The NEW Feltbot’s Warriors Blog is located at http://feltbot.com.  I look forward to continuing the conversation with you there.

Guess what?  Even with the helpful addition of Tyson Chandler, the Dallas Mavericks are not a very good defensive team. That’s not what they do. Not how they win. There are targets all over this Dallas team.

Nowitzki is an obvious target. But you wouldn’t know that from Keith Smart’s game plan, would you?

But the real target is their guards. Particularly their three guard lineup of Kidd, Terry and Beaubois (with Barea subbing) that the Mavs went with for most of last night’s game after their disastrous 1st quarter.  The lineup that they opened the third quarter with.

Again, you wouldn’t know that from Keith Smart’s game plan.  To Coach Smart, this looked like a game to be won with defense. This looked like a good spot for Acie Law.

The Mavs were a tired team last night. On a road back to back in the season’s dog days. And when the Warriors  broke out to that 17 point lead, the Mavs were ripe for the plucking. Ripe for the all-out Nellieball assault that would have blown them out of the water.  That was proven by Don Nelson to be their Achilles heel.

It never happened.

This Warriors team doesn’t know who they are.  And how could they, when their head coach doesn’t know who they are?

And when their GM, Joe Lacob, is busy changing who they are, while sending the strong message that who they were wasn’t worth a damn.

The Nellieball Answer: If ever there was a game that called for Lee at center, this was it.  Pull Tyson Chandler all the way out of the lane.

Guard Nowitzki with Wright and Vlad Rad. Being guarded by quicker players is the only thing that bothers Dirk. Stephen Jackson DESTROYED him. How could Keith Smart, who was sitting right at Don Nelson’s elbow when the We Believe Warriors held the Mavs 10 points below their scoring average, have forgotten this? Keith Smart fed David Lee 34 points he absolutely didn’t deserve to eat.  Lee should NEVER be guarding Nowitzki.

So, Chandler pulled out of the lane guarding Lee. Nowitzki out at the three point line guarding Wright and Vlad Rad.  Now how does that three guard lineup look, Rick Carlisle?  Good luck keeping Monta and Curry out of the lane. Good luck defending the pick and roll.

Run the damn ball.  The Warriors transition was pathetic in this game.  Much of it was a function of having the wrong lineup on the court. But a lot of it is Keith Smart’s obsession with taking care of the ball.  You could just see it whenever the Warriors rebounded. They squeezed the ball until every last Mav was out of sight, instead of looking upcourt and unleashing. And then walked the ball up the court. Pathetic.

Unleash Stephen Curry. There is no half-court defense for early threes at 45% conversion. None.

Do you want to play half-court basketball against Tyson Chandler on the offensive end, and Dirk Nowitzki on the defensive end? Is that your game plan for beating the Mavs?

Well then, Keith Smart and Joe Lacob are the guys for you.

Stephen Curry and the demise of Keith Smart: This is a very under-reported story, but the tension between Curry and Smart has exploded. Matt Steinmetz finally wrote something about it last night, but contined to downplay the friction angle.

There is friction, trust me.  It has been all over Curry’s body language, all season long. And it exploded last night. Exploded. You will likely never hear a word about it, because that’s not how Curry rolls. But as I watched the four quarter of this game, I was struck deaf and dumb by what I saw unfold.

Once again, Stephen Curry was a minimal part of the Warriors’ offensive game plan. And once again, Curry was forced to endure 6 1/2 fourth quarter minutes on the pine while Keith Smart inexplicably rode Acie Law. When he was finally brought back in, he wasn’t ready to play. For whatever reason. Anger. Frustration. Disinterest. Being cold. Loss of confidence. Loss of Swag.

Loss of role.

Curry turned the ball over twice, trying to initiate Smart’s absurd motion schemes. And then when Terry burned him on the defensive end, Smart boiled over, yanking Curry for Acie Law. Down 6 in crunch time, heading into an offensive possession, he yanked Curry for Acie Law.

This is beyond teaching, folks. It’s something else. And it certainly wasn’t an offense/defense substitution, as Keith Smart tried to sell to the press in his post-game presser.  Law was brought in on an offensive possession.

(I’ve kind of been waiting for this moment, this season.  The moment when Keith Smart faced the consequences of his bubbly effusive nothing-goes-unanswered camaraderie with his buddies in the press.

The moment when he looked his buddies right in the eye, and lied.)

Curry, by the way, was “excused” from making post-game comments.  I don’t think there is any denying now that this thing between Curry and Smart is personal.

Just as the thing between Smart and Reggie Williams is personal.  Did you happen to catch Smart yell “I’m the fucking coach!” on the sidelines a few games back?  It was directed at Reggie Williams. And we’ve all witnessed what’s happened to his minutes in the interim. (By the way, didn’t Marcus Thompson dedicate an entire story earlier this season to Keith Smart’s declaration that he doesn’t have a doghouse?  What are the odds that Thompson revisits that story?)

After months of religiously trying to pound Don Nelson’s gloriously talented roster into Joe Lacob’s square hole, Keith Smart has wound up losing his team.

I wonder, Joe Lacob, is this what you had in mind when you told us that Don Nelson was “the wrong man to coach this team”?

The Warriors struggled badly in the first half, and I struggled badly at the same time, because I couldn’t stand the fact that when Orlando went “small” with Ryan Anderson at the four, Keith Smart didn’t match him.

When Vlad Rad came in for Biedrins midway through the third, though, this game took off.  The floor magically opened up, and the Warriors’ phenomenal talent took over.  David Lee rampaged in the pick and roll, finding the Warriors open three point shooters with precision. 9 assists.

On defense, it was Vlad Rad who was getting pulled out to the three point line to guard Anderson, instead of David Lee.  And Vlad Rad providing help defense on the shooters, instead of David Lee. And Vlad Rad who was able to switch the picks, while Lee stayed home on Howard.

+8.  When oh when is a main stream media journalist going to step up and recognize what Vlad Rad at four, and SMALLBALL, do for this Warriors team? Don’t hold your breath.

Keith Smart found the right lineup in time. I just simply can’t understand why he waits so long for it. Why it’s a tool of desperation, instead of a gameplan.

The Warriors could have played like they played the fourth quarter and overtime of this game ALL SEASON LONG. Why haven’t they? We could have been watching games like this all season long. Why haven’t we?

It’s a dang shame.

Joe Lacob: Another reason my night was so wild is that I attended a wine tasting for VIP season ticket holders before the game, with Joe Lacob and Peter Guber. And I was introduced to them and had a nice conversation with both.

Get Out!

(I’m not lyin’.)

And I got a nice picture of myself with Joe.

Get Out!

(I’m not lyin.’)

