Former Warrior Adonal Foyle, Hall-of-Famer Peter Vecsey talk Curry, Warriors & more

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Steinmetz

We had a terrific “NBA This Week” show on 95.7-FM The Game on Saturday, when we welcomed former Warriors center Adonal Foyle in studio for an hour segment and also Hall-of-Fame media member Peter Vecsey.

The Warriors, of course, were the theme of the show, and both guys delivered strong insight on that subject. Here are some excerpts from each of the interviews. Foyle talked extensively about this year’s team, the growth of Stephen Curry, the pending move to San Francisco and all things Golden State Warriors history.

Vecsey brought his unique perspective to the Warriors, also. He talked about how the organization tried to trade Curry multiple times, how Mark Jackson’s system helped Steve Kerr win a title and why the attitude adjustments of Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut helped get this team to the next level.

Links are at bottom.

Foyle on Stephen Curry: “What’s illuminating is that for the first time Steph is willing to take over a game and has no qualms about it. I think that’s something that is important that hasn’t been made a big deal of. He’s much more willing to … If he has to score 54, he will. I think last year he struggled with that. He deferred to everybody, trying to get everybody involved. He’s still able to do that but I’ve seen a willingness to want to take it to the next level and ‘I want to keep scoring until they stop me.’”

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The Warriors are laughing at your “old-school” defensive concepts

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Steinmetz

Well, that’s 10 in a row.

The Warriors may not have played their most impressive game of the season Thursday night against the Timberwolves, but it was plenty good enough to beat a young, upstart on the road with, quite frankly, very little overall challenging by the home team. Golden State 129, Minnesota 116.

The Warriors got up 33-17 before the first quarter was over and the rest of the game was spent managing and maintaining a lead for the final three quarters. Steph Curry ho-hummed his way to 46 points, going 15-for-25 from the field, including 8-for-13 from beyond the arc.

As the wins pile up, it feels like it’s getting harder and harder to beat this team. We keep hearing things like: “We’ve never seen anything like this team before” or “This team is changing the way the game is played” and the fact of the matter is: these statements are accurate.

But how do you explain how this team is so different? How do you describe the way in which they’re changing the game before our eyes? What makes them so unique? Well, I would put it this way: This team, right here and right now, is making a mockery of some defensive principles, ideals and foundations that we’ve never even thought to question. The reality is that sound defensive strategies, many engrained for generations, don’t work against this team. In fact, they work against you when you play the Warriors.

Three examples:

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Posted in Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, Warriors | Tagged | 6 Comments

The Grizzlies are in boatload of trouble … Tell me why I’m wrong

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Steinmetz

Every once in a while I think I’m going to do this thing called: “Tell me why I’m wrong.”

Let’s say I have an opinion on something, like I do right now with the Memphis Grizzlies. I’ll tell you what I think; you tell me why I’m wrong — if you think I am.

Here goes: I think the Memphis Grizzlies have trouble brewing … long term trouble brewing. After watching them a few times this season, and in particular two losses to the Warriors, it feels like Memphis’ window is not only shut, it’s boarded up with plywood and plastered with caution tape.

The Grizzlies are now 3-6, but it feels worse. And, yes, I remember the Grizzlies started 10-15 two years ago and wound up winning 50 games. But that was a long two years ago. Take a look at their core roster right now. Zach Randolph is 34, Tony Allen is 33, Marc Gasol is 30 and Mike Conley is 28. That’s an aging nucleus in any league. But perhaps worse, the Grizzlies are an offensively challenged team in an era where you have to be able to score to compete with the elite teams.

And scoring is a monster issue for them. For one, they don’t shoot 3-pointers well at all, which should be a prerequisite in this day and age. Second, because they’re built to utilize Randolph so much in the low post, they’re forced to consistently go to him despite the fact he’s getting up there and becoming less effective.

So, the style that made the Grizzlies so tough has become outdated. But not only must they cling to it, they must cling to it despite knowing they’ve gotten worse at it — because as good as Randolph is he’s not as good as he was a few years ago.

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Posted in Memphis Grizzlies, NBA | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments