By Andrew Antz
The Warriors continued improvement was on full display Friday night in a 109-91 domination of the Clippers. Stephen Curry reinjured his right ankle but still managed to produce 16 points and 6 assists on 7 of 9 shooting from the field before he left the game.
Monta Ellis took over the point guard duties the rest of the way and the offense didn't miss a beat with his 11 assists and 6 of 12 shooting from the floor. In fact, the Warriors finished the game with 32 assists on 43 field goals while shooting 53.1% from the field as a team. Dorell Wright continues to be phenomenal on the wing, hitting 6 of 8 from behind the arc and grabbing 8 rebounds. Through two games, he leads the Warriors in three pointers made and percentage.
David Lee played another solid game on the boards (12 rebounds) helping the Warriors win that battle as a team, 46 to the Clippers 40. Blake Griffin finished with 10 rebounds and 14 points, but the team defense kept he and the Clippers under control, holding them to just 38.6% shooting.
After leading by just 4 points at halftime the Warriors came out in the 3rd quarter with more energy than the Clips and a sense of urgency that blew the game wide open. This is where the team has improved the most since last year. They are now executing their game plan for the entire game. They held the Clippers to just 13 points in the 3rd quarter while maintaining their own ability to score. There's no surprise in the Warriors starting the game well but this year they're finishing games and making adjustments as they go on. Keith Smart is truly making a case for himself to get an extension and he needs to be commended.
Not only is he playing his bench, he's putting trust in them and they are responding. I thought they would be a major weakness this season but thus far they have held there own and look to be a reliable unit going forward. The Warriors are off to their best start in over 15 years and things are looking good. The Lakers are up next but it looks like they will be in for a battle on Sunday. Now that the Warriors have proven they can control the boards against one quality team (Rockets) and another that featured a great rebounder in Griffin, the Lakers front line does not seem to be so intimidating. It will be a fun game to watch as the Warriors hit the road for the first time this season and get to see how they compare to the NBA's elite.
Same Old Monta, Advanced Stats Beware
By Andrew Antz
Monta Ellis looked like a different player to most observers last night, but not to those of us who were watching him last year. He wasn’t playing in the shadow of Stephen Curry on opening night, and he wasn’t pitted against him by the fans and media. At least not yet anyway. Last year it was "Curry's team" as soon as the Warriors could print it and Monta was just taking up space. Monta was labeled a ball hog, gunner, volume shooter and whatever other selfish label you can think of. You can read one of those articles here. He was inefficient, a bad teammate and in the middle of trade rumors for the entire season. That last part might still be true, but if you were watching on Wednesday night you saw the same player that Monta was last year. This time, there was just a different script, but he was still the same performer on the court.
Monta Ellis posted a player efficiency rating (PER) of 45.2 in game one while scoring 46 on 18-24 shooting. The most points on opening night since Michael Jordan’s 54 points on November 3rd, 1989. He was a +9 while on the floor and gave the Houston Rocket defense fits in trying to guard him with their best defender, Shane Battier. This game was a coming out party for Monta and his new teammates. Ball movement and player movement were the hallmarks of the Warrior offense. There was no standing around for extended periods of time watching Monta Ellis try to create plays. Stephen Curry's 25 points and 11 assists fit perfectly with Monta's scoring, whereas last year his great performances occurred next to Monta's as opposed to molding with his. New acquisition David Lee contributed 6 assists and 15 rebounds, numbers that were also missing from last year's movie that featured Monta running without purpose in the half court sets and tiring from playing too many minutes without breaks.
I bring this all up because not too long ago Kevin Durant was considered to be a bad "advanced stats" guy. Then, almost miraculously, he became great over night! Something must have changed within him, right? Durant has certainly grown as player, but hasn't his team as well? Now articles like this and this are written about him. He averages 30 points a game and that's it. Nowhere near his name will you see or hear the words ball hog or volume shooter. The fact of the matter is that both Durant and Monta had similar situations.
