RECAP: Warriors 110, Celtics 100 - Beating Boring Boston
by Fantasy Junkie on Dec 30, 2006 12:46 AM PST
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PrintFour of us were there tonight, Atma Brother ONE, dj fuzzylogic, YaoButtaMing, and me, Fantasy Junkie. We handed out a ton of posters and GSoM business cards, and there might be some new folkers to the site so I just want to welcome all the people who've never been here before. You'll soon find out that we're all about having fun even though the Warriors can be so frustrating. Anyways, we hope you enjoy the Baron Davis posters and our GSoM site.
Facing Boston without Paul Pierce really doesn't get the juices flowing. It was hard to take the Celtics seriously tonight with a lineup composed mostly of Wally, Delonte West, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Tony Allen, and Sebastian Telfair. I was actually excited to see Al Jefferson tonight since he's been playing so well. I wasn't disappointed. Despite his 6 turnovers, he looked real smooth out there and looks like he's got the tools to be a very good player in years to come. But this game was about the Warriors and watching them beat up on a team that didn't have their star.
Pietrus' Perfect Play
He really worked his butt off tonight. He hustled all over the floor tonight. He's still got problems with understanding the game, but his athleticism is carrying him right now. He can jump higher and run faster than many of the players in the league, which makes up for his other shortcomings. Tonight was one of those game where he was able to beat up on inferior talent. He was able to put up 26 points including 3-6 from 3's.
Biedrins' Blocks & Boards
Tonight was a battle of the blossoming young big men. Al Jefferson vs. Andris Biedrins and Kendrick Perkins vs Andris Biedrins. Guess who came out on top? Yup, Andris the Giant. Dude had some great moves in the post to get by the Celtics' big men and guarded the paint very well for most of the night. Most of all though, he collected nearly half of all of the Warriors rebounds for the night. He finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 swats. He came to play tonight and came up big.
Beautiful Breaks
The play of the night came off an absolutely amazing fast break. I think it was Biedrins who got the rebound then threw an outlet pass to Barnes with a streaking Baron and JRich. Barnes took 1 dribble and lobbed the ball to Baron at the 3 point line. The pass was a little short so Baron came back to the ball to catch it. But instead of coming back down with the ball, in one motion, he caught it, spun and lobbed a perfect alley-oop pass to a flying JRich who caught it and hammered it through. Beautiful fast break. It wasn't just the alley oop that made the break great, but the fact that ball barely touched the ground. It was as if the guys were telepathic and knew exactly where each other was going to be.
Popular Powe
We Want Powe! We Want Powe
One of the best highlights from tonight wasn't a Warriors highlight, but rather a Celtics highlight. With about 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter and the Warriors up 11, the crowd started chanting, "We Want Powe! We Want Powe!" This was of course a plea to Celtics' coach Doc Rivers to put the former Cal student and local favorite, Leon Powe into the game. With just under 3 minutes to go, Rivers relented and stuck the 2nd rounder the Warriors should have drafted into the game. He didn't disappoint. He picked up a board immediately, then came down the court and scored on a layup. The crowd erupted. The next time the Celtics came down he scored and drew the foul to complete the 3 point play. As a big Powe fan when he was at Cal, it was great to see the Warrior fans show him some love.
Entering Eighth
With tonight's win the Warriors are now a full game up on the Minnesota Timberwolves and two games up on the Clippers and Kings. Check out the standings. Now is the time for the Warriors to put together an extended win streak. With Sac, NOK (no Chris Paul), Memphis and Seattle up next, the Warriors should be able to string together a 6 game win streak. Of course, with this inconsistent bunch you never know what you'll get. But right now, the schedule is favorable for a nice run.
Randoms at the Game
- Props to the season ticket rep, who shall remain anonymous for now, who was standing outside in the freezing cold chatting it up with YaoButtaMing and I. Fun guy to talk to.
- The concession lines were sooooo slow tonight. What happened? We were just trying to redeem our family 4 pack hot dogs and drinks but it wound up taking 20 minutes even though we were 5th in line.
- To the guy who we gave 3 of our 4 hot dogs to, I hope they were good or at least you shared them with your buddies. Haha. Right place, right time, I guess.
Toying with the Celts
It could go to Andris Biedrins who did get Player of the Game at the Oracle Arena, but my pick is Baron Davis. It felt like he was just toying with the Celtics all night. He seemed to do as he pleased, which ended up with some ill-advised shots, but played excellent overall. His 27 points, 6 boards and 9:0 assist:turnover ratio were spectacular, but on par for the course for Baron this season.
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Sorry
Man, I felt so stupid when I realized that the crowd was chanting "We Want Powe" while I was cheering "We Want Foyle". Maybe since we showed him some love, he'll show us some love and join us when his contract is up.
