Recap: Warriors 82, Jazz 106

by Fantasy Junkie on Nov 5, 2006 12:12 AM PST in Recaps Comment 28 comments

Ouch. A 24 point loss? So much for the confidence boost that was the Blazers. This was one of those games that you knew was over by halftime so you could save your Saturday night for something non-depressing.

Maybe you don't want to look at this but here's the boxscore anyways.

Tonight, Utah was clearly the better, more disciplined, and more polished team. They can execute a half court set, make free throws, and play solid defense.

There was too much of this:

Too many uncontested dunks and putbacks galore.

1 on 4? No problem!

And not enough of this:

Easy buckets

Nice defensive effort

The problems with the Warriors tonight are nothing new. I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but

1) The free throws are absolutely atrocious
At one point they were 1-7 They finished the game 20-35, good for 57%. Who's this Hal Wissel guy? Aren't we supposed to shoot better with him around?

2) The Warriors can't run a half court set
The offense completely stalls when the opposition is able to get back on defense. It's not only Baron's incessant pounding and pounding of the rock that's giving me a headache. It's the entire team. Dunleavy walks the ball up in a run and gun offense. Ike takes 10 seconds to make a move in the post. JRich still hobbled by his knee insists on taking bad shots. What's worse is that when one guy has the ball, the majority of the time, the other 4 on the court decide that it's a good idea to stand outside the 3 point line and watch. I could understand watching if say Michael Jordan had the ball, but c'mon none of our players are that interesting. So MOVE on offense. Run a simple motion or a box set on offense.

3) Plain and simple, the defense sucks
How many times are we going to gamble and go for a steal? How many times are we going to pick up a silly foul by swiping at the ball to get a steal, but wind up fouling the guy instead? How many open shots is one of their best shooters, CJ Miles, going to get a wide open 3 pointer? Somebody needs to tell these guys that they need to move their feet and oh yea, BOX OUT. The Warriors were out-rebounded 51-34. That's 17 extra possessions. I knew the Jazz's frontline was going to give the Warriors trouble, but I didn't think they were going to demolish our team. At one point it looked like Okur and Boozer were the equivalent of two high school stars playing against the local middle school team.

4) Poor shooting

Warriors, 28-73 from the field, 38%
Jazz, 43-84 from the field, 51%.
Baron: 1-9
JRich: 4-14

I have nothing good to say about tonight's loss. When you get beat by 24, you can't say anybody really played well.

Misery loves company right? So just be glad it wasn't as bad as being on the losing end of this one. Also, you know what? As poor as we've played, we're still not in last place! That honor goes to Phoenix who's at 1-3. In all seriousness, let's not get too down on our boys. It's only the beginning folks. Perhaps we didn't think there would be an adjustment period, but Nellie is clearly still trying to figure out how to get the most out of everybody. Nellie is not going to let the poor play continue so you can be sure there will be changes and the Warriors will play better.

Dallas is up next on Monday. Nellie returns to face his former team.

Warrior Wonder
Andris Biedrins. 11 points, 12 boards. 5-5 from the field. Played some good D too.

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How about

We get some Foyle to send those putbacks to the house!!!!!!!!!

by Zorgon on Nov 5, 2006 12:30 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

the' Donal

Can't argue with the fact that foyle was the starter in our only win this season?

by Skeptic con Urquell on Nov 5, 2006 10:16 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Booooo!!!

eom

by ssmokinjoe on Nov 5, 2006 12:55 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

spot-on analysis

from postseason to this. this is a total embarrassment. failure on so many levels. i wish this team had some memory of what kind of basketball works in this league. the memorable play for me was okur guarding our point forward at the top of the key. barnett was commenting how dun should relish driving around okur. there were two opportunities to drive the baseline on him, but he didn't take it. instead he drives into the lane right into diogu's space and two defenders. result? a trade for a bag of chips.

by eshock on Nov 5, 2006 6:40 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

early silver lining

gotta admit that AB played better than I'd expected possible for extended minutes, and if continued, needs to get more minutes... unlike some others who pile up stats when the game is not on the line (MDJ) he was doing it early... as for the rest, I'd be a broken record (are any of you old enough to actually have heard a broken record?) to bring up BD's shot selection, the lack of D, the multiple 20-10s piling up against Murphy (predicted long ago here), not to mention those FTs ... I am trying to wait 20 games to make a firm impression or evaluate this team's chances but, well it's not trending well

by hardcore on Nov 5, 2006 7:34 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Broken Record

are any of you old enough to actually have heard a broken record?

