Recap: Warriors 110, Grizzlies 107- A Win with the Iavaroni, but Not the Cheese

by Atma Brother ONE on Mar 16, 2008 10:17 AM PDT in Recaps Comment 49 comments

In the grand scheme of things, regardless of the outcome of home games like this the Warriors are in an unfair situation. Blowout wins against terrible teams are considered meaningless. Close wins like tonight's are cause for concern and losses spell doomsday.

Preview/ Open Thread (100+ Comments)

Coach Iavaroni and Cheese to his team: "Shhh... I don't think they realize we're the Grizzlies!"

Final Boxscore

BUT thank god the Warriors didn't give up 45 points in the 4th. A win's a win!

Postive Plays
Sure it wasn't a pretty night by any means for the Dubs, but here's a bunch of positives I took from the game:

Monta Ellis who's shooting a lowly 22.5% on 3's this season, just couldn't miss from outside tonight! (Okay it was only 1 for 1, but I'll take it.)
The Dubs contained Warrior Killer Mike Miller and he only dropped 19 points on them this time! (Okay, he had 6 dimes and was the game leader with 13 boards, but that's better than him going off for 40.)

Good thing they didn't leave him open!

Matt Barnes played an efficient 9:25 and hit all 3 of his trifecta attempts. Last season Barnes hit 36.6% of his 3's, but this season he's down to 29.6%. If he can get back to that level, this Warriors team is that much more deadly. Bring back the mohawk?
Andris Biedrins collected 8 boards in the first quarter alone. The Warriors have been criticized for coming out lethargic, but I'd venture to say Biedrins actually plays best in the first quarter. While other players are trying to find their groove, Biedrins crashes the glass.
Air France is still flying high. This might actually be the biggest story down the stretch. I know Mickael Pietrus battled that nasty shot to the nose earlier this season, but where was he earlier? From the driving and dunking to the tenacious D and rebounding, I like what I see. Hey, I'd like to retain this version of MP2 this offseason. The one from earlier this season? Um, not so much.

Evaporating 17 Point Lead with Sloppiness
Near the end of the 3rd quarter it looked like this game was as good as done and Nellie and the gang could flip the switch to cruise control. Little did we know the Warriors would surrender 41 points to one of the league's worst teams at home in the final period.

The normal care the Warriors exhibit with the rock was missing tonight and they actually got out-thieved by the Grizzlies. Thankfully the Warriors got away with 20 turnovers and getting picked 15 times and swatted 4. The passing wasn't crisp or on target. Starting SG Monta Ellis (I don't think you can call him a Combo guard anymore if you look at his numbers and how he plays) cannot walk away with only 1 assist and 3 turnovers against good teams in the league.
During last season's money stretch and miraculous playoff series against the Dallas My Little Ponies the Warriors won big with their swarming D. This year that defensive intensity and rigor has only shown some flashes. This is a terrible defensive team both on the exterior and interior. Overall there isn't much consistent resistance to penetrating guards and the Warriors are just Charmin soft inside.

Patented 2007-2008 Warriors Defense.

You know there's a problem when slender 6'9 219 pound Hakim Warrick playing out of position at the 5 spot backs down Andris Biedrins and scores easily in the post. Warrick continually went at Biedrins one on one tonight even though Andris had a pretty sizeable height and weight advantage. Thankfully Hakim just missed a bunch of good looks. NO ONE is scared of the Warriors inside. Biedrins and his 1.2 blocks per game intimidate no one. People wonder why Nellie only plays this rebounding machine 27 minutes nightly. Well, it's probably the D. I don't believe his defense was this bad last season, but maybe I'm wrong. What happened?
Chris Webber might help the Warriors defend a little bit inside when he returns (rest up CDubb!), but this is by far the biggest gaping whole on this roster. If the top 9 teams in the West exploit this Warriors weakness, the party's over.

But let's see what Nellie had to say about all this [AP]:

"We were very vulnerable, but we came away with a win and that's the main thing," coach Don Nelson said. "There are no bad teams in the NBA. There isn't anybody we can't beat and there isn't anybody that can't beat us on any given night. We didn't look much like an eighth-place team tonight, but we remain there. We're going to have to play a lot better than we played tonight and I know we will."