Kevin Durant played in a system that didn’t utilize his strengths his first year in the league. Then after a full training camp with new coach Scott Brooks, and a marked improvement from his second year point guard Russell Westbrook, things started to click. Coincidentally, the same circumstances are starting to fall into place for the Warriors. Curry looks much improved in terms of controlling the tempo and game management. David Lee is the best power forward the Warriors have had since Chris Webber and thus, a far more seasoned version of a versatile Jeff Green. With two willing and great passers around him, how long will it be before Monta Ellis starts eating plus/minus for breakfast? Or, how long before others get their seats and realize, they were just late to the theater and the screen was blurry at last year's showing.
Monta Ellis looked like a different player to most observers last night, but not to those of us who were watching him last year. He wasn’t playing in the shadow of Stephen Curry on opening night, and he wasn’t pitted against him by the fans and media. At least not yet anyway. Last year it was "Curry's team" as soon as the Warriors could print it and Monta was just taking up space. Monta was labeled a ball hog, gunner, volume shooter and whatever other selfish label you can think of. You can read one of those articles here. He was inefficient, a bad teammate and in the middle of trade rumors for the entire season. That last part might still be true, but if you were watching on Wednesday night you saw the same player that Monta was last year. This time, there was just a different script, but he was still the same performer on the court.
Monta Ellis posted a player efficiency rating (PER) of 45.2 in game one while scoring 46 on 18-24 shooting. The most points on opening night since Michael Jordan’s 54 points on November 3rd, 1989. He was a +9 while on the floor and gave the Houston Rocket defense fits in trying to guard him with their best defender, Shane Battier. This game was a coming out party for Monta and his new teammates. Ball movement and player movement were the hallmarks of the Warrior offense. There was no standing around for extended periods of time watching Monta Ellis try to create plays. Stephen Curry's 25 points and 11 assists fit perfectly with Monta's scoring, whereas last year his great performances occurred next to Monta's as opposed to molding with his. New acquisition David Lee contributed 6 assists and 15 rebounds, numbers that were also missing from last year's movie that featured Monta running without purpose in the half court sets and tiring from playing too many minutes without breaks.
I bring this all up because not too long ago Kevin Durant was considered to be a bad "advanced stats" guy. Then, almost miraculously, he became great over night! Something must have changed within him, right? Durant has certainly grown as player, but hasn't his team as well? Now articles like this and this are written about him. He averages 30 points a game and that's it. Nowhere near his name will you see or hear the words ball hog or volume shooter. The fact of the matter is that both Durant and Monta had similar situations.
Kevin Durant played in a system that didn’t utilize his strengths his first year in the league. Then after a full training camp with new coach Scott Brooks, and a marked improvement from his second year point guard Russell Westbrook, things started to click. Coincidentally, the same circumstances are starting to fall into place for the Warriors. Curry looks much improved in terms of controlling the tempo and game management. David Lee is the best power forward the Warriors have had since Chris Webber and thus, a far more seasoned version of a versatile Jeff Green. With two willing and great passers around him, how long will it be before Monta Ellis starts eating plus/minus for breakfast? Or, how long before others get their seats and realize, they were just late to the theater and the screen was blurry at last year's showing.
Warriors Finish Preseason Schedule with Loss to Lakers but Show Improvement
By Andrew Antz
Monta Ellis finished with 41 points and the rest of his Warrior teammates played very well against the defending champion Lakers who were playing at about half speed whereas the Dubs were going full throttle.
If you hadn't been watching the Warriors this preseason, this game showed a lot of promise in terms of style, effort, defensive improvements and ball movement. This review will be more about team analysis as opposed to the game because this was my first time seeing the Dubs with my own eyes.
The Warriors are finally playing NBA basketball again which is very encouraging. Their defensive principles have improved mightily in terms of spacing, help and rebounding. Again, the Lakers did seem to be moving a step slower but the Warriors weren't chasing the ball around in the half court set when the Lakers were on offense. When someone drove to the hoop, Andris Biedrins and or David Lee was there to meet them. After which they would grab the miss and fire a decent outlet pass to one of the guards. That's all you can ask for from those two and Keith Smart needs to be commended for the tactical improvement.
