SB Nation - Golden State Warriors

IC Cold Links: Pacers Need Time To Heal

Tom Lewis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:24:12 -0000

Here we are waiting through yet another off day as the Pacers prepare to host the Golden State Warriors tomorrow night.

After winning their second game in a row last Friday, the schedule seemed unkind with four full days off between games. When a team is hot, you want to get back out on the court and keep the positive flow in motion. The Pacers are one of only two teams (Milwaukee) to have played only five games so far. A few teams have played six games but most teams already have seven or eight games in the won/loss column.

Forget the short-term momentum, though, the Pacers desperately need this slow early schedule. Just look at the injury list. Every extra minute off is an extra minute to heal and the Pacers have plenty of players on the mend. Tyler Hansbrough finally returned to play limited minutes and should be good to go this week. Troy Murphy was ruled out of tomorrow night's game last week but is considered day-to-day along with Brandon Rush.

Speaking of heels (synonymous segue), Danny Granger is apparently still enduring the effects of a right heel bone bruise. Granger took advantage of the time off to hit his Twitter account yesterday with the following complaint.

Im fully convinced that every pro athlete is injured in some kind of way lol... Feels like somebody beat my heel with a hammer!!!

T.J. Ford felt compelled to reply and brought a little levity to the situation, skipping straight over any sympathy to go for a quick dig at his teammate.

@dgranger33 u don't wanna see DG feet.. Looks like Cole on " Martin " Not a good look..lol

Life is so much better after a win, isn't it? After the jump, more links of interest including more on T.J. Ford, a few power rankings and Commissioner Stern on Mel Simon and the Pacers staying put.

Pacers' Ford snaps out of slump quickly
Mike Wells reports on T.J. Ford jump-starting his season in New York last week.
JMV spoke with Commissioner Stern (audio link) last Friday and the two hit on Mel Simon, the collective bargaining agreement, the Pacers staying in Indy and a few more issues of the day until Stern finally cried uncle and bailed.
Three Seconds I: On Indiana Pacers
John Oehser offers up three thoughts on the Pacers to ponder this week.
Around the NBA: Indiana’s Granger looking to lead
Chris Dempsey reports on Danny Granger trying to develop his leadership ability to go along with his All-Star playing ability.
Nelson: Warriors still open to trading Stephen Jackson
Stephen Jackson and his agent, Mark Stevens are making it tough on Golden State to try to deal him for any value. But on the court, Jack helped the Warriors to a big win last night over Minnesota. The Dubs will be in town tomorrow night.
NBA.com: LeBron keeps teams on edge as he ponders future
David Aldridge takes a nice trip around the NBA in his latest column. Nothing of note on the Pacers but a great read for any NBA fan.
NBA.com: Suns Rise to the Top With Big Road Wins
John Schuhmann's latest NBA team rankings are out and the Pacers' recent wins and defensive effort earned them a six spot jump all the way up to...21. Oh, well.
Power Poll: The Baseline ranks the League
Sean Deveney slots the Pacers 23rd in his latest rankings.
NBA Basketball Power Rankings - ESPN
Marc Stein slots that Pacers at 24, up one measly spot after winning a couple of games.

RECAP: Warriors 146, Timberwolves 105 - There's no I in TEAM

Fantasy Junkie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:18:39 -0000

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Boxscore

Preview/ Game Thread (1150+ Comments)

We have to be sure to not get carried away with tonight's game. All that we've established is this:

Western Conference Power Rankings (updated)
14. Golden State Warriors
15. Memphis Grizzlies
16. Minnesota Timberwolves

I'm not trying to take anything away from the Warriors, they played dominant, amazing basketball tonight. I'm just worried that the success is more a result of the opponent and that the Warriors won't consistently play with this level of effort and intensity.

Hit the jump for some more thoughts.

Can we play the Timberwolves for 82 games?

All the things that the Warriors had done the last 2 games against the Clippers and Kings are what the Timberwolves did tonight, but much worse. I mean it was ugly. Heck, Canis Hoopus, the SB Nation Twolves blog, started writing their recap with 1:50 left... in the 3rd quarter!

Like I said in the preview, there's not a whole lot to like on this Twolves team. I never got the sense that any of these players had ever played together before. There was zero chemistry on the floor.

Guards turned the ball over a lot: Flynn 6 TO's, Sessions 4 TO's, Pavlovic 4 TO's, Ellington 3 TO's.
Lazy passes: There was no zip on the ball. Just a lot of lob passes and passes to the wrong side of the man.
Guys not coming to the ball when passed to: You have to come and meet the ball when someone's passing you the ball. The Twolves players just stood and waited for the ball to get to them.
There was no sense of urgency. They looked like they had given up midway through the 2nd quarter.

T.E.A.M. - the acronym for success

This wasn't all about the Twolves sloppy play. It was actually more that the Warriors finally decided to play with some life.

Teamwork: It was amazing. It was as if they had the most amazing practice sometime between the Kings game and this one where they learned how to play with each other. All 10 Warrior players seemed to know where everyone else was going to be on offense. They moved without the ball and even looked to set each other up. Tonight made it seem like they actually want to play with each other.