Questions

Why hasn't Chris Mullin found a single decent rugged big man/ enforcer in his 4 years in the Warriors front office?
Who will have a better NBA career when it's all said and done- Kosta Perovic (never missed a shot in the NBA) or Marco Belinelli (never met a shot he didn't like)?
Was Mike Conley a bad pick at #4 this past draft?
Can the Rockets please keep winning till GSoM Night 4?
Can you believe the Warriors are 17 games over .500?!

No Warrior really stood out tonight statwise, but I do want to acknowledge Baron Davis' resilience and bouncing back from starting the game 0-8, going scoreless in the first half, and a pinky-jam, to drop 19 points. Take away BD's second half scoring and the Warriors walk away Saturday with an embarrassing loss at the Roaracle. Nellie knows whassup:

"It affected his play," Nelson said of the finger injury. "I don't know how else to say it. He just had to fire up in the fourth quarter and start playing or we weren't going to win the game and we did."

Photos: Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

Don't miss!

Q&A: Spartacus from 3 Shades of Blue (3/14/08)
Postgame Thoughts: Memphis at Golden State 3.15.08 [3 Shades of Blue]

UPDATE (10:30am): I honestly feel really terrible about this. I can't believe I let this one slip. Please forgive me.

Shout out to Brian Cardinal aka The Janitor!

If you don't know, you better ask somebody!

Sure we missed out on KG, but at least we had The Janitor!

Update 2: Mickael's HAPPY!

0 recs | Comment 49 comments

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Comments

Warrick

is a forward. He's way too quick for Beans. I'd probably agree about Webber. Only because he's a vet (and also a forward) and has experienced guarding dudes faster than him.

Grizzlies are filled with warrior killers. I'm getting more afraid of Navarro every time we play them.

Will the the Warriors ever learn to not play down to the other team for all 4 quarters?? or at least 3. Especially since they're at home. It's crazy the only time we score 30 in a quarter was the 4th but the other team dropped 41.

Am I Michael Scott? I don't know. I might just be a basketball machine.

by disguy on Mar 16, 2008 10:33 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

i disagree!

why?
-you know lol

BTW Warriors have best record (8-2) in last 10 in the West now

by Lat We N Trash on Mar 16, 2008 11:04 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

have you heard of

21 game winning streak?? :p

by lightz0ut on Mar 16, 2008 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

LOL

never

-actually i didn't add it as only exception

by Lat We N Trash on Mar 16, 2008 11:52 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

wat about

houston?

by saintdee on Mar 16, 2008 11:26 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Houston is Done

im about to stick a fork in them because they are finished. once they start playing some REAL teams on a consistant basis, like the lakers here in about an hour, they are going to be lucky to stay at the top of the west. McGrady can only carry them for so long.

and if there is such thing as a turrrible and ugly win, then last night was just that.

by KINGofCRASH on Mar 16, 2008 11:53 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

dunno

about tonite
-Gasol is out
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/23652024/

by Lat We N Trash on Mar 16, 2008 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually hoping the Rockets win

If they get the 1st seed and assuming we remain on the 8th, then it will be a better matchup for us.

by lightz0ut on Mar 16, 2008 12:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Second that

Times 2

Put a little mustard on it

by The Barnes Supremacy on Mar 17, 2008 10:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Custodian

Wasn't Brian Cardinal's nickname the Custodian? I thought it was, but I could be wrong.

by jpgarfunkle on Mar 16, 2008 12:11 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Ya it definitely was

I still have a poster of the custodian on my wall

It's almost like the Warriors have 6 guys out there... they always have a guy open! - Jon Barry commentating game 3 last year

by gsw4life on Mar 16, 2008 12:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

he

was called both the custodian as well as the janitor.

by dandydaniel on Mar 16, 2008 12:21 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Actually

He was only called the Janitor by the guys doing the national broadcast that year (they were probably just confused). Everyone who knew called him the Custodian. It seems like a lot of people remember him as the Janitor but when he was on the team the FSN crew never called him that.

by olympicmike on Mar 16, 2008 9:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

We played crappy

but we won. Good teams do this. We're 16 games over .500 yay

It's almost like the Warriors have 6 guys out there... they always have a guy open! - Jon Barry commentating game 3 last year

by gsw4life on Mar 16, 2008 12:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

We played crappy

but we won. Good teams do this. We're 16 games over .500 yay

It's almost like the Warriors have 6 guys out there... they always have a guy open! - Jon Barry commentating game 3 last year

by gsw4life on Mar 16, 2008 12:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Here's a random question...

