48minutes.net

HALFTIME:

** That feels like potentially more than a hamstring for Jackson. He was grabbing at the back of his right knee after pulling up. Hopefully, that’s not a tendon or ligament problem.

** Scotty: You’re absolutely correct, just one of many problems I have with small ball.

** Taffy: I think most of those minutes have gone right to Maggette, first on the wing and then as the small-ball 4. Frankly, I think Azubuike’s a much better small-ball 4, just anecdotally speaking. I’m going to crunch some numbers on that this week.

** 1and2: No, they can’t, which is why when it became obvious that all 10 players thought one of the refs had blown their whistle, Salvatore or Leon Wood should have stopped play, called an official timeout, made the announcement, then give the ball to Utah.

SECOND QUARTER:

** Sprained right ankle for Maggette? Or worse? Oh boy.

** Hey, Jamal Crawford, see how much better driving to the basket works out?

** Terrible non-box-out by Wright leads to Kirilenko’s putback bucket, and Kurz gets the call. They ought to just install a revolving door at the scorer’s table already. . .

** Kurz foul No. 3, and . . . wait for it . . . MAGGETTE AT THE 4!

Ridiculous.

** Three half-court possessions with Maggette at the 4, three buckets for Utah.

** Stephen Jackson can’t guard Paul Millsap. Somebody larger is needed. This would seem to be obvious.

** Jackson and Maggette stand at the left elbow, miscommunicating, while Millsap dunks. Sigh.

** Credit where it’s due: The Warriors are running enough on offense to ALMOST outweigh their defensive deficiencies.

** I’m not one to bitch about calls often, but allowing the 1-on-0 layup after a whistle from the crowd is just a terrible decision from the officiating crew.

** I know Crawford gets fouled on 3s all the time, but that smells an awful lot like a makeup call.

FIRST QUARTER:

** No Jermareo Davidson in the starting lineup? I, for one, am disappointed.

** That’s a play where, instead of looping a long left hook over Millsap, Wright needs to create contact and get to the line.

** Marco Belienelli with the 4-point play: The Italian Jamal Crawford?

** Cause and effect: Wright with another wild left hook, Kurz off the bench.

** I had to rewind to watch it again because I laughed so hard the first time: Biedrins’ no-look pass needs a little help.

** I wonder what’s up with Ronny’s left elbow sleeve. . .

** Corey Maggette’s first shot back is a long two with his foot on the line. Awful. And typical.

** Rob Kurz with two fouls — do we see Jermareo?

** Kyle Korver lets Maggette off the hook by blowing the wide-open back-door play.

** Okur kills Kurz with the drop step, and up comes Wright off the bench. It feels kind of like the Warriors have the same relationship with power forwards as the Detroit Lions had with wide receivers during Matt Millen’s reign.

– Geoff

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

The frontline void for the Warriors is kind of like the U.S. school system: You can throw however much money and manpower you want at it, and it just doesn’t seem to make a whit of difference.

The latest attempt to stem this tide is Jermareo Davidson, who was originally selected 36th overall in the 2007 draft by the Warriors but was traded before the night was out to the Charlotte Bobcats, along with Jason Richardson, for Brandan Wright.

Davidson, brought in today on a 10-day contract, essentially replaces Richard Hendrix, who was cut loose on Dec. 18 when Monta Ellis had to be transferred back from the suspended list to the inactive squad. It’s a funny coincidence, since they played together at Alabama for two seasons and were the two leading scorers on the Tide’s 2006-07 team. Here are the stats from that season (and remember that Hendrix was a sophomore, while Davidson was a senior):

Many fans have questioned why on Earth the Warriors would waive Hendrix (whose $442,114 salary was fully guaranteed) without seeing him play once in a real NBA game, only to turn around two weeks later and sign another big man who could — if the team chooses to retain Davidson for the rest of the season — cost another roughly $350,000.

There’s either one of two things at play:

A) The Warriors simply need another large body to get through tonight’s contest, since Wright and Rob Kurz are both banged up, Anthony Randolph is on double-not-so-secret probation, Corey Maggette hasn’t played in nearly a month, Kelenna Azubuike will get eaten alive by Paul Millsap and Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf can’t each play 48 minutes — unless the foul disqualification limit is doubled to 12.

