Posts tagged ‘monta’

Andris speaks on surgery, Vegas, his love of magic and cats, and his bff Zarko:

And then I went to the animal show. This guy, Gregory Popovich, he has his own show where he teaches cats to do crazy stuff. I had a cat when I was back home and I love cats, so the show was really cool. The cats were standing on two legs pushing carts and walking on the tall stilts, it was crazy stuff. It was ridiculous. He has 16 cats on the stage and every cat he had taught something. It was funny.

Tim Kawakami has an extended Q&A with Nellie, Baron, and Jack about the Warriors’ picking up Nelson’s option and a bunch of other team biz:

 -Q: Will you talk to Baron about this?

-NELSON: I’m going to talk to Baron and Jack for sure. I won’t talk to everybody because some of them are mad at me and I know they’d say, ‘Why don’t you get out!’ It might sound good to them, too.There’s a few people that we’re building around and I think I already know their answer, but it’s important that we’re all on the same page.

Jeff Wong wrote on why the Raptors should be scurred of Monta, and he enlisted a squad of the best local bloggers to break down All Day’s game:

History smacks Raptors fans upside the head with this fact: our Raps have trouble defending athletic wing players. And few are as athletic and wingy as tonight’s opponent, Monta Ellis (a.k.a. “The Mississippi Bullet”) of the Golden State Warriors.

J-Rich and his Cats stole your Warriors’ cheese.

Box Score

With Gerald Wallace sitting due to a concussion, Jason is the Cats’ offense. He absolutely punished his former team tonight to the tune of 42 points.

The Warriors seemed to lose sight of the game after going up by as much as 16 in an effortless 38 point first quarter.

It took the Dubs almost 6 minutes to score their first field goal in the second quarter, but they did manage to turn the ball over well - coughing up 8. Meanwhile, Jason and Co. were running all those turnovers back down the Warriors’ throats and nailing open threes. Another former Warrior, Earl Boykins, had his best quarter since signing with the Bobcats, putting up 11 points including a big three with time running out.

The second half saw Raymond Felton get hot. When he and Jason took a break from nailing threes they were on the line making their freebies.

The Warriors were able to fight back and take a 1 point lead with 5:33 to go in the game, but they couldn’t stop the Bobcats from getting to the basket and couldn’t come up with enough magic of their own.

Two stats jump out at me as indicative of the night: steals (Cats 9, Dubs 5), and turnovers (Cats 10, Dubs 14). When a steal and fast break driven team like the Warriors puts up those kind of upside down numbers it’ll usually add up to a loss.

Monta, Baron, and Jack did their part, scoring 83 of the Warriors’ 109 points, but the bench was absent after a couple of strong games. Monta had an especially solid night, cutting through traffic in a flash and finishing beautifully. Brandan Wright played 23 minutes, but had a relatively quiet 6 points and 5 rebounds. There was a brief POB sighting in the second. Watching seldom seen shaggy Pat lope down the court was a rare treat, a bit like catching a glimpse of the mysterious Sasquatch.

Tomorrow’s a travel and rest day. Time for the Dubs to shake off the loss and get ready to face Dwyane, Shawn and Miami’s….finest?

Your Warriors got it cooking in Hotlanta, bagging another win and gorging themselves on points.

Box Score

The Dubs won another shootout in decisive fashion. The first half was a gluttonous offensive orgy with both teams shooting lights out and no trace of D on either end. Joe Johnson led the way for Atlanta, scoring 29 points in the half on 11-16 shooting and looked unstoppable going to the basket as well as from downtown. Baron was automatic, putting up 18 in the first quarter and 24 in the half. The Hawks were not shy about playing at the Warriors’ reckless pace and pushed the ball as well if not better than the Dubs, ending the second with a slight lead.

In the second half the Warriors turned up the heat and the Hawks wilted. After only turning the ball over 4 times in the first, Atlanta completely fell apart when the Dubs got up on them, coughing it up 14 times in the second half. Pile on absolutely merciless shooting from Captain Jack (22 points in the half/29 total), and Peety, as well as more excellent work from Monta (20 points, 7 boards total) and you’ve got a blow out win.

Things are clicking for the Warriors at just the right time. They seem to have been able to shed their lacadaisical attitude when playing lower level competition and the role players are chipping in big time. Peety looked fantastic again, hitting his threes and snatching 12 boards. There hasn’t been much work for CJ Watson, as Monta and Jack have been handling the point well when Nellie rests the Boss.

