Sleeper: Anthony Morrow
If you feel your team is deficient in scoring and/or threes towards the end of a draft, I’d suggest you load up on some A-Mo. No, not the stuff for the shotgun you’ve got stashed in the closet (or guitar case), but rather Anthony Morrow. He’s the new rising gunslinger in the NBA who plays for the always entertaining Golden State Warriors.
This unheralded sharpshooter really came out of nowhere. He played four years at Georgia Tech and while he led the team in scoring two of those years, he didn’t make much of an impact on the college scene. Consequently, he wasn’t even picked in the 2008 NBA Draft.
He started to make a name for himself by participating in three summer leagues that included an MVP of the 2008 Rocky Mountain Revue. In four games, he put up 21 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.75 3PTM while shooting just a hair under 50%. That performance propelled him in landing a contract with the Golden State Warriors.
At the start of last year’s regular season, most fans still had no idea who Anthony Morrow was. Well, all that changed on November 15th when Coach Don Nelson surprised A-Mo by giving him his first NBA start. However, Nellie got the bigger surprise. Against the Clippers, Mr. Undrafted put up 37 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 TOs and 4 3PTM making an absurd 15 of 20 FG’s and 3 of 3 FT’s. Morrow’s reaction?
“It was a fun game, man,” said a humble Morrow, who added 11 rebounds in his 42 minutes on the court. “I just wake up every day like, ‘I’m in the NBA.’ I thank God for it.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Humble? Talk about unpresumptuous! Anthony just had the game of his life and he’s this modest? It’s just simply amazing when you consider he just set a record for the most points by an undrafted rookie during the common draft era. Moreover, Anthony didn’t stop there. In spotty minutes (a Nellie staple), he went on to lead all NBA players in 3 point shooting percentage by putting up an impressive clip of 46.7%.
Still need some more convincing? Ok, let’s give a mention of his performance in the 2009 Summer League. While Anthony Randolph was drawing plenty of ooh’s and aah’s, A-Mo saved the best for last. In Golden States’ last game, A-Mo went for 47 points including 7 of 9 3PTM – that’s the highest point total ever in the league’s six year history!
So far in six games of the preseason, Anthony has put up an impressive statline. According to Dougstats.com, he is averaging 19.7 points, 3.2 3’s, 3.3 rebs, 1.3 steals and .8 TO’s in only 29.7 minutes! He’s shooting an eye popping 55% from the field to go along with 95% from the foul line. For those interested in 3 point percentages, how does 51% grab you?
Alright, now that I’ve got you salivating like a hungry dog, let’s talk about what you can expect out of A-Mo this season. Last year, finding time on the court was a difficult proposition considering the Warriors had an overabundance of wingmen.
Well, this year, things got a little easier. First, Jamal Crawford and Marco Belinelli are with other teams. Second, Morrow gives the Warriors a true catch and shoot SG. A Stephen Curry/Monta Ellis combo is vastly undersized plus Stephen probably isn’t ready to produce effectively enough as a starter. Kelenna Azubuike will steal some time of the time at SG but will also have to play some SF and PF.
Third, and most importantly, Stephen Jackson has rocked the boat. Although, there is news he has decided to amicably go along with the program, I’m not buying it. Jackson made it pointedly obvious several times that he didn’t feel welcome in GSW. Al Gore famously once said, “A zebra does not change it’s spots”. Haha, nice try but we get the idea.
In my opinion, Golden State received terrible offers over the last few weeks so the only hope is to raise his value. Both parties are going to put up a front that they’ve moved on and will try to prove that on the court. Once they are able to show Jackson can still be an effective asset, they have a much better chance on moving him. When that happens, A-Mo will be locked and loaded.
I know some of you have been burned by a player under Nellie a time or two. However, this time, I think the outcome will be much more positive. First, when Nellie gloated about players in the preseason like Belinelli or Mike Dunleavy in the past, they failed to live up to the hype on the court. A-Mo has been on fire. Second, Nellie also likes to make his point obtrusively obvious with players that don’t go along with his program (see Al Harrington or Jamal Crawford). From all reports, Anthony Morrow is an extremely hard worker who has no discipline problems.
