-
Nov14
Thoughts on Game No. 9: Pistons 107, Warriors 102
Filed under: News; Tagged as: Allen Iverson, Andris Biedrins, Anthony Morrow, Brandan Wright, C.J. Watson, Chauncey Billups, Corey Maggette, Don Nelson, Kelenna Azubuike, Kwame Brown, Marco Belinelli, Monta Ellis, Rasheed Wallace, Stephen Jackson, Tayshaun PrinceBy Geoff Lepper
48minutes.netThe level of the Warriors’ competition went up Thursday. The level of their winning went down.
And it’s very possible that’s going to become a familiar lament for Golden State in the next few weeks.
It’s a cliche to say that the Warriors, as the NBA’s youngest team, need to learn how to win. But it’s a fact that Detroit’s 107-102 win over Golden State is the fourth time out in six losses for the Warriors this season in which they’ve held the lead in the final six minutes and failed to hang on.
The image of the night? Warriors coach Don Nelson, draping his right hand on top of his head as he tried not to have his brain jump out of his skull with 3:10 remaining when C.J. Watson — jarred by the sight of an onrushing Allen Iverson — stepped inbounds before passing the ball in.
The costly turnover was followed by a back-breaking 3-pointer from Rasheed Wallace that gave Detroit a 96-92 lead with 3 minutes left, and the Warriors never drew closer than three points after that.
The Warriors dropped to 3-6 on the season, an especially disappointing mark when you consider that, given the relatively easy nature of their schedule to this point, they should have expected a 5-4 record at a minimum — games at New Jersey, at Memphis, vs. Memphis and vs. Minnesota were all good bets for a win, as was the Denver contest at home when the Nuggets were missing both Iverson and the man he was primarily traded for, Chauncey Billups.
Unfortunately, things get significantly more difficult between now and Dec. 17, when Monta Ellis’ suspension ends. There are two long road trips — which have never been the Warriors’ forte — and home games against a higher caliber of opponent.
One’s man’s guesses as to how the Warriors will fare over the next five weeks:
Saturday, at LA Clippers: TOSSUP
Tuesday, vs. Portland: LEAN LOSS
Nov. 21, vs. Chicago: LEAN WIN
Nov. 23, at Philadelphia: LEAN LOSS
Nov. 25, at Washington: LEAN WIN
Nov. 26, at Boston: SAFE LOSS
Nov. 28, at Cleveland: SAFE LOSS
Nov. 29, at New York: LEAN LOSS
Dec. 1, vs. Miami: LEAN WIN
Dec. 5, at Houston: SAFE LOSS
Dec. 6, at San Antonio: LEAN LOSS
Dec. 8, at Oklahoma City: LEAN WIN
Dec. 10, vs. Milwaukee: SAFE WIN
Dec. 12, vs. Houston: LEAN LOSS
Dec. 13, at Denver: LEAN LOSS
Dec. 15, vs. Orlando: LEAN LOSS
Dec. 17, at Indiana: TOSSUPThat’s 10 in the safe/lean loss category, five in the safe/lean win category and two tossups. If you split the tossup games, that’s going to be a 9-17 record for the Warriors by the time their biggest star is even allowed to play — and obviously there’s no guarantee Ellis will be back on Dec. 17; as first reported here, Ellis still has to have surgery to remove the hardware holding his deltoid ligament in place. That procedure is scheduled for Wednesday.
** Despite grabbing two steals and drawing a couple of charges, it was not a good night at the defensive end for Watson. He was torched with regularity by Iverson and made a crucial mistake on the first of Wallace’s back-to-back 3-pointers.
While responsible for the top right half of the Warriors’ 2-3 zone, Watson was caught up by a screen from Tayshaun Prince at the top of the key. That allowed Allen Iverson to locate a wide-open Wallace in the space that should have been covered by Watson, and Wallace drained the shot for a 93-92 lead.