You know I never thought about that. I guess it's just one of those expressions that will never die. Just like the Warriors and their similarity to a broken record- it'll never die.

by Atma Brother ONE on Nov 5, 2006 9:00 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Nellie's Going to Have to Earn His Big Bucks

A few things stand out in the stats:

Andris looked great! 12 rebounds and 5-5 shooting. It doesn't get any better than that. On top of that he had 3 steals and made a FT!

BD's stats are...well, I'm not sure what adjective to use here:

FG% 1-9 3PT 0-1 FT 0-3 (Question: Why in the world is BD shooting our technical FT's when his FT% is 65%?) The stats don't really show how C.J. Miles, a 2nd year player, completely owned BD. When C.J. was singlehandedly demolishing the Warriors in the 1st quarter, BD was guarding (I use the term lightly) him.

And then there was Troy. Ready? 0 rebounds. And that stat doesn't even portray how the Jazz big men were manhandling Troy all night on both ends of the court. Can somebody say, "Box out"?

MP went into his disappearing act again, just like last year. 23 minutes and 3 points and 1 rebound.

The stats don't even begin to portray how Mike Dunleavy still managed to play nervous and timid almost the whole game. C'mon, Mike, when you're down 25, you can loosen up a little and play intelligent basketball.

Watching the game, I was also surprised at how the Warriors looked tired and sluggish after one quarter. Especially Troy, who looked like he could barely make it up and down the court. For a team that was supposed to be a run and gun team against a team that is known for half-court basketball, it seemed to me that the Jazz totally outran the Warriors!

I agree with the other posters that the Warriors half-court offense seemed to consist of everybody going one on one and standing around. The most complex thing the Warriors did was try to run a few screen and rolls.

When you don't know how to execute a half-court offense, when you're kind of a young, small team, and then when you play lazy basketball and don't even run, go 1-7 from the FT line....well, you see what happens.

Nellie and his staff have their work cut out for them.

It stood out even more against an oncourt clinic by an excellent Jazz team, making crisp cuts, with nice spacing, and just carving up the hapless Warrior defense.

by pineriver on Nov 5, 2006 9:05 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Nellie's Going to Have to Earn His Big Bucks

A few things stand out in the stats:

Andris looked great! 12 rebounds and 5-5 shooting. It doesn't get any better than that. On top of that he had 3 steals and made a FT!

BD's stats are...well, I'm not sure what adjective to use here:

And then there was Troy. Ready? 0 rebounds. And that stat doesn't even portray how the Jazz big men were manhandling Troy all night on both ends of the court. Can somebody say, "Box out"?

MP went into his disappearing act again, just like last year. 23 minutes and 3 points and 1 rebound.

It stood out even more against an oncourt clinic by an excellent Jazz team, making crisp cuts, with nice spacing, and just carving up the hapless Warrior defense.

Nellie and his staff have their work cut out for them.

by pineriver on Nov 5, 2006 9:08 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Apologies

Sorry about posting twice. Can anyone explain to me how to delete a post?

by pineriver on Nov 5, 2006 9:09 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Don't worry about it

Sorry about that pineriver. We're still learning the backend SBNation system (trust me- it ain't pretty) and I don't think deleting/editing posts is possible, but we're def looking into it.

For everyone- if you ever make a mistake in a post, just reply to your own post and fix it. We're all one big community here, so no one's going to give you a hard time if you make a mistake and correct it later.

by Atma Brother ONE on Nov 5, 2006 10:26 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

God that was ugly

I just finishing watching the game on TiVo. That game was just

FULGY!!

