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Jan7
Behind Enemy Lines: 5 questions with Daniel Sagal of LABallTalk
Filed under: News; Tagged as: Andrew Bynum, Bob Delaney, Daniel Sagal, Derek Fisher, DJ Mbenga, Gerald Wallace, Josh Powell, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Marco Belinelli, Mike Miller, Mitch Kupchak, Monta Ellis, Pau Gasol, Richard Jefferson, Shawn Marion, Trevor Ariza5 CommentsTraded some Q&A material with Daniel Sagal of Laker-devoted LABallTalk in advance of tonight’s game, which should be fascinating on many fronts, including most especially whether the crowd will turn on the team when the Lakers go on their inevitable 20-4 run to seize command of the game.
Other things to watch for:
** The number of fans wearing bags on their heads.
** The number of fans holding signs, a la Guns ‘n’ Roses, asking “Where’s Monta?”
** Whether Bob Delaney will continue his streak of Warriors-Lakers games.
In any case, on to the Q&A:
48minutes.net: So, does Mitch Kupchak highlight Andrew Bynum’s line on the boxscore after every game and then leave it in Kobe Bryant’s locker? And, more seriously, is Bynum the piece that puts this team over the top this season?
LABallTalk: I highly doubt Kupchak is too happy with Bynum right as he has proven to be somewhat lazy and immature. You hear about all the guys working their butt off in the gym and in practice trying to improve while Andrew only does what he is asked. I’d like to see him grow up a bit more but I supoose that will come with age.
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Dec18
Thoughts on Game No. 26: Pacers 127, Warriors 120
Filed under: News; Tagged as: Al Harrington, Andris Biedrins, Anthony Morrow, Anthony Randolph, Austin Croshere, Baron Davis, Brandan Wright, C.J. Watson, Chris Webber, Corey Maggette, DeMarcus Nelson, Dennis Rodman, DJ Mbenga, Don Nelson, Jamal Crawford, Jeff Foster, Kelenna Azubuike, Kosta Perovic, Marco Belinelli, Marcus Williams, Mark Cuban, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus, Monta Ellis, Patrick O'Bryant, Rob Kurz, Ronny Turiaf, Stephen Graham, Stephen Jackson, Troy Hudson19 CommentsBy Geoff Lepper
48minutes.netWarriors center Ronny Turiaf has an easy fix for Golden State’s problems when it comes to securing defensive rebounds:
“Plain and simple, go get the ball,” Turiaf said. “That’s it.”
Except that hasn’t been it, of course. Not by a long shot.
Including last night’s horrific 20-offensive rebound performance for the Indiana Pacers in their 127-210 victory, Golden State has chalked up a defensive rebound rate (DRR) of just 67.0 percent through its first 26 games.
The DRR — a team’s defensive boards divided by the sum of a team’s defensive boards and the opponents’ offensive rebounds — is a rough ratio of how many defensive rebounds a team gets (it doesn’t include team boards, so it’s not as exact as you would want).
At 67.0, Golden State ranks last in the NBA by a wide, wide margin. There’s a chart to illustrate that point below, but here’s some specifics as well: The Kings are 29th in the league at 70.5 percent and the league average is 73.1. The top-ranked Spurs are at 77.8.

Consider: Even if the Warriors closed half the gap between their DRR and the league average . . . they’d still be the league’s worst, at 70.05. So the data begs the question:
How bad are the Warriors, historically speaking?
Well, how about this: They’re the second-worst defensive rebounding team this century.
OK, I realize the 21st century is only in its ninth year, but still, the last time a team posted a DRR lower than 67.0 was in 1999-2000, when the Dallas Mavericks — put together and coached by familiar, white-haired adherent of small ball by the name of Don Nelson — pulled down 66.1 percent of their opportunities.
In an attempt to solve that team’s failings — both on the floor and at the ticket office — Nelson and new Mavericks owner Mark Cuban brought in a 38-year-old Dennis Rodman. Though the Worm helped somewhat — Dallas’ DRR in 12 games with him was about 3.5 points better than in the 70 without — it wasn’t enough to make it worth dealing with his particular brand of crazy.
I’m sure that Rodman would be game to pull down more NBA coin, but let’s assume for the moment that a washed-up, 47-year-old ex-husband to Carmen Electra isn’t the answer for Nelson & Co. this time around.
What can the Warriors do to solve this problem, which keeps biting them at critical junctures (such as the…
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