| Baron Davis Can’t Stay Healthy Authored by Payam Jahromi - November 13, 2005 - 5:21 pm
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For all the “just wait until Baron is 100 percent next year” talk, I’m here to point out that he was much healthier last year than he is now.
When he first joined the team after the trade he was a little out of shape and a little banged up. But by the final 10 games, Baron had his explosiveness and looked 100 percent to me (you can tell just by his open-court dunks).
Right now, it’s a different story. On opening night, he aggravated a hamstring injury that bothered him in the preseason and the injury has limited Baron’s minutes and play.
Don’t get me wrong, the Warriors are much better off with Davis at 70 percent than with no Davis at all.
But I think the Warriors would be 6-1 with the Davis from last April. He’s clearly not that guy right now.
So the question is, are the Warriors better off playing Davis and risking further injury, or should they rest him and let his hamstring heal?
I’m not a doctor so I have no idea if he is slowing down the healing process by playing. Remember, last year he was banged up when he first joined the Warriors, but his injuries improved as the season went on without missing any games.
So only Baron and the team doctors know what’s best for his hamstring. What I do know is that Baron must be healthier than he is right now if the Warriors want to end their playoff drought.
Dunleavy Slumping
Mike Dunleavy has apparently gotten involved in magic since signing his new contract, because he has completely disappeared on the court (Bu-dum-bum).
To say he’s slumping is an understatement. Through seven games, his scoring average from last year is down from 13.4 to 6.6. His field-goal% is down from 45 to 24, 3-point% down from 38.8 to 19.4. Even his FT% is down from 78 to 66.7. His rebounds and assists are also down by 1.5 and 0.6 per game respectively.
And yet his minutes are only down two minutes per game. If Dunleavy doesn’t pick it up soon, Mickael Pietrus should start over him. Mike Montgomery can’t worry about contracts – you need to play the guys who are performing, and Dunleavy clearly isn’t.
As I mentioned in my last column, it’s clearly a confidence issue for Dunleavy. But the question is how long the Warriors’ confidence in him will last. Five years, $45 million says he has plenty of time to right the ship, but precious games are passing.
Forget Baron Davis. If Dunleavy was the same guy as last April, the Warriors could be 6-1.
If you have any comments or questions you can email me at pjahromi@sbcglobal.net |