Effort: The guys were all over the floor tonight. You could just see the difference. They played with energy, life, and passion. Players were making things happen on offense and defense just by staying active. They were in the passing lanes all night as well as putting pressure on the guards while doubling down on the big men. Check out this stat: leading rebounder for the Warriors? Monta Ellis with 10.

Assists: The ball was zipping around tonight. The Twolves defense never got comfortable as the Warriors moved the ball with ease - 36 assists to just 12 turnovers. 15 for Jack compared to just 3 turnovers. Even Corey Maggette passed the ball. Corey Maggette! If he's passing the ball, you know something is going right. Seriously though, props to Maggs for 11 points in 10 minutes. But I digress. The Twolves D had something to do with the excellent ball movement, but the Warriors put forth a major effort to move the ball around.

Minnesota: Clearly the most important ingredient for another team's success.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

One thing that worries me: How did Brian Cardinal block Monta Ellis on a fast break layup? Is the ankle 100%? Will it get back to 100%? There's no reason Brian Cardinal should be blocking your shot on a fast break.
The Warriors are only 2 games under .500. Yessss.
Kelenna Azubuike was ridiculous tonight. 31 points on 13-19 shooting. He couldn't miss in the first half.
I liked what I saw from Anthony Randolph tonight. It was probably his best game of the season. He attacked the basket under control and didn't try to do too much.
Acie Law with 5 steals 12 minutes? I like his hustle. He really works hard out there.
Morrow had a good shooting night but there's still something lacking about his game. He tends to disappear at times and his defense can still use a lot of help.
Like I said, this game was against the Twolves which proves almost nothing. The Warriors played great, but they have a lot to prove. They'll get their chance to prove it with the upcoming road trip without Andris Biedrins (out 2 weeks). @ Indiana, @ New York, @ Minnesota, @ Cleveland, @ Boston, vs Portland, @ Dallas, @ San Antonio, vs LA Lakers. Before anyone gets too optimistic, let's see how the Warriors look after this tough stretch of the schedule.

Sorry ladies, it's not Kelenna Azubuike. I'm going with Stephen Jackson.

Damn impressive game from Jax tonight. He was Steve Nash-like with his passes. The 15 assists in 3 quarters weren't simple passes. It wasn't a bunch of passes to Anthony Morrow standing wide open. He was threading the needle to the big men as they rolled through the lane. He was able to drive into the lane and create for others on the floor. And what was even better, he didn't force any shots tonight. I'm not sure what was going on, but he really increased his trade value tonight.

Final - 11.9.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota Timberwolves	29	26	22	28	105
Golden State Warriors	33	41	37	35	146

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Poll

Will the Warriors win more than 25 games?

Not in the face!

Stop-n-Pop — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:58:53 -0000

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OK, this is something of a game-wrap record for me. I'm writing this with the score 106-73 in favor of the 1-6 Warriors with roughly 1:50 left to go in the 3rd quarter. Hanny has just said something about the season not being about wins and losses and he's even moved on to the hustle award for the night.

When I fired up the post editor Golden State had an astounding 48% oReb rate: 11 offensive rebounds on 23 misses. Awesome? I know. Flash forwarding to Stephen Curry's buzzer-beating 3 pointer to end the 3rd quarter and this is what the Four Factors look like:

	Pace (Poss)	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Minnesota	105.4 (79)	97.5	47.8%	19.4	33.3	22.8
Golden State		140.5	61.1%	31.9	33.3	10.1

I suppose you could take something of a moral victory away from the fact that the Wolves have pulled even in the oReb% category but keep in mind that the Warriors have a significantly smaller number of misses to fool around with.

Let's try something different for tonight's post. Let's talk about the positives. First and foremost is Corey Brewer. Here's what True Hoop's Henry Abbott had to say about Brew after the Portland game:

In the last few weeks, I have heard Corey Brewer mentioned three or four times as the butt of jokes. It's getting to be time for that to stop. He and Andre Miller both dared each other to shoot all night, but Brewer did it with purpose -- and was an effective help defender helping to keep Roy (who had one of his worst games as a professional) at bay. He's no All-Star at this point, but there's no doubt he's vastly improved. He's among the team's leaders in steals, assists, blocks and free throws attempted -- and his defensive talents and efforts are constant and not to be overlooked. When he hits a couple of 3s, like last night, he's hard to miss.

In tonight's game, Brewer got out in transition, was disruptive in the open court, and for the first time I can remember he d'd up an opposing wing with superior size (Stephen Jackson) without getting physically abused. I know what I am about to write doesn't seem like a big deal, but for those of us who have watched the Wolves over the past 2+ years, it is: Corey Brewer is an NBA rotation player. For a while there his game was pretty dicey and I wasn't sure I would ever write that. Yet, there it is. Hooray!

Hey, look at that: Oleksiy Pecherov finally got into the game! Can he trigger a 28 point comeback? That would be a gigantic positive.

Another positive is that we got our first extended look at Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions in the same backcourt. We'll have to wait for the PopcornMachine GameFlow to really break it down, but I believe the tally from the first stint was a +2 against the similarly undersized Warrior backcourt.

