Chad Ford of ESPN included the Warriors on his list of "losers" in his August 4 offseason recap.
This analysis proves two things. One, the Warriors are again going to be a huge underdog in the Western conference. And two, the national media continues to fail in showing the Warriors the respect they deserve after upsetting Dallas in the 2006 playoffs and winning 48 games in 2007.
While the loss of Baron Davis came one year earlier than anyone expected, it's really tough (and inaccurate) to label the Warriors as one of the summer's biggest losers in the NBA.
Yes, we may have overpaid Corey Maggette, but he's an good NBA scorer, averaging over 20 points a game three of the past five seasons. He can shoot from the outside and cause matchup problems with his size if he plays anywhere aside from small forward. He seems to be a great for Don Nelson's creativity, and will likely be used all over the court.
Bottom line? Maggette won't replace Baron Davis as a leader. He doesn't have the same defensive toughness and he can't match Baron's intensity. But he will replace Baron's points—and he's a big upgrade from Mickael Pietrus, who saw time at both forward positions last year in Nelson's system.
Chad Ford seemed to have completely dismissed the acquisitions of Ronny Turiaf and Marcus Williams. Anyone who followed the team closely last year knows that our biggest weaknesses were our toughness in the paint and our depth. Adding these two players should go a long way toward addressing those concerns.
And lastly, we have added two rookies that look like they have a chance to be productive players in the NBA. Anthony Randolph, wowed the fans in the Vegas summer league by showing the ball handling skills of a point guard trapped inside his 6'10 frame, taking his man off the dribble time and time again. Richard Hendrix also showed some great potential, pulling down nearly 10 rebounds per game in 17 minutes a night.
As a fan, I'm happy to see the Warriors play the role of underdog again, and hope they continue to play with the chip on their shoulders that carried them to the playoffs in 2006.
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2 months ago
it's randolph man..and they weren't in the playoffs in 2006, it was 2007...
from 2 months ago
how about you go fuck youself instead
from 2 months ago
Wow, somebody doesn't take to criticism very well. Just get someone to at the very least proof-read your posts. I mean if you are writing like you are a journalist, you could at the least spell names correctly and use the correct year...
I mean you even messed up your childish little comeback (i.e. "youself").
In addition, your analysis of the issues is quite lacking (which I didn't even touch on below, but now I will). First of all, prior years with prior players don't necessarily translate to respect for this year. Barnes, Pietrus, BD, and J-Rich are all gone and they all played a major role in the upset in 2007. That doesn't necessarily mean the Warriors are worse off since those players are gone, but what it does mean is that they are untested. You have to earn respect. The Nuggets made the playoffs the last 5 years, but that doesn't mean anyone is "disrespecting" them because they don't think they will make the playoffs this year. They lost Camby, their only defensive stopper, on an atrocious defensive team.
Second, I don't think the Warriors will be as bad as others seem to think either, but you completely dismiss the value of Baron's leadership. I didn't want the Warriors to sign him to a long-term deal, but that doesn't mean that the leadership he offered can be easily replaced. Also, Baron is probably the most underrated clutch shooter in the NBA. I know I felt comfortable when he had the ball at the end of games. Who fills that role now? Monta? Maybe...maybe not.
As for the additions, Marcus Williams has been injury plagued and Turiaf was basically a bench-warmer for the Lakers even when they were missing Bynum (last time I checked 6 points and 3 rebounds was nothing to get excited about).
As for Randolph, I think we are all excited to see him play, but it was this time last year where people were raving about Belinelli's performance in Vegas and that didn't translate over.
That was summer of 2007 before the 2007-08 Season, in case you were confused with the dates again...
2 months ago
dan what year are we in now? did we make the playoffs last year? stfu until you can figure out what youre talking about
from 2 months ago
Actually, dan is correct. The playoffs vs. Dallas occurred in 2007, just like this coming season's playoffs will occur in 2009.
from 2 months ago
It's semantics, I was talking about the 2006 season. Anyway, it's irrelevant to the story.
2 months ago
dan what year are we in? did we make the playoffs last season? stfu until you can figure out what youre talking about.
nice piece BSInsider.
2 months ago
it was the 2006 season
2 months ago
"And two, the national media continues to fail in showing the Warriors the respect they deserve after upsetting Dallas in the 2006 playoffs and winning 48 games in 2007."
What does upsetting Dallas in 2006 have anything to do with the current team? They've lost their two biggest pieces from that series in Baron Davis and Jason Richardson, they're not the same team.
Good (short, but nonetheless solid) article, though you did kill Randolph's name. My opinion on the Warriors upcoming season is that they'll be competing with Portland and Denver for the 8th playoff spot, and I think it's anyone's to get at this point. However, they're building this team for the future, as is evidenced by letting go of Baron Davis, locking up Beans and Ellis long-term, giving Maggette a long-term deal as well (though I think he was only worth 3 years), drafting the potential-filled Anthony Randolph, and giving this team some players to build around for the future. They overpaid on some of their free agents however, and that could come back to haunt them in the future.
2 months ago
it was the 2006-07 season you douche...and it was called the 2007 playoffs where the warriors upset the mavs...do the research..you guys don't know jack...thanks for the back up james...hey billy, go on google look up 2006 playoffs and see if you find the warriors...then when you realize you can't find them, look up 2007 playoffs and I'm sure you will find the warriors...also look up "Anthony Rudof"...YA HE'S A GREAT PLAYER HAHA...all i'm saying is if you're going to write about the warriors or any other team, know your s**t!! i agree on the point he makes how the warriors are underdogs yet again and may suprise people..but do the research before you write....ha and billy you're right we DIDN'T MAKE THE PLAYOFFS last season? OH AND BILLY, BY THE WAY, WHAT YEAR DID LAST SEASON'S PLAYOFF PARTAKE IN? 2008- AGAIN YOU'RE A DOUCHE FOR CHALLENGING ME.....JAMES BACK ME UP BABY HAHA
from 2 months ago
I am not James, but I completely back you up. It was bad enough that the writer screwed up the years and Randolph's name, but then for this Billy guy to continually pick a fight is just ridiculous. Billy, The Playoffs always occur in the Spring of the year, you may not have known that...So, I will ask you the question you asked Dan, What year are we in now? That's right, the answer is 2008. So when the Warriors missed the playoffs in April with 48 wins, what year were we in? Once again, you are right Billy, 2008.... So the Warriors didn't make the 2008 playoffs or the 2006 playoffs. The upset of Dallas occured in MAY of what year? Now you are getting it...2007...Hence the name, the 2007 Playoffs...
Do your research before you post...
2 months ago
It will be a miricale if the Warriors chip in and capture the the last seed to enter the playoffs (this is coming for a passionate Warriors fan). However, I like the points you made. Just a point about what the people were talkin about above me. I know what you mean by the 2006 playoffs. But you should have made it clear that it was the 2006-2007 season playoffs.
Bottom line:
Maggette won't replace Davis at all. He will just complement the Warriors in their wwooooo style, just like you correctly stated.
Anthony Randolph will probably get a little more minutes thatn B-Wright did last season.
Richard Hendrix might edge out B-Wright as the back-up power forward by mid-season in the 2008-2009 season.
Thank for the article.
2 months ago
Make things more clear next time and try and spell players names 100 percent correctly. Good read though. We won't be bad enough for a good pick, and we won't be good enough for the playoffs. It'll suck.
about 1 month ago
Khalid and this author know nothing about sports.
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