Lacob seemed mildly taken aback to run into someone of my ilk (ie., not a “real fan”) at this event. But he recovered nicely, and we had a very cordial conversation for several minutes about his plans for the Warriors and the state of the NBA. I don’t want to go into what was said, because this was a social event, and I don’t think it would be appropriate. (I don’t ever want to be an ambush journalist. If I report something someone said to me, it will be in the context of an interview.)

But it was an interesting chat, and I came away feeling as everyone else feels, that Joe Lacob is going to do big things for the Warriors in the future. And I do feel that it is appropriate to give him time, a lot more time than he has had so far, to do these big things. Particularly in light of the coming lockout.

That was never my issue with him, by the way. My issue was that he failed to do the little thing this season. To wit, reach into the D-Leagues for some helpful bench guards as soon as it became obvious that Jeremy Lin and Charlie Bell couldn’t play. Give this talented Warriors core a chance to compete for the playoffs this year.

But that’s the past now. This season is in the past, despite the heroics we witnessed this evening. I look forward with great anticipation to the next moves that Joe Lacob makes. And I will strive, as ever, to judge them objectively as they come.

A crazy, wonderful night. Thanks, as always, to my friend gswfan30, who made it happen.

Keith Smart is a perfect example of the talentless coach — that unfortunately abound in the NBA — who has imprinted in his mind a “right way” to play, and thus frequently loses sight of the forest for the trees. His analysis of this game will no doubt be: “We didn’t rebound well enough, we didn’t have the right intensity, we had some defensive lapses, we didn’t execute, we had some crucial fourth quarter turnovers, blah, blah, blahdeblahblah…”

Nonsense. Garbage. None of that had anything to do with why this game was lost.  This game was lost by the coach. It was lost before the game even started. It was lost with the game plan.

I’ve been over this territory many times before, so I’ll keep it brief. You guard Lopez 1 on 1, with Biedrins to start, then Lee, then Udoh. Front him and deny the ball. No matter what happens, don’t foul. Every single time he dunks, you take the ball out of the basket, and you run it back up the floor and play 5 on 4. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Every time they go somewhere else and make the shot, you take the ball out of the basket, and you run it back up the floor and play 5 on 4. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Every time you get a rebound, you run it back up the floor and play 5 on 4. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Every time you steal the ball, you… uh huh.

On the RARE occasions that you do find yourself playing half-court offense, you do it with Vlad Rad, or Al Thornton or DWright at the 4, pulling Kris Humphries out to the three point line.

LEAVING THE LOPEZASAURUS ALL BY HIMSELF ON AN ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE. How do you like his chances against Monta Ellis’ drives now? How do you like his chances of staying out of foul trouble?

How do you like his chances to keep up with this pace?  The over/under of centers of his type against Don Nelson was about 20 minutes.

How do you like Kris Humphries’ ability to guard Vlad Rad, AT and DWright in a running game? Do you like him getting 15 rebounds while guarding at the three point line?

How do you like Anthony Morrow’s ability to guard ANYONE in a running game? Do you like his chances to get open shots if you don’t double team the Lopezasaurus?

For the umpteenth time this season, Keith Smart executed the opposing coach’s game plan to perfection. Disgraceful.

But where does the blame ultimately lie?  With him, or with Joe Lacob?

On the offensive end, take a look at the play at 2:34 2Q.  Lee and Vlad spread the floor, Thornton posted in the lane, received an entry pass from Monta and got a contested shot to fall.  That is what he does best, and it’s clear that the Warriors picked up a very interesting Nellieball post presence in Thornton.  He will be tough to stop in lineups where the Warriors can spread the floor.

Thornton also runs the floor well, as we saw on that great fastbreak he finished on a Curry feed.

And he’s versatile.  The Warriors’ end of the game lineup featured Lee at 5, Thornton at FOUR, and DWright at 3. Note that this lineup can switch EVERYTHING, as can the Vlad Rad– Thornton lineup. Thornton picked up Baron Davis (and Monta the four!) on one crunch time play.  This is a very under-the-radar reason the Warriors small ball lineups are frequently better defensively than their bigger lineups.

Thornton is also a real presence on the offensive boards, where he is frequently stationed.  Quite obviously, this will help slow opposing fastbreaks, which have hurt the Warriors badly this year.

And surprisingly, his biggest weaknesses, defense and passing, have not been apparent so  far in a Warriors uniform.  Long may that last. But I continue to believe that he can’t guard threes out on the floor, and am curious to see how that registers with Smart first, and then Lacob in the offseason.

But overall, my initial reaction to the acquisition is extremely positive.  Thornton will be an extraordinarily useful player for the Warriors when used in Nellieball lineups. And I am beyond pleased that that is how he IS being used so far. But will that continue? Is that Lacob’s real plan? I have my doubts about that, that were not at all eased when I read Smart’s comments about using him at the two.

Thornton is NOT the answer behind Monta and Curry. He cannot defend twos.  So that hole remains as unfixed and glaring as ever.  Monta had 42 minutes last night, Curry 39.

He is the answer behind DWright, though.  And he is going to kill Reggie Williams’ already sparse minutes at the three.  Thornton gives the Warriors a bigger, more physical presence in the small ball units.  Since Smart is completely uncomfortable pushing the tempo and gunning threes, which is where Reggie excels, it seems obvious that he will prefer Thornton going forward.

Does that mean Reggie will get Acie Law’s minutes backing up Monta and Curry?  Not if last night is any indication.  Reggie Williams is in Smart’s doghouse. He is the forgotten man this season. Lost in Translation.

Great Joe Lacob Psychoanalysis: After promising to keep the last thread open, I changed my mind after watching Thornton play in the Cavs game. And since that thread contains some great psychoanalysis of Joe Lacob’s actions by posters in the comments section, including the most convincing rebuttal of my own theories I have seen, I am going to plug it again here. Buckaroo’s post (with Moto’s exegesis) in particular is exceptional reading. Check it out.

Have you voted yet? Grade Joe Lacob.

It is fair to ask at this point whether the Warriors as an organization are even trying to win basketball games.                                          

Which is frustrating, because if the last two closely contested road losses — to the vaunted Celtics, and to a surging Sixers team that has the best record in the East over the last month — show anything, it is just how close the Warriors are in talent to the best teams in the league.  And just how many games they might have won this season, if Joe Lacob had not bought the franchise.

Keith Smart: I’m getting tired of piling on Keith Smart. Blogging is not a blood sport to me. I like to think that my compulsion to write about basketball derives from a higher purpose. Celebration of the style of basketball I love. Ruthless dissection of the style I hate. And advocacy, which is an unquenchable part of me.

There is no longer anything for me to advocate this season. The season has taken its shape and run its course. At this point, by both his actions and — if you like reading between the lines, as I do — his words, Joe Lacob has made clear that there will be no cavalry charging over the hill to rescue Keith Smart. His milk carton is stamped. And with that, my feelings towards him have shifted to empathy.

