By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

The NBA’s All-Star break does not come at the halfway point of its season, of course. So instead of 41 games remaining to right the ship, the Warriors have only 28 contests left – not nearly enough time to transform their 19-35 record into anything resembling a playoff contender’s mark.

What, then, can we take away from the first two-thirds of Golden State’s 2008-09 season? And what can we look forward to as the final weeks tick away? Here are the assessments of one observer:

THE PLAYERS
Kelenna Azubuike
MID-TERM GRADE: B.
WORK TO DATE: His rebounding ability at power forward shored up the Warriors’ small-ball lineup, and ranking third in the league in 3-point percentage (46.2) was a great bonus. Still has too much of a propensity to not see open teammates, but he is showing improvement there, with an AST/TO ratio since Jan. 1 of 1.64. (Prior to that this season, he was at 1.12; in his previous two NBA seasons, he was at 1.06).
GOALS FOR APRIL 15: Prove that his shooting from distance is something the Warriors can count on long-term, and not just an aberration.

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FOURTH QUARTER:

** I’ll have to double-check, but I believe Randolph’s plus-12 all came in that third quarter.

** As the game tightens up, Jamal Crawford makes a horrible decision, missing a early-offense pullup from 21 feet, and a Maggette flop goes unrewarded at the other end of the floor.

** Monta Ellis is putting to rest those questions about who will be the Warriors’ top option in crunch time. Three straight buckets, and he looks like he’s in total control out there right now.

** And as soon as I post that, Ellis gets doubled and gives up the TO and dunk to make it a four-point game with 51.1 seconds left.

** If you’re going to foul, Rudy Fernandez, why do it after letting 13 seconds run off the clock?

** PDX: The Warriors are playing defense with Ronny Turiaf on the floor, Anthony Randolph came up huge, Corey Maggette has been selling the flop time and again. As for the Blazers, the combination of fatigue-induced sloppiness and the absence of Steve Blake led to 22 turnovers.

** I know they pimped this idea on the last broadcast, but I do wonder what might have happened if the Warriors had won the triple-overtime debacle vs. SAC and those two buzzer-beating losses to OKC and CLE. That would have been seven straight victories before heading out for the Texas/New Orleans trip. Maybe they pick up another one there … suddenly this team is 23-31 after tonight. A 21-7 push would have been needed to realistically think about the playoffs, but that would have been filed in the realm of “highly unlikely” rather than the “certifiable lunacy” that postseason talk deserves right now.

THIRD QUARTER:

** The Blazers are desperately missing Steve Blake’s ability to make that simple, accurate initiating pass most every time downcourt.

** That’s bad luck for Turiaf, taking a foul after a bad decision from Jamal Crawford leaves him trapped in mid-air with nowhere to pass the ball.

** I guess Randolph’s self-confidence has survived intact.

** It’s been mentioned already that the Blazers on the second half of a back-to-back, but I think even more important is the fact that the Warriors are not. Those fading jumpers that are falling tonight for Golden State rarely seem to touch net when they are finishing off contests on consecutive nights.

** In much the same way as Brandan Wright (you remember him, right?), when Anthony Randolph spins in the…

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND – With Kelenna Azubuike, C.J. Watson and Anthony Morrow all playing critical roles to this point, the Golden State Warriors are one of only two teams in the NBA this season to have three former D-League or undrafted free agents among their top eight players (in terms of minutes played).

Even though 2008 second-round pick Richard Hendrix was cut loose months ago, Warriors coach Don Nelson doesn’t think that qualifies as a sign of bad scouting. Rather, it’s an indication of the specificity that teams can shop with when cruising the D-League aisles.

“I’ve felt for a long time that the D-League is better than most second-rounders that you get,” Nelson said. “You can get a guy in the D-League (who is) a specialist because you can zero in on positions there more than the draft. The draft, you’re taking chances on talent and what you’re gonna get, not what you get (immediately). In the D-League, you pretty well can tell what you have.”

“The first round has been diluted here the last 10 years, but still, if there’s some greatness there, that’s probably where you find it.”

The only other team that has three or more D-League/undrafted free agents among its top eight players this season is the Miami Heat. Rookie coach Erik Spoelstra has ridden the likes of Udonis Haslem, Daequan Cook, Joel Anthony and Chris Quinn to a 27-24 record that’s put the Heat in a tie for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. (That figure also ranks 10 games better than the Warriors’ current 18-35 mark, if you’re scoring at home.)

