2011-12 Golden State Warriors Season Outlook
The Golden State Warriors finished their 2011 season with a win/loss total of 36-46 under Coach Keith Smart. That mark left the Warriors in 3rd in the Pacific and 12th in the West, which is commonly seen to be one of the worst in the league. Keith Smart was subsequently canned at the end of the year and Golden State decided to bring on Mark Jackson.
Mark Jackson played for seven different franchises from 1987 to 2004, most famously on the Knicks and the Pacers. Following his retirement he became an analyst and a color commentator for the ESPN networks partnered with former coach Jeff Van Gundy. This will be Mark Jackson’s first job as head coach.
The Warriors have a lot of talented young guys on their team, and with the right coaching this squad can compete in the West in no time. They have one of the best guard duos in the NBA in Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry.
Monta Ellis had a great season last year. He rated 8th in the NBA in scoring with 24.1 points/game, second in steals with 2.1 while also dishing out 5.6 dimes/game. Stephen Curry on the other hand, put up 18.6 points/game and a team high 5.8 dimes. These two guards are undersized and neither one is really a force on the defensive side. They also need to limit their turnovers, because last season both players totaled up 6.3 turnovers/game.
The Warriors are one of the elite teams offensively in the league as they ranked 8th in the league in scoring with 103.4 points/game, but they ranked a horrible 27th in scoring defense allowing 105.7 points/game. Their lack of perimeter and post defense did them in last season as the David Lee acquisition couldn’t compensate for the defensive deficiencies of the team.
Though David Lee put up 16.5 points and 9.8 boards for Golden State last season, he is more of an offensive player inside and his lack of defense is a weakness for the squad. Dorell Wright came out of nowhere to contribute a big offensive spark with his shooting, but he isn’t great on defense either.
Andris Biedrins must remain in good health for the entire year if he wants to help Golden State, because when fully healthy he can provide a big lift with rebounding and on defense on the inside. They added Kwame Brown in free agency to give the team another defensive presence down low. Brown put up 7.9 points and 6.8 rebounds for Charlotte last season.
The Warriors were able to pick up valuable pieces from the draft in the offseason as they were able to get Klay Thompson, Charles Jenkins and Jeremy Tyler. They do lose Reggie Williams, Vladimir Radmanovic and Acie Law in free agency, but these rookies will prove to be an upgrade.
Head coach Mark Jackson praised rookie Klay Thompson stating that he was “a big time talent” and one who will “play right away”, Klay Thompson averaged 21.6 points/game for the Cougars in his junior season before leaving early for the NBA draft.
WESTERN CONFERENCE PREDICTION: 3rd PACIFIC DIVISION
While Golden State will play a fun and exciting game this year and will look to do better than its 36-46 record, with our NBA predictions we believe they will have a tough time ending up any higher than 3rd in this improving division. The Lakers are still the best team in the division, and the Clippers are going to come on strong with the addition of Chris Paul. Golden State has gotten better offensively, but they simply haven’t done enough to take care of their defensive needs. Jackson will have this team play harder on defense, but not enough to secure a playoff spot.
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