There is no question that Keith Smart was dealt a lousy hand by Joe Lacob this season. Jeremy Lin, Lou Amundson. Rodney Carney, the Warriors only defensive swingman on the bench, taken away and replaced by… nobody. Larry Riley had his D-league-twitching hands tied behind his back. Dan Gadzuric, the only real center behind the defunct Andris Biedrins, thrown away for a second round pick.

And let’s not forget the insistence from the start– spoken or unspoken, the insistence was obvious — that this beautifully round Nellieball roster be pounded into a square defense-and-rebounding hole.

Keith Smart had it tough this season, very tough. But having said that — you knew it was coming, didn’t you? — I would be remiss if I didn’t keep pointing out how I think Smart is failing this Warriors’ team. And a lot of things went wrong for him in this game.

Starting with his decision to open the overtime with Andris Biedrins. Could it be that he made this decision solely in the hope that Beans would win the tip and gain the Warriors the first possession? Whatever impelled this choice, it was disastrous against a Sixers lineup whose biggest player was Thaddeus Young. The Sixers wasted no time exploiting Biedrins on the pick and roll, the Warriors couldn’t return the favor with Biedrins polluting the lane, and the Sixers seized the lead and the momentum. A disastrous decision.

Other decisions also perplexed. Biedrins simply didn’t belong on the court in this game against the Sixers small second unit.  If you play him at all, you have to start him against Hawes.  The Warriors were -13 with Beans on the court bridging the first and second quarters. Disastrous. And completely forseeable.

It’s also completely forseeable that this problem will persist as the Warriors go forward. If Biedrins is worth playing at all, it must be against bigger players. Playing him on the second unit will turn him into a target every time.

Other decisions: If you are not planning on playing Udoh down the stretch or in overtime, why yank him when he picks up his fourth foul 4 minutes into the third Q, a 4 minute stretch in which the Warriors were +7?

Stephen Curry sitting out all but the last minute of the fourth quarter….

The failure to fully exploit the pick and roll.  If you still have this game on tape, take a look at a few of the pick and rolls the Warriors ran in this game:

Big Lineup:

• 10:25 1Q: Lee/Ellis, Lee is bottled up in the lane because Udoh brings his man to him.
• 3:00 1Q: With Biedrins stinking up the lane, Lee is forced to pop and Curry is swarmed.
• 10:45 2Q: Same problem, turnover.

Small Lineup:

• 2:25 3Q: With Vlad Rad at 4 spreading the floor, a Lee/Curry PNR results in Lee being wide open down the lane, leading to a perfect pass to DWright for free throws.
• 6:40 4Q: With Vlad Rad at center (!), the Sixers cannot blitz Acie Law on the pick and roll. Layup.
• 5:35 4Q: Same play again, drive and dish to Reggie Williams.

For a great pick and roll player like David Lee, this game presented a dream matchup against Elton Brand. It should have been exploited. That meant forcing the Sixers into what they wanted to do anyway: going small. No Biedrins, no Amundson on the floor, ever.  And it meant spacing Udoh, and giving him the green light to fire that 20 footer, regardless. To keep the defense honest. Lee got a mere 11 shots in this game, shooting 7-11. I just don’t think that’s the way a good coach would have game-planned it.

I was confused trying to determine the Warriors’ plan of action in this game. No matter how sympathetically you might regard Keith Smart’s predicament this season, I think you must admit that his real-time game decisions do not speak with the same kind of authority that we expect of an NBA coach.

Andris Biedrins: Beans has been getting killed in the press and by the fans recently, particularly since he willingly accepted a demotion to the second unit.

I think he’s being treated unfairly.

Yes, that’s right.  I know I have been as harsh as anyone in pointing out his free throw woes, and what I have called his cowardice in shying away from contact. But when I wrote those statements I was still holding out hope that Beans was working his way back into shape, and could improve. That hope is now gone. And I don’t think it’s Beans fault.

Andris Biedrins has a CHRONIC INJURY. It’s related to his abdomen, and that “hernia” surgery he had last season. It has robbed him of his quickness and athleticism, which was the hallmark of his game. And when those went, so did his confidence and decisiveness. And when those went, he lost his hands, and his mind.

That’s what he’s getting killed for. Everyone can see how frightened and feeble he is on the basketball court right now. But it is actually unfair to him. Because he’s injured, and he is never going to get better.

Yes, I know he just gave an interview in which he said he felt great physically. I think this may be untrue, because I’ve seen him come out of two games recently clutching his abdominal area. What he is willing to admit to is that he can’t get his game back, and can’t figure out why.

I can figure out why. First of all, he can’t jump.  Just take a look at his shotblocking totals. 1.7 a game at the height of his power. .9 a game now.

Take a look at his finishes in the lane.  Do you remember how he used to finish before he got injured?  He would flash across the lane to that lefty layup, that was unblockable because it was above the rim. Do you remember all those alley-oops Nellie used to run for him? Gone, along with Biedrin’s jumping ability. What we see now are flat-footed jumphooks.

More than this, Beans is actually afraid to jump.  Can you think of a good reason why Biedrins did not jump center this season? Why David Lee jumped center in his place? To me (and only me, I have not been able to get anyone in the media to take interest in this subject) the answer is obvious:

The Warriors’ are protecting Biedrins from aggravating his injury.

Along with his jumping, Bean’s has lost his running ability.  This once great player who used to beat his man downcourt with regularity, and frequently be the first Warriors defender back on defense is now laboring up and down the court.

And that spells doom. Beans is not a banger.  He’s extremely light in fact, at 240, for a center. What made him special as a player was his athleticism and quickness. That’s gone, and it’s not coming back. Whatever it is that’s going on, and I strongly suspect it may be osteitis pubis, it’s not going to get better.  You can read that in Biedrins’ attitude. He is playing out the string.

Andris Biedrins is finished as a basketball player.

The conspiracy of silence surrounding this is baffling to me.  I can understand the euphemisms and obfuscations being employed by Warriors management and Biedrins himself. They want to keep Beans as mentally strong as possible, and protect him as much as possible from being exploited on the court.

But the mainstream media?  Like Biedrins in the lane, they have dropped the ball.

Stephen Curry: If it weren’t for the overtime, Curry would have gotten 30 minutes in this game. This after getting 31 minutes in the Boston game. While Monta is getting overworked.

Seriously, what is up with this?  I wonder why this isn’t more of an issue in the press? It’s astonishing to me that no one is covering this.

We all know that Stephen Curry can single-handedly carry a team, don’t we? I mean, we saw it time and time again last year, right? He is that good. So what is going on?

