SB Nation User Blog: Jagz8

Don't Fire Nellie. Patience is a Virtue.

Jagz8 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:07:47 -0000

I'm sick of people calling for Nelson's head and blaming him for everything, but he does deserve some blame for stuff listed below...

- getting the W’s some national exposure in 07 Playoffs.

- Developing Monta Ellis into a solid player.

- Developing Andris Biedrinis and actually playing him.

- Dumping losers like Murphy, Dunleavy, Diogu, Pietrus, and O’Bryant.

- Turning around a franchise that hadn’t made the Playoffs in 13 years.

- Replacing Mike Montgomery who was in way over his head.

- Finding qualitiy subs in Azubuike, Barnes, Watson, and Morrow.

- Not being named Bob Lanier, Rick Adelman, PJ Carlisimo, Gary St. Jean, Dave Cowens, Brian Winters, Eric Musslehead, or Mike Montgomery.

Ya I guess all of those things are Nellie’s fault, what a shame…Don Nelson is not the problem, management, injuries, and talent are. Cheap Ownership, poor Drafting, Moped incidents, and lack of overall talent on the roster are the real issues.

I’d love to hear what other coach could get an 8 seed into the second round of the playoffs, win 48 games in the ultra competitive West, and even attempt to make up for what has been years of poor management running this franchise into the ground.

Eddie Jordan? -No he couldn’t win with Arenas, Jamison, and Butler in the weak East,
not to mention get any of those stat stuffers to play any D.

Avery Johnson? – Well you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and like Jordan couldn’t get a running team to commit to his Defensive style in time to save his job. I like Avery and he would be my #1 pick to replace Nellie when the time comes, but he needs to learn from his previous mistakes before he can be a Head Coach again.

Flip Saunders? – Do I even need to list why not? This guy is a mediocre coach who couldn’t win it all with arguably the most talented core of players in the weak East. He also took forever to win a playoff game and series with KG and the T-Wolves.

Keith Smart? – He very well may be the next W’s head coach, but as an interim coach he couldn’t get an underperforming team to respond, so what’s to say he will this time? Everyone would want him gone if the current level of play stayed the same under him.

Overall the point is that this team is tailored to Nellieball and as much as fans want them to become a Defensive team night in and night out, it is not going to happen because frankly the parts are not there. Bringing in a Defensive minded coach doesn’t magically turn players in the Spurs. Firing Nellie and bringing in somebody else is not the answer now, unless you want to completely go back to the early 2000’s with a team that is clueless and out of sync with what their coach wants.

Patience is required, believe in Nellie, it takes time to build a contender, look at Dallas they didn’t become good overnight, and look now they have been in the Playoffs for the past 6-7 years.

Definition of Suck = 2008-2009 Warriors in depth.

Jagz8 — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:11:28 -0000

Its not late enough to say that the Warriors will not compete for a playoff spot this season, but without a major change in consistency and effort they are headed for yet another Lottery year. Breaking down what has happened so far gives me perspective on how the rest of the season will turn out...

The Good:

- Potential of players such as Randolph, Wright, Biedrinis, Ellis(pre-summer), and Azubuike.

- Removal of Al Harrington from this "TEAM". He is a cancer who doesn't know what he wants or what is best for him.

- Losing out on giving a $100 million to Gilbert Arenas, a guy who sits and plays video games while cashing the Wizard's paychecks, instead of doing his job on the basketball court. This guy like Jamison is a born loser who scores alot when he's not busy sitting on the sidelines, but for the most part gobbles up money.

- Signing Ronny Turiaf and the re-dedication to blocking shots on defense, though it has not led to better defense or rebounding.

-Nothing else really comes to mind. (Maybe Morrow's miraculous big shooting games, but he has since been exposed as one-dimensional.)

The Bad:

- Monta Ellis, Mopeds, and the state of Mississippi. (The injury plus the suspension, plus the unknown future with him.) The only way to describe this situation and how it has played out is STUPID.

- Marcus Williams and trading for his lethargic persona. This was truly an awful trade up to this point, as everytime he has entered the game the W's have sucked more. He doesn't defend, distribute, and cannot hit a jumper to save his life. WEAK.

