SB Nation - Golden State Warriors

The 19.512195122 Report

Mike Lisboa — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:06:45 -0000

Get out your flags, people, it time for the wacky percentage report! (Photo by Max Simbron)

Hey, we're 16 games into the season, which means it's time for our not quite 20% check-in. Again, I'm reserving a lot of make or break judgment until we're at Gentry's suggested 25-game mark for evaulating the team (Hint: we might make kind of a big deal about that around here.). For now though, here's the good, the bad and the ugly of your Phoenix Suns. (NOTE: All stats pulled from ESPN.com and HoopsData.com.)

I'm starting with the ugliest point so we can move on to happier things: the Suns' defense is terrible. Some numbers: 21st in defensive efficiency, 26th in points per game, 22nd in opponents' eFG% (a stat that combines and weights 2 and 3 point shot percentage), and 20th in opponents' turnovers. Contrary to popular belief, this Suns squad is not playing anything remotely approaching good defense.
So how on earth are they blowing teams out of the water? By playing ridiculously good offense. They are quite simply out-shooting their opponents. Some more numbers: 1st in offensive efficiency, 1st in points per game,and 1st in eFG%. In other words, the Suns' offense has been so good it hasn't mattered how bad their defense has been.
Redefining defense? In light of this, it may be possible to say the Suns have played defense "good enough" to keep getting wins. However, at some point, the Suns will get slowed down (see the Lakers and Magic games) and they will have to play some tight defense. They haven't shown they can do that yet.
The Suns' are about to get thrown in the deep end of the pool. After playing the 25th 5th easiest schedule (.450 winning percentage of teams faced) in the NBA, December brings the Suns the following games consecutively: @ Cavaliers, vs. Kings, @ Lakers, @ Mavericks, vs. Magic, @ Nuggets, vs. Spurs, @ Blazers. That's a collective .678 winning percentage.
Also in December and not listed above are additional engagements with the Cavs, the Lakers and the Celtics. Strap on your seatbelts, Suns fans, the weather isn't the only thing that's going to get rough this winter.
One more degree of scheduling difficulty: @Cleveland, @Lakers, @Nuggets... all on the 2nd night of back-to-backs involving travel.
That said, remember: 25th 5th easiest schedule in the NBA so far. So, no complaining about a scheduling bias, please.
Some good news: The Suns are sitting at 13-3 despite playing the most away games (tied with the Nets and Raptors) and 2nd fewest home games (tied with the Warriors and Bulls Wizards and Nets) in the Association. That's impressive despite their relatively weak competition so far.

The Great Facilitator: Steve Nash not only leads the NBA in assists per game, he is currently averaging a career high (11.8 apg). At age 35.

The old guys are getting some rest: thus far, Grant Hill's minutes per game are his lowest ever with the exception of his injury-shortened 02-03 and 05-06 campaigns in Orlando. Steve Nash? You have to go back a decade to his 2nd season in Dallas (1999-2000) to find the last time his mpg were this low...

...so it should come as no surprise that Goran Dragic, Lou Amundson and Jared Dudley are averaging career highs in minutes per game.

Speaking of Dragic, the kid continues to play solid minutes for the Suns. I still don't see him as a starter, but he's earning his stripes as a back-up, showing more and more moxie and not letting opposing teams rattle him. I'd like to see his assist numbers closer to 4 per game. We know he can get his shot off at this point. Now can Alvin hand him the keys to the car?
Despite his auspicious offensive performance against Minnesota (6-6 FG, 14 pts.), I don't think we're going to see a drastic increase in "quality" minutes for Earl Clark. Despite his considerable on-ball skills, he tends to get lost on defensive rotations and switches.
Robin Lopez sure made a heck of an impact in his first game of the season, didn't he? I like the improved offensive game, but he's still kind of a spaz on defense. It's nice that he's making shots, but he needs to work on not biting on ball fakes and picking up unnecessary fouls (4 in 15 minutes of action).
More on Robin: At least Friday night's performance was a far cry from the last time I saw him in game action: getting positively outworked and outplayed by Hasheem Thabeet in Summer League.
More on the offensive prowess of the Suns: 6 players from the Suns are averaging double figures and Jared Dudley is threatening to be a 7th with 9.3 points per game. Of those 6, 5 have gone for at least 20 in at least one game and a couple have gone for 30. That, ladies and gentlemen, is called forcing opponents to pick their poison.
The Suns now officially join Boston as having a "Big 3" at the offensive end of things. Jason Richardson has turned out to be the perfect complement to, if not initiator of, the Suns offense. The Suns are 7-0 in games in which he goes for 20 or more points. Please remember that when cooking up trade scenarios involving his "fat" contract.
More on Jason Richardson: After a rough 2008-2009 campaign on defense, J-Rich seems to have stepped up his game. He might be the Suns most reliable starting on-ball defender and hasn't been burned too many times on his help defense either. 16 games in to a season marked by consistent leadership from the bench (and on the court for that matter), it's a lot easier to why the Suns traded for him last year.
Grant Hill is old. This is hardly news, but I think there's a reason we're seeing lots of Jared Dudley at the ends of games and it's not just because of JD's effort and hustle. Kudos to Alvin Gentry and the Suns' staff for finding a rotation that maximizes what's left of Hill's considerable talent while minimizing his exposure to the grind of NBA action so far this year.
Suns up by 30 for most of the second half in Minnesota and Tucker doesn't see a minute? O! Alando, we hardly knew ye!

