Anthony Morrow- Ammo + Chocolate Rain :: 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Player Recaps and Previews

To kick things off right this season your friendly friends in the GSoM Crew are going to go through the entire Golden State Warriors roster in way more detail then you probably even want. You know how we do it. This will culminate in our super-duper blowout special 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview on October 26th as part of the annual world famous NBA Blog Previews. You might remember this one we did a few years back.

Today we'll be giving some ink to my fav and your fav Anthony Morrow. To tell you the truth, I'm pretty excited about this piece. Let it be known that Anthony Morrow is my favorite Warrior to root for right now. He embodies everything that being a longtime Warriors fan is all about- being the underdog and waiting for that once in a decade opportunity to bust out of nowhere and... SHOCK THE WORLD. (Did you forget about this [FTB]?)

Let me pass the mic to my man Raphael Saadiq:

"It's raining treys in Nor-thern Cal-if-forn-ia!"

Guys like Anthony Morrow are why I root for the Dubs regardless of The Suck. I'll be cheering him on this season to repeat as the 3 point % champ just like I was rooting from Marc "Unstoppable Baby!" Jackson to win the rookie of the year honors in 2001. You know how we do it.

JUMP!

Question: Who holds the record for the most points scored in their first game in the NBA?

• A. Michael Jordan
• B. Allen Iverson
• C. Kevin Durant
• D. Anthony Morrow

Morrow did show some gaping holes in his game as a rookie (dribbling, passing, defensive awareness, moving his feet on D). But there's no denying that this undrafted rookie swingman has a sweet shooting stroke, nice rebounding, and at least good effort and hustle on defense. I don't really know what more you could ask for from him last season.

Grade: A-

Extra credit for making the last meaningless game of the season where he won the 3pt % title incredibly fun to watch and collecting the summer league single game scoring record with 47 points. That's good enough in my books for some major fun points.

Before we look at toMorrow I wanted to take a look back at yesterday. Here's a interesting per 36 minute comparison for these two sharp shooters at age 23 in the NBA. (significant highs in bold)

Sharp Shooter A: 16.1 ppg (47.8% FG, 46.7% 3pt, 87.0% FT), 4.7 rpg, 1.9 apg

Sharp Shooter B: 16.0 ppg (47.9% FG, 40.2% 3pt, 84.4% FT), 3.9 rpg, 3.1 apg

Who are these sharpshooters you ask?

Lights out.

Reggie must've been Steve Kerr's man to guard here.

Reggie Miller Part II? Okay that's obviously going a little overboard (a little?), but I like what I see. I do like what I see.

200 9-2010 Preview: I've heard Anthony Morrow toss around the phrase "muscle memory" about shooting a consistent jumper. I like the concept although I can't claim to know what it entails fully. Whatever it is exactly, he's got it. Those shooting numbers in his rookie season ain't no joke. Expect Morrow to continue sinking trifectas and what not all season long. That's not going to change.

The key will be him doing the other things (rebounding, passing, defense) to convince Nellie to give him consistent playing time. Nellie does love shooters no doubt, but he's not a fan of one dimensional players. You give him 1 of these things in addition to shooting and he'll find some playing time for you. You give him 2 of these plus that stroke and he'll find some major starter minutes for you. Now if you give him all 3 of those plus the benefits of muscle memory- well, Nellie will smoke a cigar and share his cheap American cold one with you. 

Goals for this season:

• Improve the court vision. I don't think Morrow will ever be a great or even a good passer in this league unfortunately, but if he could make some major strides in this area that would obviously be huge.
• Work on the handles. Morrow's strong point is not dribbling to create his own shot, getting a path to the bucket, or creating for his teammates. Reportedly Larry Riley and Don Nelson have asked Morrow to work on these areas of his game this past offseason. I don' think it's a very easy task to make dramatic leaps in these areas, but if he can everyone is going to like what they see. The best pay to make defenders pay for getting in your face on jumpers is putting it on the floor and zooming right past them.
• Bring it on D. Morrow is never going to be confused for having the best footspeed in the association. His perimeter defense suffers because of this. It isn't that he's not trying like some other Warriors last season (ahem Monta Ellis), but he just doesn't have that god given ability to be quick on his feet and keep them moving which is a prerequisitve for being a nice defender in this league. He does however have quick hands. With a little savvy and pre-game film sessions Morrow could make up for some of that lost footspeed on D. I remember Chris Mullin wasn't the fastest guy on D, but he could create some turnovers and have some moments on defense because of his quick hands.
• Keep up the good work on the glass. Rebounding looks to be the immediate area where Morrow can make sure he's not a one trick pony a la Jason Kapono. 
• And lastly... keep shooting!

This will be an interesting season for Morrow.

Exactly why I'm looking forward to 2k9-2k10. (Props to Sleepy Freud for the piece.)

All I know is (on offense) I can't wait to see a Nellieball lineup featuring these unworldly shooters on the court at the same time:

• PG: Stephen Curry- 41.2% 3pt college career
• SG: C.J. Watson- 40.0% 3pt last season
• SF: Anthony Morrow- league leading 46.7% 3pt last season
• PF: Kelenna Azubuike- 44.8% 3pt last season
• C: Andris Biedrins- 0.0% 3pt career - 0 for 2 (hey someone has to miss or else it isn't fair)