Tonight was the fourth win in a row for the suddenly dependable Dubs and they’re sneaking up on the Mavs for the 7th spot in the West. Let’s see if they can keep the energy high against J-Rich and the Cats tomorrow.

After another lazy start, your Warriors put on their second half hard hats, listened to their Uncle Austin, and went to work.

Box Score

The Warriors gave another first half away to another sub-par team. They came out looking stiff and scattered, allowing the Sonics to get up 13-4 before getting their heads into the game after back to back steals from Baron, and Brandan Wright. The Sonics feasted on dunks and lay ups, and Kevin Durant was a highlight reel. The Sonics’ lead shrank and grew but was never erased. Baron and Monta did all of the work on offense for the Dubs. Both guards were aggressively driving the ball and they kept the Warriors in the game while Al and Jack struggled.

Uncle Austin Croshere was in the starting line-up for the second half, and was the difference for the Warriors in this game. He’s a smart, grizzled veteran and does all of the basic things that the rest of the squad can’t seem to. Mainly, he boxes out, rebounds, and consistently is in the right place at the right time.

With Cro leading the charge, the Warriors steamed back into the game in the third. Earl Watson was out for Seattle due to a respiratory infection, so the Sonics’ only real point guard was Luke Ridnour. Whenever PJ rested Ridnour, the 6-7 forward Mickael Gelabale handled the point…poorly. The Warriors robbed the Sonics blind in the second half. Everyone harrassed their assignments and slapped the ball loose whenever it came near them. Steals for the Warriors is like blood in the water for sharks, it gets them very excited. The fast breaks started flowing and the lead changed hands for good with a little over 3 minutes left in the third. Jack, Al, and Peety got into the spirit of things in the fourth, poured on a few threes and sealed the win.

Defense drove this Warriors’ win. When they got into their opponents’ faces and start challenging every possession the game opened up and they were able to get running on offense. The young, undermanned Sonics were low hanging fruit for this type of game plan.

Austin Croshere: Plays hard and smart. His back is beyond wonky and we won’t be able to depend on him, but just like he did in Minnesota earlier in the season, he was able to infuse the team with confidence after making some good, tough plays against an inexperienced team.

Monta Ellis: Was back after a rough (for him) game against the Hawks. Before the Cro show started he and Baron were the only Warriors scoring consistently. His nutty FG line is back too, 14-22.

Baron Davis: Went for the throat on steals, picking up 7 against the clumsy Sonics. He also scored 20 and dished 10.

Brandan Wright: Appeared to have some rookie jitters early in the first but played within himself and contributed a bit in his short minutes. His face-to-face block on Durant in the second was possibly the lankiest thing I’ve ever witnessed. Nellie rewarded his good play from the Hawks game with minutes, hopefully he earned some more this time around. I like how he looks in the line up.

Chris Webber: Is doing what all the coaches said he wouldn’t, slowing the Dubs down. He kills the team’s energy when he’s on the floor. His lack of movement completely negates the scramble that fires up the Warriors D and he gets burned consistently. He might be able to help here and there as a sub, but he’s only hurting at this point.

Stephen Jackson: Had a pretty off night offensively, and his ankle doesn’t look good, but he’s still an anchor for the team and they need him on the court to bring a bit of order and execution.

Al & Peety: Al had a bad shooting night. Pietrus was bouncing off the walls as usual. He got some points and steals, he got a lot of fouls, and he almost took some poor woman’s head off with his crotch while diving out of bounds for a ball that had just slipped out of his hands (after making a clean steal!). I think that pretty much sums up his game: occasionally-thrilling-and-useful-dumb-out-of-controlness.

We’re right on the inside of the bubble, sitting at 8th, 1 game up on Denver. See you on Friday for some Philly Soul staring Iggy and the Sixers.

exclusive postgame audio

Don Nelson

Monta Ellis

Austin Croshere

Baron Davis

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

Monta may be the current employee of the month, but Baron is still the boss at the Oracle.

Box Score

The big three were in the building and there were ugly patches of green scattered amongst the Warriors faithful. The mighty Celtics had come to town.

The Warriors opened with a brand new starting five, made necessary by Jack’s severe ankle sprain. Nellie threw out a squad of Baron, Monta, Pietrus, Biedrins and C-Webb to face the green monsters.