Is it a physical issue?  Are Curry’s ankles still bothering him?  He has looked gassed on occasion.

Or is it something else, some issue between Smart and Curry? I have had an increasing perception that something is wrong about Curry’s body language this season. He frequently doesn’t seem completely engaged in the huddles to me, among other things.

Stephen Curry is a very, very intelligent kid. I think he may have read Joe Lacob’s mail very early on in this season. And now he’s just gritting his teeth and fighting through it.

Or maybe that’s just me projecting my own feelings. What do you think?

On a slightly different note: I have contemplated off and on doing a statistical comparison of Curry’s last season under Nellie with this season under Smart. Matt Steinmetz got the jump on me with this very interesting tweet yesterday:

“Stephen Curry had 10 or more assists in 9 of last 29 games in 2009-10. This year, 5 times total in 54 games.”

Brother, I could write 5 posts about what those simple figures imply, if the heart hadn’t been cut out of me. On second thought, maybe I’ve already done it.

Thunder Watch: The Thunder failed to cover their -6 spread against Phoenix last night, twice. First in regulation. And then again in overtime.

The Thunder are now 1-3 against the spread since I began my watch. And I predict this will get worse, not better, when Perkins returns.

Have you voted yet? Grade Joe Lacob.

If you’re interested to know feltbot’s grade, check out the Celtic’s recap.

I’ll answer it for you.  They did it with Nellieball.  The Boston Celtics out-Nellieballed the Golden State Warriors.

The Celtics went small in the middle of the second quarter, with Jeff Green at 4 and Garnett at 5.  Keith Smart, who has a better small ball lineup than the Celtics, refused to match up. Stayed big. The result? Green beats the Warriors bigs down the court for an alley-oop at 6:35.  Boston spreads the floor, and makes 4 passes resulting in a wide-open Allen three at 5:24.  Boston goes on a 14-4 run.

Smart played big virtually all game. Vlad Rad was used exclusively at 3. Reggie Williams barely got off the bench (what is up with that?). Curry only got 31 minutes (what is up with that?).  The Warriors payed the price with their inability to guard the Celtics’ small ball.  Pierce and Green ran rampant all game long.  Until crunch time.

It wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter that Smart got a version of his best lineup on the floor: Lee at 5, Wright at 4, Williams, Curry, Ellis.  What happened? The Warriors guarded better, generated turnovers, ran the ball, and spread the floor, going on a nice run to get within 1 point after being down by as much as 17.

Here’s how Jim Barnett described it at 3:32 4th Q:

“Not many plays are being called, they’re just spreading it out trying to stretch the defense, letting Monta drive or shoot.”

This lineup was on the floor for precisely 4 minutes in this game.  Can you imagine what this game might have been if the Warriors had played small for say, 20 minutes?  Why do the Warriors have to wait until they are desperate to get their best lineups on the floor?  Is it Smart, or is it Lacob?

It is beyond ironic to me that in an incredible season in which the Spurs, the Celtics, and a Pat Riley team all transformed themselves into great Nellieball teams — that the Golden State Warriors, equipped with one of the best Nellieball rosters in creation, are busy trying to turn themselves into something else.

The Spurs, Celtics and Pat Riley’s Heat, for heaven’s sake. They understand their rosters.

The Warriors? They’re the Nellieball team that doesn’t know they’re a Nellieball team. The Nellieball team that doesn’t WANT to be a Nellieball team.

Incredible.

AL THORNTON

After months of doing absolutely nothing to help take the load off Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry, Joe Lacob finally made his move.  The Warriors acquired… Al Thornton?

I am completely baffled by this move.  Baffled first of all, that an NBA GM could go 3/4 of a season before attempting to reinforce the worst bench in the NBA, when he had the core of a playoff team in his starters.  But also baffled that when he finally did make his move, it did absolutely nothing to address the team’s biggest need.

Does Al Thornton help relieve the defensive load of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry?  It is very hard to see how, and I can’t believe that was the intent of this move. Perhaps it will free Dorell Wright to slide to the two?  But even assuming Wright can guard twos, is that where you want to employ him? Out on the perimeter, where his shot-blocking and knack for patrolling the passing lanes are forfeit?

As for Al Thornton, he can’t guard twos. He can’t guard threes either.  And he can’t guard fours. Or won’t.  Which is another thing that has me baffled.  Does Joe Lacob have any idea who Al Thornton is?  Does he have any idea what position Al Thornton plays?

First, who he is.  Al Thornton is a very talented mid-range scorer.  He is also a pretty good rebounder, and very clever at getting his shot off in the paint (cf., Lou Amundson).  What Al Thornton is not, is a defender. He simply doesn’t do it.  He is also not a passer.  Simply doesn’t do that either, although we saw him try to break the mold in his first action as a Warrior.

Al Thornton is one of the most selfish players in the league.  Which is exactly what Donald Sterling called him, right after he booted him off the Clippers. Flip Saunders, his second coach, couldn’t stand to put him on the court, and the Wizards couldn’t wait to get rid of him.

How is that going to fit into the Warriors’ wonderfully unselfish offense?  Into Keith Smart’s schemes for defensive greatness?

How is that going to play in the lockerroom?  Baffling.

Al Thornton is also not a small forward, although his size might suggest otherwise. 6-8″ 235.  Because there is not a single small forward in the NBA that Al Thornton can defend. Not one.

He’s also not a small forward because on offense he doesn’t spread the floor. He actually shot 35% from three in his first two seasons, but in very limited attempts. This season, his three-point shooting fell off a cliff, at 16%. (Hey, isn’t that Beans’ FT %?) He is far more comfortable hoisting 15 footers, or operating under the basket. Which is what makes his shooting percentage so high (47%).

What Al Thornton is, is a small ball power-forward.  Think about that for a second.  Joe Lacob went out and got himself a small ball power-forward. Remember Cedric Ceballos?  That’s exactly who Al Thornton is, but without the rebounding genius. Or Jeff Green, whom we saw tonight, without the brains or defensive desire.

Does Joe Lacob know that’s what he did? Was this an intentional move? I thought the Warriors were determined to play big going forward? Baffling.

Anyway, let’s assume the Warriors do want to play Thornton at the four. There is evidence for that, because that is where they actually did play him tonight, for two minutes at the end of the first half. Guarding Nenad Krstic! (Hey, there’s a player he can guard!) The frontline featured Lee, Thornton and Wright.

This lineup might be decent offensively, with David Lee playing high post, and Al Thornton low.  Thornton is actually quite good in the low post. (Oh my god.  It just hit me. Joe Lacob sees Al Thornton as an answer to his much publicized quest for low-post players.)

There are at least three problems with this thinking.  First is that when the ball goes in to Thornton, it never comes back out. So you can wipe out all thoughts of the Warriors finally getting to play inside out.

