SB Nation User Blog: ItsDatFriscoSwag415

Don't trade Randolph!

ItsDatFriscoSwag415 — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:18:06 -0000

Let me start off by saying that I am not just posting this because of what I saw from Anthony Randolph last night against the Lakers. I didn't really know much about Randolph before the Warriors drafted him and I'm sure, like me, a lot of people reacted in the same fashion when the Warriors took him with the 14th overall pick in last years draft. Personally, I wondered why we would need another tall, skinny, left handed basketball player when we just got Brandan Wright a season before. So I began to research Randolph a little bit and I have to say I was impressed. I YouTubed his name and found some of his highlights from LSU and a video showcasing his handling and leaping ability. Then I kept hearing his name pop up in the summer league (all good things) and the buzz about this kid started to catch my ear a little bit. I started to get excited about the newest Warrior hype. He was described as a tall, athletic forward who can handle the ball very well and has the ability to finish (although last night he missed 3 layups in a row). He was similar to Brandan Wright in the sense that they both were tall and left handed but Randolph is a much different player.

In November, I put up a post which posed the question : Who would you rather keep : Wright or Randolph? and the majority chose Randolph. I think this is because Randolph really does have star qualities in him. It's not often you get a guy who can play point/center or point/forward. He is developing some kind of a mid range shot and if he perfects it while adding a post up game, he will truly have an all around ability. He rebounds and blocks well and on top of that, I can really see the drive and passion that this kid plays with. Oops, I forgot to mention : He's only 19!! Which means, with the right coaching, that he will only get better. Though there are times that he looks completely erratic out there, I at least like the determination and willingness to learn. I know he so desperately wants to play and he has shown his attitude but I like how he has progressed and stayed positive. He knows he has to keep working hard and improving and eventually he will get his turn.

Anyways, last nights performance by Anthony Randolph was a perfect example of why we should not trade this kid. He's going to get older, wiser and overall better! He frustrated one of the leagues hottest players, as of late, in Lamar Odom and he seemed like he was everywhere on the court. For the most part, he was doing all the right things and If we would have won, he would have definitely been the X-factor in the game. We all should know that there are going to be ups and downs with this kid, but if it were up to me, I would not give up on him because if we do, he's going to be a star somewhere else. Even though Warrior fans are all too familiar with situations like this, it would be an absolute shame to see another star that we had the rights to, end up getting traded. I don't want to see it happen again. Don't trade Anthony Randolph!

Boooo Al Harrington?

ItsDatFriscoSwag415 — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:47:01 -0000

I don't know about you all, but I think I'm about to booo Al "TMNT" Harrington tonight. I got them $8 best buy tickets so I'll be in attendance and when they call his name, I'm gonna start Booo'ing!

During his time here, I always defended Al from a lot of people who were understandably critical of him. I always thought he could be better and was a better player than what he shown as a Warrior but he could never quite show it. Then to the detriment of the team, he goes out publicly and asks to be traded, even during a time when we needed him most (with Monta and his moped incident, Baron gone and us having a whole new cast of young guys). He left his best friend, Stephen Jackson out on a limb. I thought that was pretty "Jacked" up! Don't you think? Now, I'm not going to give him the heavy "Booo'ing" treatment like I would to Mike Dunleavy every time he touches the ball, but I'm gonna let Al hear it a little bit. So, my question to you Warrior fans is what kind of reaction are you going to give big Al tonight?

Poll

What kind of reaction does Al Harrington deserve in his first return to the Bay Area since being traded to the Knickerbockers?

Normal crowd cheers

38 votes

Booo's all around

193 votes

Crickets, Pin drops, Dead Silence

39 votes

Standing Ovation (Haha)

19 votes

289 votes | Poll has closed

Trade Amare to Golden State!

