The Lakers should thank the Guidance Gods for steering every long shot into the basket.

Also, Jackson should require every Laker to tithe the Referee Widows and Orphan's Fund. The calls weren't as bad as in the Cleveland game, but the kind of game the Ws were playing should have resulted in a more equal number of foul shots.

The newcomers are obviously better suited to the fast game. It is obvious that their skills were wasted in Cleveland's traditional control-freak slowdown game. All that system did was showcase their weaknesses.

Baron: you cannot shoot fade-aways. You have many skills, but not that one.

Nelson: copy someone's successful half-court offense for those times when it is necessary. The team would do better if they had some movement, screens and a clue.

Saras had a bad game, but it was obvious that he was puzzled by the lack of movement. Nobody to pass to, except out on the wing.

MP: do not dribble.

Do you get the idea MP is being showcased?

Nelson: time to platoon a little, get some rest for the starters. BD went down and there were comments from others about how tired they were. It seems that fatigue is a factor in late-game meltdowns.

I thought Jackson did a far better job with his substitution pattern. He substituted early and often and his guys were fresher at the end.

Still, the Ws are a much better team now. They should have won both of these last games. They play a spirited and entertaining style of ball that has the potential to win a lot of games when they really get acquainted with each other.

carlgo wrote:MP: do not dribble.

Do you get the idea MP is being showcased?

Um... nope. I got the feeling that the front office still doesn't know if they want to re-sign him or trade him.

I'm still unsure, to be honest...

carlgo wrote:The Lakers should thank the Guidance Gods for steering every long shot into the basket.

Also, Jackson should require every Laker to tithe the Referee Widows and Orphan's Fund. The calls weren't as bad as in the Cleveland game, but the kind of game the Ws were playing should have resulted in a more equal number of foul shots.

The newcomers are obviously better suited to the fast game. It is obvious that their skills were wasted in Cleveland's traditional control-freak slowdown game. All that system did was showcase their weaknesses.

Baron: you cannot shoot fade-aways. You have many skills, but not that one.

Nelson: copy someone's successful half-court offense for those times when it is necessary. The team would do better if they had some movement, screens and a clue.

Saras had a bad game, but it was obvious that he was puzzled by the lack of movement. Nobody to pass to, except out on the wing.

MP: do not dribble.

Do you get the idea MP is being showcased?

Nelson: time to platoon a little, get some rest for the starters. BD went down and there were comments from others about how tired they were. It seems that fatigue is a factor in late-game meltdowns.

I thought Jackson did a far better job with his substitution pattern. He substituted early and often and his guys were fresher at the end.

Still, the Ws are a much better team now. They should have won both of these last games. They play a spirited and entertaining style of ball that has the potential to win a lot of games when they really get acquainted with each other.

Air France may be here for awhile. He is the steaky kind of player who fits into the Nelson style of basketball.

Yes, Jackson is a better coach than Nelson, as is Popavich, Riley, and Larry Brown; however, Nelson is the best of the second tier coaches.

Fatigue may be a factor; however, it looked to me more like it is a more of a matter of the guys not being on the same page (read: know the plays, where to cut, where to pass). One play, in particular, stands out: Cabbage thought that Monta was going to cut to the basket, so he, Cabbage, bulleted a pass towards the basket that went untouched with no Warrior (nor even a Laker player) nearby; this will be corrected thru time.

Positives:
Yes Baron went down, but the team now has a good backup point guard.
Al Harrington is fearless and athletic, too.
Jackson can play multiple positions, and well, too.
Powell can play multiple positions, too.
Cabbage will give Baron much needed rest.
Biedrens is developing right before our very eyes (thank you Chris Mullin for drafting this kid).
Baron is a "warrior" in every sense of the word.
Monta will improve when he learns how to not force his shot in the lane.
If Nelson should ever leave, he has a job waiting for him during the winter season where all he would have to do is put on a red suit and grow a white beard (dude is putting on some serious weight).

BTW, I stand by my previous post on another thread about this Warrior team matching up well vs. Phoenix.

I thought Powell was decent in the time he played. He's good for a few minutes a game off the bench.

John Patrick wrote:I thought Powell was decent in the time he played. He's good for a few minutes a game off the bench.

I agree. It seems that all four of the new guys can play. The Ws have great depth. Hopefully they will use it wisely.

uptempo wrote:

carlgo wrote:The Lakers should thank the Guidance Gods for steering every long shot into the basket.

Also, Jackson should require every Laker to tithe the Referee Widows and Orphan's Fund. The calls weren't as bad as in the Cleveland game, but the kind of game the Ws were playing should have resulted in a more equal number of foul shots.

The newcomers are obviously better suited to the fast game. It is obvious that their skills were wasted in Cleveland's traditional control-freak slowdown game. All that system did was showcase their weaknesses.

Baron: you cannot shoot fade-aways. You have many skills, but not that one.

Nelson: copy someone's successful half-court offense for those times when it is necessary. The team would do better if they had some movement, screens and a clue.

Saras had a bad game, but it was obvious that he was puzzled by the lack of movement. Nobody to pass to, except out on the wing.

MP: do not dribble.

Do you get the idea MP is being showcased?

Nelson: time to platoon a little, get some rest for the starters. BD went down and there were comments from others about how tired they were. It seems that fatigue is a factor in late-game meltdowns.

I thought Jackson did a far better job with his substitution pattern. He substituted early and often and his guys were fresher at the end.

Still, the Ws are a much better team now. They should have won both of these last games. They play a spirited and entertaining style of ball that has the potential to win a lot of games when they really get acquainted with each other.

Air France may be here for awhile. He is the steaky kind of player who fits into the Nelson style of basketball.

