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Just a quick note about Anthony Morrow as we await his chance to prove Saturday’s game wasn’t just a one-hit wonder of the highest NBA order.

In what I would like to call an “homage” to Kevin Pelton over at Basketball Prospectus (and don’t send me notes about how I’m ripping off ideas, since Kevin imported the original concept from Michael David Smith over at Fanhouse), I thought I’d dissect Morrow’s entire 37-point barrage against the Clippers, to try and glean if that performance will translate against a team that’s not on pace to go 8-74.

Type of play Points
Catch and shoot 14
Pull-up jumper 10
Layup off cut/fast break 6
Turnaround jumper 4
Driving layup 3
Tap in 2

(Yes, this totals 39, not 37, because there was one play where Kelenna Azubuike delivered the ball to Morrow on the baseline while he was facing away from the hoop. Morrow then wheeled and fired, all in the same motion, so I put it under “Catch and shoot” and “Turnaround jumper”. Also, I included a made free throw in the category that led to the FT — i.e., the one “Driving layup” was a three-point play.)

The catch-and-shoots coming off kick-out passes are no surprise given the range, accuracy and touch on Morrow’s jumper. (The Clippers’ inability to close out: Also no surprise, given the roster, the lack of motivation and the record.)

But Morrow’s ability to put the ball on the deck and get to an empty spot on the floor (such as when he ran Ricky Davis off a screen and popped up for two on the other side), up-fake his defender out of the way (as he did to Al Thornton) or just blow by someone with a swift change of direction (so long, Baron Davis) was very impressive.

One thing that really struck me was how many possessions Morrow was just a decoy, patrolling a station in either corner or in 3-point territory on the wings. Stephen Jackson mentioned at practice Monday how helpful that threat is:

“As you see, by him being able to shoot and score, that opened up the floor so much for us, as far as Corey (Maggette) getting isos playing the 4. Me and (Andris Biedrins), when we pick-and-roll, the floor’s wide open now. It helped us in a lot of aspects of our game.”

In other areas . . .

Morrow’s 11 rebounds are probably going to be tougher to duplicate than the 37 points. He had a couple of deflected rebounds that bounced right into his lap, and another three were long boards off early shots where there was little or no presence of offensive rebounders from L.A. to apply pressure. Morrow was able to gobble those up easily, but there’s no way to ensure those will come consistently.

He did do a solid job of boxing out — even drawing a loose-ball foul on Chris Kaman when the 7-footer tried to shove him aside and grab an offensive board in the third quarter.

I didn’t notice that much of Morrow’s defense on the initial viewing. I did this time. He held his own in terms of stopping ball penetration, but more importantly showed signs of being a potential playmaker in other ways.

Morrow fronted adequately enough so that Cuttino Mobley could not take much advantage of his post-up game, and also showed good instincts in knowing when and how to successfully dive down on a big man with his back to the basket in the paint. There were three Clipper possessions that went sideways because Morrow helped gum up the works, either be fronting or by coming in from an off-ball position.

Also, as a side note, Baron Davis keeps getting the lion’s share of blame for Morrow’s performance ladled over him by Tim Kawakami. While Davis did give up the most Morrow points of any Clippers defender, he was hardly alone in his guilt:

Player Points allowed
Baron Davis 15
Cuttino Mobley 5
Al Thornton 5
Ricky Davis 4
Eric Gordon 4
Team breakdowns 4

– Geoff

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

On Sunday in the cramped visitors’ locker room at Arco Arena, a reporter told Warriors guard Anthony Morrow: “You’re going to be the new flavor of the week.”

We might have to adjust that expiration date a little bit.

Morrow got his first NBA start Saturday in Los Angeles and put on a true show: 37 points on 15-for-20 shooting, including 4-for-5 beyond the 3-point arc. For a team that came into the game ranked 25th in team field-goal percentage (42.6), it was like finding a wheelbarrow of grout in amongst a brickyard.

Oh, this is the way an offense is supposed to work.

““I’ve been in the league for 30 years and I have never seen a performance like that,” coach Don Nelson said.

Said Morrow: “Today was just one of those things. I mean, you don’t shoot 15-for-20. Sometimes, I don’t even shoot 15-for-20 in drills, man.”

Often times, though, he does. You can always tell when Morrow’s shooting in a practice situation; not only will he reel off a couple dozen 3-pointers in a row, but he’ll also pure probably 75 percent of those through the heart of the basket, not even thinking of brushing the iron on the way by.

That honeyed jumper is all most folks Warriors fans be talking about today, but there were two highlights of the game for Morrow that had nothing to do with shooting.

The first: His hard foul on center Marcus Camby with 4 minutes left in the first quarter, which sent a message to the Clippers that — undrafted rookie or no — Morrow was not going to be cowed by the situation.

And with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. Kelenna Azubuike misfired on a long 2 from the top of the key, but Morrow — the only Warrior below the free-throw line — tipped the ball not once but twice, scoring on the second try, while four Clippers stood in an impotent semi-circle around him, just watching.

That brings up another point that must be made: This happened against the Clippers, in an afternoon game, which in the late-night world of the NBA is the best equalizer of all.

(Quick aside: The early start was necessitated by the fact that the Kings were playing Saturday night; I thought Baron Davis was supposed to be a big draw in L.A., no? Yet he can’t even outrank hockey in his own hometown?)

In short, to make himself something more than the flavor of next week, Morrow needs to prove himself against stiffer competition, beginning with the Trail Blazers on Tuesday.

** I fear that the smoother offense was more a byproduct of the Clippers’ porous defense than Morrow opening up things for others.

