[Source Article by SF Chronicle’s CJ Holmes – “If NBA is having a big-man renaissance, where does that leave Warriors?”](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/nba-big-man-renaissance-leave-warriors-18205541.php)
### Mike Dunleavy Jr Prioritizing Obtaining Guys with Skill > Guys who are just Big (unless they are also skilled): “*I think you always want to try to add size if the skill is there, but we’re not going to emphasize that*”:
> “If you have big guys who are uniquely skilled, who have a great feel for the game, who can play both ways like wings and guards, then there will be a renaissance,” Dunleavy told The Chronicle. “But right now our game is so predicated on skill that if you don’t have the appropriate skill, it’s hard to dominate the game. Jokić is a great example of that.”
> “I mean we didn’t have any issues with rebounding,” Dunleavy said. “**We had issues with turning the ball over, fouling, and just not being connected at times. So again, I think you always want to try to add size if the skill is there, but we’re not going to emphasize that**.”
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> “**You bring in a guy that doesn’t fit the way we play and doesn’t have the appropriate amount of skill and feel for the game and ability to make reads, it can really be a struggle,**” Dunleavy said. “We play a unique way. Klay and Steph, our guys move around. You have to have guys that can fit into that scheme.”
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> Warriors are expected to carry 14 players on their 15-man roster this season, and already have 13 players under contract. Dunleavy told reporters in Las Vegas that if the team were to add another player in the coming weeks, it would be one who offers size and versatility — similar to what Saric and Jackson-Davis bring.
### MDJ on the Bigs on the Current Roster: “*We got four guys that can play center. Loon, Draymond, Trayce, Saric. So in this age in the NBA, I don’t know if you need more than that*.”
> “We got four guys that can play center,” Dunleavy said. “Loon, Draymond, Trayce, Saric. So in this age in the NBA, I don’t know if you need more than that. **All are highly skilled. They can all pass and make plays off the dribble, and can rebound.** And Dario adds an element of shooting that we like. So I think we’re good in that area.
> “We’ll continue to look and if we think (other) guys can make us better, we’ll certainly look at them. But right now we feel good with what we have.”
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> “We got a guy in Draymond Green who essentially changed the game and he’s done it for many years,” Dunleavy said. “So as long as he’s playing at a high level and does what he does at both ends, we’re going to be able to succeed and thrive playing with a smaller lineup. **Again, I think skill trumps size” more times than not**.
### Some Numbers:
> **They surrendered 48.0 points in the paint, which ranked 11th among 16 playoff teams. But the bigger issues might have been ball security (14.4 turnovers per game) and fouls (22.9)**. That is why Dunleavy and the Warriors’ front office did not emphasize adding size as much this offseason. Improving those two areas were higher on their list of priorities.
> Golden State is hoping the offseason additions of Chris Paul and Cory Joseph can help protect possessions. Joseph ranked eighth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (minimum 200 assists) at 3.88-to-1. Paul was fifth at 4.6-to-1. The fouling problem essentially comes down to discipline and proper defensive positioning, rotations.
by NokCha_
17 Comments
thank you lol. the whole reason steph changed the game was 3 is more than 2. let their big boys eat while we feast on threeees.
He’s 100% right/on the money. Size for size’s sake on this team doesn’t work if it doesn’t come with high BBIQ (see: Wiseman). It also helps that we have guys that play bigger than they are (see: Draymond and GP2, in particular…this is not me saying GP2 is a big man – although he’ll always be a microball center in my heart lol and he *has* stuffed Jokic twice – I’m just saying he’s a prime example of a guy that plays a lot bigger than he is), which has more often than not closed the gap.
Need Kuminga and moody to step up. Leave it all on the floor and become part of the future.
Rebounding? How about trying to stop the other team’s big man. Or how many opponents drive to the basket when they see Looney standing there.
5 skilled smart players who can shoot / pass / move will beat 5 tall stupid players any day of the week, even if they score every time they get the ball in the right position.
When the ball is sticky and you don’t have to worry about players making the right play, it’s easy to double and swarm and play with an intensity that allows you to win the pace and possession game.
Sounds like all the issues we had was everything JP was doing.
Translation: “5-guard lineup coming soon to a Chase Center near you.”
The not fouling part had a lot to do with size. When smaller people try to guard people bigger than them they tend to have to foul to stop them
We’ll be a lot smarter this year well as long as Chris Paul buys into the fact he’s the guy to run that second unit.
He shouldn’t write off rebounding though. Loon was super human, and they had to trade for GP2. There were half games where Steph led rebounding. I understand add vs not having a roster spot for a person who only rebounds but it helped when they got second looks and doomed them when teams got repeat shots.
Tell this to the ones that relentlessly ask to sign Cousins, Howard, Jordan, Wood……
one could say our lack of size exacerbated those problems
I mean there is no reason why Steph (and CP3 barely) out-rebounded Klay Thompson last year.
Wiggins and Draymond have to put more effort in that department too.
Having to work 3x as hard as the other team just to rebound on par doesn’t mean we can rebound.
Now players are more fatigued, prone to injury, can’t leak out for ez fast breaks, etc.
Dun dun, I still hate you
this is another piece of evidence in a long line that says “the vast majority of basketball fans don’t understand the game”. this sub is especially guilty of it.
we love to treat stats as fixed entities and players as components made of nothing more than their stats. kristaps could flourish on the celtics, because they have room to enable him, and flounder here, because we don’t. teams are more than the sum of their parts. you can’t just go get a 10 rpg player and assume that will improve our rebounding. and you can’t see us get outrebounded for a game or a series and assume rebounding was actually the issue.
it’s always holistic. everything affects everything. we weren’t a bad rebounding team last year, probably, but we did take a lot of terrible shots. we didn’t put our rebounders in a place to succeed.
i so wish this sub would, as a group, sit back and be a bit more thoughtful, patient, and understanding. but we skew young and green, so that’s unlikely to happen.
Didn’t we out rebound the Lakers? We just couldn’t stop fouling snd giving them like 40 free points a game.
whos guarding Anthony Davis or jokic?