** Watson also had his troubles as a playmaker. He finished with one assist versus four turnovers and failed to get the ball to a wide-open Anthony Morrow along the left wing in a 4-on-3 situation. (The pass tailed off towards the baseline, skimmed off Morrow’s left hand and went out of bounds.)
** Corey Maggette was less than stellar in his return from a four-game absence due to hamstring problems (2-for-7, team-worst -15). Rightly or no, he gives off that vibe of a guy who puts up enough numbers to keep things close, but never has the grit to single-handedly grab a win.
Also, it was interesting to note that on a transition possession midway through the first quarter, Prince was able to make up a good two or three steps on Maggette, turning what should have been a 3-on-2 fast break into a 3-on-3. That left Watson without an outlet when he got trapped in mid-air, and led to a Warriors turnover.
I don’t know if that was just sheer hustle on Prince’s part or if Maggette didn’t feel, in his heart of hearts, that he could safely go full speed on the hammy. If it was the latter, then he needs to sit; if it was the former, he needs to get it in gear next time.
** Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but in the two games where he’s played less than 44 minutes, Stephen Jackson has shot a combined 12-for-28 (42.9 percent). The rest of the time? He’s 55-for-147 (37.4 percent).
** Morrow is clearly supplanting Marco Belinelli as Nelson’s designated shooter of choice, making the cynical among us wonder when Belinelli will come down with back spasms of his own.
** Andris Biedrins should be catching the alley-oop passes, not throwing them.
** Watching Biedrins outhustling the relentlessly awful Kwame Brown for second-chance points: Not in the least bit surprising, but still very much amusing.
** Brandan Wright showed some nice recognition in the second quarter finding open seam for layup and three-point play after Prince left him to double Kelenna Azubuike, who was posting up ex-Warrior Will Bynum. I assume when Nelson talked about wanting to go smaller after Detroit went small with 6:43 left (Wallace at the 5, Prince at the 4), he would have brought Wright in at the 5 to take man-to-man duties against ‘Sheed.
I’m not convinced it would have worked any better, but in retrospect, it was worth a shot.
Contact: geofflepper@48minutes.net
24 Responses to “Thoughts on Game No. 9: Pistons 107, Warriors 102”
-
great breakdown geoff.
“…a 5-4 record at a minimum — games at New Jersey, at Memphis, vs. Memphis and vs. Minnesota were all good bets for a win, as was the Denver contest at home when the Nuggets were missing both Iverson and the man he was primarily traded for, Chauncey Billups.”
i think u mean to say @ Sacramento instead of New Jersey as the warriors beat the nets on the road for the first win of the season.
Also, i think you are being a little generous with the predictions for the upcoming games. I may be wrong but i see the following…
@ Clippers Safe Loss (Baron motivated against an old club is never good)
vs Chicago Toss up (Bulls plays us very well and without ellis are a more complete squad)
@ vs Portland Safe Loss (What’s the over/under on how much the dubs are out-rebounded in this game? 14.5? 17?
@ Washington Tossup and if I had to pick with a gun to my head, Lean Loss. (I just don’t trust the Warriors on the road especially without Harrington/Ellis)
vs Miami Toss Up/ Lean Loss (Dwayne Wade is playing like the old top 5 in the league D Wade…Their core of Wade/Beaseley/Marion is way more talented than anything the Warriors throw out..they have some nice wins this season including that dismantling of the Spurs on the road)I’m not being pessimistic, just realistic, but I only see 2 games during this 17 game stretch that I feel like the Warriors are the favorites and should win….@ OKC and vs Milwuakee. I would not be surprised at all if the Warriors are looking at 5-21 in a month.
-
commish November 14th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Hey, Google Trend this!
Geoff, great analysis. I liked the reference to Nellie pulling his hair out (the Commish should be so lucky) with C.J.’s freeze up on the sidelines. That was the beginning of the end. I’m also hoping Maggette isn’t 100% or we’ve wasted a lot of extra money. The guy just hasn’t done anything for us lately, as they say. Maybe he will get more comfortable and his leg will heal up, at least I hope so.
