By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND — While Baron Davis and his Clippers were getting waxed from the get-go by the Lakers on Wednesday, the Warriors really could have used his expertise in the final moments at Oracle Arena.

Tied with 1:56 to go, the Warriors were outscored 7-2 the rest of the way.

Golden State missed its last five shots, had a critical possession go awry when it couldn’t complete a simple inbounds pass and watched the New Orleans Hornets take a 108-103 victory to begin the 2008-09 2007-08 season.

A year ago, the Warriors’ plan would have been simple: Put the ball in BD’s hands and get the hell out of the way. Golden State went 9-2 in games decided by three points or less last season using that M.O.

This time . . . not so much.

“We went where we got decent looks. We didn’t make them,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said. “Last year, Baron made all of them. That doesn’t happen all the time, either. . . . I thought we just had one of those years last year where we made all of them. I think we won six or seven games with game-winners and probably only missed one.”

The Warriors didn’t get that chance Wednesday. Down 104-103 with 14.2 seconds left, a clearly fatigued Stephen Jackson tried to inbound the ball to Corey Maggette, only to have it bounce out of bounds, allowing the Hornets to build their lead to three points. Al Harrington up-faked Chris Paul out of the way to get an open look at a 3-pointer, but it missed. And that was the end of the Warriors’ chances.

** So much for the deeper, more talented Warriors bench. Jackson played all 48 minutes — guarding Paul, then Tyson Chandler and everyone in between — Kelenna Azubuike was on for 43, and Harrington for 42. The Warriors only used two reserves for any length of time. Brandan Wright, the second-year forward who allegedly had earned a place in Nelson’s rotation, was nowhere to be found, along with Anthony Randolph, Marcus Williams and Marco Belinelli.

“I told the subs that I’m not going to be able to play these guys this many minutes on this next road trip or for long periods of time, so we’re going to use our bench more as we move on,” Nelson said. “I chose really just to play six or seven guys most of the minutes tonight. I…

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND — Turns out there was a reason forward Corey Maggette didn’t play up to par Tuesday in the Warriors’ 126-106 win over Lietuvos Rytas.

Maggette suffered a strained right hamstring during Golden State’s trip to China and it’s bothering him enough that the coaching staff told him Wednesday to take a couple days off to try to get it straightened out.

And Maggette’s not the only Warrior heading to the doctor’s office. C.J. Watson also sat out practice on Wednesday with a sprained right elbow, courtesy of a swan dive over an empty row of baseline seats and onto a concrete walkway after getting bumped while scoring a layup on Tuesday.

Both players said they would be ready for the Oct. 29 regular-season opener against New Orleans, although each was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Wednesday afternoon to make sure there was no serious damage. Results were not expected until Thursday.

Maggette said he incurred the injury during the Warriors’ second game in China when he dove after a loose ball. Wednesday, he did cardio work on an elliptical trainer, then shot free throws and assorted jumpers for so long that he was the last Warrior off the practice court. But he avoided any cutting or contact at the direction of the training staff. He is expected to sit out tomorrow and the team is scheduled for an off day Friday.

“I was a little slower than usual yesterday,” Maggette said. “I don’t think I was at my full strength. Towards the second half, I kind of felt it more.”

Maggette missed a total of six games last season — four in November and two in April — because a strain in the same hamstring, but said those problems were located in a different spot, lower in the muscle than this injury. He also sat out a handful of games due to hamstring problems in 2005-06 and 2003-04

“Hamstrings are probably the trickiest injuries, because the only way they get healthy is by rest and ice and stim,” Maggette said. “All I can do is just be patient about it and try to get ready for Wednesday.”

Watson was hurt after he tried to break his fall with his right hand and then landed on his right arm.

“I felt it pop a little bit when I fell, but I just tried to play through it,” said Watson, who missed three of four shots…

“the last roster spot? this hardly even matters… barring injury, whoever makes it is going to be inactive for the season” – howl

Well, I hate to be the guy who quotes from his own Web site, but howl’s got a point. And given that Don Nelson has gone on record as saying that tonight’s final exhibition contest against Lietuvos Rytas — the first professional home of former Warriors guard Sarunas Jasikevicius (just wanted to make sure I still had the spelling memorized; sadly, yes) — is a dress rehearsal for what we’re going to see in the regular season, here’s one man’s guess at how Golden State’s rotation will eventually shake out.

CENTER
Andris Biedrins 33 minutes per game
Ronny Turiaf 15 mpg

Foul problems have limited Biedrins to a career-high of only 29 mpg, but the team would like to keep him on the floor more often. With Turiaf, the Warriors finally have a

POWER FORWARD
Al Harrington 28 mpg
Brandan Wright/Anthony Randolph 20 mpg

I know Don Nelson keeps saying that Al is going to be free to do just about anything he wants and play huge minutes, but the spring-loaded legs of Randolph and the long arms of Wright are beckoning. I think we’ll see one or the other of the youngsters on a given night, depending on the matchups, but probably not both in the same game.

