was checking out draft positions and noticed we had the lightest schedule at .447 - so another inflated 7-9 season? though Singletary got this team playing better than Nolan, this could be another warning sign that this team is still in the bottom 8 in terms of actual talent. no matter how thorough the coaches are, when you have McClueless at the helm drafting average players, you're not going to succeed... on the bright side, even Kiper gets lucky some times so maybe McClueless will too.

2009 NFL Draft Order (April 25-26)
Pick	Team	W	L	T	Pct.	Strength of Schedule	Opponents' Record
1.	Detroit	0	16	0	.000	.559	143-113-0
2.	St. Louis	2	14	0	.125	.533	136-119-1
3.	Kansas City	2	14	0	.125	.537	137-118-1
4.	Seattle	4	12	0	.250	.498	127-128-1
5.	Cleveland	4	12	0	.250	.572	145-108-3
6.	Cincinnati	4	11	1	.281	.553	141-114-1
7.	Oakland	5	11	0	.313	.520	133-123-0
8.	Jacksonville	5	11	0	.313	.537	137-118-1
9.	Green Bay	6	10	0	.375	.504	129-127-0
10.	San Francisco	7	9	0	.438	.447	114-141-1
11.	Buffalo	7	9	0	.438	.453	116-140-0
12.	Denver	8	8	0	.500	.457	117-139-0
13.	Washington	8	8	0	.500	.479	121-132-3
14.	New Orleans	8	8	0	.500	.496	127-129-0
15.	Houston	8	8	0	.500	.518	132-123-1
16.	San Diego *	8	8	0	.500	.516	132-124-0
17.	New York Jets	9	7	0	.563	.471	120-135-1
18.	Chicago	9	7	0	.563	.475	121-134-1
19.	Tampa Bay	9	7	0	.563	.480	123-133-0
20.	Detroit (from Dallas)	9	7	0	.563	.498	126-127-3
21.	Philadelphia	9	6	1	.594	.514	131-124-1
22.	Minnesota	10	6	0	.625	.504	129-127-0
23.	New England	11	5	0	.688	.480	123-133-0
24.	Atlanta	11	5	0	.688	.459	117-138-1
25.	Miami	11	5	0	.688	.461	118-138-0
26.	Baltimore	11	5	0	.688	.521	132-121-3
27.	Indianapolis	12	4	0	.750	.498	127-128-1
28.	Philadelphia (from Carolina)	12	4	0	.750	.488	125-131-0
29.	New York Giants	12	4	0	.750	.502	127-126-3
30.	Tennessee	13	3	0	.813	.459	117-138-1
31.	Arizona *	9	7	0	.563	.486	124-131-1
32.	Pittsburgh *	12	4	0	.750	.525	133-120-3

was perusing through the game thread and noticed all the pining for Randolph. anyway here's some updates for those who haven't seen it.

"We're going to put him on ice for awhile, until the assistant coaches tell me that he's ready to play in an NBA game and my captains tell me he's ready to play in an NBA game," Nelson said after Friday's game. "He's just going to have to grow up."

http://www.insidebayarea.com/warriors/ci_11359891

also, according to Steinmetz

Fewer people in the organization are talking about Nelson not playing Randolph these days than are talking about how Randolph maybe doesn't even deserve to play. You don't have to be watching every minute of Warriors practice to realize Randolph's play and attitude have gotten worse.

http://www.examiner.com/x-441-Golden-State-Warriors-Examiner~y2009m1d2-Anthony-Randolph-looking-a-lot-less-like-an-untouchable-these-days

 

but if Baron's leaving and Chauncey's arrival in Denver (George Karl, Nellie disciple) has proven anything, it's that this system is one good PG away from a quantum leap in production.

look at D'Antoni and the Suns 21-40 (under him) the season before Nash and a one year wonder in Denver at 14-36 (50 game season). that Suns team was 29-53 - though it had the trade of Marbury, Penny & throw-ins for McDyess, Eisley, Ward & throw-ins - they still had Amare for 55 games, Marion, Joe Johnson, and Barbosa. guys who were scorers at the time, but not playmakers (though JJ has gotten better at this through the years). it wasn't a change in style - the pace went from 92.6 (5th in the league) to 95.9 (1st) that made a 29 win team a 62 win team.

a good PG isn't about assists, it's about puting all the dubs in their correct spots position and court wise. it's about allowing them to work less for good looks. follow me for a 2nd, i've noticed AB's defense has dipped this season. Jack's too. (Nellie pointed out and Lepper confirmed that Andris was having trouble defending screen-roll and Andris defensive rebound rate has dropped from 26.2 to 24.9). Jack is one thing, but why would AB's effort on d drop? could just be the 4 more minutes per game, but it also could be what he's doing in those minutes - expending tons of energy on offense just to get up shots.

this coming draft, while supposedly not as hyped, has some PG prospects. obviously, no guarantee that we draft the right guy or that he's ready in year one, but there is a realistic chance to pick up a decent PG in the next lottery. although it's always possible that management (no matter whose in charge) screws it up and drafts another swing man. and it doesn't mean we should go out and buy season tickets b/c we drafted a PG - it's easier to punish ownership for this season by not reupping or purchasing them the next. doesn't mean we'll be 33 games or even 16 games better, but we will be better. how good? depends, looks like a Baron level guy could get you to the 40-50 win range in this system and looks like a Nash could get you in the 50-60. Hardaway? maybe 35-45. some believe Monta can do it. i'm not convinced either way on that one. btw, it's not a tanking or not issue. we have 2 or 3 so-so Barbosa level creators and a team full of guys who are built to finish with no one to create those opportunities for them. we don't even have a Kobe or AI level guy that can get Turiaf easy buckets... and this entire post is all moot if we switch systems.

D'Antoni coaching record, http://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/dantomi01c.html

Lepper defensive rebounding rate, http://48minutes.net/2008/12/18/thoughts-on-game-no-26-pacers-127-warriors-120/

Lepper AB's screen roll, http://48minutes.net/2008/12/16/thoughts-on-game-no-25-magic-109-warriors-98/

http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/2007_summer_league_blog.html

if he, wright, and lasme can play, the team should be pretty deep next yr. it will also mean pob may be enjoying another yr in the d-league.

we can feature a team similar to last yr w/ baron, jax, kelenna, al, & andris - then go to a more conventional 2nd unit w/ monta, marco, lasme, wright, & perovic. i only put monta in the 2nd unit as a ball handler and obviously there will be some mixing and matching.

if we keep barnes, he'll obviously take kelenna's spot, moving kelenna's into lasme's, and putting lasme at risk for the d-league since the last two roster spots are probably foyle's and sarunas'. if powell is kept, he'll probably be on the inactive roster w/ those last two inactive spots either left open for call ups or belonging to camp invites.

looks like we're seeing the 1st trickle down effects from the jrich trade.

Briefly: The Warriors extended qualifying offers to Mickael Pietrus, Kelenna Azuibuke and Josh Powell before today's deadline, giving Golden State the right to match any offers the players receive in free agency. As expected, Zarko Cabarkapa was not tendered, so his Warriors days are likely done.

and nellie's supposedly amped.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/30/SPGBQQP0IJ1.DTL

from AP:

Golden State (18-17) above .500 after Jan. 1 for the first time since going 50-32 in the 1993-94 season.

kind of pathetic, but at least it's a step...

i'd actually thought they'd done this during the arenas-jamison-hughes-jrich years, but i was in college at the time and didnt really/couldnt keep track of the team.