We’ve just been allowed out onto the balcony at 1011 Broadway, and we were greeted by this sight in the half-court scrimmaging:

Blue team (typically the first string): Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Kelenna Azubuike and Anthony Randolph.

White team: C.J. Watson, Acie Law, Corey Maggette, Mikki Moore, Andris Biedrins

Since then, Maggette has flipped his jersey around and given Jackson a rest, and Anthony Morrow has come in for the White side. It will be very interesting to see if the Warriors will be using small-ball, with AR at the 5, on Wednesday against Memphis.

Also, on the injury front, Devean George is still working out on his own, Speedy Claxton is only an observer and Ronny Turiaf, day-to-day with the sprained knee, is not on the court, presumably receiving treatment in the locker room.

– Geoff

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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[Ed. note: As you might have seen in the post below, some technical difficulties knocked 48minutes.net off the air for a long while Wednesday. So here is the collection of Tweets that substituted for our typical live in-game entry. Start from the bottom if you want to read in chronological order.]

POSTGAME

** INSTA-STAT OF THE NIGHT: GSW assists in the second half? A whopping seven. That’s not an offense. That’s complete stagnation.

FOURTH QUARTER

** FINAL HOU 108, GSW 107. Morrow with a tough miss over 2 Rockets at the top of the key for the tie. Curry with the meaningless putback.

** Morrow in. Azubuike out, so it’s Morrow, Jackson or maybe Curry.

** 4Q, 6.6 seconds. HOU 108, GSW 105. Brooks’ travel gives W’s a final chance. I assume they have to bring in Morrow. Maybe Azubuike?

** It’s a comedy of errors: Scola bricks two FTs, Ariza ORebs but loses handle, Curry tries oop to Biedrins that falls 3 feet short.

** Of course, HOU goes right back to Scola, who drives and draws FTs on Turiaf.

** Curry with a second straight pullup J after good D forces ball out of Scola’s hands, cuts lead to 5.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

With tipoff hours away, I’m not going to do game-by-game predictions for how the 2009-10 Warriors will fare. Engaging in that kind of activity is almost as useless as waiting for the Bay Bridge to open.

Besides, I already went on the record last week on Comcast Bay Area’s “Chronicle Live” with my prediction for the Warriors: 34-48, picked not coincidentally because it matches Mike Montgomery’s record in both his seasons with Golden State.

(Isn’t it funny that Monty was brought in to teach the young kids, then Baron Davis was added to the mix, costing Monty his authority, and now that BD is gone, the Warriors, once again, are in need of someone to nurture youthful players? It’s the circle of GSW Life!)

I could see the Warriors pushing that to 36 or 37 wins, but I think the best they can do is to hold off the Clippers and Oklahoma City (sorry, Chuckles!) for the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference.

On the plus side: We’ll all get to celebrate Don Nelson amassing more coaching victories than Lenny Wilkens. Yay!

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