The difference, of course, is Dwyane Wade, a four-time All-Star (in only his sixth season) who’s light-years ahead of any Warrior in terms of individual ability.

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FOURTH QUARTER:

** Again, Anthony Randolph has more pure athleticism than anybody on this roster — and by a wide margin.

** How on earth that wasn’t an offensive foul on Jackson, I’ll never know.

** I could watch Randolph springing off the floor to grab a rebound all day long.

** Fantastic over-the-head dish from Crawford to Maggette on the break. Baron who?

** word: Morrow ought to be in already.

THIRD QUARTER:

** Turiaf has talked in the wake of Biedrins’ injury about playing smarter to avoid silly fouls and he’s trying very hard to meet that goal tonight.

** Hey Jack, are you really so tired you can’t call out “screen” to let Monta know Harrington is behind him, about to spring Nate Robinson free for a layup?

** I’m not sure that the Warriors really can slow the tempo. That’s never been part of their game. But if they don’t find a second wind somewhere, they’re going to have to try.

** Or, you know, they could just keep getting (and hitting) open shots.

** I liked the way Monta pushed the ball there, even if Crawford wasn’t able to convert on the kick-out.

** Turiaf had that spin-and-back move by Lee sussed out. Just bad luck Lee was able to hit the righty hook regardless.

** Staying on Turiaf, I know I said this during Sunday’s game as well, but it bears repeating: his defensive presence in Biedrins’ absence (and, frankly, even before) is no surprise. What is a bit of a revelation is his offensive game, especially on the S/R or just finding open seams in the lane.

** Jackson’s fadeaway misses over smaller defenders are getting tired.

** Great elevation from Ellis for the reverse lay — second game in a row where you get a glimpse of the old Monta.

** Whatever his other faults, Jackson has some great court vision.

** Not to tempt the jinx, but … still only one turnover for the Warriors to this point — and it’s not Jackson (!)

And then Randolph coughs it up twice.

HALFTIME:

** It’s sad to see an alleged Nellieball team get as tired as these guys are with the Knicks’ pace.

SECOND QUARTER:

** I really don’t remember Nate Robinson being this kind of 3-point bomber.

** Randolph’s ability to hang in mid-air and still block that shot (even with the foul) was really ludicrous.

** It’s amazing to think the Warriors have missed 17 shots to this point (9:44 remaining), and probably 10 of…

FOURTH QUARTER:

** Kyle Korver makes that open 3, this might be a different game. Instead he clanks it and C.J. Watson manages to convert an Ellis turnover into a layup for Azubuike. One down, 30 to go!

** Deron Williams is trying to win this single-handedly. It looks kind of like the way Jackson tried to carry the Warriors early this season.

** Azubuike with the tip-in between Okur and Millsap. The Jazz have officially packed it in.

** CC: That thought (re: triple-double) crossed my mind already. There’s no reason why Morrow and Randolph shouldn’t have been in as soon as Sloan waved the white flag.

THIRD QUARTER:

** A back-door cut from Ellis for the layup. That’s got to drive Jerry Sloan more nuts than anything. Talk about getting beaten at your own game.

** Ellis just got the same call as Steve Nash got on several occasions Friday, and I’m not buying it any more this evening.

** Off a rebound that Biedrins would have grabbed, Deron Williams gets the three-point play. Ouch.

** Ellis finally showing off his transition sprint from half court.

** Crawford may have 11 points in the quarter, with the And1 crossover/fade trey move, but I’m actually most impressed with his simple dish to Turiaf there for a layup and three-point play.

** Notwithstanding Utah’s road record, this is another impressive defensive performance, all of them keyed by Turiaf.

** The Warriors have shown they can play with the jazz, certainly. It’d be nice for them to give an example tonight that they can close out a blowout without comeback drama.

HALFTIME:

** Stephen Jackson as the second-best SF in the West? If you’re going purely by counting stats, maybe. If you’re going by per-minute efficiency, you could make a pretty compelling case he’s not even the second-best SF in California, ranking third behind Trevor Ariza and John Salmons.

** 1and2: OK, but can you guarantee that Nelson will actually play Randolph next year? Because Brandan Wright, when healthy, has been the Warriors’ best option at PF (unless you want to count Turiaf), and even he couldn’t get regular minutes for the first quarter of the season.

I think if the Warriors have a chance to get Griffin, they take it.

SECOND QUARTER:

** You can either pull down the defensive rebound, or you can let Millsap get the board, then block his putback attempt and gobble up that loose ball.

** You could see that airball coming from 80 feet away,…