Or. . .

B) Don Nelson likes Davidson more than he liked Hendrix. A lot more.

I can believe at least half of choice B, because Nelson clearly didn’t think much of Hendrix’s ability, right from the start. Back in October, after three weeks of working with Hendrix, before the regular season had even begun, Nelson had this to say: “He has an NBA body and NBA desire but is not NBA ready.”

Asked if Hendrix had NBA talent, Nelson said, “Not yet.”

The coach’s attitude was unmoved by what he saw when he watched Hendrix and DeMarcus Nelson play for the Bakersfield Jam in mid-December, according to Matt Steinmetz: “I think the school is still out on Hendrix. He’s got a lot of work to do. As far as the body and rebounding, he’s got two things going for him. But he’s got to learn a lot of other stuff.”

Is Davidson going to be any better? Certainly, at 6-10 and with a 7-4 wingspan — a quarter-inch longer than Wright and a full inch better than Randolph — Davidson has the potential to fill a “traditional” power forward spot.

But I’ll believe it when I see it.

Winners and losers?
The most obvious winner is Davidson, who was released in training camp this season by the Bobcats. He’s almost certainly going to get a chance to play over Randolph, and I suspect could pass Wright on the depth chart, especially if Wright keeps getting into early foul trouble.

Another potential winner is Maggette. I know Don Nelson has said he’s not going to overplay Maggette this time around, but I recall he said that about Baron Davis last season just before grinding BD into the ground with endless streams of 38-, 40- and 42-minute games. If Davidson flops, that will open the door for Maggette to get another shot at power forward, where there are oodles of minutes to be had.

And you can’t put up numbers if you don’t get minutes.

The biggest loser is also plain: DeMarcus Nelson, the Oakland native who got cut to make way for Davidson. Don Nelson said from the start that it would take a year, at a minimum, to remake DeMarcus’ shot, which is why I found it strange they kept him, let alone started him on Opening Night.

Even with the emergency revamp that took place in the D-League, Nelson’s shot is still too inaccurate and too slow to make it at this level right now, as evidenced by his shot chart:

In case those numbers are too fuzzy to read, that’s 20-35 (57.1 percent) on layups and dunks, 4-18 (22.2 percent) on everything else.

Steinmetz pointed to Randolph as being on the downside of this decision, but I don’t really agree. That theory, to me, flips the causality; it’s not that Randolph is going to play zero minutes because Davidson is on the roster — Davison is on the roster precisely because Randolph is already guaranteed not to play, a fact Nelson made clear with his public trashing of Randolph.

(Wouldn’t it be fascinating if tri-captains Biedrins, Turiaf and Stephen Jackson all went on the record tonight as saying that, since Nelson left the decision up to them and the assistant coaches, Randolph should play? How hilarious would that be?)

The biggest potential loser is Wright. Nelson has made it clear he’s willing to play Wright, but only begrudgingly, and always with a shorter leash than any of the veterans (Maggette being the most pertinent example). If Davidson can shoot with regularity the 15-footer that Wright really can’t (not with any consistency, anyways), is there any doubt he’ll be starting for this team in the near future?

Contact: geofflepper@48minutes.net

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

As the rift between the Warriors coach Don Nelson and rookie forward Anthony Randolph continues to widen unabated, with the teenager effectively serving an unofficial and open-ended suspension, it’s funny to think about who might have salvaged this relationship:

Chris Mullin.

Randolph was a Mullin pick; Nelson wanted Jason Thompson but came around eventually to Mullin’s way of thinking, which was to take a potential superstar if one was available at No. 14 — and Randolph fit that bill.

It stands to figure that Mullin would be the guy best equipped to keep Randolph’s emotions in check when he would get yanked by Nelson’s short leash. After all, Mullin was the guy who served as Monta Ellis’ biggest champion during a rookie season in which coach Mike Montgomery derided his talents and kept him mostly glued to the bench until Baron Davis shut it down in March.