Back to the schedule. Here's what I wrote waaaaay back in August when the schedule came out:

December 6, @ Lakers; December 8, @ Dallas; Dec. 11, vs. Orlando (ESPN); Dec. 12, @ Denver; Dec. 15, vs. San Antonio; Dec. 17, @ Portland (TNT) - Another unkind stretch of schedule. Again the Suns face the 2 NBA Finalists in less than a week. Oh and the other teams in this stretch aren't exactly slouches either. It also marks the first time the Purple Gang will match up against the Matrix Reloaded version of the Dallas Mavericks and the ridiculously stacked nouveau Spurs. Which one of these games do you realistically see the Suns winning? Maybe Portland. If they can keep Brandon Roy to under 45 points that is.

I'd like to revise that statement to hope for something around or better than the .500 mark for this stretch. The Suns have to be in order to maintain any credibility or hopes of a top 4 playoff seed.
Career year: Channing Frye is averaging career highs in 3-point %, minutes per game, points per game, steals per game and blocks per game. He is .2 rebounds per game shy of a career high in that department as well.
Leandro Barbosa is not averaging career lows in all those departments; it only feels like it. OK, LB doesn't deserve that, but is it just me or are his contributions feeling kind of... invisible? To be clear: I understand he's at or near his career averages in most categories. It just seems like those numbers are having less of an impact, probably due to the fact that the Suns have 3 other players they can bring off the bench for the first time in the Leandro Era.
And, in closing: Best. Record. In. The. NBA. Enjoy it while you can.

Have at it in the comments, y'all.

Emerging Memphis Star Brittany Carter Drops 49 Against Sacramento State in Husky Classic Win

Q McCall — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:00:28 -0000

University of Memphis sophomore guard Brittany Carter is not exactly the type of brash or ostentatious personality that we may have come to expect from talented basketball players these days.

Her high school coach Tiffany Johnson once commented, "Brittany works hard and she’s a good kid. She’s not as vocal as I would like but she does a good job of leading by example." Memphis coach Melissa McFerrin echoed Johnson's sentiment, describing Carter as a "great young kid". Meeting her lends credence to Johnson's assertion that "she's not as vocal as I would like" as she almost exudes an unassuming and reserved demeanor upon first meeting her.

So maybe it’s just her personality or perhaps she was simply exhausted from all the post-game attention, but it was hardly evident that she had just scored 49 points in a 98-83 victory over Sacramento State University on Black Friday. She was so composed that it almost made shattering records seem routine.

"I was just trying to be aggressive," said Carter matter-of-factly. "When I’m aggressive that’s when I’m at my best and I know that’s what I need to do for my team so I just wanted to get the win and I’m so happy I got 49 points."

If her performance against Sacramento State is what happens when she "tries to be aggressive", then she might end up monopolizing the space in the Memphis record books.

In addition to her 49 points on 16-28 shooting (57.14%) and 15-20 free throw shooting, she added a game-high 11 rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Although her rebounds, field goals made, and free throws made and attempted were all personal bests, the 49 points undoubtedly made the biggest mark on history, both in Memphis and Seattle.

Brittany Carter Scores School-Record 49 in 98-83 Win Friday - MEMPHIS OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
The win is the third straight for the Tigers and bumps them to 3-2 on the season. Carter's 49 points broke Tamika Whitmore's school record of 45 points against Arkansas State on Mar. 17th, 1999.

"I never imagined breaking (Tamika Whitmore)'s record. I hadn't even thought of it," Carter said. "I'm excited, I'm more excited we got the win," Carter said. "I had a lot of help from my teammates, (LaToya) was making plays, Alex hit those threes...it was a team effort, it was fun playing with them and this is exactly how I like to play. My uncle and my mom flew in from Atlanta. It's exciting to have them here to see me play. "

Washington women dominate Eastern Washington with defense | Seattle Times Newspaper
Memphis sophomore guard Brittany Carter scored 49 points, setting a Tigers women's basketball record and the mark for most points scored by a woman at Edmundson Pavilion. The previous record was 43 by former Husky Giuliana Mendiola in 2003. Former Washington player Megan Franza held the previous high for points scored in a Husky Classic game — 35 in 1999.

"She was amazing," said McFerrin. "And I’ll tell you, Brittany has been a little inconsistent for us this year. Amazingly, yesterday in practice, I talked to Brittany after practice about how her focus wasn’t there and her aggression level wasn’t there and that we needed her to be a good player every day.

"And I just told her that – that’s why I love coaching Brittany Carter because she’s not defensive, she takes your words to heart, she internalizes them, and she comes back and fixes ‘em. And wow just what an amazing effort. What an amazing effort."

Her obvious talent level combined with her willingness to respond to feedback is resulting in rapid improvement that might indeed make record setting routine. After first earning a place in Memphis’ record books with a game winning jumper that gave her 30 points against Missouri -- tied for 10th all-time among Memphis sophomores (Tamika Butler at Austin Peay, 12/3/03) – it appears as though Carter is rapidly becoming the type of player with the ability take over a game consistently.

However, similar to her unassuming post-game demeanor, Carter’s ability to score points within the flow of the game without much flair or outward display of emotion made her 49 point performance seem so natural that it was almost mundane.

A versatile offensive player

After smoothly blowing by Sacramento State defenders for a coast to coast layup, one of the guys on press row looked up at the jumbotron and said, "Whoa – Carter has 40?"

It’s not necessarily that someone casually watching the game could miss Carter’s presence on the court, but how she scored almost became more impressive than how much she scored, making the exact number of points seem immaterial.

Carter’s athleticism and wiry strength immediately stands out as she slashes through the defense to get to the rim. Whether it be in the open floor in transition or within the flow of a half court set, she is not afraid of taking contact and getting by opponents as she gets herself to the rim for an easy layup or to the free throw line.

