Monday Morning Fresh - Warriors World

Warriors World

WarriorsWorld TV welcomed Raja Bell to the show this past week as we shot over to 1011 Broadway to spend some time with him. In the interview, which will air next week, Raja gives us the low-down of what he thinks the Warriors need to shed the losing mentality, how he’s helping his younger teammates grow as individuals and we tap into Raja’s love for fashion. Stay tuned for that episode.

The Warriors signed Reggie Williams to a 2nd 10-day contract this past week after he played quite well on the road-trip. Williams is a left-handed scoring machine who can fill it up from long distance as well as slash to the hoop for easy buckets. He looks to be another good D-League find by the Warriors as Nellie is already talking about having him on the team next season.

Check the Stats

On Thursday, Brandon Roy scored 41 points on the Warriors – it’s the 5^th 40-point game allowed to a single scorer by the Warriors this season. Surprisingly, despite allowing the most points in the league, the Warriors aren’t the worst in the league. Memphis has allowed 6, 40-point scoring performances, having it done twice to them by Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony. The Warriors are 0-5 this season when allowing a 40-point scorer this season.

Stephen Curry has shown gradual progression during his rookie campaign. Curry has seen his scoring average increase as each month of the season has gone by, though his March average currently sits below his scoring average the previous month.

Stephen Curry

PPG by Month, ’09-10 Season

October/November 10.2

December 13.5

January 19.1

February 21.5

March 20.7 (145/7)

Quick Hits with Rey & Peter of TheNoLookPass.com

Rey tackles the Lakers perspective

Is Pau Gasol now the best player on the Lakers?

Ha ha. Is this a trick question? Kobe Bryant still makes the Lakers go but they’re obviously both important to the team with Kobe being the perimeter presence and Gasol being the inside man. Pau is such a flower, though. I would like to see him toughen up and be physical on the inside… and I would like to see him jam the ball down someone’s throat. Gasol will never be a bruiser but he wasn’t scared of anything last year. This year, he’s reverted back to that ‘soft’ form.

And if I call Pau Gasol a flower, he’s far from being the best player of the team.

Kobe continues to be nails in clutch situations, what do you think makes him so special in those particular situations?

Kobe has nerves of steel. He lives for those moments and wants to take responsibility for that shot. Win or lose, it’s on him and he will take the burden. The Lakers have been in this situation many times and we all know that the four other Lakers are looking for him to take that shot. #24 will take the pressure off his teammates. Basically, he’s fearless.

And while it’s thrilling to see all those game-winners, the Lakers really shouldn’t be in that situation many times in the first place.

Has Ron Artest met the expectations placed on him when he signed with the Lakers? If not, what has he not done to meet those expectations?

Defensively, yes. Now that his feet are feeling better, we are seeing that lockdown defense that he was known for when he won Defensive Player of the Year with the Pacers. Offensively, I’m sure the Lakers expected better but I personally didn’t think he would average double figures with that team since the Lakers are so top-heavy.

However, I would like him to assert himself more as a bodyguard. I can understand that Ron is trying his best to be a good citizen in L.A. and he’s done a tremendous job at doing that. But I want him to instill that attitude that no one is going to mess with these Lakers. As of right now, they still have that “soft” label… and they have Artest in the team. Imagine if Ron is NOT on the Lakers.

Biggest threat to the Lakers in the Western Conference? Which squad poses the most difficult match-up for them?

I think I will go with Denver simply because they already have the experience of going against the Lakers, especially in the postseason last year. They were probably a few plays away from taking the series against L.A. Denver can be a very physical team and can throw the Lakers out of their element. Lakers better learn how to stand up for themselves again before they get banged around by a team like the Nuggets.

Dallas is just as dangerous, match-up wise… but, like I said, I’ll go with the Nuggets simply because they are more battle-tested against the Lakers.

LeBron v Kobe in the Finals, does it play out any other way? Who comes out on top?

It’s not going to be easy to get to that LeBron Vs Kobe final. Do I think it will happen? Yeah… but I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t. I believe the Nuggets and the Mavericks have closed the gap against the Lakers while the Cavs still have to get past the Magic, who have been playing well as of late. And call me a fool but I refuse to count the Celtics out. If they’re all healthy by the postseason, I won’t be surprised if a “switch” gets turned on, per se. Boston has admitted to being bored in the regular season.

