Is the Bench Stronger or Weaker In Your Opinion?

[TobyTyler]

About the same. This year's bench is weak and so was last year's.

 

[CitySushi]

The bench hasn't played well yet, either individually or collectively. Green has been okay in a couple of games, Speights did okay in Philadelphia the other night, O'Neal and Douglas have been good defensively but pretty sad offensively (except for Douglas on opening night)....

To me a big problem is that the bench doesn't have the right balance of offensive and defensive players, and thus everybody is playing a little bit out of their comfort zone. This should hopefully improve when Barnes (more offensive) is back, and as I noted in another thread, it would be good if we could get another offensive presence such as Shannon Brown to provide another threat. 3 of the main 4 reserves who have played (Douglas, Green, O'Neal) struggle on offense these days, so we need somebody to take the offensive pressure back off them...... and it's not Speights shooting 22-footers, that's for sure. Barnes coming back will be a big help. Ultimately I think this year's bench will end up being more productive and deeper than last year's (as I noted months ago when this thread originated), but it needs to get the right composition before we end up in that position.

I'm not sure they need another shooter, as much as they need someone who can facilitate. The second unit has ability, especially with the return of Barnes, but we don't have anyone we can rely on to just go out and get a bucket or create one for a teammate. Douglas has been exactly as advertized(which is a good thing), but he doesn't act as a PG. He's simply a guy who plays the position because of his size. He's basically Brandon Rush in a PG's body. He's great on defense, he can hit down a set shot 3 pointer, but other than that he doesn't do much of any other PG duties.

The offense as a whole would be immensely more efficient having a guy who could run the offense, rather than simply manage it. Having a PG who could be a threat in a pick and roll would allow Speights to move in a couple steps on his already nice jumper. Having a PG who could distribute might get guys like Barnes and Green going on some cuts to the rim.

If anything they need someone who can come in and provide a change of pace. We've seen Iguodala running the show lately with the second unit. We need to have someone else available to be able to penetrate and get more things going to the basket. This is where Jack is missed the most.

Once the players are healthy, the bench will be fine, though.

 

[NBKLee]

Bench grades so far after 11 games?


Barnes = B- , although he's slowly gotten back into flow of things, I was expecting more from HB this year, after a breakout postseason, this was supposed to be his breakout year. The injury didn't help, but I want to see more from HB in terms of be a factor on the court.


JO = C+, seems like he was just hitting his grove when he did the splits on the floor. He brought some good defense in limited minutes, but atleast in the first few games, his low post moves were a joke. He found easier baskets cutting from the weakside, but he looks every bit like the 17 year vet he is.


Green = B, guy looks in shape this year, looks like he actually worked on hit shot this off season, and he looks smooth. His minutes have been limited, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of him on the court, especially since JO and FE still hurt, he can be the pseudo back up 4


Speights = C, Guy is averaging 18 minutes a game, and shooting 33% from the field. For a guy who is supposed to be a good shooter, he isn't demonstrating it. And why on earth has dude launched 8 three point shots?

Douglas = C+, had a nice breakout game against SAS, but hasn't really been on the court enough for us to get to know him. Has missed 5 games this year. Those minutes will have an overall impact on the rest of the starters later this year.


Baze = D+, Where is the passion? Seems like when he's on the court he's over thinking and rushing. For a guy who was supposed to fight for back up point minutes, he's looked better off the ball. Which leads to the age old argument is this guy a 1 or a 2?

Baze doesn't have the ball handling/passing/decision making skills to run a offense. He can guard some 1's in the league, but would you ever trust him to run a squad for 20+ minutes a night?


Nedo = INC/F+ , he's a rook, wasn't expecting him to contribute right away, but when the FO bought out his contract and brought him over, I was expecting a more polished product. Game is moving too quickly for him at this point.


Kuzmic = INC/D+ , maybe having La Tax here for the last 18 months has changed my perspective on centers, but Kuzmic to me has shown some flashes, and he atleast looks like a player when he's on the court. He's still raw and needs a few years, but atleast he doesn't look like a dud.


Jackson = Besides playing the starters heavy minutes, which he's basically been forced to do, I think Jackson's done a decent job this year. Adding AI and a healthy Bogut sure makes his job easier. I wish he would find a way to incorporate the kids in game earlier, but from the rookies have shown, they aren't really ready.

Jackson gets a B+ from me so far, Dubs are in 1st place at 8-3 for the 1st time since 91-92' how can you not love this team?

 

[Hambombs]

Once everyone gets back healthy a Barnes,green, ezeli, oneal, Douglas, speights bench looks nice on paper. Also warriors should of kept Archie Goodwin instead of nedo

 

[tzill]

Bench grades so far after 11 games?


Barnes = B- , although he's slowly gotten back into flow of things, I was expecting more from HB this year, after a breakout postseason, this was supposed to be his breakout year. The injury didn't help, but I want to see more from HB in terms of be a factor on the court.