Not to be locked into the mold of "one-dimensional slasher", Carter demonstrated a versatile offensive skill set that demands attention from the defense. Although one of her noted weaknesses coming out of high school was a suspect perimeter shot, she is developing range on her shot as evidenced by her 2-5 shooting from the three point line. With just over eight minutes left, she showed off her mid-range game by lulling Sacramento State forward Kylie Kuhns to sleep before hitting a step-back jumper from the right wing.

Perhaps most importantly, Carter shot 57% from the field and hit 15 free throws -- this was not a performance where a player eventually meandered their way to fifty as the result of a barrage of threes or recklessly shooting the ball and hurting her team.

The performance could be summarized by saying that she was aggressive, but controlled and decisive.

"Her aggression level was just so high," said McFerrin. "She caught the basketball and there was no doubt in her mind that she was gonna go get a shot and she typically got a very good shot."

Yet as a sophomore, Carter is focused on development

Marlon W. Morgan of the Memphis Commercial Appeal described two weeks prior to this breakout performance that McFerrin wanted to Carter to work on creating scoring opportunities for others while Carter is intent on stepping up her game defensively as well.

Brittany Carter looks to set example on 'D' for Tigers"

McFerrin called Carter an amazing physical athlete with great explosiveness. She can not only finish at the rim, but is a capable 3-point shooter as well. And because teams will soon be gearing their defenses to stop Carter, McFerrin expects her to be able to set up her teammates for easy baskets.

"We've got to rely on her to create some shots for other people," McFerrin said. "It's going to take a little bit of time. She's been out of the game for 18 months. But she's anxious for that role and she's more than capable in that role."

Because of the Tigers youth, Carter has already emerged as one of the team's leaders. While sitting on the bench last season, it was then that she realized she needed to step up her game defensively.

Although she only had two assists against Sacramento State, her 11 rebounds – 5 offensive – shows the many ways that her athleticism can be valuable to the Tigers.

"I was very impressed with was her rebounding and it’s what we talked about – when she loses her focus, she loses her aggression and she loses her rebounding," said McFerrin. "But that was not the case this evening. She was stellar."

Unlimited potential with more consistency and focus

University of Georgia head coach Andy Landers once compared Carter to former Lady Bulldog and 2006 WNBA Finals MVP Deanna Nolan, another seemingly unflappable, athletic, 5’9" guard.

Brittany Carter Rounds Out Lady Dogs' Recruiting Class - Official Athletics Site of the University of Georgia Bulldogs
"Brittany is incredibly athletic," Landers said. "She’s someone with a great passion for the game and someone who really wants to be as good as she can be. She has (Deanna) Nolan-like athleticism."

Nolan is a former Lady Bulldog who was MVP of the 2006 WNBA Finals while leading the Detroit Shock to their second title in four seasons. Carter is a two-year starter at Newton County, transferring there after playing at Redan as a freshman.

"She’s one of the most athletic players I’ve seen in a long time," said Newton County coach Tiffany Johnson. "Brittany’s athletic ability is tremendous. She’s grown a lot since her sophomore year. She’s a lot more confident and has stepped up to a leadership role."

Granted, it is probably unfair to compare a sophomore with five non-conference games under her belt to an athlete the caliber of Nolan, who literally seems to glide along the floor and float inches above defenders on her jump shots. Nonetheless, Carter’s combination of decisiveness, skill, speed, and strength, as well as the personality traits that multiple people seem to identify make the lofty comparison almost sound plausible.

Carter knows what she has to do to continue performing at the level she did Friday afternoon.

"I just have to stay at aggressive at all times and not relax," said Carter.

Whether she reaches the level of Deanna Nolan remains to be seen and given that she has yet to even complete a full year in a Memphis uniform all such prognostications should probably be put on hold. However, it’s hard to ignore the lofty praise bestowed upon her by McFerrin, who has coached and recruited the likes of former Minnesota Gopher stars Janel McCarville and Lindsay Whalen, not to mention five years of WNBA experience.

"I’ve coached a lot of really good players and I don’t know if I’ve coached a player that was as good as Brittany Carter was tonight," said McFerrin.

Transition Points:

Prior to Carter’s record-setting 49 points, only one of the top 10 single game scoring performances for Memphis occurred on the road (Regina Street at Cincinnati, 12/6/83). Street and Tamika Whitmore each hold three of the top ten single game scoring performances in Memphis’ history. Former WNBA player LaTonya Johnson is now tied for sixth with 40 points (vs. Mississippi State, 12/20/95).
Carter's 49 points also ties the record for most scored in the the Bank of America Arena -- men or women -- with Bob Houbregs (vs. Idaho 1/10/53), whose #25 jersey is now retired.
After Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings scored 55 on the Golden State Warriors, I joked with a friend that perhaps there should be an asterix next to the associated records he set since my beloved Warriors are obviously not known for their defensive prowess. However, when you get into the rarefied air of 50 points, it’s something special, regardless of the competition. It may be tempting to dismiss Carter’s performance because it came against Sacramento State -- a team that has maintained a RPI somewhere in the 300 range in recent years – but it’s still quite a remarkable feat to score 49 points in 40 minutes.
Carter and Memphis will be playing again in the Bank of America Arena at 12 pm PST on Sunday against Eastern Washington University, who the University of Washington took care of on Friday afternoon.

UW Women Use EWU to Rebound" Kitsap Sun
UW’s opening opponent in the annual Husky Classic couldn’t take care of the ball, couldn’t shoot straight and couldn’t compete with the hometown team, helping the Huskies get back on the winning track by way of a 64-46 victory over the Eagles. By halftime of the afternoon game, EWU (3-2) had 16 turnovers, a 23-percent shooting percentage and an 18-point deficit in the Eagles’ first trip to Bank of America Arena since 2005.

