Posts tagged ‘chris webber’

Some news of note before opening night vs. Hornets…

* Al Harrington wants out. According to a report by Tim Kawakami, Al doesn’t feel he’s being used properly by Nellie and is seeking a trade. In fact, he’s wanted out since the end of last year. It’s a shame because Al is one of the real good guys in the locker room.

But will the Warriors bite?

Well, if there’s a way to fill a need by trading Al, I’m certain Mullie would do it. But Kirk Henrich of the Bulls (whose name has been associated w/ Al during the summer) probably isn’t the answer. My guess is Nellie and Al will work things out and Harrington will be a key 6th man once Monta is back.

* Nellie will be back — and for a few more years! I make no bones about being a Nellie supporter. He’s the best thing that’s happened to this franchise, and that spans two decades.

The two year extension he signed today is worth about $12 million, with some of that money deferred.

Nelson has the second most coaching wins in NBA history and will now be assured to break Lenny Wilkens record sometime over the next two years — barring anything unforeseen.

We all want to see what Nellie himself wants - “an ass-kicking veteran team that would have a chance to win a title.” And we now may get to see that during the course of this contract.

* Who said Nellie hates rookies? DeMarcus Nelson will get the opening-night start at point guard. That’s big news since the Duke rookie was a undrafted free agent, who was not even likely to make the squad. But C.J. Watson’s injury opened the door and little Nelson walked right through it. It’s his time to shine before Mr. Ellis comes back.

* Speaking of C.J. Watson, he is on the opening night roster, in spite of having a torn elbow ligament. He received permission from the NBA to wear a brace and is available for action. Unfortunately, I have a distinct feeling he’ll be a shell of the scorer he is until the ligament fully heals. It’s a shame because he’s a real success story. Here’s hoping C.J. gets healthy in a real hurry.

* Last but not least, Monta filed a grievance with the league with regard to his contract status — and for good reason. The W’s suspended Ellis for 30 games, which will cost the young guard roughly $3 million in salary, but they also want to reserve the right to terminate his contract should Monta not fully recover.

That’s double jeopardy by most measures. Hopefully, a NBA arbitrator can solve this mess before we have another Chris Webber mess on our hands. Warriors President Robert Rowell seems to be the point man on this decision. And if there’s not more than meets the eye, he certainly deserves the flack he’s been receiving. Terminate him or suspend him, but there’s no need to do both.

Here’s a statement from Monta, via his agent:

“To My Community, Friends and Fans:

I want to thank you very much for your continued support and encouragement. While management and I do not agree on their actions, I want to be clear that my injury is based on my mistake in judgment. And I always accept responsibility for my actions.

The Bay area has become home to me and I love everything about this community. I see the kids wearing Number 8 in the arena and around the Bay area and it always brings a big smile to my face and a sense of pride and responsibility. I accept that role because there were people in my life that made a difference during my childhood and into my adult life.

It means a lot to me to be an NBA player, and something that I have worked hard my entire to life to achieve. I also take seriously the impact that some of my actions have on others, and particularly our youth. I am working very hard to get back on the court and help my teammates and coaches win many games and recreate the playoff atmosphere of 2007. We were as excited on the court as the fans in the stands, and I will continue to work hard to make you proud of the Warriors.

Thank you for becoming such a special part of my life.

Warmly, Monta”

Will the Dubs get off to a fast start this season? You tell us…

And look for our season-opening podcast with Adam to come this weekend!

Just nine underwhelming games into his magical, heal-all-wounds comeback tour, Webber is calling it quits. Citing his chronic knee problems, C-Webb officially announced his retirement today. While refusing to rule out another go at playing in the future, he did make it clear that he will not be attempting to rehab and finish out this season.

The reunion of Webber and Nelson as Warriors was a headline grabber, but ultimately a relatively low cost gamble. Once he was out of the rotation he was out of most of our minds.

There are too many exciting things going on right now to really pine after creaky Chris bricking baby hooks.

As Adam puts it so well on his blog, So Long Chris (and Thanks for the Distraction):

DJ Mbenga didn’t get a goodbye post when the Warriors cut him.  Arguably, Chris Webber doesn’t deserve one either.

From ESPN:

The 35-year-old will exit as one of the sport’s most polarizing personalities but also as one of just six players in history — along with Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird and Billy Cunningham and the still active Kevin Garnett — to average at least 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Janny Hu:

“I think it was a good gamble that didn’t work out,” Nelson said. “It didn’t cost us very much and we needed another big guy. We were looking for something like him.”

The Warriors will end up paying Webber just less than $600,000 for his time, and may leave his roster spot open with only 12 games left in the regular season.

