48minutes.net

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

On the strength of a blistering summer-league debut, Marco Belinelli was an instant fan favorite at Oracle Arena last season.

This year, he plans on earning his adulation.

After a rookie season that never lived up to the promise of the 37-point barrage he unleashed in the desert, Belinelli took stock of his performance — a mere 240 minutes on the floor, 38.7 percent shooting, far too much time modeling Italian fashion on the bench — and spent the summer retooling his game. He spent several extra weeks in Oakland, transforming flab into muscle, honing a seldom-before-seen defensive edge, and trading the panache of that patented leg-kick follow through in favor of improved balance and consistency on his jumper.

The results? Belinelli is the Warriors’ leading scorer through three exhibition games, capped off by a 22-point, six-assist performance against Oklahoma City on Saturday that moved Don Nelson to call it “his best game that I’ve seen.”

“I think it’s different because this is my second year, and I’m not a rookie,” Belinelli said via phone Wednesday morning from Guangzhou, China, where the Warriors were readying to play the Bucks at 8 p.m. (5 a.m. Pacific time). “Everything was new for me, the coaches, the players, the type of the game. Now, I know the coaches, what the coach want from me. . . . I know I can help this team. I want to play.”

Whether he’ll get to do that is still an open question. Nelson said last week that Belinelli is still third on the depth chart at shooting guard, behind incumbent Stephen Jackson and third-year reserve Kelenna Azubuike. But if Belinelli keeps putting up efforts such as the one he had Saturday, he could alter that equation.

“Marco, he’s coming back with a chip on his shoulder,” Warriors forward Al Harrington said Saturday. “Not only did he show it to you today, he shows it to us every day in practice. He’s been very productive. We’re proud of him. It seems like he’s really focused in on taking care of his body, and obviously you know he can shoot the ball. He just had to get his confidence back, and it seems like he’s rolling, so we just need to keep pushing him, and everybody needs to keep encouraging him.”

The numbers are encouraging enough in their own right. Belinelli is shooting 56.5 percent, 62.5 on 3-pointers, and seems to have found a way to balance getting his shots off quickly while no longer sacrificing accuracy.

“I worked a lot (over the summer) for my defense and for my shot,” Belinelli said. “Last year, my balance was not good every time. My shot’s better, I’m more balanced. And I can defend. I can be one of the good defenders.”

The Thunder’s Kevin Durant should be able to attest to that. The reigning Rookie of the Year, all 6 feet, 9 inches and 215 pounds of him, was forced into 12 misses in 16 attempts by Belinelli, who was giving up 4 inches and 23 pounds in the battle.

Belinelli admitted that it’s easier at this point for him to try and defend a bigger player looking to utilize that advantage in terms of bulk, rather than chase a quicker point guard around the floor.

“I worked a lot with my feet, I think that it’s very important,” Belinelli said. “Don’t jump on the fake. You have to stay down with the legs and stay aggressive. That’s most important on defense; you have to be ready mentally and with the legs.”

Belinelli was one of only three players who didn’t grade out well defensively in Golden State’s victory over Portland last week — the others were since-released Dion Dowell and reserve point guard Marcus Williams — but he turned that around against Oklahoma City and ranked as one of the Warriors’ best defenders after that win. That’s emblematic of the player he wants to be: More than just a gunner.

“I don’t want to be a guy to come in, make some shot and (then) sit,” Belinelli said. “I want to be a defender, be aggressive, make a pass, be a leader.

“I want to be perfect.”

Contact: geofflepper@48minutes.net

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND — Don Nelson has already gone on record as saying that he wants to keep three point guards on his 15-man roster this season, and that’s not including the injured Monta Ellis.

Now he’s even claiming he might keep all four point guards that the Warriors have in camp.

The coach put forth that possibility Thursday after being asked if there wasn’t a one-on-one battle brewing between undrafted rookie DeMarcus Nelson, the prep scoring machine from Vallejo who has turned into a defensive specialist, and veteran newcomer Dan Dickau, who played briefly for Nelson in Dallas during 2004.

“I wouldn’t say it is an either-or (situation),” Don Nelson said. “I think we can do whatever’s best for our team.”