JO = C+, seems like he was just hitting his grove when he did the splits on the floor. He brought some good defense in limited minutes, but atleast in the first few games, his low post moves were a joke. He found easier baskets cutting from the weakside, but he looks every bit like the 17 year vet he is.


Green = B, guy looks in shape this year, looks like he actually worked on hit shot this off season, and he looks smooth. His minutes have been limited, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of him on the court, especially since JO and FE still hurt, he can be the pseudo back up 4


Speights = C, Guy is averaging 18 minutes a game, and shooting 33% from the field. For a guy who is supposed to be a good shooter, he isn't demonstrating it. And why on earth has dude launched 8 three point shots?

Douglas = C+, had a nice breakout game against SAS, but hasn't really been on the court enough for us to get to know him. Has missed 5 games this year. Those minutes will have an overall impact on the rest of the starters later this year.


Baze = D+, Where is the passion? Seems like when he's on the court he's over thinking and rushing. For a guy who was supposed to fight for back up point minutes, he's looked better off the ball. Which leads to the age old argument is this guy a 1 or a 2?

Baze doesn't have the ball handling/passing/decision making skills to run a offense. He can guard some 1's in the league, but would you ever trust him to run a squad for 20+ minutes a night?


Nedo = INC/F+ , he's a rook, wasn't expecting him to contribute right away, but when the FO bought out his contract and brought him over, I was expecting a more polished product. Game is moving too quickly for him at this point.


Kuzmic = INC/D+ , maybe having La Tax here for the last 18 months has changed my perspective on centers, but Kuzmic to me has shown some flashes, and he atleast looks like a player when he's on the court. He's still raw and needs a few years, but atleast he doesn't look like a dud.


Jackson = Besides playing the starters heavy minutes, which he's basically been forced to do, I think Jackson's done a decent job this year. Adding AI and a healthy Bogut sure makes his job easier. I wish he would find a way to incorporate the kids in game earlier, but from the rookies have shown, they aren't really ready.

Jackson gets a B+ from me so far, Dubs are in 1st place at 8-3 for the 1st time since 91-92' how can you not love this team?

Ummm...the starters haven't been playing "heavy minutes." No player is averaging more than 37 minutes per game.

 

[CitySushi]

Not completely defending Bazemore, but the way Jackson and his staff are using him is completely against his skill set. He was undrafted because of his questionable abilites on offense. From there you want to turn a guy into a PG, which is the hardest position in the NBA?

You can tell when Baze is on the court he's thinking rather than reacting. You've got a guy with off the charts athleticism, but put him in a restricted capacity. Bazemore's ceiling is Brandon Rush, but you have him trying to be AI part 2. That's not his game.

 

[Hambombs]

Not completely defending Bazemore, but the way Jackson and his staff are using him is completely against his skill set. He was undrafted because of his questionable abilites on offense. From there you want to turn a guy into a PG, which is the hardest position in the NBA?

You can tell when Baze is on the court he's thinking rather than reacting. You've got a guy with off the charts athleticism, but put him in a restricted capacity. Bazemore's ceiling is Brandon Rush, but you have him trying to be AI part 2. That's not his game.

Yeah Brandon rush would be very useful off our bench too.

 

[CitySushi]

These grades are in comparison to my initial expectations of them.

Barnes = B+. He's coming off the bench aggressive which is the biggest thing I wanted to see from him. He's getting back into game shape and if he's able to do as well as he has already, I can see his production only going up from here. I thought after missing essentially the entire preseason he would need a good 1-2 months to get back into a solid groove.


JO = B. His offense is coming around but defensively he's been better than advertised this season. I was positive he was just a stop gap until Ezeli got healthy, but if he's able to defend and provide some offense he may still be the first big off the bench.


Green = A. After seeing the shape he was in during the preseason I was really excited to see what he would do for us this year. His outside shot has been much improved this year and he's still doing all the little things that make us a better basketball team. His versatility is key for us this year.


Speights = F. I seriously had much higher expectations for him. If the entire roster was healthy, I'm not sure he would crack the rotation right now. He's been a black hole on offense and a turnstile on defense. Also his body language is terrible. I don't think I've seen him take a shot inside of 18 feet. Something needs to change for this guy.

Douglas = INC. He was just starting to come around offensively and as usual his defense was very good. I'll give him an incomplete right now because we'll need to see how he comes back after being off for a few weeks.


Bazemore = C-/F. I give him two grades for the following reason: too much is being expected of him versus his ability. The guy was undrafted because of his questionable offensive ability. Then in year 2 the Warriors are hoping to convert him to a PG (the hardest position in the nba). That's unfair to the guy. He's improved his outside shot by a mile from what it was last year. Baze should be a 3 and D player, not a backup PG.