The first quarter started out rough. The Celtics charged ahead to a nine point lead. The Warriors picked up the pace and got back into the game behind some nice passing from Monta to Beans, a rare made three by Pietrus and some strong finishes from Baron and Monta. The intimidation factor wasn’t present and the Warriors were up three going into the second.

32-29 Warriors.

The loss of Jack really started to kick in during the second quarter. When Nellie rested Monta, the Dubs’ game faltered. Barnes was off and the turnovers started piling up. The Celtics had no such problems and were able to go on a couple of runs with Garnett and Ray-Ray resting behind some great shooting by their other Allen - Tony.

Celtics up 57-50 going into the half.

Play got very physical in the second half. The players started bumping, banging, and shoving, slowing the game down considerably. Ray Allen’s shooting was so pretty it made me sick. The Warriors got down by 12 before stepping up the D.

They started slapping the ball away and the refs were letting both teams play after a lot of contact. Pietrus stepped up big time and looked better than he has all season. Late in the third quarter, he soared in for a giant putback dunk after a missed three from Baron and then stole the ball from Pierce for an uncontested dunk on the very next play. The Warriors were back in the game and the stage was set for a huge fourth quarter.

84-82 Celtics.

The Celtics did not play much defense on this night. They had successfully shut Monta down in the third with tremendous pressure whenever he handled the ball, keeping him from scoring a single point. Ellis started the fourth determined to breakout and he got hot. He and Al stepped up, hitting their jumpers and drawing fouls while attacking the rim. Ray and Tony Allen went on a tear of scoring for the C’s and matched every Warriors run.

Baron had played his heart out all game and looked tired. He passed the ball to Monta early for most of the possessions, leaning on the young man to make the right decisions. The lead swung back and forth all quarter with both teams battling for every rebound and loose ball. Pietrus and Baron put the Warriors up 112-107 with made free-throws, but Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo shot the C’s back into the game.

114-113 Warriors with 1:28 left to play.

Once again it’s up to All Day Monta in crunch time. Al found Ellis open off of a low screen by Beans and the kid drilled a mid-range, baseline jumper to put the Dubs up by 3 with under a minute to play. Baron added a free throw after Rondo fouled him and the Warriors were up four with 38 seconds left.

Pierce sank two sets of free throws (one after Matt Barnes completely blows a play and airballs a floater - which Nellie harps on in the postgame below), and the game is tied with six seconds left.

After a time out, the Warriors inbounded the ball into Baron. He lowered his shoulder and started to drive, putting Tony Allen back on his heels. At the last moment, BD pulled up, stepped back and nailed a 20 foot jumper with .3 left on the clock. The massive crowd goes berserk, the bench goes berserk, I go berserk, you go berserk, the Celtics go home.

It was a wonderful showing by almost every player.

Baron is the boss, don’t mess with the man in his house.

Monta fought through some intense pressure and had yet another huge night. With Jackson out, he dished out a career high nine assists, many of them to Biedrins on pick-and-rolls and picked up 12 of his 26 points in the hard fought fourth quarter.

Al added 22 points and 12 rebounds coming off of the bench, and played stellar D against Perkins, Pierce and at times Garnett. His drives were under control and he didn’t try and hit every three–pointer he saw.

Pietrus had what was by far his best game of the season. He was all over the court as usual and came up big on several possessions offensively and defensively. Life would be a lot better for everyone if he could do that kind of thing more often.

Andris threw in a fat double-double with 21 and 13, a steal, and a monster block.

C-Webb watch: 20 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. He’s looking better each game. He got severely scorched on D by the smaller guys and Garnett but those three blocks are a good sign.

Some mellower games coming up with the Hawks on Friday, and the Sonics on Tuesday. But if you know the Warriors, you know something nuts is going to happen.

exclusive postgame audio

Baron Davis

Al Harrington

Stephen Jackson

Don Nelson

Celtics audio:

Ray Allen

Kevin Garnett

Paul Pierce

Doc Rivers

Your Warriors showed the Suns how it’s done.

Box Score

From Al’s opening jumper to Baron’s final layup, this game was a classic. In this small-ball, uptempo war of offensive gladiators, the Suns and Dubs slugged it out in the middle of the ring until the final bell.

It was a flurry of drives, some acrobatic (Monta), some brutal (Baron), smooth pull up jumpers, tight passes on the break and crowd-rocking threes. No team took any substantial lead and both shot over 50% for the entire game.

