1. I think Nellie has to have some latitude with his starting lineup over the next few games in order to see just what he has. The new guys have to show him what they can do in different game situations, so I don't mind that the starters change from game to game as long as the coaching staff reacts quickly when things aren't working well. Last night, for instance, it was obvious from the start that MP3 wasn't "on". We all know that can change during the game, but it didn't. I thought he had way too much floor time.
2. I agree that BD is taking too many jumpers. He's best when he drives to the basket but for some reason he keeps throwing up the mid-to-long range shots when he's not hitting them. I don't know what you do about that, though, because he's so valuable in so many other ways. You can't take him off the court for very long because the game slows down too much and gets sloppy when he's not running the show.
3. I'm not ready to give up on Monta as a PG, although he doesn't yet have the mindset to be a good one. His lazy passes and other turnovers are frustrating. BUT, if you consider that two years ago he was playing against high schoolers, he has come a long way and will, I think, improve. Game experience is the only way for him to learn, even though it's sometimes scary. I think the rap on Sarunas (slow, not a good ball handler) is, so far, pretty accurate, so I'm not sure he's the answer to spell BD.
4. MP has obviously been off his rhythm the last few games and when he is, he looks terrible. I say never let him put the ball on the floor. It's either catch and shoot or feed him for a dunk, but he's out of control on the dribble. And when he's off, as he was last night, get him off the floor!

Go Warriors!

1) I agree, to an extent. One thing I like about Nellie and the starting lineups is that he rewards the players playing well.  With Montgomery, Dunleavy and Murphy would have started everygame prior to the trade; Nelson proved that that was not a smart idea.  So I like how he doesn't have a set starting lineup, which allows for other players to play better, butI do think he juggles them around too much.  However, this trade helps in that department.  BD is obviously the starting PG, Andris the starting C.  There's really no-one else who is a real PF, so Harrington should get the bulk of starts in that department. I think SJax has proven that he is better for the starting SF role than Pietrus or Barnes.  That leaves the SG position, which tends to bounce between Sarunas, Monta, MP2, and SJax (with Barnes moving to SF)...hopefully, JRich will return his old-self, and we can have a solidified starting lineup of:
PG - Baron Davis
SG - Jason Richardson
SF - Stephen Jackson
PF - Al Harrington
C - Andris Biedrins

That's a pretty solid lineup on paper, which doesn't take into account the fact that Boom Daddy has chemistry with JRich and Andris, and friendship with SJax and Michaelangelo, which will most certainly result in chemistry.

2) I too agree that Baron takes too many jumpers.  As one commentater stated early in the season, he has the ability to be one of the best point guards in the league when his shot selection is good.  I agree that when Baron has good shot selection (not settling for jumpers, taking it to the whole and finishing, dishing otherwise), he is second only to Steve Nash for best PG in the NBA (I'm not counting Arenas as a PG...).  
However, you can't deny he's improved vastly (just look at the 3 point attempts compared to last year), and I think having 2 more solid offensive contributers will add to that.  You can't deny his heart, will, and work ethic though, and that's important.

3) I agree...somewhat.  I think Monta can be a very good point guard in this system...but I don't think he can be THE point guard. He works well as a backup, and as PG in a 2 PG backcourt, as he and Baron often do....The thing about Monta is he's fast, has good moves, an excellent finisher, and a decent passer...he works fantastically in Nelly's style of offense because he can be a wing man, and recieve the ball on the fast break, or he can be the ball carrier.  He makes good passes in transition, and even better finishes, whether he's recieving a pass, or taking it all the way.
He works well as a PG in that respect, but I agree, I don't think he'll ever be a fantastic starting PG...he's just not meant to be the PG in a half-court offense....the majority of his turnovers come that way...

