we going to win?

Q&A: Marcus Thompson - Contra Costa Times / InsideBayArea.com (Part 3 of 3)- Monta Ellis/ Stephen Curry backcourt, John Wall, All-2k Golden State Warriors Starting 5

Atma Brother ONE — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:30:14 -0000

Part 1: Warriors bright spots, the next to be traded, Robert Rowell and basketball decisions

Part 2: Don Nelson's media downfall, Chris Mullin as a front office hire, Chris Cohan's closeness to selling the Golden State Warriors

[Inside the Warriors]

Jump for MT's thoughts on the Monta Ellis/ Stephen Curry backcourt combo, what the Warriors would do if they landed John Wall in the 2010 NBA Draft, and his All-2k Golden State Warriors starting 5.

Golden State of Mind: Early on Monta Ellis didn't seem to be the biggest fan of the Stephen Curry draft pick or playing alongside him. Do you think that has changed? Do GM Larry Riley and head coach Don Nelson think the two can be the starting backcourt of a winning team? Who will be the first to go if they don't think they can work together?

Marcus Thompson: In my heart of hearts, I still don't think Ellis is a fan of them two as a backcourt tandem. I think he has gained some respect for Curry. At first, I'm sure he looked at him as some over-hyped rookie who was a ways away. But I've had some private conversations with players on the team and they seem to think that Curry has earned some respect from Ellis. Definitely, that Dallas game had a lot to do with that. But I still think Ellis knows those two, as a backcourt, present serious issues. I think Riley and Nellie think the two can work, but even they know it would require some serious make-up to cover up their deficiencies. The interesting part is that the reason people thought it couldn't work was that Ellis couldn't defend two guards. Up until this season, the theory was that he needed to play with a big point guard, like Baron Davis, who could defend shooting guards because Ellis was too small. But Ellis is showing he can at least be competitive on that end even when he is outsized. He certainly has his defensive flaws still - gambles a bit much sometimes, vulnerable to post-ups, still could get better at stopping penetration - but he's proving he's not the liability he once was. That has switched to Curry, who is having a really difficult time defending the point guard position. He's finding himself in foul trouble a lot and though he and the coaching staff thinks he's improving on defense, he's got a ways to go before that backcourt tandem can be competitive defensively. What Nellie and Riley see that give them confidence in the backcourt, besides Ellis becoming a beast, is that Curry is extremely coachable, he works hard and he's got some basketball IQ to lean on. If he develops like they think, the two would be a pretty formidable offensive backcourt, then they can get a SF (or use Azubuike) to be a defensive stopper as a SF, kind of like how they used Jackson. IF Curry gets better at defending point guards without fouling. IF he becomes reliably productive on offense. There was a time that Curry was untouchable and the Warriors were listening to offers from Ellis. I wouldn't be surprised if that's switched. I don't think it has. They still love Curry. But Ellis might be moving into untouchable status - not just because of his scoring, but because of the way he's bought in to leadership and defense, etc. Whether they keep both of them depends on who they can put with them. If they can get a beast PF, and get the centers healthy (they can cover up some of the defensive liabilities of a Curry/Ellis backcourt), they might be able to make it work. Don't forget about Raja Bell, though. He's the x-factor in this situation. I think if he comes back to the Warriors next season, he could end up starting next to Ellis or being the defensive stopper at SF - especially if they get a beast at PF.

Golden State of Mind: Let's fast forward and pretend the Golden State Warriors win the 2010 NBA Lottery and have a shot at Kentucky Wildcats point guard phenom John Wall and still have Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. What do you think the Warriors would do?

Marcus Thompson: For the record, I have no idea. Just playing along here. I think option No. 1 would be to trade the pick. Wall will be a commodity and they would certainly get some good offers. Imagine if you put Wall and Wright together, or Wall and Randolph even, and make a team take Maggette, too. What could you land? They might be able to get a difference maker at PF or SF. It would have to be a no-brainer though. If they don't do that, I think they let Curry and Wall duke it out for the right to play next to Ellis. The loser is on the trading block. Considering C.J. Watson would probably be gone, they would need a third PG. So I could see them drafting Wall and seeing who is best next to Ellis. Again, just me hypothesizing.

Golden State of Mind: We're nearing the end of the decade. What's your All-2k Golden State Warriors starting 5?

