Author Archive

7
9
Jan

Is Brandan Wright the Alex Smith of the Warriors?

I couldn't resist using this photo

Interesting article by Marcus Thompson II in the Mercury News today on Brandan Wright and his future with the team. It goes through the usual litany of injury excuses, and kinda skates over the fact that Wright has always been a defensive and rebounding disaster when he’s made it onto the court.

While Wright has certainly been a disappointment, what’s maddening is that he’s always remained on the verge of being a serviceable player (unlike, say, Patrick O’Brien). And at times — in particular last year’s preseason before his second shoulder separation — it seemed like we were finally going to see the potential (utilizing his length and explosiveness) that made him such a high pick coming out of UNC after his freshman year.

But the fact remains that we haven’t, and this year has been perhaps the most disappointing of all as he was felled with a mysterious back injury for over a month and now can’t even crack the rotation. Maybe he’ll one day put it all together and become a positive contributor on the court, but at this point it seems incredibly unlikely that Oakland will be where that happens.

And in that way, he sort of reminds me of Alex Smith. A player with all the potential in the world who, despite numerous chances, could never put it all together when it mattered for the team that drafted him. Sure, you can legitimately blame coaching, and injuries were definitely a factor, but when it comes to the bottom line performance neither player lived up to his draft position.

So, like with Alex Smith, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wright one day put it all together and become a solid contributor (both are young and play a position of huge importance in their respective sports, and they may finally have the experience to put it all together). But at this point this turning of the corner won’t be happening with their original teams, so in Wright’s case I just hope the Warriors can get something for him before he inevitably leaves at the end of the year. Because otherwise, based on the team’s history of former players blowing up elsewhere, it’s going to be annoying as hell when Wright inevitably comes into Oracle next year and throws up a career high against the dubs…

Postscript: Another comparison for Wright could be Greg Oden — a player who, if he ultimately flourishes, will do so in another uniform than the team that drafted him. Though in Oden’s case it’s easy to put the blame squarely on the injuries, as more “fixable” problems like coaching and attitude didn’t interfere as much. So I’ll stick with the Smith comparison.

0
8
Jan

Game #36: Warriors 116, Cavaliers 98

Cavaliers 98

@

Warriors 116
January 7, 2011 1 2 3 4 T
Cavaliers 24 25 28 21 98
Warriors 33 32 23 28 116
  Net 9 7 -5 7 18
  Season Avg -2.9 0.8 -0.4 -0.1 -2.2
  Compare to Season Avg 11.9 6.2 -4.6 7.1 20.2
 Warriors Stats
  FG% 3P% FT% FTA Fouls OReb TReb Assists Steals Blocks Turns POTurns PIPaint FBPoints
Game 48.2% 50% 95.2% 21 25 11 42 26 9 8 17 15 40 15
Season Avg 46.2% 39.2% 76.1% 20.7 22 11.6 40.5 22.5 9 5 14.1 17.5 42.6 18.6
Difference 2.1% 10.8% 19.1% 0.3 3 -0.6 1.5 3.5 0 3 2.9 -3.5 -2.6 -3.6
 Net Comparison
  FG% 3P% FT% FTA Fouls OReb TReb Assists Steals Blocks Turns POTurns PIPaint FBPoints
Net Game 2.2% 19.2% 28.6% -15 -5 1 3 2 -6 5 0 1 -4 -4
Net Season Avg -0.6% 3.5% -1.2% -7 -3.6 -1.2 -4.3 -2.2 0.8 0.7 1.2 2 -2.9 -0.8
Net Difference 2.8% 15.7% 29.8% -8 -1.4 2.2 7.3 4.2 -6.8 4.3 -1.2 -1 -1.1 -3.2

A solid win, and while the Warriors let the Cavs hang around a bit longer than I would have liked, can’t really complain about an 18 point victory and a lead that never dipped below 10 in the second half.

Game ball goes to David Lee, who showed signs of his former self with 22 points and 14 rebounds while leading the team with a +24. Monta also had a solid game with 32 points on 10-21 shooting, and he even got 8 full minutes of rest. Credit also goes to the team for hitting 20 of 21 foul shots (though Cleveland has 15 more attempts from the line — getting to the stripe continues to be a big problem for this team).

