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I recently had the oppurtunity to conduct a Q&A with Bob Fitzgerald who has done the Warriors TV play by play for over a decade. Fitz discusses the off-season moves, current state of the teams and other interesting information.
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WW.NET: Other than
Portland, is there a better young core than
Ellis/Belinelli/Wright/Biedrins?
It's
right up there. Chicago has Tyrus Thomas, Sefolosha, Gordon and Hinrich. I
like Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson. Also Charlotte has done some
good things with Raymond Felton and Okafor. But excluding Portland, I don't think any
team has 4 guys 21 and younger like the Warriors.
WW.NET: You are the GM and have to make one more move this
off-season. What would it be?
Fitz:
I
want Chris Wilcox and Chris Duhon , but I'm not Chris Mullin and
players of that nature are not easily
attainable.
WW.NET:
Does the organization still
envision Ellis as a point guard or are they going to let him
fill the shooting guard role?
Fitz:
The Warriors don't have true positions, it's the style they
play that allows for interchangeable parts. Phil Jackson used to call
players "initiators" of the offense. Pippen or Jordan could do that while
Paxson and Kerr were supposedly point guards. Baron and Jackson can
initiate our offense and sometimes even Barnes does it. Remember, Nellie
invented the point forward concept. I think Bellinelli can handle as
well. Monta is coming along nicely. Sometimes he'll play on the
ball, sometimes off it. No big deal either way.
WW.NET: Is there any way Coach Nelson doesn't return?
Fitz:
The Warriors want him back and he wants to be back.
Usually good things happen when both parties want to stay
together.
WW.NET: With the roster they have today, what are realistic
expectations for this upcoming season?
Fitz:
Playoffs again. But it will be a
challenge. The Warriors are very young and Baron MUST stay
healthy.
WW.NET:
With your Serra connections,
can you hook up Wright and O'Bryant with Barry Bonds' trainers?
Fitz:
Greg Anderson didn't attend Serra. But Barry, Tom
Brady, Gregg Jefferies, Lynn Swann, John Robinson and Jim Fregosi did.
I'll still take Mark Grabow as the best strength and conditioning coach in all
of sports.
WW.NET: Kosta Perovic has been compared to a young Vlade Divac.
What are your thoughts on him and can he play in Nellie's system?
Fitz:
I
have never heard Perovic compared to Divac. I think Ilgauskas is a better
comparison. Long, pick and pop shooter. I think he can help as a
backup.
WW.NET: You've been doing Warriors games for over 10
years. How do you feel you have improved and what do you feel you can do
better?
Fitz:
I
used to get frustrated with the officials and let it come out on the air.
Don't do that as much. You get better by being prepared for any type of
game (blow out, nail biter, etc.) and knowing the league inside and out.
I've seen 14 years of NBA games so the strategies and tendencies become more
obvious. I've learned a lot from Jim Barnett, Al Attles and this is the
second time around with Don Nelson. We have been lucky enough to receive
several Emmys for Best Live Broadcast and I just got one this year for Best
Play-By-Play so we must be doing something right. This team's style makes
for good TV.
WW.NET:
Many fans think that being a
broadcaster is easy in that you show up, call the game and leave. Decribe
a typical day in the life of Fitz during the season.
Fitz:
Well, I have a radio show to do every day from 12-3 as well.
Get up, get my kids off to school, read about 8 papers online, talk to my TV
producer to plan the open and halftime segments and anything special in-game, do
all my game notes, drive to SF, do the radio show, drive home, get a little
exercise, eat something, take a shower, put on a suit, drive to Oakland, talk to
players and coaches during pre-game, do all the recorded portions of the
telecast (tease, voiceovers, etc.). Call the game, do the radio post-game
Roundtable, drive home. Some days we do the Roundtable Live TV shows
before the game. Those are long days.
WW.NET:
Have you heard how Al
Harrington is looking this off-season and if he has dropped
the pounds Nellie wanted him to lose?
Fitz:
Haven't seen Al, hopefully he has been working out with
Baron in Vegas. Did hear he was in Indy doing some work (he still has a
house there). But we need him to be a better rebounder for the Warriors to
be a really good team.
WW.NET:
Fans who want their teams to
tank in order to secure a better lottery spot: smart fans or sellouts?
Fitz:
Don't think the Warrior fans are going to have to worry
about that. Since the teams with the worst record has barely ever won the
lottery, seems like the basketball Gods punish you for tanking. Just look
at last year's lottery.
WW.NET:
What have been your favorite
moments during your tenure as Warriors broadcaster?
Fitz:
Portland last year, making the play-offs. I knew in March if
we got healthy we could make the play-offs. We were something like 9 games
under .500. I talked about it on the radio every day for two months.
I loved being right as we went 16-5. Also, Game 1 vs. Dallas. Our TV open
predicted that Dallas would try and go small by removing Dampier from the
starting line-up. I knew we had them then. Winning Game 1 gave us
the series. Game 4 was also incredible as it was the best and closest
game, just fun to call. Still liked Antawn's back to back 51 point
games. A lot of Arenas' games during the 38 win season (up from 21 the
year before). Baron's half court shot. The dunk over
Kirilenko.
WW.NET:
Do you and Jim Barnett get
reprimanded or discouraged from speaking negatively about a player or a sequence
of plays or do you have free rein to call it like you see it?
Fitz:
I
have never been told what to say or what not to say by the Warriors or
KNBR. I laugh at the suggestion. We talk so much about so many
different things, there would be no way to remember what we are supposed to
say. But I do strive to point out the good play, by both teams.
San Antonio
usually owns us, they are a better team. It's okay to say that. It's
right there on the screen.
WW.NET:
Baron, Monta and Biedrins
all are looking for contract extensions. Will Chris Cohan dish out the dough for
all three or will one be let go or traded? Also, would you trade Baron for
Kobe?
Fitz:
Chris Cohan has paid every single player- from Dampier,
Caffey, Antawn, Jason, Murphy, Dunleavy, Fisher, Foyle, etc. You can make
a good argument that some of these players have even been overpaid. I
don't think we will be losing any players that we want to keep over money.
Baron for Kobe? I'll let Chris Mullin handle that. But point
guards are more valuable than off guards and much harder to replace. If
you give me the play-off Baron for 82 games I wouldn't trade him for any guard
in the league.
WW.NET: Do you ever visit our site Warriorsworld.net? If not, why?
Fitz:
I have seen it only a few times. Lots of great Warrior
fans. I think they are the best and most passionate of any in the Bay
Area. But there are a lot of sad, negative comments that are
completely vindictive, detract from the
site and hurt its credibility. That gets a bit old
and I think Warrior fans are better than that. I love the
passion, though.
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Special Thanks to Raymond Ritter and Bob Fitzgerald.
Comments, questions or other thoughts? Discuss in the forum: http://forums.warriorsworld.net/main/
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