Nedovic/Kuzmic = INC. I didn't expect either of these guys to contribute at all this year. They need at least a full year to get accustomed to the league. I was expecting these guys to spend the majority of the year in the D-league, which may happen once the team gets fully healthy. They need seasoning and they're not ready for the NBA game yet.


Jackson = A-. I thought losing Malone was going to hinder the team on the defensive end, but they've far surpassed my expectations. I still don't love his rotations, but the last few games have been better. The team is playing great and overall there's not much I can complain about.

 

[NBKLee]

Ummm...the starters haven't been playing "heavy minutes." No player is averaging more than 37 minutes per game.

The lack of a bench is starting to hurt the team, literally.

Andre left tonights game with a hamstring "pull"? Marcus Thompson II tweeded that Andre said he heard a "pop"


My whole view of the team has gone from we should be a lock to be a top 3-6 seed in the west, to if Steph misses more games, we may not make the playoffs.

Team's badly depleted. 6 players missing now

1) FE
2) JO
3) Douglas
4) Kuzmic
5) Steph
6) Andre I.


Looking more like the 2011 Giants vs the 2012 Giants.


Someone wake me up from this nightmare.

 

[Hambombs]

So how long will iggy be out now a month?

 

[Hambombs]

The lack of a bench is starting to hurt the team, literally.

Andre left tonights game with a hamstring "pull"? Marcus Thompson II tweeded that Andre said he heard a "pop"


My whole view of the team has gone from we should be a lock to be a top 3-6 seed in the west, to if Steph misses more games, we may not make the playoffs.

Team's badly depleted. 6 players missing now

1) FE
2) JO
3) Douglas
4) Kuzmic
5) Steph
6) Andre I.


Looking more like the 2011 Giants vs the 2012 Giants.


Someone wake me up from this nightmare.

They will make the playoffs but as a 6-8 seed if we don't add anyone

 

[NBKLee]

So how long will iggy be out now a month?

The MRI will tell a lot more, but giving the Dub's recent injury history and their tendency to be cautious with players, I"ll say atleast 1-2 weeks.

Andre's signed here for 3 more years, no point in hurrying him back.


If I'm a betting man, I'd expect the Dub's to bring up someone from the DLeague squad. Time to revive my bring Drew Home thread. SPeights is killing me. He's inability to play proper defense makes David Lee look like the DPOTY.

 

[NBKLee]

These grades are in comparison to my initial expectations of them.

................................

Jackson = A-. I thought losing Malone was going to hinder the team on the defensive end, but they've far surpassed my expectations. I still don't love his rotations, but the last few games have been better. The team is playing great and overall there's not much I can complain about.

______________________________________________________



Even the best Coaches need the players to do well. Malone may be a very good HC in the future, but SAC has a horrible roster at this point. Dub's look horrible aswell right now, but that's because we are a walking MASH unit.

 

[Hambombs]

The MRI will tell a lot more, but giving the Dub's recent injury history and their tendency to be cautious with players, I"ll say atleast 1-2 weeks.

Andre's signed here for 3 more years, no point in hurrying him back.


If I'm a betting man, I'd expect the Dub's to bring up someone from the DLeague squad. Time to revive my bring Drew Home thread. SPeights is killing me. He's inability to play proper defense makes David Lee look like the DPOTY.

Aren't hamstring injuries worse than a 1 or 2 week span? I was thinning 4-5 weeks

 

[NBKLee]

Aren't hamstring injuries worse than a 1 or 2 week span? I was thinning 4-5 weeks

Here's the article from MT2

"Normally, I can just run it off or it would go away," Iguodala said. "But once I heard a pop, I knew it was serious."

.................

After the game, he could hardly walk. He said this injury "worries him a little bit" but that he doesn't expect to be out too long. He said he has an MRI scheduled for Saturday morning.

"My body's been pretty good to me so far," Iguodala said. "I take care of it, so (I'll be back) sooner than everyone thinks."

 

[Hambombs]

Here's the article from MT2

"Normally, I can just run it off or it would go away," Iguodala said. "But once I heard a pop, I knew it was serious."

.................

After the game, he could hardly walk. He said this injury "worries him a little bit" but that he doesn't expect to be out too long. He said he has an MRI scheduled for Saturday morning.

"My body's been pretty good to me so far," Iguodala said. "I take care of it, so (I'll be back) sooner than everyone thinks."

Only thing we can do now is wait and see what the MRI is?

 

[TobyTyler]

Aren't hamstring injuries worse than a 1 or 2 week span? I was thinning 4-5 weeks

You can't play a guy his age 45 minutes a game regularly and expect him to hold up physically.

 

[NBKLee]

Bump, Nedo looked like an NBA player during real minutes for the first time all year.

Still needs lots of work, but his jumper was smooth and he hit a 3pointer.

The other side of that is, he was called for an offensive foul, and threw in ahorrible entry pass to D.Lee along the baseline.


Baze looked active, at this point, that's all I really expect.