Now the Warriors will head down to LA to play the Clippers in a Sunday matinee, and it would be nice to get another win in before the Lakers come to town on Wednesday. And let’s hope Curry recovers well from that flagrant foul, as it was nice having everyone back healthy for the past few games…

Cleveland Cavaliers (8-28)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
A. Gee F 24:49 0-3 0-1 0-2 -13 0 3 3 1 3 3 1 0 1 0
A. Jamison F 36:57 8-17 2-5 3-6 -16 2 3 5 4 1 1 3 0 0 21
R. Hollins C 15:55 3-5 0-0 0-0 -14 2 1 3 0 4 0 1 0 2 6
M. Harris G 36:29 6-9 1-2 3-3 -6 2 8 10 4 2 3 1 0 1 16
M. Williams G 30:23 5-11 1-3 5-7 -25 1 1 2 7 5 3 2 0 0 16
J. Hickson 32:05 5-13 0-0 7-9 -4 0 9 9 0 4 2 4 1 2 17
C. Eyenga 27:16 2-6 0-2 0-0 -7 1 3 4 3 0 1 2 2 1 4
R. Sessions 27:40 4-9 0-0 5-8 -5 1 1 2 5 1 1 3 0 1 13
S. Samuels 08:26 2-3 0-0 1-1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 5
J. Moon DNP – Coach’s Decision
A. Parker DND – Low Back Strain
A. Varejao DND – Right Ankle Sprain
Total 240 35-76 4-13 24-36 10 29 39 24 20 15 17 3 8 98
46.1% 30.8% 66.7% team rebs: 11 total to: 17
Golden State Warriors (15-21)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
D. Wright F 40:12 7-18 3-11 3-3 +16 1 5 6 2 2 1 3 0 0 20
D. Lee F-C 38:40 10-16 0-0 2-2 +24 5 9 14 5 5 0 3 2 1 22
A. Biedrins C 19:05 1-1 0-0 0-0 +12 3 5 8 2 4 2 0 3 0 2
M. Ellis G 37:27 10-21 4-5 8-8 +11 1 1 2 10 1 3 6 0 1 32
S. Curry G 24:30 4-7 3-4 4-4 +15 0 2 2 4 2 2 0 1 0 15
A. Law 18:25 2-4 0-0 0-0 +1 0 1 1 1 2 1 2 0 1 4
E. Udoh 12:12 0-0 0-0 1-2 -2 0 2 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 1
V. Radmanovic 21:35 4-9 3-5 2-2 +8 0 5 5 1 2 0 1 2 0 13
L. Amundson 10:45 1-2 0-0 0-0 -5 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
R. Williams 15:38 2-6 1-3 0-0 +9 0 1 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 5
B. Wright 01:31 0-1 0-0 0-0 +1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D. Gadzuric DNP – Coach’s Decision
Total 240 41-85 14-28 20-21 11 31 42 26 25 9 17 8 3 116
48.2% 50.0% 95.2% team rebs: 6 total to: 17

inactive

  • Cavaliers: Gibson, Graham, Powe
  • Warriors: Bell, Lin

technical fouls

  • Cavaliers: Williams
  • Warriors: –

scoring

  • Lead Changes: 3
  • Times Tied: 1

arena stats

  • Arena: ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA
  • Officials: #26 Bob Delaney, #38 Michael Smith, #11 Derrick Collins
  • Attendance: 18858
  • Duration: 2:13
0
7
Jan

Preview: Cavaliers at Warriors

Cleveland
Cavaliers

@

Golden State
Warriors

Oracle Arena
7:30pm | CSNBA

Official Game Preview

2010-11 Meetings
January 7, 2011 • Recap
Cavaliers 98
Warriors 116
 
March 8, 2011 • Recap
Warriors 95
Cavaliers 85
 

The Warriors return home to host the dreadful Cavaliers tonight. The Cavs have lost 8 in a row and 18 of their last 19, so there are absolutely no excuses for losing this game. Hell, I’d say there’s no excuse for not winning by double digits, especially since it appears that Varejao and Daniel Gibson will both be out with injuries. So no keys to the game, other than just win baby!

