Archive for the ‘Blog Entries’ Category

GL’s got some good news regarding Andris:

“Two weeks and a day after undergoing a laparoscopic appendectomy, center Andris Biedrins is set to return for the Warriors tonight in Miami.”

I haven’t come across any other really interesting Warriors dispatches so let me direct you to a Bay Area facial hair call out from Fear The Beard:

“It’s on. Boom Dizzle himself is sponsoring a beard growing contest at www.ibeatyou.com. It’s going down BD. I’m not only going to give you solid run for beardosity, I am officially laying down a challenge to the entire Bay Area: beard up.

They thought yellow shirts and a slogan were big? Wait until Charles, Kenny and EJ step into an Oracle filled with wild-ass, basketball knowledgeable Kimbo Slice look-alikes. Better still, wait until Tony Parker looks up and sees Eva sitting there amidst the bearded masses for this year’s first round playoff upset of record. Oh, it’s really on.”

I’ve already been dodging razors for about a month, are you down with the movement?

This clip of Baron ruthlessly roller boogie-ing from that Framed deal on IFC is all over the Web so I figured it might as well go up here.

I think it’s a great gauge of your insecurity level - I personally can’t make it past the opening graphics.

Webber’s knee ain’t happy. The big guy is going to be watching the rest of the road games on the tube like the rest of us - I can’t say I’m too broken up about this development. MTII covers the situation:

“The Warriors’ forward will stay in Atlanta to have his left knee checked out, skipping tonight’s game at Charlotte and the following games at Miami and Orlando. He wasn’t in attendance for the Warriors’ 135-118 win over the Hawks on Tuesday at Philips Arena.”

Don Nelson has been publicly stating that he thinks 50 is the magic number of wins needed to make it into the Western Conference playoffs. GL has a detailed breakdown of the Dubs’ remaining games and how that number might be achieved:

“We know that 50 wins is definitely what it’s going to take to get in, and we’re on pace,” forward Al Harrington said. “So we’ve just got to find a way to get it done.”

Nelson said Golden State’s remaining schedule is “as hard as anybody’s.” It features 14 road games and 10 at home, with seven instances of games on consecutive nights. In five of those situations — at Orlando, at Phoenix, at the Los Angeles Clippers, home versus Dallas and then in Dallas — the Warriors will be playing for the second day in a row while the opponent has had a chance to rest.”

Lastly, just for fun, here’s what it looks like on the other side of a Warriors blow out win. Sekou Smith provides us with a Hawks’ eye view on last night’s game:

“The Golden State Warriors lured the Hawks into deep waters in the first half Tuesday night, tricking the home team into thinking that they could keep up a blistering pace.

But in the second half, the NBA’s most explosive team feasted on the Hawks en route to a 135-118 victory, snapping the Hawks’ modest two-game winning streak at home with a mesmerizing offensive showcase that left even those who watched a bit tired from all the back and forth.”

Your Warriors bum rushed Philly.

Box Score

It was a raucous Friday night blowout for the Dubs with contributions from across the board. The Warriors took the lead in the first and steadily built upon it for the rest of the night. It was a highly entertaining game full of big dunks, slick steals, fast breaks, and some redemption for a certain restless Frenchman.

Pick your storyline.

Wright’s coming out party:

Jughead had his best game yet. Nellie put him in the starting line up and he came out in impressive fashion. He rebounded, was ready on the pick and rolls, ran the floor on breaks/D, and blocked shots. Final line: 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots in 19 minutes. With Andris in street clothes it is imperative that the Warriors get a consistent contribution from Brandan. He’s looking ready to be a go to guy.

The Bench:

How does 53 points from your bench squad sound? With Mickael Pietrus leading the way, the bench more than pulled their weight in the scoring and rebounding department. Monta and Jack got theirs but the bench kept up the intensity and kept the Sixers from ever getting close.