Did the Warriors really have a 66-33 run? Sorry, I have to get back to the positives. AC Law is making his 3rd appearance of the year. Good for him. See, another positive.

OK...more positives. (crickets)

Let's have some random thoughts to bring this thing on home:

This game will hurt the ol' defensive efficency ranking. It will also hurt the less-mentioned Pride Index.
It seems that the preseason optimism concerning free throws was both short-lived and ill-conceived. Getting Kevin Love back will help a bit but this team is generating zero offense going at the rim. This is problematic when you are not a jump shooting squad. With just over 5 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter the Warriors have taken 4 more threes than the Wolves have FTAs.
The Wolves aren't a very good team but their offense has faaaarrrr outpaced their defense in terms of ineptitude. Here are their Four Factor stats heading into the GSW game:

Team Four Factors
	PACE	OFFENSE					DEFENSE
TYPE	POSS	EFF	eFG	TO	OREB%	FT/FG	EFF	eFG	TO	OREB%	FT/FG
STAT	94.3	96.8	45.1	16.2	27.2	17.0	106.8	49.6	17.6	29.2	24.6
RANK	9	27	27	18	9	29	16	18	8	27	15

This team simply can't put the little orange ball in the bucket. Again, when you can't get to the line when you are not a jump shooting team, this is a tad problematic.

OK, AC Law just got a breakaway dunk. Really?
Nathan Jawai followed up his career performance in garbage time against the Blazers by getting worked on the offensive glass by Anthony Randolph.

OK, that about does it. The score is now 129-89 with Anthony Randolph at the line. Corey Brewer is still the only player out there who looks like this bothers him enough to do something about it. The problem here is that there is far too much to do and Mr. Brewer lacks the tools to do a lot of it. There is no other way to put this one other than it is the most embarrassing and frustrating loss since Dwane Casey's Revenge last year against Dallas. Who doesn't remember that classic tilt in which Minnesota built a 29 point lead shortly after the half only to watch the Casey-led Mavs claw their way back to not just a win, but a win where Minnesota conceded a 5 point game with 45 seconds to go. I think Kevin McHale's post game comments were something along the lines of "our guys had had enough by that point."

It's now 144-99 and I'm going to bed.

Until later.

UPDATE: The FSN studio crew has just told me that the Wolves have equalled the worst loss in franchise history as well as the most points given up. Now that's a positive!! A record setting performance!! Who wants to talk about cap space!!??

The Ghost of Bobcats Future Trades

David Arnott — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:24 -0000

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At this early stage of the season, there are only a couple teams that are completely and totally out of the playoff picture: the New Jersey Nets and Sacramento Kings. Every other team's fans can entertain wild-eyed dreams of playoff basketball. Can we benefit from their situations?

First, the Nets. The only player we have that makes sense for them is Raja Bell. He's got an expiring contract that fits in with their plan to clear cap space for this offseason and sign free agents to complement their interesting young players, like Courtney Lee, Yi Jianlian, and Brook Lopez. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the Nets have done too good a job of clearing cap space. The only players with guaranteed contracts for next season are guys they'll almost certainly want to keep, and it doesn't make any sense for them to swap out an expiring contract for an expiring contract. We probably won't be able to even start a conversation with them unless, improbably, they grow weary of Yi and figure they'd rather cut bait.

The Kings are a different story, though. They've got some messy contracts and fiscal pressure that we might be in position to massage with a calculated gamble. No one they'd be able to offer us is a game-changer who would guarantee us the playoffs, but if they want to get out from under a horrific contract, they can give us that contract and a very good player to fill out our rotation. I'd be most interested in Spencer Hawes or Jason Thompson to come off the bench and be a backup to both Diaw and Chandler. Unfortunately, it looks like we'd have to take back Beno Udrih in any deal, which makes no sense for the Cats, because Andres Nocioni's deal is only one year longer than Radmanovic's and Mohammed's (not worth it for Sacto), and Francisco Garcia's long deal is still subject to Base Year Compensation provisions, so we can't make that work.

Here's where I'm going with this: I don't see any trades that make sense for the Bobcats, even after other teams start dropping out of the playoff hunt. No, wait. I take that back. There's one. When the Warriors give up on this season, they might consider trying to clear out some space and trade Raja straight up for Ronny Turiaf. The big guy has an unwieldy contract, extending through 2012, but he would make the team better by being a defensive presence (and about the same scorer as Chandler, i.e. way better than Diop) off the bench at both the PF and C positions. Bell, as professional as he is, is primarily a contract figure at this point, and if we put Flip in at the two, we'd get better offense, probably making up for any drop in defense, and if we put Augustin or Henderson in at that spot, we'd be giving much needed playing time to a young player. I'd also argue that we probably wouldn't see much drop in production.

The biggest problem for the Cats is that every other team is either set for the 2010 offseason, set for the 2011 offseason, or will be looking for a player to help them this season, which Bell is not. Boris Diaw might be attractive to a contender, but his contract is extremely daunting. Gerald Wallace will be attractive to a contender, but I'm not sure it's such a good idea to trade away a guy who outproduces his pay scale. And Raymond Felton, of course, might be a bench upgrade for someone with the bonus that he's an expiring contract, but the contender that needs a point guard upgrade, either starter or bench, and sees Felton as said upgrade probably isn't a contender.

