As always, drop your thoughts on the game below.

By far the biggest positive from Wednesday’s win was the glimpse of a functional, watchable team it gave the fans.  Despite groans and boos in the first half triggered by Jackson and Maggette, both settled into relatively restrained games in the second half.  By not forcing the issue — and moving the ball — they allowed Anthony Morrow to deliver the type of performance many of us had been expected (or at least hoping for).  It was no longer just Curry looking for Morrow, but the entire team.  The results of their unselfishness was the difference in the game.

The Warriors’ opponent, for a change, was the team suffering from poor ball movement.  Although Iverson shot well, he pounded the ball rather than working it into either Randolph or Gasol to abuse the Warriors’ thin (in more ways than one) front line.  If either player had been able to knock Biedrins or Moore into serious foul trouble, this could have been a very different game.  But with Iverson controlling the offense for much of the night, the Griz stayed on the outside and settled for playing Nelson’s style.

Although it won’t show up in any box score, the Warriors’ body language in the second half dramatically improved (not that it could get much worse).  Jackson looked engaged and focused.  Ellis grew more vocal with teammates.  Maggette even shook off an apparent twisted ankle to keep in the game.  With young players holding key roles on this team, managing the mood and attitude is nearly as important as developing a technical game plan.  There’s still no visible out-pouring of love (or even mild affection) between Nelson and his squad, but the players became more vocal and animated in their support for each other in the second half.

One lingering question mark hanging over the evening, however, is Anthony Randolph’s seven-minute run.  The team’s energy noticeably picked up with Randolph on the court and he did a nice job both defensively and on the glass.  He had a couple of turnovers and some tough fouls, but nothing close to being bench worthy.  Randolph’s problem wasn’t just a quick hook from Nelson, it was a slow initial call down the bench.  Nelson gave Moore an extended run as Biedrins’ back-up before turning to Randolph, and repeated the substitution patter for the remainder of the game.  On a team desperate for size, rebounding, and intensity, what exactly has Anthony Randolph done to be demoted to our third-string back-up center?

A few individual notes:

• Monta Ellis didn’t suddenly become a point guard in the second half, but he did become a better teammates.  Last Friday night Ellis was content to dribble up the court and call his own number for a jumper.  In the third quarter — when Morrow exploded — Ellis took only two shots from the field.  He recorded his 4 assists in the quarter by finally starting to look to get Morrow the ball.  Once Morrow spread the floor, Ellis started attacking the rim again, going 3-5 in the fourth quarter.  Ellis doesn’t need to run our offense — Curry looks capable of doing that — but he does need to be an unselfish part of the offensive system.  The more he looks to make smart passes, the easier it’ll actually be for him to score.

• Anthony Morrow had been pretty much an afterthought in Nelson’s offense during the regular season.  But after a four-day layoff during which I can only hope the Warriors practiced getting their best shooter some actual shots, Morrow got it rolling.  His offense started with the usual looks from behind the arc, but he also showed off a nice fade-away along the baseline and a great drive to the rim.  Despite playing some absolutely awful defense during certain stretches (he was the worst Warriors defender on the court, by a mile, for most of the night), he more than earned the points back at the other end.  In Nelson’s system he’ll be able to get away with these performances, but I’d feel better if he didn’t try to do things like wave in another defender and switch off the ball while the opposing point guard drives directly to basket.  To Nelson’s credit, he let Morrow play through these mistakes — and the Warriors were rewarded for his patience.

• For Stephen Jackson, it was a tale of two halves.  Jackson missed his first three shots and was sent to the bench six minutes into the first quarter.  He spent the next twelve minutes stretched out at the end of the bench, totally disengaged from the rest of the team.  When Nelson finally put him back in during the second quarter, his energy had improved.  In the second half, after banging with Randolph in the post a few times, Jackson seemed to gain intensity and focus.  The threes he took were generally good shots off passes.  He worked hard to get to the rim a few times.  There were some bad passes and at least one failure to get back on defense — during which Morrow frantically gestured for Jackson to pick up his man — but the lasting impression was one of Jackson under control and playing within the team system.  Jackson closed the second half with solid play — a turn of events that I can’t help but connect to his extended break during the first half (and four days off).  A rested Jackson tends to be a more effective Jackson.

• Andris Biedrins was a non-factor for the first three quarters of the game, battling foul trouble and stronger opponents, but delivered a classic performance in the fourth quarter.  Snagging seven rebounds in seven minutes, Andris controlled the defensive glass — keeping the Griz from second chance points and initiating the Warriors’ break.  His defense at the rim was excellent during the second half, although he continued to make mistakes in positioning when playing Gasol.  He left the game late in the fourth quarter after apparently injuring his back.  It’s unclear whether this is a new or lingering injury, but back troubles might go a long way to explaining why Andris has been less active as of late.

• Stephen Curry had a quiet night, but that’s part of what made it such a nice performance.  The Warriors got big nights from Morrow and Ellis, so Curry kept the offense moving in the background and otherwise stayed out of the way.  He only took one shot during eleven second half minutes, but dished out five assists.  His unselfish play was complemented by continued effort on defense.  Iverson had a big night, but was forced to get most of those points from the outside rather than at the rim or from the line.  I continue to be impressed by Curry’s passing, and not just his vision.  He has a knack not only for finding open men, but getting them the ball in the perfect manner — leading them with a gentle pass on the fast break, swinging the ball forcefully to switch sides, or kissing a short touch pass to Morrow for an open three.  Basketball IQ is far too often a cliche, but Curry’s has the real deal.

• Anthony Randolph was the first victim of Nelson’s return to full-on small ball. With only one big man in the game at a time, Nelson chose Moore over Randolph for the bulk of minutes.  Moore gave good effort, but was nothing special.  Randolph looked excellent during his limited run, but got a quick hook and never returned.  I’m left wondering why, but I can only hope Randolph got an explanation from the coaching staff.  I’ve written it a million times by now, but Mikki Moore is not the future.  Minutes given to Moore when Randolph is available are “win now” minutes, sacrificing Randolph’s development for Nelson’s desire for a predictable player that will simply rebound and immediately pass off the ball to the guards.  Randolph is far more unpredictable and erratic, but the only way he’ll become predictable and stable is with meaningful in-game experience.  Nelson still isn’t providing it to him, and I’m hard pressed to find an answer why (particularly since his pre-season bangs and bruises no longer appear to be bothering him).