Fox Sports:

That Nellie was the guy who wanted him back for this season – only to watch him struggle miserably with that bum left knee limiting him to just 3.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 9 games – was a fittingly ironic end to Webber’s career. 

A personal reflection from the SimonOnSports blog:

I’m 25 so I’m not exactly a child anymore anyway, but today marks the end of my sports adolescence. If you ask me the question of whom was your favorite baseball player or football player as a kid chances are you would get a different answer depending on the day. But if you asked me who was your favorite basketball player or favorite athlete in general, the answer is simple and immediate. The answer is Chris Webber.

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.”

The giant Jazz monkey is still firmly attached to your Warriors.

Box Score

This Jazz team is a cold, calculated killing machine, and they’re also built like hockey players - that moonlight as underground bare-knuckle fighters.

The game was competitive for the first quarter with both teams pouring in 36 points. As the game wore on it became apparent that, at least on this night, the Warriors defensive liabilities far outweighed their offensive assets, and they were down by double digits going into the half. If it wasn’t Kirilenko lighting the Dubs up from outside, it was Boozer or Okur ripping them up on the inside, or Harpring pounding them midrange. Williams ran his defenders ragged, bouncing them off of endless screens and breaking them down with ease. By the end of the third, he was already at 24 points and 10 assists. The Warriors were incredibly overmatched on the glass and the huge Jazz players ran an offensive clinic. When they weren’t scoring inside, they were driving and dishing to a wide open Kirilenko or Korver.

Nellie pulled both Baron and Jack near the end of the third and both headed to the locker room for treatment. Something was up with Baron’s knee and Jack’s toe was bothering him.

The fourth quarter was pure garbage time. BWright, C.J. Watson and Azubuike got an extended run to end the game. C.J. was aggressive on offense and his shot was falling, but he got his lunch money swiped by Williams.

Kaz struggled for most of the quarter, missing layups and turning the ball over. He woke up and poured in a few points in the last three minutes, but generally had a poor outing.

Brandan was on the court for nine straight minutes, but didn’t impact the game much. He did make a few nice passes, which you can put on the giant ’hope we can see more of that’ list.

Baron, Monta and Al all looked like they were going to go for big offensive games, but nobody could save the Warriors from their own anemic defense.

The only silver lining I can come up with is that the Webber experiment finally got interesting. C-Webb was actually a positive contributor on offense. His much tauted passing prowess was on display in the first quarter and he hit Baron on a gorgeous back door cut early on. He hit several jumpers, and even completed a drive with a pretty reverse lay-up. Can’t write the big man off yet. Final line for Webber: 9 points, 3 assists, 1 steal and a block in 16 minutes.

The key to the Warriors’ D is intensity. They are successful when they can get their hands on the ball and shake up their opponents. Forcing the disciplined Jazz into 19 turnovers is no small accomplishment, but the bullies from Utah don’t rattle. That’s the last time we’ll face them in the regular season. A meeting in the playoffs would be a serious buzz kill.

Another tough game with Boston tonight.

Baron looked beat, the refs were gunning for them and the Wizards were going off, but SJax refused to lose.

Box Score

In what has become the norm, your Warriors fought an uphill battle and obtained a thrilling last minute victory.

The Bad:

• Baron’s gone missing. He was dead on his feet for what may have been the worst first half of the season, and it didn’t look like he cared. He wasn’t praising or encouraging his teammates, and he was a fouling and turnover machine. He picked it up big time in the second half and looked a bit like the BD we know and love, but something is up with our Bearded captain. Is it bad Webber Karma? Is it the All-Star snub? Is he injured?
• Monta’s got no kinda D. He got stomped by Roger Mason for 32 points, Roger Mason averages 8 points.

• The rotation is set. There will be no rookie love if the Dubs can’t pull ahead early and often.

• The Refs hate us. It was another night of ridiculous calls.

The Better:

• Everyone hit the glass. Baron and Barnes pulled down 7 boards while Andris and Al each snatched 8. Nice teamwork fellas.

• No one got thrown out! Between the brutal physical play by the hungry Wizards and the horrible officiating we were lucky no one got strangled. The Warriors made it out without a single technical foul, even Nellie!

• Al’s playing well. In addition to rebounding he was aggressive going to the basket and hit some big threes.

• Jack’s back. Stephen Jackson took over the fourth quarter and forced the Warriors into a win. He scored 10 of the last 12 Warriors’ points and ended the game with 41. The team trailed by double digits for most of the game but in the fourth Jacked carried the whole team (on a bum ankle!). That’s clutch leadership.

It was another tense, ugly game against a battered Eastern Conference team, but it still counts. Baron’s funk is a cause for concern, but other players are stepping up to fill the void.