Hahaha
Not sure it belongs here but...
More importantly: great win -- even if against a mediocre team. This team seriously is starting to look (lower tier) playoff-bound. As it stands, we're one of only 12 teams in the NBA with more points scored than points allowed. Now imagine us with a healthy JRich, Murphy, and Monta? If we're healthy come playoff time, we can probably hang with anyone in the NBA except for the Suns, Spurs, and Mavs.
By "hang with" I mean "beat"
Geez, tough crowd in here sometimes ... FWIW, Herr Zorgon, I'd take Foyle over Dampier in a heartbeat. ;o)
by Sleepy Freud on Dec 30, 2006 7:46 AM PST up reply actions
do me a favor
Good point
What's cool is that where last year that seemed like a total fluke of statistics, this year it seems more possible that we could be getting in their heads. For one thing, they don't have anyone who can guard Biedrins; and on most nights Baron should be able to outplay Devin Harris and Jason Terry...
OK, I take it back. This year's Ws are capable of hanging with anyone in the playoffs except the Spurs and Suns. Sounds like a homerish thing to say, but really, who else is there?
by Sleepy Freud on Dec 30, 2006 1:26 PM PST up reply actions
hey sleepy
Where were you guys?
by MVP @ Golden State Of Mind on Dec 30, 2006 2:18 AM PST reply actions
i'll take the victory
I did like seeing Nellie barking out instructions at the end of the game when the celts tried to come back. He is a great coach.
" Sleepy Floyd is Superman!!!"
Sweet Dunks
We Are a Playoff Contender
Sure, the Celtics weren't at full strength. Neither were we. Without Troy we lose a starter who is a solid scorer and rebounder and without Monta we lose another starter who averages 17+ points per game, along with all of the energy he brings.
Teams don't feel sorry for us when we're shorthanded (like we've been virtually all season), they just want the W. Well, thanks to Nellie's creative coaching and the players working hard, we got another W.
There was a win a few games back that someone described as an ugly win. True. But anyone who knows basketball will tell you that playoff teams get the ugly wins. Remember, making the playoffs is all about the W's. (:>)
One thing I'd like to see the GSW improve on as a team is going for the knockout punch when they get a team on the ropes. They go up by 10-15 and get a team hanging their heads and then they self-destruct and can't finish them off. That's dangerous. When you let a team back in the game, they believe they can win.
When the GSW go up by 10-15 they should step it up and try to get a blowout, even if it's the first half. They need to stop relaxing with a double digit lead. That's nothing in the NBA. A 20-30+ point lead is much safer.
Props to BD. I was skeptical based on his performance under Monty, but he has proved he's an All Star with the ability to lead a team by his own example. He is a scorer who combines that with a totally unselfish team game.
Andris is awesome. I predicted he'd be a force, but I never thought he'd improve this quickly. Can you imagine him in 5 years if he stays healthy?
Ike needs to step up his game. He is still fighting the system and not relaxing for some reason. Go with the flow, Ike.
Get healthy, Monta.
Time to shut down the Kings.
Peace.
by pineriver on Dec 30, 2006 10:04 AM PST reply actions
Celtics Thoughts
http://mvn.com/nba-celtics/2006/12/30/warriors-continue-cs-slide/
http://www.redsarmy.com/tinc?key=98sdQXMq&id=210
http://celtics247.com/blog/?p=294
http://www.redsarmy.com/tinc?key=98sdQXMq&id=211
http://celticsblog.net/blog/?p=2632
http://iheartceltics.blogspot.com/2006/12/why-do-i-continue-to-stay-up-for-these.html
by Atma Brother ONE on Dec 30, 2006 10:45 AM PST reply actions
Amazing B.D. - MP(#2)
My top 5 rankings so far:
#1 - B.D.
#2 - MP2
#3 - Dris!!! (amazing!! the future!)
#4 - Monta
#5 - J-Rich (Very happy he started getting back in rhythm last night)
It's ashame that J-Rich struggles at the 3 position, otherwise, we'd have our lineup set with those 5.
Notable props to the rest of the bunch, like Matt Barnes, really steppin up these days.
what about jrich?
by mydedgerbil555 on Dec 30, 2006 10:58 AM PST reply actions
Quickies
- Boom Dizzle was fabulous once again. A few too many 3's attempted, but I can live with that when the man goes for 27 points, 9 dimes (no turnovers), 6 boards, 2 steals, and a block. Baron deserves a lot of credit for stepping up his D in a major way this season. Western Conference coaches say it with me-- ALL STAR.