Marcus Thompson: That is an excellent question! I might have to bite this. I gotta first give some qualifiers that I assume are implied. So, first off, I'm basing my picks on what players have done WITH THE WARRIORS. So you won't see Gilbert Arenas. I am also picking based on what they HAVE DONE not based on what I project they will do, so you won't see Anthony Randolph. Also, I am including the 1999-00 season since part of it was in this decade.

*PG Baron Davis: This is easy. He was probably the most talented of any player to come through the franchise in the last decade, and he certainly accomplished the most in leading the Warriors to the 2007 playoff upset of Dallas. No question he was the best PG.

*SG Jason Richardson: I am so tempted to put Monta Ellis here. I give Jason Richardson the nod because of what he meant to the franchise on and off the court, because he performed better in the postseason. Game 3 in the first round alone gets him the nod.

*SF Stephen Jackson: Could've went a few different ways here. Maybe you could go with a third guard - such as Arenas or Ellis. But I am thinking about putting the best team together, and that three small guards stuff doesn't win. Jackson was an integral figure in the two best seasons during the decade. His defense on Dirk Nowitzki, and his shot-making, was vital in the upset of Dallas. So even though he was with the Warriors for less than two full seasons, and even though his departure was bitter, if you're trying to put a winning team together for the Warriors off the last 10 years, he's on it. I think having help around him tames him enough to where he's not doing too much on the court.

*PF Antawn Jamison: As far as numbers go, few Warriors had better. In four years during the decade, he averaged 21.9 points and 7.6 rebounds. What would the Warriors give for that kind of production at PF right now? Certainly, he got those numbers on bad teams, and he was always overshadowed by his contract. But he gives the Warriors a fourth 20-point scorer, which would make them super potent on offense. And he rebounded well from his position. Plus he was a model player off the court.

*C Andris Biedrins: I was torn between Biedrins, Troy Murphy and Adonal Foyle. But based on who I have at the other four positions, I just think Andris is the better fit. You need someone who can defend, rebound, run the floor and finish. I like Murphy as a center in an uptempo offense because of his ability to stretch the floor and he rebounds. Plus, though he's not that fast, he makes a good option for the 3 on that secondary break. And he's the best post-player of the three, I think. But he's at his best when he's making shots, and with the other four guys, the Warriors need someone on the floor who can make an impact without making shots, some who doesn't need the rock and can just do the dirty work. Biedrins does that, and he is a better shot blocker than Murphy. So that leaves Biedrins and Foyle. Foyle fits the mold and is a better man-to-man defender, especially against bigger centers. But Biedrins gets the nod because he rebounds better and runs the floor better. This team will unquestionably be an offense-based squad. Since neither is a defensive player of the year candidate, I'd prefer the guy who has D and some O instead of someone with just D.

**********

All of us at GSoM wanted to thank Marcus for fielding our questions and his continue support. Make sure to make his blog Inside the Warriors a regular destination in your web browser.

Trust me you haven't heard the last of the All 2k Warriors awards around these parts...

Briefing: There's no place like your old home

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

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Browse more photos »

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?

RUMOR: New York Knicks and Houston Rockets interested in Golden State Warriors forward Anthony Randolph

Atma Brother ONE — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:15:26 -0000

Funky Slam

via www.slamonline.com

Everyone on the current Golden State Warriors roster should be on the table in a trade. As of writing this team has the 4th worst record in the entire NBA.

There's only 1 way to go.

UP.

So JUMP!

CSN Bay Area: Anthony Randolph's Agent Bill Duffy talks with Scott Reiss about the recent trade rumor.

From Chris Broussard's Agent: Randolph not against trade piece over at ESPN.com:

Sources within the Warriors organization and around the league say the 6-foot-10 forward is available, but they said he is not being shopped.

"They're not trying to unload the guy," one Western Conference executive said. "But they are disappointed in him, so now they're willing to listen to other teams. Whereas before the season, their thinking was that he was untouchable and they wouldn't even listen."

Executives mentioned New York and Houston as clubs that have interest in Randolph, but he will not be easy to move because of the great disparity between his small salary ($1.8 million) and his perceived upside. The most likely trade scenario would include Randolph as part of a larger deal that featured a more accomplished player.

"I don't know that Randolph's stock has dropped around the league," the executive said. "He's a great talent; he just hasn't done much yet. So he's more of a sweetener that could get another deal done if you threw him in."

