By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND — After joining his teammates for the final 15 minutes’ worth of scrimmaging on Thursday, Warriors swingman Kelenna Azubuike is expected to play Friday against the Houston Rockets.

“It’s still a little tender, but it’ll be alright,” Azubuike said of his sprained left ankle, which had sidelined him since Saturday.

Azubuike said the ankle is probably 80 percent of full strength. It troubles him more going side to side than it does going up and down the floor.

“I thought he looked OK, for being out and not being on the floor for a while,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said. “It’s good to see him back out there.”

Azubuike’s return gives Nelson plenty of options in terms of potential starting lineups. The coach has started 10 different players currently on the roster at one time or another, and all of them are now (for the most part, at least) healthy.

One thing you shouldn’t expect to see, however, is the sight of Corey Maggette filling Al Harrington’s role as an undersized center nipping at Yao Ming’s size-18 heels.

“At the 5?” Nelson said of Maggette. “He’s got enough trouble playing 4.”

Nelson used Harrington to great effect against the Rockets over the last couple of years, forcing Yao into the uncomfortable role of chasing a 3-point shooter rather than staying home in the lane. Harrington made the plan work defensively by being able to front Yao, with a double team coming any time Houston threw over the top.

At 6-10 and with enough heft not to get pushed over by Yao, Harrington was able to force Houston’s entry passes so high that it gave help defenders adequate time to shut down Yao’s route to the basket or go for a steal. At 6-6, Maggette probably wouldn’t be able to emulate that success, meaning that the Rockets would be able to get the ball to Yao much more quickly, thus negating any help Nelson gave Maggette.

In other words: How does one say “dunk-a-thon” in Mandarin?

“I can’t,” Nelson said of recreating a Harrington-style lineup against Yao. “I can’t do that. I don’t have the personnel. You have to have a unique kind of player who’s quick and can front and make Yao play some guessing games.”

Besides, there were signs that the gambit of fronting Yao was beginning to wear thin, even before Harrington’s departure last month. After averaging 12.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in his first three games against Harrington as a Warrior, Yao exploded in his final meeting against Golden State last season, dropping 36 points and grabbing 19 boards. Yao scored eight consecutive points in the final 2 minutes to secure the win; Harrington, meanwhile, had to ice his forearm after bruising it on Yao’s head.

“The older (Yao) gets, the more mature he gets, the less likely you can do anything with the guy,” Nelson said. “He’s seen everything now, many, many times, over and over.”

This is just one observer’s guess, but unless the Rockets suddenly decide to bench Luis Scola, I think you could very well see Ronny Turiaf start alongside Biedrins, with Biedrins guarding Scola and Turiaf drawing the Yao assignment.

Contact: geofflepper@48minutes.net