Archive for the ‘ Preview ’ Category

0
29
Oct

Preview: Clippers at Warriors

Los Angeles
Clippers

@

Golden State
Warriors

Oracle Arena
7:30pm | CSNBA

Official Game Preview

2010-11 Meetings
October 29, 2010 • Recap
Clippers 91
Warriors 109
 
January 9, 2011 • Recap
Warriors 91
Clippers 105
 
January 14, 2011 • Recap
Clippers 112
Warriors 122
 
January 22, 2011 • Recap
Warriors 109
Clippers 113
 

Time to take a break from the glorious Giants and watch the Warriors in their second game of the year against the perennial doormat Clippers. Except that now these Clippers feature a rookie who is capable of completely dominating inside.

Thankfully for the Warriors, the Clippers aren’t even running plays for Blake Griffin yet. But Lee and Biedrins will still have their hands full with the guy who’s season-ending knee injury last year opened the door for Steph Curry and Tyreke Evans to pretend that they’re the best players in their draft class. Keys to the game:

  • Interior Defense. Can the Warriors keep Blake from doing a Luis Scola impression? I think the main key here is defensive rebounding — Griffin is all about raw physical skills right now, and will likely do most of his damage on fast breaks and put backs. The Warriors need to make sure they’re getting a body on Griffin on every shot attempt.
  • Interior Defense. Baron Davis is expected to repeatedly try to post up Stephen Curry. Can Curry hold his ground and at least force Davis to make tough shots? The Warriors aren’t inclined to give Curry much help lest Davis make them pay with a pass to the open man, so let’s hope that bum ankle is feeling strong tonight.
14
27
Oct

Preview: Rockets at Warriors

Houston
Rockets

@

Golden State
Warriors

Oracle Arena
7:30pm | CSNBA

Official Game Preview

2010-11 Meetings
October 27, 2010 • Recap
Rockets 128
Warriors 132
 
November 24, 2010 • Recap
Warriors 101
Rockets 111
 
December 20, 2010 • Recap
Rockets 121
Warriors 112
 
March 23, 2011 • Recap
Warriors 112
Rockets 131
 

The Warriors kick off their season in the shadow of the Giants postseason run, so they’ll have a bit of privacy as they try for a better start than last year. Once again, they get to start at home against a Rockets team on the back end of a back-to-back.

There’s only one thing to watch for tonight, and that’s whether the Warriors can get a win. Three keys to the game:

  • Biedrins 10+ rebounds. Is the old Biedrins back? If so, that completely changes the Warriors front court and will allow them to hang with a team like the Rockets.
  • Curry <5 turnovers. His most disturbing trend in the preseason was lack of caution with the ball. Was he just testing the outer limits of the new motion offense, or is he trying to do too much?
  • Monta >50% shooting. The biggest key to Monta making it to the next level is getting his volume shooting under control. If he can make plays while increasing his shooting efficiency, he might finally start earning some respect from around the league.
3
26
Oct

Opening Night

Watching the Heat lose to the Celtics was certainly gratifying despite my hatred of Boston sports fans. On the second half of the TNT docket is Houston vs LA Lakers. We get a preview of tomorrow night’s Warriors opponent in the Rockets with the added bonus that they will be on the second half of the dreaded road back-to-back. Hopefully the Black Mamba and Ron-Ron can wear them down.

0
22
Oct

Preview: Warriors at Lakers, Part II

Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN

It’s time for the final preseason game of the year, as the Warriors meet the Lakers once again in a place that isn’t the Staples Center. This also is one of our first chances to see the new team on the teevee — what to watch for tonight:

  • Who else can play? With Stephen Curry out tonight to nurse his sprained ankle, we’ll get a great chance to see who else can play in the back court. Look for Lin, Williams, and Bell to get most of the minutes alongside Monta — will any of them stand out?
  • Is Biedrins back? Another double-double would go a long way toward convincing me that he’s really back (at least, as much convincing as can be done in the pre-season).
  • Rebound margin. The Warriors have done a great job out-rebounding their opponents this pre-season. Can they keep it up for one more game?
0
21
Oct

Preview: Warriors at Lakers

Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers (in San Diego) | 7:00 p.m. | KTCT 1050

The Warriors head down to SoCal tonight to play the Lakers in San Diego at the “Valley View Casino Center,” a 1960′s era venue that is probably pretty interesting inside. With the Giants on tonight, I’d have to imagine that this will be the lowest rated game in the Ticket’s history. What to watch for:

  • Identify the Identity. Matt Steinmetz made an interesting point in his chat yesterday that, so far, the Warriors haven’t developed any sort of offensive identity. I know they’re working on installing the new motion offense, but I’d love to see them work on the pick and roll and try to get some easy buckets for Lee to get him going. At the very least, it would be nice to see them get their shooting percentage up from the 33% they shot in the last game.
  • Can Lin back up the point? I think it’s a long shot — as Steinmetz also pointed out yesterday, he definitely has work to do. More likely, he’ll get some D-League seasoning and perhaps be ready to provide some quality backup minutes in the second half of the season. He has two more nights to show that he deserves some regular season minutes — let’s see if he takes advantage.
  • If not Lin, who? In the more likely case that Lin isn’t the answer, who can provide some backup minutes at the point?
2
20
Oct

Warrior’s win total over/under: some easy money?

