There's no Defense for this All Star Pick

By: Brian Sanchez

San Rafael, Calif.—Look, the Golden State Warriors are having a bounce back season to be incredibly proud of. David Lee has broken the Warriors long string of being without an All-Star since 1997 when Latrell Spreewell represented the Dubs in Cleveland.
     Now, normally, a team that is double digit wins over .500 which has beat the L.A. Clippers three out of four times as well as beating the Heat, Thunder, Pacers, Nets, Hawks, and Nuggets; would get two All-Stars if they had two deserving players. There is no doubt the Warriors do, with Stephen Curry and David Lee. Alas, the Warriors only get one All-Star. This is a clear sign that the rest of the league acknowledges the Warriors are having a good season by giving them one All-Star, but letting them know they have not arrived as one of the leagues notable teams by not allowing them two.

     First I'll take a look at who should have made the team between Steph and D. Lee. I understand that David Lee is having a very, very good year (offensively). He's within fractions of averaging 20 ppg. and 10 rpg. and has 27 double-doubles this year.  Curry on the other hand is averaging 21 ppg. 6.5 apg. and 4 rpg. 6.5 assists per game may seem low, but for a point guard that scores at the high clip Curry does, it is more than sufficient. Curry is the leading scorer of all players left off of the All-Star team.
     The reason Lee made it over Curry is because the NBA is obsessed with offensive stats and don't really look at anything else. If David Lee is not the worst interior defender in the league, then he must be tied for the worst. He is soft inside, often late on rotations, and allows average to poor offensive players to have big scoring days on him, which in my eyes cancels out his own offense. But who cares about that, right? How many points does he score? That's all that matters. And yes, Curry scores more than him, but Lee does it down low where there isn't always a lot of scoring in the league. What really did it for Lee was his number of double-doubles. That is what impresses people. Just the term alone gets people in a tizzy.

     I would have picked Steph as the teams All-Star, because he is without a doubt the most important player on his team. Steph is sporting some of the most impressive numbers shooting wise: 45% on three's, 43% from the field, and 90% from the charity stripe. Curry handles the ball a lot throughout a game, especially compared to David Lee. However, Curry has only five more turnovers than him, with 117 compared to Lee's 112. While I don't think stats do a good job of showing how good a player is defensively, Steph has twice as many steals and just as many blocks as David Lee. Let that sink in. An All-Star power forward who plays almost 38 minutes a game only has eight blocks. Did I mention he didn't play very good interior defense?
     With all of that said, I think both Lee and Curry should have been on the All-Star team because of how well their team is preforming. This is why I think Lee over Curry isn't the biggest problem with the selection process. My problems come with Lamarcus Aldridge, and James Harden.
     I'll start with Aldridge. He isn't even averaging a double-double, and he's shooting under 50% from the field. There is no way he belongs over Steph Curry. The Trail Blazers are one game over .500 and they are that good because of Lillard more than Aldridge.
     Same story with James Harden. Harden is having an All-Star type year according to his numbers, but is he more deserving than Curry? Harden is averaging 26 ppg. 4.5 rpg. and 5.5 apg. Very impressive numbers. He is also a black hole on offense who isn't a floor general like Curry. This is basically a toss up in my eyes. And Curry should win that toss because of the record he has lead his team to. The Warriors sit at 26-17 while the Rockets are only two games over .500 at 24-22.
     At the end of the day I think Stephen Curry will be on this years All-Star team. Chris Paul looks like a candidate to pull out due to injury, as does Dwight Howard. Tim Duncan and the Spurs are always prone to pulling himself from extra competition to rest at his advanced age.  Curry will probably be going to All-Star weekend with or without being on the team because he should be in the three-point competition. At this point in time, I would put my money on Curry being an All-Star.  
   