So you can see a situation in which keeping both of them would be best for your team?

“Absolutely.”

While that notion seems a little extreme, there’s no denying that DeMarcus Nelson has made what seemed like an afterthought into a legitimately difficult decision. To underscore his rising stock, Don Nelson had DeMarcus scrimmage Thursday with the first-string “blue” team, alternating much of the time with C.J. Watson.

“He’s gone from a guy that I didn’t think would have a chance to make our team when I brought him in this summer – I thought he’d need a year in the D-League – and he’s the coach’s favorite player right now. That must mean something.”

Although the coach considers DeMarcus Nelson’s shooting form to be inherently flawed, the Duke product can do something none of Ellis’ other would-be replacements can easily replicate: Beat his man off the dribble.

“He can get into the lane better than anybody that I have,” Don Nelson said. “And he’s now learning how to find people. He was pretty single-minded to score. That’s the first impulse everybody has when you get in there. But he’s now trying to open his vision up, see people, and he’s making good plays. His shot isn’t great, but he’s doing other things. He’s not living on that.”

With swingman Dion Dowell and center Justin Williams being placed on waivers Thursday by the Warriors, the team has 17 players in camp and must shed two more before Opening Night.

That would seem to leave two big guys — second-round selection Richard Hendrix, who has a guaranteed contract worth $442,114 and undrafted rookie Rob Kurz — fighting over one roster berth, while DeMarcus Nelson and Dickau battle with summer league standout Anthony Morrow for two other spots.

Latvian hip hop?

Center Andris Biedrins shot 64.3 percent from the line for the Latvian national team this summer in qualifying play for the 2009 European championships, continuing on the improvement he made last season with the Warriors, when he set a career-high at 62.0 percent.

But there’s a noticeable difference in Biedrins’ form, courtesy of Latvian coach Nenad Trajkovic. Trajkovic reset Biedrins’ stance at the line, putting his right foot significantly behind his left — the toe of his right shoe now lines up with back of his left. As part of the shooting motion, Biedrins brings the right foot forward in a sort of bunny hop.

“He said, if you do this, and just make the free throw with a little hop, it’ll help the ball get up high enough,” Biedrins said. “So I was shooting that all summer and it kind of worked out. We’ll see how it goes, but now I feel pretty comfortable.”

Sidney Moncrief, the Warriors assistant coach in charge of all things shooting, admitted that he did a double-take upon first seeing Biedrins’ new style, but he took a pragmatic view: “If it’s working, keep doing it.”

Notes

Members of the Warriors have met with representatives for Ellis to discuss potential disciplinary action stemming from Ellis’ ankle injury, which was reportedly caused by a moped accident. If that’s true, it would be in contravention of the six-year, $66 million contract he signed this summer, putting the entire deal in jeopardy, if the team wants to go that far in exacting retribution. A team spokesman said the Warriors would release details of their decision before leaving after Saturday’s game for China. . . . Kelenna Azubuike sat out practice with a sore right hip, courtesy of former teammate Ike Diogu, now a Trail Blazer, falling on him late in Wednesday’s game. Azubuike’s status for the Warriors’ exhibition game against visiting Oklahoma City on Saturday is unknown.

[12:40 p.m. edit: A team spokesman confirmed that Dowell and Williams have been placed on waivers.]

There’s no official word from the team as of the moment (12:25 p.m.), but there are 16 players on the floor at practice right now for Golden State, and the only two healthy absences are Dion Dowell and Justin Williams. Warriors coach Don Nelson said Tuesday that his team would be making two cuts by Friday, and Dowell — who never could break through the logjam at swingman — and Williams — who reportedly was drawing interest from Maccabi Tel Aviv — were leading candidates to catch the axe.

Williams was on a make-good contract, but Dowell will receive $50,000 for his troubles.

The Warriors now have 17 players on their roster (including the injured Monta Ellis) and must cut two more by Oct. 27.

– Geoff

With regards to the two cuts coach Don Nelson said the team plans to make by Friday, I’ve got to think that Dion Dowell is one of them. He’s a swingman on a team already dominated by swingmen, and once Monta Ellis gets back, the crunch for minutes there will be even worse.

