SB Nation User Blog: lightz0ut

The New Look Warriors

lightz0ut — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:11:34 -0000

The New Look Warriors

See what happens when the potato gets cold

lightz0ut — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:18:45 -0000

Pardon the lame joke... and if you're still scratching your head on this one. You know, the Warriors were playing hot potato early in the game and was getting good shots from moving the ball then the game tightened up and the vets started playing superhero and then it went downhill from there.

Anyway, my last post was met with a good response and I'm in the mood for another one...

1. Just ONE game? JUST ONE FREAKING Game??? I wondered on my last diary how long JCraw can keep up his team-first mentality. Well, I got my answer tonight. Oh boy, was he not shy on the trigger tonight. I wonder if he got his 45% shooting from pull up 3s from 2ft beyond the arc with the Knicks.

2. Let the big boys play. Tonight Maggs played a good game at SF and despite a seemingly non existent showing, Brandan Wright grabbed the same amount of rebound maggette had despite playing just 12minutes. I would like to see him or Turiaf start regularly and make changes from there on a nightly basis.

3. SJAX. The Good and Bad. We saw both on today's game. The first 3 quarters he was exceptional. He didn't force shots and he made plays for his teammates. And as Fitz would put it: It was contagious. Then the bad Jackson had to sneak into the 4th quarter, he starts forcing shots and tries to do too much. Which was also contagious (I'm not sure who started it but him and Maggs just had a show-off in the 4th.)

4. TOO MANY SHOTBLOCKERS, NO REBOUNDERS. That's the problem we have right now. We have a bunch of guys who can guard the rim but we have no one who can secure the ball except Biedrins which really negates the effectiveness of the former. Rondo had 8 rebounds, 4 off the offensive end. Nuff said.

5. Back on tonight's game. Can't take away anything from the Warriors except that 4th quarter. I could have stomached this loss if I didn't have to watch the last quarter. I would've been satisfied to have lost because the Celtics was the better team on paper and on the standings. But watching the last couple of minutes of that game and I can't help but think we threw away any chances of winning that game when the ball stopped moving.

6. Hendrix. Is he really not ready to play in a basketball game? He's the closest we have to a big body and I'm thinking he can fit the same role as Turiaf except instead of blocking shots, his focus is to grab as many rebounds as he can.

7. A scrappy team, with no scrappy players. Part of why our small ball team worked was also because of scrappy players like Barnes, Pietrus. Guys who just gets in there and hustle. They're not tall or big or even that talented but they can get you extra possessions and force some turnovers. This team has totally strayed away from that.

Thoughts about the Game and the Warriors

lightz0ut — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:42:16 -0000

I was going to post this as a reply but it kept piling on and thought maybe it deserves to be a fan post. Anyway, some thought about tonight's game and the Warriors as a whole.

1. Jamal Crawford was too passive in this game which is understandable but it'd be interesting to see if he can keep up his pass-first mentality once he gets full acquainted with his new team.

2. Maggette PLEASE STOP SHOOTING 3'S!!!! Statline tonight 6-16 from the field, 1-4 from beyond the arc. Take out his pathetic 3pt attempts and he shot a more respectable 5-12 from the field. Want a bigger sample size? Maggs is shooting 38% from the field this season. Take away his 3pt attempts and he's shooting 47%

3. SJax PLEASE STOP CHUCKING 3'S!!!! Same with Maggette but I would allow him to still shoot it just not at his current rate of 7 attempts per game. Again comparing his shooting percentage.... with his 3pt attempts: 39.5%..... without his 3pt attempts: 46%.

4. Just peeked at the boxscore. Crawford actually managed to take 10 shots.

5. Until Nellie makes some changes, which I highly doubt, Anthony Morrow is such a waste on this team. He's no savior but his jumper is money, if you get him open through off ball picks and/or ball movement he can get you quality shots. Unfortunately those things has been the Warriors achilles heel on offense during Nellie's tenure here.

6. Each passing game where I see a bit of Randolph and Wright here and there I can't help but feel more and more pessimistic about how good/great their career will turn out. Explanation in the next couple of points.

7. Anthony Randolph. Gotta love his swagger but I think that's also the root of his problem, he's got too much. Lemme put it this way, I'm scared he'll turn out like Tim Thomas, Antoine Walker, Ricky Davis, or even our very own SJax. By that I mean, talented players who tends to play more than their skill level. They never met a shot they didn't like and loves the spotlight too much they don't know when to take the backseat. That's how I see Randolph right now, you see flashes of brilliance from a talented players but he's also trying to play above his head.