0
6
Jan

Game #35: Warriors 110, Hornets 103

Warriors 110

@

Hornets 103
January 5, 2011 1 2 3 4 T
Warriors 29 18 25 38 110
Hornets 34 24 24 21 103
  Net -5 -6 1 17 7
  Season Avg -2.9 0.8 -0.4 -0.1 -2.2
  Compare to Season Avg -2.1 -6.8 1.4 17.1 9.2
 Warriors Stats
  FG% 3P% FT% FTA Fouls OReb TReb Assists Steals Blocks Turns POTurns PIPaint FBPoints
Game 48.1% 40% 75% 32 23 10 37 22 9 3 8 13 42 10
Season Avg 46.2% 39.2% 76.1% 20.7 22 11.6 40.5 22.5 9 5 14.1 17.5 42.6 18.6
Difference 2% 0.8% -1.1% 11.3 1 -1.6 -3.5 -0.5 0 -2 -6.1 1.5 -0.6 -8.6
 Net Comparison
  FG% 3P% FT% FTA Fouls OReb TReb Assists Steals Blocks Turns POTurns PIPaint FBPoints
Net Game -1.9% 2.5% 11.4% -1 2 -6 -12 -2 4 0 10 8 -4 -3
Net Season Avg -0.6% 3.5% -1.2% -7 -3.6 -1.2 -4.3 -2.2 0.8 0.7 1.2 2 -2.9 -0.8
Net Difference -1.3% -1% 12.6% 6 5.6 -4.8 -7.7 0.2 3.2 -0.7 8.8 6 -1.1 -2.2

Raise your hand if you thought the Warriors would pull this one out after the way they ended the 3rd quarter!

Sure, pulling out a win in Miami or Orlando would have been more impressive, but given their road record this year this definitely qualifies as a quality win. And with 14 of their next 18 games at home, this could be the spark that puts them on a path to stay in the race for the final playoff spot for a few more months.

What impressed me most was how they didn’t give up despite two horrible sequences. The Hornets run to close the third — after the Warriors had closed to 4 with just a few minutes remaining — was quickly countered in the opening minutes of the 4th. And after taking a 10 point lead in the closing minutes of the game, the Warriors proceeded to turn the ball over, give up an offensive rebound on a missed foul shot, and allow an uncontested layups to cut the lead to 2. But they never let the Hornets tie — thanks in part to a HUGE block by Dorell Wright on David West — and they were able to stem the bleeding and retake control of the game.

Looking at the net stats, I’ll give credit for the win to the incredible low number of turnovers from the Warriors. Despite being cleanly out-rebounded, the Warriors ended up with 5 more shot attempts from the field because they were able to hang onto the ball. The assist numbers also paint a pretty picture: they hit their season average but without anyone having more than 4, an indication of solid ball movement from everyone throughout the night.

And how about that Ekpe Udoh hook shot over David West in the back half of the 4th quarter?

So kudos to the team — I expected another blowout at the tail end of a road trip, but instead they persevered and beat a decent team on the road. Now let’s see if they can build on this!

Golden State Warriors (14-21)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
D. Wright F 35:50 5-13 3-5 0-4 +8 0 4 4 2 3 2 3 1 0 13
D. Lee F-C 25:11 4-8 0-0 5-5 -4 0 2 2 3 2 0 0 0 2 13
A. Biedrins C 12:54 2-2 0-0 0-0 -14 1 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 4
M. Ellis G 45:53 10-23 3-6 6-7 +7 2 3 5 4 4 2 1 0 1 29
S. Curry G 39:54 6-11 1-3 8-8 +8 1 2 3 4 3 4 2 0 0 21
L. Amundson 21:53 3-8 0-0 1-3 +4 5 7 12 2 4 0 0 0 0 7
A. Law 08:39 2-4 0-1 0-0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 4
E. Udoh 17:38 3-3 0-0 0-0 +17 0 2 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 6
R. Williams 15:30 1-5 0-3 3-3 -6 1 3 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 5
V. Radmanovic 16:38 3-4 1-2 1-2 +16 0 3 3 3 2 0 0 1 0 8
D. Gadzuric 00:00 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B. Wright 00:00 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 240 39-81 8-20 24-32 10 27 37 22 23 9 8 3 3 110
48.1% 40.0% 75.0% team rebs: 6 total to: 8
New Orleans Hornets (21-15)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
T. Ariza F 37:31 6-9 2-3 1-3 -2 2 8 10 2 2 2 3 0 0 15
D. West F 37:03 7-14 0-0 2-3 +4 4 5 9 5 3 1 3 1 1 16
E. Okafor C 23:24 2-4 0-0 2-6 -10 3 7 10 0 6 0 3 0 0 6
M. Belinelli G 28:55 7-12 2-6 0-0 0 1 0 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 16
C. Paul G 38:07 6-12 2-2 10-14 0 0 6 6 13 3 1 2 0 0 24
Q. Pondexter 11:02 2-6 0-1 0-0 -7 2 0 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 4
J. Smith 20:45 1-5 0-0 2-2 -3 3 3 6 0 2 0 2 1 2 4
M. Thornton 04:20 0-1 0-0 0-0 -9 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
J. Jack 11:52 3-3 0-0 1-2 -5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7
W. Green 27:01 4-10 0-4 3-3 -3 1 4 5 1 5 0 2 0 0 11
D. Andersen 00:00 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A. Gray 00:00 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 240 38-76 6-16 21-33 16 33 49 24 25 5 18 3 3 103
50.0% 37.5% 63.6% team rebs: 8 total to: 18

