November 18, 2007
Raps vs. Warriors Preview
Jay wrote this today:
Call it Return of the Jack. Stephen Jackson is back today from his 8 game suspension stemming from an NBA imposed suspension for a felony conviction, and “Captain Jack” could provide the Warriors with the spark that the 1-6 Warriors need. Here’s the strange thing about Jackson. As idiotic as he is off the court, he really does understand the game on the court. When Don Nelson starts talking about a guy having a high basketball IQ, then you really need to sit up and take notice.
Some people found it strange that Nellie would ask Jackson to be captain, but really, it’s just like back in elementary school when the teacher would take one of the worst kids and make him hall monitor in an effort to provide a position of leadership, a position that would bring out the best in that kid. The exchange between Jackson and Nellie (according to Jackson) has been quoted as going like this, “‘Jack, how do you feel about being a captain?’ I said, ‘I would love to, coach.’ I went out and had some champagne with my friends.’” The good thing is that he didn’t say, “I went out and shot bullets into the sky with my friends.” Looks like it is already working.
So how will Jackson make an immediate impact for the Warriors? Defence. To put it simply, the Warriors can’t play D. At all. I mean, not at all. They give up over 116 points per game on an unbelievable 49.6 FG% that opposing teams shoot against them. 49.6!!! Seeing that the Raptors almost score 100 per game, you would think that this would create a nice recipe for buckets falling from the sky, but emotion is a big thing, especially in the NBA. Anybody who watched last year’s playoff series between the Warriors and the Mavs (and how could you NOT root for the Warriors?) saw how some emotion and athleticism can get you through some tough games. If the Warriors are able to make a few big stops, that emotion could carry over to the other end, where they actually don’t have much of a problem scoring points (they’re actually first in scoring too, averaging just over 109 points per game).
I think letting Jason Richardson go wasn’t the smartest of moves for Golden State, especially when he played so well with Baron Davis. Richardson was also an emotional leader and it just seems strange that after a playoff upset like that, you would alter the team chemistry.
Luckily for the Warriors, there has been one bright spot to the season, the out of nowhere emergence of Kelenna Azubuike. The rookie has a statline that reads like this: 47.8 FG%, 5.6 RPG and 17.1 PPG. Azubuike has provided some energy and boosted the Warriors scoring, making them a lethal threat every time down the court.
If the Raptors can manage to stay away from falling into playing Nellieball, avoiding that running game, they should be okay, but I think this one could be close and could come down to the final seconds. Saying that, I don’t like when it comes down to that for the Raptors, since we all know Sam’s problems drawing up plays down the stretch.
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