• Corey Maggette did a lot of bad things Wednesday night — like going 0-3 during the fourth quarter and fumbling numerous totally catchable passes from teammates — but for once his defense wasn’t a major problem.  Asked to guard Zach Randolph for long stretches, Maggette got low, held his ground, and at least made Randolph use a few moves to get his points.  Randolph can score on almost anyone from within five feet, but Maggette succeeded in forcing him to hold the ball long enough for help to rotate over.  Ellis and Curry should get part of the credit for keeping the Griz’s best low post threat under control (as should Iverson, for basically ignoring him in the post), but Nelson’s use of Maggette as a mismatch ended up working far better than Jackson or Azubuike.

• Kelenna Azubuike’s minutes disappeared faster than the ball from Morrow’s hands on a jump shot, but Nelson made the right choice to ride the hot hand.  Ideally, Azubuike and Morrow would both get minutes with Curry to help spread the court, but the two only overlapped during the final minutes of garbage time Wednesday.  If/when Jackson is moved, I expect Azubuike and Morrow will no longer be an either/or proposition.  Until then, we could do much worse than simply allowing whichever player gets hot first to play the majority of the minutes for the night.

• Mikki Moore wasn’t particularly bad or good Wednesday, which makes the choice to play him over Randolph so tough to figure out.  Moore had his best moments on defense, getting good position against the Griz’s big men, but was abused on the glass and did next to nothing offensively.  Granted, he’s only filling this role temporarily until Turiaf returns, but that’s all the more reason his jump over Randolph in the depth chart is a head scratcher.

So the Warriors aren’t going to go 0-82.  Does that mean all the doom and gloom is over?  Hardly.  All the components of the Warriors’ poor first two performances made appearances Wednesday night, but thanks to Morrow the Warriors weren’t forced to rely on jumpers by Jackson and Maggette as their main offensive threat.  The next test for the Warriors will be whether they can maintain ball movement when Jackson and Maggette are the only two guys going.  If Jackson and Maggette can show restraint and judgment in that context, we will be making serious progress.  Still, the Warriors needed a win badly — and didn’t look all that bad in securing one.

Chris Cohan is MIA, but that shouldn’t come as a shock for anyone watching the past 15 years.  Robert Rowell seems to be taking after his boss, unwilling to be the face of the franchise since the Jackson deal blew up under his nose.  Don Nelson is increasingly spending his media time complaining about the media, instead of answering the very legitimate questions about his jumbled rotations, double standards, and failure once again to institute anything resembling a legitimate NBA defensive scheme (or offensive scheme, for that matter, given the team’s first two performances).  Stephen Jackson, former captain and self-proclaimed veteran leader, assures us things will be fine once the new guys figure out how to pass him the ball.  And Monta Ellis will pass it to teammates other than Stephen Jackson as soon as they’re standing where he can see them.  As if this mess wasn’t bad enough on its own, it’s quickly teaching Anthony Randolph, Anthony Morrow, and Stephen Curry that sharing the ball with your teammates never gets you shots, working hard on defense rarely gets you minutes, and success reaps just about the same rewards as failure.

What the Warriors need now more than anything else is blame.  And not the silent, behind-the-scenes, fall-guy type of blame Warriors’ management used to push out Chris Mullin, but an open, direct, and specific accounting of what has gone wrong.  Name names, hurt feelings, and, if you’re not going to show people the door, make them publicly justify why they deserve to keep their jobs.  Chances of anything like this are slim to none, however, because the accountability chain has broken down completely.  Don Nelson still gives Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette freedom to do as they please on the court — then announces that the other players will just have to adapt to their me-first, shot-happy, I’ll-let-the-guy-on-the-other-side-of-the-screen-pick-up-my-man ways.  Larry Riley spends the entire summer talking a big game about remaking the team but gives us an opening day roster that looks nearly identical to last year’s failed squad, with the exception of a rookie that fell into our laps in the lottery through no wise act on our part.

Robert Rowell would normally be the man tasked with firing Nelson and Riley for their failure to produce a competitive team, or to at least lay out a plan for developing and building around the talent we have.  But for Rowell to fire Nelson and Riley would be to admit his own mistake in handing them the keys to the castle.  And given Jackson’s role in the unraveling of this team, Rowell’s mistakes go far beyond merely deferring to Nelson.  In a normal organization Cohan would hold team president Rowell as the final man accountable for the team’s failings — but the system appears to have worked in reverse, with Rowell getting a free pass while relatively low-level people like Pete D’Allesandro and Mitch Richmond are forced to walk the plank.

In short, things look utterly dysfunctional — and they’re likely to get worse.  Without an engaged owner with decent judgment, there’s little hope that action will be taken, and even less hope that it’ll be the right action if/when it occurs.  As fans, that leaves us with very little reason to stand by the team as it goes up in flames.  But even with the disaster Cohan has tended, I still have my doubts that a fan boycott would produce any noticeable result.  I tend to think that Cohan will sell when he feels like he’s getting a good deal, not when he feels like he’s in a position of weakness.  If Larry Ellison can’t corner him into a sale at the moment, I doubt the defection of the team’s hard-core fan base would push him any closer.  The Warriors are the only NBA show in town, so there will always be a market for casual fans looking to watch opponents or people willing to pay ten, thirty, or sixty bucks for the privilege of having cold pizza thrown at them by dancing little people in orange jumpsuits or to watch wealthy people in the front rows get unbelievably excited upon catching an incredibly cheap, low-quality t-shirt they’ll never wear.  The circus still comes to town; people still pay to go see it.  Why should the Warriors be any different?

If Cohan’s ticket sales drop through a boycott (and I expect they would, to some degree), he could easily make up the difference by dropping down to a smaller roster or refusing to pay for free agent talent.  One player making the veteran minimum costs Cohan about the same amount of money as 500 relatively expensive ($60 per game) season ticket cancellations.  But since those seats can usually be turned over on a game-by-game basis for nearly twice the amount paid by the season ticket holder, Cohan only needs to sell them to half the games to cover those costs.  Assuming the team can still muster sellouts based on visiting team fans alone for the Lakers, Cavs and Celtics games — and that package deals force many of those fans to buy tickets to three other games to see those their team — you can gradually see a ticket selling model under which loyal season ticket-holders rooting for the home team become less essential.