I posted this on the last article too. No response so here's hoping for more luck. Does anybody know the name of the song the W's play at the end of the first half? It's the funky 70's sounding song they play at the halftime buzzer when the teams are still walking back to the locker rooms. Thanks.

by Rather Be Lit on Mar 16, 2008 1:28 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Technical difficulties with GSoM

When I open GSoM with firefox it randomly closes the window sometimes. I don't have the problem with any other website, or if I open GSoM on IE. Anybody else having problems with the site or is my computer just trippin' balls?

then we will fight in the shade.

by Swamp Thing on Mar 16, 2008 1:28 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

its

that flash player from the orlando clip.. its seriously bugging with firefox. I am running vista with firefox and everytime I try to navigate away from the homepage.. i either lag for 6 seconds or the browser crashes. Never happened before this so....

by saintdee on Mar 16, 2008 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

changed

I moved the clip to after the jump so it's not on the homepage anymore. Hopefully that fixes it.

by Fantasy Junkie on Mar 16, 2008 4:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

Looks like all the comments on that recap got trashed, though.

by IQofaWarrior on Mar 16, 2008 4:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks FJ

Looks like it's working a lot better.

then we will fight in the shade.

by Swamp Thing on Mar 16, 2008 4:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought

Cardinal was called, "The Sanitary Technician" ?

by Lewis Lloyd Od Londons on Mar 16, 2008 2:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

It

looks like we are going end Houston's streak. I think they are gonna beat Boston and run into us. LETS GET THIS DONE WARRIORS!!

brb, going to ORACLE

by warrior510 on Mar 16, 2008 4:13 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I hope so

I have nothing against the Rockets, Yao, or McGrady, but I'm pissed that their winning streak started with us. That was game @Houston, where the news of Chris Webber may have messed the Warriors up into falling behind by as much as 21 in the 1st half. We came back and took the lead in the 4th quarter, with some extreme "He's on fire" shooting from Al. But a couple of "Where's the foul?" calls in favor of Yao messed us up in the end and we lost by 4.

by IQofaWarrior on Mar 16, 2008 4:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

did it really start with us?

oh man, that would be poetic if we did end the streak.

Am I Michael Scott? I don't know. I might just be a basketball machine.

by disguy on Mar 16, 2008 4:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yup

An even more important reason for us to win vs the Rockets is that it would be the 1st of our 8-game playoff-like stretch against the heart of the Western teams.

by IQofaWarrior on Mar 16, 2008 5:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Q&A

Why hasn't Chris Mullin found a single decent rugged big man-enforcer in his 4 years in the Warriors front office? He did, POB, Kosta, Ike, ... Simply boggles the mind why Mullin gets a free pass on his draft history. And while we're on the topic of bigs, blaming AB for his poor defense is a bit ridiculous - who is available to back him up when he gets in foul trouble? Could Croshere guard Warrick? BWright would get aaaabused by Warrick right now, maybe not in a couple years from now. Harrington? AB knows he has to stay out of foul trouble, and that he's not getting any help (GS doesn't double many low post players) so he needs to stay on the floor.
Who will have a better NBA career when it's all said and done - Kosta Perovic (never missed a shot in the NBA) or Marco Belinelli (never met a shot he didn't like)? Who will care? Belinelli is a buuuuuust, time to accept it people. If you are a guard with international experience and you can't make a contribution in Nelson's system, god help you. Even Sarunas, who couldn't speak but three words of English, was a major contributor for Nelson. Belinelli?! Another nice pick by Mully. And Kosta is on a team desperate for a big to make a contribution - and can't get on the floor. 'nuff said.
Was Mike Conley a bad pick at #4 this past draft? Yes.
Can the Rockets please keep winning till GSoM Night 4? Doesn't matter. The Rockets are stealing a page from GS playbook, playing without a pure low post player, driving & dishing, and using depth and athleticism to outpace regular season opponents. What both the Rockets and Dubs will face in the playoffs are quality teams with a low post scorer who will slow the tempo. Phx already figured out that you can run to the playoffs, but you won't run to a ring.
Can you believe the Warriors are 17 games over .500?! Yes, it's real. This last point is hardly news, we are running Baron, Jax, et al on empty going into the playoffs. Every other team rests their stars over the long regular season. So while we are 17over, we are likely going to enter the playoffs tired, and without a big who is going to make a difference once there. Mullin's thanking his lucky stars he resurrected the only coach who could turn his chicken-manure into chicken-salad. Just don't expect chicken-cordon-bleu.

by hardcore on Mar 16, 2008 5:04 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

uh

why was mike conley a bad pick?

by dhp318 on Mar 16, 2008 6:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, Sarunas was a hell of a contributor.