No one seemed to be able to miss in the first quarter and the score going into the second was a gaudy 38-32 Warriors. The footrace stayed close throughout the rest of the game with each team answering any type of run with their own offensive onslaught. The highlights came fast and furious and only a turnover or block here and there pointed towards any sense of defensive pressure. Jeff Van Gundy, who was calling the game for ESPN, struggled to keep up. He admitted that the pace was making him dizzy, and that he couldn’t even tell who had the ball. His fourth quarter exclamation of “I don’t want this game to end! Keep playing through the All-Star break!” was right on. This is the most entertaining match-up in the entire league.

Despite JVG’s wishes, the game had to end. Baron made sure it ended right. Monta had been the star for the Warriors all night, but BD took the game into his hands with 2:31 left to play and the score tied 113-113. Baron reeled off six unanswered points off of two tough drives and a trademark step-back jumper to give the Dubs a precarious lead.

Phoenix answered back with four points of their own, but Amare couldn’t make both his free throws to tie it up. Monta made one of his to maintain a two point lead, and Barbosa barely missed a open, game winning three at the buzzer. Warriors win - the third in a row against the Suns - now everyone breathe.

The stars on both teams showcased their best offense and did nothing to silence the critics of their defense. Steve Nash was quietly amazing with his precise passes and rare, effortless drives and shots. Amare Stoudemire was a brute in the paint, gobbling up rebounds and destroying his defender on isolation plays. Grant Hill was everywhere, snatching boards (15 total!) and draining jumpers. Barbosa was his usual speedy, consistent self, hitting threes and skittering his way to the basket for pretty finishes.

For the Warriors, it was a battle for the spotlight between Baron and Monta with Jack, Al, Matt and Kelenna contributing at just the right time.

Baron

Brooding over hurt feelings? Secretly injured? Exhausted and shutting it down? Not tonight. Baron was back on point and hungry for the big plays. He’s a Hollywood dude and although we’d all like to think that every game means as much to him as it does to us, the case is that ESPN had their cameras and mic on him all night and he played better than he has all month. He was after the ball on defense and drove hard rather than settle for jumpers. When the Warriors needed the killer plays, Baron pulled the trigger.

Monta

All Day is the toast of the town. The ESPN guys couldn’t get enough of him. His jumper is so clean and automatic that I’m genuinely surprised when he misses. Every drive seems to involve a highlight finish, and his rebounding is off the charts for a guard. His defense and foul shooting needs cleaning up, but there’s no way to not love this kid. Last year, people were hoping that Monta could evolve into a Barbosa-like player. At this point, Barbosa should aspire to be more like Monta.

Monta’s shooting numbers for February:

Date FGM-A PTS

2/01 vs. CHA 7-10 21

2/07 vs. CHI 11-12 25

2/09 vs. SAC 12-15 34

2/11 vs. WAS 9-18 22

2/13 vs. PHX 18-27 37

Soak it in, 50% for 22 points against the Wizards was an off night for our third year guard straight outta high school. With all respect to LeBron, we are all witnesses.

Enjoy the high note going into the All-Star break. Go J-Moon!

The Warriors set a new NBA records for steals, but forget to lock their own back door and get cleaned out in the fourth quarter.

Box Score

Really strange game we had there.

Quarter by quarter notes:

Tinsley won’t be active (possibly due to severely broken ankles sustained in Oakland, CA), so the point position will be run by Travis Diener. You’ve gotta admire the kid’s confidence. That’s a really lot of pressure for a 12-year-old.

The crowd is very sparse and quiet in the Fieldhouse to start the game. Watching their team get robbed blind does not encourage them to start whooping it up. The Warriors set an NBA record for steals in a quarter with twelve. It seems like there’s a jack in every possession in the first ten minutes — call the coppers already. Baron’s been looking more and more like a pirate lately and he gets his hands full of booty to the tune of six swipes on his own.

The Dubs seem really energized and active on defense, but decide to reward their own hard effort by blasting away from downtown and missing at a disturbing rate (2-10 on threes for the quarter).
Barnes is looking better offensively than he has in a long time and chips in ten points.

It’s 29-18 Warriors at the end of one.

Pietrus is in to start the second quarter and he starts off on the wrong foot by picking up a quick foul. On the next Warriors’ possession, our lovable Frenchman steps out of bounds with the ball, possibly using the very same wrong foot I mentioned early.