inactive

  • Warriors: Bell, Lin
  • Hornets: Banks, Mbenga

technical fouls

  • Warriors: –
  • Hornets: Okafor, Paul

scoring

  • Lead Changes: 11
  • Times Tied: 8

arena stats

  • Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
  • Officials: #8 Marc Davis, #52 Pat Fraher, #63 Derek Richardson
  • Attendance: 13532
  • Duration: 2:26
3
5
Jan

Preview: Warriors at Hornets

Golden State
Warriors

@

New Orleans
Hornets

New Orleans Arena
5:00pm | CSNBA

Official Game Preview

2010-11 Meetings
January 5, 2011 • Recap
Warriors 110
Hornets 103
 
January 26, 2011 • Recap
Hornets 112
Warriors 103
 
February 15, 2011 • Recap
Hornets 89
Warriors 109
 

The Warriors finish off the road trip tonight in New Orleans, where they’ll play a Hornets team that started the season white-hot but has been some mediocre since. But it’s still a road game, and after two straight games with awful second halves I can’t say I’m optimistic about this one.

The good news is that the Warriors are expecting to have their full roster tonight, so hopefully that will help them overcome their usual final-game-of-the-trip letdown. To win tonight, they’ll need to match the fast starts they’ve had in their last three games, but then keep up that energy through to the end. Or, in the immortal words of Mike Singletary, “FINISH!”

0
4
Jan

Warriors Wave Carney

Goodbye Rodney Carney — we hardly knew ya. I’m not super torn up about it, as he provided some nice variety but was hardly a difference maker (Reggie Williams is largely the same player but with better handles and the chance to take over a game offensively). There’s speculation (spin?) that they waived Carney to open up the possibility of an unbalanced trade (e.g. 3-for-2 or 2-for 1); I wonder if they have anything specific in mind…

It should be noted that they still COULD have made an unbalanced trade in the future, except that they would have had to pay Carney if they waved him to clear the roster spot (his contract wasn’t guaranteed yet, but would have been after the 10th). Is this a sign of the new owners trying to stay cheap, or does it really matter with an end-of-the-bench player who shoots too many 3′s and was having trouble staying healthy?

In related news, both Lin and Law had their contract guaranteed.

1
3
Jan

Game #34: Magic 110, Warriors 90

Warriors 90

@

Magic 110
January 3, 2011 1 2 3 4 T
Warriors 28 25 18 19 90
Magic 24 20 35 31 110
  Net 4 5 -17 -12 -20
  Season Avg -2.9 0.8 -0.4 -0.1 -2.2
  Compare to Season Avg 6.9 4.2 -16.6 -11.9 -17.8
 Warriors Stats
  FG% 3P% FT% FTA Fouls OReb TReb Assists Steals Blocks Turns POTurns PIPaint FBPoints
Game 40.9% 36.4% 76.9% 13 25 13 43 19 9 3 19 22 44 14
Season Avg 46.2% 39.2% 76.1% 20.7 22 11.6 40.5 22.5 9 5 14.1 17.5 42.6 18.6
Difference -5.3% -2.8% 0.8% -7.7 3 1.4 2.5 -3.5 0 -2 4.9 3.5 1.4 -4.6
 Net Comparison
  FG% 3P% FT% FTA Fouls OReb TReb Assists Steals Blocks Turns POTurns PIPaint FBPoints
Net Game -8.4% -10.5% 0.9% -12 -10 4 1 -7 -2 -1 0 1 14 0
Net Season Avg -0.6% 3.5% -1.2% -7 -3.6 -1.2 -4.3 -2.2 0.8 0.7 1.2 2 -2.9 -0.8
Net Difference -7.8% -14% 2.1% -5 -6.4 5.2 5.3 -4.8 -2.8 -1.7 -1.2 -1 16.9 0.8

I mercifully didn’t watch this one, as work and a peek at the hopefully-future-49ers-coach’s current team interceded. But seems like a similar story to the Heat game, albeit with fewer phantom fouls and more opponent 3′s.