- Andris Biedrins looked he was hitting the wall, but he rebounded and a great night. He can dominate poor front lines in the NBA and have great nights against mediocre ones. I was starting to worry that other teams just figured him out. Obviously Doc and the Celtics didn't. 20 points, 17 boards, and 4 blocks! When was the last time the Warriors had a big man who could do that?
- Question about minutes: I would've liked to see Ike get some more playing time tonight especially with Dunleavy struggling with his shooting. I think everyone knows what we have with Dunleavy, but the jury's still out with Ike. Is he a keeper? Someday the future starting PF of this team? We really have no idea.
- Mickael had a great night and the stat line showed it. He deserves a lot of credit for earning a starting role this season (pretty much beating out Dunleavy and Murphy). Like Biedrins he's turned around his career this year. I never thought I'd see the day, but Pietrus is probably the 2nd most consistent Warrior right now behind BD. The Warriors are going to have a big decision to make with him this offseason.
- Also, MP2 is a real crowd pleaser. Haha, DJ Fuzzy Logic and I were cracking up after he hit a layup and drew a foul, and then ran to the crowd giving them high 5's. Haha, this guy is classic. He brings the energy and enthusiasm every night.
- Fast Breaking: This is the kind of basketball that's worth paying for. 32 fast break points including the beautiful Biedrins to Barnes (or Pietrus can't remember) to BD to JRich for an alley-oop dunk. I don't think the ball even touched the floor. That's what hoopin' is all about and it's the type of style that will generate a lot of success for this roster. I can't say it enough.
- BUT this game really shouldn't have been as close as it was. The Warriors should've blown out this team by 20, especially at home.
- The Celtics with Paul Pierce are garbage. Without Paul Pierce, they're month old garbage. They're that bad. All this win means is that the Warriors took care of business at home.
- Al Jefferson looked a lot better that I thought he was. He was pretty agile. DJ Fuzzy Logic posed a great question- "Who's better Al Jefferson or Ike?"
- Sorry to those of you who didn't get a chance to get a free poster. We'll definitely do it again. Your boys at GSoM got you covered-- and you know this!
by Atma Brother ONE on Dec 30, 2006 11:15 AM PST reply actions
A Few Points
- BD has really found himself in a flow right now. Good decisions. Good shots. Nice team control. I care not a whit about the All-Star charade (it's never really a game), but I see only one truly better point in the West -- maybe the league -- right now, and maybe BD will start chomping on Nash's heels, too.
- As for getting Diogu more minutes, I agree -- but they don't need to (nor should they) come at Dun's expense: those two can (and should) be on the floor together, because Dun can get it inside better than anyone 'cept Baron. (BTW, tho Dun's shooting was off, as noted, he WAS moving the ball well, and his assists were key. You're going to have to start realizing how much the little things he does -- such as deflecting opponents' passes on defense -- counts in the win column for this team.)
- JRich is starting to get better, but since it's obvious he's playing his heart out, he still has a LONG way to go. His movement looks a little better, though, so maybe this won't be a lost year. I really DO miss the hops, though.
- Great to see AB play two good games in a row, but the test will be tonight: second game of a back-to-back road game against a team that will hammer at him from the get go. If he can keep it up tonight, and get at least a double-double, he will have passed through the wall.
- MP's been very strong -- again, at home against weaker competition. A good game from hom tonight will be equally telling. I just wish this fun, athletic kid had a basketball brain and that, when pressured at all, he didn't revert to out-of-control street ball. We'll see if the newly-found confidence will help him against the Kings. A good test.
- Finally, play of the game? Easy. When the Celts somehow got the game down to four late in the third quarter, here comes Dunleavy with that lovely dunk -- which AB and BD followed nicely. Game over. On a bad shooting night for him, he took the one that counted home to the hole. Looked a lot like an ol' guy named Havilcek on that one, and I think we'll see more of that when his shot solidifies (as it will assuming the TEAM keeps playing the way Nellie and BD have the guys going now).
by johnl on Dec 30, 2006 11:37 AM PST up reply actions
Clarification
Between Pietrus, Dunleavy, Barnes, and Ike there's some options for minutes. Ike brings something to the table that the other 3 guys in the forward rotation don't with his rebounding and low post presence, but he just can't seem to crack the rotation. My biggest worry right now is that the Warriors really have no idea what they have in Ike.
by Atma Brother ONE on Dec 30, 2006 11:51 AM PST up reply actions
Well. . .