It's Rosterbation Monday! Are we stuck dreaming about John Wall? Or is there someone our there for the taking that we can steal? (See? I made it this far without mentioning Joe Alexander!)

5 Questions for Stephen Jackson's Agent Mark Stevens

Atma Brother ONE — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:02:16 -0000

UPDATE (11/9/09 7:43am): Adding question #6 for Stevens: Do you realize Nellie ressurected your client's career and took it to new heights when practically NO ONE in the league wanted anything to do with him?

-------------------------------------

Over on ESPN.com Chris Broussard details a telephone tantrum courtesy of Stephen Jackson's agent Mark Stevens who seems to be all about killing his client's trade value.

So the first question you're probably asking is who is Mark Stevens? (Okay that's probably your second one, since the first question you're asking is- when is Chris Cohan finally selling the Golden State Warriors?). Jump for the answer to your second question and 5 additional questions for the agent of the "Captain".

Believe it or not Stevens is Ron Artest's (former?) agent. Make you wonder if Stevens had some fond memories of the Malice at the Palace or something.

Check out these pieces from Sports Agent Blog for a little background:

This part in particular caught my eye:

The main problem in the whole Indiana-Sacramento-Ron Artest-Mark Stevens line of communication was the fact that Ron Artest and his Agent that he pays to negotiate for him, were not on the same page. Gavin Maloof, part-owner of the Sacramento Kings even said, "Obviously, I guess they weren't on the same page."In any type of negotiation, it is vital that a client's Agent knows the client's wish-list and that the client defends his agent throughout the negotiation. Apparently, in this case, there was a lack of correctness on both fronts.

I have one final request for all current and future Agents. PLEASE, do not go to the media unless you are sure it will be beneficial. Obviously, the media was all over Artest, the Kings, the Pacers, and Mark Stevens to try to squeeze out any info possible. But if there is any uncertainty within any camp in a negotiation, solve the problem internally before the public has a chance to scrutinize your ability to do your job.

Good to see Stephen Jackson associating himself with such a "successful" agent.

5 Questions for the "Captain's" Agent

1. Did it ever hit you and your client that each and every inane public outburst you guys make just makes decreases the chances some other GM and head coach are willing to foolishly trade for Jackson and the remaining 3 years on his contract (thank you Robert Rowell)?

2. Do you charge your clients extra for unfathomably making it even harder for home fans to root for them?

3. Do you seriously want to bring up "credibility and character" when your client is none other than "Captain" Jack?

4. Do you really think it's classy or the least bit wise to talk trash about your client's head coach through the media when he's still playing for him?

5. Who are you again?

Got any other questions for the "Captain" and his agent?

Jack-ed Up:

Poll

Do these weak cheap shots from agent Mark Stevens make it even harder for the Warriors to trade his client Stephen Jackson?

AV Pre-RECAP: Golden State Warriors 107, Sacramento Kings 120- Just don't get blown out?

Atma Brother ONE — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:17:55 -0000

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These guys don't look too happy. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)

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Preview/ Game Thread (1250+ comments)

Final Box Score

Kings Bring the Hammers, Beat Warriors 120-107 [Sactown Royalty]

My main man Hash will have a full recap of this game for the ages for you fine folks soon enough, but here's a few video clips about tonight's amazing win to get this party started off right. Well amazing win for the Sacramento Kings that is. Seriously I didn't think the Kings would win 2 in a row all season! Props to Sactown.

Final - 11.8.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden State Warriors	29	25	23	30	107
Sacramento Kings	30	35	31	24	120

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Poll

Will the Warriors win another game this season?

Kings Bring the Hammers, Beat Warriors 120-107

Ziller — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:20:53 -0000

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What a complete game for the Kings. You knew Sacramento had the advantage on the glass and in the paint, and that Tyreke Evans had a huge size advantage on the perimeter. But the Warriors are deep with talent (Anthony Morrow and C.J. Watson are legit, and Anthony Randolph shouldn't be third-string anywhere) and the roster is filled with good scorers (Corey Maggette, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Stephen Curry). Let's be honest: without Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia, no win is decreed.

But by the half, this one felt nailed shut. The Kings took an 11-point lead into the break, but it felt like 20+. And it really came from the bench all night long -- from Omri Casspi's threes (he hit three straight in the first quarter, 4-6 overall ... and he added 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals) and Donte Greene's best pro game (17 points, five rebounds, one turnover, one unbelievable sideline alley-oop to Jason Thompson at the buzzer).

Tyreke Evans was again brilliant (23 points on 18 shot attempts, eight rebounds, two assists, zero turnovers, two steals -- sat the entire fourth quarter). At some point, it's going to feel pedestrian, watching Evans destroy opponents on both ends. I think the last few years have been rough enough that we won't take 'Reke for granted in the near future, but damn. With the performances by Greene, Casspi and Wabeno Udrih, it's easy to overlook how dominant Evans was in the first half (especially the second quarter).