8. Brandan Wright. On the contrary, BWright is 68 games away from either heading towards Biedrins or POB category. To his credit, he's been pretty aggressive this year but Nellie love players that stands out in one category and Wright is still looking for his identity. Now here's my problem, Nellie is a confidence killer (more on this later) so either he finds something he does extremely good (rebounding/garbage man ala Biedrins) or he's headed back to the doghouse.

9. Nellie is a confidence killer. He's a great basketball mind especially in providing mismatches and exploiting it, BUT when you play a guy 30 minutes one night and bench him next for the whole game you're really gonna have inconsistency problems. And that's my beef with Nellie, as a player you don't have a clear idea of what your role is unless you're in his inner circle.

10. Small Ball. Say it with me...1,2,3.... SUICIDE!!!! That Portland game was a fluke Nellie, Aldridge is a jump shooter not a pound the ball guy that's why it worked and McMillan made the mistake of not playing Pryzbilla more otherwise we would've lost that game.Great a basketball mind Nellie is, he's wrong about playing Maggs at the 4. Small ball works because you force the other team's forward to defend a wing player and force them outside. But here's the problem, Maggs strength is overpowering his guy either at the post or taking him to the basket and using his strength to either finish or get fouled. You lose that when you have a 7 footer guarding him who gonna give him space and can change his shot when he drives to the basket. What happens is he ends up taking outside shots which leads to problems (See #2). And we all know what happens on the defensive end

NBA 2k9 and the Warriors

lightz0ut — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:02:04 -0000

So, I'm trying to update the sig shots for some of the Warriors and thought there's no better way to get an opinion (that I know of) than GSOM. So for those who play NBA 2k9, what changes have u made on the signature shots of the Warriors players?

Here's the changes I've made so far:

Biedrins - FT. I had two choices for him: Brand or Hayes. Biedrins has that hitch to his ft like Hayes but I thought Brand's release looked more like his. I think I went with Brand. It's just a matter of preference I think but it's definitely not Basic. What did you guys do on yours?

And for his jumper, uhmmm.... I don't think I've ever seen him take one. Anyone seen him? I don't think it'll be like his default though which has high elevation.

Brandan Wright - Changed his FT to squat. I have to double check that though next time Nellie plays him. Changed his jumper to Kick. Haven't messed around to see if there's a better fit but it matches better than his default (Bosh). High elevation, feet close together.

SJax - changed his FT but forgot which one. Also trying to see if there's a better sig shot for his jumper. I thought his elevation should be lower but at the same time I have to find one that also matches his release.

Those were my changes so far.

Maggette should take a page from Monta's book, and Randolph from Maggette

lightz0ut — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 01:08:07 -0000

Today's game just cemented what I've been thinking about since the first couple of games I saw Maggette play: He should not take any more 3pt shots.

Just look at today's game. He's 7-15 shooting and 0-5 from beyond the arc. Take those 5 3pters out and he shot a very efficient 7-10fg. He's shooting a very low percentage because he's shooting 18% from behind the 3pt line. He's taken 21 3pters in 6 games. You take out the game against Detroit where he played just 28 minutes. And he is hoisting up 4 a game.

Also, most if not all the 3pt attempts he attempted today were wide open shots. But he just couldn't make it. However, he didn't have any trouble knocking down mid range shots.

That said, he should take a page out of Monta's book and start stepping inside the arc. It worked wonder for him and it should benefit Maggette as well. We all know the 3Ball is not his strongest suite. What I liked about him (after sorting all the mess that was the offseason) was that he was gonna add a different dimension to the Warriors but I fear that he's just gonna turn into another 3pt chucker.

---------------------------------------------------

Now for Randolph. Like Maggette, I like how Randolph has a knack for getting himself to the line. But let's face it, he's not gonna get that many calls driving to the basket this year. So his best choice is to really find consistency on his midrange shot. But he should also start asking Maggette how to play the refs game.

I don't have a trained eye for it but why does it seem like despite making identical plays, Maggs will get fouled 3 times more than SJax. Maybe they are doing something different that I just don't see.

Same with DWade and Kobe. There are times Kobe gets swarmed by the Warriors and despite alot of contact surprisingly gets no calls (not complaining). However, there seems to be a rule that you can't touch any part of DWade when he drives to the basket.

