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Putting a Stop to Anthony Morrow Mania

I have to tell you, I can't wait until the Warriors play tomorrow night against the Blazers and the fever over this guy can die down. Nellie saw a good matchup against the Clippers, period. If he played two bigs against Camby and Kaman he knew he couldn't win. So he went small and took the hot hand that was Morrow and started him in a lineup without a point guard or power forward...basically four wing players (Buike, Maggs, Jack and Morrow) along with Biedrins. Nellie said he wanted another shooter out there. And even made allusions that there would be more of this to come. If I've learned one thing from listening to this guy for the past two plus years is that I'll believe it when I see it. The Clippers countered by replacing Marcus Camby in the starting lineup with Tim Thomas and ended up playing Camby only about half the game.

So Morrow gets hot and hits 15 - 20 shots, 4 - 5 from beyond the arc, totalling 37 points and now this guy is a must add according to "fantasy experts". Please, temper your expectations people. Nellie, as I have written, is the most erratic coach in the NBA for how he divvies up minutes. In a couple of games this kid might not even see the floor. Next game it's conceivable that he could see less than 10 minutes.

I saw Morrow in summer league, first in Vegas then in Utah where he won the MVP award. The kid can shoot the lights out and all signs point toward a total lack of consciousness when he steps on the  court, leading him to be cool under pressure. He shot 74 percent (17 - 23) from beyond the arc in summer league so it was obvious heading into the season that not only could he shoot but the Warriors had found a real gem and needed to sign him.

So he rode the bench the first half dozen games. I can remember one of my friends pointing him out on the bench and asking who is that guy? To which I answered, his name is Anthony Morrow and he can shoot; he'll be good if he gets a chance. Then along came a frustrating blowout against those Kings who I'm supposed to hate. In that game Nelson was so frustrated he played everyone in uniform -- something he never does -- to see what could work in the future. So he gave Morrow a chance and he quietly delivered making 3 - 5 shots and not making too many mistakes, which as we know will kill rookies who play under Nellie because he'll pull them at the drop of a hat.

Anyway, the two games after that 14 minute outing, Morrow saw his minutes bumped up one in each of them, producing solid percentages and not messing up. Then came Saturday's outburst against L.A. I'm not saying he will definitely go back to rotting on the bench. I'm not even saying that he won't do it again. But I do believe he is just a perfect example of someone getting his shot under Nelson, in the right situation and delivering what Nellie expected. He obviously wasn't expecting 37 points, but he must of thought he would be successful. Why else do you think he would have started him?

So next game when Morrow goes back to receiving 15 minutes a game it may shock some who aren't looking far past the 41 minutes he got in his only fantasy worthy box score. And shortly after that time he will once again be waiver wire material and off the front page. If he does become fantasy worthy this season well I guess I'll just eat my hat...Won't be the first time.

Captain Jack: King of Klutch or One Year Wonder?

Make way! Captain Jack needs room to step into another three to clinch the game. The Dubs are up by two with less than a minute to go and need to put this one away. Everyone watching knows it's coming because he's one step short of plunging onto the floor like a gazelle. He winds up and pushes up one of the most amateurish-looking set shots in the NBA. And swish...it goes in...the crowd goes wild.

Stephen Jackson has a history of being cool under pressure. Before last season he was known in this department mostly for helping San Antonio win the 2003 NBA Championship by hitting a number of shots with the game on the line. Jackson, a Houston native, watched as the Spurs were eliminated by the Lakers in 2004 mainly because they didn't have someone like himself to knock down big shots. Afterward he said, "I got so many phone calls from friends while I sat there and watched that. That's what I live for. I make love to pressure."

Sounds like he was a pretty cool customer before he came to the Bay Area. Then last season struck and he was no longer just cool under pressure, he was a star under pressure. He was the 10th leading scorer on an unheralded clutch list set up by Eric Wong of 82games.com. The criteria set for his list is simple -- being clutch is accounted for by fourth quarter or overtime stats with five minutes or less remaining with neither team up by more than five. Take the player's amount of court time, multiply the stats so they reflect a 48 minute game and whala.

At first glance everything about Jack's numbers look great. FG percentage of 47.4, 85 percent from the line, nothing wrong with that. But zoom in a little closer and one stat sticks out that is not a good sign for things to come next season. He was assisted on 85 percent of his field goals.

What? Can that be right?