The other is a tough call. If you were basing your choice only on performances in summer-league play and training camp, it probably would be Richard Hendrix, who has been troubled by a lingering issue with his left thigh.

“I can only judge on what I see, and I haven’t seen that much of him,” Nelson said. “He’s got this thigh injury of some sort. He’s had it all summer. I don’t know how to equate an injury to where a guy is. . . . He’s another guy that I just can’t wait on. He’s going to have to show me something here pretty soon.”

Dumping Hendrix, however, would require the sacrifice of $442,114 in guaranteed money, and I’m not sure the team is willing to do that after one preseason game in which Hendrix — who practiced Tuesday and should be available tonight in Portland — did not play.

My pick, despite Nelson’s compliments earlier this week, is Rob Kurz. I just can’t see giving minutes at power forward to an energy guy instead of to the two players — Anthony Randolph and Brandan Wright — who could be centerpieces of the team in two years.

[EDIT: Alert readers pointed out that there is a report Justin Williams is drawing interest from Maccabi Tel Aviv. So Mr. Kurz's chances just got a little brighter.]

– Geoff

With only 12 players in camp holding guaranteed contracts — Kosta Perovic, we hardly knew ye — the Warriors’ roster competition is more wide-open than it’s been in years.

There are 11 players who are locks, including Kelenna Azubuike, Andris Biedrins, Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf, Marcus Williams and Brandan Wright. Monta Ellis is also on that list, unless the Warriors take the radical step of trying to void his contract over his Quadrophenia homage. I thought Marco Belinelli might not make it, but I’ll take Nelson — who looked truly surprised when I brought this up — at his word when he said the team will be picking up his third-year option. No point in doing that if the guy isn’t 100 percent safe for this season.

Rookie Richard Hendrix is the other fully guaranteed player. He’s on a three-year deal (for purposes of retaining Bird rights if he is a diamond in the rough), but only this first season is guaranteed. At a cost of $442,114, I wouldn’t say he’s assured of a spot; remember, the Warriors ate significantly more (nearly $700,000) to rid themselves of Andre Owens and keep Matt Barnes two years ago.

That means we’re looking at eight players fighting for four roster spots before the season begins on Oct. 29. Here’s one observer’s tote board as of Sunday morning:

DeMarcus Nelson: 20-1. Great kid, solid defender, struggles with his shot. If you’re 7 feet tall, like Biedrins, you can get by with that skill set. Not if you’re 6-4, like Nelson.

Rob Kurz: 15-1. Dropped from 30-1 with Nelson’s recent lavishing of praise. Nellie’s right: Kurz’s game is not always the most elegant thing, but apparently it is effective, a la Barnes. He did drain the game-winning 3-pointer in Thursday’s evening scrimmage, a fact I thought would be the highlight of his stay as a Warrior. We’ll see if Nelson’s comments were just a job reference, or a harbinger of something else.

Dion Dowell: 10-1. Has a $50,000 partial guarantee, but is that enough of a reason to keep another 6-7 swingman?

Justin Williams: 8-1. Provides some heft and shot-blocking behind Biedrins and Turiaf, but third-string centers never play much under Nelson, who will probably use Al Harrington there for those minutes instead. It might come down to an individual battle against Richard Hendrix for one spot.

Anthony Morrow: 6-1. It’s tough to get a read here. With his range and accuracy, I thought he might push Belinelli, but if Belinelli is indeed safe, that’s immaterial. Either way, he won’t go home empty-handed; he has a $100,000 partial guarantee.

Dan Dickau: 4-1. If the Warriors really are going to go with three point guards, as Nelson has said he wants, then it’s between Dickau and DeMarcus Nelson. Dickau is familiar with Don Nelson’s philosophies, having played for him in Dallas (if only briefly), and lends another bit of veteran presence to a team that only has three other players with more than three years of NBA experience.

Richard Hendrix: 2-1. Although the Warriors are probably willing to cut him if Williams is demonstrably superior, Hendrix’s guaranteed money does give him the inside track.

C.J. Watson: 1-3. It’s exceedingly hard to imagine a scenario in which he goes from starting the Warriors’ exhibition opener to hitting the unemployment line. Also has a $150,000 partial guarantee.

– Geoff