4) Mickael...He has the same problem I do on the court...he makes a bad decision or a bad play, and it gets to him for the rest of the game. That just can't happen. He's solid offensively, a very good finisher, and a great defender...if he can shape up his mental game, he could be a serious ball player. I think the Warriors should possible look into something therapeutic, such as Phil Jackson does....zen, or some of those guys who come in and work on mental strength.

whew! sorry for that extremely long post! Anyway, great diary, cfrazie88, some excellent points.  I love the entertainment and humor on GSoM, but it's great to get some real conversations in.  I feel like I should be sitting around a table with a beer, and some chips and salsa talking sports with the guys! Guess I'll have to wait until college for that one....:)

i wouldn't be worried about fixing a starting line-up just yet, i think they've still got time to do that. what's more important is that they all believe in what they can each contribute to the team. those that can really contribute will get to play. the new guys need time to incorporate themselves, nellie needs time to size them up and find out how to bring out the best in them. they all need to become believers. the good news is that it sounds like they are starting to do just that.

once jrich is back i would eventually expect to see a lineup/rotation more or less like this:

Baron          Sarunas/Monta
JRich/Jax      Monta
Jax/JRich      Pietrus/Barnes
Harrington     Barnes/Pietrus
Biedrins       Harrington/Foyle

the players in the first column ('the starters') get more or less 70% of the playing time, which works out to be roughly 33.6 mins/game. those in the second column play or split the remaing 30% which works out to be around 14.4 minutes. several points need to be made about these calculations:

1. without doubt the 6th man will be Monta. and since he is better off playing as a sg or at least alongside Baron, he should get the bulk of his time there backing up JRich/Jax.
2. the above, of course, implies that both JRich and SJax can sub and slide between the 2 and the 3 making room for more monta at the 2.
3. crunch time minutes would basically come down to matchup issues and whoever has had the hottest hand that night. actually i would often expect to see all three of the JRich-Jax-Monta combo in the game in the final 2 mins with Al playing the 5 and subbing in Biedrins for defensive purposes when needed.
4. the odd guys out will be MP and Barnes. if i had to choose between the two (and the warriors will have to just that, at least at the end of the season) i would probably go with Barnes, mainly because he's a bit more under control and a bit better at the small ball 4 than Pietrus. also pietrus probably has a bit more trade value than Barnes or at least his rather larger contract would neccesitate taking back more in return.
5. essentially the warriors are missing a tough/defensive 4/5 to back up both Al & Andris. neither MP nor Barnes will accomplish that so the big question is if whether some sort of combination of Barnes/Pietrus/Powell behind Harrington and Foyle/Powell behind Biedrins will suffice. i doubt it. still there's over a month before the trade deadline.

Baron   33.6 mins
JRich   33.6 mins
SJax    33.6 mins
Al      33.6 mins
Andris  33.6 mins (ideally no foul trouble!)
Monta   33.6 mins
Barnes  13.8 mins
Pietrus 13.8 mins
Sarunas 10.8 mins

of course i would expect Andris to average a little bit less (like around his season average 29 mins) which would probably mean more smallball Al Harrington at the 5 stuff. that would also up Barnes or Pietrus's minutes at the 4. also Baron will probably play more than 34 mins a game (he's playing nearly 38 now) and of course that would come at the expense of Cabbage's or Monta-the-PG's minutes.

all in all, even thought this team is starting to look pretty good, with growing chemistry and exciting and fun style of play, they will not go very far until the begin to believe in each other (and play better defense as a rather large footnote). last nights final play was a good example of how the warriors can and should play: a pesky rebound by our greatest of warriors, Baron, who tenatiously pushes the ball up court and with split second timing finds the best of several possible options, sending it to a wide open Monta for what was in the end a rather simple bucket.

sweet!

keep those great posts coming!

me

Yes, I know we have new players, but we need to get the 5 ASAP to become a 'good' team.

good = western playoff

Go Warriors!

As you can see not a single one of teams have double digit starting lineup changes even though they had injuries as well. Yet we have had 23. Something ain't right.

Go Warriors