Before I begin analyzing the Golden State Warriors” first “half” of the season, I need to address a misidentified first-name in last week”s column, “Monta snubbed.”
As incredible as it would be if a Redskins wide receiver from the late 1990s reinvented himself into an All-Star point guard in the NBA, Michael Westbrook is not the Oklahoma City Thunder PG.
UCLA product Russell Westbrook (who had six turnovers in the Warriors” win over the Thunder Sunday night) was just selected to his first career All-Star Game. I apologize for the error and appreciate that several readers pointed out the mistake.
Victories over Russell Westbrook”s Thunder, the Bulls, Nuggets, Hornets and Jazz in the previous nine games gave the Warriors some positive momentum going into the All-Star Break — but two blowout losses to the Suns were problematic.
The Warriors are 26-29, with a playoff berth distant but visible. The Western Conference is stacked and the Warriors, who are four games out of eighth place, have three teams ahead of them.
With just 27 games left, the Warriors have their work cut out for them if they”re going to make the playoffs. The Warriors have it in them to catch fire in the final two months, but they”ll have to do so by addressing three problem-areas, which have plagued them all season.
Scoring distribution
The Warriors have an amazing starting front four who usually perform consistently on a nightly basis. Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Dorell Wright and David Lee average roughly 76 points per game between them.
Unfortunately, the other guys average just more than 25 points per game. That lowly number is rooted in two issues: poor play from starting center Andris Biedrins and a weak bench.
Biedrins simply doesn”t give the team enough offensive output; around six points per game just won”t cut it in the West. The Latvian looks tentative every time he touches the ball on offense (and can barely knick iron from the free-throw line).
Biedrins needs to pick up his play in the second part of the season otherwise it might be time for the Warriors to end the experiment.
The bench has played consistently poor all season — partly because of a slew of early season injuries. To this point, the Warriors have only two bench players averaging more than five points per game (Reggie Williams and Vladimir Radmanovic).
Four times in the previous nine games, only two bench players scored for the Warriors. The team averaged around 20 points per game from its bench during the stretch, whereas opponents averaged closer to 30 bench points per game.
The Warriors need continued production from their top four starters as well as improved support from their starting center and bench in order to make a run at the end of this season.
Smart play
Watching the Warriors play can be frustrating. The team doesn”t generally play well for all four quarters; the players get into spells in which they constantly make dumb mistakes; and the team is always on the wrong side of the fouling game.
The first problem could be fixed by more consistent play from the bench. It”s got to be tough on the core four to play 30 to 40 minutes night in and night out, which probably leads to the frequent quarter-long lulls.
Turnovers are generally an important part of the Warriors” success; they are second in the NBA in forcing turnovers, but in the bottom 10 when it comes to taking care of the ball on their own possessions. Creating turnovers drives the Warriors” up-tempo offense, but there are stretches in games in which poor ball-handling and decision-making become contagious among Warriors” players, stalling the team”s in-game progress.
The fouling problems are twofold.
The disparity between free throws attempted and free throw attempts allowed almost always hurts the Warriors. Golden State is last in the league in free throws attempted and free throws made per game and near the bottom in allowing attempts on defense. Get to the line and stop the other team from getting to the line; it”s that easy.
The Warriors also need to address how they commit fouls. There are several times in each game where Warriors players (namely Wright, Curry and Biedrins) commit stupid touch-fouls that lead to layups and three-point-play opportunities. Either foul the man or give up the layup; don”t do both.
Road woes
If only the Warriors could have won some games on the road in the first part of the season. Golden State”s 7-18 road record ranks near the bottom in the West, while its 19-11 home record is decent.
Now, 16 of the team”s 27 remaining games are on the road, and Golden State”s recent record of performances on the road leaves little hope for these important games.
The Warriors have two key upcoming road trips: a seven-game swing beginning in Minnesota and moving east and a tough four-game Texas-to-Arizona trip.
If the team can squeak out a record that”s better than .500 on those two trips, perhaps road confidence would set in and carry over into a playoff run. Half of the remaining road games are against teams that currently have losing records, so the Warriors will have to earn some quality wins against really good teams.
In the end, the Warriors are a long shot for the playoffs, but that”s how it was going into the All-Star Break in the 2006-07 season.
First-year head coach Keith Smart has the team playing better basketball this year; if he, his staff and his players can make some mid-season adjustments, the team could get its overall record above .500. And who”s to say they can”t pull it off from there?
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636 ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com.
