It was the worst possible thing that could happen to the Warriors. No Boom Dizzle and no JRich. The result:
Last night's starting lineup
PG: Derek Fisher
SG: Mickael Pietrus
SF: Mike Dunleavy
PF: Troy Murphy
C: Adonal Foyle
Whoa! That might possibly be the worst starting lineup in the entire league! The game was ugly and pretty much unwatchable unless you were a Nuggets fan, but somehow the Warriors made it close and hung in there. Did they win? Of course not.
It's amazing that Monty hasn't been fired yet. NBA coaches have been fired for much, much less. Granted this team's talent is overrated, but they still underachieved... Tim Thomas style. The Lakers, Grizzlies, Sonics, Rockets, Grizzlies, Jazz, and Wolves all arguably have worse overall talent (Rockets because of injuries) than the Warriors, yet the Dubs have a worse record. The now 8 game losing streak isn't helping. Makes you wonder if Monty has some dirt on Cohan or something.
You know it's bad when you're head coach pays more attention to picking his nose than the game.
This is the nicest way we can put it: Melo DOMINATED Mike Dunleavy. He was scoring at will on Mike. As I watching the game, I thought to myself why does Monty stick with Dunleavy on one of the league's premier scorers. Even Monty has to know that Dunleavy is not exactly the world's best defender. But it hit me- what other option does Monty have? I would go with Pietrus, but MP2 is probably too small. Mickael's a great defender for PG's and SG's, but an average to poor defender on most SF's. So, who's left?
Exactly. Guarding athletic, scoring small forwards is a huge weakness on this roster. It is definitely something that needs to be addressed in the offseason.
Coach Karl: Yo Melo, you know you're ABUSING Mike Dunleavy.
Melo: Shhhh, man I know that! You get big bucks to tell me that?
Aside from some horrible defense, Dunleavy looked like he had an okay night with 18 points and 10 boards from the boxscore. If you watched the game you know that wasn't true. Dunleavy missed some ridiculously easy layups and jumpers. With those mostly easy 15 attempts, Mike should have had close to 30 points and the Warriors win. The game really made me question his supposedly high hoops IQ. A smart basketball player would be a little more crafty around the hoop. A smart basketball player would not commit those dumb fouls. A smart basketball player would attempt to change his defensive positioning on Melo.
People might criticize Dunleavy for passing up that last second shot at the end of the game, but two things-- 1) Troy was reasonably open and he's a better shooter and 2) Does it really matter? The Warriors are going nowhere this season and we already know that Dunleavy isn't clutch.
Derek Fisher never ceases to amaze me. Almost every time I watch him play in person or on TV, I always walk away thinking- "Man he's just such a ballhog! Did he even pass the ball ONCE?" And for the past 15 games or so his assist numbers in the boxscore have usually looked impressive. Further proof that the boxscore can be deceiving. Make no mistake- Fish gives great effort, but if he's your point guard, you're in trouble.
I think they made a mistake and counted 9 of his missed shots as assists in the boxscore. 5 turnovers? Yup, that happened.
Ike was a scoring beast down low, but the refs must have had something against the man by calling 4 mostly unnecessary offensive fouls. His 19 points in 22 minutes on 8 of 11 shooting are no joke. It's no secret he's an extremely gifted scorer in the post. If he could just work on his rebounding and defensive skills, Ike could really help the Warriors out next season.
Props to Monta who dropped 13-5-5 and a swat in 30 minuted of play. He was as good as the boxscore advertised last night. If JRich calls it a season and rests his sore knees, Monta is probably the only reason (aside from comedic reasons) to watch the Dubs in their remaining 6 games of this season. He's been a bright spot all season long.
The boxscore shows that the Warriors won the battle on the glass by 8, but if you watched the game it really looked like Denver was dominating the boards. Marcus Camby was a monster as usual and Reggie Evans was a beast on the boards collecting 10 in only 20 minutes of action. You really have to wonder why the Sonics were trying so hard to get rid of him especially given their Charmin' soft interior. Actually, you really have to wonder why the Warriors didn't try to trade for him given their Charmin' soft interior. I wouldn't mind replacing Foyle in the starting lineup and teaming Reggie Evans up with tonight's Warrior Wonder for some serious Windex action...
Warrior Wonder
Call him Windex because Murphy did his part cleaning the glass. Troy struggled with his shot, but still managed to contribute big time with 19 boards including 4 on the offensive end. You have to give TDouble (missed the double-double by one FG tonight!) some serious props for his rebounding skills. He has slow feet, isn't very athletic, and can't jump that high, yet Troy still finds a way to average 10 boards a game. His window cleaning was a big reason the Warriors didn't get blown out tonight.
More ping pong balls and clean glass with no streaks. What more can you ask for!