Comments on: Hold the Phone … Are the Warriors Playing Defense Now?

By: AirplaneRider

AirplaneRider — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:18:39 +0000

Short answer, NO.

As long as they have Monta, Curry and Lee we will be one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

By: dubfan

dubfan — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:28:16 +0000

Agreed…there is no sympathy whatsoever for any team the Warriors ever play for their “poor missing players”…teams throughout the league have been feasting on the Warriors short-handed squads for the better part of the past 2 years.

By: danikil49

danikil49 — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:34:29 +0000

Let us also remember that the Dubs were without David Lee for several games. So when we say that the Dubs won because a certain player was missing, we should keep in mind that it works both ways. Defense, Udoh and a maturing Dorell Wright is manna from heaven. Go Dubs.

By: PJ

PJ — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:24:23 +0000

big ups to Marcus Thompson for being an articulate, kick ass journalist, for many years now.

By: warriorJon

warriorJon — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:09:46 +0000

Still worried about Smart’s game adjustments and substitutions.JLin owned earlwatson last night, got pulled then never put back in.missed on taking advantage of confidence building with young promising player.if smart wasnt forced to use the bench 2 games ago,i dont think he’ll have the confidence in them that he has now.more JLin, Udoh and BWright minutes!!!!!

By: Don

Don — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 22:55:40 +0000

Sometimes we bloggers expect the Dubs to be a t championship caliber. WE are not there yhet. But we are getting better. That is why patience makes sense. What I don’t want to do is trade a valuable asset unless we are going to get significantly better. I would rather add pieces then replace. Let’s have a strong team with a food bench that wins 45-50 games then add a big piece to get us over the top. we need to establish a winning heritage here first. That gets FA’s to want to come here. They do not want to come here now, but if we have a winning atmosphere, and great fans plus one of the most beautiful places on earth, they will come! Lacob is nothing more than a big fan like us, with a ton of dough. A bold move is great as long as it is seriously additive and not just a move to shut up the naysayers Let’s be smart about this.

By: deano

deano — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 22:19:47 +0000

Dubfan: I agree with all you say. A better center is all we need. Personally, I am hoping for a Camby for Beidrins trade in the next eight days. Beans could help Portland get into the playoffs, maybe get them a higher seeding. Camby is hurt, and old, but he only has one more year on his contract; and when does get healthy, he will be more of a defensive presence than Beans.

By: Bench + Defense = Warriors Victory? « Balls Out

Bench + Defense = Warriors Victory? « Balls Out — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 22:02:51 +0000

[...] Yeah, I can’t believe I just wrote that either. Marcus Thompson was just as I surprised as I was. [...]

By: haastheman

haastheman — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:42:58 +0000

good to see this team play good ball in the second half. When this team is healthy, we can play. It helps that NO was without Oakafor, and OKC is a young team, they will have ups and downs. This team needs to start the game with purpose. The first quarters are killers. Right now Williams is the only consisten presence we have off the bench, but if Udoh and one of the other guards can give us CONSISTENT production off the bench we could challenge for an 8th spot. It would be nice to make a trade to bring in a three with some of our expiring contracts and have Wright come off the bench, or have the trade acquisition come off the bench. Wright needs to work on his off the drible game a little more, it seems like once a player concentrates on his three ball, that’s all he does. Defenses are really starting to shut off those open looks and he’s got to be able to put the ball on the floor.
Things are looking up for bay area sports. This warriors team has a bit of a SF Giants feel to them. Torture all over again.

By: dubfan

dubfan — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:28:51 +0000

Numbers do not lie (right?). The Dubs are 16-11 since having a complete lineup of their standard starting 5. And they likely would have won 5-6 more games with a healthy David Lee all year (the 10 that he missed plus the next 10 when he was half a player). This is a pace that extrapolates over a full season to 48 wins. This is a playoff team when healthy. Do they still need help, and especially at the center position? No question, however, Udoh is starting to give them consistent quality defensive minutes, Dorell is getting better and better, Curry is starting to take that leap upward (just as he did the latter half of last season), David Lee is being his everyday 17/10 and knocking down shots with consistency, and Monta is still Monta (and this is good! Some have said that Monta has already reached his ceiling (where others have not)…well, if this is true, I’ll take it – this is a high ceiling!