Second is that it is not the best lineup for Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry.  They thrive in a Nellieball offense, with Vlad Rad or DWright spreading the floor at the four.  That is the Warriors best lineup.  That’s the lineup, in fact, that got them back into tonight’s Celtics game.

Third is that this move will permanently take Vlad Rad away from his best position, power forward.  I’m sure that Lacob goes nuts watching Vlad Rad play the four. OMG, that Lacob quotient!  Wretched! (But what about that +/- ?) If I am correct, from now on we will see Vlad chiefly at the three, which is where we saw him play tonight. Miserably.

That’s the basketball side of things, as I see them.  Matt Steinmetz offered a possible financial answer to my bafflement in tonight’s broadcast: he speculated that Thornton might be insurance against the possibility of losing Reggie Williams, who is going to be a restricted free agent.  He noted that Williams was himself the player that made Anthony Morrow expendable.

Is Steinmetz correct? I sincerely doubt it.  First of all, I think Steinmetz is confused about Thornton’s natural position.  I think he thinks Thornton and Williams play the same position. They don’t.

But second, I think it is obvious whom Thornton is replacing on the Warriors: Vladimir Radmanovich. Can you see Joe Lacob re-signing the Warriors’ only true Nellieball four? I can’t.

I’m not a huge fan of Vlad Rad. And I have a sneaking suspicion that he will return to his dog kennel as soon as he gets his next contract. (Or perhaps it’s time for him to go back to Europe.) But I will say this: Vladimir Radmanovich, for all his hair-destroying eccentricities, is a basketball player. He is a defender. An offensive facilitator. Something more than just a shooter.

Something more than Al Thornton.

JOE LACOB

I’m ready to give Joe Lacob his final grade for his first season.  If you read my “Joe Lacob Tanked this Season“ piece, you already know what’s coming.  (But I’m letting my readers indicate their opinion too, in my second-ever poll on this site.)

Here’s a restatement of my bill of indictment against Lacob as GM of the Warriors:

1) Fired Don Nelson in the last year of the contract, at the very moment he got the roster of his dreams.  Thus denying a Hall of Fame coach and GM — as well as Warriors fans — one last glorious, thrilling, totally improbable playoff run.

(Many readers will feel that I need not go on. That Lacob could never do right in my eyes after this. They would be wrong.)

2) Replaced Nellie with Keith Smart, a coach either too incompetent or too fearful for his job to know what to do with the roster he inherited.

3) By virtue of his personnel decisions, guaranteed that the Warriors would have no shot at the playoffs.  Here is the list of those decisions:

• Jeremy Lin.  Ticket and jersey sales over a veteran back-up point guard.
• Lou Amundson over Anthony Tolliver.
• Signing Acie Law.
• Dan Gadzuric (the Warriors only true back-up center) and Brandan Wright for a second round pick.
• Al Thornton.  After the season was already gone.
• Refusing to ever fix the Warriors deplorable guard situation. Refusing to let Riley look to the D-Leagues to repair the Warriors bench.

Jeremy Lin and Lou Amundson are not NBA players.  They would not be in the league if it weren’t for Joe Lacob.  The damage that Lin did to the Warriors bench is incalculable.  Three undersized back-up guards who can’t shoot. No one reliable behind Monta and Curry.

The damage that Lou Amundson did to the Warriors front court bench was also incalculable.  A power forward that can’t play alongside Biedrins. Both unable to hit the broad side of a barn. Both afraid to go to the hoop, for fear of getting fouled and embarassing themselves at the line.

Is Acie Law an NBA player? Is Acie Law the most helpful player that the Warriors could find for the Warriors backcourt this season?

Dan Gadzuric was a very serviceable back-up center who gave the Warriors some decent minutes early in the season.  Shipping him out at the very moment that Biedrins was collapsing was an unmistakeable sign that the tank was on.

But those signs were unmistakeable from the very beginning of this season, with Lacob’s refusal to let Riley help the bench.  WHERE WERE THE D-LEAGUERS THAT COULD HAVE HELPED THIS TEAM? You know they were out there. They are always out there. Azubuike, Barnes, Watson, Williams, Tolliver. Always.

Joe Lacob refused to let Riley fix the Warriors’ bench.  Because the tank was on.

Which brings me to the subject of the second round pick that Lacob acquired. Lacob recently reiterated in his latest PR interview with Bob Fitzgerald that the Warriors new policy is to accumulate draft picks. This runs directly counter to Nelson and Riley’s policy that it is easier to find ready-made talent in the D-leagues.

I will make you a little bet.  I will lay you 100-1 on a dollar that the player Joe Lacob drafts with that second round pick will never be better than Azubuike, Barnes, Watson, Williams or Tolliver were in their first seasons with Don Nelson.

As for Al Thornton, whatever this move was intended for, it was not to make the Warriors better this season. The move the Warriors needed this season was very simple, and obvious to Joe Lacob. They needed to dump Jeremy Lin. Buy out Charlie Bell. Ignore Acie Law. And get some playable BIG GUARDS out of the D-league.

And they needed to do it months before the trade deadline.

4) The Spin. Whatever else Joe Lacob is, he is brilliant at spinning his side of things.  He is a good communicator, with an unerring sense of when a big interview is required to settle the raging fan base.

Joe Lacob’s spin is this:  He and Larry Riley tried everything possible at the trading deadline to get something done.  They tried very hard to do a “big” deal, and came very close, but just came away empty handed.

This is also Joe Lacob’s spin: All of the Warriors’ woes are due to the “sins of the past.”

In my opinion, Joe Lacob’s spin is completely bogus. It is intended to deceive. He is trying to pull the wool over Warriors’ fans eyes.

If Don Nelson were coaching this team, with Anthony Tolliver spreading the floor instead of Lou Amundson, and several capable big guards in place of Lin and Law and Bell, and David Lee playing center and DWright and Vlad Rad playing power forward in the small ball unit — not just in desperation at the end of games, but for significant minutes — and Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis and Reggie Williams unleashed, and the Warriors running and shooting freely, there is no telling what the Warriors record would be right now. I don’t think many people think it wouldn’t be better than it is right now. And that means playoff contention.

The Warriors never needed a “big” move from Joe Lacob to contend this season. They needed competent little moves. The right D-leaguers. The right system. An empowered coach.

It was not the “sins of the past” that kept the Warriors from contending for the playoffs this season. It was the sins of the present. Joe Lacob’s sins. Joe Lacob’s ego, that demanded that HE be the one to get the Warriors over the threshold of playoff contention. His “big” moves. His draft picks. His new coach. His new system.

That is why the tank has been on this season. In all of my years watching the NBA, I don’t believe I have ever seen a GM do his team like Joe Lacob did the Warriors this season. Ever. Have you?

