By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Somebody cue Shirley Bassey and the Propellerheads. Because the Warriors sure seem to be stuck in a little bit of history repeating.

Fifty-three weeks ago, Warriors coach Don Nelson yanked Al Harrington from his rotation, playing him for less than 20 minutes in the fifth game of the season. In his post-game press conference, Nelson dropped the pretense that the two sides could peacefully co-exist while Golden State tried to accommodate the captain’s trade request.

Wednesday, Nelson yanked Stephen Jackson from his rotation, playing him for less than 20 minutes in the seventh game of the season. In his pre-game press conference, Nelson dropped the pretense that the pretense that the two sides could peacefully co-exist while Golden State tried to accommodate the former captain’s trade request.

“At some point, and I don’t know when, we have to (trade Jackson),” Nelson told reporters before Indiana’s 108-94 victory over the Warriors. “He asked to be traded, and we’d like to trade him. That’s if we can.”

Now the question is whether Jackson will continue to follow in the footsteps of Harrington, who never played again for the Warriors after his 16-minute stint against Denver on Nov. 5, 2008. Harrington left the team immediately thereafter, decamping to Los Angeles for a couple weeks until eventually getting dealt for Jamal Crawford of the New York Knicks.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

My first paying gig as a sportswriter, as an intern at the late, lamented Peninsula Times Tribune, found me covering the 1992-93 Warriors. I haven’t saved a lot of the press materials I’ve used over the years, but I kept the media guide from that season as a remembrance.

I pulled out that media guide this morning because of the cover, which features a stylized illustration from local artist and graphic designer Larry Hausen (who would later provide the Warriors with their current logo). In Hausen’s composition, you can see some of the tools of a journalists’ trade — the corner of an old Mac keyboard, an NBA press release, a Styrofoam cup of Diet Coke and a few of the blank notebooks the Warriors were giving out that year, featuring images of Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway and Billy Owens on the cover.

There is a point to this whole shaggy-dog story, so just hold on. . . . Right in the center of the frame, one of the notebooks is flipped open, and you can read the reporter’s notes, presumably from Don Nelson’s latest postgame press conference. Here’s how it reads:

NELLIE: WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT OUR EFFORT TONIGHT? OUR GUYS NEVER QUIT!

Our guys never quit. Heh.

If you watched either of the Warriors’ last two games — back-to-back thrashings at the hands of the Clippers (at home on Friday) and the Kings (in Arco on Sunday) — then you know why that fictitious quote stuck out in my mind.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

After the Warriors’ season-opening 108-107 loss to Houston, coach Don Nelson said that he would like to see Corey Maggette — who had just gone 1-for-8 on shots outside of 15 feet — drive to the hoop every time he touched the ball.

Wednesday against Memphis, Nelson made sure Maggette had no other choice.

Rather than simply allowing Maggette to get his touches in an iso set, where he has been inevitably settling for jumpers, Nelson ran some smart plays to get him moving towards the basket as he received the ball, basically removing the option of another 20-foot clanker.

The result? 6-for-8 shooting in the paint, 20 points in 30 minutes, and a 113-105 victory over the Grizzlies.

When he checked into the game initially for Stephen Jackson midway through the first quarter, it looked like it would be more of the same for Maggette, who came into Wednesday having missed 16 of 21 shots on the year.

His first possession was a simple clearout isolation on the right wing against Zach Randolph. Instead of attempting to get past the slower Randolph, Maggette took a half-step with his right foot, then quickly brought it back and hoisted a jumper from 21 feet [1, 3:16].

It fell short, as it so often does.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

The Warriors looked slow and befuddled Friday while the Suns zoomed past them for a 123-101 victory, but Golden State is getting faster in one area, at least:

Last season, it took several weeks before people started wondering what was going on between coach Don Nelson and prized rookie Anthony Randolph.

This year, it only took three days.

In the space of two games, Randolph has gone from a bench afterthought to a starting power forward to a “cleanup on aisle 9” fourth-quarter-blowout specialist.

Hell, I’m dizzy just from typing that.

After the game, according to Brett Pollakoff of NBA Fanhouse, Nelson declined to answer questions about his usage of Randolph, who replaced Ronny Turiaf in the starting lineup, was pulled after 7:15 and not seen again until the second half, when he was made to finish off the dispiriting defeat by playing the entire fourth quarter.

Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to mollify the folks who see Randolph as the savior of the franchise.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

After Wednesday’s 108-107 season-opening loss to Houston, Warriors Don Nelson called out the non-passers on his team — i.e., everybody except Stephen Curry and (when the spirit moves him) Stephen Jackson — for not keeping Anthony Morrow high enough in their thoughts.

Morrow, the NBA’s best 3-point shooter last season, uncorked only seven shots in 22 1/2 minutes on the floor, an attempt rate that ranked seventh out of the nine players Nelson used, behind Curry, Jackson, Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, Kelenna Azubuike and Anthony Randolph. Only Ronny Turiaf and Andris Biedrins managed to keep themselves from outgunning Morrow.

“If you don’t get him the ball when he’s open, it doesn’t do much good to have him in the game,” Nelson said. “We have to do a better job of understanding he’s our best shooter, and you’ve got to know where he is at all times.

But the rest of the players on this roster are who they are — and they will resolutely remain so if there are never any consequences for them to face.

To wit: If you’re going to let Maggette, who went 3-for-14 in a little less than 25 minutes, jack up a steady stream of no-hope 19-foot clanks without recriminations, why on Earth should he even give a fleeting, momentary thought to passing off to Morrow?

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