- Don Nelson's coaching up until this point in the season. I'm not one of these quick to jump ship fans who want him gone right away, but will praise him when the W's win a few games. But to be frank he has stunk it up and has not played his strengths in the "Wright" situations. Brandan Wright has been under-used long enough, especially in games when throwing him in may have made a difference. (Toronto, Chicago, Memphis 2x, and Detroit.)

Nellie has been hesitant to play the young guys and for good reason, none have showed they should be out there every night, but Wright has been the most consistent and needed from a game to game basis.

Nelson has also drifted in and out of Smallball this year and the offensive tempo has suffered. It seems to shift from quarter to quarter spontaneously, this is in large part due to lack of a PG, but will touch on that later. Basically Nellie needs to stick with a plan and utilize his roster to that plan. Either play the young guys or play the Vets and go for more wins.

- Numerous close game losses, each game has that final 4 min will determine the outcome feel to it. This has been the case all season and yet the W's have not learned how to finish off teams, inbound the ball properly, and grab rebounds when it matters most. Frustrating miscues have cost them in the New Orleans, Toronto, and Detroit games.

The UGLY:

- Defense and Rebounding in either order have been atrocious. It seemed like at the beginning of the season the "TEAM" was more commited to improving both area's. They had a workman like attitude in the games 1-4, then regressed in the chuck and duck without hustle plays. Those first 4 games looked like a team of 5 Brian Cardinals were out there on the floor making hustle plays, fighting for rebounds, defending hard each possession. Now it looks as if they could care less and don't do either well on a possession by possession basis, which makes them rely more on wild 3 point shots and fast break points. Warriors need to bring back the scrappy, blue collar defensive mindset, while gambling more on the steals like last years team would if they want to further fuel their fast break.

- The Fast Break and Tempo of the games have been wildly erratic, more so than even Nellyball usually produces. The W's have trouble sequencing 5 minute intervals together of solid play, which prevents any chance of stringing together great quarters or halves. They seem to have a great first half followed by a miserable one and vice versa, there is no middle ground for us to anticipate and know who is going to show up when. This relates to reduced amount of easy fastbreak baskets they get this year combined with the lack of finishing around the rim.(How many times has CJ Watson had a break away and missed the dunk/layup contested or not? Its almost every time he finds a way to screw it up.) Last 1.5 years it was easier to know and expect how the W's would play on any given night, now its just too sloppy to predict anything.

- The lack of a true PG to run this team and distribute the ball FIRST and FOREMOST. This stems from the inability to properly replace Baron Davis and the occurrence of the Moped mishap. I still don't believe Ellis is a true PG and the W's are going to want to rely on him to score first, rather than distribute. He may very well become a star PG, but for now this rotation by commitee of Jackson, Watson, Crawford, and Nelson has failed miserably. These players are not committed to passing the ball and creating for teammates first and would rather chuck from long range than do so. Thus we have the stagnant offense which exists today, in which they don't find open teammates, don't distribute the ball effectively, and don't spark the offense. Another area of difficulty brought on by this scenario is the poor ball handling skills and ability to smoothly bring the ball up the court and dribble. Too many bad plays and turnovers due to poor ballhandling skills and mistakes. Overall the lack of a playmaker has cost them on offense, which is why they have already been held under 100 pts in 4/16 games this season.

The Warriors must find an answer at this position if they are going to improve, Crawford or Ellis may present themselves as the solution, but for now it remains as their greatest weakness.

- The overall chemistry and "TEAM" concept which has been so strong since 06-07, in which the passing was better, teamwork was better, and thus overall play was better. Now it seems that Jackson and Maggette play in their own world apart from guys like Andris and Kelenna, not to mention Wright and Randolph. Although I do think there is a bond between AB and Jack as they have connected on some sweet plays this season, many similar to what Baron used to run. I digress, there just seems to be something missing, be it the new mixture of players, the personalities of Maggette, Turiaf, and Crawford, or the lack of Baron Davis.

Without this collective effort on the court, it has revealed Front Office politics in a very negative light in which the likes of Nelson, Mullin, Rowell, and Cohan have not got along well and publicly feuded.

