Robinson. Thompson. Rush. McGuire. Udoh.

Like the snobbiest of Bulls fans, the “bench mob” is my favorite part of the game. You see, the GSW Russian Matryoshka doll has a soft Ellis-Curry-Wright-Lee-Biedrins exterior that hides this scrappy, hardened second unit. It’s always a fun, shocking contrast, to behold the secret defensive layer.

After so many years of seeing absolutely no defensive facet from Golden State teams, I savor this morsel of staunch like it’s my death row meal. The Warriors are still subpar defensively, but at least the subs aren’t.

The backups are killing plus-minus to the degree that it’s become a running Kawakami trope. While it is easy to dismiss their effectiveness as, “it’s against the second string offense,” I’ve seen Scott Skiles make the playoffs with similarly ugly lineups. The current bench mob will make 10.3 million dollars this year and David Lee will make 11 million. With that in mind, I’m not even sure the Warriors want to consider a possibility that this crew can out-perform expensive first string talent–especially since this is such an ugly band of ducklings.

Some benches are blessed with, “Man, they could start for so many NBA teams.” Not this one. These guys lack the offensive skill to start for even mediocre NBA squads. They are flawed players who don’t compensate for each others’ weaknesses so much as they amplify each others’ defensive strength in the aggregate. And a chid-sized man shall lead them.

Nate Robinson, reckless game manager

Ironically, the defensive bench mob is commanded by a defensive liability. Nate Robinson isn’t even a perfect one-way offensive force, as his heedless gunning can destroy the flow of an offensively able unit. Thankfully for him, the other four guys just aren’t so able. Rush and Thompson can hit threes, but they can’t reliably create shots anymore than I could turn my fingers into oragami cranes. If Nate can find them on a drive and kick, great. If not, Robinson is blessed to take whatever dumb shot he desires, as such an option is certainly preferable to whatever mischief Udoh and McGuire might get themselves into with a basketball.

In football, a defensive minded team will often employ a mediocre “game manager” quarterback whose raison d’etre is risk aversion. Alex Smith is free to throw 3rd down bounce passes, so long as he doesn’t toss interceptions. It’s okay, if he can just manage a field goal or two, the defense has Smith’s back (bizarre special teams turnovers not withstanding).

Basketball is apparently different, because “Better Judgment” is terrible at guarding Nate. The little man chucks more than woodchucks who work under the paradigm of chucking wood. There is risk aversion in his strategy though, because Nate only averages 1.6 turnovers–as though Robinson’s tunnel vision allows him to paradoxically, recklessly play within himself. Take a dumb shot before it becomes a dumber turnover, I suppose. Right now Nate has a better turnover rate than any GSW starter save for Dorell Wright.

Of course, the unit’s strength is defined by the defensive prowess of Udoh, Rush, and McGuire, probably in that order. But they would have a hard time outscoring opposition without their volume scorer. Nate is just enough individual offense to allow collective defensive triumph.

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Sacramento Kings

90

Final Recap | Box Score

93

Golden State Warriors

	David Lee, PF 30 MIN | 7-11 FG | 1-2 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 15 PTS | +3 Lee was a terrific finisher as usual but offered little resistance at the basket and on the boards. This explains why Ekpe Udoh and Dominic McGuire got most of the minutes in the fourth quarter.
	Dorell Wright, SF 23 MIN | 6-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 15 PTS | -5 Dorell played good defense and also helped out his teammates by getting into passing lanes to discourage some passes and also by sagging into the paint to prevent easy scores by the Kings’ big men. Also, Wright’s shooting helped stretch out a Sacramento defense that seemed focused on protecting the paint at all costs.
	Andris Biedrins, C 25 MIN | 2-5 FG | 1-1 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 5 PTS | 0 Andris was active throughout the game and went right at DeMarcus Cousins and scored on him. He also defended the former Kentucky player and had some success keeping him off the boards and contesting his shots to force misses. Might have been his best performance this season.
	Monta Ellis, SG 28 MIN | 5-17 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 4 AST | 12 PTS | +4 Monta got into the lane with terrific ease and yet settled for several long jumpers all night. He took shots early in the shot clock and wasn’t his usual playmaking self. Ellis’ defense mind you was solid as he consistently forced Tyreke Evans to take tough contested jumpers from just inside the 3-point line.
	Stephen Curry, PG 26 MIN | 1-7 FG | 1-2 FT | 3 REB | 8 AST | 3 PTS | +3 Steph spent most of the night deferring to Monta Ellis. Curry often didn’t even bother to bring up the ball, preferring instead to let the Warriors’ off guard assume all of the ball handling duties and placing himself on the opposite side of the court as a floor spacer.

