When Mike Montgomery was coach of the Golden State Warriors, there was an obvious rift between him and his star point guard.  Not anything to the Larry Brown/Stephon Marbury level, but it was pretty bad.  For example, when Montgomery would call a play, the PG in question would run another play.  Yeah, I think it was time for someone to move on, and in today’s sports market, it’s ALWAYS going to be the coach.  So, good bye Montgomery… hello, Don Nelson!  From the 1988-89 season to the ‘94-‘95 season, Nelson had moderate successful teams with the Warriors, making the playoffs four out of his seven season, even winning 50 and 55 games during two seasons.  Why mention all of this?  Nelson was voted one of the 10 greatest coaches of all-time during the ‘96-‘97 season, had great regular season success in his prevoius stop with the Dallas Mavericks, and those that handle the rock for him - Sidney Moncrief, Tim Hardaway, Steve Nash - always excelled under his running offense.

Baron Davis will love playing for Uncle Nelly.

Round 5, Pick 3: Baron Davis, PG, Golden State Warriors

Of course, Davis would be a lot better player if he didn’t jack the ball up so much!  Percentages of 38.9% from the field and 67.5% from the free-throw is like that one uncle in your family showing up at family functions either in the same clothes he wore back in the 70’s or pimped out in hip hop gear - UNCOOL!  Yeah, Davis is pretty much a bad shooter, owning a 40.7% career mark shooting from the floor and 66.8% from the charity stripe.  While there is hope for upside potential in Davis’ free-throw percentage (the previous season of ‘04-‘05, Davis actually shot a career high 76.1%), there is no hope for Davis to improve his FG% unless he stops shooting three-balls.  But, that would be like asking Chris Kaman to stop looking creepy and ugly… just not going to happen.  At least not without some surgical enhancement. 

So, with the negatives out of the way, let’s look at the positives, staring with the silver lining.  Because Davis shoots so many triples (missing most of them, obviously), the ones that he actually drains through the net is a significant number and a welcome addition to your team’s 3PTM category.  In the past three seasons, Davis has averaged 2.4 moneyballs per game.  Over a full season that’s 197 makes from beyond the arch!  You know you love that numb…

Huh… what… oh… oh yeah.  When was the last time Davis played a full season, huh?  Yeah, good question.  That would be the ‘01-‘02 season.  Okay, FINE, you got me, there was another negative to Davis.  After playing every game his three seasons in the league, Davis has averaged 43.4 games played the last five seasons.  Injury risk?  Definitely, so, in particular, you guys out there playing ROTO should keep this in mind, but to get the production Davis gives you when he’s actually on the floor getting some burn is well worth the risk here in the 5th round.  Something that gives me hope that Davis will remain healthy, besides actually enjoying the game and Coach Nelson’s scheme, is that Davis is only 27 years old, an age when Davis is theoretically still at his peak.

Okay, any more negatives before I move on?  Ah, yes, turnovers.  However, that’s to be expected from a point guard, especially, and as I’ve written before I’m not very concerned about the category as long as I’m getting production in other areas.  And I’ll definitely get that from Davis.

As I mentioned before Davis takes a lot of shots from three-point range, but also from the field in general.  Percentages out of the way, Davis will put up a lot of points on the board.  In fact, he’s a former 20-point scorer and in the past three seasons he’s averaged 20.3 points.  But, Davis also has good vision of the court and can drop dem dimes.  Last season he averaged 8.9 apg and including the half season he played with the Warriors after being traded from the New Orleans Hornets mid-season, Davis is averaging 8.7 dimes per contest.  Who wouldn’t like those numbers from their PG?  The treys, the points, the assists… but that’s not all.  Davis is quite proficient in picking opposing point guards’ pockets, ripping 1.6 rocks last season and owning a 1.9 career mark.  And for a little guy (in height as Davis is muscular and probably the Warriors best post-player, seriously), Davis can accumulate boards.  He averaged a career high 4.4 rpg, which cannot be considered a fluke as he’s averaged 4.3 rpg twice in previous seasons, and owns a career 3.9 glass cleanings each time he takes the floor.

How He Fits On This Fantasy Basketball Team

Obviously, he brings the percentages down, but I’ll take it, especially with Shawn Marion, Ben Wallace, and Carmelo Anthony owning excellent FG percentages, as well as Marion, Mike Bibby, and Anthony helping out in the FT category.  I had to take the gamble here because I wanted to add assists and Davis will get those, especially with Jason Richardson and Mickael Pietrus finishing on the break or from the wing.  Plus, I needed more in the 3PTM statline and adding more scoring punch helps cushion the loss of that category with Wallace.  The steals from Davis is a nice reinforcement of that category, which I feel is strong from this team.  Now all I have to do is pray that Davis actually stays healthy…

Other Team Members:

1.3. Shawn Marion, SF/PF, Phoenix Suns
2.10. Ben Wallace, PF/C, Chicago Bulls
3.3. Mike Bibby, PG, Sacramento Kings
4.10. Carmelo Anthony, SF, Denver Nuggets