My grade for Joe Lacob’s first season as Warriors GM is clear:  F.

Chris Cohan would have been better.

To see the second half gameflow is to understand this game in full: The Warriors starting lineup, following THE TWOLVES GAMEPLAN, was -15 to start the half. The Warriors BEST lineup, with Vlad Rad at power forward, was +16 to close the game.  With the Warriors small lineup on the floor the entire time, these were Kevin Love’s 4th Q stats: 3 points on 0-1 shooting. 3 rebounds.

The Warriors should have FORCED the TWolves small, which is a trivial exercise against the slowest frontline in the league, and then set about DESTROYING Kevin Love every trip down the court.  Counting free throws, David Lee got 16 opportunities in this game, Kevin Love got 24.  That is a joke.

And Love never got in foul trouble, because Smart NEVER MADE HIM DEFEND.

The rebounding differential, which Bob Fitzgerald and Matt Steinmetz fell all over themselves complaining about, was not the reason the Warriors lost this game. The reason was the gameplan. Period.

As bad as it gets.  If Don Nelson watched this game, he puked all over himself.

And then, of course, there is the end of the game. Once again, Smart let Ellis run the clock down, which is 100% the WRONG thing to do when down one. You need to get as quick a good shot as possible, and extend the game. Ellis bailed him out in the previous game.  In this game, Smart was deservedly left holding the bag.

Did you notice how easy it is to read Keith Smart’s mail?  Monta’s isolation was guarded by 6-7″ Wesley Johnson, the TWolves ONLY defender. (Shouldn’t that create an exception to the no-high-pick rule?) Johnson, who followed the scouting report, forced Monta RIGHT, then when the help forced Monta to pull up, effortlessly blocked the shot.

The Warriors’ last inbound play, intended for Stephen Curry, was guarded by… guess who? Once again, 6-7″ Wesley Johnson.  The TWolves only defender. Kurt Rambis, never the most intellectual of coaches, performed a full CAT scan of Smart’s brain.

Just an idea, but given that the Warriors needed a three pointer to tie, wouldn’t it have been a good idea to get Reggie Williams on the court instead of David Lee, so that the TWolves couldn’t have swarmed Curry? Couldn’t have read Smart’s mail? Couldn’t have prevented a wide-open 40% shot?

This loss put the final nail in the coffin of this Warriors season.  And as far as I’m concerned, it put the final nail in Keith Smart’s coffin as well.

The previous nails were pounded in by Joe Lacob.

And stabbed in the back by Joe Lacob.

Unless you are a Warriors fan, the NBA trade deadline didn’t disappoint. A lot of fascinating deals went down. Jump for my complete analysis, including playoff predictions, fantasy basketball ramifications, and for you fellow degenerates out there, betting opportunities.                                     

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Let’s start with the Western Conference, where events have unfortunately all but destroyed the Warriors’ playoff chances.  And if we’re starting with the West, we have to start with the Melo trade.

Nuggets: Has a team that has been put under the gun by a player ever made a better deal for themselves?  Far from blowing themselves up, which is what would have happened if they’d taken New Jersey’s offer of Derrick Favors and multiple draft picks, it is quite possible that Denver actually became a better team in ridding themselves of Melo.  You think that’s a ludicrous opinion? Well, I share it with Phil Jackson.

Here’s what you’re going to see in Denver:  NELLIEBALL.  George Karl is an expert and fervent practitioner of the art, who only reluctantly gave it up when faced with the reality of Chauncey Billups at point guard, and the mid-post, ball-pounding game of Melo.  That’s over now.  The Denver Nuggets are going to run, and they are going to pass.  Here’s George Karl on the subject of playing Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton in the same backcourt:

“We’ve got to have more passing in our game than shooting,” Karl said. “And now, if I have to play two point guards who can each get nine assists each night, I think that’s enough passing.”

Do you hear the GOOD RIDDANCE! to Carmelo Anthony in that statement? And do you think the great George Karl fears playing two point guards at the same time?  You think the Warriors have a small backcourt? Well try 6-1″ and 5-11″ on for size.

Of course, Karl also has the players who can protect that backcourt.  Starting with Nene in the middle.  And the great defending small-ball power forwards Kenyon Martin and Wilson Chandler.  And he has what Joe Lacob failed to deliver to the Warriors: two long shooting guards who can spread the floor and defend.  Well, that describes Aaron Afflalo.  We have yet to see what JR Smith can do on defense, when motivated by starting minutes.

Karl also announced that Danilo Gallinari will likely get the starting SF position over Chandler:

“My gut right now is Gallo because he passes the ball,” Karl said. “He has a feel for the game. He has a sense for the game.”

The great George Karl opting for actual basketball skill over defense?  There is an important lesson there for Warriors management.

The Denver Nuggets are going to be one of the fastest teams end-to-end in the NBA going forward.  Faster even than the Warriors, because unlike Keith Smart, George Karl knows how to push the tempo, and is unafraid to do it.  They’re going to be one of the best passing, best shooting teams in the NBA.  They’re going to have a small lineup on the floor at ALL times.

And they are going to win.  Scratch one potential playoff spot for the Warriors. The Nuggets are a lock.

(Is my opinion playable? Well, the reaction to the Nuggets side of the trade has been surprisingly positive. I prefer to look for plays where the hype is dead wrong. Such as the hype on the Stephen Jackson trade last year.)

Portland: Shockingly, Portland also didn’t blow up their team, as had been rumored.  Instead, they went out and got unequivocally better.  In a classic ripoff of a poor team by a rich team, the Blazers picked up Gerald Wallace for a couple of meatballs — Joel Pryzbilla and Dante Cunningham — and a couple of first round draft picks.

Take a look at Portland’s small line-up now:  Aldridge at 5, Wallace at 4, Mathews, Batum or possibly Roy on the wings, Miller or Fernandez at point. Can you think of a better?

I’m actually a little bit shocked that Portland created a Nellieball lineup. Will Nate McMillan know what to do with it?  Are the Blazers going to start running?

If Marcus Camby makes it back all the way from his knee surgery, no one will want to meet this team in the playoffs.  Scratch another spot.

Thunder: OKC got worse at the trading deadline.  What, you say?  How could they get worse by picking up Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson from the Celtics for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, and Nazr Mohammed from Charlotte for a couple of meatballs?  Don’t they have Serge Ibaka to plug in at power forward? (Fantasy players, get Ibaka NOW if he’s still on your waiver wire. I traded Diaw and Roy for him a month ago, anticipating just this eventuality.)

