Nov 15, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
The Managing Editor of Fansided’s Golden State Warriors site, Blue Man Hoop, Eric He and I exchanged information in advance of #UTAatGSW this evening in the form of a Q&A.
Eric is a freelance sports writer in the Bay Area. In addition to running Blue Man Hoop and Blades of Teal for the FanSided Network, he also contributes to Bay Area Sports Guy, and Prep2Prep. He has previously written for Bleacher Report as a featured columnist, and his work has been published in the San Jose Mercury News. He can be found on Twitter @erichesports.
The J Notes: Stephen Curry is my predicted pick for 2014-15 NBA MVP. He’s been playing at an unreal rate. Is there any way Utah can slow him down, or is he just at a whole other level right now?
Blue Man Hoop: Historically, the only way teams have been able to slow down Curry is by being physical with him and taking advantage of his small stature. Otherwise, just hope he misses. Steve Kerr‘s new-look offense makes it even tougher to stop him because of all the spacing and ball movement creating open looks.
PnB: Best potential player matchup battle you’ll be watching for in #UTAatGSW?
BMH: I’m not sure if these two will match up, like you said, but Trey Burke vs. Stephen Curry will be intriguing to watch. I loved watching Burke at Michigan and I think he’s going develop into a fine NBA player. Maybe he can learn a thing or two from Curry or even put some moves on Curry at the offensive end.
PnB: The Jazz are really young yet, but do you see any possible future path possibilities with similarities to the Warriors?
“I like Quin Snyder — I guess one similarity is that he could be a strong emotional leader like Mark Jackson was for the Warriors.”
BMH: Honestly, I don’t see many similarities in terms of specific players between these two teams. I do think the Jazz are young and definitely up-and-coming, and I see them breaking out like the Warriors did a few seasons ago with their young core. I like Quin Snyder — I guess one similarity is that he could be a strong emotional leader like Mark Jackson was for the Warriors.
PnB: Like the Jazz, the Warriors have a new head coach this season. How is Steve Kerr shaping up? Can he take ’em to the next level?
BMH: Kerr has been very impressive thus far — his team is off to an 8-2 start and he is implicating his new offense very well, sans turnovers. Kerr recognizes that this team has way too much talent to be as stagnant offensively as they were last season, and he definitely has taken this team to the next level thus far.
PnB: Your favorite and least favorite things about Mark Jackson?
BMH: I loved his emotion, his motivational skills, and the fact that he turned a perennial laughingstock into a playoff contender in two years. He also improved the team dramatically on defense and built the core in place that Kerr is taking to the next level.
He did have some issues with chemistry, though. The players loved him, but he had conflicts with his assistants and the front office that played a role in his firing. He also overused isolation and the same pick-and-roll plays on offense, something that Kerr has vowed to change.
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I answered five questions about the Jazz for Eric as well. Here’s a snippet.
What does Quin Snyder bring to the table as the new head coach?
No nonsense toughness, a new system that’s done wonders on offense, if still lacking on defense, and great hair while sounding like a dead ringer for Lou Diamond Phillips. We all win when it comes to Quin.
Head over to Blue Man Hoop for the rest of the conversation.