Three Things We Saw

1. The Kings have allowed 50.4 points in the paint per game so far this season and yet the Dubs seemed allergic to paint for most of the night; as they continued to settle for long contested perimeter jump shots. Naturally the GSW only shot 13 free throws; and four of those attempts came late in the game when the Kings intentionally fouled them to try and prolong the game.
2. The Warriors second unit was subpar in the second quarter but bounced back in a huge way in the final period. The bench players alternated between man-to-man and zone defense to keep the Kings scoreless until the 6:43 mark of the fourth quarter; and they rode the hot hand of Brandon Rush to close out the game.
3. Golden State did a poor job of protecting their backboards in this contest. The Kings attacked the boards and finished the game with a 53-38 rebounding edge.

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By: Jordan Ramirez

I was watching “Real Time with Bill Maher” the other night when, during the round-table discussion segment, Maher mentions the Republican “bubble” that conservatives constantly live in. In this “bubble,” Maher argues that conservatives are so enthralled with their own ideologies that they completely diminish (and thus ignore) the thoughts of not only liberals, but the realists.

These self-pleasing, almost psychopathic “bubbles” differ from what actually is occurring in the country today. It leaves the people who see things with an open mind, the people with no such agenda shaking their head and wondering if there is something, anything that can happen in their favor.

This brings me to the Golden State Warriors.

Continue reading “Memory Lane… What If… What if… What if…” »

Tip Off: 7:30 PM (PST)

Projected Starters

Sacramento                                                                       Golden State

PG – Jimmer Fredette                                                    Stephen Curry

SG -  Tyreke Evans                                                          Monta Ellis

SF -   John Salmons                                                          Dorell Wright

PF –  DeMarcus Cousins                                                David Lee

C -      Jason Thompson                                                   Andris Biedrins

Scope the opposition: Get your Kings fix at Cowbell Kingdom.

Preview: The Golden State Warriors (6-12) will be hosting the Sacramento Kings (6-14) tonight at Oracle Arena in what should be a thrilling game between both teams. The Kings and Warriors always seem to play each other down to the wire, which makes for some exciting basketball.

Continue reading “Inside the Scope: Sacramento Kings X Golden State Warriors” »

When the Golden State Warriors drafted Klay Thompson out of Washington State University, they selected a player they knew would help them stretch the court with his shooting. In his three collegiate seasons, Thompson averaged 17.9 points per game on 42.4 percent field goal shooting, 39 percent 3-point field goal shooting and 82.7 percent free throw shooting.

Mind you, when the Warriors’ season started, some started to wonder if perhaps the 6’7 back up guard would spend the season building up a castle thanks in large part to a huge brickfest. With a condensed training camp and mere two preseason games, the shooter struggled out of the gate and often times seemed lost on the court. He rushed shots, got beat on defense and had trouble figuring out when to pass the ball and to whom.

Essentially the rookie needed to get acclimated to the speed of the NBA game and he did. If we look at his splits, it becomes rater obvious:

Klay Thompson has slowly but surely adjusted to the NBA game and has a better grasp on how to get his shots. Indeed, he is doing a much better job of using screens, adjusting his speed to set up defenders and has a much better understanding of how to space the floor even when plays aren’t called. Thompson is realizing how teams rotate on defense and thus understands which spots on the floor he needs to get to in order to get an open shot when the likes of Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis go into isolations or pick-and-rolls.

Hence, on the season the Washington State product is averaging a respectable 6.8 points per game on 44.5 percent field goal shooting and 44.2 percent 3-point field goal shooting.

Mind you, the Warriors’ back up guard still has some areas where he can improve on. Indeed, given that he is a shooter, it’s only natural for him to gravitate towards the perimeter, but it would still behoove him to mix and match areas on the court to keep defenders guessing.

Through 18 games so far this season, Klay is averaging 6.1 shot attempts per game. Have a look at his shot distribution based on areas on the court as per Hoopdata:

When looking at Thompson’s shot distribution, we can see that the majority of his shot attempts are mostly 3-pointers or long two-point shots. To his credit though, as of late, when defenders have closed out on him coming off screens, the rook has shown the ability to put the ball on the floor and go straight to the basket for a finish or a good setup pass.

Klay Thompson’s game has grown during the early stages of the season, hence it stands to reason that he will eventually become not only a more dynamic shooter, but he may in fact also have the required tools to be a good scorer in the league.