Geoff, dude, do you know what goes through Nellie’s mind in terms of how he decides who gets to play and who doesn’t? Is it based on practice, match-ups, both?? Because he sits Randolph and Belinelli for the entire game when at least Randolph brings his young legs and energy and Marco might get hot. Or not.
Alright, last random thought. You gotta like Morrow with his orange headband (where is Al when we need him) and wide eyes. But what is the point of having him on the floor if he doesn’t get the ball! But it also seems that is the biggest problem so far this year (other than Monta being out of course and Rowell nixing the deal with Baron–what an idiot). Oh yes, the “biggest” problem. No one is distributing the ball very well and Jax trying to drive with three Pistons closing down on him or feeling he has to hoist the trey with really bad results. Bukie is shooting under 20% from the three line.
Ok, forget all the bad news. The team played hard and was competitive. And let the losses mount up while we plan for next year’s high draft pick and another young, talented rookie who Nellie may or may not play. Doesn’t get any better than that.
-
No criticizing Jackson. He’s All Star/MVP-caliber great and it’s Nellie’s fault when he’s not.
Geoff said so. -
Geoff Lepper November 14th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Mike: No, I actually thought they had a better chance of winning in Jersey than in Sac. I suppose you could say they had a right to expect a split out of those two.
As for the games …
Clippers: I’m not worried about Baron bringing it. I’m worried about how bad the rest of that team is.
Trail Blazers: It’s pretty rare to have a sure loss when you’re the home team.
Wizards: Have you seen how bad the Wizards are?
Heat: In retrospect, I probably would rate this as TOSSUP.
Commish: I think when Maggette’s healthy, he can help. But he doesn’t seem to trust the leg fully (and given that he’s had four instances of a strained hamstring since Oct. 2007, I’m not surprised.)
As for the substitutions … Morrow took all of Marco’s potential minutes last night. Randolph didn’t fit because Nelson wanted to go small.
The lack of playmakers is the biggest problem this team has right now. No question.
ajbry: I did? Where was that?
-
JustPuked November 14th, 2008 at 11:20 am
The offense grinds to a halt because no one knows how to pass the ball.
I’m not sure Monta will fix that.
Maggette, KA, and CJ are black holes.
Jackson can pass but to score he has to pound the ball…otherwise it’s not like he’ll ever see it again.
Goose is probably the second best passer on the team right now. That’s pathetic. -
roadlust November 14th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Jackson dominating the offense is the problem on this team right now. He’s a bad ball handler, he’s really never been a high percentage shooter, and aside from being a “big” guy who can shoot a three (once in a while) there’s never been much to recommend him as a prominent player except his defense.
So, we get a low percentage shooting “defensive specialist” without handles running the offense in Jackson. Sounds like a winning combo to me!
-
M.Squared November 14th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
-Good point about Jackson’s minutes and productivity.
-Nice to hear Nelson finally come out and admit that Jackson is best when he is option #3- it’s good he recognizes this- Maybe when Ellis is back he can get back to that role.
-I am not opposed to going small for some stretches in a game- But Why go small to start the game? Made no sense. The Pistons are big across their front and hammered us on the boards. Beyond that- Wright has been starting and is playing well- so why sit him now? And- why only 17 min? Pointless. Also - starting Buike, and Maggette left no sure scoring punch off the bench.
-Maggette needs to heal. It is well known that hamstrings don’t get better when you try to explode off of them while still healing.
-No excuse for not playing Randolph. The Warriors have no clue if they are developing or trying to win now. It seems like they float on this day by day…. -
Seems to me that there is still a lot poor shot selection like last year, just different guys taking them. I like Buike, but he is not the best 3 point option, he is a role player pressed into playing a starring role. Towards the end of the game, they again settled for too many jump shots. I’d like to see more passing than 1 on 1 pounding the ball looking for individual shots. Certainly Jaskson, Buike, and Watson could have driven and kicked to a wide open Morrow - who is a pure outside shooter. When you are down 6 points, you’re not going to get back in the game shooting 18 footers. I’d like to see a focus on running more towards the end of the game to keep the opponents from setting up their defense. Even if CJ just pushed the one man fast break like Ellis did so well, there might be a few easy baskets to be had. We have the youngest team in the NBA, use the young legs to an advantage rather than the inexperience of setting up against veterans.