David Lee's passing is amazing. This has got to be the most underrated aspect of his game. The new sets in the half court look far better than last year's as they are filled with back door cuts and off ball screens. Lee surveying from the post or the elbow will result in plenty of assists for him and easy baskets for others. In the 4th quarter, though, they reverted back to watching Monta Ellis or Reggie Williams go 1 on 5 even when Monta was visibly tired. Perhaps Coach Smart didn't want to utilize David Lee in the pick and roll too much because it will be a big part of their attack this season. Stephen Curry didn't play in this game so I can only imagine how good the team will look operating with a true point guard. Again, it was preseason but the improvements are there and with this brand of basketball the Warriors should finish with far more than 26 wins this year.
Why did Monta Ellis play every minute? That doesn't bode well for his health throughout the season. It would have been nice to see him finish with somewhere around 33 minutes but apparently old habits die hard. Since it was preseason, a few changes for the team need to be made but hopefully they already will be.
1. David Lee needs to get the ball earlier and more often during the games. They weren't even going to him and he still ended up with 16 points. When they do get it to him he needs to be lower on the block because to often he caught it at the free throw line with not much to do when he wasn't looking to pass.
2. Andris looked great but I don't now how good of an idea it is to pound the ball into him so often. Kudos to Smart though for keeping Andris involved in the offense and making the opponents pay attention to him. I just don't know why I felt like Biens received more touches on the block than Lee did.
For a record of 3-5, the Warriors can still be encouraged because they played well, played together and showed that their new strategies and systems will translate to winning basketball if they stick with it. Can't wait for Wednesday against the Rockets to see how they do when it counts.
Monta Ellis finished with 41 points and the rest of his Warrior teammates played very well against the defending champion Lakers who were playing at about half speed whereas the Dubs were going full throttle.
If you hadn't been watching the Warriors this preseason, this game showed a lot of promise in terms of style, effort, defensive improvements and ball movement. This review will be more about team analysis as opposed to the game because this was my first time seeing the Dubs with my own eyes.
The Warriors are finally playing NBA basketball again which is very encouraging. Their defensive principles have improved mightily in terms of spacing, help and rebounding. Again, the Lakers did seem to be moving a step slower but the Warriors weren't chasing the ball around in the half court set when the Lakers were on offense. When someone drove to the hoop, Andris Biedrins and or David Lee was there to meet them. After which they would grab the miss and fire a decent outlet pass to one of the guards. That's all you can ask for from those two and Keith Smart needs to be commended for the tactical improvement.
David Lee's passing is amazing. This has got to be the most underrated aspect of his game. The new sets in the half court look far better than last year's as they are filled with back door cuts and off ball screens. Lee surveying from the post or the elbow will result in plenty of assists for him and easy baskets for others. In the 4th quarter, though, they reverted back to watching Monta Ellis or Reggie Williams go 1 on 5 even when Monta was visibly tired. Perhaps Coach Smart didn't want to utilize David Lee in the pick and roll too much because it will be a big part of their attack this season. Stephen Curry didn't play in this game so I can only imagine how good the team will look operating with a true point guard. Again, it was preseason but the improvements are there and with this brand of basketball the Warriors should finish with far more than 26 wins this year.
Why did Monta Ellis play every minute? That doesn't bode well for his health throughout the season. It would have been nice to see him finish with somewhere around 33 minutes but apparently old habits die hard. Since it was preseason, a few changes for the team need to be made but hopefully they already will be.
1. David Lee needs to get the ball earlier and more often during the games. They weren't even going to him and he still ended up with 16 points. When they do get it to him he needs to be lower on the block because to often he caught it at the free throw line with not much to do when he wasn't looking to pass.
2. Andris looked great but I don't now how good of an idea it is to pound the ball into him so often. Kudos to Smart though for keeping Andris involved in the offense and making the opponents pay attention to him. I just don't know why I felt like Biens received more touches on the block than Lee did.
For a record of 3-5, the Warriors can still be encouraged because they played well, played together and showed that their new strategies and systems will translate to winning basketball if they stick with it. Can't wait for Wednesday against the Rockets to see how they do when it counts.
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