And as for Dun not doing anything special last night, you're still too hooked on the scoring line -- and not enough on watching guys when the plays count (that was the problem with thinking BD deserved an All-Star tag last year when he had no clue about how to play in the last two minutes of games -- in fact, last year he was almost certain death at crunch time; he's slowly gotten better this year, and it shows). Dun was the stopper last night when the Celts took their run, and his emphatic dunk got the team re-charged; plus, though you ignore his point play -- although he's slow, he's by far the best guy with the ball except Baron, and they have much better vision than anyone else on the team -- and his assists (to the detriment of your analysis, I should note), they are increasingly critical to team victories, especially in a grind it out game like last night.
Finally, Dun might not be great, but he plays tough -- only BD on this team approaches him for moxie -- and he's consistently tough on the road, where flashers like AB, MP and Barnes have yet to show themselves. Ideally, BD and Mike are pointing the way for these younger guys to go -- and we'll see if there's any improvement at Sac tonight -- but as well as BD's been playing, you're really missing out on some good, smart, WINNING ball by refusing to see what's happening when Dun's doing ALL the little things NBAers used to do until individual showmanship won out over strong team play. (See e.g. Team USA in international competition over the past five years -- enormous talent; consistently poor results.)
by johnl on Dec 30, 2006 12:50 PM PST up reply actions
well...
I agree, BUT for the most part this whole team is clueless on defense. I say let Ike play through his mistakes just like Pietrus, Dunleavy, Barnes, and Monta get to.
You're joking right? Thanks again for telling me what I like. For the 10th time, the offensive style I enjoyed watching the most this decade was the Princeton cutting and passing of the Sacramento Kings with CWebb and Vlade. It wasn't about the dunks, it was about the great ball movement.
I want wins. I enjoy watching highlights, but at the end of the day all I care about for this team is wins. They aren't a smart team overall and this results in a lot of silly losses which why I'm hoping for some trades. Also, this roster especially down low is soft. They intimidate no one. This roster isn't going to cut it in the West. They might barely make the playoffs this season and the injuries and bad luck on other squads will have a lot to do with it.
As for Dunleavy. He is what he is. An average NBA bench player who's gotten way too many chances. Am I the only one worried that the Warriors' 44 million dollar man has lost his starting spot to Mickael Pietrus (who has a poor grasp of the game and is pretty limited) and Matt Barnes (a walk-on feel good story)? His play is pretty much the same as last season's aside from some improvements on defense and better shooting. Again, he's not a terrible NBA player, just an average one who needs to be carefully placed in the right situations.
What still shocks me to this day is the credit he gets for "doing the little things" when no one else gets credit for those same things. As many times as I hear Dunleavy get credit for the "smart box out" or the "smart pass" I NEVER hear Biedrins or Barnes get credit for those same type of plays. There's a microscope to analyze and credit every play Dunleavy makes, but not for everyone else. It seems unfair. I'd like to see everyone on this squad get that same treatment and praise when they make those plays.
Here's Dunleavy numbers in the wins, losses, home, and away if anyone's interested:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3601/splits;_ylt=Al20y82AVmx0GsRFb4meDdGkvLYF
by Atma Brother ONE on Dec 30, 2006 1:13 PM PST up reply actions
Credit for "doing the little things"
It 's the mikey version of the special olympics, he can't do the big things like the rest of the guys so he's gotta get props for his little things.
Like, He's very good at shrugging and holding out his arms with uplifted palms or at blaming everyone else for the bad play. Go mikey!!(to the clips please)
by Skeptic con Urquell on Dec 30, 2006 1:46 PM PST up reply actions
Atma, didn't you know?
Also, I listened in on JohnL's psychic hotline to Coach Nelson's brain, and I can attest that he's 100% correct about all Nellie's motives and pet peeves.
If we all didn't spend so much time wanking off to dunk highlights on SportsCenter, we might learn that what the "Thinking Man" has to say is the gospel truth.
by Sleepy Freud on Dec 30, 2006 1:55 PM PST up reply actions
ike
Let's Go Oakland! Gas, Brake, Dip.
it was pietrus
waa
Barnes doesn't block out. The only two players i see consistently block out is Ike and AB. Which is exactly why i want to see them in the game together. I really, really wanted to see Ike sub in for either MD jr, or Barnes.
Let my Barnes Bashing begin!
1. The dude can't finish around the rim! I've seen him smoke layups on a consistent occasion this season.
2. He's fallen in love with the 3 ball. Lets come back down to earth folks. He's not gonna shoot 47 percent or whatever for the whole year. When he goes cold, pull him.
3. He makes bone headed plays at inoppurtune times. Passing into a double team? come one!
4. He is not suited to play the 4, although this is Nellie's doing, not his own. But, he can't handle the 4 spot at all. He is a good, defending hustling 3, but at the 4 he can't handle the load down low. He is over powered and doesn't rebound well enough to play down there. Barnes is no Matrix, he probably took the red pill. haha.
5. He has a bad tattoo.
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