It was a given that the Warriors were in for an exciting off-season once Baron Davis decided to return home to the Clippers. But given the expectation of a youth movement, the recent Corey Maggette signing is understandably perplexing to many Warriors fans and columnists alike.
What makes this latest Warriors’ move especially difficult to decipher is that while it fits well with the current Don Nelson style of play, it does not necessarily fit with the Warriors future plans—financially or basketball-wise.
Maggette and Nellie It might seem like an apples-to-oranges comparison, but in a free-flowing offense like Nelson’s, where shooting is more highly valued than a “traditional” distributing point guard, it’s reasonable to compare Baron Davis to Maggette.
With Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson just sliding over to the lead guard and off guard spots, respectively, Maggette is essentially replacing Davis’ production in the lineup. Following that reasoning, one of my biggest complaints about Davis is his poor shot selection. Maggette is a much more efficient scorer overall, with a true shooting percentage of 59 percent vs. Davis’ 52 percent.
While Davis ranks No. 33 among point guards in true shooting percentage, Maggette ranks fourth among small forwards (where he will play for the Warriors). Since they both had the ball in their hands for about the same amount of time last season, it’s safe to say that Maggette is the more efficient player.
An added benefit is that Maggette knows how to get himself to the free throw line for easy points. Whereas Baron got 5.2 free throws a game, Maggette had 9.7, good for the third in the league. As a solid 81 percent shooter—Davis shot 75 percent—that adds an extremely consistent scoring threat to the Warriors' offense. People on forums around the web have taken to calling Maggette “the bowling ball” at times and that pretty much describes his game. Once he gets rolling down the lane, he’s looking to score and make contact with as many opponents as possible in the process. In that sense, he’s a pure scorer, but he’s much more efficient than Davis.
Maggette after Nellie...? The problem is that Nelson won’t be the Warriors coach forever, as he has already considered retiring after the past two regular seasons. In a future without Nelson, the team might shift to an offense predicated on efficiency, using Andris Biedrins more. In that situation, Maggette may not be a good fit.
First of all, Maggette is a ball stopper. But really, so is Baron…and at least Maggette is a rather efficient ball stopper. Plus, he’s a scorer, not a point guard anyway, so it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Well, that’s not quite the full story. Maggette also has an assist-to-turnover rate of .97, which means he makes more turnovers (3.0) than assists (2.7) per game. For a guy who spends the majority of his time with the ball scoring, a turnover is just a wasted opportunity rather than an excusable attempt to get the ball to someone else.
3 comments Last one added 12 months ago — Leave a Comment
Thomas Lee about 1 year ago
lf Maggette was a serious basketball player then he would have gone to a team that had a serious chance at winning a championship. The Warriors are done winning. They have no point guard and no bench and by the way things are going no center. Get rid of Stephen Jackson for a point guard (l hear NY is full of them, but l don't think you have that kind of cap room. NY is notorious for spending too much on crap players) and maybe some extra cap room to resign your center and or get a legit bench. Maggette should have taken less money and gone and played with the Spurs and contended for a championship. But its history and now he gets to sit back and enjoy all his millions and watch his team lose...
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Justin Goar 12 months ago
Maggette would have fit in perfectly with the Hornets. : (
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Khalid Shakran 12 months ago
Nice article. I agree. But Maggette will thrive in Don Nelson's system. I mean, who hasn't? It's a total defenseless system based on explosiveness and shooting. I wish I can see the Warriors play defense, which they do 4 out of 82 games on average. In the future though, Maggette, like you said, might be excluded from the ball club. However, the closest coach taking over after Don Nelson heads to his house in Maui will most likely be Keith Smart. His system is probably going to be an identical image of Nellie's.
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