If you are a Seattlite that can tolerate missing part of the 1 pm PST Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams game, it might be worthwhile to catch Carter before she leaves town. Following the Memphis game, UW will face Sacramento State at 2pm PST.
Speaking of Sacramento State, they played Memphis quite competitively -- they were down two at halftime and the game was tied with 5:00 minutes left. Memphis' superior athleticism and strength made the biggest difference, as they grabbed 61% of the available offensive rebounds in the second half.

Warriors Web: Black Friday practice links

IQofaWarrior — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:32:30 -0000

Also see: Game Thread #15: Golden State Warriors vs. LA Lakers- Don't be a Faker to Oakland while drinking your lemonade in the Roaracle

The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, which kicks off the Christmas shopping season. For the Warriors, it's business as usual as they practice and prepare to host the Lakers on Saturday evening. For the local beat writers, it's also business as usual as they cover the Warriors practice and write about them afterwards. Jump in for a couple of links from today's practice.

Thanks to hellafornia for posting his fanshot about why we get to keep Chris Hunter. That fanshot forced me to check my links and compose this links post. I guess I shouldn't have taken Friday off! :P

Links

- hellafornia's quote fanshot explaining why we get to keep Hunter.
hellafornia: Despite possibly having 11 players available...

- Maggette missed a few practices recently with a sore hamstring, but he's back in practice. So was Turiaf and George, both of whom could be back tomorrow. The Warriors will check them out tomorrow before making the final decision.
Susan Slusser: Warriors getting healthier every day

- Since being benched for most of that @Knicks game, Curry has "flipped the switch" and dumped his passive play.
Marcus Thompson II: Golden State Warriors rookie Stephen Curry is starting to live up to the hype

- The good news: We're slowly bringing guys back from injury. The bad news: This could affect our team chemistry as current players adjust to returning players. The return of Biedrins and Turiaf puts defenders near the paint, clogging up lanes, affecting Monta's drives. The return of CJ, Biedrins, and Turiaf means more competition and balancing of minutes for the young kids: Curry, Morrow, and Randolph.
Mike Massa: Return of injured players may affect Warriors' team chemistry

Videos

Keith Smart will continue to coach for the next 3 games.

Flashback Videos

Since having only one video in a video section looks pretty pathetic, how about a trip down memory lane to get pumped up for Saturday's Lakers game?

Flashback: Warriors vs Lakers, Dec 14, 2007

Flashback: Lakers vs. Warriors (3-23-08) Final Minute
Hmm, so THIS is where I've seen Radman before!

Poll

How will you watch the Warriors vs Lakers game?

Spurs vs Warriors: Stats of the Game

BlaseE — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:48:21 -0000

I guess this would be considered the Thanksgiving edition. I am thankful the Spurs have won 3 straight games and are over .500 finally. I'm also thankful for all the awesome people here on PTR who I can share my Spurs love for. I'm glad enough of you enjoy reading my posts to let me do this for fun. Thanks.

I've got about an hour until I have to take off to my parents for Thanksgiving. After the jump, the stats I am thankful for....

Your music pick is just a song I picked from typing "thank" in my iTunes. Enjoy.

Alright let's get into the stats. See Davis's recap for some more great ones and your three stars.

* Monta Ellis scored how many? Oh yeah, he also lead his team with a -21. We won by 14 points. His team was +7 in the 3:40 he was actually on the bench.

* Parker was blocked 5 times. He also got 17 FTA's on 18 FGA's!!! WHAT!?!?! I'm reassembling my head on that one. After Tony was mediocre against the Bucks, he really gave us 110% effort tonight and full aggression mode. I loved it. I'm stealing this from Hirschof, but teams foul when they are tired, so it was smart to be aggressive early.

* Duncan, 10 of 12 from the floor. I know Moore and Radmanovic can't guard you but hot damn! At least they weren't dumb enough to foul you.

* They made three 3 point shots all game. 2 of them were in the first 3 minutes of play. The last one was off the embarrassing Blair missed dunk late in the 4th. We did a great job not letting Curry, Morrow, Ellis, or Radmanovic get going from 3. They settled for a lot of 2's inside the line.

* George Hill had a rough night shooting at 3 of 12. Looking at the boxscores recently, it seems like he has been having these a lot and its always surprising. Watching the games, it always feels like he is going 4 of 5. It doesn't seem like he is taking that many shots and it definitely doesn't seem like he is missing that many. He did have 6 FT's so maybe that's part of it. Guarding Jennings and then Ellis has to be one of the hardest stretches so far this season for him though and I think he did an admirable job. Gold star.

* Manu played 0 minutes. On offense. And on defense. I'm predicting he'll be back for the Philly game (where Duncan will get a triple double in honor of Robinson HoF night).

*RJ with 4 assists. He has had at least 4 assists in 5 of our 7 wins. Sacramento and Washington are the 2. His only 4 assist game we didn't win was OKC. His assists should be down a little with Manu. Or maybe they should go up if he has Manu to pass to and Manu as a defensive distraction on the court. Either way, I like RJ contributing this way so quickly.

Have a great Thanksgiving, and I hope the stats are interesting enough.

A Pictorial Recap of the Spurs 118-104 Victory over the Warriors

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:43:33 -0000

I bring to you what SilverAndBlack_Davis could not. Of course, I have JanieAnnie and he does not.

Tim has some rituals. Or superstitions. Or quirks. Call it what you will. One of them is hanging on the rim after the lights go out and before he is introduced.

Visual proof that Tim's knee feels good. He's off the floor for a rebound. It's the first time, in what, 3 years. Of course, just like all visual proof of Nessie, it is a bit suspect. You can't actually see the bottom of the left foot.

