Anthony Randolph: Let's hope he doesn't linger on bench as a rookie
The more thought you give it, the more likely it seems that rookie forward Anthony Randolph might just be a factor for the Warriors in 2008-09.
When coach Don Nelson raved about Randolph after the NBA draft, it was easy to chalk it up to his annual offseason exuberance. Nelson praised Marco Belinelli last summer, too, and everyone is still waiting on that one.
But after watching Randolph in the Las Vegas Summer League and Rocky Mountain Revue, it’s clear the kid’s got a little something going on. He’s young and unique and is different from every other player on the roster.
Randolph’s probably a lock to be at least an end-of-rotation player. Just a hunch, but you get the sense Nelson is higher on Randolph than he was/is on Brandan Wright. So, Nelson is going to look for reasons to play Randolph.
♦ Another issue is what I still see to be one of the fundamental weaknesses of this team: decision-making. Over the past few seasons, it’s been average, at best. And the only reason it’s been average is because Baron Davis was a positive there, boasting a nice assist-to-turnover ratio.
The rest of the Warriors, however, are wanting in that department. And not only that, they’re not really used to a lot of playmaking because Davis had the ball in his hands so much. Unfortunately, he sometimes spent too much time pounding the ball.
When it wasn’t in Davis’ hands, the Warriors really took their chances. Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson both can make plays, but they’re turnover-prone. Marcus Williams is the team’s only true point guard.
Which brings us back to Randolph. If there is one thing he displayed in summer league it was an ability to handle the ball out top, particularly when he’s playing the four spot. If he learns to initiate the Warriors’ offense, he’ll probably be asked to do it at times.
♦ If the Warriors ever feel like they need to take care of the ball, settle things down or milk a possession, there might be a place for Randolph. He would seem to be the perfect candidate to take pressure off of Williams or Ellis or even Jackson.
During summer league, Randolph led several fastbreaks and for the most part did the right kinds of things, like stopping at the foul line or making the simple pass. It’s clear he’s got very good court vision.
Without Davis, other players are going to have opportunities to push _ if, that is, they show they can handle that kind of responsibility. If Randolph is smart, he’ll be able to.
It’s just another reason to play Randolph, and there seems to be more and more of them.
Comments
Nice piece Matt. I agree with you 100 percent. it seems like the smart thing to do to pair monta with a bigger guard for defensive matchups. But you still a playmaker somewhere on the court. If randolph becomes to guy who leads to fast break for the warrriors, they could become a tough, tough team in a year or two.
Can Randolph really take care of the ball? In the summer league, he averaged five turnovers a game it seemed. Since he's a tall dude, his dribble is pretty high and it gets swiped easily by the other team.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say Jackson and Randolph will be one and two in turnovers per for this team.
Matt, I agree about 99%. The 1% disagreement is that I can see Randolph bringing the ball down on a break, or maybe on a clear-out against a slower opponent, but I'm not sure his handles are good enough where the other team wouldn't be throwing double teams at him in the half court, or a switch against a smaller, better on-the-ball defender. Or, maybe I'm nitpicking. :)
Good call on Randolph. I watched all the summer league games and the kid has mad handles. How about AR-15 for a nickname? Nellie is going to love this guy. He can already do what Dunleavy could never do and that is play point forward.
After watching every Randolph clip I can get my hands on I've been telling everyone who will listen that I see Kevin Garnett in this kid. When KG came into the league everyone thought he was too skinny to play PF. Instead, he simply revolutionized the position and led his team in points, rebounds and blocks (and was 2nd in assists and steals to Terrell Brandon or Sam Cassell) for nearly a decade. Randolph has the skills that Wright doesn't...and an attitude that says, "This game is mine, and I'm taking it whether you like it or not!"
Harrington+Wright+Belinelli->DET for Wallace
I've been watching AR since he was drafted and I like what I see. Without Baron, the Warriors badly need someone to take charge of the game. AR has that supreme confidence (and work ethic) you see in superstars.
On draft day pundits were asking why another Brandan Wright. AR has several unique abilities that Brandan doesn't have. Brandon has a nice little baby hook and some good rebounding skills, but doesn't have the quickness, ball handling or shooting skills that AR has. That means AR isn't stuck at the 4 like Brandan where both are too skinny to match up against strong NBA 4's.
AR has these skills and he's 6' 10" and supposedly still growing. It also appears he's stronger than he looks, just as he claimed in his draft night interview.
That makes him a nightmare to guard and a perfect Nellie mismatch creator. I also think his quickness and length give him tremendous potential on defense.
All that said, he's very young. In summer league I saw several drives where he got double teamed at the free-throw line and couldn't get the pass through the defenders. He not a good distributor yet and needs to improve his passing off the dribble drive when he gets double teamed up high. He also obviously needs more strength.
But both these will come and with Nellie managing the mismatches, I think he'll take most of the minutes after Maggs at the three and may force Nellie to get creative to find more time for him.
I'm going to love watching a rookie actually play for the W's.
He is high on Nelson's list because he showed that he could do more than Brandan and Marco. He showed aggressiveness and leadership. I still remember that follow up dunk he did. During summer league, he looks a lot more like Lamar Odom than KG to me. He is always at the top of the key looking to attack. KG does not do that very often. If he continues to improve and does not falter, Lamar Odom might become the poor man's Anthony Randolph.
Really looking forward to seeing AR play regularly. My impression is this is a guy who belongs on the wing, not in the paint. He has too much ballhandling and penetration skill to be forced into the block just because he's tall. Let him torture shorter wings or slower bigs from the outside in and be the creative initiator that his natural game allows.
Off topic question: where the heck is Belinelli? Why did he miss Utah? It seems like Don Nelson has put a lot of stock in young player's making the most of summer work. Is missing Utah going to further hinder Marco's progress into the lineup?
And who goes to D league this year?
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