Here’s how the Thunder got worse:  Obviously, this trade will help the Thunder’s defense in the paint.  But the cost to their offense will be unfathomable.  Unlike Krstic, both Perkins and Mohammed are non-shooters.  And although Ibaka has a decent mid-range shot, he can’t spread the floor like Jeff Green.  I predict that this will prove disastrous for a team that already can’t shoot.  Westbrook can’t shoot.  Sefolosha can’t shoot.  Harden can’t shoot, except on holidays and alternating Tuesdays.

Not to mention that what had been a terrific Nellieball lineup just lost their small lineup completely.  Can it be a good thing to slow down the running of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant?

It just got far easier to guard the Thunder. Pack the paint. Deny Westbrook penetration. Double team Durant on every touch.

And another thing: Perkins is a 6-10″ defensive center who relies on his legs for his prowess.  But as those who watched the last Warriors game know, Perkins is coming off an ACL tear, and his game is nowhere near close to what it was. Will he ever again reach that level?  Not this year, certainly.

Unfortunately, the Thunder have a dominating 10 game lead on the Warriors. It is highly doubtful that they slip out of the playoff picture. But if I were a betting man, I would bet them to lose to the spread every game for the next couple of weeks, until the bookies adjust.

Hornets: Made a great move in picking up Carl Landry for Marcus Thornton. Consider this small ball lineup: West at 5, Landry at 4, Ariza, Green and Paul.

Mark Cuban threw a fit that the NBA, which now owns the Hornets, would spend it’s own money and take on additional salary to make this deal happen.  Cuban is full of crap.  When the Hornets make the playoffs, they will more than make up for that money.

What Cuban is so upset about is that the NBA strengthened a division rival. The Hornets, who were faltering lately, now look like a favorite to make the playoffs again.

Phoenix: I already made Phoenix a lock for the playoffs a couple of weeks ago, after getting a look at their new lineup in action.  They are even more of a lock now, after swapping mediocre back-up point guard Goran Dragic for the electrifying Aaron Brooks of Houston.  Wow, what a great deal.

Throw out the pencil.  You can write Phoenix into the playoffs in ink.  And by my count, that’s all the spots there are.

Grizzlies: I wrote off Memphis’ playoff chances a week ago due to the Rudy Gay injury, and their brutal March schedule.  But their deal today, picking up Shane Battier for Hasheem Thabeet and a first round draft pick, shows that they have not given up as a franchise, the way Joe Lacob gave up on the Warriors. They are going to compete.

I don’t like their chances, but their improvement makes it even tougher for the Warriors, who play Memphis twice going forward I believe.

Houston: Oh. my. god. Hasheem Thabeet, seriously?  The Rockets traded away Shane Battier and Aaron Brooks for a backup point guard and a bowlful of bust.

Can we stop the nonsense now about Daryl Morey as a moneyball genius? The Rockets are dead.

Utah: Blew themselves up, quite obviously.  And I think it is highly likely that they will never again reach the playoffs, given their market.  Unless they manage to pick up the next Tim Duncan in some future draft.

Deron Williams for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and a bucket of draft picks. Ughh.  It probably had to be done, but still, ughh. Devin Harris is a ridiculous fit on a team with Al Jefferson.  Harris is a suspect shooter, and miserable when feeding the post.  He needs to run.

Clippers:  I wrote at the time that the Clippers stole Baron Davis from the Warriors with that giant contract that the Clippers had just committed franchise suicide.  Well, it turns out I was wrong.  The Clippers were just shocked gasping back into life, with Dan Gilbert administering the paddles. All it wound up costing them were three lost seasons, and a lottery pick.  And oh yes, a milder form of cancer, commonly known as Mo Williams.

But if the Clips are smart enough to make Eric Bledsoe the starting point guard, and bring Williams off the bench as a sixth man, this is a team back on the rise.

Until the next suicide attempt.

(And yes, I snatched Bledsoe off the waiver wire in my fantasy league when the news hit at midnight. Dropping Gilbert Arenas.)

Kings: Picked up Marcus Thornton for Carl Landry.  Let me get this straight, the Kings essentially traded Kevin Martin for Thornton, right?  There you have it, one more way that Tyreke Evans has destroyed this franchise.

By the way, this trade has major fantasy implications: Samuel Dalembert.

The Warriors: I’ve made you wait, and I’m going to make you wait some more. The kettle has not fully come to a boil. Yet.

First, I’m going to talk Eastern Conference.  If you’re anxious to read about how Joe Lacob intentionally tanked this Warriors season, then feel free to skip ahead.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Knicks: The consensus is that you do anything, trade anything, to acquire a superstar in the NBA.  I’m not so sure. I’ve already given my analysis of Carmelo Anthony as a player in my Don’t Trade Curry piece.  He’s a black hole.  Which means the Knicks now have two of them. Let’s see how that works in D’Antoni’s system.

Three other points:

1) Carmelo is a mid-range player who doesn’t spread the floor. If Amare doesn’t want to play center, which he doesn’t, D’Antoni is going to have a real hard time spreading the floor. He needs a three point shooting, running center. Know any?

2) Speaking of running, the Knicks just got a whole lot slower, with Billups at the point, and Melo pounding the ball on the wings.  How is that going to work for D’Antoni?

3) As the Knicks got slower, their defense got worse. Stoudemire’s defensive deficiencies will be accentuated in a half-court game.

This Knicks team will be decent, and probably quite good eventually.  But I have serious doubts that they can ever click the way D’Antoni will want them to, let alone approach the championship level that they expect.

The hype around this team is enormous right now. If I were a betting man, I would seriously consider betting against this hype. Starting now. Ending when the bookies adjust.

Nets: Brilliant winners of this trading deadline. First, their competition caused the Knicks to screw the pooch.  And second, they picked up Deron Williams for nothing. When a genuine superstar is available, there is no amount of draft picks that should not be spent to get him. Particularly devalued draft picks, that are going to drop in value with every passing year as your team gets better.

Don Nelson, who traded a 7th pick for Steve Nash, and three number ones for Chris Webber, knew this principle like the back of his hand.

Joe Lacob doesn’t.

Celtics: I heard an ESPN analyst killing the Celtics for trading away their “starting” center.  Huh?

First, you need to understand that Kendrick Perkins is no longer Kendrick Perkins.

Second, you need to understand that Nenad Krstic of the Celtics is not Nenad Krstic of the Thunder.  The guy on the Thunder was a poor schlub who played with a selfish and visionless point guard who froze him out mercilessly.

The guy on the Celtics is a good shooter who is playing with Rajon Rondo.

The Celtics didn’t give up much in this trade, assuming they can still plug Shaq back in come playoff time.  But oh, what they added.  They added shooting. They added the ability to spread the floor.  And they added the ability to run.

They added NELLIEBALL.

Take a look at this small-ball lineup: Garnett at 5, Green at 4, Pierce, Allen, Rondo.  Do you think that lineup can get something done?