And as much as I loved Morrow flattening Camby, he did not exactly keep Cuttino Mobley in full check (19 points, 8-for-17 field).

** With DeMarcus Nelson in Bakersfield and Marcus Williams back on bench duty, Don Nelson seems committed to the Jackson-at-point-guard experiment. We’ll see how long it lasts.

** Corey Maggette with a drive-and-kick? I think half the crowd fainted dead away, right there.

** Brandan Wright, paging Brandan Wright. White Courtesy “Where The Hell Did You Go?” Phone, please.

** When Chris Kaman flung a ball off of Maggette to avoid stepping out of bounds with it and turning over possession, was it my imagination, or did he smile for half a second?

** Speaking of Kaman, how much of a downgrade is that for Davis from Andris Biedrins? You wonder if — while trying vainly to defend yet another Jackson-Biedrins pick-and-roll, or watching Kaman letting yet another layup opportunity slip through his hands — Davis had a pang of regret.

** If you had 3 minutes and 11 seconds in the “How Long Will It Take Baron To Break Off A Play And Chuck Up A 20-Seconds-On-The-Shot-Clock 3-Pointer?” Pool, congratulations. You’ve won a No. 5 Warriors jersey, size small, from Overstock.com.

** It must be said that C.J. Watson was much improved, but if the league ever starts keeping track of the number of times an offensive player leaps headlong into a charging call — kind of like the “blocked attempts” stat that’s showing up in nba.com boxes these days — he might lead the league on a per-minute basis.

** I know I’m an old guy in a league that venerates youth, but here’s my problem with the rampant culture of congratulations that’s so pervasive in the NBA these days. With just less than 11 minutes to go and trailing by seven, the Clippers finished off a solid defensive possession by forcing a contested jumper by Ronny Turiaf with 5 on the shot clock.

Turiaf missed, and Clippers guard Ricky Davis was left all alone to clean up the rebound; not a single Warrior crashed the glass. Despite the lack of pressure, Davis promptly fumbled the uncontested rebound out of bounds.

And then, as the rest of the players filtered back down to the Clippers’ basket, Baron Davis reached out and gave Ricky a high-five.

What was the point? Hey, nice job screwing that up and giving them another possession at a critical juncture in a game we still can win?

As the kids would say:

Awful.

Contact: geofflepper@48minutes.net

Warriors forward Al Harrington is finally telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, apparently.

After claiming early Tuesday afternoon that he “wasn’t at that point” of demanding a trade, Harrington hours later did in fact march into executive vice president Chris Mullin’s office to demand a trade, according to his own testimony in other outlets.

Not much I can add to that. Obviously, my earlier report — while accurate in terms of quoting Harrington — was proven inaccurate because of the underlying deceit. Mea culpa.

One thing I will be asking Al later this morning is why he didn’t go public over the summer to try to force the Warriors’ hand. Doing it the day before the season makes him come off as the bad guy, his team-first claims notwithstanding; a concerted effort in June and July would have allowed him to hold the upper hand in the PR war at this point.

Until then, here are some possible trade partners and targets for the Warriors:

CHICAGO: Kirk Hinrich
He’s a superfluous hybrid guard on a team that also has Larry Hughes, Ben Gordon and No. 1 overall pick Derrick Rose. Of course, he’s also got $36.5 million remaining on a deal that runs through 2011-12, and a defensive pairing with Monta Ellis would be akin in some ways to laying a welcome mat to the hoop.

MEMPHIS: Javaris Crittenton
Long of arm but short on accomplishments, Crittendon is probably the biggest reach in this group, although there are other bonuses to be had: Because the Grizzlies have so much room under the salary cap, the cost-conscious Warriors don’t have to take any other contracts back, although Memphis will presumably try to foist a Marko Jaric or Greg Buckner on them.

CHARLOTTE: Raymond Felton
This might be the best fit of these choices. Not only is Felton available because of the presence of D.J. Augustin, but the Bobcats are desperate for frontcourt help because they chose Augustin over Brook Lopez, and don’t want to play Emeka Okafor out of position at power forward.

OKLAHOMA CITY: Earl Watson
Another situation where a highly touted rookie (Russell Westbrook) has been brought onboard, making Watson more sellable. With the addition of a second player to balance out the salaries, longtime potential Warrior Chris Wilcox could also be discussed.

ATLANTA: Speedy Claxton
When Josh Childress was still in the fold, there wasn’t that much need for Harrington in Atlanta. With Childress plying his trade in Greece, the Hawks suddenly have room alongside Marvin Williams and Josh Smith.

MILWAUKEE: Charlie Villanueva
Villanueva has been ticketed out of town ever since the Bucks added Joe Alexander and Richard Jefferson, and his game is everything Nelson wanted a reluctant Harrington to do. Would require a second player on the Bucks’ end to balance paychecks.

In the longshots category:

LA CLIPPERS: Cuttino Mobley
Mobley is standing in the way of rookie gunner Eric Gordon, and he’s another strong locker-room personality on a team that just added Baron Davis. The Clippers would also be able to plug Harrington in whenever Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman inevitably go down with injuries. (Oh, wait, they already are.)

NEW YORK: Stephon Marbury
Given that coach Mike D’Antoni runs the closest thing out there to what Nelson wants like to do in a perfect world, it seems absurd that the Warriors would want a luxury-tax monster like Steph — moody, intractable and crazy- not-in-a-good-way — whom Mike D has all but kicked to the curb.

DENVER: Allen Iverson
Hey, if the Warriors are really going to take on $21.9 million worth of expiring contract, they might as well get the highest quality $21.9 million worth of expiring contract. This, of course, is only an option if the Nuggets decide to blow everything up and start from scratch.

– Geoff