| Foyle’s Rebounding Is Key Authored by Payam Jahromi - December 4, 2005 - 7:00 pm
These are the Warriors that many expected this season.
Baron Davis’ hamstring looks fine, Jason Richardson continues to play like an All-Star, Andris Biedrins is finally providing energy and rebounds off the bench, and Adonal Foyle is Mr. Double-Double!
Ok, so maybe I got a little carried away there, but it’s no coincidence that the Warriors win when Foyle produces. Forget the scoring – when Foyle grabs 10-plus rebounds and blocks shots, the Warriors win.
Any offense from him is like “found money,” a term Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett use way too often.
I won’t try to justify Foyle’s contract. He’s overpaid and we all know it. But salaries aside, he is the team’s best interior defender. But perhaps even more important than that, I’ve noticed that Foyle’s rebounding is the single biggest barometer of how well the team plays.
In the current five-game win streak, Foyle is averaging 7.6 points, 7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
Nothing spectacular, but the Warriors will take that from Foyle. We’re talking about a guy with career averages of 4.6 points, 5.3 boards and 1.9 blocks.
But here’s the big stat: In the team’s 12 wins, Foyle has averaged 8.3 rebounds. In the six losses, he’s averaged 4.8.
If that’s not a telling statistic, I don’t know what is.
And that’s not just one of those “coincidence” statistics. It’s one of those things that has been noticeable if one has watched the games. When Foyle is grabbing boards – specifically defensive – the Warriors play better. It’s that simple.
It creates less second-chance opportunities for the opposition, jumpstarts the Warriors’ fast break and helps the Warriors play with a good flow.
Throw in a couple blocks, and Foyle gives the Warriors a little of what Ben Wallace provides for Detroit (granted, to a MUCH smaller degree).
D-Fish playing big
Derek Fisher, as Barnett perfectly said, “Is making everything this year.” Fisher, a.k.a the other guy who Warriors fans berate because of his contract, has consistently made the big 3-pointer game after game this season.
Through 18 games, he’s on pace to have his best season in his 10th year. He’s shooting 50 percent from 3-point range, which ranks fifth in the league and third for players who make at least one a game.
Pietrus’ injury has allowed Fisher to play off guard the entire time, maximizing his value as a catch-and-shoot player instead of a creator.
The schedule gets tough in December
In one of my previous columns, I said the Warriors had to go at least 11-6 in November and that’s exactly what they did.
Well done.
Now they have a murderous December schedule where they should be happy to go 7-7. They’ve already beaten Charlotte, but the remaining 13 games include both the Pistons and Rockets twice, the Suns, Mavericks, Nuggets, Sonics, 76ers and Nets.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that the team is back to playing at the level they were at the end of last season.
Now we’ll find out exactly how good they are.
If you have any questions or comments, you can reach me at pjahromi@sbcglobal.net |