"Check it out, Rage. I've been working on my game. I can dribble AND run now. Hey! Whoa! Are you chasing me? Rage, we are on the same team now. And quit ogling me."

"I guarantee this shit goes in. Check it out. I'm going to throw this one up left-handed without looking. MONEY, baby. Straight money."

"How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world."

"High Five, RadMan. Ow, damn. Dude, you klutz. You hit my funny bone."

The oldest double team ever perpetuated in the NBA. I hope for Corey's sake they didn't steal it from him.

A dream. George flexing for Lauri.

A nightmare.

I have a hard time believing Mason juked anybody this bad. What the hell is Randolph jumping for?

I guess he learned his lesson and decided to be a semaphore instead. Is that an 'E' or a 'C'?

CJ Watson's shoes get an "EW". FYI, he played on the Spurs Summer League team two years ago. The one with Hill right after he was drafted.

Yes, another layup. And this time, Randolph didn't bother being in the play.

Great Googly Moogly. Marcus Haislip played. He scored 2 points in his 3:41 and a -8. NIIIIIICE.

PtR Quick Cap: Spurs gun down running Warriors, 118-104 to move above .500

silverandblack_davis — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:08:19 -0000

No funny captions here.

Win number 7 to go above .500? Book it. This recap's gonna be real short and sweet, so jump in and join me in hacking this out.

Golden State is not exactly a contender, but time and again, they've proven to be a dangerous team when hot. Tonight we were lucky only one Warrior was on, and boy was he on like Michelle Kwan.

No funny captions here.

Monta Ellis has gotten off the Moped

He was in Dirk Nowitzki 3rd Quarter Supernova mode but in the first half, this time. I think he had 28 points. He was just going nuts and making everything. He finished the game with 42 points (tied his career high, and this was on the second half of a SEGABABA, which makes it more impressive), 4 rebs, 4 assists and 3 steals. Definitely he's a keeper, but Don Nelson has other thoughts.

No funny captions here.

We almost put the game away... almost.

The Spurs had a pretty awesome run spanning the 3rd and 4th quarters, padding the lead to as much as 22 points. But then the bench happened, and the Dubs managed to close the gap to 10 points late in the fourth. Enter TP and Timmy again - a little drive here, an offensive rebound there and another stop, and that was the ballgame. It would've been nice to get Tim the extra rest but heck, Pop didn't want to screw up this one. So that's reason enough to hold a nice Thanksgiving dinner.

I should be putting funny captions here but...

Checking the boxscore

Just because it's pretty weird that I'm recapping a game I didn't even watch. I watched from a boxscore, if that counts. Yes, I'm getting pretty good at reading those.

Let me go with some bullet points here, because it makes me sound professional:

The Spurs had 6 players score in double figures, versus the Warriors' 4. We had two guys off the bench that scored in twin digits. A balanced attack is always good.for the heart.
We had 30 assists on 44 made field goals. Ball movement has been one of the hallmarks of our recent wins, so let's hope the team keeps this up.
5-18 on threes (28%) is not good, but we did sink 25-32 (78%) of our free throws. Tony in particular, shot 12-17.
The silver and black had the edge on the boards with a plus-7, with Tim grabbing ten and Keith Bogans surprisingly coming in second with 7.

Your three stars

3 - Roger Mason, Jr., you better take care of that puppy. 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, 7-9 shooting plus 2-3 on threes. Is he finally, really back and out of that slump?

2 - Tim Duncan is still putting up 20-10s as if it's no big deal. We are now 2-4 when he scores 20 or more points. Good times. And yes, he even flirted with the triple double again with 6 assists. Add the 3 blocks to that and he pretty much did what he wanted out there.

1 - Speak of the devil, Tony did pretty much everything he wanted to do out there. He nearly matched Monta Ellis shot for shot, and even made his teammates look good doing it with his 7 assists. A fine performance after seeing Hipuks' statistical comparison between him and Manu.

Honorable mention to Coach Pop for the Marcus Haislip sighting. Yay!

RECAP: Warriors 111, Mavericks 103 - Wait... what just happened?

R Dizzle — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:39:12 -0000

Wait...what? Did that really just happen?

Let me check the Open Thread.

OPEN THREAD - Warriors @ Mavericks - Time to Get Smart

Nooo...no way did we just beat the Mavs...did we?

Ellis, Morrow lead Warriors past Mavericks 111-103 [Yahoo Sports]

Yahoo says we did. What about Mavs Money Ball?

Mavs Lose at Home to Six Warriors: Rick Carlisle Postgame Quotes [Mavs MoneyBall]

Ok ok...I still don't believe it. It's not possible. The Mavs were 10-3. Dirk was having an MVP type year (ughhh...). We had 8 active players - 2 of which were injured. We had young players.

Did we really just win?

Let me check to see what my man IQofaWarrior dropped in the Warriors Web...

Warriors Web: Warriors 111, Mavericks 103- Monta Ellis + Anthony Morrow + Stephen Curry score 82 points, Mikki Moore + Vladimir Radmanovic grab 23 rebounds

I still can't believe it...

Final - 11.24.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden State Warriors	25	25	28	33	111
Dallas Mavericks	27	27	28	21	103

Complete Coverage >

WE WON.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?! FACTOR = 3

Again, I'd like to bring your attention Figure 1 (pictured below).

Now I must admit, when the game started I was basically yelling at my laptop at the top of my lungs (and subsequently getting yelled at by people around me at the library). It was literally turnover after turnover after turnover after turnover after turnover...you get the idea. If I recall correctly (someone tell me if I'm wrong) it was close to 6 TO's in the first 5 minutes of the game. Sloppy sloppy sloppy!

