Write back at you: NBA 101 in session, Josh Smith and the Warriors'
depth
POSTED July 24, 11:05 AM
Here we go:
JID WROTE: But Ryan Anderson is shooting a high percentage from 3-
point range. This article makes no sense. Brook Lopez? A defensive
specialist? is Steinmetz being sarcastic. He’s all offense.
MS: I feel very fortunate at times having this website because it
gives me an opportunity to teach NBA 101 to beginners. Jid, take a
seat next to Cary Salsberg … school in session.
Anderson is 7-for-27 from the field and 1-for-10 from 3-point range so
far at the Rocky Mountain Review in Salt Lake City. So, tell me again
what makes no sense?
As for Brook Lopez, if you think he’s all offense then he has very
little chance of succeeding at the NBA level. I think Brook Lopez has
a good chance to be a 12-year pro as an NBA center. He's got size,
strength and a chip-on-shoulder attitude.
But he better do it defensively, first, because his post-up game (at
least not now) isn’t going net many positive results. The Warriors’
Richard Hendrix, a natural power forward, contained Lopez on Monday.
Another 15 years of mediocrity is ahead wrote: Hey, Steinmetz, why
didn’t the Warriors go after Josh Smith? Are we the only club in the
league that doesn’t realize this guy is going to be a superstar in
another season or two? We even made a point to say we’re not going to
go after him which just makes no sense. Then we dumped $10 million on
Corey Maggette, who by the way, plays the same position as Stephen
Jackson.
MS: I’m sure one of the reasons the Warriors didn’t make an offer to
Smith is because they felt Atlanta would match. And had the Warriors
made an offer to Smith in the wake of Baron Davis’ departure, it
likely would have constrained them for a week while the Hawks stewed
on things.
After Davis walked, the Warriors needed to do something … and they
felt they needed to do it quickly. I think Warriors executive vice
president of basketball ops Chris Mullin took a look at the available
point guards and realized he wasn’t going to find anyone out there as
good as Davis or who could score as much.
He then likely concentrated on finding a way to replace Davis’ 20
points per game rather than dealing with a point guard _ because he
wasn’t going to find a PG who could do both.
Maggette was being offered around the mid-level by the Spurs and
Celtics. The Warriors knew that he would take a contract starting at
more than that and that’s what they did. And because Maggette was
unrestricted it made the whole process quicker.
As for Smith, I like him, too. A lot of people like him. But I’m a
little worried about his penchant for floating through games. But the
guy is a hell of a talent and, yes, he would have been perfect in a
Warriors uniform. You also bring up a good point about Jackson and
Maggette playing together. When I wrote about that specific issue, I
was criticized for conjecture.
Squall wrote: The Warriors are putting together quite a deep team
here. Very interesting. Don Nelson is going to have a lot of chess
pieces here to move around to his liking. I still don’t believe this
will be Nelson’s last year. Look how many young 20 year olds we have
now. How can he walk away from all this potential one year after
gelling?
MS: The Warriors do appear to be deep, no doubt. It should allow them
to try to play at a faster pace than a year ago, and they won’t have
to solely rely on Davis to push it. On the other hand, while depth is
nice I’d rather see an impact player on the roster.
I think as the Warriors stand right now, they’re looking at one of
those years where they’re hoping to overachieve, stay in the playoff
race and maybe get in with 42-45 wins. Is it possible? Yes.
Nelson does love coaching underdog type teams. And this year, he’ll
have one. But I agree, it doesn't make sense that this would be his
final season. Here's proof.
FAQ
Profile
Private Messages
Log in