I'd like to see Randolph stay here and blossom, but I honestly can't tell whether that's ever going to happen. Is he a future superstar or even star? Or is he going to be some much wasted talent a la Stromile Swift? I really can't tell. What I do know:

In terms of desire Randolph seems like he's got it. This isn't Erick Dampier we're talking about.
In terms of athletic ability and talent AR's got it. He's got the height and raw skill.
Key word being raw. AR is extremely raw. His knowledge of the game and fundamentals save for a few bright moments need a lot of work- a LOT.
He doesn't seem all that coachable for a young player. In this regard, Stephen Curry he is not.
Aside from the mental part of the game all of his hoops flaws seem to come down to having a weak core and terrible footwork. DJ Fuzzy Logic and I can never get over how often and how easily he falls and slips on the ground. His footwork is pretty horrendous as well. Both of these are solvable, but will he put in the time and effort to solve them?
Unfortunately Randolph seems to think he's already arrived and deserves veteran privieges like playing time and the benefit of the doubt.
Neither Don Nelson nor Keith Smart seem to be ready to just give him consistent minutes regardless of his play. Who you want to blame for that or how you read it is your call.

What I don't know:

what the Knicks have to offer that would be worthwhile in a trade (see Posting and Toasting)
what the Rockets have to offer that would be worthwhile in a trade (see The Dream Shake)

GSoM Throwback:

99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!

Poll

Would you be upset if the Warriors traded Anthony Randolph and didn't get an established All-Star in return?

Recap: Spurs 103, Warriors 91- Oh the humanity

jae — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:21:37 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Monta Ellis frames Spurs' center Tim Duncan's head for a photo shoot while Bad Vlad Radmanovic trys to help keep the ball out of the way. Thanks Vlad! (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Browse more photos »

Originally posted Dec 17, 2009 12:21 AM PST

Spurs vs Warriors coverage | Spurs vs Warriors boxscore | Spurs vs Warriors recap

Preview/ Game Thread: I Love GSoM + Dysfunction Junction (1050+ comments)

Warriors Web Links: Nellie's back, Moore's out

I had not heard that Mikki Moore was injured until well after the game, so it came as something of a surprise that he was not in the starting lineup. He wasn't at the shoot-around either. Was this it? Had a big deal gone down where he and the rest of the expiring contracts had been packaged for something resembling the foundation of a basketball team? Sadly, no.

Moore's absence simply meant that someone else would have to pick up the slack of being on the court for a quarter and a half without accomplishing a thing. And try as they might, the rest of the team found out that such was no easy task. That level of inconspicuous nothing takes more than most of this rag-tag crew had in them.

Vladimir Radmanovic, who pretended to be a big man for much of the game, tried, but in his time on the court, Vlad simply missed too many shots. To accomplish nothing one must find quieter means of futility. Miss one or two and you can be forgotten, but fire up miss after miss like he did and you're likely to stand out.

Stephen Curry's noble attempt also failed to capture the essence of Moore, as (and I'm operating off of memory since I've yet to check a box score) his 458 fouls (plus or minus a few) attract too much attention.

And while eyes are still on Anthony Randolph, he's unlikely to fill out as many empty, unnoticed minutes. He should still try to take most of his shots no more than an arm's length from the rim. With even fewer big men to compete for playing time with, Randolph appeared to settle for jumpers above the key. If he took a shot in the paint, it was while I was distracted by the guys behind me making up stories about golf. ("So, you know Mike is a real good golfer I'd heard, but he hasn't been playing in years. Still he went out and shot a... [pause to make up a number that's not so low as to be unbelievable, but not so high as to possibly not sound impressive enough] ...a 73 [nailed it!] on a course in Phoenix on our last business trip there. Apparently, Mike played at Dook [where they have their own course, and it's real hard to make the team there. The only way to make the team is to shoot 7 under par or better for 3 rounds in 3 days, while also dragging a Volkswagen around the course using only your teeth or some other ridiculous rite of passage suggesting that in most years they'd never actually field a full squad]. So you know he's gotta have a whole lot of talent!") Anthony does have a real nice stroke from the right elbow though. He's deadly there. Unfortunately, from the *left* elbow and more or less anywhere else on the court, he may as well just hand the ball over to the opposition. It's not going in and we're not getting a rebound.