Doesn't seem right seeing as how no one else in the top ten, small or big, was over 75 percent. Another seven spots down is Baron Davis, the Warrior's other go to player with the game on the line last season. He was assisted on 13 percent of his buckets, one of the lowest totals in the league. He was clearly creating his own shots.

In Wong's rating's system, Jackson averaged a whopping 15.7 3-point attempts, by far the most in the league and a ridiculous 45.7 FG% on them. Jack achieved these numbers not only by walking into his shot every time but by being set up for open threes by penetrators. And who was the Warriors' main penetrator during this time? It wasn't Ellis who averaged a respectable 4.8 assists in the formula. No, it was the former Warrior Baron Davis who dished 10.1 assists per 48 minutes in crunch time, good for ninth best in the league.

Nevertheless, Captain Jack will still have the luxury of walking into threes to save the game like the scenario first described, right? Support to contradict that theory is Davis' 2.2 steals and 7.2 rebounds (compared to Jason Kidd's 6.7) in the clutch stats formula. When Jack shot those threes they were mostly in transition, which is usually started by either turnovers or long rebounds. Both of which, as you can see, Baron had in abundance.

It would be wrong not to give Jackson any of the credit. Someone had to have serious amounts of ice in their veins to hit as many threes as he did in the clutch. What's to take away from this is just a little more understanding of why Baron Davis was so valuable to the team, and, even though he will be the team's #1 option, why no one should expect Jackson to boast the same tpye of year he had in the clutch department.

No Monta Out of the Gates...No Problem

I get the feeling that lots of people are viewing the loss of Monta Ellis for the first four to six weeks as an insurmountable blow to the Warriors' season. Yes, we will be minus our best player (Baron Davis) and arguably second best player (Monta) from a year ago, but it's not as bad as it could be. Monta was set to take over as starting point guard this year, a position he'd never held in the NBA prior or one that comes natural to him. When a player comes back to a team after missing a considerable amount of time to begin a season, they come in at pre-season form when everyone else has already entrenched themselves in their roles with the team.

Picture this... It's December 15th, Monta started basketball related activities two weeks ago, has been practicing with the team for the last week and is ready to come off the bench in his first game of the 2008 season. The team is 9 - 12 after struggling a bit out of the gates, but has started to gel the last few games thanks to more court time together. Marcus Williams is just getting the hang of the point guard role for an uptempo squad and he's starting to find a little bit of his offense.

Now, if you have faith in Monta like I do, you can see him fitting right into this sort of team. Instead of starting out and having to deal with the growing pains of a new squad trying to find cohesiveness, he steps onto a team that is coming together nicely and slowly but surely becomes the engine that drives it. Many great players have done it—come back from injury and dove into the "best player" role. The question that needs to be answered is — Is he on that level yet?

My gut tells me he is.

With Williams' confidence at an all time high, Monta gets to spend that much more time scoring and not worrying about point guard duties. I'm not saying that Stephen Jackson will be happy or Al Harrington will still be with the team. Only the future knows that. But I do believe his unselfish nature will allow the team to continue it's progress unhindered, and his confidence will enable him to accept a lesser role at first without losing faith in his game or importance to the team. Yes, the Warriors can make it without him to begin with...but will thrive under him in the end.

Lookin' Wright at Ya

This is exactly how Warriors fans want to see Brandan Wright next year—cool yet still pumped and ready for action. He's no zen master and from the brief episode of Warrior rookie hazing I saw last year he's no singer either. He's a down-to-earth kid who grew up to be one hell of a basketball player. The second-year forward isn't likely to change the Warriors' fortunes all by himself, but two things are guaranteed for next season: 1) He will continue to get better and 2) It should be a fun thing to watch...

Since his senior year of high school, Wright has stood at 6'9'' and has patrolled the lane with a 7'4" wingspan. It was his size and natural ability that made him the third ranked high school prospect in the class of '06. The other two are pretty well known: Greg Oden and Kevin Durant.

There is one thing very zen about Wright on the court however — he let's the game come to him. Instead of rushing through the process, Wright is content with enjoying it as he steadily gets better at the game he has always loved. Some view his patience as a lack of drive, a lack of effort. Those people want him to be someone he isn't. They want him to take over games because in getting him the Warriors lost a player who could do just that...but that's not Brandan's M.O.

Not only is BW the consumite team player, he feeds off of his teammates. He has trouble creating his own shot at the NBA level, but has the potential and has been working at it in the offseason. For now, with Ellis, Maggette, Stack Jack, Harrington and Randolph doing the creating, Wright can fit in as a finisher. Rather than taking people off the dribble, he should work on being a big who can spot up at about 15 feet and knock down open J's.