Surprisingly, on first glance the net stats don’t look too bad — the Warriors won the rebounding battle by one, and shockingly outscored the Magic by 14 in points in the paint. But the Magic made 15 3′s and 9 more foul shots, while shooting a significantly higher percentage, leading to the 20 point margin.

Now the Warriors head down to New Orleans to face a solid Hornets team on Wednesday. Let’s hope that Lee returns, as they’ll need a spark to help them get over the last-game-on-the-trip doldrums that always seems to hit this team after a week on the road.

Golden State Warriors (13-21)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
D. Wright F 45:49 7-16 2-6 1-2 -12 1 5 6 4 2 2 1 0 0 17
V. Radmanovic F 23:00 4-6 1-2 0-0 -1 4 2 6 0 3 1 4 2 1 9
L. Amundson F 19:36 2-7 0-0 1-2 -13 2 3 5 2 4 2 0 0 1 5
M. Ellis G 38:51 8-19 1-5 3-3 -24 1 6 7 4 2 1 2 0 1 20
S. Curry G 35:00 5-13 3-6 2-2 -13 0 6 6 5 3 2 5 0 1 15
E. Udoh 20:10 3-8 0-0 0-0 -6 2 2 4 1 1 0 1 1 0 6
A. Law 11:40 0-3 0-1 0-0 -6 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
R. Williams 17:49 2-6 1-1 2-2 -12 1 1 2 1 2 0 5 0 0 7
B. Wright 18:39 3-6 0-0 1-2 -10 1 5 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 7
D. Gadzuric 09:26 2-4 0-1 0-0 -3 1 0 1 1 6 0 0 0 0 4
C. Bell DNP – Coach’s Decision
R. Carney DNP – Coach’s Decision
Total 240 36-88 8-22 10-13 13 30 43 19 25 9 19 3 4 90
40.9% 36.4% 76.9% team rebs: 7 total to: 19
Orlando Magic (22-12)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
H. Turkoglu F 38:27 3-9 1-3 3-4 +15 1 13 14 10 3 5 2 0 0 10
B. Bass F 25:31 3-8 0-0 4-5 +2 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 10
D. Howard C 42:32 7-9 0-1 8-12 +24 6 11 17 3 2 2 5 1 0 22
J. Richardson G 39:10 8-16 4-7 0-0 +19 1 4 5 2 2 0 4 1 0 20
J. Nelson G 21:52 4-9 3-5 0-0 +6 0 1 1 4 3 1 4 0 1 11
J. Redick 26:23 4-8 4-5 1-1 +13 0 0 0 3 3 2 1 0 1 13
R. Anderson 19:01 4-7 2-5 3-3 +6 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 13
G. Arenas 26:12 5-11 1-6 0-0 +14 0 0 0 2 1 1 3 1 0 11
Q. Richardson 00:52 0-0 0-0 0-0 +1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
E. Clark DNP – Coach’s Decision
C. Duhon DNP – Coach’s Decision
J. Williams DNP – Coach’s Decision
Total 240 38-77 15-32 19-25 9 33 42 26 15 11 19 4 3 110
49.4% 46.9% 76.0% team rebs: 8 total to: 19

inactive

  • Warriors: Biedrins, Lee, Lin
  • Magic: Allen, Orton

technical fouls

  • Warriors: Smart
  • Magic: –

scoring

  • Lead Changes: 8
  • Times Tied: 10

arena stats

  • Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
  • Officials: #29 Steve Javie, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #20 Leroy Richardson
  • Attendance: 18846
  • Duration: 2:13
4
3
Jan