But then, guys got smart, Keith Smart, that is, and decided to minimize turnovers. Let's be real, 21 turnovers is waaaaaayyyy too much (especially dumb ones) but it doesn't really matter when the Warriors can rack in 15 steals.

Question

Hey GSoM, I gotta question for you.

It's a brain teaser, but maybe you can get the answer.

You gotta think about it real hard though.

What happens when you play a FULL NBA game with these 6 players and this coach?

Stephen Curry

#30 / Guard / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-3

Weight: 185

Born: Mar 14, 1988

College: Davidson

Monta Ellis

#8 / Guard / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-3

Weight: 180

Born: Oct 26, 1985

College: None

Mikki Moore

#33 / Center / Golden State Warriors

Height: 7-0

Weight: 225

Born: Nov 04, 1975

College: Nebraska

Anthony Morrow

#22 / Forward / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-5

Weight: 210

Born: Sep 27, 1985

College: Georgia Tech

Vladimir Radmanovic

#77 / Forward / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-10

Weight: 235

Born: Nov 19, 1980

College: Serbia & Montenegro

Anthony Randolph

#4 / Forward / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-10

Weight: 205

Born: Jul 15, 1989

College: L-S-U

The answer to come later.

For a hint, check out this SB Nation article.

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Now it's time to play another game. It's called...

I SPY - WARRIORS EDITION

Monta Ellis

I spy...Monta Ellis

This one picture depicts his game as of late.

Examine it closely. Real closely.

I see ELLIS TO THE RIM.

It's like he was Moses - parting the sea of the Mavericks players. Going to straight to the promised land that is the basket.

It's like he understands what it means to be a leader, and he's taking charge and doing what he needs to.

Look at his stats! 48 minutes (the whole game), 4 boards, 4 steals, 8 assists. He does need to work on those 11 turnovers though.

Talk about playing a full game...

Anthony Morrow

I spy....Anthony Morrow.

This one picture depicts his game as of late.

Examine it closely. Real closely.

I see a 2nd year player that's expanding his game.

I see our future small forward with an ability to shoot (6 three pointers? Really? I mean..REALLY?!?!), pull down boards (9) and even distribute the ball (5 assists).

I see tenacity.

But most of all, I see pride. I see power. I see a bad-ass mother, who don't take no crap offa nobody!

I had to work the Cool Runnings in!

Stephen Curry

I spy...Stephen Curry.

This one picture depicts his game as of late.

Examine it closely. Real closely.

Yes, he's young, but he ain't scared.

He's got the rest of the NBA wondering where he came from. Look at Dirk. Look at JKidd. They just don't get it.

How can a rookie like him start, shoot 50% off the floor, toss out 6 dimes, AND have clutch shooting at the end of the road game?

Must be all the butter chicken.

Last but not least...

Coach Smart

I spy...Coach Smart.

This one picture depicts his coaching as of late.

Examine it closely. Real closely.

I see a coach that can take our young guys to victory. I see a man that's willing to draw a technical foul on a terrible call. I see a coach that our young players really respect.

He was ready to take over Nelly's coaching position when he was needed. He says the right things.

"Coming into this game, we had nothing to lose," said assistant coach Keith Smart, who filled in for Nelson. "The worst case is they blow us out and we move on to [Wednesday night's game in San Antonio]. But our guys have a lot of character. They played hard together and made the right decisions."

Smart dedicated the victory to Nelson, watching at home on TV."This win went out to our man in charge," Smart said. "Our guys pulled together for him. He instilled a lot of the qualities in all of us."

Now I'm not going to start saying all this "FIRE NELSON! WE WANT COACH SMART!" stuff...but I will say, it was nice to get a fresh look off the bench.

I don't want to credit all of the success yesterday to Coach Smart - it goes to a lot of players (more on that later).

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Answer

What happens when you play a FULL NBA game with these 6 players and this coach?

To my earlier question. There's a simple answer.

A WIN.

I gotta be honest. This one was pretty rough. I could have given it to Coach Smart. I couldn't have given it to any one or all of our Big Three - Monta Ellis, Anthony Morrow, and Stephen Curry. Hell, I could have even given it to Vlad Rad for playing a full game and contributing.

But no, I think I'm going to dedicate last night's game to my favorite ex-player.

Yes, that's right - he gets yet another Warrior Wonder award.

Why, you ask?

Well it's simple. Things have just been a bit different without him around. Monta's been able to fill the role of leader (which he's suprising doing well in), there's more ball distribution, less dumb mistakes.

Everyone just seems a bit happier. Things seem to be working out a bit better.

Ya know I got nothin but love for ya Jack.

Poll

Think Don Nelson should move to a consulting position?

Warriors win with six

ZombieMonta — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:45:27 -0000

The Golden State Warriors may be only 5-8, but considering how hurt they are and all the turmoil surrounding the team, it's one of the most respectable 5-8 records you'll ever see. Last night, the Warriors went in and beat the Dallas Mavericks despite playing only six players; three of their starters -- Anthony Morrow, Monta Ellis and Vlad Radmanovich -- played all 48 minutes. Sure, the Mavs were missing Shawn Marion and Josh Howard, but to a win a game that short-handed is mighty impressive.

In fact (according to the Elias Sports Bureau), the Golden State Warriors became the first team in the shot-clock era to win a game with only six men suiting up. The last time a team won a game with, at the most, six players was way back on February 10, 1952, when the Baltimore Bullets beat the Fort Wayne Pistons 82-77. In that game, all five Bullets starters -- Don Barksdale, Frank Kudelka, Stan Miasek, Dave Minor and Kevin O'Shea -- played all 48 minutes.

If the Warriors can get Biedrins, Azubuike, Turiaf, Maggette, Watson and Wright healthy again, who knows? This might not be such a horrible team after all.

