SB Nation User Blog: philsmith75

Lessons on Vinsanity

philsmith75 — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:03:51 -0000

I hope the W's Do Not Follow

Watched most of the game last night. Now just one game but saw Vinsanity 2007 version and I'm not impressed, especially given his max-contract, ($17.8M?). He scored last night, and with some spectacular moves, but there was very little of what made him a phenomenon, the vertical lift, the explosion. The effort on D? Max effort on fouling, that's it. Rebounding in traffic? Nowhere, leaking out to cherry pick. Vince just signed his max extension too, so the Nets are not going to have much flexibility for a while (unless they trade JKidd and get stud back).

I think this is exactly the scenario Mully wants to avoid with Baron; a broken down max player dragging down your franchise. I'm not saying Baron's going to lose it like Carter. I think he's proven up to now that if he dedicates himself, he's still got a few years of explosion left.

Your thoughts?

Warriors at the 1/3 Pole

philsmith75 — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:13:06 -0000

Future is Bright and Getting Brighter

The season is just past the 1/3 pole and the W's are doing better than I thought they would, especially considering the SJax suspension to start the season.

As they are currently made up, I think Mully and Nellie have done a nice job of putting the pieces together.
Biedrins is a pretty nice young center.

Harrington is a pretty respectable F

Azubuike has done very well given that he's only been in the league one year.

SJax, Monta and Baron make up a pretty nice set of swingmen and PG.

The bench, Barnes, Pietrus, etc. has been inconsistent. Hopefully Wright can add more as the season goes on. Don't know what the deal is with Barnes, his shot selection seems poor as he jacks up 3s at bad times (too quick sometimes) and his % is down. But he still makes nice passes and is the third best passer on the team after Baron and SJax. Bellinelli? Not this year. POB? I loved what I saw against the Clippers but I don't know how he pissed off Nellie.

Is this team going to win the Championship? Not likely because they are a dominant big defender away (Ben Wallace '2004). But there's a chance because of how the pieces fit.

More importantly, there is a very good foundation in place (Monta, Biedrins, Harrington (still young), Baron and SJax.) If the W's can just get lucky with either POB, Bellinelli or Wright and have them blossom into a near-great player, look out. Oh yeah, they need to resign Monta and Biedrins (very little chance they do not) and somehow keep Nellie or someone like Nellie in place (Smart?)

Mbenga - Good Sign for Warriors

philsmith75 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:32:52 -0000

DJ has been a nice addition.

He's hustled and added some size while POB is still learning how to bang and not get fouls.

But he's a good sign because DJ only plays limited minutes and that to me shows that the Ws have a great team going. If DJ were playing more, that would not be a good sign because he's truly one dimensional. On offense, he's nearly worthless, no shot, no hands, cannot finish, only asked to pick. (I understand he's an NBA player and I'm just some pickup guy but I'm using NBA standards.)

No D

philsmith75 — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:44:08 -0000

Looked at the espn shot chart and the Jazz made exactly 3 shots outside the paint in quarters 1-3. And they blew out the Warriors.

Awful.

To make up for their lack of size, the W's have to tease teams into taking Js and hustling for boards and steals. Little of that Tues. Hopefully it was just one game.

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[Moderator's Note, by OptionZero:]

Please put short comments like this in the postgame recap story or any of the multiple diaries on the game. Thank you.

2nd Best PG in the League

philsmith75 — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:20:01 -0000

We saw him last night and he did not have a W's jersey. (Of course Nash is #1)

Deron Williams is so good; always in control, makes the good easy pass, and can hit the tough jumpers and the ones when he's left wide open, and can finish.

Baron scored just as much as Deron and probably had more assists but Williams positive plays out of a higher percentage.

I really appreciate Baron and without him it would be worse than the Atlanta Hawks; just wish he could have hit a few jumpers and finished a couple more at the rim (oh yeah and his some damn FTs).

GSoM Night Package Delivered!! Major Thanks to GSOM and Chris Murphy

philsmith75 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 18:21:16 -0000

Got mine in the mail yesterday. Before heading home also got a quick e-mail from Chris Murphy (GSW Sales Mgr.) telling me they went out in the mail.

