Long, Drawn Out But Very Personable NBA Previews: Golden State Warriors
By Justin Cherot
I just knew this would happen. I was flowing through these at the beginning, but within the last week we’ve seen the inevitable “Justin Cherot Stall”, which if you’re a follower of Live From the Nosebleeds (no posts since the day after the NBA Draft) you should be quite accustomed to by now. However, I’m going to buck the trend and finish these. I promise.
If you’ve read the first several (see the archive at the bottom of the page if you haven’t), you know the drill by now. Team by team, player by player previews going in a predicted order of finish. I’m in my “teams on the outside looking in” category, and that will continue with my 2nd favorite team in the NBA to watch on a nightly basis, the Golden State Warriors.
Star
Not too many in the NBA have swag like Stephen Jackson. Photo courtesy the basketblogger.com
Interestingly enough, this is probably the first team where I had to do a back and forth debate with myself about who the star of this team was. In the end, I flipped a coin and chose the artist formerly known as Captain Jax (get it, because he’s no longer a captain?). I know Monta Ellis is probably, in terms of talent, the best player on this team, but Jackson is, for better or worse, the symbol of this squad. I love his “F it” brand of basketball, and you can never go wrong with a player who is unafraid to take a shot regardless of the situation. The problem? Dude no longer wants to be there. He didn’t even flinch when the Warriors fined him 25K for publicly declaring his desire to be traded. Funny, you’d think with the Warriors brand of basketball players would die to go to the Bay Area, but Don Nelson has this weird effect on good players. Once you’re on his poopy list, it’s hard to get off. Hence, we have the first star that will probably be gone by the trade deadline. While he’s here, though, it would be cool if he worked on his defense.
The Other Starters
Yeah, the Warriors were pretty darn bad last year, but I think a lot of that had to do with Ellis’ suspension. If he’s healthy and on the court and off of mopeds, the Warriors would have won at least eight more games. I still like him far more off the ball then I like him as a lead guard, but scoring guards are still en vogue in the NBA, and not too many can get to the tin like he can. Ultimately, his biggest problem right now is that he’s far too reckless with his body. It seems like whenever I see him play there’s some part of his body taped up from nightly paint encounters. He has a nice mid-range game, but without the luxury of a top-flight point guard getting him easier shots (Baron Davis, maybe?) we didn’t see it as much last season. Whether he likes it or not, I think Stephen Curry is the point guard of the Warriors’ future. It’s up to Ellis if he wants to be off the ball or not. While he’s here though, he should work on his defense.
In a league full of players, I don’t think there’s a more intriguing specimen in the NBA right now than Randolph. In the last 15 to 20 years, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone with such a versatile skill set at his size who plays with more energy. If you play him at the four, which is where he’s slated to start, he’s unguardable on the perimeter. If you play him at the three, he’ll be the mayor of back ‘em down city. Hell, Nelson even experimeted with Randolph at the one spot during summer league games. What does that tell you about his versatility? Early front-runner for Most Improved Player in my mind. At 19, this kid has absolutely no ceiling… but he should look to improve his on-ball defense.
It seems like he’s been in the league forever, and yet I had to do a double-take when I looked at his age. Dude is only 23 coming off a career season where he averaged a double-double. He’s the perfect center for this team, a guy who won’t complain about his touches and just gets garbage points. Also a bonus: he plays a little defense.
He may be the best cosmetic starter in the league. Azubuike is an athletic two-guard who can light it up when given the opportunity. The problem? With Corey Maggette, Anthony Morrow and Stephen Curry all competing for minutes, Azubuike could eventually end up being the forgotten player in Nelson’s weird rotation.
Bench
Maggette reminds me a lot of Jerry Stackhouse during his years in Dallas. Yes, he’s great off the bench, but you can tell that he absolutely hates coming off the bench and thinks he could start for a contender. The difference? Maggette is actually right. Physically he’s a nightmare for any opposing two guard or swingman to check. He’s one of those guys who can get to the rim whenever he wants, and he’ll either finish or get fouled. Only thing: he needs to work on his defense.
Even on a team full of scorers, this dude just stands out. As a rookie, he led the NBA in three-point percentage, and this past summer he made a mockery of summer league defenses. His play has basically made more than one current swingman on the Warriors’ roster expendable (Jackson? Maggette?). I can easily see him going for 16+ this season off the bench, but it also wouldn’t surprise me to see him crack the starting line-up at some point this season. If only he could play defense.
Poor guy. Looks like he’s going to miss the majority of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. That sucks: he was probably the Warriors’ best interior defender.
I can’t even hide the manlove anymore: Curry is my favorite current NBA player. Maybe it’s due to our relatively slender statures and our penchant for making deep, game-changing threes. Personally, I think it’s because he’s the classic underdog. Nobody wanted him. Then once they realized he was good, everybody hated on him. Admittedly, even I’ve waffled back and forth between whether or not he could be an effective pro. A year and a half ago, I said he was a cross between Steve Kerr and Juan Dixon. But that was before he played the point at Davidson last year and displayed very high basketball IQ and an ability to get his shot off against pressure. I caught him in a pre-season game against Phoenix, and with the game on the line, he was the one with the ball in his hands, and everytime he made the right decision, whether it was hitting the open man with a jaw-dropping pass or setting himself up for the J. I’m sold: eventually Curry will be an all-star. As long as he doesn’t cry about the lack of minutes he’ll get this season (because that’s how Nellie does his rookies), Steph will be fine. Of course, he has to learn to play better defense.
Every team needs a Turiaf, a guy who will come in and just stir things up, whether it’s diving for loose balls or dunking emphatically. Beyond being a hustle guy, Turiaf has an underrated skill set for a guy his size. He shoots the ball well from 18 and in, plus he sees the floor very well. The Warriors will need him for fairly big minutes off the bench this year.
Please do the world a favor and legally change the spelling of your first name.
There are many teams in the NBA that can use a guy like Watson. Too bad the Warriors have pretty much no place for him.
Take everything I said about Watson, switch names, and you have my opinion on Law. Only he doesn’t defend as well.
More like “Not as fast as I used to be, which was kind of overrated in the first place” Claxton.
For the past 10 years, George has been the token “replace this guy with any halfway decent player not in the NBA, give him the same minutes and he’d put up the same stats” player in the league. Why no GM has realized this I have no idea. I mean, he can’t even play defense…
… which makes him no different than 80% of this roster. And, despite my love affair with this team’s brand of basketball, that will be their downfall and why they’re ranked so low on the totem poll.
NBA Preview Archives
30. Sacramento Kings
29. New Jersey Nets
28. Milwaukee Bucks
26. New York Knicks
24. Houston Rockets
22. Indiana Pacers
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- Shorter, More Concise But Nonetheless Still Cool NBA Preview Wrap-Up
- A Pop Culture Break
- A Blog Sabbatical is Not Recommended
- Long, Drawn Out But Very Personable NBA Previews: Golden State Warriors