Mavs Lose at Home to Six Warriors: Rick Carlisle Postgame Quotes

Wes Cox — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:04:23 -0000

More photos » by Sharon Ellman - AP

Browse more photos »

Well, we worked so hart to get up nine with about six minutes to go, and then they came back, I believe after we scored, and hit a quick three -- got the momentum back. Hey, maybe it's a case of guys playing too many minutes, and if so that's on me. It's very disappointing to work so hard to get a lead and then lose it -- especially at home. It's a very tough loss, and I think we are going to look back and point to the lack of attention to detail in terms of our effort. To spring back is something that you have to do against these guys because they are never out of a game. They could be down double digits and be back in a minute and a half by just running it up on you and hitting threes, driving on you and getting to the bonus. And they were doing all of those things. We had too many breakdowns -- simple as that.

Is that a mental thing?

Yeah, mental. Maybe it's physical too, but I don't know. We've had too many of these games at home where we've lost focus. We've been able to win the majority of them, but tonight we left too much to chance in the last six minutes.

Did losing Quinton Ross [didn't play second half --sore lower back] really hamper you...

Well it hurt us just from the standpoint that JET played the whole second half -- which is not good. It was hard. I probably should have gotten him out at some point, but it was tough because he was going pretty good, making things happen -- it was tough to get him out of there. I don't know his [Ross] status for tomorrow, but it's something to do with his back. We'll see where things are in the morning.

Question about if he saw this loss "bubbling under the surface" during the win streak...

Well, we haven't played our best. We've struggled offensively. We've been pretty gritty defensively, but we've just struggled. We've been able to win games despite that which is good, but on the other hand, there's something we've got to continue to work to get smoothed out. We are heading into a very busy stretch of games so we'll have to do it on the fly -- which we can because we've got a veteran group.

Why You Should Watch, Part 1: A Suns Fan's Cheat Sheet to the Rest of the League

Mike Lisboa — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:00:40 -0000

Coach Gentry cheers on the Suns at every game. You should, too! (Photo by Max Simbron)

View full size photo »

The Phoenix Suns are 11-3 and heading into a December full of must-watch games against top flight NBA teams. No Suns fan worth their salt is going to miss a match-up against the Lakers or Spurs or Mavericks. Those teams have been lifelong (or at least decade-long) nemeses to our beloved Suns and each of those games is like a basketball rite of passage.

But what about the rest of the League? Why should you watch the Suns beat up on the Timberwolves or Bobcats? And what about those random teams that never get any pub way out west like the Bucks or the Nets? Below is part one of list of things to look for and reasons to watch our Suns play every team in the NBA. Feel free to print it out and keep it on the fridge next to your official Phoenix Suns schedule or next to the remote so you can crib from it on gameday. Also included is each team's SBNation site if you'd like to learn more about them.

But mostly you should watch because it's the Suns!

Atlanta Hawks, Peach Tree Hoops: Another early season surprise, just like The Suns. The obvious angle here is former Sun, Joe Johnson, aka Daisy Buchanan aka The One That Got Away. While in past seasons, one could have argued that perhaps he was the only reason to watch the Hawks, this year Atlanta done went and put together a ball club. Josh Smith will put you on a poster after rebounding your miss that he nearly blocked on the other end and Jamal Crawford will go from 0-15 points in the blink of an eye. This is a fun team that, like the Suns, seems poised to make an unexpected run at an assumedly superior division rival (the Orlando Magic).

Boston Celtics, CelticsBlog: Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce. For me those are reasons enough to watch them. For Suns fans, KG represents an alternative dimension where the Suns won the trade lottery a few years back and miraculously transformed into a defensive championship-winning machine. Ray Allen was a Suns assassin with the Sonics seemingly ending every contest against the Suns with a 3 as time expired. And Paul Pierce is the The Truth. Probably a little underrated around these parts, Pierce is a ferocious competitor and maybe the 3rd most important Celtic in history behind Bill Russell and Larry Bird. However, time is catching up to the Big 3 and this may be the last chance to catch them before they retire/go their separate ways. Oh, and for added Suns angles, former Sun/Sun Devil Eddie House is always conscienceless good times firing 3s off the bench and Rajon Rondo causes some current fans to look at Goran Dragic coming off the bench and cut themselves since he was in fact a Phoenix draft pick that the Sarver and company sold on eBay back in the day.

Charlotte Bobcats, Rufus On Fire: True story: I nearly canceled League Pass after coming across a Bobcats/Nets game a couple weeks ago. It was eye murder. That said, there's some fun to be had here. First, you can boo/cheer Boris Diaw as you see fit. Watching him play waffle croissant frustrate another team is much more liberating without worrying about how his 9 milli a year is affecting the Suns' cap situation. Raja Bell is gone, but in his place is former Suns division rival Stephen Jackson who should up the excitement quotient in the Queen City. And if you though Mike D'Antoni had a thing against young players, you can practically see the Charlotte faithful's collective head getting ready to explode as rookie lottery pick Gerald Henderson continues to ride pine even in garbage time.

Continued after the jump...

Chicago Bulls, Blog-A-Bull: Joakim Noah will make you eat your words. Derrick Rose is going to be a very good point guard for a very long time. Vinnie Del Negro has one of the best tans I've ever seen. He's the NBA's answer to George Hamilton. If you want something of a Suns angle, John Salmons shunned the Suns leading them to eventually sign Marcus Banks to one of the worst contracts in Suns history AND Luol Deng was also a one time Suns draft pick. Alternately frustrating and fantastic, there's a lot to watch any time these Bulls take the floor.

