| Road Trip Could Hurt The Warriors, But It Isn't All Bad News Authored by Payam Jahromi - December 17, 2006 - 12:49 am
It’s been a very up and down first month and half for the Warriors, but overall I think they’ve exceeded my expectations given all the injuries.
Jason Richardson – the one constant over the last several years – has missed eight games and wasn’t very effective in the games he did play because of his bad knee.
Ike Diogu hasn’t play in 20 games with an ankle injury, Troy Murphy has missed six games, Baron Davis four games and Mickael Pietrus three games.
But thanks to Baron’s brilliant play, along with the emergence of Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins, the Warriors have competed with the best teams, even beating San Antonio, Utah and Dallas.
The bad news: the Warriors have played 16 home games (11-5) and only eight road games (1-7). With a long road trip ahead, it looks like the Warriors will struggle and fall well below .500.
The good news: Richardson, Diogu and Murphy look to be getting healthy and will definitely help the team, particularly Richardson. Let’s not forget how good J-Rich is when he’s 100%. We’re talking about a player who was a borderline All-Star snub the past couple years.
If he returns to being that player, add that to how well Baron and Monta are playing and the Warriors’ backcourt will run circles around most teams.
J-Rich is also one of the best rebounding guards and the Warriors continue to struggle on the boards.
Biedrins has arrived
I love Andris Biedrins. Anyone who has read my columns with any kind of regularity knows that.
In his third season, Andris Biedrins is making a name for himself around the league. He’s averaging 11.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.3 blocks while shooting 65% from the field. It looks like his biggest competition for Most Improved Player right now is Ellis, who has improved his scoring average from 6.8 points last season to 17.8.
But this is just the beginning for Biedrins. Remember, he’s only 20 years old. He’s a year younger than teammate Monta Ellis, who is in his second year right out of high school.
In July of 2005 I wrote that Biedrins could be the key for the Warriors, and that he had the potential to have a defensive impact like Marcus Camby or Ben Wallace. Many told me I was crazy for writing that. But a year and a half later it’s not such a stretch.
Here is the link to the article: http://warriors.realgm.com/articles/106/20050718/is_biedrins_the_key/
I also did write “I think his breakout season is at least a year away, and perhaps this article is a year early…” Apparently I was right, which doesn’t happen too often.
Iverson rumors
If you can get one of the best players to ever play, and he’s in his prime, you should consider it. But if the recent rumors of Baron and Biedrins for Iverson is the asking the price, I’ll pass.
Biedrins should be the only untouchable player on the roster. Now if Philly would take Murphy, J-Rich and a No. 1 pick, now we’re talking.
If you have any questions/comments, you can reach me at pjahromi@sbcglobal.net |