Mr. 60.2%:

Not a very catchy nickname, but an eye-popping stat. After going 9-18 tonight, Monta put himself in the history books by shooting 60.2% for the month of February. He also averaged 26 points. The Internet tells me that he’s only the ninth guard in NBA history to shoot over 60% for an entire month.

Air France:

Mickael killed it tonight. 7-7 shooting for 23 points and tons of highlight plays. This was by far the best I’ve ever seen from him. I haven’t been shy about criticizing his rough play as of late but was very, very impressed with this performance. He channeled his abundant energy and athleticism into a rock solid game.

Smaller, less positive points worth noting:

Jack took a couple of spills and limped off court early in the fourth, possibly having aggravated his ankle. He was back in and running after a few minutes but he’s obviously not 100%.

Baron had a rancid shooting night. Going 2-16 has got to have him talking to himself. He filled up the sheet in his other categories, and had some nice finishes but this beyond a bad shooting night for the Boss.

Next up on Sunday, The Blazers - who have completely dominated the Dubs this season and just beat the red hot Lakers.

Jack flew in some Port Arthur youngsters for a day on the town in the City, followed by a Warriors’ win against the Sonics. Peep the massive group hug coming off the plane, now that’s gangsta.

It’s a slow news day for the Warriors. The big stories are all about the Rockets without Yao, The Lakers taking over the world, and the Mavs. falling short against the Spurs despite their new Kidd. 

Geoff Lepper is all over the Andris recovery story:

“For a man with a couple of fresh one-inch horizontal scars bracketing his belly button, Biedrins looked surprisingly spry as he executed defensive slides from point to point, took shots from up to 12 feet out and underwent exercises meant to strength his core muscles.”

Patrick O’Bryant has been talking honestly with the press this week about wanting to play somewhere else next season. I guess that should actually read like this: Patrick O’Bryant has been talking honestly with the press this week about wanting to actually get to play next season, which would have to be somewhere else. Again, GL is on the job:

“Though he eschewed Pietrus’ speechifying, second-year center Patrick O’Bryant would have equally welcomed a move. And, just like Pietrus, O’Bryant is all but certain to pack up and go elsewhere once the season is over.

“I’ll play anywhere I’ll (get a chance to) play,” O’Bryant said. “I’m a basketball player, not a basketball watcher.”

This much is clear: He doesn’t plan on signing up voluntarily to serve under Warriors coach Don Nelson again. “

On the other side of the League, Isiah and the Knicks continue to drag themselves through the mud - Marc Berman has the latest trashy tidbit from MSG:

“February 29, 2008 –Stephon Marbury has been instructed by Isiah Thomas not to attend New York Knicks home games - another indication of the continuing feud between the former pals, The Post has learned.”

Tonight the Dubs face the Sixers - a sub .500 Eastern squad with some dangerous scorers in Andre Miller , and Andre Iguodala , as well as a big shot blocker in Samuel Dalembert. The match up looks good on paper but to assume a win is in the works would simply make an ass out of you and me.

Go Warriors!

There’s been a lot of hype coming from the Warriors’ coaching staff about how Webber’s passing is going to help the team. After a rough start, they’ve qualified it by saying that his teammates need to move better without the ball in order to create passing opportunities. Geoff Lepper on Nellie’s new drills designed to get the cutters cutting and the slashers slashing:

“For the first time since coming back as the Warriors coach in August 2006, Nelson dusted off his set of extra-defender drills. Where the Warriors ordinarily run various groups of players up and down the court in four-on-four or five-on-five battles, Monday the offense went four-on-five or five-on-six.

The point was to make it so much harder for someone to dribble-drive their way to an open shot in the lane that Nelson’s players would have to sharpen up their skills at making quick, precise passes meant to free up their teammates.”

The only good thing to come out of the loss to the Hawks last Friday was Brandan Wright’s performance. Suddenly it seems like there’s a reason beyond mere curiosity to get our first round pick more playing time, he can actually help. John Crumpacker on Wright’s upcoming opportunities:

“Had he returned for another year at North Carolina, Brandan Wright would be a sophomore. A star sophomore, no doubt. Instead, he chose to enter the NBA.