So long as the team manages its salary aggressively, it could still turn a profit without the presence of die-hards actually paying to support the home team.  And with the team playing a purportedly “fun” and “exciting” style of basketball on a shoestring budget, the one-off consumers looking for a “great time out” are far more important than the year-to-year repeat loyalist.  I blame this revenue model for the team’s willingness to break up a winning team for salary reasons, its refusal to undertake a full-on rebuilding season once the winning stopped, the unquestioning way in which Nelson’s offense-first system is accepted despite its less-than-distinguished win-loss record, and the ultimate unwillingness to talk about any long-term plan to make the franchise a winner (and no, I don’t define winning as competing for a playoff spot).

Granted, as someone who hesitantly re-upped their season tickets this season, I’m not blameless in this situation.  I chose to renew because, as I’ve written before, the Warriors were my team before they were Cohan’s, and I look forward to being able to cheer for them after Cohan’s gone.  I have a stubborn desire to wait out Cohan’s incompetence without giving up my seats, so that I can be there when he finally moves on and, hopefully, things turn around.  But as a customer — not a fanatic — I wasn’t happy with what I was paying to see last season.  If these two games are any indication, I may be even less satisfied this season.  Even my loyalty and stubbornness have a breaking point.  I may be joining the boycott soon not from any principled stand, but from total disgust at the thought of watching Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, and Monta Ellis spend another season repeatedly calling their own numbers and padding their stats on the way to 50+ losses as the rest of the team gets frozen out or benched.

So where does this leave us?  I’m not sure I have the answer — but I’m hoping that as a bunch of people who care far too much about the Warriors, there’s some collective wisdom that might be found on how to exert pressure on this organization.  Loyal reader “Son of Ahmed” asked me to throw the question opening to readers, and I think it’s a fantastic idea.  So, are you boycotting the Warriors this season?  If yes, at what point would the boycott end?  If no, what would push you over the edge to join it?  Whether you’re boycotting or not, do you expect it will work?  And beyond the boycott, what else could we do to reclaim our team?

I don’t mean to take the blog too far into political theory or guerrilla warfare, but given the basketball we have to talk about at the moment the change of subject might not be so bad.  I never cease to be amazed by readers’ observations and insights.  And I have far more faith that the readers of this blog, whether they agree with me or not, could get us out of this mess than the people actually tasked with that daunting responsibility.

If anyone is going to help get the Warriors going, it should be the Suns.  They’ll gladly play the Warriors pace and lack strong rebounders to abuse our front line.  Still, the Warriors can’t rely on the weaknesses of opponents to get them going.  They need to move the ball to their better shooters and get everyone involved.  Unfortunately, our two point guards appear to have differing theories on how exactly that needs to happen when it comes to Anthony Morrow.  From the Chron:

“He’s got to find his own shots,” Ellis said. “He’s got to be in spots where we can see that he’s open to get a shot.”

Nelson said he’s going to play Morrow more often with Curry, the team’s best passer.

Morrow “moves without the ball really well, so when guys are trying to make a one-on-one move, they have to be aware of how they can get him an open look,” Curry said. “When he’s open, you’ve got to get him the ball, because that’s usually an automatic made shot.”

Did Ellis just have his “It Aint Me” moment?  Time will tell, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see more backpedalling soon like we saw following Ellis’ training camp comments on Curry.  For those looking to geek out for a moment, the popcornmachine.net gameflow on the season opener beautifully tracks how the Warriors surged when Curry and Morrow were on the floor together.  Hopefully we’ll see more of their growing chemistry Friday night.

As always, drop your comments on the game below.

It may be opening night, but the Warriors’ dysfunction appeared in mid-season form against a decimated Rockets squad on the tail end of a back-to-back.  The team struggled for long stretches to move the ball, took tons of bad shots, and got abused down low by the Rockets’ talented bigs.  Nothing new here — except for the fact that the game was closer than it would have been last year thanks to the play of Curry, Ellis, and Randolph (for 10 brief minutes).

There’s plenty to talk about with the performances of individual players, but the match-up of Nelson’s strategy vs. Adelman’s tactics is important as any of the battles on the court.  I don’t buy that Nelson went small at the end of the game for lack of other options.  He could have paired Turiaf and Biedrins, as he did in the first half, or subbed in Randolph, as he did to start the second half when he showed no ill effects from his banged up back, or he even could have given minutes to Mikki Moore, who could have provided some length to prevent Landry from simply shooting over smaller players like Azubuike.  Instead, Nelson returned to Maggette and Azubuike at the 4 in an effort to stretch the court, opening lanes for Ellis and Curry.  Adelman countered by putting Scola and Landry on the court to pack the paint and punish the smaller Warriors at the other end.  Maggette was awful, repeatedly shooting from outside his range (and Azubuike barely got any touches), so Nelson’s plan failed to open the paint.  The Rockets dictated the pace, slowing the second half down to allow their bigs to move up and down the court.  And when they got established in the paint, they scored at will against the Warriors.  It’s far from the first time an opposing team has played out this strategic dance with Nelson — and the results were all too predictable.

But we’ll have 81 more games to evaluate Nelson’s love for undersized power forwards.  There were plenty of interesting individual story lines worthy of attention:

Stephen Curry — As in the preseason, the team looks completely different with Curry running the offense.  They still don’t move enough off the ball to make full use of his passing skills, but the little movement they show usually results in easy points.  There was a great exchange when Curry checked into the game for his first minutes with Morrow.  Morrow had been on the court with Ellis for nearly three minutes and had yet to get off a shot.  Curry looked at Morrow during the dead time before a jump ball, pointed two fingers at his eyes, then turned back to the impending play.  The jump ball was tipped to Curry, who touch passed it to Morrow, who had just jumped back behind the three point arc.  Morrow received the ball and went up in one motion — and found nothing but net.  It’s also worth mentioning that despite his failure to call a time out in the final seconds off his offensive rebound, Curry dragged the Warriors back into the game with his clutch shooting.  After a horribly cold preseason, Curry picked the final minutes of his first NBA game — down by 7-9 points — to rediscover his touch.  He looked totally comfortable taking the big shots, and the results were impressive.