No, if there was a Warrior Wonder as in "I wonder where he was because I didn't seem to notice him at all tonight" it goes to Anthony Morrow. I didn't remember him doing anything in the second half, and wondered why, when we could have used the shooters to try to stay in the game, he wasn't playing more. That was until my friend in the seat next to me pointed out that he was actually in the game, and had been for much of the second half.

It's tough to really call this a team right now. It's more of an entourage where all the members just happen to be Turtle. Monta certainly shined above the rest. The ball seemed to find his hands in the right place and he seemed to be moving just that much faster and that much more smoothly than anyone nearby him (which was good when that guy is a Spur, but not so good when that guy is a Warrior). All critique of his ball-hogged ways that have been too frequent of late, tonight, *just watching him play*, it's clear that he can do quite a bit of good on the court and remains one reason to watch. He may not be an "all-star" and as a centerpiece of a winning team, he may always be lacking in some important regard, but he's also capable of dazzling grace on the court. We can lose games without him, but we'd miss out on some true on-court poetry in the process.

The Spurs made it interesting. They aren't particularly exciting and the Warriors led at halftime, but they just played with a quiet confidence where you knew that inevitably, they'd be around when the third quarter collapse hit. It did. They were. Even knowing that you are watching a certain future Hall of Famer in Duncan, his hand heavy with championship rings really doesn't spice up the methodical Spurs. If there's a player who actually caught my attention, it was DeJuan Blair. If he's "undersized" he sure doesn't look it in terms of his presence on the court. Maybe his head is a few inches below that of a "legitimate NBA bigman" but his presence is no shorter. When there's a shot off the rim to pull down, he looks like he's about 8 feet tall. And sure, his knees are held together with duct-tape and zip-ties and looking at him you get the impression that he's bound to be corpulent sooner or later, at which point he may no longer be fit for NBA duty. But until then, he's there where he needs to be, looking huge and doing what needs to be done.

Other observation: there are a whole lot of fans in jerseys of players who now play elsewhere around the association. Particularly cute was the couple sporting the (his) Jackson and (her) Richardson models walking hand in hand out of the arena after the game. Unlike about 60% of the attendees, they stayed 'til the bitter end.

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).

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:

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

No Rip in the Chemistry: Pistons 104, Warriors 95

Packey — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:00:17 -0000

More photos » by Allen Einstein - NBAE/Getty Images

This was a friendly face to see warming up before the Warriors game. (Photo by Allen Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Browse more photos »

Last night marked Richard Hamilton's first action since the opening game of the season. After 21 games without the Pistons scoring machine and hearing originally he was not expected to return this month, it was a pleasant surprise to read about an hour before tip-off that he would be suiting up and playing against the Warriors.

Once I got past the general excitement about having Rip back in the lineup (and that I'd get to see it live at The Palace), I wondered how it would affect the team as a unit. After all, the Pistons have been rolling lately, winning four in a row and averaging 98.5 points in those four games. While his return to the lineup was certainly welcome, it wasn't at the most convenient time.

Luckily, Rip slipped back into the lineup seamlessly and the Pistons didn't miss a beat en route to their fifth straight victory of the season (and commenter Madpoopz Openwindow noticed this mid-game, as well). In the Pistons victory, Hamilton played a little over 36 minutes, dropped 18 points on 6-15 shooting, and was the Pistons leader in plus/minus at plus-17.

Rip's return wasn't all peachy, though. He was visibly rusty to start the game, as his ball handling was shaky (three turnovers), some shots were way off the mark, and he even missed his first two free throws, despite boasting a career 85% mark. I guess that can be attributed to him not being involved in any competitive practices since before the injury.

Once he got accustomed to actually playing basketball again, the ol' Rip started to show up down the stretch. He began knocking down the shots he was missing early on and his three-pointer with a little less than five minutes remaining in the 4th to put the Pistons up five was arguably the turning point in how this one would end for Detroit. Golden State didn't get closer than five the rest of the game and Rip extended the lead to seven the next time down the floor for the Pistons.