You only have to look as far back in Warriors history as 1997 to be able to draw a parallel here. Antawn Jamison, another former Tarheel involved in a controversial Warriors draft day trade, came into the league unable to create his own shot and unable to shoot with extended range. With two more years of NCAA experience than Wright had and a bit heavier, Jamison too was a very hard worker with a passion to improve. He used that passion every offseason to work on one new thing to improve for the next season. As the years piled up Jamison developed a three point shot, dramatically improved from the free throw line and learned how to create for himself. He still has that unmatched awkwardness to his game that will forever be unique to him, but the moral is he let the game come to him, worked hard and got better. That's all that Brandan Wright preaches in interviews: hard work and steady improvement.

There are differences between the two though. Brandan came into the league with a less polished game and onto a team where he wasn't a top 10 option versus Jamison who was needed to be option one or two. At UNC, Brandan was option three and this year he will be a top seven option. Some might view this as a recipe for failure because the best way to get better is through experience, which in this league comes from opportunity via the avenue of need. The year Jamison went to Dallas and was asked to come off the bench he took a slight step back in his progression and that is similar to what is happening here. But Jamison was 25 and BW is 20. Does he need to have the weight of the world on his shoulders just yet? The answer is no. He is in a great situation—not absolutely necessary but a positive contributor.

So as I said, Wright won't singlehandedly get the Warriors to the playoffs but he will be a postive factor on this team, which needs all the positivity it can get after losing its best player. He has been pumping iron this summer, preparing himself for the grueling schedule he now knows lies ahead of him. The young man from Nashville, Tennesse never saw himself making it this far, and in this league of superegos that's exactly what makes him so special.

B-Ball: Taking the game from the court into your living room and back again...

Playing the Game

Basketball is my favorite sport of all time. But it's more than just a sport. It's a dance, really. Just you and your man. Your mission (should you choose to play the game) is to find a way to dance around him to get to the basket. If you can do this going both to your right and your left you have a nice leg up on the competition. Being ambidextrous in the sport I have that advantage. The ability to use both hands is a fun thing to boast, but it does come with a price.

In every activity I do other than playing my favorite sport I use my right as my dominant hand, but when I shoot using my left just feels natural. In fact I've been doing it for so long that I can now look back and realize when I was learning the game I didn't even understand the importance of using my weaker hand. The only problem for me is that I've got all my touch in my right hand, so when I shoot one handed, drive, or spin away I do so better using my right side. The further I am from the basket, the less that right hand can play a part in my shot and the less accuracy I have, limiting me to be an 18-foot-and-in player. Sad story, huh? If you've read anything I've written before or know me at all you'll be able to sniff out the sarcasm. But seriously for someone who loves the game as much as I do and the hours I've put in practicing my shot, it is a shame that God didn't give me the gift of being able to shoot with my natural hand. Practicing lefty has been like banging my head against the wall of progress.

What else though?

Like everyone else I play better and enjoy the game more when I'm looser. When I'm nervous (usually in bigger games) I shy away from the ball on offense which causes me to pause midway through the game with the question, "Why am I even playing?" At this point I start to feel like that old man who's lost almost all of his ability and mobility and just plays the game because it brings back those warm old feelings, poor play and all. What I have to do more of is take reference from my memory rolodex of Steve "Snapper" Jones' voice saying "No matter what the circumstances, you play better when you're not worried about messin' up." That quote hasn't quite made the cut yet, but maybe after this blog it'll stick.

I'm tall for streetball — 6'2". I've got long arms, which can piss off any offensive player when I choose to play good defense. I like to jump into the passing lanes (ala Jason Kidd) and snag the ball. I've got a below average first step on offense and defense, while making up for that by finding interesting ways to either get to the basket or back to my man defensively.

I play against girls and guys but we always say "that's my man."

Watching the Game

Only when I've been balling a lot recently can I watch a game on T.V. and envision being out on the court with the players. I'll pick out a guy who makes a play I like and watch him for a while exclusively. When hearing about how good the defense is that Jason Kidd brings to Team U.S.A, during a pre-olympic game I'll start to focus on every move of Kidd's and see what he does that I don't. Maybe today he'll show me how to move my feet better and not get beat off the dribble.  Watching during this special time gives me ideas on how to improve my game.

