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    Thoughts on Game No. 14: Wizards 124, Warriors 100

    By Geoff Lepper
    48minutes.net

    Sometimes, an ass-whupping in the NBA is just that, nothing more.

    So, given that the Warriors’ butts were well and truly paddled Tuesday by the Washington Wizards and interim coach Ed Tapscott, is there anything to be gleaned from sifting through the wreckage?

    Maybe.

    There were two major runs that broke the game open for the Wizards. They scored on each of their last eight possessions before halftime, capping a stretch where they got points on 13 of 15 opportunities and widened their lead from five points to 14.

    Washington put the game away with a 16-4 run during the latter half of the third quarter that turned a 75-64 advantage into a 91-68 blowout.

    There were missed assignments by the Warriors, shockingly easy run-outs for the Wizards and more than enough blame to coat Golden State’s whole roster from top to bottom and not miss a spot.

    The biggest two problems were these: an overabundance of second-chance points for Washington (which outrebounded Golden State 54-40) and too many plays on offense that added fuel to the Wizards’ fire — be it by virtue of a long rebound off a missed jumper or a flat-out turnover.

    The one-sequence that summed it all up: Newcomer Jamal Crawford drove the lane with 6 minutes left in the third and a chance to cut the deficit down to single digits. He easily shed Antawn Jamison, only to run into Andray Blatche, who caught a lot of Crawford’s body but was credited with a block. Caron Butler scooped up the loose ball to begin a 4-on-1 break that ended with DeShawn Stevenson feeding Butler for a layup (just two of his season-high 35 points).

    After the game, Don Nelson laid the biggest share of blame on his youngsters: “I’m pretty disappointed with how my team played, especially the young players. . . . I expect more energy from them and to compete better than what they gave us tonight. Everyone that got in tonight seemed to make some errors. As a coach I want to play the young players, but it is very hard to play them when they play like that tonight.”

    He had a point. Anthony Randolph was the best defender at the power forward spot (Washington scored 44 points in the 19:27 he spent at the 4, an average of 108.6 per 48 minutes) but he went 1-for-7 from the floor and coughed up five turnovers.

    Brandan Wright, meanwhile, went 5-for-6 with five boards, but the Wizards scored at a 140.3 point-per-48-minute pace when he was on the floor. When Wright was at the 4, that number was even more striking: 181.3.

    (For comparison’s sake, Corey Maggette allowed 118.9 at the 4 on Tuesday.)

    ** Even though defense was a massive problem for the Warriors all night, Nelson did not try the Randolph-Wright-Ronny Turiaf frontcourt that brought the team back in Philadelphia on Saturday.

    Presumably, this was because he was so unhappy with the play of Randolph and Wright.

    As a consequence, there were only “Small” and “Medium” samples to add to our Goldilocks And The Three Lineups study.

    Interestingly, even though Maggette was hammered on the boards — collecting two to Jamison’s 11 — the “Small” lineup trailed by only a 45-53 count in 21:24 of play. The “Medium,” meanwhile, was outscored 71-55 over the remaining 26:36.

    ** Crawford’s debut, highlighted by seven assists against one turnover in 29 minutes, was overshadowed by the system-wide failings on defense, but there were a couple of third-quarter plays that should provide hope to Warriors fans who have been desperately seeking another distributor alongside Stephen Jackson.

    The first play started as a pick-and-roll between Crawford and Andris Biedrins at the top of the key. Crawford went to his right, rubbing off Dee Brown on Biedrins’ screen, and quickly turned the corner. But instead of charging headlong on his own, or waiting for Biedrins to roll to the hoop, Crawford whipped a pass to an open Jackson on the left wing and Jackson knocked down the ensuing 3-pointer. I can’t remember the last time a third party got involved in a PNR play like that for the Warriors.

    The second play involved the same names in different roles. This time, Crawford used a screen from Jackson to get free. He slipped down the lane, drew Blatche to him on a rotation, and used a nice wraparound pass to find Biedrins for a foul in the paint.

    ** Was it just me, or did anyone else expect JaVale McGee to say, “Go, go gadget arms!” at some point during his feast of dunks and attempted slams?

    With a wingspan like that, the guy needs this as his theme song:

    It was interesting to see that McGee could outquick Biedrins, who was most effective in his first three NBA seasons simply by exploiting the fact that he was faster than any guy he’d matched up against. But Biedrins responded by coolly abusing him inside and drew the fouls that forced him to the bench early and limited him to just 20 minutes. Talk about your role reversal.

    ** I forget all about this after the 76ers game . . . keeping track of my prediction for the Warriors’ record without Monta Ellis. This was the one game on the road trip that I thought the Warriors would win. That means that the Warriors are now a game back of my pace. I’m now projecting them for an 8-18 record by the time Ellis’ suspension is up.

    Contact: geofflepper@48minutes.net

14 Responses to “Thoughts on Game No. 14: Wizards 124, Warriors 100”

  1. Phil November 26th, 2008 at 12:22 am

    Great recap Geoff.. You forgot to mention one thing — COREY MAGGETTE FRICKIN SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. CL November 26th, 2008 at 1:41 am

    For those who have been screaming their lungs out since last season about Nelson refusing to play the youngsters, they got their wish. Unfortunately the reality is these youngsters didn’t look to be anywhere near as ready to be the kind of contributor these screamers have been claiming tonight.