I'm going to hold you to your comment about Belinelli. Brandan Wright didn't make an immediate contribution, does that make him a bust? Oh but he broke his way into the rotation you say, oh has he really? Has he played any significant minutes since Biedrins got back?

Nellie's not playing Belinelli because he's young, not because he's bad.

Phoenix's style couldn't win a ring? It's too bad that that BS call last year ruined their season last year, because that is how close they were to winning a ring and shutting all you guys up. Terrible call by Stern, and in my opinion that cost the Suns the series, not small ball.

I don't know enough about Conley to say if he looks like a bust or not, but wasn't he injured for most of the year? How can you judge what you haven't seen.

The small ball argument really is poor, because it ignores several components. For one thing, those who say that a small ball team has never won a championship don't mention that there haven't been too many true small ball teams and even less small ball teams who were contenders. The Suns were a contender.

And since when are all the other teams coasting into the playoffs? The only teams coasting are in the Eastern Conference.

Golden State probably won't win it this year, but it won't be because of their small ball style.

by belilaugh on Mar 16, 2008 10:15 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

reading comprehension?

when did I make the comment you ascribe to me re BWright?

Oh but he broke his way into the rotation you say, oh has he really? Has he played any significant minutes since Biedrins got back?

If you comprehended what I wrote re AB's playing, you'd have gotten it. The jury's still out should be sufficient.

I'll be happy to be wrong about Belinelli, just as I was wrong about AB two years ago & unafraid to say it.

As for small ball & championships, that was pretty deeply digested and discussed not too long ago on GSoM - and I challenge you to provide some evidence to the contrary if you want to argue the point.

by hardcore on Mar 17, 2008 8:42 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

lol

- just realized you didn't know I was refer'n to Sarunas M - from the NelsonI era, not Sarunas from last year, no wonder you scoff'd!

by hardcore on Mar 17, 2008 8:50 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sarunas Marciulionis

is legend in Lithuania

former team USSR player
http://www.nba.com/historical/playerfile/index.html?player=sarunas_marciulionis

actually Sarunas Jasikevicius is legend of present days -he was not good fit in NBA system but is perfect for Euro bball (he has biggest contract in Euroleague now)
http://www.nba.com/historical/playerfile/index.html?player=sarunas_jasikevicius

by Lat We N Trash on Mar 17, 2008 11:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Belinelli's age = not playing

MB is older and more experienced than Kelenna Azubuike by a few years (if you count Euroball as superior to Dleague), he's close in age to Monta & POB - one who plays a ton and the other who's in a Jam uni, he is younger than C.J. ... It's not age, it's ability. Again, I hope you are right and I'm wrong - we could use a contribution from him in the future.

by hardcore on Mar 17, 2008 9:14 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

face it, Bellinelli looks like a huge bust

from my man, John Hollinger before the season:

2007-08 outlook: A sweet-shooting guard from Italy who was the Warriors' first-round pick, Belinelli made waves with a big performance in the Warriors' summer league and generated high hopes that he can take Jason Richardson's spot in the backcourt.

Golden State fans are in for a crushing disappointment. Belinelli's translated European stats are extremely poor, and the track record of those numbers has been extremely reliable the past few years. They suggest he'll make some shots from the perimeter, just as he did in summer league, but struggle off the dribble and contribute absolutely nada to the rest of the box score.

"crushing disappointment" got that right...

by Dubmanny on Mar 18, 2008 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

ugh

ok, pick the lamest question Atma posed.

Conley avg 8+ ppg & isn't turning it over much, pretty heady for a rookie PG admittedly - and if you've seen him play more than three times this year, I'd welcome your observations. Here're mine.

