Warriors lost shot at playoffs
I’m just going to put this thought out there, because I don’t
think some people have fully realized it yet: the Golden State
Warriors will not make the playoffs this year.
Before we get all crazy and start throwing chairs, though, I
will let that thought fester a little bit.
Warriors lost shot at playoffs
I’m just going to put this thought out there, because I don’t think some people have fully realized it yet: the Golden State Warriors will not make the playoffs this year.
Before we get all crazy and start throwing chairs, though, I will let that thought fester a little bit.
It was only two years ago that the Warriors made the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons, and even upset the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round.
Great! Spectacular! Where do we go from here?
This year they lost Baron Davis to free agency, lost their starting point guard to a lie and a moped, will be losing Al Harrington soon, and are quickly losing their charm as the NBAs most exciting team.
What a ride, huh?
While the honeymoon from 2007s upset victory against the Mavs lasted all but an offseason, the Warriors are suddenly slinking back to pre-2007 standards.
What is so terribly confusing/frustrating right now is trying to figure out the direction of the Warriors. There are three men – team president Robert Rowell, general manager Chris Mullin and head coach Don Nelson – that seem to be pulling the strings in three different directions.
In a nutshell, Mullin seemed to have a plan, a direction for the team, an idea of where he was going, and Rowell decided to override many of the decisions, screwing with the plan, the direction and the idea of where the team was going.
The disconnect is clear between Mullin and Rowell, but frequently in recent seasons, Mullin has drafted and signed players that are not necessarily friendly to the Nelson way of coaching – a run-and-gun that uses athleticism and speed.
So, basically, in yet another nutshell – more nutshells? – you have three different ideas leading the same team.
Without mentioning the suits – talking about team presidents in a sports column even bores me sometimes – let’s talk about Nelson, who doesn’t wear suits.
Here are some of the words that come up when you type Don Nelson’s name into The Google: unconventional, innovator, inventor, unorthodox and unique. But right now, Golden State is about as boring as can be.
Nellie Ball utilizes the small, the fast, the athletic to push an offense at break neck speed and score as many points as possible. Defense is, painfully, optional.
But while I can’t figure out whether or not Mullin was building a team for a post-Nelson era – luckily, the Warriors inked Nelson to an extension before the start of this season – Nelson needs to adapt his offense to the pieces he is given, and take a note from the Giants and start playing his young guys.
Look, I’m not asking a lot. I’m not saying Nelson should drop everything and start over (although, as cliched as it is, defense does win championships – just saying). But the person to run a Nellie Ball offense that’s on this team – Monta Ellis – is not here, and may not all be here, in some capacity, when he returns from his lie and injury.
Instead, we have 2-guard Stephen Jackson more or less playing the point, but also playing more than 44 minutes a game, which is great just like it was at the end of last season when the Warriors nearly collapsed on the court from exhaustion.
We also have a starting point guard, DeMarcus Nelson, averaging less than 19 minutes a game. And we have three guys (Rob Kurz, Anthony Morrow and Richard Hendrix) that haven’t played, last year’s first-round pick (Anthony Randolph) that’s played one minute, two more point guards (CJ Watson and Marcus Williams) that are averaging roughly 15 minutes, and a guy who they traded for last year (Brandon Wright), who’s averaging eight minutes a game.
Be sure to load your team with young guys – Golden State’s average age is 23.5-years-old – for a coach that doesn’t play young guys.
I’m not saying they should all start, but two of them (Randolph and Wright) should at least be seeing some more playing time, if only based on their high-draft status.
I mean, with the way things are shaping up, why not? This isn’t the same Warriors team from the last two seasons, so what do they have to lose? God forbid, Randolph or Wright develops into a viable option, or at the very least a trading chip.
From a front-office standpoint, the direction of this team is rather terrifying. But Nelson is in a unique position to completely turn it upside down – in a positive way, of course – and continue his “innovator” status.
We’re only four games into the season, I know. But it was those first six games last season that may have kept the Warriors out of the playoffs.
With Mullin and Rowell battling it out behind the scenes, Nelson needs to figure out a way to keep Golden State unconventional, innovative, unorthodox and unique.