The Celtics are also likely to add Troy Murphy after the Warriors buy him out. More size. More shooting. More spreading the floor.

And the Celtics dumped Semih Erden and Luke Harongody on the Cavs for a second round pick.  That’s what those two guys are worth, the same two guys whom Keith Smart allowed to beat the Warriors in the last game, by his timid failure to exploit them ruthlessly with a small lineup.

There is a major lesson for Joe Lacob in the Celtics’ moves.  It involves getting non-shooters off your team. Will he absorb it?

Hawks: Just got a whole lot better, picking up Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong for Bibby, Jordan Crawford and a pick.

I had been writing off the Hawks in the East, but they might have an outside chance to pull off an upset now.

(I would tell fantasy owners to go grab Hinrich, but I already told them that, in the preseason.)

Cavs: What could Dan Gilbert be thinking? Yes, he picked up a lottery pick. But at what cost to his team’s morale? And for how many years?

Boom Fizzle imprisoned in Cleveland? Sharing a cell with Byron Scott? As an Ohio boy, who once spent a miserable summer interned at a Cleveland law firm, I can tell you that this is not going to work. This is going to get real ugly, and real fat, real fast.

Insane. Let me tell you, I hated the way The Decision went down, but LeBron James was correct to get as far away from Cleveland as he possibly could. Dan Gilbert is hands-down the worst GM/owner in the NBA. After Mark Cuban.

And now, while we’re on the topic of bad GMs, let’s talk about the guy who tanked the Warriors season.

YOUR GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

This is what Warriors GM Joe Lacob got accomplished at the trading deadline: Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric for Troy Murphy’s dying contract and a second round pick.  According to rumor, the Warriors are going to recall Jeff Adrien from the D-league to replace these players.

I don’t have a problem with dumping Brandan Wright. He’s not an NBA player. I find it exceedingly humorous that he’s going to play for Avery Johnson, who shrieks like a banshee when his big men don’t rebound and defend.  Can’t wait to see how that turns out.

I don’t have a  problem with dumping Dan Gadzuric. He’s close to finished, and competely superfluous now, at least until Biedrins goes down with his next injury.

I don’t have any problem at all with picking up Adrien. He not only rebounds and defends, but can shoot the 20 footer as well as a nice jump-hook. And he is not afraid to get to the free throw line, because he makes them.  If Jeff Adrien means that Lou Amundsen never sets foot on the court again, I will throw the Thaiblonde a party.

And I only have a slight problem with Joe Lacob’s stated desire to start accumulating draft picks and “build cheaply.” It’s a completely ass-backwards strategy for a team that is already on the rise, as I mentioned. And it — as well as Lacob’s failure to get a player in return for the Warriors’ expiring contracts — gives the lie to Lacob’s oft-repeated promise to spend whatever it takes to make the Warriors better. But whatever.

What I have a big, burning problem with is that the Warriors are currently competing for a playoff spot, and they have a glaring hole in their roster — which Lacob himself has admitted to recognizing  – that the Warriors management failed to take care of at the trade deadline. They need a big guard who can both defend and shoot threes to protect the Curry/Ellis backcourt.

And you can’t tell me that none were available, as Lacob’s mouthpiece Larry Riley has been intimating in the press.  Just to mention one name, it was widely rumored that Raja Bell was being shopped by the detonating Jazz.  Would he have helped the Warriors this season?  Do you mean to tell me that he wasn’t available for Brandan Wright and expiring contracts?  Baloney.

Outside of Reggie Williams, whose best position is SF, the Warriors guards behind Curry and Ellis are a joke.  Lin, Law, Bell.  No length, not a shooter among them.  That this bench was assembled, and then allowed to last a full season by Joe Lacob is a travesty.

It is a betrayal of the great core of this Warriors team, that has put it on the line this season fighting for the 8 seed.  And it’s a betrayal of Warriors fans.

I have had a growing suspicion about Joe Lacob this season,  that began back at the time Don Nelson was fired, Keith Smart was hired, and Jeremy Lin was signed. It was a depressing suspicion, that I kept to myself while this season played out. I hoped I would be proven wrong.

Unfortunately, I haven’t. And the disappointment of this trading deadline has me ready to give voice to my suspicion. At this point, I don’t see any other conclusion that can reasonably be reached.

I believe that Joe Lacob intentionally tanked this season. I don’t believe he wanted the Warriors to make the playoffs. Not this season.

And he took action to make sure they wouldn’t. It began with the firing of Don Nelson. Because if Don Nelson had been allowed to coach this team into the playoffs this season, Joe Lacob would never have gotten the credit he so deeply craves for turning this franchise around. He wouldn’t have gotten it this season, and he wouldn’t get it in future seasons. The Warriors would have already been a playoff team when he took them over.  The playoff team that Don Nelson assembled.

It continued with the signing of Jeremy Lin, rather than an experienced veteran who could have filled a huge void on the Warriors’ bench.

And then there was Keith Smart.  Putting a rookie coach on the bench looked like the only move open to Lacob at the time, particularly if you buy his unexplained narrative that Nellie was “the wrong guy to coach this team.”  But putting Smart on the bench was also a nicely convenient move if Lacob wanted to remake the franchise in his own image, as he has so frequently insinuated. One year of a caretaker coach, and then fully erase “the sins of the past” by hiring a big name coach that Lacob could take credit for.

What happens to this plan if the Warriors make the playoffs?  It wouldn’t be quite so easy to get rid of Keith Smart if that happened, would it?

And now this, several long months and the passing of the trading deadline with not one bit of help for the Warriors’ laughable bench. With the Warriors a mere 3 games in the loss column out of the 8 seed, they desperately needed Joe Lacob to have their back.  To do something to give them a boost, tilt the game in their favor, the way Giants management did for the Giants in their championship season. But what did the Warriors get? Bupkus. A stinging slap in the face.

Congratulations, Joe Lacob. NBA laughingstock Michael Heisley did more for his team than you did.  The NBA did more for the team that they hold in receivership than you did. You, Joe, knifed your players and your fans in the back.

Hey, but the Warriors got a second round draft pick!  Which brings me to the final reason I believe Joe Lacob tanked this season.  We all know that Joe Lacob covets draft picks. He’s said so, publicly and repeatedly. But why, with a team that already possesses a playoff core? I think we can surmise the reason. It’s because those picks will be his to play with.  His to erase the sins of the past with. His to put his name to. His to take credit for.

The Warriors have a first round pick in 2011.  Joe Lacob wants it to be a lottery pick.

It wasn’t the “sins of the past” that prevented the Warriors from making a playoff run this season.  It was the sins of the present.

What’s left for faithful Warriors fans is to hope for a finish straight out of the movies. To be specific, straight out of Major League.