What is wrong with Biedrins?

[crzy]

Beans has been playing pretty poorly since getting his appendix removed. I don't know whether or not he is still recuperating from his injury, or the lack of playing time is not allowing him to get back into rhythm, but he needs to step his game up if we're going to compete in the playoffs.

It also doesn't really appear that his game has improved at all since last year, and in some areas may have even regressed (I've noticed his hands have been mediocre this season). It really makes me wonder what sort of ceiling does he really have?

Also, how will all of this affect this off-season? What sort of contract will the Warriors offer him?

[floppymoose]

He's lost some jump lately. It's why he has blown two oop plays run for him, and why Odom is scoring and getting the and1 instead of just getting the foul but missing the shot.

He's looked a little slower and less explosive to me all season, but it's much worse right now.

[acidicality]

yeah, i hate to say it but at times it looked like he had foyle hands out there today. i think his injury just isn't 100% healed yet and he's still recovering...

[yehyeh82]

Not getting any time off during the summer really seems to be affecting his game...He just looks tired out there, even when playing only 22 minutes a night.

[Sid the Squid]

Bucks fans constantly explain Yi Jianlian's total suckiness on his summer schedule with the Chinese national team...So it makes me cringe to read these AB excuses...He's had plenty of rest..He's playing lite minutes..He is who he is.

[warriortone]

I think the Webber thing really screwed up his confidence.

[Sid the Squid]

I think the Webber thing really screwed up his confidence.

That's true..I think Nelson doesnt give any of his young bigs the oppurtunity to get comfortable..They all looked stressed out on the floor or on the bench...Nellie hates O'Bryant - Wright- Biedrins..You watch how Nelson give all his smalls freedom to screwup...they're all relaxed and all play heavy minutes...Nellie was the perfect coach to develop Monta Ellis..Perfecto!!..Bit Nellie has done nothing for BW-AB-POB..You never see Nellie coaching those guys..All he does is give them crap with his bad body language and quick hooks.

[Sleepy51]

First,
I'm sure he is a little slowed by recovery, and speed is what kills with Dre, so if his speed is down, then his timing is off and that explains some of the struggles . . . however:

I think it's legitmate to say that Dre has looked like he's been edgy and playing kind of desperate since coming back from surgery. The last thing a big man wants to do in our locker room is give Nellie an excuse to go away from them. And being sidelined by the appendicitis had to be pretty scary from that angle.

Picking up fouls like he's a rookie again challenging shots, and when trying to avoid challenging on those failed charge attempts . . . batting rebounds desperately instead of grabbing them confidently . . . he has looked like a 7 footer trying to replicate the ragged desperate play of an end of the bench mini-forward. I think he's trying to emulate what Nellie has been rewarding instead of confidently playing HIS game. Losing out on minutes has to be on his mind, and Nellie's "unique" rotational proclivities can't really breed confidence into his big men. Al hit a shooting slump and got benched behind Pete. How terrifying must that be for Dre who doesn't have any perimeter game, and was forced to the bench by illness.

Both Dre and Al have been playing lately like they don't know that they will be on the roster for the next game if they don't impress coach every minute. They've been pressing, and the guards have been pressing to feed them early. If they were converting, then it's all easy. They make their case, they stay on the floor, no problem. But at this point in a season, having contributed all that they have to this point, it's unlikely that minutes, starts and rotations hasn't crossed their minds in a negative way.

I know you can't leave Dre on the floor with 3 fouls in a quarter, but damn Nellie . . . figure out something to get him back into his groove. COACH HIM dammit.

[Abyss Impact]

At least he won't demand big money this off season

[Head Leader]

if i see him jump straight in the air like a statue with his ands extended one more time.. my body might break down.

whoever taught him to do that needs to be slapped in the mouth. open handed... it is by far the STUPIDEST tactic to nto draw a foul.

what every happend to giving way a little bit then blocking the shot.

About his on court play though the dude is obviously scared his playing time will get cut, and hes playing like it, i dont blame him .. and the look on Al's face, looks like he thinks hes time is coming too..

mucky situation.

[gking]

Biedrins has looked really soft lately. I would think he would have recovered by now from his surgery, but I'm not a doctor. As has been mentioned here, it seems his lack of improvement is mostly due to the Ws not really having a big man's coach. The dude needs to learn how to protect the rim without fouling. With our current coaching staff it really seems almost a waste of time to draft a raw big and then try to groom him. We'd be better finding a big that already has strong big man fundamentals. But, I know, Tim Duncans don't exactly grow on trees.

The only skill of his that is better is his FT shooting, but even that is marginal.
What the hell do they have him working on in practice. Apparently not his range.

I'm sorry, but we need an upgrade at center if we are going to become an elite team.

[Sleepy51]

You watch how Barnes plays these days, and that's the mentality that is being bred in our frontcourt. I've been banging the drum for consistency and stability all season long.

This stuff matters to players. It's one thing to be running guys through hoops in December to sort out the rotation and pecking order. But in March?

We've been basically the healthiest team in the playoff hunt. But yet, how many games have we juggled lineups? Creating mismatches is one thing and is important for what we try to acheive. But net/net, I think we've kneecapped ourselves and left a lot of good basketball in the locker room by shuffling guys who EARNED consistent roles around too much in the rotation - not my boyfriend Al - Bukie is a great example from the bench crew. He got neutered mid season by Nellie jerking him around and he's just now started to recover (his shot is still ruined.)

