Final Boxscore | Open Thread (486+ Comments)
This is what swirls in our players' heads when it comes to defense.
This game could have been seen on an And 1 Mix Tape if you ask me. Why? Because there was no defense played AT ALL (and no crowd?). In fact I'm still a little surprised how the Kings only scored 115 points. I'd hate to think what the final score would have been had we played oh I don't know ... anyone else.
In the end our favorite Warrior's TV announcers said it best tonight on TV:
"Nellie is in full experimental and developmental mode ..."
See why after the jump.
Defense on both ends was mostly about looking at the pretty shot.
Sports
The Game
With the start of the fourth quarter, the Warriors were already down 74 to 90. Don't believe for a second that the Kings were playing awesome defense against us, we just didn't make most of our shots. Shooting 41% to the Kings 48% clearly shows what kind of game it was if you didn't get to see it. Our point guard weakness led to a stalled offense (in my mind) which resorted to one on one plays.
The bottom line is that our defense pressed the snooze button tonight. Transition defense, lack of knowing who to guard and most of all our inexperience led to a Kings simple victory tonight. Kevin Martin was a stud. Only playing 31 minutes he scored 27 points making me ask once again "how does this guy always have our number?" Oh that's right ... we don't play defense.
It was a run and gun type of game which is always fun to watch, but as the Kings broke to a double digit lead, Nellie had to experiment and try anything. With Maggette and Harrington out with day to day injuries, aside from Jax, it was under 25 night for the Warriors. We'll get to see the young guys play for better or worse. I'd like to highlight the following:
The Young
It's amazing to think that Beans is only 22. Can you imagine? One of our leaders on the floor with more experience than 85% of the team, he really impressed me tonight. I have to give it to him, in my preview I didn't think he was going to have a good game tonight, but from the get go he was awesome. Beans displayed some sweet dribbling ability with a couple spin moves and aggressive plays that would even make "The Janitor" blush. By his normal standards, he didn't shoot particularly well tonight, so you'd have to see the game to understand how he got his 16 points. Pushing between defenders, Andris was able to attack the basket and create so many more opportunities with putbacks and assists. He ended the night only playing 31 minutes but had 18 rebounds and 2 blocks to go with his 4 assists. I'm beginning to believe he might be a very good player in this league soon enough. If he keeps playing like this, he better watch out because he might be an All-Star sooner than about 99% of us thought.
The Younger
As painful as it is losing, it's somewhat entertaining to watch our young guys play. It's like rooting for your high school JV team. You know all your friends are on it and they have no chance in hell, but you root anyways. You forget about the miss shots and the ugly passes and tripped up plays, because you shout for the one that actually works out of 12 attempts. That's how I feel when I see Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph on the floor. I think to myself, wow we couldn't have drafted anyone better? But then I see them hustle and show some small sign of potential and I get giddy. Both put up respective numbers with 10 and 11 points (on a ton of shots) and Randolph had 7 rebounds to Wright's 4.
Tonight's game also gave us a chance to see Rob Kurz (who?) and Anthony Morrow. 2 players I can't see ever getting back on the floor once Maggette and Harrington are back, but with the loss inevitable, it was fun to watch.
This was an easy pick tonight. If you had a chance to see Beans play the first 5 minutes I think you'd agree. Great game for Andris. Another double double served.
