Golden State Warriors: It’s time to give JaVale McGee a real shot

It’s time for the Golden State Warriors to give JaVale McGee a real shot as the team’s starting center next season

Javale McGee has been getting a lot of hate for a very long time. I get it, really. When he messes up, it’s bad. I mean it’s REALLY bad.

Javale reminds me of the slap shot guy from the mighty ducks (Fulton Reed). He’s a very effective player, but when he messes up, you can’t help but laugh. Lets face it. He’s had many “slapshot that breaks the window” moments.

Still, the Golden State Warriors should give up on Zaza Pachulia and commit to Javale McGee moving forward.

McGee has been arguably the most underpaid, underplayed, and underappreciated player in the league for the last five years. McGee was one of the Warriors most effective players this postseason.

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He averaged  5.9 points, 3 boards, and nearly one block in only 9.3 minutes per game during the postseason. His averages Per 36 minutes were 23 points, 11.6 boards, 3.5 blocks, all while shooting an incredible 73 percent from the field.

Okay, so that basically means he can dunk the ball successfully 73 percent of the time. But what’s worth more points? A contested fade away shot or an alley-oop? Exactly. It’s still significantly higher then Pachulia’s 56 percent field goal percentage.

I’m not saying that McGee would come anywhere near his Per 36 numbers if he simply played more minutes, but I would still expect him to have better production than Pachulia.

If this was McGee’s first year playing well in limited minutes, I’d think what most you are thinking: “it’s probably just a fluke.”

But McGee has been producing at a very high level in a limited amount of minutes throughout his entire career. Let’s put aside his current Per 36 numbers since he only played 149 minutes in the playoffs. We can come to a far more rational conclusion by looking at his Per 36 numbers throughout his entire NBA career.

And these numbers are based on over 7700 minutes (11 NBA seasons) of play: 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.26 blocks. Keep in mind, that’s including the first two seasons of his career where he was still adjusting to the level of play in the NBA.

Numbers don’t lie, and neither does the film. McGee reminds me of a poor man’s DeAndre Jordan.

Jordan is a better defender and rebounder, but McGee is arguably better at blocking and contesting shots. McGee has been an elite shot-blocker throughout his entire career. He’s 7-feet tall and can jump out of the building.

Maybe next time you see McGee block three shots in 15 minutes, you won’t think I’m crazy.

I don’t see how anyone could honestly believe that McGee wasn’t severely underplayed this season. McGee is the perfect fit for this Warriors team. Surrounded by Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Play Thompson, it looked easy at times for McGee.

If the Warriors were smart, they’d release Pachulia and give McGee a chance to be their starting center

On offense, he’s one of the best alley-oop finishers in the game and could take advantage of teams cheating off him.

Because of his lack of physical attributes, Zaza simply didn’t have the same impact at center.

Perhaps what frustrated me the most is now matter how well McGee played, he wasn’t able to earn the minutes he deserved. When Pachulia got injured vs the Spurs, I thought it was a blessing in disguise.

During his first start, in Game 3 vs San Antonio, McGee finished with 16 points on 6-9 shooting. Problem is, he only played 13 minutes. How was he rewarded in the next game? With seven minutes

In the NBA Finals, he played a combined 23 minutes in the five games.

So what’s the deal? I feel like there’s something we don’t know about. Maybe JaVale starts hyperventilating after running on the treadmill for seven minutes at the Warriors practice facility?

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Whatever it is, I feel bad for McGee. He accepted a one-year, $1.4 million dollar contract to win a championship this year. It’s time he gets the money and appreciation he deserves. If the Warriors were smart, they’d release Pachulia and give McGee a chance to be their starting center.

If JaVale McGee starts getting the playing time he deserves, I have a feeling fans will recognize him for his talent rather than his appearances on “Shaqtin’ a Fool.”