Cleveland Cavaliers, Fear The Sword: Little known fact about these Cavs... just kidding. If ever an NBA team suffered from overexposure, it's this year's Cavs. Whether or not, Shaquille O'Neal puts Cleveland over the top or drags them under, LeBron James' presence makes Cleveland must-watch basketball every time he takes the court... at least for another few months.

Dallas Mavericks, Mavs Moneyball: Well, well, well, if it isn't a rejuvenated Shawn Marion back in the Western Conference! With Jason Kidd and Tim Thomas on the roster, that's 3 former Suns who could make life miserable for their ex-team. Then there's notable Suns killer and former Wildcat Jason Terry who gets all Bill the Butcher on the Suns every time they play. And of course, Dirk Nowitzki is a straight up animal. New to the mix this year is rookie Frenchman Rodrigue Beaubois, who might be the only 6'0" player in the NBA with a go-to alley oop play drawn up especially for him. So, yeah, watch these guys.

Denver Nuggets, Denver Stiffs: This is quite simply an electric basketball team. Defensively suspect perhaps, this Nuggets team is simply terrifying on the offensive end. Carmelo Anthony's most dangerous spot on the floor is, well, the floor. From the baseline to the top of the arc, he is making opponents lives miserable this season. Off the bench, rookie PG Ty Lawson is quickly making a name for himself as a capable and dangerous back-up to Chauncey Billups' unwaveringly steady hand. These cats are slick and worth watching any time they take the floor.

Detroit Pistons, Motown String Music: The most exciting development in the world of Dee-troit Basketball is Will Bynum's transmogrification into the explosive substance, Bynumite. And he's a former Wildcat, too! Also, the Suns whupped them handily so they're good for the occasional Alando Tucker sighting. And I <3 a healthy Rip Hamilton.

Golden State Warriors, Golden State of Mind: There's a lot to like here: Steph Curry, Anthony Randolph, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrens and hey -- it's Raja Bell! I was a big Anthony Morrow fan at Summer League and after one game, even D-League call-up Chris Hunter is making some noise. The problem is with Don Nelson running the show mailing it in, you never know what version of this team you're going to get. As a Suns fan though, with 14 games worth of hindsight, try and figure out how that rumored Amare trade would have worked out this season (my 2 cents: not well).

Houston Rockets, The Dream Shake: No T-Mac? No Yao? No problem. Sort of. After a hot start, the Rockets have cooled off to the .500 level in their last 10 games. What they lack in star power, the team is attempting to compensate for in effort and ingenuity. While that combination may make for a middling season, it also makes for smart, hard-fought basketball games that the Suns will have to earn.

Indiana Pacers, Indy Cornrows: Because Danny Granger is the brightest star you've never heard of. While off to a bit of a rough start in 2009, Granger is capable of taking over games and should not be slept on. Also, Tyler Hansbrough will help you find your dog.

Los Angeles Clippers, Clips Nation: This is a team on the verge of... something. They've got a solid if unspectacular commingling of veteran and youth presence in the starting line-up and on the bench and it will only get better once Blake Griffin joins the mix. Boom Dizzle and Eric Gordon make for an above average (and occasionally dynamic) backcourt. Chris Kaman is playing as if he is actually from another planet this year. Marcus Camby is ol' reliable and Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair are providing serviceable minutes off the bench. In short, these Clippers are ready to break out of the cellar and into the NBA middle class, but they won't because Mike Dunleavy is a terrible, terrible coach. So why should you watch? For the novelty of seeing a team whose locker room cancer is actually roaming the sidelines in a suit.

Los Angeles Lakers, Silver Screen and Roll: "Hate Leads to Suffering; Or, How I Learned to Stop Suffering and Appreciate the Los Angeles Lakers." I'm not sure when I stopped hating the Lake Show, but it's a relatively recent phenomenon. There's just too much good basketball happening when they're on the court. Kobe Bryant is the pre-eminent basketball technician in the league right now. Pau Gasol might be the most sophisticated power forward in the NBA. Andrew Bynum is morphing from man-child to man with each passing minute on the court. Lamar Odom is the Ghost of Earl Clark Future and Ron Artest has gone from dangerously crazy to lovably eccentric with a change in area code. Oh, and that guy on the sidelines has 12 rings (2 as a player... haters) to legitimize any complaints of "Fakerism." For weaknesses, Derek Fisher is showing his age and then some and that bench is the basketball equivalent of Russian Roulette (there's about a 1 in 6 chance they will cost the Lakers the game). But you know, watch for the hate. It feels good, doesn't it, young Skywalker?

Memphis Grizzlies, Straight Outta Vancouver: Because Allen Iverson is must-watch basketball! Watch these guys so that 2 years from now you can say you were there when... Rudy Gay announced his presence with authority, O.J. Mayo came into his own, Zach Randolph quietly resucitated his career, Marc Gasol began working his way out of Pau's shadow, Jamaal Tinsley was brought into stabilize (!) a team's roster, and Hasheem Thabeet began fading into obscurity. It's kinda like watching the X-Files before the X-Files was cool (and that also started in Canada!).

Miami Heat, Peninsula is Mightier: Because if you don't watch, Dwyane Wade will throw himself at you and you WILL be called for a foul. While it's easy to mock Wade's penchant for reckless drives and refs tendencies to bail him out, it's impossible to argue that he's not a hardwood hurricane when this team needs him to be. Without Wade, this team's win total is somewhere in the 30s, but with him, they're a dangerous playoff foe... which isn't to say there isn't some talent around him. Udonis Haslem defines "unsung hero" outside of Miami-Dade County. Jermaine O'Neal and Quentin "P90X" Richardson are both having mini-renaissances this season and youngsters Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley provide inconsistent if effective support to their leading man. But mostly, it's all about Wade being a force of nature that you can watch from the comfort of your home without worrying about losing your home in the process.

To be continued....