Preview: Warriors at Magic

Golden State
Warriors

@

Orlando
Magic

Amway Center
4:00pm | CSNBA

Official Game Preview

2010-11 Meetings
January 3, 2011 • Recap
Warriors 90
Magic 110
 
March 11, 2011 • Recap
Magic 120
Warriors 123
 

The Warriors face another hot Florida team in the Magic, who have won five straight after restocking their roster. Can the Warriors rebound from their tough loss at the Heat? Or will they continue the second half flameout that saw them give up a big lead on the road? What to watch for tonight:

  • Attitude. As I mentioned in the recap for the last game, this is a moment where the much talked about team chemistry could really make a big difference (in making sure they’re not flat — still not sure if they can make up for the talent difference). Will they come out with their heads held high, or will they lose the game in the first quarter as they did regularly during Lee’s absence?
  • Inside-Outside. The Magic can shoot the lights out from three, but then they also have beasts inside in Howard and Bass. That’s not a good combination for the Warriors’ scrambling defense, as they regularly break down and leave a man open in an effort to provide help inside after guards blow by Monta and Curry. This could be a chance for Udoh to make a mark playing some tough inside defense, especially if Biedrins remains out (since I have very little confidence in Lee’s ability to hang with Howard).
  • All-Star. These final games of the road trip could be make-or-break for Monta’s All-Star chances, as he won’t get many more chances to play in the eastern time zone before the rosters get picked. He definitely has some ground to make up — largely because of the Warriors’ record — but a couple big games against the Magic and Hornets could do wonders for his national profile. Let’s see if he can seize the opportunity…
0
2
Jan

Game #33: Heat 114, Warriors 107

Warriors 107

@

Heat 114
January 1, 2011 1 2 3 4 T
Warriors 36 36 12 23 107
Heat 28 30 25 31 114
  Net 8 6 -13 -8 -7
  Season Avg -2.9 0.8 -0.4 -0.1 -2.2
  Compare to Season Avg 10.9 5.2 -12.6 -7.9 -4.8
 Warriors Stats
  FG% 3P% FT% FTA Fouls OReb TReb Assists Steals Blocks Turns POTurns PIPaint FBPoints
Game 47.1% 48.1% 75% 16 31 7 36 19 7 2 12 14 34 8
Season Avg 46.2% 39.2% 76.1% 20.7 22 11.6 40.5 22.5 9 5 14.1 17.5 42.6 18.6
Difference 0.9% 9% -1.1% -4.7 9 -4.6 -4.5 -3.5 -2 -3 -2.1 -6.5 -8.6 -10.6
 Net Comparison
  FG% 3P% FT% FTA Fouls OReb TReb Assists Steals Blocks Turns POTurns PIPaint FBPoints
Net Game -2.2% 5.3% 0.5% -31 -19 -3 -7 -5 0 -4 2 -1 -2 -10
Net Season Avg -0.6% 3.5% -1.2% -7 -3.6 -1.2 -4.3 -2.2 0.8 0.7 1.2 2 -2.9 -0.8
Net Difference -1.6% 1.8% 1.7% -24 -15.4 -1.8 -2.7 -2.8 -0.8 -4.7 0.8 -3 0.9 -9.2

The Warriors played a perfect first half: on fire from 3, freely running the court, knocking down buzzer beaters — but I think we all knew it was too good to last.

In the second half, the game regressed to the mean and the Warriors just looked awful. Miami clamped down on D and stiffled any flow left over from the first half, the Warriors’ turnover woes returned, Dwayne Wade started drawing fouls for getting breathed on while tomahawk chops on Ellis’ arms went uncalled, and the shots that went in during the first 24 minutes most certainly did not in the second. The Warriors scored less in the second half total than they did in either of the first two quarters.

It’s easy to blame the officiating, and they certainly deserve a lot of scorn — looking at the net stats above, the number that blares out is the -37 (!!!) on net free throw attempts. But Miami deserves credit for dictating the tempo in the second half, for driving and creating contact while the Warriors settled for jumpers, and for exerting tremendous energy on defense that was just as responsible for the Warriors’ scoring woes as the whistles were.

So what can the Warriors take out of this? First, if they play their game — and last night proves that their game is most certainly not a half-court motion offensive game — they can keep up with anyone. Who knows: if they weren’t on the back end of a back-to-back, maybe they would have had enough energy to keep it up just a bit longer and carry a big enough lead into the 4th to hang on.

