The Mind of Mullin: POSTGAME: RAPTORS

Friday, October 31, 2008

POSTGAME: RAPTORS - 10/31/08

Golden State falters down the stretch once more as Toronto prevails in OT - Janny Hu
Warriors' offense stalls in overtime - Marcus Thompson II
Nellie's big lineup effective, but maybe Marcus Williams could help bring it home - Matt Steinmetz
Andrea Bargnani sparkles in Toronto's 112-108 win over Golden State - The Canadian Press
Thoughts on Game No. 2: Raptors 112, Warriors 108 (OT)- Geoff Lepper

Box Score
Don Nelson's postgame comments

MVW: Al Harrington

The Good
Al Harrington: 46 min, 6-12 3pt, 11 reb, 3 ast, 26 pts
Andris Biedrins: 46 min, 8-13 fg, 13 reb, 1 blk, 2 pf, 17 pts
Kelenna Azubuike: 22 min, 6-11 fg, 2-2 ft, 4 ast, 15 pts
Stephen Jackson: 45 min, 4-11 3pt, 7 reb, 5 ast, 26 pts
Corey Maggette: 44 min, 8 reb, 3 ast, 14 pts
Ronny Turiaf: 33 min, 5 reb, 5 blk

The Bad
Stephen Jackson: 45 min, 7-20 fg, 6 pf, 5 to

The Ugly
Corey Maggette: 44 min, 4-15 fg, 5 to

Best and Worst +/-
Ronny Turiaf: +9
Stephen Jackson: -9

Team Statistics
Warriors : Raptors
pts - 108 : 112
fg - 42-83 (.447) : 40-78 (.513)
ft - 13-19 (.684) : 26-30 (.867)
3p - 11-29 (.379) : 6-12 (.500)
reb - 46 : 36
oreb - 17 : 6
ast - 20 : 24
to - 18 : 13
stl - 6 : 9
bs - 6 : 9
fast break pts - 10 : 6
pts in paint - 50 : 36

Notes

2nd game facing a very good opponent and in both cases, the Warriors were in position to pull out a victory; poor execution and clock management contributed to their demise; We'll see how they do vs. an opponent they are supposed to beat...the Nets. This will tell us if the Warriors play to their competition's level or if they really are as good as they've looked
Vets overworked once again contributing to the poor execution down the stretch; Don Nelson must adjust his philosophy. He's going to wear out his vets the 1st month of the season if he doesn't
Our bigs showed they could probably hang with most front court tandems in the league.
Biedrins gone to early and often; outplayed O'Neil; should have been used more down the stretch; run some plays for him
Nelson hits the 20 footer from straight away then doesn't make another basket; no sign of Marcus Williams
Nice fast break with a pinpoint pass by Maggette to a hustling Biedrins. Reward the big man.
Solid defense verses star big men - good team rebounding - crashing the boards. Bosh is incredible
Maggette rebounding and assisting - more than just a scorer!
Jackson with some terrible passes early and careless turnovers
Nelson and Harrington got worked on the pick and roll; still developing chemistry
Brandan Wright in early 2:56 left in the 1st but not used much.
Watson is first PG off the bench
Roko Leni Ukic - I remember him; drafted one spot after Monta Ellis
Bargnani would be a perfect Nellie ball big - 3 pt range and a lot more aggressive (new mind-set)
Biedrins missing some close ones; only two fouls - should have used them up down the stretch, especially to slow down Bosh
Wright is a vastly improved shooter from the free throw - good locating open players, bothers shots with his length - stands flat footed and arms straight up and still alters shots
Bargnani with nice post up, looks like Dirk - great 6th man
An injured Watson shooting with the brace playing over Marcus Williams means Williams might suffer the same fate as Patrick O'Bryant after his team option was not picked up; we won't see Williams unless there is an injury or if the Warriors are involved in a blowout win/loss.
SJax and Kappono going at it; Jax plays heavy minutes once again; fades down the stretch once again; will Nellie learn and adjust?; Jax is our PG, Williams is our only true PG but is deep in the doghouse.
Great to see Turiaf and Biedrins playing out there at the same time; the traditional lineup and his defense enabled the Warriors to get back into the game
Raptors can shoot the lights out; 51.3% shooting with plenty of jumpers
Harrington's stock went up a tad with the good shooting and rebound; the better he plays the more the Warriors get in trade - they should continue to showcase him but also work in the likes of Wright and Randolph into the game; fresh players lead to better execution down the stretch
Nelly needed some threes in overtime, but Belinelli was never allowed to enter the game; they were fouling to stretch the game, so no need for lockdown defensive personnel
Perhaps working Marcus Williams into the game could help them find a player that could close out games and make good decisions.
Warriors reverted to Lazy Offense with their quick contested 3 pointers (29 attempts)