But Mullin has been persona non grata for a while now, unseen at practice or even at shootarounds, where he used to be a constant presence. He’s been on the road scouting college games, which should give him some great insights (on the Warriors’ dime) when he goes to work for another NBA team next season, but that’s a whole other problem.

Much has been made of the shot Randolph delivered to fellow rookie forward Rob Kurz in practice last weekend; the obvious inference to be drawn from Stephen Jackson’s reaction is that Randolph deliberately nailed Kurz.

I don’t think he would have wanted to cause serious injury, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Randolph, having reached the height of his frustration, lined up Kurz’s chin and clocked him as a stand-in for Nelson.

Nelson has been almost unremittingly critical of Randolph this season. The coach’s biggest compliment — that Randolph had passed Brandan Wright on the team’s depth chart way back in preseason — turned out to be totally false, just a motivational tool to light a fire under Wright.

On the other hand, Nelson has been effusive in his praise of Kurz from Day 1, all but pouting when Kurz was cut on Mullin’s order and then campaigning hard to get him back once Ellis was placed on the suspended list.

I’m not saying definitively that that’s what happened. But I can certainly see Kurz being the epitome of everything that’s going wrong for Randolph — at least in Randolph’s eyes — and Randolph snapping after three months and lashing out.

As for a return date for Randolph, Nelson is once again publicly demurring to other members of the organization despite his unquestioned status as the leader of basketball operations. It’s similar to the move Nelson pulled a few weeks back when Jackson was struggling terribly and needed to be told to hit the bench until his hand was healthy. Rather than doing it himself (at least at first), Nelson tried to put the onus on his other players to deliver the message to Jackson.

Matt Steinmetz posits that this is Nelson’s way of telling everyone that there’s “a major problem with Randolph” and that he’s out of ideas how to deal with the rookie.

To a more cynical observer, it could be interpreted as another way to ostracize Randolph.

Lead assistant Keith Smart had been Randolph’s closest confidant during games, the guy to whom both Randolph and Wright would go to after being unceremoniously yanked by Nelson after one or two mistakes (while Corey Maggette would make seven and still be on the floor).

Putting Smart and the other assistants in charge of deciding when Randolph can return means that relationship must change — after all, how can Smart seem fair and evenhanded if he’s still letting Randolph bend his ear?

It’s too bad there isn’t anybody else under contract who might fill that role.

Oh, right.

The Lineup Project
As for the game, there’s not much in the way of analysis needed. The Warriors should been up big at the half, but gave the Timberwolves 12 points off turnovers in the first two periods. There’s no shame at not being able to stop Al Jefferson (32 points, 10 rebounds), but letting Kevin Love rip you for 19 points and eight boards in 25 minutes is just horrendous.

Contact: geofflepper@48minutes.net

FOURTH QUARTER:

** Shouldn’t Brian Cardinal be kicking this game to the Warriors in repayment for them setting him up for life?

** Jon: There’s not much I can say in C.J.’s defense. He’s not a good transition point.

** Al Jefferson is just killing it right now. That step through on C.J. and Biedrins was just gorgeous.

** CC: You mean the “OK, Michael Heisley, you want to see me do something, here’s Brian Cardinal for the full mid-level” story? I do love that one.

** I wonder what goes through Monta’s mind while he watches this team right now. Boy, I can’t wait to set up Rob Kurz!

THIRD QUARTER:

** I’m still here. I’m just bored to tears by this game. And this team.

** C.J. and Crawford . . . this has the potential to be a comically bad defensive tandem.

** So they zone to get around that. Too bad they’re playing Belinelli in that corner spot where Wright could have been, if healthy.

** Horrid fast break, leading to an open 3 for Gomes in the right corner.

** The Warriors are just killing themselves with stupid, needless turnovers. It’s going to be fun to go back and take a closer look at each of them. Fun in an “NTSB decoding the black box” kind of way, that is.

** I understand he’s in the doghouse, but if you’re not going to use Anthony Randolph on a night like tonight — 58.0 DRR, Brandan Wright hurt — then why is he even suiting up at this point?

SECOND QUARTER:

** Is Miller centering his chakra when he reaches inside his shirt at the start of his free-throw routine?

** The Target Cetner crowd is booing Rashard McCants, as well it should.

** If you think the coaches are going to take Biedrins (10 wins) or Al Jefferson (6) over Shaquille O’Neal (18) to the All-Star Game, you’re nuts.