ItsDatFriscoSwag415 — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:08:57 -0000

Honestly, I can't even believe that, with a talent like Amare Stoudemire, you could even begin to think of putting him on the trade block. He's just too good to even think of letting go but if yall really wanna trade him, we (Golden State Warriors) wouldn't mind taking him off your hands. Everyone at Golden State of Mind agrees that Amare is a beast and everyone is starting to go wild with different trade possibilities to somehow get Amare to the Bay Area. It's all for fun but if any of these trades ever were to become a reality, The Bay would go crazy!

There's a couple of ways to make it work on both ends, in my opinion. I thought that THIS might work. You guys get Anthony Randolph (A 19 yr old rookie with a lot of promise), Corey Maggette (A proven scorer, big body), Kelenna Azubuike (You already seen what he did against the suns on 2/4/09 19 pts in the 1st quarter! He can D up and spread the floor) and Marcus Williams (A young, solid, pass first PG who could only get better under Nash's wing). If you don't know much about these guys then click on those links and learn about them. Given the complexion of your team, I think these guys can fit in nicely. Randolph possesses all the talent in the world and just needs time and a good coaching staff. Maggette is instant offense and on the Suns, how can that be bad? Kelenna Azubuike is a good defender, good shooter, good rebounder and is very clutch. Marcus Williams has a lot of basketball knowledge, from playing under Jason Kidd and can run an offense very well and just imagine if Nash was teaching him some things, he'd have experience under Kidd and Nash (2 hall of fame PG's). Plus, if it were me personally, I'd throw a bunch of cash your way along with maybe a future draft pick.

As for our side of the bargain, we'll take a disgruntled Amare Stoudemire and a player in Matt Barnes, whom I noticed not too many of you Phoenix fans like too much. I noticed that a lot of you get on him about his shot selection and poor shooting nights in general. I think Barnes was meant to stay with the Warriors and I, for one, would gladly take him back. If you're interested in other trade possibilities that the GSoM fan base is brewing up then click HERE and look in all the comments. Let's hope the two front offices can get together and strike up a deal!

Poll

Would you make a deal for Amare Stoudemire with the Golden State Warriors?

Yes

222 votes

No

129 votes

351 votes | Poll has closed

My personal analysis/recap: Woe-rriors Vs. OKC Blunder..WTF?!?!? (Revised)

ItsDatFriscoSwag415 — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:05:18 -0000

Another heart breaking loss last night against the Thunder stealers, so what's new? Unfortunately, I was at this game and had to witness it in person. It's the same pattern with the Warriors. We get beat on the boards night in and night out even against some of the worst teams in the NBA. It's not a secret that our team does not rebound well, so why don't the coaches stress boxing your man out and teach timing better. Oh yeah, 4 midgets and 1 center (who is truly a PF and jumps at every single shot instead of staying in front and defending) does not help the situation at all. I know Biedrins was out and if he was playing, he could have been the difference maker but still I think the coaches should teach these guys how to position themselves, box out and use timing. I haven't seen a team suck in rebounds like this since.....what am i saying? i never seen a team suck so bad in rebounding! they're absolutely sorry! It seems like we have just accepted that we suck at rebounding and were just hoping we could make it up by scoring more points. When a team continually gets second, third, and fourth chances to get a score, the chances are heavily in their favor.

Rebounds weren't the only thing that killed us. Another reason was that there was simply no defense, just like every game this season. Russell Westbrook owned Jamal Crawford the whole night while Jeff Green and Kevin Durant owned everyone else. Kevin Durant can flat out play. No matter what you do, he'll somehow find a way to get his numbers. Westbrook looks as if he can do it all (maybe it just the invisible defense by the Warriors). He can shoot the 3, knock down the jumper, blow past his defenders and jump out of the building. Oklahoma City played a nice game but I think we should have won that game with ease. If Biedrins was in there, shots would have been changed and we'd have more possessions. The lack of rebounding killed us again and it won't be the last time.