  3. LongYear November 26th, 2008 at 1:46 am

    Thanks for the recap and analysis Geoff. I watched the second half only… that was an hour or so of my life I’ll never get back. The Dubs looked like they’ve never played together before (which in Crawford’s case is true), and for much of it looked like they packed it in. It was sad and depressing…

    theories as to the scoring differential when BW is on the floor vs Maggs? does this compare to previous games?

  4. RazMaTaz November 26th, 2008 at 1:53 am

    Geoff - thanks for the recap - i love this site - but i can’t “believe” (no pun intended) I’m about to say that but I’m losing hope - our dubs are looking rusty….i’m trying - real hard…

  5. David November 26th, 2008 at 3:22 am

    Great Inspector Gadget reference. Nearly topped your Usual Suspects reference from a while ago. Good work!

  6. commish November 26th, 2008 at 6:32 am

    Another birght spot: Jax only played 34 minutes but still didn’t have a good shooting night. Can’t lay this loss indirectly at Nellie’s feet because the team played so badly; however, he directly does not value defense and this game exemplified that big time. Like you said, he wouldn’t play the “big” lineup and we ended up getting significanlty outrebounded again.

    I’m not sure Maggette really sucks, but so far he’s certainly not worth $50M. I know you said he ain’t going to be traded for all kinds of reasons, but still. Geoff, what is your take on Maggette so far?

  7. Gaucho November 26th, 2008 at 6:40 am

    For it looks crystal clear that the Warriors need to abandond small-ball as of now. Maggette @ 4 just does not work - but not for the obvious reason he’s undersized, but because the OTHER guards/forwards just DON’T REBOUND!! Small ball intends that rebouding is a TEAM priority, not the center/power forward only priorty.

    Basic rule of basketball: once a shot is released, EVERYBODY must box out his man - and the rebound will be ours 90% of the time… so far this season, once a shot is released EVERYBODY (but the big men) locks down, heads up, stearing at the sun, ops, at the ball as it completes its ballistic flight all the way to the rim - while our opponents rush to the much delighted offensive rebound….

    And all in all, we already have a couple of big, talented men who can not only rebound or play robotic around the paint, but put the ball on the floor, are athletic, run all over the floor up and down, hit the mid-range jumper and pass the ball - brendan wright and anthony randolph. Ok ok ok, they aren’t all of that yet and will commit lots of turnovers, but I see a bright spot there…

    oh yeah, and Corey + Jackson sould be forbidden to shoot three pointers… I won’t spend my time with this

    Marco + Marcus should be traded/released. Bring DeMarcus + Hendrix off the Development and play them sparinly.

    That’s it :-(

  8. james s November 26th, 2008 at 8:05 am

    Why does your numbers differ from the plus / minus from nba.com ?. Those numbers clearly show that the starters were a lot worst than the youngsters.

  9. GreC November 26th, 2008 at 10:19 am

    Dear Corey Maggette:

    Please stop shooting 3’s

    Signed,

    Joe Hassett

  10. Chris Cohan November 26th, 2008 at 10:29 am

    We’re looking for blame targets on the court now?

    I thought we were just trying to figure out who the asshole was among Nellie, Mullin, Rowell, and D’Alessandro/Riley.

    January 21st:
    Maggette/Crawford/Jackson
    for Szczerbiak and Snow.

    Fresh reset, tons of money, young core fine and dandy and ready to roll.
    Fans will be desperate for the purge by then if this slop keeps us.

    Rebuild like we mean it.
    Nellie to Maui for a crate of coconuts.

  11. Son of Ahmed November 26th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

    Geoff,
    I come here for the best statistical analysis of the games. Keep up the good work.

    GreC,
    Joe Hassett? Nice.

    This team is better than its last three games. The talent is there, though still young and emerging.

    Wanted: a guard who can penetrate regularly. Monta, hurry back.

    Don’t forget about Morrow. He’ll will be back soon.

    Crawford was hardly noticeable last night, but his time will come soon too.

    Play Geoff’s “Big Line-up” tonight and let’s see what happens. But Nelson’s remarks after last night’s game may indicate more small or medium ball. I honestly don’t think Nelson knows how to coach a big line-up. Not meant as a slam. Everyone has their way of doing things. Going big and traditional just isn’t his way. Too bad, because this is a team that should be played that way.

    Where is the fundamental defense on this team?

  12. blahblahblah November 26th, 2008 at 4:32 pm

    All I can say is thank god for TiVo or I would have been really unhappy last night

  13. commish November 26th, 2008 at 5:13 pm

    Al Harrington enjoyed watching it as well along with Baron. Thanksgiving came early.

  14. the warriors | Digg.com November 26th, 2008 at 5:31 pm

    [...] Thoughts on Game No. 14: Wizards 124, Warriors 100 So, given that the Warriors’ butts were well and truly paddled Tuesday by the Washington Wizards and interim coach Ed Tapscott, is there anything to be gleaned from sifting through the wreckage? Maybe. There were two major runs that … [...]

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