** This is a game the Warriors should win, shooting 54.1 percent to Minnesota’s 41.9. If not for Golden State’s 10 turnovers — many unforced — this wouldn’t even be close.

** Seriously, let’s have Nelson and McHale meet at halftime and agree to bench everyone over 6-foot-8, just turn this into a flat-out, no-D track meet.

** Once again: The Warriors just can’t close out a quarter worth a damn, can they?

FIRST QUARTER:

** Rob Kurz starts. And, in a related note, B.J. Armstrong’s phone starts to ring.

** That turnover is exactly what I was talking about regarding Belinelli not having the ballhandling to be a full-time PG. You can’t get trapped in the corner against the halfcourt line like that if you want the gig at this level.

** I’ve admittedly been rough on Rob Kurz, but he is playing well offensively, albeit in a small sample size.

** Remember in the Warriors’ 113-110 OT win on Nov. 11, it was Brandan Wright’s presence in Golden State’s 2-3 zone — using his long arms to ward off entry passes to Al Jefferson on the left block — that took Jefferson out of the game down the stretch. It’ll be interesting to see what they do at the end tonight if a similar situation arises.

** Phil: Not that I know of. I keep forgetting to ask the Warriors to check with Stats and see what the single-season record is for 4-point plays by an individual, because he’s got to be near it already.

** So, I just noticed that Mike Miller is coming off the bench. My word, Kevin McHale is as bad at this job as he was in the front office.

** CC: Ah, thanks for the update. Missed that.

** Bassy coast-to-coast for a reverse layup and a 2-for-1 exchange, followed by a pull up J with 2.7 seconds left. The Warriors just can’t close out a quarter worth a damn, can they?

– Geoff

FOURTH QUARTER:

** Marco’s living right with that 3-pointer rolling in.

** Not only did Turiaf play that S/R light years better than Biedrins has been doing it, he forced an ugly turnover out of Jose Calderon, who coughs those up about once every 10 days or so.

** Holy crap: I didn’t see which referee it was, but that was a spectacular no-call on their part, allowing Turiaf and Joey Graham to come together without feeling the need to parse which one was 51 percent in the right and which was only 49.

** Raptors are already in the bonus, while having committed no fouls of their own. (Make that one now.) That could prove to be critical.

** Too funny: Stephen Jackson, who’s been demolished more times than I can count by Nelson for his lack of rebounding, sneaks in for the critcal putback.

** Biedrins is coming in for Turiaf at the 5:25 mark, a trade of superior post defense (Turiaf) for increased rebounding (AB has 12 of the W’s 26 defensive boards).

** Bosh overpowers Jackson in the right block, leaving the captain to look to the bench with his arms open in a “now what?” pose.

** Terrible, dreadful possession: Crawford dribbles out the shot clock, hoists a no-hope 3-pointer, then Watson fouls Calderon while going for the rebound.

** Hey, Marc Davis, way to try to insert yourself into the outcome of the game.

** Two good looks at go-ahead treys that the Warriors survived, followed by a Biedrins putback to make it a two-possession game once again.

** Closing out a game is about four times as hard as it should be when you can’t defensive board worth a damn.

** That’s some cojones for Watson to take that 16-footer over Bosh.

** The Warriors are lucky Graham fouled Belinelli in the backcourt , because he was only a couple of seconds from taking an 8-second call, and there was nobody in the front court available to help him.

** Hey, an inbounds play that worked as drawn up!

** Double hey, an inbounds play that didn’t work — only this time it’s the opposition with the turnover, not the Warriors.

THIRD QUARTER:

** Smallball opens the third, and Chris Bosh taps home an easy bucket in celebration.

** And for once, the scrub of the night belongs to the Warriors rather than the opposition (C.J. Watson, come on down!)

** Jose Calderon: You haven’t missed a free throw all season, you’ve got Watson floating in midair after giving him a head fake . . . why on Earth do you pass that ball out to Bargnani instead of going up, drawing contact and pocketing the easy two points?

Awful.