Aside from the bad rebounding, I think the fouls really got us into trouble. My ear drums are still ringing from all the whistles that the Thunder were getting in that 3rd quarter and pretty much throughout the game. I think the Thunder were in the bonus with like 7 minutes left in the 3rd. However I do seem to recall the Warriors being in te bonus with a large amount of time left in the 2nd but they still managed to fail to get to the line. Idiots! I think the Warriors had like 10 fouls called against them in that 3rd. Most of them were ticky tack fouls from my perspective. I just remember seeing three point play after three point play.

Another Killer was turnovers with Jackson being the main culprit once again. He had a solid night but when he holds the ball too long, our offense becomes stagnant (as if our offense isn't already stale). It's all one on one basket ball with zero cuts, no one setting each other up, no off ball screens, none of that. Just pure isolation plays mixed with terrible shot selection. The players all seem to be buying into passing the ball more but no one knows how to get open within this system. Just like us, I bet that the players are extremely fed up with losing and I think Maggette came out with a mindset to get us a win last night. He played a very good game with the exception of a couple of flops. He played with a lot of emotion and determination. He basically willed this team to win, except we didn't win and he fouled out with a lot of time left in the 4th. I did appreciate the way he played last night and expect to see him do it on a regular basis. Also, with Monta and our key guys coming back, I think the structure of the team will be much better. Rotations will improve and we should have a better product on the floor.

Overall though, the fans were great as usual. They were loud, spirited and rowdy as they cheered our lowly Warriors on. It was an entertaining game but that's all it was. Once again, the Warriors have left me in amazement and it wasn't that good type of amazement, it was that shocking and upsetting type of amazement that we as fans know all too well. I told myself that the Warriors could never surprise me with what they do anymore and they found a way to get me again! Dang! I know the Warriors can be better than what we have seen thus far. There is talent on this team but it just takes the right coach with the right system and methods to bring it all together. You already know what i'm getting at...I still say FIRE DON NELSON!

Questions i had after the game:

Why the hell was Rob Kurz starting over Ronnie Turiaf?
Why does Nelson insist on going super small all the time?
Who the hell is Kyle Weaver?
When did Earl Watson become a good jump shooter?
Why does Crawford never play defense?
When did Jeff Green develop a 3 point shot?
Where in the world was Rob Swift? haha
When did the OKC Thunder get Nenad Kristic?
Why does Nelson love to sit down all the time?
What is the head coach of the Thunder's name?
Why do even the weakest teams play like they have a different type of swag against the Warriors? Who do they think they are?
Where did Anthony Randolph go after the 1st quarter?
Why do refs hate the Warriors?
How did Maggette finish that sick slam against Kevin Durant? Nasty!!
Why can't the Warriors ever close out a game?

Anyone reading this does not have to answer these questions. I was just baffled at the end result of that game and it left me scratching my head wondering. I don't care if people think me being mad at the refs for making so many calls against us is not one of the many valid reasons that the Warriors lost. I watched the game live and pretty close, and I saw a bunch of fouls that were called when they should have been no calls. We've been played by the refs before plenty of other times, so it's really nothing new.

I had a dream...

ItsDatFriscoSwag415 — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:59:53 -0000

I know it's MLK weekend and with all respect to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but this post is not at all related to his "I had a dream" speech. I'm posting this because last night, I finally saw the brief footage of Monta Ellis's first 5 on 5 practice (thankyou to Matt Steinmetz) and as I saw Monta step up at the top of the key and hit that sweet jumper that has been sorely missed by all Warrior fans, a new sense of hope began to cross my mind. It was the kind of optimism each Warrior fan has just weeks before the start of the regular season. After I saw that practice footage, I went to bed and I literally had a dream that Monta Ellis was going to be back in action before our match up with the Clippers (a game I will be attending) and possibly against the OKC Thunder (another game I will be attending). In the dream, Monta looked like he had never even been injured and was dunkin' over people like it was nothing to him. He was knockin' down that old reliable jumper and he was fast as ever. Maybe it's just false hope and he won't return until the end of the month but whatever, I believe he will be out there to spoil Baron Davis's return to the Bay Area. I think it's a sign! Either way, I think he's going to come back stronger even if it's not against the Thunder or Clippers and we as Warrior fans have something to look forward to.