Jason Thompson had his third straight double-double with 19/11 -- and this happened to be his most efficient shooting night. The key to me over the weekend has been that J.T. has dominated the defensive glass. We know he can clean the offensive glass, but the team needs him to step up his game at the other end. Against Utah and Golden State, he did just that.

If you want to find a minus in this game, it'd have to be one of two things: Evans was limited in the third by the bigger Jackson, and Andres Nocioni had a bad shooting night. But with regard to 'Reke in the third: the Kings won the quarter by eight points, with the offense humming in Udrih's hands. And Nocioni can be expected to have bad nights -- he's not a shy shooter, and that's probably a good thing in his role as a primary scorer in the starting five. You don't want Chapu to stop shooting (or driving, which he did often) -- that puts pressure on the other scorers. Missing Martin already adds enough pressure.

That Nocioni was so inefficient but the Kings still won big is a testament to how well everyone else played.

One more lowlight: Spencer Hawes wasn't fantastic, with 10 points, six rebounds and four turnovers. But while Thompson is built to expose an undersized, without-resolve opponent, Hawes is different. What use is a stretch big against a team with no defensive post presence? On the other end, I thought Hawes played fine. On the whole, his lack of superlative production since retaking the starting job has been disappointing. But with the team 2-1, and owning the glass for two of those games, it's been fine. The Oklahoma City game on Tuesday will be a bigger deal for Hawes, I think.

By the way: the Kings haven't won two in a row since last November 7 and 9, and haven't swept a back-to-back since April 2008, roughly 100 games ago. Unbelievable. The Kings can move to .500 for the first time since Dec. 4, 2006 (!) with a win on Tuesday.

Preview: Warriors at Kings, Game 7

Ziller — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:00:35 -0000

by Ben Margot - AP

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THE OPPONENT

Question: What is the only team to lose by 28 points at home to the Los Angeles Clippers this season?

Answer: Your Golden State Warriors!

Basketball-Reference's Simple Rating System regards Golden State as the worst team in the league. Worse than Memphis (the only team G.S. has beaten), worse than the Knicks, worse than ... the 0-7 Nets. That's likely due to point differential, which would be due to that Clippers loss, but still. WORSE. THAN. THE. NETS.

The Warriors have played once on the road, a 22-point beatdown in Phoenix. The team is 22nd in offense and 26th in defense, with the 30th ranked shooting defense. Here is what the players are doing.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Monta Ellis	4	37.3	8.0	18.5	43.2	0.5	0.5	100.0	4.3	5.8	73.9	1.0	3.3	4.3	6.5	3.8	2.3	0.0	2.3	20.8
Stephen Jackson	4	32.5	6.5	14.8	44.1	1.5	3.8	40.0	2.3	3.5	64.3	0.3	2.8	3.0	3.5	3.3	0.8	0.3	2.0	16.8
Anthony Morrow	4	29.5	5.0	9.5	52.6	2.0	3.8	53.3	2.0	2.3	88.9	1.0	1.0	2.0	0.5	1.3	0.3	0.5	2.5	14.0
Kelenna Azubuike	4	22.5	4.8	9.3	51.4	1.0	2.3	44.4	1.8	2.5	70.0	2.0	2.5	4.5	0.5	0.8	0.3	1.0	2.0	12.3
Corey Maggette	4	22.8	4.0	11.3	35.6	0.0	1.3	0.0	3.3	4.3	76.5	0.8	3.8	4.5	1.3	2.0	0.8	0.0	4.0	11.3
Stephen Curry	4	31.0	4.0	8.0	50.0	0.8	1.8	42.9	0.8	1.0	75.0	0.3	2.3	2.5	5.8	1.5	1.8	0.0	4.3	9.5
Anthony Randolph	4	17.8	2.5	7.3	34.5	0.3	0.5	50.0	4.0	4.5	88.9	2.3	4.8	7.0	0.5	1.8	0.5	0.8	2.8	9.3
Andris Biedrins	3	23.3	3.7	4.0	91.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.0	1.7	6.0	7.7	2.0	1.3	0.7	0.7	4.7	7.3
Ronny Turiaf	2	20.5	1.5	3.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	2.0	3.0	5.0	0.5	2.0	0.0	2.0	3.5	3.0
Acie Law	1	8.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
Mikki Moore	3	16.0	0.7	2.0	33.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3	2.0	3.3	1.0	1.3	0.3	0.3	2.0	1.3
C.J. Watson	2	7.0	0.5	2.5	20.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.5	1.0	0.5	1.0	0.0	0.5	1.0

Monta Ellis is shooting 100% on threes! Oh no!

THE KEY BATTLE

Honestly, keeping up with Don Nelson's rotation is a full-time job. Friday against the Clippers, the starting five included Mikki Moore, Stephen Jackson, Kelenna Azuibuike, Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis. Which is more undersized, the backcourt or frontcourt? Trick question! The correct answer is "all of the above." Needless to say, there is no one to a) defend the paint, or b) close out defensive rebounds in that five. It will be imperative for Tyreke Evans to attack, no doubt, but I'll give Key Battle status to Jason Thompson vs. Jackson or Azubuike, whichever one matches up with him. Heck, if Moore matches up with J.T., that will be a key battle. Basically, the key for the Kings to exploit the Warriors' SHORTcomings. Heheh. Heh. H.