Apparently, this is not a foul...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8X7jPPi_4M

But this is...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aySGUzzxjGE

I know it's an exaggeration since bad calls are made against pretty much all players but some gets more BS calls than others. Can't find a vid of Maggette or Jackson but I think getting calls is half knowing how to sell the contact and half building a reputation with the refs. So, Randolph better start learning what makes the refs tick or at least the spread for that night game (sorry, had to).

A look back at the 2002-2006 Drafts

lightz0ut — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:16:47 -0000

Year by year teams get a chance to improve their roster by selecting one of the many young prospects available in the draft. And year by year, you see players emerge from the bottom of the drafts and become solid contributor. Some even turn out to be NBA stars.

Why the article? I was browsing around in NBA.com and saw an article about Danny Granger and how he's really growing into a solid NBA player so I decided to check out the past couple of drafts and what the Warriors got vs. what was available. I found some interesting stuff so I thought I'd share some with you. I went 5 drafts back not counting the 2007 and 2008 draft.

2002 - I decided to exclude this draft year on the poll because, at the moment, it is the landslide winner. Not only did we pass on what turns out to be really really good players (not blaming anyone), we have the #3 pick, the highest we've picked since 2005. If only we got that spot one year later (the Pistons already took the bust of the draft at #2).

Who we picked: Mike Dunleavy

Who was available at the time: Amare, Caron Butler, Tayshaun Prince, Boozer, Haslem (undrafted).

2003

Who we picked: Mickael Pietrus

Who was available at the time: David West, Boris Diaw, Travis Outlaw, Leandro Barbosa, Josh Howard.

2004

Who we picked: Andris Biedrins

Who was available: Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, Kevin Martin,

2005

Who we picked: Ike Diogu

Who was available: Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, Hakim Warrick, Nate Robinson, Jarrett Jack, Jason Maxiell, David Lee, Ronny Turiaf, Louis Williams.

2006

Who we picked: Patrick O'Bryant

Who was available: Ronnie Brewer, Rajon Rondo, Marcus Williams, Kyle Lowry, Sergio Rodriguez, Craig Smith, Paul Millsap, Leon Powe

What's interesting to me is that everybody but Biedrins is gone. POB and Pietrus did not field us anybody in return. Dunleavy & Diogu (w/ Murphy) got us SJax. What's even more interesting is that notice how alot of the names being thrown around lately are in here. You got David Lee, Sergio Rodriguez, Travis Outlaw, Prince, a couple of other point guards. Then you have Warrior Killers David West, Boozer, Millsap, etc.

We're talking about wanting to get these players now when the Warriors could've picked them in the draft and provide better value for our picks.

Poll

Which of the following draft year did the Warriors really dropped the ball?

2003

85 votes

2004

3 votes

2005

79 votes

2006

52 votes

219 votes | Poll has closed

Andris Biedrins: Franchise Player?

lightz0ut — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 01:33:13 -0000

First of all, this is not a hype thread. Let's be real here, he's one of the better Centers in the NBA but he's got a lot to work on his game still. But I do want to open up discussion whether you see Biedrins as our franchise player a couple of years from now. With Monta's situation in limbo and Biedrins playing pretty well, as well as him publicly saying he wants to take on more offensive responsibility, there's no better time to ask: Do you see Biedrins becoming our franchise player in the future? Does he still have that much potential to go that far? Or is he an All-Star center at best?

I ask this because Biedrins have continued to improve on his game every year and we already know how he shoot a high percentage and that he grabs alot of rebounds. His stats for the first 5 games of the season are definitely up there with some of the better big men in the NBA. But then you also realize that the opposing coaches don't worry about Biedrins right now. For the most part, all they want is to box him out and keep him in foul trouble. So I wonder, can he really continue to be effective once teams start focusing on him defensively. And can he continue to take his game to the next level.

I see two current roadblocks for him right now.

1. His post game or the way he score in general. To his credit, he's add a couple of new moves to his repertoire. But right now, it's effective because it's catching everybody by surprise. I wonder if, when teams start scouting him, he can continue to use those moves effectively. I like the way he can take his guy off the dribble, I think it's something that will always be to his advantage. But he's gonna need to make adjustments on the post once guys start playing his left hand.

2. I got this whole will he be a franchise player question in my head because of this reason. Passing off the block or off the double team. This is definitely new territory for Biedrins and Wednesday night's game against the Nuggets was probably the first time I saw it happen. Biedrins was set up on the block, and you have guys coming at him to double. We all know he has pretty good hands but it'll be interesting to see if he also has the skills to make the right pass off the block. If he's really gonna take on a bigger role offensively, then it won't be long until teams start devising a game plan for him.