I tried hard to look for some positives, so here we go:

MP2's hustle and energy on defense
Biedrins is really looking a lot better- only 1 foul! I'm surprised the Jazz didn't pull a hack-a-Biedrins and send him to the line more tho
Project O'Bryant with some nice garbage time defense. I didn't expect that much from him

And on to the negatives (there's a LOT):

JRich still looks very rusty. At this rate it might take him 10+ games to get back to his normal form. This is really too bad. He's the Warriors' best player, so this obviously stings like no other.
T-Double: 0 blocks and 0 rebounds. Sorry that just doesn't cut it from your starting PF. I'm pretty surprised at his play last night. He's was pretty aggressive the 2 preceeding games. Unacceptable.
Dunleavy- Is he a 3? Is he a 4? Is he a 1? How about none of the above. He's just not a starter in this league. Sorry, but I don't exactly get a kick out of "point guard" who's had 2 assists to 5 turnovers in 2 games. Bench him and bring him off the bench for 10 minutes to create mismatches. That's all he's good for until he proves otherwise.
That was just a dissapointing game from BD. He's much better than that. Maybe Nellie should run more plays with him posting up smaller and weaker PG's if he's sold on playing him off the ball more.
Ike's gotta make decisions faster. When he knows he take someone down low he's gotta move faster and punish his opponent
Roberson- I thought he could shoot?
Nellie's gotta play Matt Barnes more. 'nuff said
Monta- at this point in his career he's a pretty weak finisher. Very dissapointing because he can drive to the basket with such ease

Overall:

This team can't shoot
This team can't rebound
This team can't defend
This ain't "up-tempo", this is NO TEMPO

by Atma Brother ONE on Nov 5, 2006 9:14 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Atma

thats a pretty good analysis. I think that Don Nelsons next move will be to put Dunleavy at the 5, Pietrus at the 4, Richardson at the 3, Ellis at the 2, and Davis at the 1. ULTRA SMALL!!!!!11

But it seems like Dunleavy has just a bunch of basketball skills that aren't good enough anywhere to garner a position. All-Purpose? He has no specialty, and hes not good enough in all of the areas to be a superstar. It's impossible to put him in a position on the basketball court.

Roberson has been a real dissapointment this season. He can probobly score on scrubs easy, but he can't score when it's game time.

But the closing statement covers it all best.

Except that we need to play foyle.

by Zorgon on Nov 5, 2006 11:09 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Sure, bench Dun. . .

I agree he's best not starting. The problem is that, so far, NO Warrior is an NBA starter. (Can we agree to put the hold on all the silly, if incessant, All-Star talk this year?) So, to focus on Dun's weaknesses is to avoid the real point: the big three money guys on the team (BD at $17, JRich at $11-12, and Murph at $10-11) have been absolutely atrocious -- and FAR worse than Dun ($7-8), who still draws the majority of this site's wrath though his weak play is among the least of this team's problems right now.
I mean, BD is playing EXACTLY like he did last year -- and his 1-9 shooting and 0-3 FTs (hey, he DID get six assists) show he's only getting worse (and I never thought he could shoot worse than last year); and Murph, where the hell was he last night with his double zero? JRich has an excuse -- tho I still can't believe he and the team waited till mid-August for the knee surgery -- but he's shown no improvement as the time proceeds. These are the BIG problems.
So, where to go to fix? First, Nellie HAS to play BD because the guy has such talent, but he simply has to figure out a way to get it thru BD's thick skull that this is a team game, requiring motion, and that until he starts passing fast and moving without the ball, this team is toast. Second, keep playing JRich, if he's healthy, and just grin and bear it till he plays into shape. Third, get Ellis in the mix now. He's raw, but he's fast and can defend, and he can help get this team playing up-tempo (or they're dead). Fourth, rotate the fours early and often -- and if anyone's hot, stick with him; I'd start Ike even tho he's a liability in a motion game (tho he might be disguised with a quicker five, see below) because right now he's about the only guy who can score. Fifth, start AB at five and rotate him with O'B. Both are quick, both pick things up pretty well, and both can maneuver around the slower Ike. (And when both are in it's just tougher for BD to resort to that pound the ball inside baloney.) Then, bring in Dun, Murph and Wags off the bench, and just run like hell ALL THE TIME.
Finally, dammit, will someone get these fools to hit their free throws? I just can't believe that BD can be so bad and unteachable at this. And Murph should hit a much higher percentage. AB will always be a problem, but Ellis can learn if he's required to do so.
The absolute key, tho, is running, running, running -- something these guys look like they're just too lazy to commit on. Cuz if they don't pick up the speed quickly, there's not going to be much reason to watch them: you can always catch their momentary highlights on ESPN; no need to wade thru two and a half hours of dreck to get there.