Cash Money (part two)

Arturo Galletti over at Arturo’s Silly Little Stats knows a whole hell of a lot more than any of us about statistics. I usually have to pull a George W. Bush and mostly use my gut for my season win total predictions.

He thinks taking the Warriors on the over is easy money. His prediction is for 45.55 wins, which my gut says is overly optimistic. How he did his predictions can be found in two parts: part 1 and part 2. Again I don’t know enough about stats to quibble with his predictions but my gut tells me again that Portland is not the second best team in the league behind only the hated Miami Heat.

Will the W’s really make the playoffs and win 45-46 games? Thoughts?

Photo by Flickr user jtyerse used under a Creative Commons License

0
19
Oct

Preview: Warriors at Suns

Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns | 7 p.m. | No TV/radio

The Warriors head down to Phoenix tonight for the second half of a back-to-back. What to watch for:

  • Bench production. After playing four of the starters more than 30 minutes last night (with 25 for Biedrins), you’d have to imagine that the bench will get a lot more time tonight on the back end of a back-to-back. Can Brandon Wright crack double digits in either scoring or rebounding? Can Rodney Carney continue to work himself into the offense? Can Charlie Bell show any sort of offensive game? And can Jeremy Lin build on a solid game last night?
  • The continuing saga of roster spot #15. Neither Miles nor Adrien got much playing time last night, though both had solid stats in the limited minutes they played. Assuming they get more time tonight, can either one make a statement? Right now, the external factors are pointing to Adrien (Amundson’s injury and Lin’s solid play last night), so Miles will have to start turning things on soon if he hopes to snag that final spot.
  • Curry’s TO’s. He had 8 turnovers on Saturday, and 6 last night — and the beat writers are starting to notice. Can he put a clean game together tonight?
0
18
Oct

Preview: Trail Blazers vs. Warriors

Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors | 7 p.m. | No TV/radio

The Warriors and Blazers get set to do it all over again two nights after meeting in the Rose Garden. What to watch for:

  • Replacing Amundson. With Amundson out for 1-4 months, can anyone step up and show that they can handle backup minutes at the 5? Gadzuric and Adrien are the only real options (outside of playing Lee there out of position), so let’s hope that one of them can give some quality minutes tonight.
  • Curry’s handles. He had 8 turnovers last game — let’s see if he can at least get things down to a 2:1 assist to turnover ration, and preferably 3:1.
  • The “New” Monta. After a couple of efficient games, Monta threw up a 5-16 last game, with four missed threes. Can he once again give us hope that he’s rediscovering his 2007-08 form when he shot over 50% from the field?
  • Bench scoring. Can someone — anyone — score some points off the bench? Williams and Wright, I’m looking at you (since I have little to no hope for anyone else who’s healthy)
0
16
Oct

Preview: Warriors at Trail Blazers

Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers | 7 p.m. | No TV/radio

With Amundson and Carney finally ready for action, this game is all about figuring out our bench. What to watch for:

  • Where’s the beef. Is Amundson the “beef” we need to spell Biedrins at the 5 and provide tough D on the opponent’s center? If he’s truly healthy, I hope we’ll see him getting at least a few minutes defending Oden.
  • Who’s Rodney Carney? I admit to knowing next to nothing about this guy. According to Wages of Wins, he’s become a more efficient player over the years and the best place for him to make his mark is clearly defense. But if he starts shooting a ton of threes, then we may have a problem.
  • Wither Wright? The reports are that Brandon Wright’s DNP-CD in the last game was for not showing up in practice. Let’s hope he’s made some strides in the days following, as he’s going to run out of opportunities to show what he can do if he can’t even earn himself some preseason playing time.
  • The continuing battle for #15. Tonight will give us another data point in the Jeff Adrien vs. Aaron Miles battle for the final roster spot. Amundson’s return will likely have an impact on how necessary Adrien is, so if Miles can show he can actually dish the ball he could make some major strides tonight.
5
12
Oct

Preview: Warriors at Kings

Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings | 7:30 PT | KNBR

Time for the back end of a home-and-home as the Warriors and Kings do it all over again in Sacramento. Here’s what to look for tonight:

  • Can Monta’s D continue to frustrate Tyreke Evans? He got props for his defense on Evans in Sunday’s game, so it will be interesting to see if Evans tries to make a statement right back tonight.
  • Jeff Adrien vs. Aaron Miles for the 15th roster spot. With Vernon Goodridge being waived yesterday, it appears it will come down to Adrien and Miles. Miles fills the greater need (a backup PG who can spell Curry for 10-15 minutes a night), but if Adrien can keep up his rebounding and continue playing tough interior defense it will be tough to let a guy like that go.
  • Will Andris Biedrins show up? So far it’s been a quiet preseason for Biedrins, though he did have 10 rebounds in the first preseason game. Not the greatest defensive matchup against the size of the Kings’ front line, but it would be nice to see him return the favor and use his quickness to get a bit more active on offense (and show some flashes of the “old” Biedrins).