May 4, 2007

After fighting thru the pain of a pulled hamstring and leading the 'We Believe' Warriors to an improbable 111-86 victory over the Dallas Mavericks with 20 pts 10 rebounds and six assists and into the 2nd round of the playoffs last night, I thought that this post would be noteworthy.

posted by BornIcon at 5:03 AM CDT on May 4

Basically a story that tells us that Baron Davis knows Magic Johnson

If that's all you got from the column, you missed the point.

posted by BornIcon at 8:11 AM CDT on May 4

You must not have been watching the same series I did, Familyman. Davis hit timely shots and reinforced the Warriors' confidence and the crowd's intensity with his play, helping destroy the Mavericks in the second half.

For Davis to accomplish as much as he did on one leg, when he couldn't take the ball to the hoop or keep people in front of him on defense, is one of the great gut-check performances in NBA playoff history.

As a Mavs fan, I hate that guy, but I'm tempted to root for him the rest of the way. Take Davis away and this series would've been a laugher.

Davis also rates as a team leader, an intangible the Mavs sorely could have used this year.

... I'm far from annointing this as anything more than a great upset where all the bounces, breaks and luck went one way.

Where did luck play a role here? The Warriors destroyed the Mavs with precision three-point shooting, aggressive transition play and crushing doubleteams on Dirk. I can't recall one time where it seemed like luck played a factor. They were simply the better team, no matter what the standings led us to think.

posted by rcade at 8:21 AM CDT on May 4

Where did luck play a role here? The Warriors destroyed the Mavs with precision three-point shooting, aggressive transition play and crushing doubleteams on Dirk

It was pretty lucky to hit some of those shots. Circus shots, late shot clock threes, half court shots - they all went in. GS was touched by God. They play what appears to me to be a pretty weak zone that Dallas just decided not to press. I think the double teams worked wonders early in the series to destroy Dirk's confidence, but they really weren't doubling him at all last night after the first quarter. They would flash it and Dirk would just give the rock up. It was embarrassing to watch.

I would certainly agree that the big difference - if at all tactical - was the transition game that GS played. They did force turnovers in the mid-court and were on the early passes a lot.

But I think Ford got it right when he saw this series as more or less a pick-up game that GS dominated. They played great transition defence and jacked threes. It's not fundamentally sound play, but in this case, it was extremely effective and a total joy to watch.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 9:28 AM CDT on May 4

Golden State won their games by 12 points, 18 points, 4 points, and 25 points. That's an awful lot of luck.

posted by kirkaracha at 9:50 AM CDT on May 4

Baron Davis is far from Magic Johnson, but after this series he does deserve some great comparisons. Just from modern day players; he had the toughness of Sam Cassell, the speed and driving abilities of D'Wade, and the late game perfection of Chauncey Billups.

The entire Warriors team played with more heart and incontestible effort than I have seen in years. I have never seen players more in-sync with their city, and fully devoted to one another. Stephen Jackson in a post game interview said "I would die for those guys out there." And it had nothing to do with the question.

Let it be known that if this team plays the same way they played the Mavericks, there is no stopping them. They don't match up as well with the Rockets, Spurs, or Suns. But their shooting, athleticism, riskiness, and desire to win could push them further in the playoffs.

posted by Snikastyle at 9:56 AM CDT on May 4

Maybe a little bit of luck but not much when the team is being prepared by the same guy that used to be the head coach of the opposition. I think with Coach Nelson on their side, the were just better prepared and executed their plays with more tenacity. The Mavs looked lost out there and if luck had anything to do with anything, it must of been bad luck towards Dallas.

posted by BornIcon at 10:21 AM CDT on May 4

Luck? Over 6 games? If a player consistently hits "circus shots" over multiple games, its not luck, he's just that good.

If a player's shooting percentage rises 20% for 6 games, it doesn't mean he's suddenly become that good. It means he got hot, and,yes probably lucky. It's not all pure skill. I can think of two shots yesterday that were terrible that Davis hit (cut under and off-balance 3 in the first half and half court heave) that accounted for 2 of his 3s and 6 of his 20 points. That's 30% of his point production from luck right there. If you don't count that as luck, then there is no such thing as luck in basketball (short of bouncing off a defenders head into the basket).

But I'm not saying luck is bad. Good teams always seem to be luckier, too. You manufacture a lot of it, in that you have to put yourself in a position to get luck that's meaningful.

Golden State and Phoenix are interesting to look at since there is a good chance that this is the Western Finals preview (mostly because Houston and Utah still aren't playing at their best and could be worn down sufficiently for the Warriors to beat either). I think they actually are two different teams. They both score a lot but they don't play the same way. Not from what I've seen. The biggest difference is Phoenix has inside scoring and is in the paint with their forwards much more (Golden State's guards are at the rim more). Baron is not drive and dish, so much as seeing and exploiting match-up isos and Golden State isn't in the same class shooting-wise. Phoenix runs high screens and pick and rolls almost exclusively in the half court. Golden State is much more physical defensively, but Phoenix is probably the better defensive team and has the best on the ball defender in Marion. There's a resemblance, but I don't attribute the same strengths to each as the other.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:41 PM CDT on May 4

Weedy: I still disagree with you about the lucky thing; two crazy shots in a row may be lucky, but if he's hitting them over an entire series, it means that he got hot - and that he has mad skills. Being in the zone is not the same as being lucky. By the way his shooting percentage only went up 10%, not 20 (and don't forget he was injured during part of the season as well).

Other than that, I agree that GS and the Suns have different styles, but both styles are subsets of a more general category that is high octane "small ball" (playing with no true center) that favors the skills of perimeter players (like Nash, Marion and Barbosa) and quick interior players (Stoudemire). If you can't touch Kobe Bryant on the perimeter, as the new rules dictate, he will score 80 points on you, Steve Nash will pepper you with assists and Baron Davis will drive into the lane at will. This is definitely the future.

But like Chamo says, it hasn't translated into a championship yet, but it will, and soon - maybe even this season. The rulemakers of the NBA are obviously changing the focus and teams are just starting to catch on. Several franchises are starting to modify their squads to fit the new reality of the NBA.

posted by sic at 2:43 PM CDT on May 4

I played AAU ball against Baron back in '96 in Inglewood. He literally jumped OVER our point guard, caugh an alley-oop off of the back board and jammed with TWO hands. We (my highschool team and I) also played against his Santa Monica Cross-Roads team in tournament and he fucked us up for 42 points and 12 rebounds and who knows how many assists (they didn't keep track). Even back then he was a little chubby and didn't look like an NBA player. But he was and is goddamn good. He is the most athletic weeble I have ever seen.

(weebles wobble but they don't fall down)

posted by yay-yo at 4:18 PM CDT on May 4

That Baron Davis clip is too funny, sic. Thanks, good stuff.

posted by BornIcon at 2:14 PM CDT on May 5