It’s worth noting that although the long-range bomber is not yet a world-class shooter like his teammate, he is statistically one of the best spot up shooters in the NBA. According to MySynergySports, Klay Thompson is shooting 13-for-19 in 3-point spot up opportunities, which translates to a blistering 68.4 conversion rate. For comparison’s sake, Ray Allen in the same situation has made 16-of-24 shots from 3-point range, a 66.7 percent shooting clip.

There is still a whole lot of basketball to be played for the remainder of the season, and watching Klay Thompson develop as a shooter and scorer should prove to be one of the most interesting subplots of the Warriors’ season.

Questions or comments? Feel free to leave them in the comments section or you can contact me by email at [email protected].

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There was a moment, with roughly 10 minutes left in the third quarter of Warriors-Thunder. After successfully tapping out an offensive rebound, Andris strolled a few paces towards half court. In no rush to get back on offense, he turned, trundled slowly. Literal foot dragging drearily evolved into a perfunctory jog towards the hoop.

Ellis was above the arc to Dre’s right, and Biedrins had position to catch an entry pass. As Monta often does, the impulsive guard jumped as though to shoot, when he was really looking to rifle an assist through a surprised defense.

Andris was not looking at Monta. Never saw him. Perhaps realizing this at the last moment, Ellis double-clutched the pass, flipped a feeble wobbler that David Lee somehow snagged from a fray. The result was a frenzied brick. Below, you can blurrily make out Biedrins, watching the rim as the ball flies behind Dre’s back.

Shortly thereafter, Andris Biedrins was banished to the bench, never to return. And who knows if he’ll ever return in the broader sense? Tonight, he played nine minutes, contributing no shots and only one board. The playing time taken from Andris went to a rookie who played in Japan’s B League last year. If this was not the worst game of Andris’s career, then what was? If this did not signify the end, then what would?

Tonight, there was no wacky Nellie ball whim to blame for the benching, no foul trouble at all. He just…wasn’t there, existing only to camouflage himself amid the other flailing limbs and jersey colors.

When I asked Mark Jackson about what factors were contributing to the minutes drop, the coach was direct:

“I’m glad you saw the minutes. Read the entire stat sheet, along the line, and it’ll tell you what factored into it. I need my big guys to play.”

A rebound here or there, but Biedrins has ceased to play. He is blessed with enough physical talent to still board above average, but his facility in this facet has morphed into a shield. His rebounding masks an unwillingness to engage otherwise.

At the beginning of the season, some of you questioned why I picked on Biedrins. His PER was decent, he was “active” around the rim, the team was ambling along. Why? It’s simply because, despite all that activity, he was still avoiding the line. I’ll believe the new Andris when I see someone who confidently draws a foul, and not a moment sooner.

Right now, Andris is averaging 62 minutes per free throw shot, and he’s been to the line only twice in 15 games. I’ve harped on the issue long enough, and frankly, so much so that it’s high time to address the symptom and not the disease. The need for spotlighting his all-consuming free throw fear is lessening. If this flaw is immutable, then what is the point of pointing it out, again and again?

Or rather, it’s time to focus on how the “symptom” of Dre’s worsening production has become a disease for GSW. They now have a non participant on offense, one who isn’t exactly a force on defense. He commands a hefty contract that goes until 2014, and the amnesty provision has already been used on Charlie Bell. They are thin enough up front to bemoan Kwame Brown’s injury. Of all Warriors problems, this one is biggest.

I don’t beat this dead horse out of hatred of Biedrins, or belief that “he sucks” as many fans now tell me. I do it because he was an All Star talent who now physically comports himself as a man who’d rather be forgotten. And I can’t stop noticing his disintegration because the once-engaged center is unforgettable to me. He was a seven-footer with a 35 inch vertical and touch around the rim. He threw one-handed fastbreak dunks with demonstrable joy. He’s truly the last We Believe link, because Ellis had a background role in those playoffs. The amnesty provision is gone and so is Andris Biedrins.

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Far too often when watching NBA games, it seems as though players are rather one-dimensional. Indeed, we have perimeter stoppers, ball handlers, passers, dunkers, shooters, scorers, rebounders, charge takers, shot blockers and interior anchors to name a few. Consequently, when an NBA player is able to offer more than one skill, we tend to notice.

This explains why we gravitate towards players like Kevin Love (scorer, rebounder, shooter), Chris Paul (scorer, ball handler, passer) and Derrick Rose (scorer, ball handler, passer, dunker). Mind you, things truly become interesting when the conversation shifts towards players that are great shooters.

Continue reading “World Class Shooter: Stephen Curry” »