Anthony Randolph did play 30 minutes off the bench Friday, and I have no doubt he could change the equation when it comes to the Kings attack. But we'll see.

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

Usually, Kings management could count on Warriors fans traveling well (or already living in the area) to sell extra tickets. But the Warriors are one of the few franchises more depressing than the Kings right now. So I'm going to go with "no" as an answer as to whether ARCO will be filled with either side. It's too bad, because a full crowd split between Warriors and Kings fan is dynamic. It's like heat mixed with precipitation -- a thunderstorm. Small crowds on each side is more like morning fog.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Spencer Hawes, Thompson and one other King will all register at least eight rebounds. That other King could be:

* Tyreke Evans.

WAGER

Which has lower odds: Francisco Garcia will wear a knit sweater vest, or Kevin Martin will wear an oversized untucked oxford. (Note: it would be really fricking crazy if Martin sweater-vested it up with Cisco slipped into the button-down. Blow my mind!)

DETAILS

We have a 6PM tip at ARCO, with CSN and KHTK pulling local broadcast duty. The game will also be available on NBA TV! Game thread at 6, post-game thread at 9, recap by Passover.

RUMOR: 76ers Contacted Warriors about Samuel Dalembert + Warriors trying to trade Stephen Jackson + Cavaliers still interested in Jackson

Atma Brother ONE — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:30:21 -0000

Kind of a stinky haircut don't you think?

via www.depressedfan.com

Jump for a tiny tidbit about the talks between the Sixers and Warriors about the man our friends over at Liberty Ballers call SAM BAM Dalembert.

Marc Spears writes for Yahoo! Sports:

One NBA general manager said the Philadelphia 76ers are still actively trying to move center Samuel Dalembert. A league source said the Sixers contacted the Warriors to see if they had any interest in Dalembert, but talks never progressed. The Warriors are still trying to trade Stephen Jackson but have yet to field a suitable offer. The Cavaliers remain interested in the veteran swingman.

Samuel Dalembert

#1 / Center / Philadelphia 76ers

Height: 6-11

Weight: 250

Born: May 10, 1981

College: Seton Hall

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2009 - Samuel Dalembert	4	23.3	2.5	5.3	47.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	3.8	80.0	1.5	5.0	6.5	0.0	2.5	0.0	1.5	3.3	8.0

From Spears' report it doesn't appear that Stephen Jackson was what the 76ers were asking in return for Dalembert, but something like Jackson and Speedy Claxton for the Sixer Center [ESPN Trade Machine] ain't bad at all for the Warriors. The Warriors get rid of Jack before he makes a bigger mockery of himself, Robert Rowell (actually that one's pretty funny), and finishes the 2009-2010 season as the league leader in turnovers. Plus the Warriors shorten their financial commitment by 2 years, thus setting the Dubs up for the Chris Paul sweepstakes (I kid).

In terms of defense (gobbling up rebounds and protecting the paint) and unfortunately making mistakes Dalembert is Ronny Turiaf on steroids. I must say the Haitian center has always intrigued me. He never fully "developed" just like Andris Biedrins never "developed" any low post moves or a jump shot. However just like Biedrins Dalembert is raw, but effective. SAM BAM would instantly be the Warriors' best interior defender and would do a ton to help out their rebounding woes.

After this season there's only 1 year left on the 28 year old Dalembert's deal, so he could potentially be valuable as a single, sizable expiring contract during the 2010-2011 NBA season. A contender might even want to pick up his defensive tenacity for a stretch run in the 2011 NBA Playoffs. Compare that to the remaining 3 years on the "Captain's" contract (thank you Robert Rowell) taking him into his mid-30's (read: way past his athletic prime) and Jack's history of well... throwing tantrums.

So why would our friends in Philly do it?

I have no idea.

And that's the problem.

Would you trade Stephen Jackson and Speedy Claxton for Samuel Dalembert?

RECAP: LA Clippers 118, Golden State Warriors 90- It's a Great Time Out for Clipper Raj!

Atma Brother ONE — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:17:08 -0000

Seriously, what is going on here?

Preview/ Game Thread (1015+ comments)

Final Box Score

Blog Buddy: Clips Nation : Now THAT's Really More Like It

Warriors Nation and Clippers Nation. Clippers North and Warriors South. We're like peanut butter and jelly, Redman and Method Man, milk and cookies, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Donald Sterling and housing discrimination, Chris Cohan and tax evasion, Windows Vista and Cntrl + Alt +Dlt-- we just go together. So naturally I went to tonight's festivity at the Roracle (or should I say the Boracle?) with my main man Clipper Raj. Getting blown out at home by a long time frenemy tonight was pretty unexpected, but hey at least Clipper Raj had a great time out!

Final - 11.6.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Los Angeles Clippers	30	27	34	27	118
Golden State Warriors	19	26	16	29	90

Complete Coverage >

Jump for the reasons why our buddy Clipper Steve decided it was an opportune time to kindly host Clips Nation + GSoM Night 1 in SoCal.