The best news, aside from his return itself and the Pistons winning, was that his return did not seem to have any ripple effect on Rodney Stuckey. Stuckey, who has been playing great basketball over the past six games in the two spot, moved back to the one to accommodate Hamilton's return to shooting guard. Stuckey responded by playing the best game of his latest hot streak, scoring 29 points on 10-18 shooting, dishing out seven dimes, and being plus-11 when on the floor. His only flaws were the seven turnovers (a few which were not his fault). I know this was just one game, but it's getting more and more clear that he's simply improving and his rise in numbers during his starts at the two spot were merely coincidental. In October, Stuckey averaged just 15 points per game. He upped that to 18 PPG in November and is now pouring in nearly 23 PPG in December.

All in all, it was a great night for the Pistons. They saw the return of one of the franchise's all-time leading scorers (Rip hit the 10,000 point mark to join just six others in Pistons history) and the rest of the Pistons took it in stride. There is no refuting that this team is better with Hamilton playing. As Chauncey Billups said about his former team the other night, the Pistons are a team nobody will want to face in the playoffs given all their weapons. If you had fun watching last night's game, just wait until the Pistons get their other three players back.

More musings after the jump.

I wanted to work this in above the jump, but oh well. Richard Hamilton's wife deserves high fives from all Pistons fans, as she was the one who ultimately convinced Rip to say "Yessirrr, I'll play" to Coach Kuester before the game.

At shootaround (Saturday) I told (Kuester) I wouldn’t be able to go because it wasn’t feeling right," Hamilton said. "I went home and talked to my wife and the one thing she told me was pretty much, ‘Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Go out there play. Go out there and give it a try. You never know how you’re going to feel till you go out there and try to play.

(H/T Pistons Point)

Charlie Villanueva, the other masked man on the roster, had 24 points on 9-14 shooting and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. He also threw down a sick one-handed alley oop, which he pimped gloriously.

Ben Wallace continues to be Ben Wallace. Nine rebounds, two blocks (one that put Stephen Curry to shame), and two steals. Try to imagine this team without him -- they wouldn't be very good. Interesting read over at Wages of Wins about just how bad the Pistons would be without him. (H/T to MLIVE)

Chucky continues to provide strong minutes, despite not having the prettiest lines in the box score (or shots in the games). He brings gritty defense and leadership that doesn't really translate to the post-game offerings. However, he did have six assists last night. I feel bad that he'll essentially be without a job once Bynum and Gordon return.

Austin Daye saw a little over 11 minutes of action. He was matched up with the 6'3" Stephen Curry for most of those minutes and I was hoping the Pistons would let him exploit the height advantage, as he did on his only bucket, but they didn't. Daye played Curry in college when my alma mater, Davidson, defeated Daye's Gonzaga squad in the first round of the 2008 NCAA tournament. I was happy Steph had 19 points tonight, but I obviously, can't root against my beloved Pistons. I'm glad Daye was on the right side of things tonight.

Pistons will now head out west again for three games before returning to The Palace to face the Lakers next Sunday. This isn't the same string of difficult games they faced following their three game win streak in November, but it might create problems all the same. Let's hope Detroit can pack the energy they've displayed lately in their carry on bags.

Apologies for not linking the opposition in the game thread. Golden State of Mind has their take on the game here.

Slightly off-topic: Thanks are in order to Madpoopz and Openwindow for keeping the game thread on life support last night. SB Nation's platform is great for commenting and mingling with fellow fans, as they pointed out last night. More fans will realize this soon, but thanks you two for being leaders in trying to get this community growing at a faster rate than any other new-ish blog.

Box score

Highlights:

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

Browse more photos »

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.

SB Nation - Stephen Curry

RECAP: Warriors 102, Hornets 108 – Good Effort

Q&A: Marcus Thompson - Contra Costa Times / InsideBayArea.com (Part 3 of 3)- Monta Ellis/ Stephen Curry backcourt, John Wall, All-2k Golden State Warriors Starting 5

Briefing: There's no place like your old home

Best of Twitterville

RUMOR: New York Knicks and Houston Rockets interested in Golden State Warriors forward Anthony Randolph

Would you be upset if the Warriors traded Anthony Randolph and didn't get an established All-Star in return?

Recap: Spurs 103, Warriors 91- Oh the humanity

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

Coach

Keys To The Game

Strength of Schedule

Last Time They Met

Some Other Reading

Warriors

Spurs

Twitter Musings

Where to Tune In

TV

Online

Radio

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

The brightest spot so far this year has been:

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

No Rip in the Chemistry: Pistons 104, Warriors 95

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