But if it’s LeBron Vs Kobe in the Finals? I thought the Cavs became slight favorites when they acquired Jamison. But I think the Lakers become dangerous if they reach the finals because they would’ve gone through wars with either Denver or Dallas (they have to go through one of them). I think this would be such a toss-up but I’d take the Lakers because Kobe has the killer instinct. Especially in close games.

Peter takes on the Clippers angle

The Mike Dunleavy era has ended, what will he be remembered for most?

Dunleavy will be remembered for a number of things: getting Donald Sterling to open his wallet to finally build a practice facility for the team and bringing in guys like Cuttino Mobley, Sam Cassell, and Marcus Camby. He will also be remembered for his predictable offense with his mentality of fooling the best teams in the league with it similar to the way an adult is able to fool a child with the “I can pull off my finger” trick.

But when it comes down to it, Dunleavy will be remembered most for his decision in the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals to place a red hot Daniel Ewing on an ice cold Raja Bell in order to take a commanding 2-3 deficit in the series.

What direction do the Clippers want to go in with their coaching search? Any validity to the Larry Brown talk?

Apparently, the Clippers are going into the off-season with the mindset that they’re going to make a very attractive offer to LeBron James; one that allows him to choose a GM and a coach. If that is the case, then Larry Brown would likely be the last person that would be on his list of coaches solely based on what happened at the 2004 Olympics.
But it’s the general consensus that Larry Brown contacted the Clippers as a fallback plan in the event that the Bobcats ownership was not transferred to Jordan. Add to the fact that he’s still got a few years left on that 4-year contract, I wouldn’t count on Larry Brown heading back to Clipperland.

Also, we all know how much Larry Brown loves playing rookies so I’d like him to stay far, far away from Blake Griffin.

What’s on the off-season agenda for the Clippers? What do they need to do in order to reverse the losing ways?

There’s only 5 guys on the roster that will definitely be back next year, those being, Griffin, Gordon, Davis, Kaman and Jordan. So the Clippers will have their hands full trying to sign a major free agent while attempting to fill the rest of the roster. It would be great to see Rasual Butler, Steve Blake, Craig Smith and Drew Gooden back next season but it’s difficult to say whether or not that is going to happen.

But one thing the Clippers have not had much of in the organization are people who have won a championship at some point in their career. Sam Cassell was a great leader with championship experience that helped lead the Clippers to their best season in franchise history. So it makes sense to integrate players and personnel into the franchise who have are not accustomed to losing and could help reverse the losing ways.

Who’s the most surprising Clipper this year? Most Disappointing?

The most surprising Clipper this year has been recent addition, Drew Gooden. He’s played extremely well in his short time with the Clippers averaging 13.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. When the trade happened, many expected Gooden to be bought out by the Clippers so he could join a contender but he’s been a great addition to the team.

Unfortunately for the second season in a row, Baron Davis has been the most disappointing despite his vow and commitment in the off-season. At times he’s looked like vintage Baron especially with his buzzer beater at home against Boston but as of late he appears to be disinterested, is continually missing layups and is apparently focused on other things.

Did Kaman really deserve to be an All-star over Monta Ellis?

It kinda kills me to say this but I’ve got to say no. My biggest problem with Kaman is that he’s anti-clutch in the 4th quarter. A good example came on November 13, 2009 when the Clippers went scoreless in the final 4:30 against the Raptors. The ball kept getting dumped into Kaman, double teams were sent on him and he continually threw the ball away or put up a terrible shot.

Kaman is also making history with his 66th 20 point game without scoring a 30 point game. There’s been a number of times this season where Kaman has had 20+ points heading into the 4th but he can never seem to get it going at the end of games.

Monta Ellis on the other hand was 6th in the league in scoring prior to the all-star break and is a player that would be a perfect fit in the All-Star game with his athleticism and quickness and is fun to watch. It’s mind boggling how a player who was averaging over 26 points per game going in to the break could be left off the team when offense is what the All-Star game is all about.

On top of that, the man is averaging 41.3 minutes per game so if there’s anyone worthy of the nickname “The Machine”, it’s got to be Monta.

Youtube’n It

Lamar Odom on playing the Warriors tonight