Everyone is going to have to rise up against the Suns on Wednesday because this kind of first half ineptitude won’t fly against the league’s elite.

After this performance, Stephen Jackson may never have to pay for a drink or a meal in the Bay again.

Webber’s back, TNT was in the house and the hype machine was in full swing at the Oracle, but the end product was too ugly for TV.

Box Score

The young Bulls upended your Warriors on a night full of anticipation and expectations. The Dubs’ defense was pudding soft and all the energy and hustle came from the players in red. Chris Duhon dropped a career-high 34 points, Josh Smith and Tyrus Thomas gorged themselves on easy buckets in the paint, and even offensively stunted Ben Wallace got his licks in.

You can’t blame this kind of flat defeat simply on rust from the time off. There was some severe lack of execution at fault. Baron and Stephen had horrible shooting nights and no one seemed able to deny a pass into the post. Biedrins worked very hard on the boards, but got destroyed down low on defense.

The Bulls were without three of their main players in Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, and they came into Oakland after a hard loss in Portland the night before. They are an extremely young, raw and physical team. They caught the Warriors sleeping and basking in their own hype, never let up, and took one on the road.

Chris Webber:

Number 4’s debut was definitely more of a fizzle than a bang, but it wasn’t a complete bust. His conditioning is nowhere near what it needs to be to hang with this team for any extended playing time, but he clicked a bit with everyone in the second quarter. He hit a couple of jumpers and dished out two assists in his 12 minutes. Webber absolutely slowed the team down when he was on the floor, but I think he’ll be able to sync up with practice and contribute down the road.

Andris Biedrins:

The big Latvian seems to be getting stronger and stronger. He more than held his own on the boards against the flailing power of the Bulls’ young big men and came up with 18 rebounds, nine of which were offensive. His offensive execution leaves a lot to be desired, but no one else can provide that kind of rebounding.

Monta Ellis:

Is a superstar. Once again, the Mississippi Bullet was the only consistent offense for most of the game. His jumper was spot on and he was finishing with ease. Monta went a mind-boggling 11-12 from the field. That kind of consistency is sorely needed on this sketchy, unpredictable team. He finished the second quarter with an absolutely monstrous dunk that brought the entire arena out of their seats.

The whole game was a sloppy mess and a huge let down after the spectacular, gutsy wins against the Hornets and Bobcats.

Time for the Dubs to lick their wounds and get their heads back on straight for a NorCal grudge match against the Kings on Saturday.

exclusive Postgame Audio

Stephen Jackson

Don Nelson

Chris Webber

It appears that Al Harrington, a NJ native and a big NY Giants fan, had to give up his prime Super Bowl tickets due to Webber’s last minute mini-camp. He may be giving up some more minutes to the new old kid as well.

From the Chronicle article by Janny Hu:

Again, it’s Harrington who figures to make the biggest adjustment - not the least of which was selling his 50-yard-line tickets to Sunday’s Super Bowl when Nelson re-instated practice after Webber’s arrival.

In a recent KNBR interview, Brandan Wright claims Al never brought up missing the big game in practice, but that had to have hurt a bit. I can’t imagine that Al’s too nonplussed about the hypothetical minute reduction as it seems only Baron, Stephen and Monta are consistent starters.

The rest of the league is buzzing about Gasol’s debut with the Lakers and collectively scratching their heads about the possible Shaq Diesel trade. Meanwhile we’re all sitting on our hands waiting for Nellie’s grand experiment to be unveiled tomorrow night against the Bulls.

The second Webber era is almost upon us.

Boxscore

The Dubs have now won seven of their last nine games, but this win, like a number of the others lately, left us wanting more - more discipline, more consistency and more of a bench. The bench part may be addressed soon - to my shock -but if the boys are going to land a spot in the upper echelon of the Western Conference, it’s time to lay the hammer down for 48 minutes.

The W’s played great in the 1st quarter and poorly in the 2nd. They were average in the 3rd and played like world-beaters for most of the 4th. Their saving grace was Andris Biedrins, who pulled down an NBA league-high 26 rebounds. Jack hit some big shots in the 4th, as the Big Three all scored more than 20 points each, but ‘Dre stole theshow. Playing well for 36 minutes will not get it done in the playoffs and we emphasize that point in our latest podcast.

After a long respite, Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News and I go over (download - mp3) the most recent eight-game stretch (including the two ugliest losses of the season), explain why we have such high
expectations for this squad, predict where things will shakedown in the Western Conference…and we even talk about the rumors involving Chris Webber rejoining the squad.

I’m numbed just writing that, let alone perhaps having to confront it in the weeks to come. This season is just getting started, my friends. Prepare for what could be an even wilder ride than last season.

Holler at us: mailbag@warriorscast.com or (415) 691-6185.