Monta Ellis — Again, as in preseason, Ellis was a different player when put in the point guard role rather than the scorer role.  He started the game at off guard and had a very productive first half.  When pushed back into the point guard role in the second half, however, he failed to shift out of his scorers mindset.  He repeatedly dribbled the ball down court solely focused on shooting or getting to the rim, not even bothering to look for a more-open teammate.  He put up a decent line, but the team sputtered in the second half largely because he, Maggette and Jackson killed any ball movement.  The Rockets are good one-on-one defenders, for the most part, and forced us into lots of shots with high degrees of difficulty.  Still, the Curry / Ellis combo looked good.  If we had seen more of it, we might have eeked out a win here.

Corey Maggette – Someone, sometime needs to hit Corey on the side of the head and explain to him that he does not have three point range.  He shot an awful .253 from behind the arc last year — and is off to a blistering 0-2 start this year.  There were at least 3 or 4 other shots from a foot or two inside the arc, also outside of his range.  Maggette settled for these jumpers in the second half because the refs appeared to have studied enough film on his game to silent their whistles when Maggette initiates contact on offense.  Corey often gets to the line because he initiates contact — but gets the defender called for it.  Wednesday night the refs were having none of it, and Corey appeared to get frustrated and largely give up on penetrating.  That meant fewer trips to the line, more outside shots, lower individual efficiency, and greater stagnation in the team’s offense.  His line may look fine, but his game was awfully ugly in person.  He padded his rebound numbers with a few uncontested defensive rebounds when the Rockets simply didn’t make an effort for the ball.  On the contested boards, including key sequences in the final minutes, he was either beaten to the ball or called for a foul in his efforts to overcome the size disadvantage.  Maggette closing games at power forward was one recurring nightmare I thought we’d put to rest.  I was wrong.

Stephen Jackson — Jackson heard boos from fans during the intros and following a few particularly ugly plays.  He responded by taunting his home crowd, cupping his hand to his ear as he ran down the court.  With a little luck, it’ll be the last time we have to see it — because Jackson may be gone by the time the Warriors return this time next week.  Aside from his antics, his game wasn’t particularly memorable.  He hit a couple of nice threes in the flow of the game, repeatedly hung off his man, giving the Rockets lots of easy looks from the outside, and overall conveyed a sense of being fairly disengaged.  It wasn’t the bad angry Jackson we saw during the Lakers game in the preseason, but it also wasn’t the good angry Jackson we saw during his best moments as a Warrior.  He looked like he was merely running out the clock.

Ronny Turiaf – In the first half, Biedrins and Turiaf paired to keep the Rockets from scoring at will in the paint.  Ronny, in particular, kept banging against Scola to deny him position and easy looks.  In the second half, Ronny either wore down or was forced to adjust his positioning as a result of being the only big, because Scola and Landry took turns punishing him.  He also looked totally out of sync at the offensive end, forcing up shots and failing to connect on basic passes.  He hurt us the most, however, through his near total lack of rebounding in the fourth quarter when he was the only big on the court.  The Rockets managed some key second chance points because Ronny couldn’t secure the rebound.  I’m not sure if it’s the lingering injuries, poor conditioning, or something else, but this was not a game Turiaf will want to remember.

Andris Biedrins — Like Turiaf, Andris looked off.  He managed a few nice offensive plays, collecting his usual garbage around the basket, but failed to control the defensive boards like he has during his best stretches in the past.  For the Warriors to get out on the break, they need to control the glass.  The only time the team managed it Wednesday was when Randolph was in the game.  The rest of the night the failure to cleanly and quickly collect and outlet the ball doomed the team to playing far closer to the Rockets’ pace than their own.  I’m worried that too many summers full of international competition have drained the life from Andris’ legs.  He’s not showing the bounce he had at the beginning of last year or the during the entire 07-08 season.

Anthony Morrow — I fear the day when Morrow finally blows his top and/or demands a trade.  He leads the league in three point shooting last year — and is in the top five during the preseason in total scoring — but can’t manage more than 7 shots in the Warriors offense.  It’s a sad joke, as if they were purposefully freezing out their best option for executing the key to their offense (spreading the court).  He had some defensive lapses, like last year, but gave tremendous effort throughout the night.  He also kept moving without the ball even when Ellis and Maggette ignored him time after time on their dribble-dribble-shoot possessions in the second half.  Curry’s start limited his time with Morrow.  If Nelson can sync up their time on the court, my guess is Morrow will see more opportunities.  One look Morrow did get was the shot to tie the game, but the play was either a busted one (the inbound occurred nearly at the five second mark) or a poorly conceived one (Morrow ended up with the ball in the middle of a double-team).  Despite the challenges, his final attempt still made it closer than many of Maggette’s unguarded long bombs.

Kelenna Azubuike — A quiet, but positive game for Azubuike.  Not only did he look confident and assertive, but he was more explosive than last year — showing shades of his 07-08 form.  If he can stay healthy, he should be at the top of the Warriors’ list with Morrow of players to get more integrated into the offense.  Like Maggette, he spent much of the fourth quarter guarding a larger man and struggled with the assignment.  It was an unfortunately allocation of his skills, particularly since the team could have used his usually stellar defense against the Rockets’ wings — who got open look after open look from three point land.

Anthony Randolph — I’m not going to panic (yet) over Randolph’s 10 minutes.  He’s still recovering from a sore back, although he looked more like the Randolph of old Wednesday than the hobbled one we saw in the preseason.  What I don’t fully understand about the 10 minutes, however, is why Nelson drew the line there.  Unless Randolph hurt himself during his early second half stint (and he showed no signs of it), the team could have desperately used his rebounding and defense in the final minutes of the game.  Nelson will run Jackson for 48 with a busted toe, but won’t get Randolph 15 with a sore back.  The Warriors have a kind schedule over the next week that should afford Randolph lots of rest.  If Anthony is still playing 10 minutes this time next week, this season will have gone south far sooner than even I anticipated.

Game 1 is in the books — and there’s no better time for those “it’s only one game” reassurances.  Still, the problems that sunk the Warriors Wednesday night by no means appear to be contained with this game.  Sadly, we’ve seen them repeatedly over the last two years.  Despite those alarmingly familiar sights, there were hints of new possibilities Wednesday.  But they’ll remain just that — possibilities — until the team prioritizes changing its style of play to abandon the failed efforts of the past.

The opening night of basketball should be the equivalent of New Year’s Day.  Fresh resolutions have been made, shinny new presents have been recently unwrapped, and the entire year extends ahead unblemished.  Warriors fans have had opening nights like that before — whether through optimism or naivety — but this year won’t be one of them.  There are some positive story lines that may develop, but I can’t shake the feeling that there are simply too many parts pulling in different directions for this structure to hold together for much longer.

