8 Jan 11 The Golden State Warriors Shouldn't Panic...Yet

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty ImagesI don't need to recap this season. We all know that watching the Warriors has often been like watching amateur erotic theatreoccasionally brilliant, occasionally frustrating, but nearly always painful as they find a way to mess things up. (This is not meant to disparage hard-working amateur erotic theatre performers or their fans.)Having said that, we all know what the brightest G-spots in the sea of flesh and premature ejaculations has been: the rapid development of Stephen Curry and the consistent scoring of Monta Ellis.(Okay, I'll stop Washington Redskins jersey
the erotic theatre references now.)After watching the last game against the Raptors, I was further convinced that Warriors management have to give Monta and Steph a full year to develop. Already, despite the Monta-Curry compatibility issue, they're the most dynamic backcourt in the league.Sure, they're a little lacking on defense, but if the Dubs re-sign Raja Bell, they can bring him off the bench if Monta or Steph are getting blown away on a particular night. We don't need them to be absolute lockdown guys.Having said that, I do believe there are some things management and the team needs to do for us to finally return to the playoffs.1) Andris Biedrins Needs To Develop a Post GameA lot of people have already given up on Biedrins and are calling for him to be shipped out this offseason for a post player. And I'm acquainted with his flaws, namely that he can't shoot to save his life, he has very little post game, and isn't that great a stopper in the paint.However, guys with his mobility, rebounding, and blocking ability, and more importantly bigs with his price tag, don't come around every day.That's why I believe that they need to develop Biedrins rather than give up on him.In a decent system, he would have developed some post moves by now. Since he's only human and isn't going to magically develop them out of thin air, they need to get someone in to help him learn.I hear there's a bloke called Hakeem Olajuwon out there who might be keen to help for the right price. Why haven't they called him in yet?Developing a post game at both ends will take Biedrins closer to being the dominant center he has the potential to become, which means we won't need to trade for a big man.2) Get Rid of Maggette by Any Means NecessaryLook, I'm sure Corey Maggette is a nice bloke. And he is a good scorer and one of the best in the league at drawing fouls. But he can't play anything resembling defense, he can't shoot threes, and he's making $10 million a year.This offseason, the Dubs need to work the phones of every team that needs a scorer and is willing to take on his contract. If we have to take scraps for him, so be it. Hell, I'd seriously consider taking DeShawn Stevenson for him (hint, hint, Mark Cuban).Even if it means we have to trade our first-round pick, it might be a necessary evil to save Reebok Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald Realtree camo Jersey
some money.If all else fails, I might be able to negotiate a trade with the Wollongong Hawks of the Australian NBL.3) Give Steph and Monta Tickets to Vegas This OffseasonOkay, I imagine you're thinking something along the lines of "What?!" Hear me out.A few years ago, my favourite rugby team brought in a new star who had to combine with our stud second-year player who had been injured for most of his rookie year. For the first half of the season, we struggled along outside the playoff race, and they never managed to form the combination good teams need in their positions.When the team had a two-week break around midseason, the coach called them into his office, gave them 10 days off practice and two tickets to Bali, and had them stay in one hotel room.Once they got back from their trip, we didn't lose another game that season and went on to win our first title since 1969.Personal chemistry is a quality that's extremely underrated in pro sports these days. But does anyone doubt that part of the reason the Cavaliers are the favourites for this year's title, despite being primarily made up of LeBron, one guy whose best days are behind him and a bunch of scrubs, is because they all seem to be best mates? Or, for the same reason, that the Thunder are the team everyone fears in the future?Monta and Steph don't seem to have any personal chemistry at all. Maybe their problems co-existing could be simply down to this? A trip to Vegas can make any two men best friends if you experience the highs and lows together. (Or so I've heard.)4) Nellie Boy Has To GoI've been a strident critic of Don Nelson in the past, but anyone can tell his heart isn't in coaching anymore just by watching him on the bench.Why does he stick around? Because he's only seven games away from the NBA win record for a coach.Whatever I may say about him, he's won 1,326 more games as an NBA coach than I have. Therefore, I reckon he deserves to at least get his record and retire to Hawaii in peace.In the meantime, management should start making a succession planline up Avery Johnson, Byron Scott, whoever. Hell, get Larry Brown inif anyone can teach these guys defense, he can. Which leads me to...5) Improve Team DefenseThe main flaw this season has been our defense. Well, duh, you say. Our guys can't defend.However, our problem isn't just that Monta and Steph can't lockdown their men. It's that we don't have anything resembling team D.Once again, I cite the Cavs. Antawn Jamison can't defend physical big men, and Mo Williams can't defend anything. Why doesn't this hurt them? Because they have a fantastic help defensive scheme.The Warriors don't have anything resembling the conceptwe rely almost totally on man-to-man D. And even if you had Batman defending against Kobe, Brandon Roy, Joe Johnson, etc., he's not going to be able to consistently lock them down if he gives up several inches in height.We need to develop a team defense. This ties into point four: Don Nelson won't (or can't) teach it. So we need a Reebok Baltimore Ravens #5 Joe Flacco Realtree camo Jersey
coach who can.If you look at it, these are all little things. I don't believe we need to panic and blow up the roster by any meansin fact, I firmly believe that we have a terrific young nucleus who can lead us into the playoffs sooner rather than later. Even if our management are incompetent, these moves don't require rocket scientists at the helm. They mostly require a little common sense, a cool head, and some initiative.Unfortunately, it seems all the initiative in the Bay Area belongs to the fans right now.