SMALL FORWARD
Corey Maggette 36 mpg
Kelenna Azubuike 12 mpg

The Warriors know exactly what they’re going to get with Maggette at the offensive end. The only surprise will be what quality of defense he can provide. Quietly, Kelenna Azubuike has put together a solid camp and would probably be poised for a potential breakout year if he wasn’t playing behind two of the team’s most critical contributors.

SHOOTING GUARD
Stephen Jackson 37 mpg
Kelenna Azubuike 11 mpg

Jackson clearly tired towards the end of last season. But until Monta Ellis gets back, there’s little chance he’s going to get much of a break in that department. After Ellis returns, you could see DeMarcus Nelson get more time here. He’s already playing some 2 in practices and games alongside C.J. Watson.

POINT GUARD
DeMarcus Nelson 24 mpg
C.J. Watson 15 mpg
Marcus Williams 9 mpg

This spot has the potential to be a merry-go-round all year long, because each of the three bring different strengths to the floor. How much productivity Don Nelson can get from this trio by tilting matchups in his favor will go a long way…

There’s no denying it: Anthony Randolph has star power. The only question is how quickly he can learn to harness it.

Friday night (Saturday afternoon in Beijing), Randolph looked a bit like the NBA’s answer to Amy Winehouse. To be sure, there were lapses in judgment (the traveling call for no good reason and the wild, off-balance 17-footer come to mind), but there were also plenty of instances of an incandescent raw talent on display.

Foremost on that list — even better than the ridiculous hops that led to putback dunks or the defensive rebounding, which has historically been such a weak point for this franchise — was Randolph’s shot-blocking ability.

He had four on the night, the first three in rapid succession during a 2 1/2-minute stretch of the first quarter.

Randolph kept his feet when Bucks rookie Joe Alexander — who was selected six spots ahead of Randolph in June’s NBA draft — tried to shake him on the box, and totally snuffed Alexander’s 5-footer.

He zoomed in as a weakside help defender when Andrew Bogut tried to flip up a hook shot, and quickly deposited that attempt behind a row of camerapeople arrayed along the baseline.

Finally, he blasted a scoop runner from Luke Ridnour as though this was beach volleyball and he was trying out to be Kerri Walsh’s new partner. The ball crossed midcourt on its first bounce, whereupon Corey Maggette scooped it up for a breakaway dunk.

Last season for the Warriors, of the nine players who got more than 400 minutes on the floor (i.e., at least 5 per game), Andris Biedrins was the most prolific shot-blocker at 2.17 per 48 minutes. This year, he could easily end up fourth behind Randolph, Brandan Wright and Ronny Turiaf. And that would be fantastic news for Golden State.

** As much as I liked several things Wright did at the offensive end Friday, the fact that he was one of the Warriors’ worst scorers on the +/- scale (-8, tied with Richard Hendrix) for a second consecutive game is a little worrisome. Wright did not seem comfortable defensively when matched up with Alexander. I think we’ll see is Randolph playing against smaller guys he doesn’t have to worry about defending in the low block, while Wright gets the heavier defensive assignments.

** Anyone who thinks Al Harrington is not going to play is deluding themselves. He’s the only power forward the Warriors have who…

So, I trekked out to Stockton last night planning to sit down with Baron Davis before his Clippers played the Kings and discuss a few items, namely: how things are going with his new team, the departure from his former employer and his reaction to Monta Ellis’ remake of “Quadrophenia.”

Then I got to University of the Pacific and found out he’d bagged on the trip to stay home because of the flu.

That means you’ll be getting a story on the Kings and rookie forward Jason Thompson — the would-be Warrior, if you believe all the pre-draft talk — a little later today. But in the interim, some random thoughts from the Clippers’ 116-112 comeback win in the Spanos Center:

** Without Ellis, the Warriors are going to be hard-pressed to check Kings star Kevin Martin, who darted all over the floor en route to an extremely efficient 29 points (9-11 FG, 2-3 3FG, 9-12 FT). I like DeMarcus Nelson’s defense an awful lot, but I’m not positive he’s got the quickness to chase down Martin.

** Martin barely played in the second half (5:42) and not at all over the final 18 minutes, when the Clippers outscored the Kings, 55-34. Sacramento coach Reggie Theus rightly declined to bring a cold Martin back into the game to try and secure a meaningless victory, but it was kind of shocking to see how fast things slipped away from the Kings’ second unit.

** It would have been nice if Clippers rookie Eric Gordon would have passed the ball ONCE at some point during the proceedings (24 shots, zero assists). That being said, he proved he can fill it up in a hurry, with 21 fourth-quarter points and 33 on the night.

“The play sets we were running were designed to get him shots, because he had the hot hand, and we go with whoever’s got the hot hand,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. “You know, he’s been injured for us, so he’s only had about three practices. Guys were joking around in practice when he was blowing by people; ‘Well, it should be like that. He’s been off for two weeks. He’s got fresh legs.’ I don’t think that’s going to be the case (anymore). He’s really talented, he’s great off the dribble, he gets to the free-throw line and he makes 3s. And he’s a good defender. We were dying to get him in the…