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.