- The current record of 5-11, losing games they should win, and the importance of winning/playing with urgency. The Warrior's schedule has been somewhat favorable in who they have played, to which they have not taken advantage of. The losses at home and to weak teams has and will cost them this season. Losing to Memphis 2x, Sacramento, Chicago, and Washington was unacceptable, as all were games they could have and should have won. With the lowered expectations for this season the pressure should have been off and they had to win some of those games. Now they must continue on the road with games against the West powers starting to come up, and they have yet to string together wins against what should be inferior opponents. =Disappointing.

However when I look through all of these points, I think to myself:

maybe this "TEAM" is not as good as we had thought,

maybe the talent and pieces are not there,

maybe they are in the start of a full on rebuilding stage,

maybe Monta's injury return will fix it all,

maybe Monta's injury return won't fix it,

maybe they need time to let this mix gel,

maybe next year is the year to win games,

maybe a big trade or roster shakeup is in the cards,

maybe the Front Office will grow a brain and co-exist,

maybe this "TEAM" is doomed,

maybe not....

Anyways there is alot of basketball to be played and more to find out, but at this point the Warriors must pull it together or they will have truly taken a step back as a franchise.

So in summation at 5 - 11, the Warriors flat-out suck.

Al for friggin Malik Rose?

Jagz8 — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:32:14 -0000

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11212008/sports/knicks/walsh_cuts_a_deal_for_an_old_favorite_139971.htm

I found this while looking for the most recent articles and it looks like we are getting Malik Rose in an apparent salary dump deal. I mean Al Harrington is no star, but there has to be someone out there who wants him who could give the W's back someone skilled enough to help us right now and not just an old geezer who is just here to collect paychecks and then be off the books next year... Disappointing if this is indeed the trade, but personally I liked the Jamal Crawford deal better.

State of the Jaguars (now)...

Jagz8 — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:19:22 -0000

Well there are few words that can describe the immense disappointment stemming from a 21-19 loss to the now 1 - 8 Bengals, other than "wow" or "sigh". This loss hurt not as much as say some of the heartbreakers in which the Defense gave the game away in the 4th quarter, but is still painful for obvious reasons. The Jaguars were 3 - 4 coming into the game with some hope of turning around their season but with many questions surrounding the team, which makes this result somewhat bearable in comparison to the gut-wrenching losses to Tennessee, Buffalo, Pittsbugh, and Cleveland. Nonetheless the loss drops the Jags to 3 - 5 which is a seemingly insurmountable hole considering how poor this team played today and who they have left on the schedule.

However looking back if you remember the 2002 NY Jets, who sat at 3 - 5 after 8 games, rallied to finish 9 - 7, made the playoffs and even knocked off the Colts in the Wild Card round. So there is some hope in that it has happened before. What is even more intriguing is that Curtis Martin and Lamont Jordan had struggled to run the ball to that point similar to the issues that have plauged MJD and Freddy T's production.

Setting the despair and optimism aside the positives and negatives about this team are more than ever apparent now.

First the good:

- David Garrard's continual stability at QB, does the things necessary to keep the Jags in the game. He has also shown the potential deep ball threat from time to time, just needs better wide reciever play.

- Matt Jones continual development as a possession reciever, mades a few tough grabs in traffic and gave Garrard a safety net.

- John Henderson starting a fight and showing some heart/anger.... This act lifted the team up and began a late rally which came up a 2pt conversion short.

- Jerry Porter's surpise emergence from what seemed like a wide reciever coma, to actually have a couple catches on the day.

Now the bad:

- MJD and Freddy T's lack of running once again, no big plays and no yardage. Very disturbing trend of not being able to run the ball.

- Offensive Line's lack of ability to block for the run or the long pass. Also numerous penalties killed the team.

- Defensive Line's ability to once again hit the QB, force a fumble, or even pressure the Bengals offense. Also a couple silly offsides penalties once again hurt them.

- The secondaries coverage on Chad Ocho Cinco, he killed them in the first half, and if not for a few off target throws he would have had an even bigger day.

