Doug Christie: on Warriors-old Kings comparisons, surpassing 72 wins and how to defend Curry

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Steinmetz

Doug Christie was an integral member of the terrific Sacramento Kings teams of the 2000 era. He was one of the NBA’s premier wing defenders, and he also had the ability to bring the ball upcourt and run an offense. Nice passer, too.

Those Kings — which also featured Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber and Vlade Divac, among others – were one of the greatest passing teams of all time. Their ball movement, like that of the Warriors, could be spectacular. Christie, who was first team All-Defense in 2002-03 and second team All-Defense three other times, no doubt would have had to guard Stephen Curry in any mythical matchup of the old Kings vs. the now Warriors.

The teams also share another commonality: A truly great frontcourt passing tandem. In the Kings’ case, it was Webber and Divac. For the Warriors, it’s Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut. In other words, there was tons to talk about with Christie, who joined the “NBA This Week” on 95.7 FM-The Game and talked a lot of Warriors, and what makes them so special.

Here’s a portion of that interview. Link at bottom:

–On frontcourt passing of Webber/Divac and Green/Bogut:

–Christie: “It’s a joke. It’s one of the hardest things (to defend) of all time because big guys aren’t prepared to defend passers. Their hands aren’t ready. A lot of Draymond, Vlade, Chris, Bogut’s passes are bounce passes. They put them down by a big guy’s feet. And it makes the guards and wing players want to cut. It’s a novel idea that if you cut you actually get the ball back. You’re going to cut harder. You’re going to set picks for your teammates. It’s an absolute nightmare for the defense to stop slice cuts and back picks and have a big guy actually looking for teammates.”

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Here’s my “starting five” for most popular Warriors of all time

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Steinmetz

On Tuesday night, the Golden State Warriors honored one of the franchise’s most popular players: shooting guard Jason Richardson. Although he played only six seasons for Golden State, Richardson forged a bond with Bay Area fans that is still not forgotten — as his standing ovation between the first and second quarter last night showed.

During his playing days, Richardson was the closest thing this team had to a “real” Warrior. He competed every night, he worked tirelessly on his game and he improved each year with the team. Richardson won two slam dunk titles and was an integral member of “We Believe,” the Golden State team that ended a 12-year playoff drought in 2007.

After the game, I started to think of the top-five most popular Warrior players, and there is little doubt that J-Rich belongs on it. By the way, remember after the trade to Charlotte, Richardson took out an ad in Bay Area newspapers, thanking the fans for their support over the years? The guy was loved.

Here was my original “starting five,” if you will, of the most popular Golden State players.

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Curry talks about why his scoring is up and his assists are down

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Steinmetz

We all know that the Golden State Warriors are playing magnificent basketball and that they’re poised to break the record for best-ever start to an NBA season. We also know that since the start of last season, they’ve been the best team in the NBA, compiling a staggering 98-20 record.

Throughout those 118 games, Stephen Curry, without a doubt, has been the team’s best player. In fact, he’s been the league’s best player, as his MVP award last year will attest. But if there’s something that’s gotten a little lost in the Warriors’ 15-0 start this year, it’s this: Curry is playing very differently this year than he has in the past, and, most specifically, last year.

His scoring is up almost 10 points per game (from 23.8 ppg., to 32.7 ppg.), which is astronomical for a player already at his level. But his assists are down – to playing-alongside-ball-dominant-Monta Ellis levels — and his turnovers are up. Last year, Curry averaged 7.7 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game. This year’s he’s averaging just 5.7 assists per game and 3.9 turnovers per game.

I had a chance to catch up with Curry after Warriors practice on Monday, to ask him about how and why his role has changed and why this team is playing differently than it did a year ago — but with no less success.

Here’s that interview:

Question: You’re averaging about 10 more points per game than last season. Why do you think you’re scoring is up so much?

Curry: “I’m shooting a better percentage, and obviously that helps. I think I’m taking a couple more shots than last year, a couple more 3s. And I’m getting them pretty much the same way. Most of the games have been more catered to being more aggressive scoring the ball. The way they’re defending a lot of our pick and rolls, a lot of our sets, I usually see a double-team coming off and Draymond’s been a hell of a playmaker in those situations, when I can get it out of my hands and he has a 4-on-3 situation. My assists aren’t crazy, what they were last year, but we’re getting the same great shots on our offensive possessions by reading the defense and figuring that out. It helps that more shots are going in that I’m taking. I pride myself on field goal percentage and try to keep that up.”

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