Warriors Roster Revival

Warriors Roster Revival
By: Brian Sanchez 2/2/2012 


I will start this post with the statement that I believe is true about the Golden State Warriors and is the reason this post is even relevant: The Warriors roster, as constructed, will not be a winning one and needs to be blown up.  That statement is not what most people have a problem with.  Most fans begin to have issues when it comes down to trading Monta Ellis, Steph Curry, or David Lee.  To me, it seems painfully obvious that the core three of Lee, Ellis, and Curry will never make the playoffs, thus making it easy for me to say they need to go.  I understand the emotional connections.  I know Ellis is a fan favorite and that Curry has a high ceiling.  Why anyone would want to keep David Lee is beyond me.  But I do recognize that individually these three have talent, together however, they do net mesh and it is not working.  But, because on their own they are perfectly fine, they have trade value which can turn this team around.  I want the core of this team blown up, and here is how I'll do it:

First:
I trade Steph Curry and David Lee to the New Orleans Hornets for Center Chris Kaman and the 1st round pick that belongs to the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Bare with me, obviously this trade leaves the Warriors lacking in the talent department as Kaman is not really helpful anymore.  But that is my plan.  I want the Warriors to lose this year.  The upcoming draft is one of the most talented ones since 2003 when Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade came out.  I want picks in this draft!  The warriors do not have their own pick for sure this year.  It was traded to the New Jersey Nets for PG Marcus Williams (Horrible trade) but it is top 7 protected.  That means if the Warriors draft pick this year is in the top 7, the Warriors get to keep it.  I want that to happen.  Losing Curry would go a long way in making sure the Warriors lose enough to get their good pick.  Another Perk would be that the Warriors would get out of the David Lee contract which is for between 11-13 million dollars from now until he is 33.  That is one of the worst contracts in basketball.  In fact, the only thing bigger than Lee's contract is the hole in the Warriors defense when he is on the court.  Want more perks? Ok.  Chris Kaman has a $14 million contract that EXPIRES THIS OFFSEASON.  That leaves the Warriors with an extra $14 million for Free Agency in the Offseason.  One more perk? Fine.  We get the first round pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves.  The pick would currently be #12 in the draft and since it's the Twolves there is always a chance it gets into the top 10.  The Warriors would have two top 15 picks and a boatload of money to spend in the offseason.  That is how you rebuild a team, and that is how the Warriors will return to the playoffs.

Second:
I said I was blowing up the core 3, and I am sticking to it.  I am trading Monta Ellis to the Indiana Pacers for Danny Granger.  It will be a straight up player for player trade.  Granger is a good defensive 3 and will be a good Warrior for a long time.  He can rebound and score from the SF position because D. Wright is just not having a year like he was last year.  Granger is also talented enough to be the piece that the Warriors use all of the perks from the first trade to build around.  Ellis for Granger represents a move towards a defensive minded basketball team.  This trade could work because the Pacers are looking to move Granger because SF Paul George out of Fresno St. is ready to take over the starting role.  What the Pacers lack is a scoring punch at the SG position.  Insert Monta there and both teams are happy.

Third:
The key to The Curry for Kaman trade would be properly using the money and picks in the offseason.  It is too early to speculate who the Warriors would draft.  But it is not too early to speculate on who the Warriors could sign.  The reason I wanted Kaman was to clear a whole lot of money and put the bulk of it into signing Javale McGee.  McGee is the Wizards Center who stands 7 feet tall and is averaging 11.4 ppg 9.1 rpg and 3 blocks per game.  He is a real live center who will finally give the Warriors a force down low.  The rest of the money will be put into signing a FA point guard and bringing back Brandon Rush to compete with Klay Thompson (who I have faith in) for the starting 2 guard.  And as far as filling in for Steph Curry, there are a lot of free agent PG's who could easily fill in and help this team win along with Granger, McGee, and two 1st round picks.
Here is the list of the potential FA PG's:
Deron Williams, New Jersey Nets
Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia 76ers
Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
Raymond Felton, Portland Trail Blazers
Kirk Hinrich, Atlanta Hawks 
Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks 
Andre Miller, Denver Nuggets
Chauncey Billups, L.A. Clippers 
Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic
Toney Douglas, New York Knicks 
D.J. Augustin, Charlotte Bobcats 
Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks 
George Hill, Indiana Pacers 
Beno Udrih, Milwaukee Bucks 
Goran Dragic, Houston Rockets
Jerryd Bayless, Toronto Raptors
Mo Williams, L.A. Clippers 
Jonny Flynn, Houston Rockets 
Ramon Sessions, Cleveland Cavaliers 
Armon Johnson, Portland Trail Blazers


Conclusion:
There are a lot of moves here, and not all of them seem like they will help the Warriors win immediately.  Because they won't.  They will make the Warriors rebuild and get them in the playoffs in 2-3 years.  They way they are currently constructed, the Warriors will meddle around in mediocracy for many, many years to come.  It's not working, blow it up, follow this recipe for a Warriors Roster Revival.


Please Leave a comment.  I want to hear your opinions.