Team Experts/Cool Guys: Atma Brother ONE and Fantasy Junkie of Golden State of Mind. GSOM is a very popular basketball for good reason - they have the Warriors news on lockdown and it's daily stop for Warriors fans and non-Warriors fans alike. It's that dang good!
Questions and Answers:
1. Can Head Coach Don Nelson get this band of talented players to play up to their potential and get the Warriors into the playoffs?
In a word, yes. Nelson is known for getting the best out of his players and this year with the Warriors should be no different. He doesn't have the star power he had in Dallas with Nash and Nowitzki, but he does have a pair of supremely talented guards in Baron Davis and Jason Richardson. When these two play to their potential, it's not a reach to say the Warriors have the best guard tandem in the league. There are of course question marks, the biggest being if this last year's poor defensive team is going to stop anybody. Well, they might not stop anybody. But one of the little known facts about a Don Nelson team is that his team will shoot a higher field goal percentage than the other team. So while his teams may not stop anyone from scoring, you can be sure that his teams will outshoot the opposition. Combine two stars with solid the role players and instant offense off the bench, and we could be looking at 43-45 wins, enough for the 8th playoff spot and end to a 12 year drought.
2. How much or how little will Baron Davis like playing for Uncle Nellie? Can he finally stay healthy and motivated, perhaps even taking less three-pointers to take better shots or set up his teammates more?
From what we've heard during the preseason, Baron loves playing for Nelson and Nelson loves having Baron. Nelson has been quoted as saying Baron is a great student and is always listening and trying to learn more and more. The real key this season for Baron is to stay healthy. Injuries and Baron Davis have been synonymous with each other the past few seasons. Nellie is doing his best to make sure Baron is around for all 82 games. The first thing Nelson did when he became coach was have Baron lose 15 pounds. With the lighter load, his knees and back don't have to carry that extra burden and should lessen the potential for injury. Also, Nelson has said he's not going to play Baron more than 35 minutes per game which should go a long way towards limiting the wear and tear on those tires. One of the great things about their player-coach relationship, is that Nelson is always challenging Baron to be better. Day in and day out, Nelson is pushing the right buttons to get Baron to be the best player he can be. One of those buttons is to make sure we don't see the stagnant offense of last year. Nelson has stressed this whole preseason that his players will not be jacking up threes or taking bad shots. Last year the whole team was guilty of this with Baron being the leader. This year expect a better brand of basketball that's fun to watch.
3. Jason Richardson and Baron Davis are obvious stars, but how much can the following players step up their game - Mike Dunleavy, Mickael Pietrus, Ike Diogu?
What's great about the addition of Don Nelson is that he's going to get those guys to play up to their abilities. This is pretty much Mike Dunleavy's last chance to prove he can be a productive NBA player. There have been all sorts of excuses for his poor play, but now he's playing for a coach that knows how to maximize his abilities. He's going to be handling the ball a lot and should create mismatches on offense. He should flourish in Nelson's system, but if not, I don't really know where he'd find success.
As far as Mickael Pietrus, he clearly regressed last year under Monty. He looked like he didn't have a clue out there on the court. But he's worked extremely hard and is now the starter at small forward even earning the title of best player at training camp from the coach. This year expect him to run and hustle non-stop. He'll be all over the place, the defensive and offensive glass, running the break, and returning to his days as a defensive ball hawk.
Ike Diogu is currently in the dog house as he's struggling with Nelson's system. The young big man to watch so far has really been Andris Biedrins. In the preseason, he's showing that his summer was spent working hard on his game. There was a recent report that he dropped his body fat from 14% to 5%. So not only did he work on getting stronger and more physically fit to run in Nelson's system, but from his play you can tell he studied a lot of hoops too. The key for him this year is to stop fouling all the time. If he can do that he will be one of the best backup centers in the league.
4. Anything else you want to say about the Warriors?
We always have a lot to say about the Warriors. For the most up to date Warrior information, make sure to check Golden State of Mind.
5. Who wins the NBA Finals this coming season (besides your team, that is)? Just give me a team name at least.
The San Antonio Spurs.