I'm confident, that if all goes well with Monta and the front office and he recovers fully from his injury, that this mess of a Warriors team will get back on track and make up some ground with him back on the team and healthy. Monta alone will change the dynamics of this team and with him in the lineup at full strength, players can go back to their regular positions. Crawford could go back to the 2, Jack at the 3, Wright (when he comes back) at the 4 and Biedrins at 5. Maggs will come off the bench where I think he'll be most effective. As for the rest of our guys, they can continue to come off the bench and provide all sorts of sparks to help this team. With Monta Ellis back in action, I look to see our team play a more inspired brand of basketball. If you read the articles by Matt Steinmetz, he reported that Ellis was playfully trash talking in practice and making the team work harder. He's already lifting the spirit of the team up and it's just good to see him back on that Warrior bench. We've all been patiently waiting and the day is almost here! Get ready Warrior fans, the real start of the 2K8-2K9 season will begin when Monta returns! Go Warriors and everyone have a good three day weekend!

Poll

What do you think about the whole Monta Ellis situation?

Monta will come back from his injury strong as ever and he is telling the truth that he will remain a Warrior despite the drama between him and the front office

215 votes

Tim Kawakami is right about Ellis not wanting to play for the Dubs and Monta will be gone by next season

18 votes

Fire Don Nelson

40 votes

273 votes | Poll has closed

Yall finally feel me! Fire Don Nelson Movement!

ItsDatFriscoSwag415 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:29:43 -0000

One day, i was just bored at work and frustrated with what the Warriors were going through so I decided to create an account on SB Nation and i put up a fan post just for the hell of it. That fanpost first introduced the "FIRE DON NELSON MOVEMENT", and i got all sorts of people that disagreed with me! that was about a month ago, and since then i've seen a real change of mind from a lot of people and I am very happy to see that people are finally realizing that Nelson is the root of all, if not, most of the problems!

Sure you can blame management/ownership but i think more of the blame has to go on the coach! the coach develops the system and has the on court relationships with the players, the management doesn't! And in this league, i can't think of one coach that has as much power as Don Nelson (maybe Pat Riley but shit he's Pat Riley and he ain't even coaching right now). How the hell did Nelson get all this power in the first place? He doesn't have not 1 championship as a coach under his belt! Not one! I'll admit that Nelson has done lots of great things for the league and for the Warriors franchise over his long career but I think his time is up! i blame him for where the warriors stand right now! if you feel like it's all the management's fault and want to blame them for something, then blame them for basically gift wrapping this team that is loaded with raw talent, and handing it to Don Nelson (for 2 more years)! the whole Monta Ellis saga is a different discussion. If you want, you can blame the players if you really choose to, but i wouldn't. i think we have loads of talent, depth, versatility and enough veteran leadership (except at the point), to be in a much better position than we are in now. The thing is, Don Nelson does not utilize what he has, the right way! No emphasis on defense, no ball movement, terrible shot selection, bad team rebounding and everyone just stands around while one person tries to create. when has that ever been the formula for championship caliber basketball? NOT NEVER! And that is all Nelson brings and it seems like everyone who plays us, knows it! I've been saying it for the longest time that we need to get rid of Don Nelson, he is a terrible coach to have for the future development of this team! his whacky rotations and public display's of frustration towards individual players (Example : Harrington,P.O.B, Bellinelli, Wright, Pietrus, Williams etc.) do nothing but kill the spirit, morale and chemistry of this young squad! Think of how many players he thrown into his "dog house" and look at some of them now and how well they are doing! (Barnes, Pietrus, Harrington, hell even P.O.B. was getting some recognition before the season started!)

If we lose to the OKC Thunder tomorrow, that will be our 10th loss in a row, our 2nd loss to a team without a real replacement head coach (first L to the Eddie Jordan-less Washington Wizards), our 8th consecutive road loss, and another disgusting, embarrassing loss to another lowly NBA team who also stole our mascot by the way! We miss you Thunder! Maybe you can come back and coach our team! you can do one handed push ups in the huddle during timeouts and boost our teams energy! hahaha! As long as it takes Nelson out of the equation, I'm all for it! So I'm officially reintroducing the "FIRE DON NELSON MOVEMENT"! i can't stand this losing and terrible play any longer! Whoever agrees with me, REC this post and let our voices be silenced no longer!!

Poll

OFFICIAL FIRE DON NELSON MOVEMENT POLL

Fire Don Nelson Now

114 votes

Fire Don Nelson Later

85 votes

199 votes | Poll has closed

Who would you rather keep? : Wright or Randolph

ItsDatFriscoSwag415 — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:55:49 -0000

Who would you rather keep? : Wright or Randolph

Let's steer away from past 3 dissapointing losses and gauge some thoughts for a second but not before I just say that I am absolutely disgusted with what I saw last night against the Washington Wizards (a 1-10 team with an interim coach). Sloppy play, no energy, turnovers! We looked like a circus out there while Washington, an injury ridden team who just fired their head coach and is in last place in the East, looked unstoppable! I know Andray Blatche...but who the hell is Andray Blatche, He torched us! not to mention Butler, Jamison, Javale McGee, and even Dee Brown had a decent game. Oh well, it's all behind me for now. We just gotta keep getting better and limiting our mistakes.

Aside from all that, just for fun, if it came down to it, who would you rather have on our team. Theoretically speaking, if we had to part with either Brandan Wright or Anthony Randolph based on what you have seen from each of them during this young season, who would you favor? Although both of them have many of the same qualities like length, energy, youth, and the ability to block shots (maybe Randolph is better at this than Wright), they do have many differences as well. Weigh all the pros and cons for each player and make a decision.

Even with all the similarities that they share, I can see a lot of differences as well. For instance, I can see that Randolph, even though he always looks sad, is tougher than Brandan Wright and I can see that Brandan Wright can get off way better shots than Anthony Randolph. I know he's young and is going to make mistakes but for God's sake, he doesn't have to shoot the ball every time he touches it! Yes, he's drilled a few shots from the outside but not enough to make opponents respect that shot. They're leaving him open for a reason. I'd like to see him use his ability to handle the ball more and drive to the rim explosively. I can see in the future that A. Randolph is going to be a player who plays with a lot of heart and a lot of passion.

Brandan Wright, on the other hand, goes about his business in quieter fashion. He plucks boards out of the sky for easy put backs but also looks like he always takes tougher shots than they need to be. At least he's working in the right direction. He's working on his hook shot and low post game and I love how he utilizes his length to get shots off where no one can reach it (K.G. used to and still does it all the time). B. Wright is no K.G. (not to say that he can't be similar in the future) but when I first saw him, I predicted him to be more of a Chris Bosh.

In my eyes, I think Anthony Randolph plays tougher than Brandan Wright. He'll come at you defensively and go after each shot like there's no tomorrow and Wright kind of gets deflection blocks with his "go go gadget arms". Right now, Wright has the advantage because he has more experience than Anthony Randolph but there is no denying the tremendous amount of upside that A.R. possesses.

Since the two are alike in many aspects, I wanted to see what everyone else thought. I think both of these guys are going to be rising stars in the NBA for the years to come, they just need the coaches to teach them rather than bark orders at them since they are so young and inexperienced. Don Nelson is going to have to adjust his style of coaching a lot and help them learn how to play this game the right way. The future is very bright for both of these young, lanky forwards and hopefully, these dudes could just fill out a little more in strength and build and reach their full potential. But IF you had to choose one....which one would it be?

Poll

Who would you rather keep? Brandan "Inspector Gadget" Wright or Anthony "Sad Face" Randolph?

B. Wright Fa Sho!

141 votes

Anthony Randolph Fa Sheezy!

327 votes

I can't choose between the two..they're both gonna be raw!

204 votes

672 votes | Poll has closed