by johnl on Nov 5, 2006 1:20 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I think you hit the main point

Right now there are NO All Stars on this team, but they're paid like All Stars. This team needs talent. I think it's fair to say that this Warriors team is in salary cap hell.

by Atma Brother ONE on Nov 5, 2006 2:50 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

But any bad apples?

Finally! This seaasaon Nellie will learn which of the GSW players are over-paid role players and which (if any) are "bad apples".

Can Nellie rehabilitate Baron, discover Dunleavy polish JRich, stabalize MP2, and show how Murphy can play to win, and not for personal double doubles.

We're going to get some answers.

by joe sez on Nov 5, 2006 4:52 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

gahh

Man this is sad, pathetic, and painful. I know im starting down misery road pretty early, but last year we jumped out to a quick start, then dropped the season out the window. Looking on the bright side, Oden here we come!!!

by FoyledAgain on Nov 5, 2006 12:40 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

hit the nail on the head

can't really disagree with anything FJ or anyone else has said. i was happy with AB, but everyone else...who knows what the hell their problem is.

by AJC3317 on Nov 5, 2006 1:45 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

a possibility, possibly pollyannaish

*The team is learning new free-throw techniques which have shown results in practice, yet is shooting worse than ever in games;
*The team has practiced pushing the ball whenever possible, yet has botched many opportunities to push the ball;
*The team has a coach who has them working harder than last year, who has their respect as a proven winner, and who doesn't mind thrashing them in public, yet they've played two of their least impressive games.

Here's a possible explanation: many of the players are trying earnestly to adopt new, better game habits--in defensive rotations, in reacting to the ball, in shooting free throws--but haven't yet fully internalized those habits; under pressure, they revert to old habits, lacking the confidence that comes with having succeeded with the new habits/techniques in real game situations.

The danger is that the players will say to themselves, "this newfangled stuff doesn't work, plus we have to work harder for the same bad results, so I'm going to write off my coach, my season, and myself because I don't know what to do." The hope is that they'll persist, master the new methods, and reap the benefits.

Several people have implied that Hal Wissel, the free throw coach, must be a fraud, given the poor results so far. If the team fails to significantly improve their free throws this year, then we can say he's ineffective and doesn't deserve his pay; after three games, even after thirteen games, I would reserve judgment. Learning new habits often takes more time than an NBA training camp allows, and even the best teacher can't accelerate the process very much. I have to say that I'm encouraged by what I've read about Wissel: that he doesn't force a one-technique-fits-all approach on everyone, that he analyzes all aspects of the shot from the feet on up, that he understands the importance of muscle memory and repeated successful actions as opposed to just repeated actions (practice doesn't make perfect--perfect practice makes perfect).

by mikej on Nov 5, 2006 2:26 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Her'e my take..

We need an intervention. These players are addicted to losing. They haven't accept responsibility for losing and that shows up in their instance in doing the same thing as last year but expecting everyone else to change.

The starters can't run a 1/2 court offense and they can't run. They miss free throws because they haven't practiced enough under duress and frankly, no one has ever been held accountable.

It's mental, not just physical.

by joe sez on Nov 5, 2006 2:54 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Nail on head

Couldn't have hit it better. But the biggest screw ups are definitely last years' starters: BD, MD and Murph (JRich still gets a bit of a pass because of the knee).

I'd like to sit 'em all out -- all three -- for a game, but BD is just too valuable (at least potentially) to leave out of the game. The Dun and 1 and BD at 2 idea didn't work, but I liked the concept because it forced BD to play without the ball. But as pointed out by others, Dun's too slow to bust it up court in an uptempo game.