By my count, the Warriors franchise is being pulled in three directions.

• Going one way (towards the future) are the young players drafted or signed by Chris Mullin and Don Nelson.  Anthony Randolph, Anthony Morrow, Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, and Brandan Wright represent the largely untapped future of this team, waiting to be developed by a coaching staff looking for returns 2-3 years down the line.  They’re a passionate bunch, driven and largely untouched by the malaise that settles over perennial losers.  I tend to think they’re ready to become the leaders of this club, but they’re only starting to get those opportunities.

• Going in the opposite direction (towards the past) are the older players and the coach.  Stephen Jackson and Don Nelson want to win now.  Both have voiced their opinion that they deserve winning teams.  Neither has taken full responsibilities for losses on their watch.  Both continue to deliver soundbites about long-term goals, but take actions directed to short-term returns.  Their recent leadership has been a study in managed expectations.  Nelson downplays the talent of his team to the point where success is defined as competing for a playoff spot.  And Jackson, after a running preseason monologue on how he’d like new teammates (while assuring his teammates that they shouldn’t take it as a slight), is now praised for claiming that the team is “better than he thought.”  But because most of us can vividly visualize the worst case scenarios if Nelson or Jackson meltdown completely, we meet talk of .500 seasons and backhanded compliments with sighs of relief.  “Good enough” keeps on getting passed off as “good.”

• Finally, going in a third direction (to the bank), are Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell.  While the youngsters and Nelson/Jackson may be going in different directions, both define winning based on the score at the end of the game.  Cohan continues to define it by the number at the end of his budget.  The relentless focus on the bottom line punishes the youngsters — by preventing the team from undertaking a full rebuilding year in which they’d get a season of lead experience — and the old guard — by denying them anything but bargain-bin veteran additions to help accelerate the win rate this year.  Sale rumors can swirl and teeth can be gnashed, but the cold reality remains that Cohan has by far the strongest pull of the three groups in play.  Players and coaches have come and gone over the past 15 years, but Cohan, Rowell, and their basketball-by-balance-sheet agenda continue to prevail.

Trapped in the middle of this mess are the fans.  Most of us carry around a tangle of optimism for the future, tied to the youngsters, a longing for the relevancy, aligned with the win-now instincts of Nelson and Jackson, and an allegiance to the name “Golden State Warriors,” owned by Chris Cohan.  We’re pulled in every direction and end up going nowhere.  And if the structure suddenly snaps, we’ll be the first to fall.

So as we begin another year, we’re left to hope that this summer’s round of raw materials and quick repairs is enough to get us across the season on the same creaking, brittle schemes.  But what I’d really love to see is a new blueprint, a different builder, and a fresh start.

The team managed 29 wins last year without Ellis and other vets for much of the year.  This year, we’ve got Ellis back, Randolph and Morrow developing, and hopefully Curry stepping into a major role.  Despite those positives, however, the Warriors are just barely exceeding the pace of improvement across the NBA.  For example:

• We get back Ellis, but the Wizards get back Arenas, the Sixers get back Brand, and the Suns get back Amare.

• We have Morrow and Randolph developing, but the Thunder have Durant and Westbrook, the Bulls have Rose and Noah, and the Griz have Mayo and Gasol.

• We drafted Curry, but the Clippers drafted Griffin, the Kings drafted Evans, and the Thunder drafted Harden.

Among the teams with us in the lottery, arguably every single one improved — through the draft and/or the return of injured players.  And although a few teams in the playoffs should slip this year — Houston and New Orleans, in particular — there’s hardly enough downward movement to suggest the Warriors will be able to climb over more than one or two teams currently ahead of them.  If the Warriors beat my expectations below, it’ll be because (1) they found a way to play team-oriented basketball, allowing them to become more than the sum of their mix-and-match parts or (2) Ellis, Randolph, Curry or even Morrow makes an unexpected jump to All-Star level, giving the team the superstar they’ve lacked since Davis left.  Either could happen, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Anyway, here’s how I broke down the field:

• Superior Eastern Conference teams (0-2 against each): Orlando, Cleveland, Boston, Atlanta.  Total record of 0-8.

• Roughly equivalent Eastern Conference teams (1-1 against each): New York, New Jersey, Toronto, Chicago, Miami, Washington, Philadelphia, Detroit, Indiana.  Total record of 9-9.

• Inferior Eastern Conference teams (2-0 against each): Milwaukee, Charlotte.  Total record of 4-0.

• Clearly superior Western Conference team (0-4 against each): Los Angeles Lakers.  Total record of 0-4.

• Superior Western Conference teams (1-3 or 1-2 against each): Portland (1-3), Dallas (1-3), San Antonio (1-2), Utah (1-2), Denver (1-3).  Total record of 5-13.

• Roughly equivalent Western Conference teams (2-2 against each): Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Phoenix.  Total record of 8-8.

• Inferior Western Conference teams (3-1 or 2-1 against each): Sacramento (3-1), Houston (2-1 — two home games), Minnesota (2-1), Memphis (3-1).  Total record of 10-4.

• Clearly inferior Western Conference teams (4-0 against each): none.

Again, these estimates attempt to recognize that on any given night the Warriors could beat — or lose to — nearly any team in the NBA.  By looking at records against teams, these estimate hopefully cut out a tiny bit of the game-to-game wobble.  Regardless, there’s one key take-away from these guesses: the Warriors are still unlikely to be a playoff team.  By that measure, the season will be a clear failure.  The more important measure for me, however, will be whether Nelson is tending to the needs and development of those players likely to be our future (Randolph, Morrow, Curry, Ellis, Biedrins, Turiaf) rather than the demands or preferences of those likely to be history (Jackson, Maggette, Watson, Moore).  If we prioritize the latter group ahead of the former, it doesn’t matter how many games we win in the short term — in the long run, we will have lost.

“It’s only preseason” is usually invoked against the Warriors’ ugly, losing performances in October.  Far too often, however, we’ve seen them make the same October mistakes in January or April.  For Thursday’s win over the Hornets, I’m hoping that for once it’s the positives — not the negatives — that carry on once the games count.  It’s hard to overstate how gutted the Hornets were — there was no Paul to run the offense, no West to punish the Warriors with his array of offensive skills, and no Okafor to clean up whatever the other two missed — so we had a perfect storm for a breakout performance.  The Hornets played smaller than the Warriors almost all night — and that’s with us fielding Acie Law at power forward for extended stretches.  But even with the unrealistically easy and small opposition, there are some positives to draw from the game.

First and foremost, less than 10 games into his Warriors’ career, Curry is running the offense as well as any point guard we’ve had in the past decade — Davis included.  He had two jaw dropping passes Thursday — the first an around-the-back fast break dish to evade two Hornets ahead of him and in front of the basket, the second a half-court skip pass on the break to cut through three defenders to an open man at the rim.  But what impresses me more than the instant highlights are the simple passes he makes in the regular flow of the game.  He rarely gets trapped with the ball, swings it to the opposite side at the perfect time, and has a knack for reading cutters from the high-post.  Turiaf, Moore, Maggette, Morrow, and Ellis all got easy looks at the basket because Curry probed the defense, they moved without the ball, and Curry timed the entry pass perfectly.  The points came effortlessly and in bunches, particularly in the third quarter, because Curry pushed the ball and the rest of the team moved with him.  The rookie won’t get to face Bobby Brown every night, but at the rate he’s gaining confidence he won’t need to.

The score reflects how fast the Warriors played the second half, but it doesn’t convey how easily they scored in transition.  With Curry leading breaks, the team finally got the type of uncontested baskets they’re usually giving up to opponents.  Ellis, Turiaf, and Maggette all did nice jobs filing the lane.  Watson had a particularly pretty play where he snuck behind the defense — then caught a full court hail mary from Curry for a walk-up bucket.  The Warriors can pass faster than they can dribble, and the extra focus on ball movement with Curry in the game only helped accelerate the team.

The other factor sparking the Warriors’ break was their defense, but this factor I’m most willing to write off to the depleted Hornets squad.  Paul runs their offense, and without him they looked noticeably lost.  They were also small in front without West and Okafor, allowing us to get away with playing one big man almost all night.  Acie Law actually did a very nice job at power forward — but had life easier matching up against James Posey and Darius Songalia (who still went 8-11).  One nice change, however, was the absence of the often-infuriating big-man run-out Nelson deployed last year — with Turiaf (or Biedrins) leaving the post to pressure a smaller player at the top of the key.  Curry and Ellis both did nice jobs fighting through picks to stay with their men.  This allowed Turiaf (and Moore) to stay home and guard the rim.  The team produced turnovers not by gambling on the perimeter, but by driving the Hornets ball handlers into the congestion of our defense and their own teammates, then using the quickness of Curry and Ellis to strip the ball.  It will leave us exposed against better three point shooting teams (the Hornets were an awful 4-26), but for one night it was ideal.

A few notes on individual performances:

• We should keep expectations realistic for Curry, despite my gushing above, but I do think he’ll be better against larger, stronger point guards than most people expect.  When Baron Davis used to face off against Steve Nash, Davis would pound him at the offensive end, but when forced to play defense would often lose Nash in a series of screens or through his own ill-conceived gambles on steals.  There was no way Nash could match Davis’ physical ability, but he used his ball control, court vision, and agility to at least even the score at the other end.  I’m not saying Curry is as good as Nash with the ball — although their games share some traits — but Curry is already a better defender and should be able to find ways to minimize what he gives up in height and weight through smart, disciplined play.  Assuming he plays (and it’s getting harder by the minute for Nelson not to give him free run), it’ll be tremendously fun to watch him develop as he makes his first pass through the NBA ranks.

• Monta Ellis had exactly the type of game I think we can eventually hope for from him.  He played little point guard after the slow first quarter — shifting his focus instead to getting out on the break, slashing in the half-court, and shooting mid-range jumpers from Curry feeds.  In the course of establishing his offensive game, he found some nice seams for pretty assists.  Once he demands double team attention, particularly around the basket, it opens up easy looks for lurking big men.  With Curry on the floor we don’t need Ellis to be a point guard, we just need him to be active and unselfish.  From his rebounding, to his passing, to his defensive effort — Ellis turned in an all-around quality performance.

• Anthony Morrow got to the rim more Thursday than in any other game I’ve seen.  His ball handling is improving and he’s showing a fair amount of patience.  A few times Thursday he waited for room to clear before driving when he would have simply run into his defender last year.  His long range shot was hot late — and Curry kept feeding him — but his ability to create his own shot shown earlier in the game was more unusual and encouraging.  He also had a decent night defensively against Peja, who he had little trouble matching for foot speed.

• Acie Law’s line won’t jump out at anyone, but he did a nice job playing mostly at the power forward spot.  As ridiculous as it sounds (and is), the match-up made sense given our short bench.  Law had the strength to box out the Hornets’ not-so-big men with his lower body.  He didn’t grab many boards, but he cleared space for others.  At the offensive end, Law’s game looked nearly identical to Maggette’s — driving to draw fouls or pulling up for jumpers — except he showed better judgment on when to drive, pass, or shoot and he was better at actually making the basket when he went to the rim.  I was quick to mock Nelson’s talk about putting him at small forward, but I can see it against shorter, less athletic wings.  Law doesn’t have the quickness to keep up with most point guards, but he can handle most small forwards (so long as they don’t shoot over him).  He also has the strength and penetration ability to create a mismatch at the other end.  I’ll probably regret writing this at some point, but occasional minutes for Acie at forward might be a crazy Nelson plan that pays dividends.

• Ronny Turiaf had a typically workman-like game — solid defense, nice put-backs, and excellent energy.  He’s moving well without the ball, which is key with Curry on the floor, and also showed off his underrated court vision.  He appeared to tweak his back early in the first half, but came back later in the game with no clear limitations.  He got a longer run than he normally would given Andris’ noticeable absence (he wasn’t on the bench due to “illness,” nor was George — let the rumors commence).

• Mikki Moore also had an easier time with the small Hornets line-up.  No one put a body on him to clear him out of the lane, so he had plenty of room for clearing the glass.  Like Turiaf, he benefited from nice passes from Curry and Ellis.  I’ll worry about the four little guys and Moore line-up if it appears in the regular season, but at least for one night it was not only defensible, but successful.

• Corey Maggette scored almost all of his points during the first quarter, during the ugliest stretch of the game.  Unlike Ellis and Law, who made decisive moves to the basket when they received the ball, Maggette continues to hold it for far too long.  When the ball stops moving in his hands, his teammates stop moving without the ball (can’t say I blame them).  The offense stagnates, leading to fewer penetration lanes for Maggette — and ultimately resulting in more Maggette jumpshots.  He hit most of them Thursday, but that won’t always be the case and isn’t good for the ultimate health of the offense.  Corey’s offensive skills should be used as a last resort, not the initial point of attack.

• Finally, CJ Watson looked like a throw-back player to last year’s team amidst the newly quick and selfless attack led by Curry.  He repeatedly ran fast breaks that ended with him pulling up for a jumper.  His defense was typically weak.  The worst basketball of the night came as he attempted to run the team with Ellis in the first quarter.  When he shifted over to shooting guard it helped a bit, but he still makes bad decisions with the ball.  For example, with Morrow on fire in the fourth quarter, Curry and Ellis were working to find him open looks on the perimeter.  When Watson got the ball following two Morrow makes, however, he dribbled into a trap and passed the ball to Moore in even thicker coverage, resulting in a turnover.  Watson’s mid-range jumper is still nearly automatic, but that’s no longer enough to justify minutes.  The more selectively Nelson applies his skills to the game, the better off we’ll be.

And with that, the Warriors are onto the games that court.  There are still seemingly endless unanswered questions around this team — how does the team avoid slowing down when Jackson returns, how does our thin front court handle a team with more than one or two 6-10 stiffs, what roles will Curry, Morrow, and Randolph have if/when everyone returns healthy, and what identity will this team develop if Nelson still insists on the Jackson, Maggette, Watson-heavily line-ups of the past?  We have 82 games to answer these questions.  During the final preseason game, we got a brief respite to enjoy what our basketball lives would be like if those questions didn’t exist.

Pau Gasol, famous for punishing the Warriors in the paint, sat out the game.  So did Corey Maggette, famous for getting punished in the paint.  Those absences likely combined for a somewhat unrealistic assessment of how well our front line held up to the Champions’ low-post attack, but there were still some encouraging results.  The Lakers’ early run occurred almost entirely on jump shots (Kobe over Jackson) and fast break points off turnovers.  When the Lakers tried to penetrate in the half court, Biedrins and Turiaf protected the rim and cleaned the glass.  At the other end, both big men kept the ball moving on offense — making numerous nice passes to set up buckets or assists.  Mikki Moore also turned in an ugly but pretty effective game against offensive powerhouses like DJ Mbenga and Josh Powell.  The only big guy that looked lost was Randolph — and it was not a pretty sight.  He took an early hit to his back and never looked the same afterwards.  His activity was down at both ends of the court, his shot was off, and he looked a step slow.  I worry that his high-flying ways are beginning to catch up with him.  We can’t afford the loss of any more depth up front.  Randolph is young and will go through stretches like this were he loses focus and/or confidence.  He still needs minutes on the court to get real NBA seasoning, but Smart made the right move limiting his exposure Tuesday.

Although the big men were the story of the hour, the most interesting developments came from the guards:

• Stephen Jackson had his most under-control game of the preseason.  He forced a few passes, but overall he played very unselfishly, minimized his bad shots, and gave consistent effort at the defensive end.  I was particularly encouraged to see him look both for Morrow and the big guys on multiple occasions.  He got the forgotten parts involved in the offense, and it helped the Warriors hang close before the game descended into extended garbage time.  If he can keep playing like this, he may get his trade wish granted sooner rather than later.

• Stephen Curry looks more in control with every game.  The team jumped out to an 8-0 run upon his entry in the second quarter, thanks in large part to Curry’s smart passing.  On his first play, he found Morrow streaking up court on a fast break for a wide-open transition three.  He didn’t force his jump shot, had some nice drives to the rim, and generally looked like a seasoned vet out there.  The game fell apart in the fourth when Watson took over point duties from Curry, leading to stagnation, forced shots, and turnovers.  I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again — if Watson is ahead of Curry on Nelson’s depth chart once the season starts, this team is hopeless.

• CJ Watson had a few nice looks early when he was playing off the ball, but lost any goodwill through his poor point guard performance late in the game.  Asking Watson to play the point simply doesn’t play to his strengths.  He’s best pulling up for mid-range jumpers and getting to the line through penetration.  He should be at the receiving end of plays, not ask to create them.  We have alternatives at the point with Curry and Law — there’s no reason we should be resorting to letting Watson run the team.  He’s still likely playing his way into game shape, so I’ll cut him a bit of slack, but his run-killing decisions on display Tuesday were all too familiar flashbacks of last season.  Use him as a small back-up 2, where he has plenty to offer, but please don’t subject us to extended minutes of CJ attempting to run the club.

• Monta Ellis continues to look like he’s overthinking playing the point.  When he settles into his traditional role as a scorer, he’s far more effective — making nice passes off of the space created by his scoring attempts.  When he reverses it — trying to run the offense first, then look for his shot when things don’t materialize — both parts of the equation end up worse off.  Somewhat paradoxically, Ellis might end up being a better point guard if the coaches stop having him run the point.  He can push the ball on the break, let Jackson or Curry initiate the offense in the halfcourt, and simply look for opportunities to share the ball in the course of being our lead scoring option.  When he’s paired with Jackson, this approach will lead to a fair amount of turnovers.  When he’s paired with Curry, the backcourt will have a tough time against bigger opponents.  But on the whole, the Warriors are at their best when Ellis is their lead offensive weapon.  I remain unconvinced he can play that role and focus on being a playmaker at the same time.  Let Monta get back to being Monta — slashing to the rim, pulling up for mid-range jumpers — and leave running the team to Curry and/or a hopefully under-control Jackson.

• There’s not much more to write at this point about Anthony Morrow.  His defense could still be better and he sometimes forgets to hit the boards, but he’s otherwise been the team’s best player in the preseason.  His 9-15 shooting kept the Warriors in the game after their slow start and when they lost contact at a few points later in the night.  He was one of three players with a positive plus/minus figure for the night — despite playing 40 minutes.  The stat is a testament to how much the team suffered in those 8 minutes without him on the court.

The Warriors return to the Arena Thursday for the game Nelson has identified as a regular season run-through.  With Turiaf back — and looking like he’s ready to go — the Warriors should have all their key pieces for the foreseeable future (I’m either assuming that Maggette will be back or not including him as a “key piece” — take your pick).  Now all we can do is hope they somehow become much more than the sum of their parts.