Troy Murphy is getting some minutes with O’Neal out and he is comes on strong with a jump shot and a dunk. The Pacers get a good look at some threes and capitalize, hitting a long ball on three consecutive possessions. Harrington answers for the Warriors and pours in seven points on his lonesome, but the Pacers have cut the lead down to seven with seven and a half minutes left.

C.J. Watson comes in for Monta with just under six minutes left and he’ll get some time on the floor with Baron. Watson comes up with a great steal off of young Diener and dishes off to Jack at the last minute for a completed fast break bucket. The new kid is looking good and certainly fits in with the Warriors style.

Indiana tightens down the D and nobody is getting any more easy buckets Clanging threes and jumpers on the Warriors end and the Pacers start getting whatever they want. Dunleavy, Murphy and Shawne Williams go off in the last four minutes and it’s only a four point game at the half. 55-51 Warriors.

The third quarter starts with a couple of quick, pretty weak calls on Andris and Baron. It looks like O’Neal is out for the rest of the game due to some knee issues, so more Murphy for the masses.

Dunleavy cuts the lead to two with a nice shot as time was running out. Mike is looking very solid so far this game. He looks calm and comfortable leading this new team. No cheap jokes here for real. He’s playing very well.
This quarter goes downhill fast. The refs are calling a foul on almost every possession and the game is at a virtual standstill.
Perhaps it’s because Tinsley and O’Neal are out or maybe it’s the leaden pace, but I’m really surprised that there’s not more general chippiness on the floor. Am I the only one that thinks this is a good rivalry?

The fouls keep coming and the Warriors are hitting their free throws. The threes start coming fast and furious for the Dubs and the lead is built back up to 14, after Monta completely destroys Marquis Daniels with a killer crossover and makes a tasty teardrop shot in the final seconds.

93-79 Warriors and this miserable dog of a quarter is finally dead.

Baron is resting to start the final stretch, so we’ll get to see Monta and C.J. work together.

C.J. continues to look strong and I definitely like the ball in his hands to start a possession over Monta. It’s going to be hard for any backup to look good coming in for Baron, but he’s doing the right things, staying cool and keeping the ball moving around the court. He’s obviously looking to pass first, which is kind of a strange sight on this trigger-happy team.

Indiana is not giving up after getting spanked last quarter. Wee Diener and Danny Granger are shooting the lights out and the Warriors are looking sluggish. Azubuike is the only one bringing any energy. Nellie is on his feet waving them on and Buike responds with an aggressive drive for two.
The Warriors’ lead is cut to nine and Baron’s back in. He’s kind of like Nellie’s security blanket. When things get scary, he just throws BD in there and everything seem a bit less daunting. Ooof, Baron fouls Granger as he’s shooting a three, rough call for Nellie’s wubby. Granger makes all his free throws and Dunleavy converts a drive to bring the lead down to four.
The wheels just fall off for our Warriors at this point in the game. Mike, Murph and their Pacers start hitting at an incredible pace and make every free throw they need to. They take the lead from the Dubs with six and a half minutes left and never look back. There’s a faint glimmer of hope off of made threes by Al and Jack late in the game, but the magic just isn’t there.

Matt Barnes completely flattens Mike on a drive and gets called for a flagrant foul. The foul may be in retaliation for a minor shoulder check from Granger earlier in the play, but nailing Dunleavy like that was uncalled for. The chippiness I was looking for has arrived as Barnes and Granger are really barking at each other. Mike D actually steps in and moves Matt away from the confrontation. That’s one more good move in his very well played game.

Indiana dropped a nutty 46 points on the drooping Dubs in the fourth quarter.

Despite getting the ball repeatedly pilfered from them, the Pacers steal a win in the end.

Final score: Pacers 125, Warriors 117.

That was a bad loss in an ugly fashion. I like Barnes and his intense play, but he blatantly nails a lot of guys when he gets frustrated.

Impressive fourth quarter for Mike, Murph and the Pacers.

The Indiana crowd didn’t really give it to Jack like I anticipated, but they didn’t seem to have enough energy to really give it up for their own team either.

It’s a shame that the awesome new steal record is overshadowed by such a miserable end.

The Road trip heads to Chicago and a struggling Bulls squad on Friday.
Let’s hope the Dubs break out the big guns as they’ve got a rare appearance on ESPN (Hi Mom!).