By the time that I actually post this the 42nd game of the Golden State Warriors will have already started.
The Warriors are at the halfway point and we really don’t know too much about them other than they are finally healthy for the first time in 2.5 years. It seems worthless to grade them on the first half of the season when two of their three best players were injured during that time. If I really wanted an accurate reading of the Warriors I would wait 20 games and grade the team then but I don’t want to.
So here we go. The team as a whole has been average, which is what you expect for a team that is hanging around a .500 mark. Through 41 games, the Warriors are 18-23, which is just 8 games short of the 26 total wins they had last year. With the entire team healthy and an easier record for the second half one could expect to go .500 the rest of the way. That would likely give them a record of 39-43—not .500 basketball but quite the improvement over last year’s 26-56 record. The problem is, that under .500 teams don’t make it into the playoffs in the Western Conference. The last time a team with a .500 record or worse made it to the playoffs was in the 98-99 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves* and that was a strike shortened season.
*Rockets made it in with a .500 record the year before (1997-98)
The Warriors need to get 48-50 wins to have a hope of getting that 8th seed. That means they are going to have to win about 30-32 games the rest of the way. Not going to be easy for this team.
Now let’s get to the grades.
Monta Ellis: You have to start with the best player on the team. If you would have asked me last year, I would have been on board with trading Monta especially after how Curry looked and it was extremely obvous that they could not play together. Monta seemed to be the problem and Curry appeared as the solution. Now, if I had to pick I would keep Ellis and trade Curry and in fact the Warriors might do that. Although Ellis is not a top-10 player in the league, he is the best player on the Warriors and averaging 25.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.3 steals. He has been clearly the leader and the team pretty much lives and dies with his performances but I can’t give him an A because he doesn’t appear to help them win. Grade: B+
Stephen Curry: Curry missed 8 games with an injured ankle that was a result of his time with Team USA in the off-season. He has not been overly impressive in the first half of the season as most people expected an improvement over year 1. So far his defense has been not impressive and has not seemed to improve. He also has a knack for make terrible mistakes like fouling players’ inopportune times. Grade: C-
Dorell Wright: Let me first say that I am a huge fan of Wright. I have been for a long time, even when he was with the Heat. He is the best defender on the team; he can shoot the three, and is an average rebounder. I’d like to see him do a better job at getting to the charity stripe as he has the best pump fake in the league. With all that said he has been a nice pickup by GM Larry Riley. Grade: B-
David Lee: David Lee missed 9 games with a fluke elbow injury after hitting Wilson Chandler in the mouth. The injury may have only kept him out for 9 games but the aftereffect was much more than that. It’s hard to grade him for the full season because of the effect of the injury but even before the injury he didn’t look like the David Lee that was playing for the New York Knicks. I am very curious to see what he does in the second half of the season. Grade: C
Andris Biedrins: If it wasn’t for the last three games in which he has shown much improvement then I would give Biedrins an F. He is doing a better job at getting involved in the offense and it seems that Curry and Ellis are also trying to get him involved to build up his confidence. Biedrins is another player that I am curious to see what he does in the second half of the season. Grade: D
Vladimir Radmanovic: Earlier this season I couldn’t wait for Radmanovic to get traded as he is one of the expiring contracts that is likely to be moved. He couldn’t hit a shot and he tends to make the most ridiculous mistakes. But ever since he hit the game winning shot against the Kings on December 21st, he has been pretty impressive. He’s a nice role player on this team. Grade: D+
Reggie Williams: Reggie has been a good sixth man for the Warriors. He averages 10.1 points per game and is a nice player off the bench. He’s a player who needs to do a better job on his individual defense. Grade: D
Acie Law: Acie Law came in mid-season to fill a much needed role as the backup PG. Law’s never going to be a starter in the league but has found a nice role with the Warriors. I’m pretty happy with what Law has been able to do and come in a shore up the bench. Grade: C
Ekpe Udoh: It’s hard for me to grade Udoh as he is a rookie who has only appeared in 17 games this season. I would like to see him play more than he does now because he plays defense which tends to be lacking on this team. Grade: Incomplete
Louis Amundson: Amundson has been injured for half of the season. There’s not much that his game offers other than rebounding and a bit of defense. Grade: D-
Charlie Bell: With how much Bell makes, one would think he would play more than he does. Most games he doesn’t even dress since he is behind Acie Law on the depth chart. Grade: F
Dan Gadzuric: Gadzuric doesn’t get a bunch of playing time but he has been a nice player when he does play. Overall I have been impressed with him in his limited minutes. Grade: D+
Brandan Wright: Brandan Wright has been an utter disappointment ever since Chris Mullin traded Jason Richardson for him. The story of his career is that he’s always injured and not good enough to get any playing time. The story is continuing on this year. Grade: F
Jeremy Lin: Lin is another rookie that is hard to grade. If we graded him on fan response then he would be an A because the fans absolutely love this guy and so does Joe Lacob. He has definitely improved as the year has gone on in his limited minutes but with Law now entrenched as the backup point guard and Bell behind him there are no minutes for Lin. He is now in Reno playing for the Big Horns in the D-League. Grade: Incomplete
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