Clippers Backcourt vs. Warriors Backcourt

Let's get this one out of the way first. The Bad News: Stephen Curry (-13) probably had the worst night of his NBA career tonight. The Good News: At least he got that one of his system early. Curry was shooting blanks (1-5) and getting abused on defense (fouled out) by the bigger and more imposing Clips guards for the entire duration of his 21 minutes out there tonight. We'll go easy on the rookie.
Monta Ellis (-29) just doesn't look like that Ellis to the Rim of 2008. Baron Davis not being there to guard the opposing team's best backcourt player and provide low-mistake ball handling and distributing the rock sure does hurt. But as my man Feltbot will tell you things have changed, Monta Ellis is not a star. Not anymore. Monta's J is way off and his court vision and decisions were very shaky tonight (SIX turnovers).
To go cliche on you for a second Baron Davis (+26) looked like a men among boys tonight. BD looks absolutely chiseled and in fantastic shape. He pretty much had his way with anyone the Warriors threw at him. He was savvy. He was smart. He was hungry and diving for loose balls. He was picking pockets (4 steals). He even hit 61.5 of his shots coming into the game shooting well below 40%. He is missed.
Eric Gordon (+29) also looked like a men among boys tonight. Gordon looked wise beyond his years. He abused the Warriors backcourt with his scoring. The Clippers have had their fair share of bad draft picks over the years, but they sure got this one right. A Dizzle-Gizzle backcourt is more than serviceable.
I'm easily in the top 1% of Anthony Morrow (-10) fans, but that was a sad performance. He looked like a one-trick pony out there and that trick wasn't quite working right. What made Morrow particularly intriguing last season was his rebounding in addition to his stellar shooting. It didn't look like Ammo was that interested in trying to clean up the glass tonight. His usual scrappiness and effort on defense wasn't there at all either. Not that he was the only Warrior in this regard, but Morrow was a defensive liability all night long. Very disappointing.
Oddly enough even Stephon Marburry's cousin Sebastian Telfair got in on the fun. The Warriors backcourt (particularly Morrow) just couldn't hang with this guy. 13 points (50% FG), 6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in under 20 minutes? Telfair outplayed both Ellis and Curry in Oakland. That's not supposed to happen... ever.
By the way what's up with all those losers booing Baron Davis at the Oracle? What's there to boo? Boom Dizzle is not here because 1) Robert Rowell couldn't wait to get him out of here so he could foolishly build around Monta Ellis and 2) Elton Brand pulled a sucka move. Not once did BD ever publicly whine like "Captain" Jack about his teammates. BD lost a prime year thanks to the silly roster Chris Mullin assembled around him and Coach Mike Montgomery's complete incompetence as Warriors head coach. Did you see BD complaining about that? Boo the "Captain", not the beard. Along with Nellie, Jason Richardson, Al Harrington, Mickael Pietrus, Matt Barnes, and yes even Stephen Jackson, Baron Davis made this team relevant for one fine spring and then some. Show some gratitude and class.
C.J. Watson sighting! Acie Law sighting! That means 1 of 2 things- 1) the Warriors are blowing out some unsuspecting squad or 2) the Warriors are somewhat expectedly getting blown out. Unfortunately tonight it was the latter.

Clippers 1, Warriors 0

Clippers Frontcourt vs. Warriors Frontcourt

Chris Kaman (+19) must have had his calendar marked for this game or something. He looked very, very good. Sure the Warriors were physically overmatched all night long against him mostly due to injuries to Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf, but that was an All-Star caliber performance tonight from Kaman. 22-9 through 3 ain't no joke, especially when it looks that easy. Don't be surprised if Kaman is donning an All-Star jersey in February. His competition in the West really isn't that tough either. Our man Matt Steinmetz has more in It's Early, But Chris Kaman Breaking Out. (Seriously Matt got off easy! He can choose to write about the Clips and not the Warriors for FanHouse.) Elton Brand made a really dumb decision ditching Kaman- that would have been a top 4-5 combo, especially with Dizzle-Gizzle in the backcourt and Camby up front.
In addition to Kaman the ever-underrated Marcus Camby (+26) really protected the rim tonight. His 12 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks were a fantasy hoops delight. The Warriors found out the hard way why this guy has a Defensive Player of the Year trophy at home. Andris Biedrins should be studying tape of this guy nightly. It's a reasonable goal for him to try to be Camby 2.0. The jumpshot won't be there, but there's no reason why the D and overall savvy can't.
Thanks to Biedrins and Turiaf nursing injuries and Anthony Randolph's current funk, MIKEY! Moore (-20) got the start. When Larry Riley signed MIKEY! in the offseason I don't think he envisioned him playing 18.5 minutes in a single game, but honestly the Warriors really had no other options especially with Randolph racking up so many pointless fouls. He wasn't quite Ronny Turiaf Sr. out there tonight.
It was pretty much more of the same from the big money veteran players on this team Stephen Jackson (-30) and Corey Maggette (-15). Lots of blanks (8-21 FG "good" for 38.1% FG) and questionable decisions with the rock (Jack with twice as many turnovers as assists). Thanks to poor front office decisions these guys have been thrust into roles they shouldn't have. Both are nice complementary vets, but nothing more. Sorry I know this is all like a broken record.
Anthony Randolph's night (-8) can be summed up in one word: CLUELESS. For all those Nellie haters demanding the Randolph "play through his mistakes" this game is exactly why that's not a good idea. To reinforce or encourage anything Randolph did tonight would be a huge mistake. From not cutting off the baseline against an infinitely slower Kaman to trying random And 1 moves at the top of the key and launching several ill-advised jumpers (5-15 FG), Randolph was just not playing smart tonight. His statline of 13 points and 14 points (mostly collected in garbage time) are incredibly misleading. If he's going to routinely play like he did tonight and play for 30 minutes a game, the Warriors are not winning a single game the rest of the way. It's frustrating because we all had so much hope for the guy.