As fantasy Grizzly GM, if I could trade Conley for some of the 10 picks I'd passed on to take him then I'd have to admit he was if not a "bad" pick then at least he's not the best player available at that spot and would welcome the opportunity to trade him for some of the guys I'd passed on, and I probably would - even before but also particularly following the LAL trade:

SEA -- Jeff Green 6'9, 9+ ppg, plus 5 rpg at PF spot. In a heartbeat.
MIL -- Yi Jianlian - a unique and special talent over 7'0 also ave 9/5 as a rookie. In less than a heartbeat.
MIN -- Corey Brewer = another 6'9 player at SF, who isn't scoring as much, maybe a push with Conley?
GSW -- Brandan Wright - politely, the jury is still out on Wright, and no I wouldn't trade Conley for him straight up, but I'd be tempted to since I have Crit now if I had liked BW pre-draft
CHI -- Joakim Noah = drama aside, he's shown he can play with the big boys in the NBA. I'd trade Conley for Noah straight up without thinking twice.
SAC -- Spencer Hawes - yech, ok, since we are deep at guard, may/be since we are short-handed inside. I'm not impressed with Hawes from the little I've seen. Throw in a draft pick, and maybe (but probably not).
ATL -- Acie Law - nah, I'd keep Conley.
PHI -- Thaddeus Young - 6'8 SF averaging double figures in his last five games, just dropped 22 on Mil (granted, who's guarding him?). Maybe, maybe not. Honestly, probably not.
NOH -- Julian Wright isn't playing much more than BWright, nope.
LAC -- Al Thornton - 6'8 SF who's avg 12+ppg but on a non-playoff team, hmm, may have to at least look at him ...

Turn back the clock, how many of those first 5 guys /wouldn't Grizz take before Conley, even without the LAL trade? At least 3? And all are bigger players - an obvious bias of mine, and most NBA GMs drafting in the first round.

by hardcore on Mar 16, 2008 7:00 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree with post

except that it is too early in these guy's careers to judge. But based off of this season and his age, Thaddeus Young would be a top 5 pick in the draft for sure. He's been really, really good. Also Carl Landry from Houston should get consideration.

It's almost like the Warriors have 6 guys out there... they always have a guy open! - Jon Barry commentating game 3 last year

by gsw4life on Mar 16, 2008 10:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

yup, waaaay early

I was simply responding to Atma's Q, and dhp318's request for substantiation

haven't seen enough of TYoung myself to have a strong opinion ...

by hardcore on Mar 17, 2008 9:38 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

OMG

did anybody see the score Den vs Seattle? why do the Dubs have to make it a DRAMA everytime we play teams that we are suppose win by a huge margin?

brb, going to ORACLE

by warrior510 on Mar 16, 2008 8:16 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

WTF

they scored 40+ in 3 quarters!! final score of 168...inconceivable. 60% from the field with 101 attempts! 51% from deep. 44 assists. nuts

I hate to say it, Denver's looking like they want it more than the Dubs.

Am I Michael Scott? I don't know. I might just be a basketball machine.

by disguy on Mar 16, 2008 8:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

uuuuuuuuuuuaaghhh

i don't like hear that. It is not looking good for the dubs... :(

brb, going to ORACLE

by warrior510 on Mar 16, 2008 8:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope Peetie is happy enough to come back next yr

by SkipT on Mar 17, 2008 1:28 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

he

wont.. we'll be bleeding money out this year. Too many people to resign.

by saintdee on Mar 17, 2008 2:06 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Denver...

...will end up faltering because of their 168 point game. Indeed, they won big, but they won big because they scored big. They still gave up 110+ to the Sonics. The Nuggets problems are predominantly on the defensive end, and I feel that this game will only embolden them to gun even more and ignore their D - not unlike the Warriors, you say? Perhaps. But the Warriors have the firepower to win that way, and I don't trust the Nuggets can.

Nuggets gonna lose their next three games, and you can take that to the bank!

by Zack Vank on Mar 17, 2008 4:02 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I

hope you are right. In fact, i want you to be right

brb, going to ORACLE

by warrior510 on Mar 17, 2008 8:07 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I didn't see the game, but...

The two teams combined for 208 FG attempts and 67 FT attempts. With 30 turnovers, that's over 250 possessions used in the game, for an average of less than 11 seconds/possession. Yeah, that's pretty quick. The Sonics scored a lot because the game was fast, not because Denver sucks. Also, Denver was up by more than 25 for almost the entire game (Final score was a 52 point margin... 52!). Judging a defensive performance under those conditions is useless.

by Dubs fan in Boston on Mar 17, 2008 8:57 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Celtics @Spurs scoreboard watch

Sorry, but there aren't any other threads to put this.

But wow. Celtics were down 17 after the 1st quarter and now they're up by 1! If the Spurs lose, they'd be tied with Dallas, and Dallas is 2-1 against them this season, so Spurs would be 7th! Weren't they 1st in the conference just a few games ago?

by IQofaWarrior on Mar 17, 2008 7:08 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs