RECAP #16: Golden State Warriors 111, Memphis Grizzlies 116- Not so Smart coaching = 1-7 without David Lee

Simply cause were playing better defense and rebounding better, it could just be the players but still. Nellie never taught any defense , were at least getting an effort now and Nellie loses his guys and alienates them . I forgot where it was but Monta was basically hinting at that he was happy Nellie was gone and I’m sure Beans is too.

He wasn’t good tonight but I’ll give everyone the benefit of the doubt w/o Lee (except Vlad)

Also even though Monta was 8-18 he played a really good game, he was really hustling for lose balls, played good defense and passed very well

I think Andris still didn’t get enough credit in this. He was absolutely amazing tonight and it wasn’t because Marc Gasol’s defense.

Props to Atma.

I’d rather have neither.

I am absolutely done with Nellie.

Smart has, for the most part, gotten all the players used to their roles, and playing within themselves, and he has them giving effort on defense and (often) making smart decisions on offense.

For that he deserves a lot of praise. I think that people who voted Nellie aren’t giving Smart enough credit for this. Compare Ellis’ trade value now compared to his trade value at the end of last season – doesn’t Smart have to share some of the credit for that?

Where he seems to be falling down is in in-game substitutions, but Smart has been dealt a very challenging hand here:

He has a very thin team. With Reggie underperforming, and four injured bigs, we have no meaningful depth to speak of. And Smart has a challenging job because he needs to compete in these games, but he also needs to look forward to when we’re at something closer to full strength so we can win those games, too. And if he runs players into the ground now, we may pay the price for it later.

It’s not an easy call. Certainly I don’t really want Monta playing for than 39 minutes or so a game, especially when he’s not playing that well (as he hasn’t been during this losing streak). I would have liked to see him put Curry in a few minutes earlier, but, again … it’s not as easy a decision as it looks. Without a viable backup point guard, Smart needs to make a commitment to giving Lin some minutes to develop him, so we can see where we end up. There is a win-now vs. win-later balancing act he has to manage.

Our big-man depth problem is going to solve itself as players get healthy. That’s great. But Carney is not good enough to be a rotation player, Reggie is underperforming, and Lin is still learning, and that means we’ve got a real depth problem.

I think Smart gave this one away with that line-up in the early fourth tonight. Even if he feels it’s critical to get Steph and Monta some rest before the final stretch, he needs to plan ahead so he doesn’t have them both sitting on the bench at the same time. Vlad was also horrid in that stretch, lazily throwing a couple balls away in critical moments.

Also, I can’t say enough about Andris tonight. For all those who were calling for him to be more aggressive, they got their wish tonight. He was actually calling for the ball on offense, and while he picked up many of his points by making himself available for dump offs in the paint from driving guards, he also had some very slick post moves on Gasol. He was as confident as we’ve seen him in a long time (maybe ever) even forcing contact and getting himself to the line at critical moments. I loved seeing him get 40+ minutes tonight. Obviously it’s a no-brainer when he’s playing that well, but he needs to be getting 30-35 minutes a night for this team, especially with Lee out. Those extra 5-10 minutes would also mean 5-10 minutes less of Vlad/Gadz/Adrien so it would be a huge help. Obviously fouls have been an issue for him, but with his foul rate there is no reason he shouldn’t at least be over 30 minutes a night consistently.

It’s really tough not picking up this win tonight. We’ve got a tough stretch of games coming up, and I really think Smart should have gone all-in in the fourth to secure the win. The good news is we might be getting Lee back soon. Boy do we need him right now.

I don’t care what you Smart backers think. The defense has been horrible and the offense is even worse than last year. If Nelly were still coaching we’d have a few more wins. So what if he played Curry a crap load of minutes last year? Do you understand that Curry developed into a future star because of that?

We NEED Avery!! Why didn’t we go after him this off season?!? Now he’s wasting time over in new jersey….
Can we trade some expirings for thier head coach?!
Hahaha

We were not going to be turning into the Boston Celtics in one offseason with the roster we have.

Last year everyone was crucifying Nellie for running Curry and Monta into the ground. Now when he tries giving them rest everyone is crucifying Smart. We just have no depth right now. Steinmetz said it last night, once Lee, Amundson, and Udoh come back, all eyes will turn on the lack of backcourt depth.

As for Smart, I am still in the group of giving him the season. This is his first head coaching stint in the NBA, just like our players, he is learning the innings and outings of the game as well. He may be doing things slower than most like, but unlike Nellie he is actually showing ability to change and adapt. Obviously, if you can bring in a bonifide coach, I dunno, if somehow Spoelstra got fired, I’d prefer him.

Biedrins was absolutely terrific last night. Thinking about Biedrins playing like that alongside DLee already has got smiles on my face.

Can we get Iggy for our expirings?

it’s like the lesser of two evils

Basically agreed — though with each passing game in which Smart plays VladRad while generously “resting” Curry (currently averaging 33 mins per game) and Biedrins (28.3 mpg), my sentiments inch closer to “greater of two evils.”

I’ll be happy when we’re finally rid of all traces of the Cohan/Rowell/Nelson/Mullin/Smart regime. Dubzfan, get Brian Shaw on the horn!

The herd is about to stampede again.

Magette for Gads and Bell? Bell used to have a shot. If only he still had it, we could rest Steph or Monta while playing Charlie at 2. Soooooooooo, to save money we gave up Mags, CJ (who scored 33 last night), and Morrow. We even gave up our 2nd draft pick for free when we sold to Portland, could have gotten Landry Fields the local boy for that one (among others). Sure hope Lacob is not like this just no room for error this year.

Any updates on Lee for tonight?

I am at peace with the world because Cohan, Nelson and Chris Mullin as GM are not here anymore. Ahh. Nirvana. So what if we are 1 – 7 without David Lee? This team will come back and make the playoffs.

Our defense has improved, but it needs to improve more and we have to find ways to score more than the other team. Free throw shooting has improved, but Mark Price needs to show more better results. Biedrins free throws seems to have made a teensy bit of improvement.