I suspect pretty soon Nellie will do two things: sit players that don't move and pass (or pass and move) and sit players who keep bricking free throws. Loss of minutes hurts so bad that it might have some effect.

by johnl on Nov 5, 2006 6:05 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

how come

nellie hasn't played dajuan wagner? also they looked awful but it is only the 3rd game.

by BRETTcuziaintthatcreative on Nov 5, 2006 2:27 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

utah game

i already knew that the warriors were going to lose by 20 against the jazz's monstrous frontcourt. i would've started pietrus at sf, diogu at pf, and biedrins at c. how come nellie didn't do that?

by thewarriorsrule on Nov 5, 2006 5:41 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Foyle

It's hilarious to me how fast people want Foyle back in that lineup after the bashing he took all summer. You may not love his game, but every team needs that physical presence in the middle or you are gonna get manhandled on a consistent basis.

You would have thought Nellie would have learned that by now.

by clem on Nov 5, 2006 6:17 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Kinda agree

every team needs that physical presence in the middle or you are gonna get manhandled on a consistent basis.

No doubt. I just don't think Foyle is that guy. I still don't believe Foyle at this stage in his career is more than a backup 10th man who should be plugged in more than 10 minutes once every 2 or 3 games.

Great guy, awful NBA player.

by Atma Brother ONE on Nov 5, 2006 6:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Nah

Foyle is All-Star team and you know it!

by Zorgon on Nov 5, 2006 8:32 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Hey

I've been repping him all summer, foo'!

by Zorgon on Nov 5, 2006 8:32 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I can vouch for Zorgon

He's been hyping up his man Adonal since the early 90's. Zorgon actually convinced the Warriors to take Foyle over TMac. Props to Zorgon (?)
http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/story/2006/6/27/182253/073

by Atma Brother ONE on Nov 5, 2006 9:27 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

oh well

"The Utah Jazz are healthy, deep, and unbeaten."
That's the opening line from the espn article of the Warriors latest game. I didn't finish reading the article because I figured the GSW didn't get enough votes to win.
Democracy isn't working well for my G.S. Bulldogs. They are one win verse two losses. In a communist world the GSW would at least be 1.5 win verse 1.5 loss.
I call the Warriors the Bulldogs because I want them to get angry and eat their opponent.
I once had a little kitten and then the neighbor's Bulldog ate it one day. The next day I didn't have a kitten.
My new friend Baron Davis sucks. Our friendship may end if he continues to play like the little kitten of mine who gets eaten. I can't go through that again. I have no respect for tiny creatures who only score two points and get eaten by bigger species of living creation from across the fence next door.
A side note: I have no respect for myself because I cried when my little kitty was eaten and I cry when my new friend Baron only makes one shot out of nine. That is like my kitten getting eaten and then thrown up and then eaten again.
No, no, no, no. I make a mistake. My friend Baron is a little pawn. Basketball isn't life or death like my little kitty. It is a game, a festival, a county fair.
Baron Davis, my friend, is like the young little child lost at the fair. This child wandered around and there was no mother to be seen. The little lost boy tried asking the guy working ring toss for help, but that guy only wanted me to hold rings for money. Depressed, me as a little boy snuck into the cotton candy stand and hid in the cabinets. After eating six spools of blue and pink cotton candy the boy who is me falls asleep. The next day he wakes up and finds the fair has moved to the little town of Ohio City in Ohio. They boy who is kinda of me never saw his parents again and would spend all day playing basketball in the basketball game booth. The boy, who is now my friend Baron Davis, enjoyed the festival on the move. He especially enjoyed the fair when it crossed the border and became a Mexican festival. The reason may have partly been because he saw American woman and Mexican donkey in what some would call bestial acts of love and what others would site as the words of a higher being, "Love all of God's creatures."
Final score: GSW 82 UTAH JAZZ 106

I pretend not to know this guy

by baumerworld on Nov 9, 2006 7:57 PM PST reply actions 0 recs