Of course, being 6-foot-9 with leaping ability helps, and now Wright is on the verge of getting more playing time with the Warriors as they confront the last third of the season with less than a full squad.”

Finally, big news about a big man in the West. Henry Abbott on Yao’s injury and the shock-waves it will send throughout the league (and Olympic play):

“Two years later, Yao Ming’s Rockets have at last, apparently, turned the corner. They have won a dozen in a row, and 16 out of 17, to put themselves a mere three games out of first place in the brutal Western Conference.

And now Yao Ming is out for the season, thanks to a reported stress fracture in that same foot.”

Brandan Wright’s ’send it in’ moment was the only highlight from what was an otherwise miserable night at the Oracle.

The Warriors once again looked flat in the 1st half, allowing Atlanta to get off to a 68-50 lead, which proved to be insurmountable.This pattern of lousy first half play is something both Nellie and Baron couldn’t explain after the game, but it’s clear that if the Warriors want to make the playoffs, they have figure out a way to just stay relatively competitive early on.

Their poor starts are hampering what has been a fantastic, exciting season.The Warriors expend far too much energy in their comebacks, and as we saw once again in this game, they couldn’t muster up enough of it to thwart the young, nimble and very underrated Hawks.

Baron was terrific, pouring in 35 points to go with seven assists, but he concedes he “didn’t think that we [GSW] came with a sense of urgency early.”

Monta scored 26 points and Wright’s eight points and eight boards opened up Nellie’s eyes, as you will hear in the postgame audio, but they are mere footnotes in what was a truly disappointing effort.

In addition to the lackluster start, the Dubs once again allowed an average NBA guard to get off. On this night, it was Salim Stoudamire’s turn to make the W’s perimeter defense look bad. Like Chris Duhon and Roger Mason Jr. before him, Stoudamire recorded a season-high 18 points and looked as if he was reliving his days as a stud guard at Arizona.

Joe Johnson is truly a beast. He ripped the Warriors for 27, 8 & 8, and was the point man in the low post that facilitated wide open shots from downtown for any Hawk so inclined.

I may be going over the deep end on this post, considering how thrilling the Warriors win versus Boston was, but if the boys don’t get it together during this very winnable stretch of games - Seattle is next - then it really would be difficult to expect them to sneak into the playoffs. Somehow, they’ll have to pull together while Webber continues to get into shape and Andris recovers from surgery.

If there’s any good news to report, I overheard Stephen Jackson in the tunnel say he will be back for the game Tuesday versus the Sonics. His emotion and firepower is just what the doctor ordered.

exclusive postgame audio

Don Nelson

Monta Ellis

Brendan Wright

Baron Davis

On the heels of an outstanding victory, the Warriors’ thin front-court takes a huge hit. Janny Hu explains why we’ll be without Andris for a bit:

“Golden State’s top center is out indefinitely after having his appendix removed late Thursday. Biedrins was scheduled for an overnight hospital stay and is expected to be sidelined for at least a week.”

Despite my enthusiastic declarations in the Celtics recap, Nellie is actually still the boss. Lowell Cohn was a witness:

“He approached Davis, and Davis immediately stood up, attentive, alert — no more tired stuff. Reporters wonder if Davis, the Warriors’ only legitimate star, runs the team, if maybe Nelson is overly careful with him or afraid of him. Check this out. Nelson said, “One thing still bothers me.”

Finally, Mully talked with the morning guys at KNBR about how the trade deadline wasn’t really that big of a deal for him and the Warriors, and how he sees the team right now. Here’s the audio.

It was a total pleasure to watch our old friend J-Rich do his thing over the ultimate flopper. Even level-headed Adam Lauridsen can’t stand this guy. Thanks J for everything!