Williams and Nelson didn’t do much for their cause last night. Williams looked lost, Nelson looked like he was trying too hard and just made mistakes.
It would have been nice to see Randolph in the late 3rd/4th when the pistons made a run just to see if he could have helped slow them down defensively since the lineup they had out there wasn’t getting it done - maybe even given Jack a rest at that time.
-
the back breaker was CJ ill-advised jumper on the break when they were ahead by 4. He should taken it to the hole or back out and wait for a better shot, not a leaning/off balance shot like that. That was the killer.
-
Geoff said “Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but in the two games where he’s played less than 44 minutes, Stephen Jackson has shot a combined 12-for-28 (42.9 percent). The rest of the time? He’s 55-for-147 (37.4 percent).” It’s all there. I can read between your lines and I know you don’t want to badmouth Nellie the way other writers will but we know what you’re saying, Geoff.
Jack is great until Nellie abuses him and makes him worse. Since we all know that Jack is worth $40 million for the next five years, meaning he’s a total no-brainer All Star MVP type on a total bargain, case closed.
-
ajbry:
Um, Geoff is pointing out the obvious: Stephen Jackson is a good player, but isn’t that good when he’s tired.
This isn’t RealGM. Please shoot yourself.
-
Look, I can’t help it that you deny Jackson is the team’s only great player and our best shot at an All Star. Jack is really too good for this team but he’s a winner and a leader and that’s why the Warriors would be fools to let him get away or annoy him any further with no deal and too many minutes all at the same time. At some point, the Warriors have to decide what they’re trying to accomplish and what they care about. Jack needs his deal now so the team and its fans can settle down and be OK with this season being pretty terrible as everyone gets used to the new lineups and injuries.
Shoot myself? You’re just a hater. Jack is the real deal. He deserves to get paid.
-
Geoff Lepper November 14th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
JP: Monta may not fix the half-court stagnation, although he can’t gum things up any more than they already are. What he will do (assuming he heals fully) is turn several of those half-court possessions into runouts for himself.
roadlust: Here’s the problem — there’s nobody who can drive and kick effectively, and Jackson is the only guy on the team who can run a pick-and-roll with any sense of confidence and compitence. Even Marcus Williams hasn’t looked that good in the few PNR situations he’s worked. So if not Jack, then who? You can either run things through Andris on the block or go run an iso play or seven.
Dan: I looked back at that possession, and it’s even worse than I thought; it was a 3-on-3 break with Rasheed trailing close behind CJ. Both Azubuike and Jackson were off to CJ’s left, so the spacing wasn’t there. But Jackson peeled off and went to the free-throw line extended on the left wing and was open for a 3-pointer.
Now, maybe C.J. decided his pullup from 14′ was the better option. But on the tape, it sure doesn’t look like he even saw or considered passing out. That’s where he really hurts the W’s.
Jon: No need for gunplay, even self-inflicted. But your point is accurate. Jack, even when not tired, is not an MVP candidate. He deserves to be paid more, based on his production over the last two years, but let’s not put him in with Chris Paul, LBJ and Kobe.
-
Told ya so. Thanks for backing me up Geoff.
Nellie is bad for Jack but good for his stats and makes Geoff see the light, this guy is a top 20 NBA player, just look at his scoring and assists numbers. They’re huge!
Comprehensive: pay him so I can gets paid.
-
Monta will help if he can continue to hit his midrange jumpers behind Andris pick. He can also run screen/roll with Andris. Except for Jax, nobody else can run screen/roll with Andris. MarcusW sucks ass so please don’t even mention his name.
The W’s don’t have many good passers and/or ball handlers now that BD is gone.
