With this loss the Warriors are now 8 games below .500 and pretty much out of the playoff race. The Warriors roster is deeply flawed at so many positions, but they are more talented than the Lakers. So why are the Lakers holding down the final playoff seed and the Warriors are headed nowhere fast? Coaching.
Boxscore
Kobe: "Phil, let's trade for the Warriors roster. We'd be much better!"
The Warriors should have a much better record than they do given their talent level. There is no reason getting blown out every night should be the norm. It is becoming commonplace for the Warriors to be unprepared and outcoached. Coach Montgomery should have already been fired this season. The top off season priority for the Warriors this season is getting an elite NBA coach. Someone needs to come in and teach these young guys how to win. Monty is just not that man. Why would you team an unexperienced coach with an unexperienced roster? That's just dumb.
Kobe: "Oh snap! Yo, Fish your coach is dumb as hell if he thinks you should be guarding at ANY POINT in the game. EVERYONE knows the only thing that bothers me is length."
There's not all that much new to say about this game. Once again JRich showed that he is a true Warrior and Troy Murphy had a decent night. Baron played tough on a bum ankle, but was largely ineffective. There wasn't much else positive to take from the game as everyone else had a pretty poor outing.
The Warriors shot an unwatchable 33.3% overall. Let's put it this way- with 16 points "big" man Chris Mihm outscored Fisher, Dunleavy, and Foyle... COMBINED (I find myself writing that line too often!). Aside from some great defensive flashes Pietrus continues to struggle. We should be the least worried about Mickael's recent struggles because they seem closely tied to Baron Davis not being able to suit up. When he's struggling offensively, at least Pietrus can contribute on the defensive end of the court. Even if Pietrus continues to play poorly, he's only on the books with a rookie contract that expires soon.
On the other hand, Mike Dunleavy is running out of excuses. He can't play with Baron and talked smack in the media (see Dunleavy Needs to Shut Up). He can't play without Baron either. His averages over his last 5 games pretty much speak for themselves: 6 points (25.7% FG and 12.5% 3pt), 4.8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.4 turnovers, and 2.6 fouls. That's awful. The worst part is his 44 million dollar contract hasn't even kicked in yet. Don't be frustrated, just laugh (see 44 Reasons why giving Mike Dunleavy 44million wasn't the brightest idea Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV ). That's all we can really do with him stuck on the books for the next 5 years.
Dunleavy sneaking a peak at Kobe's back and his tights.
Adonal Foyle's a nice guy and he's doing great things with Democracy Matters. The problem is he's more likely to show up on C-Span than on a Sportscenter highlight (unless it's for that shot). You have to wonder- does Adonal ever work on his game or practice? He seriously hasn't improved at all since his rookie season.
The officiating in the game was horrendous. For some strange reason the refs were dishing out technical fouls like a healthy Boom Dizzle dishes out assists. If any Warrior came within 2 feet of Kobe Bryant it was a foul. Tough calls, but something you have to live with. Jump shooting teams like the Warriors, play themselves out of games where the refs will reward any drive to the basket with a foul.
The Warriors need a coach who can teach young players like Biedrins and Ike how to play defense and not foul. Fantasy Junkie's One Minute Man Biedrins collected 5 fouls in only 17 minutes of play. Even worse, Ike picked up 5 in 7 minutes of play. That's just unacceptable.
Bottom line: Coach Montgomery needs to go back to coaching in college and the Warriors need to find an experienced, respected NBA coach. A real front office would help immensely too.
Warrior Wonder
J-Richy-Rich. 27 points, 5 boards, 6 dimes, 3 steals. It's a shame JRich's great season and heroics are going to be wasted this season because of dumb coaching and management.