Just recently, Nellie has changed his stance regarding A-Mo. At the start of preseason, Nellie was talking about keeping the SG spot fluid. However, in recent days, he has changed his opinion about leaning towards including Morrow in the starting 5. While Nellie is more than likely going to change his mind another half a dozen times, it is painfully obvious Anthony Morrow can play.
Even with limited minutes, it is obvious he will put up numbers that make him worth owning in standard leagues. Last year, he had a 9 category ranking on Basketball Monster of 145 and on Ziguana of 156. Factor in a few more minutes and standard improvement by a young player, that value is most certainly going to be higher. However, don’t be upset if that value is exponentially higher when Nellie decides to really commit to Morrow.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
I drafted him 7th in my h2h league & got a lot of sideways looks. I could probably have waited, as it seems everyone else thought he’d go to waivers, but a talent like Morrow’s doesn’t come along every day.
His defence is the only hindrance to him starting, as he has trouble keeping up with guards coming off screens. If he can improve on that, and all indications are that he will, he’ll be a lock for starting at the 2 with Jackson at the 3. Its possible Nellie could start them the other way around as well, or switch them mid-game.
The problem with Jackson being on the court though is his (and Monta’s) blatant chucking. In the Kings game they took a combined 36 shots, connecting with just 10, whereas Morrow only shot 5 times. Doesn’t matter how talented he is if he’s ignored on offense, so what happens with Jax will really dictate Morrow’s production.
October 20th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Yeah, you probably could have waited on him till the late rounds, but hey, you HAD to have him.
He doesn’t have to excel defensively man to man. Rather, I’ve read it’s more important he understands assignments and rotations as GSW focuses on team defense. With all the shot-blockers they have, it works well for A-Mo.
I’m throwing the last game out and hoping it was more of an aberration rather than the norm. It was obvious with Nellie playing SJax all 48 minutes that he was the focal point of the night.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:16 pm
And he’s back. A-Mo played 40 minutes against the Lakers tallying 24 points on .600/1.00 percent shooting, 4 threes, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 turnovers.
October 21st, 2009 at 1:06 pm
IMO, it’s not just his defense that keeps him out of a regular rotation… it’s Don Nelson and his schizophrenic coaching mentality.
plonden – that last game doesn’t really count since Azubuike and Corey were both out. Don-Wack-ness basically had Marrow playing the 4 for a few minutes.
October 21st, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Good points, John-o. The game also doesn’t count because it is preseason…
Have you heard the comments of Don Nelson saying he will coach another season after 2009-10 for free (his contract expires after next season)?
Might need to start an online petition against that…
October 21st, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Nellie didn’t coach the last game – the assistant Keith Smart did.
The biggest hindrance to Morrow is still Jax and his little buddy Ellis. When they were on court together they played “me first” basketball as against the Kings, with Morrow rarely getting a touch. The moment Curry entered the game he began finding Morrow who obliged with his usual scoring efficiency.
Later on even Jax began passing it to AM when he was open, so who knows perhaps there’s hope
October 21st, 2009 at 10:36 pm
I still think Nelson’s brain was at work – his insanity is contagious to the entire staff.
I wish the Ghost of Christmas Future would pay a visit to Nelson sometime this year to spook him out of staying in Golden State. Not that it matters, the Warriors will still put up a fight with the Raiders for biggest joke of a team.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
As I was saying, Jax and his little buddy threw up a combined 17 from 36 shots last night, and Maggette added to it with 3 from 14. Morrow only got 7 shot attempts, as did Azubuike who was very efficient. Nellie’s obviously showcasing Jack, and no one else will have a chance to shine on this team until he’s traded.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Yeah, I caught a good deal of last night’s game and wasn’t too happy with what transpired. Not only did Mags brick the team towards a loss, he did a horrible job down low boxing out (gave HOU enough 2nd shots to make a diff).
Obviously, Nellie likes to change things at the drop of hat. But I agree with you Sjax is being showcased and figured this was the case as soon as he started signing a different tune about a week ago. Definitely don’t expect this trend to continue all season.