Yes, Jackson is a better coach than Nelson, as is Popavich, Riley, and Larry Brown; however, Nelson is the best of the second tier coaches.

Fatigue may be a factor; however, it looked to me more like it is a more of a matter of the guys not being on the same page (read: know the plays, where to cut, where to pass). One play, in particular, stands out: Cabbage thought that Monta was going to cut to the basket, so he, Cabbage, bulleted a pass towards the basket that went untouched with no Warrior (nor even a Laker player) nearby; this will be corrected thru time.

Positives:
Yes Baron went down, but the team now has a good backup point guard.
Al Harrington is fearless and athletic, too.
Jackson can play multiple positions, and well, too.
Powell can play multiple positions, too.
Cabbage will give Baron much needed rest.
Biedrens is developing right before our very eyes (thank you Chris Mullin for drafting this kid).
Baron is a "warrior" in every sense of the word.
Monta will improve when he learns how to not force his shot in the lane.
If Nelson should ever leave, he has a job waiting for him during the winter season where all he would have to do is put on a red suit and grow a white beard (dude is putting on some serious weight).

BTW, I stand by my previous post on another thread about this Warrior team matching up well vs. Phoenix.

both good, carlgo and uptempo. I don't necessarily disagree that the Ws match up well with the Suns, but accept no imitations. Look at how the Suns eviscerated the "Suns East" (aka washington) tonight. My God, 41-20 in the first quarter and coasting from there. And yes, this year and last has settled any debate. How are the Lakers putting up that kind of record with Kobe and...? Phil Jackson is a great great coach and not just the lucky fool who had Jordan, Pippen, Kobe and Shaq on his team. He outcoached Nelson.

The only problem I am seeing with the warriors right now is the inability to close out games, because these last 2 games they had a very good advantage nearing the end of the game, but blew it both times.

Ive said it in other places in this forum, but reason why we lost is simple. New guys dont know defensive schemes yet and there has been some miscommunication on offense. Guys have only played together for less than a week. After 4 more games lets see if they still make the same mistakes.

No one can question that the team has never looked so good (passion, athleticism, hunger, toughness ect).

Im not saying we gonna win a Championship with this team this year, but we will be better than Denver, Lakers, Clippers, TWolves ect. Only teams i see us having trouble against when everyone is on the same page is Suns, Spurs and Mavs.

tradedunleavy wrote:Ive said it in other places in this forum, but reason why we lost is simple. New guys dont know defensive schemes yet and there has been some miscommunication on offense. Guys have only played together for less than a week. After 4 more games lets see if they still make the same mistakes.

No one can question that the team has never looked so good (passion, athleticism, hunger, toughness ect).

Im not saying we gonna win a Championship with this team this year, but we will be better than Denver, Lakers, Clippers, TWolves ect. Only teams i see us having trouble against when everyone is on the same page is Suns, Spurs and Mavs.

maybe - how do you see the Ws stopping a healthy Houston if Yao and TMac are firing?

coltraning wrote:maybe - how do you see the Ws stopping a healthy Houston if Yao and TMac are firing?

Thats the thing Houston has never been healthy for more than a week or so. TMacs back is gonna be an issue for the rest of his career. But if houstons is healthy and we are playing them in the first round of the playoffs, i say Nellie's first play on offense is to give the ball to pietrus while Tmac guarding him and let Air France tumble down the lane knocking TMac over like a bowling pin and injuring his back again. (i can already see it)

For reals, i think we could make the game uptempo and run it down their throats. They dont have that great of role players where we are gonna get burned for doubling Yao, and i think it all depends on how you view TMac. The one who sprouts wings and flys from the commercials or the one who has been struggling all year?

I think hes the struggling ex-superstar whose health issues keep him from being who he was and in that case the W'z could play the zone defense and either let only Yao kill us (like shaq in pistons-heat 05 i think) or try to stop him from getting the ball and making Skip to my Lue beat us.

Either way i think the Warriors can dictate the game vs. Rockets, healthy or not.

tradedunleavy wrote:Im not saying we gonna win a Championship with this team this year, but we will be better than Denver, Lakers, Clippers, TWolves ect. Only teams i see us having trouble against when everyone is on the same page is Suns, Spurs and Mavs.

Before the trade, I thought that the team was somewhere between 8th and 10th on the west. Right now, I have clearly above us the following teams:

Suns
Mavs (they're a better team, sure... but I don't think they'd be thrilled to play us in the playoffs)
Spurs
Nuggets (yeah, I may be the only one that believes AI and Melo will play well together, but I do. Sue me)

We're slightly below the following ones:

Rockets (if healthy. I can see us winning a few games against them... but not a series)
Jazz (Similar to the Rockets)

The Lakers are a difficult team. They certainly have the better coach, and we usually find a way to lose at the Staples. I don't think they have a better roster (a bigger star, sure... but not a better roster), tho.

And I think we're clearly better than Minny and the Clips. We should get that last playoffs spot...

coltraning wrote:

tradedunleavy wrote:Ive said it in other places in this forum, but reason why we lost is simple. New guys dont know defensive schemes yet and there has been some miscommunication on offense. Guys have only played together for less than a week. After 4 more games lets see if they still make the same mistakes.

No one can question that the team has never looked so good (passion, athleticism, hunger, toughness ect).

Im not saying we gonna win a Championship with this team this year, but we will be better than Denver, Lakers, Clippers, TWolves ect. Only teams i see us having trouble against when everyone is on the same page is Suns, Spurs and Mavs.

maybe - how do you see the Ws stopping a healthy Houston if Yao and TMac are firing?

the Rockets will likely never be fully healthy but if they do, they are top 4 in the nba because they have shown allroundness as well lately. The team is great after the trade and they are top 6 at least