Major props to Mr. Murphy for the smooth delivery of everything and to GSOM for making the GSOM II Night happen.

Thanks.

Can't wait for October 30 when the Warriors get some revenge on the Jazz.

What the Warriors Are When they Are Bad

philsmith75 — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 05:25:29 -0000

I hate this kind of game in the worst way but being realistic about the Ws, this is what the Ws are going to look like when they have an off game. We saw that when they are clicking its awesome; but what is it that we are seeing? Shots falling, jumpers falling, everything falling into place, up fakes working, clear paths to the hole.

Well when the jumpers don't fall, they slough off and let the Ws just jack it up, which leads to long rebounds and fast breaks the other way. That's why post up options are so valuable, short shots and FTs to offset the missed jumpers.

There was no Biedrins tonight but I think its not going to be any different with Biedrins in and the jumpers not falling.

Its okay, I'm willing to live with this if we get the highs too, its the price.

Sky High Dreams

philsmith75 — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:34:57 -0000

Hello, I can't help myself, my anticipation and enthusiasm for the new year is the highest since 1995 (then Webber left).

The way that the 1st team played on Tues. was sweet; they were clicking and sharing the ball. Azubuike is going to make us forget about JRich (loved his devotion to the W's and grit but dude could not dribble with his left or right, did not create very well in the half court and played awful D) because of his scoring abilities and defense. Belinelli is a legitimate deep shooter; you can just see it in his shot and how he moves.

Finally, perhaps the best story is the development of O'Bryant. After the depths of Bakersfield, he is showing that he can play in the NBA (even if its just 2nd teamers). The wait for a legitimate center may be over (I still love Andris).

I've seen Rick Barry in '75, was there a team in the '80s? (oh yeah Purvis Short and Joe Barry), Run TMC in '92 and Webber in '94, but this team may be the funnest with the ability to compete with the best.

Respect for the Spurs

philsmith75 — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 00:34:18 -0000

I love the Warriors. But I have a hard time thinking they are going to win because of my respect for the Spurs.

Responding elsewhere, I realize that in the past 10 years, the Spurs are probably the one team that I can count on to give their all the whole game, whether its the playoffs or some game in November.

The Jordan Bulls used to be like that, I remember a game in 1995 or 1996 at the San Jose Arena (remember construction?) where the Bulls just came in and drilled the Warriors 60-20 in the 2nd period and I was watching the Bulls, especially Jordan on Sprewell, play playoff D in some stupid game against a lame team. They went 72-10 that year.

Since, there is no other team I can think of that plays so hard every game. That's the utmost respect for the game I can think of. For some reason though, I root for the Mavs and the Suns instead of the Spurs in the playoffs, probably because they've won already. Kudos to Duncan, Popovich, Parker, Ginobili, Bowen for their effort.

Warrior Highpoints and Lowpoints

philsmith75 — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 21:45:10 -0000

How About Biedris? He's show good hands and rebounding without too many foul problems. He appears to be the unsung key to the team, when he plays well, the Warriors play well.
Baron under Control? When he gets people involved without too much dribbling, the Warriors look like a possible contender.
Monta- He's been a 2nd round gift. The most impressive thing about him, beyond the quickness and fearlessness, is his composure. I love his cool demeanor and the way everything, good or bad, seems to roll right off his back. Even during the preseason when Nellie was riding him in the press, he did not say anything and apparently just kept working hard and its paying off.
Roberson- Is he for real? The last couple of games he's been a key contributor. Even the shots he misses have been near misses. I hope he can be the next found Starks/Boykins/Cardinal that we rescued from the scrapheap and actually keep.

Low lights

Where's Murphy? What happened to his rebounding? He used to be the one guy to get rebounds in traffic. I don't see it right now (only watched half the games.) I hope he did not lose it; that was the one irreplaceable part of his game.
Where's Dunleavy? He showed up against the Raptors but otherwise, he has been left behind in small ball. I hope he can build on the Raptors performance.
J-Rich- Nowhere near an All-Star right now. Probably an injury hangover. Love his enthusiasm and devotion to the team. Just wish he'd stop dribbling and shooting 3s.