Second, Dorell Wright has truly turned a corner. He’s been much more aggressive of late, and I think that really helps his outside shot as he’s able to do other things to get himself going if he’s missing from deep early. Before, his only response seemed to be to keep on firing from 3 or disappear completely.

Now they need to put it together for a full game against a quality opponent. Next up is the Magic on Monday, so let’s see if the Warriors can take the positive (perfect first half!) from this game instead of the negative (epic second half collapse!). Here’s where the reportedly awesome team chemistry could make a big difference…

Golden State Warriors (13-20)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
D. Wright F 39:40 12-21 6-13 0-0 -7 0 2 2 1 3 2 1 1 0 30
V. Radmanovic F 21:36 2-7 1-3 1-2 -10 2 4 6 0 4 0 1 0 0 6
D. Lee F-C 36:30 6-14 0-0 1-2 +6 2 10 12 3 2 1 2 0 2 13
M. Ellis G 46:38 7-16 3-5 8-10 -4 1 2 3 7 3 1 5 0 2 25
S. Curry G 35:51 7-12 1-2 0-0 -12 1 1 2 6 5 3 1 0 1 15
A. Law 14:00 3-6 1-2 0-0 -1 1 3 4 0 3 0 2 0 0 7
E. Udoh 17:05 1-2 0-0 2-2 +6 0 3 3 1 5 0 0 1 0 4
R. Carney 07:50 1-4 1-1 0-0 -2 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 3
L. Amundson 13:20 2-4 0-0 0-0 -6 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 4
R. Williams 07:30 0-1 0-1 0-0 -5 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
C. Bell DNP – Coach’s Decision
B. Wright DNP – Coach’s Decision
Total 240 41-87 13-27 12-16 7 29 36 19 31 7 12 2 6 107
47.1% 48.1% 75.0% team rebs: 10 total to: 12
Miami Heat (26-9)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
L. James F 41:31 7-15 0-3 11-17 +6 2 5 7 10 1 1 3 1 0 25
C. Bosh F 39:16 6-10 0-0 8-9 +7 5 6 11 3 2 1 3 1 0 20
Z. Ilgauskas C 16:40 2-3 0-0 0-0 +4 1 4 5 0 2 2 2 1 0 4
D. Wade G 39:26 7-18 0-2 11-16 +7 0 6 6 8 0 2 0 1 1 25
C. Arroyo G 26:52 4-7 3-4 0-0 0 0 2 2 3 0 0 2 0 0 11
J. Anthony 22:25 0-1 0-0 4-4 +3 2 5 7 0 3 0 3 2 1 4
J. Jones 21:19 4-7 4-7 1-1 -1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 13
J. Howard 10:53 2-3 0-0 0-0 +2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
M. Chalmers 21:38 3-7 2-5 0-0 +7 0 4 4 0 2 1 1 0 0 8
E. Dampier DNP – Coach’s Decision
E. House DNP – Coach’s Decision
M. Miller DNP – Coach’s Decision
Total 240 35-71 9-21 35-47 10 33 43 24 12 7 14 6 2 114
49.3% 42.9% 74.5% team rebs: 9 total to: 14

inactive

  • Warriors: Biedrins, Gadzuric, Lin
  • Heat: Haslem, Magloire, Pittman

technical fouls

  • Warriors: –
  • Heat: Bosh

scoring

  • Lead Changes: 7
  • Times Tied: 3

arena stats

  • Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
  • Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #66 Haywoode Workman
  • Attendance: 20254
  • Duration: 2:26
12
1
Jan

Preview: Warriors at Heat

Golden State
Warriors

@

Miami
Heat

American Airlines Arena
4:30pm | CSNBA

Official Game Preview

2010-11 Meetings
December 10, 2010 • Recap
Heat 106
Warriors 84
 
January 1, 2011 • Recap
Warriors 107
Heat 114
 

This one is about as close to a freebie as you can get. The Heat dominated the Warriors in Oakland last month, and I can’t imagine that anyone thinks they’ll do any better in Miami on the back half of a back-to-back.

But if they are able to steal this game, it will be because Dorell Wright has the homecoming game of his life (on both ends of the court), Curry goes on a white-hot shooting streak, Monta plays within himself and doesn’t force any action inside, and the Warriors bigs are able to hold their own inside and kept the rebounding margin close.

Who wants to take a bet that all that will happen?