On offense you don't need to focus your eyes on the ball the entire time like most people do. Watching Rip Hamilton or Reggie Miller run his defender from one side of the floor to the other, through screen after screen and seeing how that defender goes about ducking around those guys while making his own route to the shooter can be as entertaining as anything the game has to offer.

It's like that thing you always hear from young NBA stars when they're interviewed and they say they learned the game by watching Michael Jordan. Another example that will be talked about endlessly during the Olympics is how the Dream Team in the '92 Barcelona games inspired children across Europe to put down the soccer balls and pick up a basketball. Watching the game can carry over to how you play the game, and as I have found it works both ways.

A Break for Reality: Looking at the Off-season in Warrior Country

After a long, long hiatus due to a number of excuses, I am back. But not to talk about fantasy. For now I want to talk NBA and whats going on with my favorite team. You see, when the fantasy baseball season rolls around I am honestly much better at taking advice than giving it, so I've found myself at a loss for things to write about.  But thanks to some friendly advice I'm going to take a look at how the Warriors summer of wheeling and dealing has shaked out.

At the end of the '07 season, for ever the briefest of moments, the Warriors became America's team. They toppled the 67-win Dallas Mavericks, had the wildest fans to ever frequent an NBA arena and played the fastest version of basketball the sport had to offer. I was amazed when I was visiting D.C. during the Western Conference semifinals and a motel security guard actually told me, "Wow, that's Warrior Country," when I told him I was from the Bay Area. Those words were music to my ears, for I had been watching every game the team played through ten years of dismal failure. It was then that I knew my team was doing something special. But not only the team, the fans too, who were almost as well known with their yellow "We Believe" t-shirts.

So now you get a glimpse of what I felt when we fell just short of returning this year. The only good news being I can save my voice from all the screaming and my heart for the attack that would happen if and when we went out then the break that would shortly follow.

The Warriors have made a plethora of moves in the offseason that were instigated by the departure of our superstar point guard Baron Davis. You see, Baron was a special type of point guard who fit our style of play to a T. Some say his star was too bright to stay trapped beneath the fog that is the Bay...he was meant for the bright lights of Hollywood. But I know where Baron would rather be and what team he'd rather play for, but that's a story for another day.

When he left the Warriors were in a bit of trouble. We needed to fill the void that Baron left while trying to build towards the future. Win now and win later...difficult sounding task. So how'd Mullin do? He brought in Corey Maggette to replace Baron's scoring and Marcus Williams to replace Baron's size at the point. Two players to make up for one. In the process we lost a conditional first round pick in three years and ended any chance we had at signing one of the big restricted free agents of the offseason whom we probably wouldn't have gotten anyway.

The best thing Mullin did this offseason though was re-signing Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins and to a lesser extent Kelenna Azubuike. Monta is officially the franchise now and has finally recieved his long awaited pay day. On top of that the Warriors drafted a real basketball player in Anthony Randolph who has the drive and passion we wish would carry over into the spirit of Brandon "You" Wright. Randolph looked great during the summer, like a slender raw version of Lamar Odom spliced with a bit of Derek Coleman (aren't NBA comparisons fun?). With him, Wright and Biedrins up front the Warriors future looks very bright...shining with long, lean athletic southpaws. All with seven foot plus wing spans. All whom can block shots. All very talented.

To add a new dimension to the team the Dubbs brought in a couple of bangers: Ronny Turiaf (signed for 4 years and $18 million) and Richard Hendrix (that Paul Milsap-like player everyone looks for in the draft these days). Ronny is athletic and has a big heart. Seriously though in 2005, his rookie season, the guy had to have open heart surgery to take care of an enlarged aortic root. He shows no ill-effects of it on the court though. The man has a motor that never stops, and will be a sure-fire hit with the Bay Area faithful.

This coming year will not likely result in a championship ring, but it will bring an intense level of excitement even without our most exciting player, the one dawning the heading of this out-dated blog. We'll get to see our veterans coach, Don Nelson, in his last season coaching a very young team...and he'll make it work. Monta will shine through and be this years Warriors snub for the All-Star game. And the big controversy over how he will handle the point will be put to rest after the first half of the first game when Stephen Jackson helps lighten the load and eventually Anthony Randolph comes in for added support. We still have Captain Jack, aka the King of Klutch, aka the Night Club Terror, aka the Palace Rumbler...And we still have Rick Barry and the sweep of '75...And last but certainly not least We Still Believe!