[Twinkie defense]

What a colossal cop out to blame Nellie for ruining Biedrins' confidence or making him play on edge. Biedrins is a professional, and a veteran. He is responsible for his own play. It's pretty funny how some people's agendas seep through with every basketball observation they make - with guys you don't like, CJ Watson, Webber, Pietrus, Azubuike, it doesn't matter what they do or don't do on the court, they suck and it's all their fault. And guys you like, Biedrins, Wright, Patrick, Monta, then no matter if they play poorly, you just focus on the positive aspects of their play, or blame someone else for their problems.

Give me a break!

Biedrins had FIVE BLOCKS the other night. He is god! He should play 49 minutes a game, even if he has nine fouls.

The fact is, Biedrins is a very good young player. Like all young players, he's going to have some up and downs, some good and bad streaks. Probably people's expectations of him have been unreasonably high (literally talking about All Star appearances and even HOF! as early as last season, if not earlier). Last season, he most definitely faded in the postseason. This season, he hasn't improved as much as we would have hoped - his hands don't seem to be as good as they once were, his blocks are down, sometimes he's a statue on defense, letting guys drive right around him, and I don't get why sometimes he tips a rebound when he has the ability to grab it, certainly teams game plan him more than they used to, some big men aren't good matchups for him (including Odom it looks like) - and hell, maybe he's getting tired again.

That's just the way it goes. Some guys are playing better this season, some are playing worse, and some seem to switch back and forth between better and worse.

Get used to it.

[ILOVEIT]

Let's face it....the amount of minutes AB and the others are having to play is making them all less effective at the end of games....

I would LOVE to go back in the archives and see how many minutes Nelson played his Buck's players....

During run TMC he had no bench...no big guys...So he had the excuse right there...

During the last year...same thing..."I need to play the guys that will help me win"

So what is better...being down 2 or 4 with fresh legs and 3 minutes to go or being tied or up 4 with NO LEGS left to rebound or defend?!

Baron has not missed a game this year but it has NOTHING to down with Nelson having a better rotation. I think he's been DAMN lucky that this team has continued to play for him and give this amount of effort in a 7 to maybe 8 man rotation all year.

Honestly....Nelson's a fun interview...but I think this team may even be better than he has them playing. A traditional lineup....consistant starters and bench roles understood....This team might be fresher and better positioned to compete in the playoffs....

[Twinkie defense]

[quote="warriortone":****]I think the Webber thing really screwed up his confidence.[/quote:****]

[quote="LF75":****]That's true.[/quote:****]

I always thought Biedrins was a pretty tough guy.

But if bringing in an old, broken down player to play limited minutes at center screwed up Biedrins' confidence, then he's just a big pu**y.

[Chris Cohan]

Twink may be the most irrelevant loud mouth on this board besides me. That's saying something.

[floppymoose]

I don't buy the Nellie angle on Beidrins. Last season he got run down physically near the end. It was clear he was overworked. This season he's played fewer minutes, and now suddenly his physical problems are Nellie's fault? I call bs - that argument won't stand.

Biedrins is not physically 100% right now. I'm not blind. He had no hops out there, and reduced quickness. Questioning his motor simply has no historical basis.

[FNQ]

All this 'soft' talk is after the appendectomy... before this, Biedrins was playing the best ball I've seen him play. Played a huge role in taking down the Spurs and Celts...

You can literally see the Nellie haze everyone's in... the guy comes back from a supposedly 6 week recovery period, 3 weeks early, and we're wondering whats wrong?

Maybe if our 3s and 4s would actually defend the drive, he'd stay out of foul trouble... or if we didn't sacrifice him so we can play a zone defense that we're really poor at...

[GSWbandwagon]

andris' fouls in the la games came because people kept reaching for steals instead of playing defense which left guys like odom coming at the rim with a head of steam. andris challenged and ended up being called for fouls.

as to what's wrong with him, that's simple. he just had surgery. he went out and had 21 and 13 or something like that while playing with appendicitis so its entirely possible he's in pain and not showing it as he didn't on that day. give him a few weeks to regain strength, endurance, and quickness.

[turk3d]

Biedrens is probably my favorite player on this team. It's clear that something is not right with him. I believe he's been hurt much of this season and I had pointed it out. Just when it seemed he was coming around the apppendectomy hit and now he's still not fully there. This team is so dependent on him it's probably keeping him from fully recovering.

He's game but he's just not as strong as he has been in the past and what's worse (floppy alluded to it) is that he cannot jump. There's some similarities between Beans and Gadget, they both rely on their quickness and leaping ability to play against guys who are bigger than they are and particularly stronger. One can use quickness and jumping ability to neutralize someone who is stronger (and perhaps even taller). A leaper like Odom, he just can't match up with if he can't jump with him. Couple that with all the bad calls he gets (I still don't understand why) and it's easy to see why he's having problems. That is why it's important for him to have someone (besides himself) who is able to help him deal with the paint defensively and Wright's really the only one who might be able to do it. This at least could help him from getting into foul trouble so easily.

His offensive game still is not bad, but once again the guy can't get a call. He was fouled just about everytime by the Lakers when he went inside but the officials won't give that guy a call no matter what. This is a serious problem for us which could only get worse as we start to play some of the elite teams who have a strong inside presence. We are going to get killed inside and Biedrens will be continue to be in foul trouble. It looks like Nellie is going to get his wish as he will have no choice but to go small. If we can't beat the Lakers when they have Roni Turiaf playing Center for them, what are we going to do when they have Bynum and Gasol or if we play Utah or New Orleans?