By the way did you know Stacey Dash was 29 when she played the part of teenage BBF Dionne in this movie? Amazing.

Clippers 2, Warriors 0

Sadly both The Forward and The Guard had horrible games.

Garbage Time in the 4th Quarter

Clipper Raj: So it looks like this game is about over.

AB1: You kidding man? We got you guys right where we want you.

Clipper Raj: You wanted us to be up by 30?

AB1: 30 points? That's only 10 makes from downtown from Anthony Morrow.

Clipper Raj: Riiiight. Keep dreaming.

AB1: How about I dream about the Warriors winning the lottery sweepstakes for a gifted power forward destined for greatness, but then that dream quickly turns into a nightmare as he injures his left patella, probably costing the team any chance at the playoffs, before he even plays his first game?

<golf clap> <golf clap> Blake Grffin: "That's not very funny at all."

Clipper Raj: Hey Grffin picked up 6 less fouls than your GQ boy Masala tonight.

AB1: Okay, yeah that's pretty "Unstoppable Baby!"

Clipper Raj: Speaking of the Unstoppable-ness...

AB1: Yeah what about it.

Clipper Raj: You know how you cats over at GSoM have that world famous mantra:

"UNSTOPPABLE BABY!"

Golden State Warriors rookie Marc Jackson to the Mavericks' bench, after hitting a lay-up during a 29-point loss (2000)

Well a new Clipper one for matches against the Dubs is about to be formulated today.

AB1: Whatchu mean man?

DeAndre Jordan's dunks and celebrations during garbage time were pretty hilarious.

Clipper Raj:

"UNSTOPPABLE BABY!"

LA Clippers DeAndre Jordan to the Clips' bench, after throwing down a nasty jam for the umpteenth time during a 28-point win in garbage time (2009)

AB1: Good one.

Clippers 118, Warriors 90

Tonight's award goes out to Coach Don Nelson. Nellie's about to irrationally get bashed left and right by the histrionic and randomly vengeful "Fire Nellie" crowd. I'm not sure why. Honestly what is the man supposed to do? Tonight was on the players. Injuries happen (Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf), but the guys who were out there tonight were absolutely awful.

Did Nellie have the greatest coaching performance tonight? Doubtful, but tonight the players and their collective low hoops IQ, limitations, and raw-ness were the problem. Coaching was not the problem tonight. I give Nellie credit for not going AWOL.

A picture says a 1,000 words.

via s3.images.com

Video "highlights" courtesy of our friends at Yahoo! Sports and the NBA

Postgame video courtesy of our friends at CSN Bay Area

Poll

SB Nation - Golden State Warriors

IC Cold Links: Pacers Need Time To Heal

RECAP: Warriors 146, Timberwolves 105 - There's no I in TEAM

Can we play the Timberwolves for 82 games?

T.E.A.M. - the acronym for success

Miscellaneous Thoughts

Will the Warriors win more than 25 games?

Not in the face!

The Ghost of Bobcats Future Trades

5 Questions for Stephen Jackson's Agent Mark Stevens

5 Questions for the "Captain's" Agent

Do these weak cheap shots from agent Mark Stevens make it even harder for the Warriors to trade his client Stephen Jackson?

AV Pre-RECAP: Golden State Warriors 107, Sacramento Kings 120- Just don't get blown out?

Will the Warriors win another game this season?

Kings Bring the Hammers, Beat Warriors 120-107

Preview: Warriors at Kings, Game 7

THE OPPONENT

THE KEY BATTLE

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

BOLD PROCLAMATION

WAGER

DETAILS

RUMOR: 76ers Contacted Warriors about Samuel Dalembert + Warriors trying to trade Stephen Jackson + Cavaliers still interested in Jackson

Samuel Dalembert

#1 / Center / Philadelphia 76ers

Would you trade Stephen Jackson and Speedy Claxton for Samuel Dalembert?

RECAP: LA Clippers 118, Golden State Warriors 90- It's a Great Time Out for Clipper Raj!

Clippers Backcourt vs. Warriors Backcourt

Clippers 1, Warriors 0

Clippers Frontcourt vs. Warriors Frontcourt

Clippers 2, Warriors 0

Garbage Time in the 4th Quarter

Clippers 118, Warriors 90

Who gets your vote for tonight's main Warrior Killer?