All the usual disclaimers apply: statistics lie, it’s only preseason, the sample size is too small, the numbers don’t capture the upside (or downside) of player X’s game.  Take these for whatever worth you give them.  I found them interesting.  From basketball-reference.com (thanks to reader “Chris Cohan” for the link):

Percentage of player possessions (”touches”) ending in a shot:

1.  Kelenna Azubuike - 46%

1.  Anthony Morrow - 46%

3.  Corey Maggette - 45%

4.  Anthony Randolph - 43%

5.  Monta Ellis - 32%

5.  CJ Watson - 32%

7.  Mikki Moore - 30%

8.  Stephen Jackson - 26%

8.  Andris Biedrins - 26%

10.  Acie Law - 24%

11.  Stephen Curry - 21%

12.  Shaun Pruitt - 21%

13.  Speedy Claxton - 5%

I’m not surprised to see Morrow, Azubuike, and Maggette at the top of this list, given that they’re put on the court primarily to score.  Randolph’s presence at the top suggests he’s likely forcing things a bit given his current lack of a reliable jumper, but that has been obvious from watching him play.  The big surprise on this list is Jackson’s 26% shot rate — snugly between Ellis and Curry.  He’s put up decent assist numbers, but this suggests that I’ve been too hard on him with my accusations of ball-hogging.  He’s still shooting a lousy percentage, but his shot-per-touch numbers aren’t outrageous.  Of course, this number could be skewed by the fact that it’s often Jackson making the pass to initiate the offense — giving him an extra pass touch each team possession — but the same logic would likely inflate Ellis and Curry’s numbers equally.

Percentage of player possessions ending in a pass:

1.  Speedy Claxton - 87%

2.  Stephen Curry - 69%

3.  Andris Biedrins - 63%

4.  Monta Ellis - 59%

5.  Stephen Jackson - 57%

6.  CJ Watson - 56%

7.  Mikki Moore - 50%

8.  Acie Law - 48%

9.  Anthony Morrow - 40%

10.  Anthony Randolph - 36%

11.  Kelenna Azubuike - 34%

12.  Shaun Pruitt - 31%

13.  Corey Maggette - 13%

Lots of interesting numbers here.  Biedrins’ pass rate is inflated by lots of post-rebound possessions, but the rest of the list reads just about consistent with my expectations.  The ball-handlers, from most likely to pass to least, rank Claxton, Curry, Ellis, Jackson, Watson, and Law (our new SF!).  Randolph, again, is too low here — particularly since he’s a primary rebounder like Biedrins and Moore and should be making outlet passes to trigger the break.  The real prize here, however, is Maggette — passing roughly 1 possession out of every 10.  Of players getting regular touches, only Andrew Bynum (10%) and Greg Oden (11%) rank lower.  But while those two players are shooting from within 2-3 feet typically, Maggette tends to be on the perimeter, either for a jumper or a drive.  That has to take its toll on the offense.

Percentage of player possessions ending in a turnover:

1.  Corey Maggette - 14%

2.  CJ Watson - 13%

3.  Shaun Pruitt - 11%

4.  Mikki Moore - 8%

4.  Andris Biedrins - 8%

6.  Anthony Randolph - 6%

6.  Stephen Jackson - 6%

6.  Kelenna Azubuike - 6%

6.  Stephen Curry - 6%

10.  Monta Ellis - 5%

11.  Anthony Morrow - 3%

12.  Acie Law  - 2%

13.  Speedy Claxton - 0%

Again, Maggette’s statistic is the jaw dropper here.  He’s more likely to pass the ball to the other team on a possession (14%) than to his own team (13%).  Nice to see Randolph’s turnover numbers down with our primary ball distributors, and even better to see Morrow at the very bottom of the list, taking good care of the ball.  Jackson, again, although leading the league in turnovers per minute played last year, doesn’t appear to be coughing up the ball any more than his teammates on a per-possession basis.

Percentage of player possessions ending in a foul by opponent:

1.  Shaun Pruitt - 37%

2.  Corey Maggette - 28%

3.  Acie Law - 26%

4.  Anthony Randolph - 15%

5.  Kelenna Azubuike - 14%

6.  Mikki Moore - 12%

7.  Stephen Jackson  - 11%

7.  Anthony Morrow - 11%

9.  Speedy Claxton - 8%

10.  Stephen Curry - 4%

11.  Monta Ellis - 3%

11.  Andris Biedrins - 3%

13.  CJ Watson - 0%

The least interesting of the four lists, breaking down mainly by the player’s role on the team.  Still, a few interesting points.  Maggette’s position near the top of this list is to be expected, but Law’s presence suggests that Nelson may be looking to use him as a mini-Maggette at the small forward spot, drawing contact and getting to the line.  Good to see Randolph and Azubuike relatively high on the list, but it would be nice to see Ellis and Curry a bit closer to them since both should be getting a fair amount of penetration (and therefore contact) in a perfect world.  I’ll cut CJ some slack since he’s still coming back from injury.

Finally, here’s the true shooting percentage (read here for an explanation), taking into account total offensive efficiency with 2 pointers, 3 pointers, and free throws:

1.  Speedy Claxton - 79.8

2.  Acie Law - 78.0

3.  Anthony Morrow - 72.1

4.  Corey Maggette - 65.7

5.  Andris Biedrins - 60.1

6.  Mikki Moore - 55.8

7.  Kelenna Azubuike - 55.2

8.  Anthony Randolph - 53.4

9.  Stephen Jackson - 49.0

10.  Monta Ellis - 42.0

11.  Stephen Curry - 40.9

12.  CJ Watson - 40.0

13.  Shaun Pruitt - 39.0

Super efficient offensive players (think Kevin Durant or Joe Johnson) typically score in the high 60s, so Maggette’s and Morrow’s scores are both excellent.  I’m dismissing the Claxton and Law scores as products of small samples, but they may also represent two player that recognize their limits and roles — and don’t going outside them.  Of course, if Maggette’s score justifies him passing 1 touch out of 10, then Morrow needs to be more of a ball hog.  The lack of efficiency from both Ellis and Curry is worrisome.  The rookie gets a bit of a pass given the NBA adjustment, but Ellis — usually a very efficient scorer — is more problematic to explain.  Unclear right now whether blame lies with the loss of a step from his injury, the challenge of playing point guard, or a bit of both, but he’s not currently the brutally efficient option he once was.

Now, if only they had a stat for points given up while arguing with the ref over past no-calls…