For a moment, let's forget we have Monta. Judging his game, his growth. Does Biedrins have the potential to be our go to guy?

Discuss.

Poll

Can you see Andris Biedrins as our franchise player in the future?

Yes

136 votes

No

45 votes

181 votes | Poll has closed

Maggette and the whole FA mumbo jumbo

lightz0ut — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:43:29 -0000

Hey guys, been awhile since my last post here. This might be my first diary since we move to SB Nation. Hopefully, I'm still known to some.

Anyway, been a spectator for awhile, just enjoying some of the good reads here. But lately, I've seen alot of people throw out Free Agent names as if we can get any player not signed to a contract just like that. Well, it doesn't work like that. So here's some of my insights, for what it's worth....

We overpaid Maggette. We have to. We're not getting him for the same price a team like Spurs would give him. Whether it is a waste of money remains to be seen, we need at least a year to judge that. But let's get this issue out the way, it was either to overpay or to not have him. There's no in between on this one, especially with a team like Spurs actively looking for his services.

If we are gonna pay him that money then we should've just signed it to Okafor, Iggy, Smith. Sadly, it's not as simple as it sounds. The Clippers just proved that by getting the 34yr. old Camby. Yes, throwing the money their way is easy and I'm guessing the Warriors are willing to do it at least to 1 of the 3 i mentioned. However, actually getting them is not. If I am not mistaken, all those guys are RFAs so we can very well offer them money and sign them to an offer sheet, but then their mother team has a week to match. Within those 7 days, we can't make a run at any other free agent. Basically it will just be a waiting game. Unless their team is lying and they don't really intend on keeping them, the only scenario we can get them is if we overpay - which in this case will likely cost us more than 50. Any of those 3 players can very well love our team but there's no way we get a budget deal for them because then it'll be instantly matched by their home team. The Clipper probably realized the same thing. They can take a gamble and sign somebody to a fat offer sheet, but they also risk missing out while they are within those 7 days. The bottom line is, we would have to offer the max or very close to it to sign either of the 3. Remember they already turned down a considerable offer that's why they are in this position. (Iguodala walked away from 57M, Okafor on 65M). Anything less or close to those numbers, chances are their team would match.

We should've just saved our money for next season. What money? If we intend to make room to sign what you think will be a better value player, we're probably gonna have to let either Monta or Biedrins walk away. I'm sure some will not have a problem with that and say go ahead. But then, it's back to square one... will that player be an unrestricted FA? If he is, will he want to come to the Warriors? Think about it, losing Baron and possibly losing Monta or Biedrins to make a run for a free agent means we're probably gonna be worse than we have been the last two seasons. So, really our drawing point would be money which I'm pretty sure a couple of other teams would be capable of offering as well (See Brand, Philly). The bottomline is, we would have to overpay for anybody who's made a name for himself to come here. Until we reach contender status, we will have to spend money to get guys.

Well, that's it for now... let the love/hate flow....

The lightz0ut experiment vol.2

lightz0ut — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:57:57 -0000

HELP!!!!! I missed the Portland game and most of the Hawks game so I'm missing data from those two games. Hope somebody can help me out either by watching the game again if you have access and then giving me the data or just pointing me somewhere I can watch those games. Also, still wondering if anybody will be interested to do this with me. All it takes is watching the full game, a pen and paper.

Anyway, here's the data from the 2 Games(vs. Philly & Bobcats) I got to watch:

CASE STUDY 1: THE PULL-UP 3POINTER
GAMES COVERED: 2

P3PM-A = number of pull-up 3pter made and attempted
3PM-A = total number of 3pter made and attempted

PLAYER P3PM-A 3PM-A
BARON 0-3 1-12
SJACK 2-4 5-14

--------------------------------------------

CASE STUDY 2: TRAVELING AND STEPPING OUT-OF-BOUNDS
GAMES COVERED: 2

TRVL - Traveling
OUB - Stepped Out-Of-Bounds
TO - Total Turnovers

PLAYER TRVL OUB TO
PIETRUS 0 0 2
BUIKE 0 0 0

OT: Why it's not the best idea to propose at the game

lightz0ut — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:16:12 -0000

Just got this from another site I visit. This has got to be towards the top of the list of things you don't want to happen to you in your lifetime. I wonder if that really happens in Oracle, what would the fans & players reaction be.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1802919

Also, funny how the fuzzy bear is the one consoling the guy. At least, somebody handed him a beer. lol