-
Watch MarcusW when and if he gets in, he can’t barely move his ass. It is almost like he is pregnant or something. Hustle, Hustle….when you are a scrub, hustle.
-
Monta Ellis is trash.
-
theterrible November 14th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
“Hustle, Hustle….when you are a scrub, hustle.”
The problem is that the W’s don’t need more hustle from the point–DM Nelson and Watson give plenty–rather, they need skill. And while Williams is probably the best dribbler out of the three, and maybe even the best passer, he’s missing the quickness he needs to beat his man or play the PNR effectively. I’m not as down on him as some: I’d actually like to see him get a few more minutes, if only to relieve Jack of some of the burden, and to relieve the bleeding of my eyes that tends to occur when watching Nelson or Watson run the point.
-
Did you really just say “Monta Ellis is trash”???…wow.
-
we are placing to much blame on PGs,jack is shooting 38% fg 27% 3pt,Magg 33% fg 18% 3pt,Bukie 44% fg 17% 3pt,Al when he played 32% fg 39% 3pt.No team is going to win when its best players are takeing all the shots and shooying this poorly.Don’t even try to tell me this is the PGs falt,while they diffently need to play better so do the stars,and by the way tell they to pass the ball.
-
M.Squared November 14th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Jackson is being asked to play many roles that he is not equipped to do.
1- be a number 1 scorer
2-play point/inititate the offense
3-play 44-48 min per night
You can’t blame him for trying to step up and handle this.
Part of the issue is that as a team- the Warriors dont move the ball well- 1 player can influence this but more so - it is something that needs to be emphasized with Coaching- ESPECIALLY with younger players: Buike, Wright, Randolph, Watson, Morrow.
Williams may be out of shape and somewhat of a hump- but he IS their best passer- bottom line. He needs more than 4 minutes a game to make something happen.
Ellis is going to open somethings up. I would expect Jack to shoot better once Monta is back ( due to more free looks) and I would expect Monta to continue to work on the “drive and dish” game that he was experimenting with last year. As the point - he is going to have to pass by example.
There’s an old saying about defense being contagious- passing is much the same. 50% of it is mindset. -
commish November 14th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
4REAL, dude, don’t try to confuse us with the facts and stats. Seriously, although it is not the current array of psuedo-point guard’s fault (as you point out), it is the fault of the franchise who didn’t do anything over the summer to try to find us a good point guard knowing we had some tradeable assets, including Harrington who we knew already knew months ago Nellie didn’t like. And now we know exactly why we need a good point guard now just as we did when Baron headed south.
-
Monta Ellis is not a leader. This team will go nowhere with him if Jack ain’t around.
Believe that. -
We need to share and move the ball more than this isolation game we are playing.Ball movement is the key,were not good playing this way.To best use the talent of this team we need to go to a all-out fast break game to use the talent we have.We have talent but it is to busy watching the stars play,Jordon and Kobe had to learn this lesson,maybe we have to learn too.
Leave a Reply
Categories
- Commentary (138)
- HTLFMARC (52)
- In Their Own Words (7)
- News (139)
- The Morning Report (46)
- The Wrapup (10)
- Uncategorized (6)
Recent Articles
- Cohan hangs the “FOR SALE” sign on Warriors’ HQ, but how much will he get?
- Monta Ellis returns from six-game layoff to face Trail Blazers; Watson in, Turiaf out
- Radio alert: Tune in to KNBR 1050 at 12:30 pm…
- Game 63, Live: Warriors (17-45) at Hornets (31-32)
- Game 62, Live: Warriors (17-44) at Bobcats (29-31)
- Game 61, Live: Warriors (17-43) at Hawks (39-21)
- Game 60, Live: Warriors (17-42) at Magic (41-20)
- Game 59, Live: Warriors (17-41) at Heat (29-31)
- No Monta Ellis tonight vs. Kings
- Game 52, Live: Warriors (14-37) at Lakers (41-13)
Recent Comments