** The Warriors aren’t good enough to get sloppy like this . . . unless it’s subtle tanking, of course.

** Offensive foul (drawn) No. 9 in three games for Belinelli.

** The C.J. Watson joyride appears to be over.

** Toronto cuts the lead to seven, W’s timeout. It’s interesting to watch Nelson and Smart sitting, side by side, across from the players. Smart is doing the diagramming (presumably of a defensive adjustment) and Nelson is driving the point home with Turiaf, who now checks out.

** Only the fact that Kris Humphries and Joey Graham are so woeful is saving the Warriors right now as they leak offensive rebounds.

** Biedrins is getting slaughtered right now on the high screen/roll. It’s just brutal.

HALFTIME:

** I’ve written before that I don’t think the Warriors’ slight drop in official attendance (which has actually improved in the three weeks since I wrote about it) is going to significantly impact their bottom line. Looking around the arena tonight, however, there is a more worrisome trend: At least 12 of the 72 Oracle luxury suites are empty. I don’t have attendance data for those suites, but anecdotally speaking, that’s a high number of vacancies, even if it is the Raptors.

SECOND QUARTER:

** It’s funny, because in Toronto, the Warriors attacked with three bigs on the floor for much of the game, whereas tonight we probably won’t see even a second big man until after halftime.

** Belinelli thought he was home free, and then Jamario Moon showed how athleticism can trump smarts pretty easily, given the proper circumstances.

** With the Warriors in the bonus already, this is one of the times that Corey Maggette would come in handy. If he were healthy, they could keep feeding him the ball on isolation plays and rack up the points at the line.

** We just received a note that Jermaine O’Neal is “questionable” with flu-like symptoms. I didn’t realize “can’t hang with a small-ball lineup” qualifies as “flu-like” symptoms. Must be a byproduct of that socialized health care in Canada.

** With only two offensive rebounds, it’s very much an all-or-nothing proposition on offense for the Warriors right now.

** CC: That’s the problem with scouting in this league; teams know that Azubuike’s not much of a ballhandler, so they instruct their players to make him put it on the floor whenever possible. That was just a smart bit of gamesmanship by Calderon.

** Another offensive foul drawn by Belinelli. That’s eight in the last 2 1/2 games.

** Hey, Jay, you might want to guard the 3-point line. Just a thought.

** Jackson’s 3-point shooting in the 2 1/2 games since resting his injured left hand: 35.7 percent (5-for-14). The Warriors as a whole: 44.6 percent (25-for-56).

FIRST QUARTER:

** Andris Biedrins is making a living on his overplays right now.

** The Oracle crowd has loved Marco Belinelli since that first Summer League explosion, and they’re loving every minute of his emergence.

** Brandan Wright makes up for fairly pedestrian ball-handling skills by doing a great job of working himself into open spaces; he found a sweet spot for a pass from Jackson after his man doubled Jack and was rewarded with a pass from the captain for an easy 6-footer. But that means the Warriors have to have someone who can deliver him the ball.

** Jermaine O’Neal is looking like Methusaleh nowadays. He was lurking in the lane, waiting for Jackson to spin baseline, and guessed right, but still could do nothing but commit a foul.

** Marc Davis is going to kick himself at the half when he sees just how far O’Neal’s foot was planted inside the circle on that “charge.”

** Bad move by Belinelli to float so far off Kapono, whose sole NBA-caliber attribute is shooting standstill 3-pointers.

** Smallball is back, baby!

** Payback from Kapono, leaving Belinelli wide open in the right corner.

** Just because you’ve converted a couple of fadeaway jumpers off the isolation plays, Captain Jack, doesn’t mean you should keep calling that play’s number.

** Don Nelson is decidedly unsatisified with Scott Foster’s explanation for the charging call on Kelenna Azubuike.

** When Jake Voskuhl picks you clean . . . cripes, do I even need a punchline here?

PREGAME:

** It’s easy to forget how badly the Raptors have stumbled to start this season. And I guess Jay Triano (4-9) isn’t the answer.

** Who guards Bosh? If it’s Jackson, can Brandan Wright keep Jamario Moon off the offensive glass?

– Geoff