Spread the floor, hit the open shot, and rebound. Troy Murphy is the Golden State Warriors' starting center this year and he expected a lot of changes, but there really haven't been any.
"He doesn't have his touch like I want it, but he's doing great," Nelson said. "He's where he's supposed to be; he knows all the plays, all the assignments, and he's played very well."
As for being a little deficient on defense -- a knock frequently associated with the Warriors' entire frontcourt -- he admits he'll need help guarding opposing centers.
"I had help guarding power forwards, too," Murphy said. "I'm going to do the best I can to make it difficult for centers to catch the ball where they want it, and we're going to be crisp with the way we rotate defensively and get the ball out of his hands."
Offensively, we all expect Murphy to do well because he's got a nice stroke on his shot and creates mismatches for opposing big men on the perimeter. The real key this season is how the team plays defense around him. He's going to have trouble inside against the bigger, stronger, and more athletic big men. He's also not going to be much of an intimidator in the middle when the opposing guards drive the lane. Nelson knows his limitations but we all believe he's the best for the job. Biedrins isn't quite ready as a starting center, nor does he fit Nelson style. Diogu has been slow to pick up the system, and has been designated as a PF only. So, the inside defensive presence is going to rest heavily on Murphy and Dunleavy with a lot of help from the small forward and guards. It's going to be interesting to see how the defensive rotations play out.
Do the mismatches Murphy and Dunleavy create on offense make up for their deficiencies on defense?