Finally the UGLY:

- LOSING TO THE 0 - 8 BENGALS!!!! (enough said)

- The 2pt conversion play in which Garrard threw a slant to Porter who was double covered and couldn't make the play. Lack of creativity and precision cost them on this play which in turn cost them a shot to tie the game.

- Greg William's defensive scheme considering the Jags personnel... Constant ineffective blitzing allowed guys like Fitzpatrick, Benson, and Utecht to come up with big plays. This is also a result of the lack of production by the defensive line, but still why beat a dead horse if it isnt working?

- Jack Del Rio's career trend of not making the playoffs in back to back years, coming back after a successful year with an average year hovering around .500, be it injuries, personnel, or schedule it is still concerning.

- Defensive 3rd Down conversions and astonishingly constant inability to get off the field on 3rd and long plays.

- the 3 - 5 record half way through the season, nobody and I mean nobody saw this coming before the season.

Overall though I think despite all of the negatives there is still a miniscule chance that they recover and salvage this season. However a realist would say that this season is in the books and the Jags should focus on developing younger players and do what they can to prepare for the draft and offseason. More snaps for Harvey and Groves is a must, as both need alot of work. The draft is going to have to be a success this year as well as free agency to rebuild this defense. Also getting healthy is a must, the offensive line can be much better with a healthy Mo Williams, Chris Naeole, Vince Mauwai, among others.

However it will be up to the next 4 games to determine if the 2008 Jaguars can rally like the 2002 Jets did or just completely collapse and hope for next season. Let's hope the Lions aren't as hungry for a W as the Bengals were....

State of the Team so far...

Jagz8 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:04:56 -0000

Well after 7 games and the Bye week the Jaguars are a meager 3-4, not quite where the team nor us the fans expected to be heading into November. Obviously the next two games against the winless Bungals and Lions are going to determine the fate of the season and very well the future of the franchise. With Indy losing tonight against the Titans the division is all but locked up, however the wild card race is still very interesting. A few wins here and the Jags could find themselves back in the mix, or a few losses could sink the season all together.

First the positives of 2008:

- Matt Jones emergence as the "go to guy" in terms of the receivers.

- David Garrard's late game heroics and never die attitude, not to mention his running capabilites.

- Josh Scobee's clutch leg, tackles, and overall play.

- The glimpses of potential in Mike Walker, Reggie Nelson, and Brian Witherspoon.

- Indianapolis' seeming collapse and 4 losses, also New England's loss of Tom Brady if there were a potential matchup down the road.

Now the negatives:

- The inexplicable lack of running game from MJD and Freddy T.

- The rapid decline of the Defense from 2005 to now, including John Henderson, Mike Peterson, and Reggie Hayward.

- The numerous crippling injuries to Meester, Naeole, Manuwai, Williams, Porter, Walker, Nelson, Durant, Wrighster.

- The lack of impact provided by FA's Jerry Porter and Drayton Florence.

- The extremely unfortunate and tragic loss of Richard Collier from the team.

- The lack of effective pass-rush from Harvey, Groves, and Greg Williams defense.

- 4 losses of 7 points or less, all games in which the Jags had a late lead or a chance at winning in the 4th quarter.

- The resurgence of my least favorite team besides Dallas, which is the Titans and the whiny Jeff Fisher. I can't stand that team and every time I hear about them all I can think about is the 1999 season and what should have been for the Jags. I mean if Buffalo doesn't let up that stupid "Music City Miracle" play, the Jaguars go to the Super Bowl and in my opinion would have given the Rams a helluva game.

- The 3-4 record with 9 games to go...

All that aside:

The Jaguars have a couple of games that they should win back to back, and with all the parity in the league nobody has a ridiculously easy schedule. If and this is a huge IF the Jags can win the next couple in any fashion, they can be right back in the playoff picture, because the schedule doesn't get much easier for teams like the Colts, Ravens, Pats, Browns, Jets, and Chargers. I may be over-optimistic at this point but all I'm saying is that if the Jags are 5-4 going home against the Titans and Vikes I think its conceiveable that they can get back in this thing...

I think it will be interesting to see what happens and how the team responds to adversity from here on out, but I have got to believe that with leaders on this team like Taylor and Garrard they can turn this thing around....

Let me know what you guys think, I'm just trying to stay interested in football this year with basketball starting soon and the Jags bumming me out...

WR issue

Jagz8 — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:09:44 -0000

I see the Jags have just re-signed Chris Naeole to boost the Offensive Line, but what I still don't understand is why they haven't looked into signing a veteran WR who can provide some leadership and experience for the young recievers on the team? I mean there are guys like Terry Glenn, Joe Horn, Eric Moulds, and Keenan McCardell out there who I'm sure would bite at a low ball offer and could provide the position with some needed help. It would be rather low risk with potential reward for the Jags and would provide Garrard with someone not named Matt Jones to throw the ball to...

Next Season.....

Jagz8 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:45:59 -0000

Well I think it is only fair to look ahead to next season, seeing as my 1% prediction is rather farfetched...

Looking at position by position this is where they stand in the Offseason...

PG: Need to make a decision on Baron and whether
to extend his deal or not. If they do they
need to find an adequate backup who can
shoot. If they do not extend him they need to
look for youth be it CJ Watson or in the
Draft.

SG: Azubuike is set for a payday with either the
Warriors or somebody else. Capt. Jack is
locked up, but an upgrade may not be a bad
thing as Mully and Nellie like to tinker
with the roster, a move may be in the wings
for a more consistent SG.

SF: Pietrus seems to be a goner and possibly
Barnes as well, he was of minimal
efectiveness this year... Looks like a
position that needs to be adressed and looked
at.

PF: Al is under contract but once again an
upgrade for more than a stand still
shooter could be wating. Brandan Wright
should be a starter next season in my
opinion. His wingspan, athleticism, and speed
need to be utilized...

C: POB is outta here, what a bust of a lottery
pick, completely raw and wimpy underneath...

Coach: Well Nellie will go back to Hawaii and
won't be heard from about coaching
until August, so a return is up in the
air until then....

Key Factors: Not mentioned before are the two
KEY building blocks Monta Ellis and
Andris Biedrinis, they must be re- signed long term and be taken care of

Draft: Hopefully with some luck of the ping pong balls a good pick is granted to the franchise, and a good young prospect can come into the fold.

The Hindsight: Looking back at this season is frustrating, but is a result of indecision by Management....

1. Trading J-Rich for Wright and 10mil trade
exception and headed on with the youth
movement....

Not trading Exception and young players for KG or Jermaine O'Neal in an attempt to win now this season and next.
Not trading Exception at all and letting it expire...
Signing C-Webb to shore up team, but detracts from youth movement.
Not making a Deadline deal, according to Chad Ford ESPN W's had numerous deals on the table that they turned down at the last hour.

Not sure where they are headed, but I'm here for the ride and lets GOOOOO WARRIORS!!!

Rookie Play and Potential....

Jagz8 — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:58:26 -0000

Watching the past couple games I have noticed how well Brandan Wright has played for a rookie with his size, athleticism, and speed. I wonder if Nellie knew what he had all along and was saving him to work longer on the little things before getting a look during games. He looks like a potentially really good PF in our system and gives us that long lanky size underneath that we need. This leads me to wonder if he will be the starting PF for the W's next season? I wonder if they will look to move Al in the offseason....

They will seemingly lose Pietrus, O'Bryant, and probably Croshere in the offseason, so would trading Al for draft picks or something be beneficial, while letting Wright play more???

Which brings me to Bellinelli, I think he is a project like POB was, he is not yet ready to contribute, but may be that sharpshooter we need off the bench to spark offense. I would like to see him get more looks for like 3-4 minutes in the 2nd quarter, just to see where he is at. Potentially I think he will end up being a 2008 Sarunas Marcioliunas...

Let me know what you guys think....

Favorite Former Warriors who never reached potential

Jagz8 — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:43:24 -0000

Hey guys who is your favorite former W's player that never reached their potential or level of their athleticism??? Or maybe better yet your favorite moment from that player?

I was thinking along the lines of:

Chris Porter, Vonteego Cummings, Rodney White, Ike Diogu, Mike Dunleavy, Billy Owens, Jiri Welsch, Marc Jackson....