By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

After far too many hours spent pouring over spreadsheets for far too little pay, I have the lineup data for all 17 of the Warriors’ 2008-09 games put together, and the results are surprising only in how wide the difference is between the configurations.

As many regular readers already know, I’ve been tracking the success (or lack thereof) of Don Nelson’s various lineups, breaking them down into discrete classes, based on how many big men were on the floor at any given point in time. Big men, for these purposes, include Andris Biedrins, Ronny Turiaf, Brandan Wright, Anthony Randolph, Rob Kurz and Al Harrington.

Originally, I used three groups: large (three big men), medium (two) and small (one). As part of this project, I went back and separated out usage for a fourth category, one that fell between large and medium, consisting of whenever Nelson used his two bulkiest players — Biedrins and Turiaf — along with three wings.

Enough stalling. Here’s the raw data heading into Golden State’s game with the Miami Heat on Monday:

Lineup              GS    OPP   Time
Large                 145    127     67:26
Turiaf-Biedrins     96      87      40:28
Medium              899    949     432:46
Small                 639    690     285:20

Translating those numbers into per-48 minute averages:

Lineup              GS      OPP    +/-
Large                103.2    90.4    +12.8
Turiaf-Biedrins    113.9   103.2   +10.7
Medium             99.7     105.3   -5.6
Small                107.5   116.1   -8.6

Obviously, the numbers support the contention that Nelson’s predilection for small ball — embodied by the continued use of 6-foot-6 Corey Maggette as an undersized power forward — is hurting rather than helping the Warriors. I’ll admit that I would like to have a bigger sample size at the far end of the scale, but to see a 21.4-point swing between the large and small lineups is still eye-popping, regardless of any caveats.

What stokes the frustration of fans is how seldom the large and T-B lineups have been used after Maggette’s return from a strained hamstring. The large lineup was a huge component in the Warriors’ win over Minnesota on Nov. 11 (a 49-33 bump in nearly 20 minutes), that was the last game Magette missed.

In the nine games since then, the two biggest lineups have been used only twice each. But the results would seem to call for more time, not less: the large setup was plus-11 against Philadelphia in a game the 76ers won by eight points, and the Turiaf-Biedrins tandem had similar numbers in Boston — plus-11 in a game the Warriors dropped by eight.

Will we see any change in Nelson’s…

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

SACRAMENTO — Stephen Jackson realized a while ago that there’s a very basic problem at the heart of the Warriors’ struggles so far this season.

“Guys are going to have to understand that I can’t be the only guy out there making plays for other guys to get open shots,” Jackson said on Wednesday. “Everybody has to be accountable for that. And that’s what was a big part of our success last year. Baron (Davis) got guys open shots. Monta (Ellis) got guys open shots. I got guys open shots. Right now, it’s just me getting guys open shots. So until we figure out that everybody has to try to make the extra pass or worry about making a play for somebody else, then we’re going to be in the same position.”

Despite a change in location, the Warriors found themselves back in that same position Sunday. With Jackson effectively removed from the game by aggressive, early double-teaming from the Kings, Golden State’s offense once again fizzled, and Sacramento ran away with a 115-98 victory.

“We would expect that that’s going to happen,” said Warriors coach Don Nelson, who admitted that he “packed it in” after three quarters with his team trailing by 16 points. “When you’re limited as far as your star players go, that’s a pretty smart thing (for an opponent) to do, don’t you think?”

So what can you do in response?

“Then somebody else has to step up. It’s his job to make the proper pass, not try to fight it. And it’s up to the other players then to deliver.”

In that case, go ahead and rename them the Golden State Postal Service, because there were no deliveries made Sunday. C.J. Watson and DeMarcus Nelson combined for five assists and four turnovers in 51 minutes. (Marcus Williams had three assists and no TOs in 9 minutes’ worth of garbage time.)

The Warriors shot 41.1 percent, and even the shots they made had a much higher degree of difficulty than the open layups that Kings such as Kevin Martin (27 points before a third-quarter spill knocked him out for the evening.

“I think we just need to share the ball more,” said center Andris Biedrins, who had the team’s second-highest assist total with four. “We always just do one pass and shoot. You don’t really need to be a playmaker to get somebody open. Just drive, pass it out, next pass and…

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND – On a night chock-full of revelations at Oracle Arena, second-year Warriors forward Brandan Wright supplied the exclamation point to Golden State’s 111-101 victory over the Nuggets.

With 1:12 remaining and Denver trailing and desperate for a hoop, veteran Denver forward Kenyon Martin tried to sneak an extra step closer to the basket. That was all the chance Wright needed to spring forward, bat Martin’s jumper into the air and eventually tap it to C.J. Watson to help seal the victory.

It was one of three blocks on the evening for Wright, who also tallied a career-high 18 points and 13 rebounds.

“I just wanted to be a spark and do positive things and hope we get more Ws like tonight,” Wright said.

Wright was active and assertive on the offensive end, hitting his first seven shots and grabbing six offensive boards. But it was those blocks that stood out the most.

The Warriors reached double digits in blocks only twice last season, a deficiency they hoped to address by seeing improvement from Wright and signing free agent Ronny Turiaf.

Andris Biedrins finished with five blocks and Turiaf had two of his own, although they were all upstaged by Kelenna Azubuike, who simply laid waste to a fast-break dunk attempt by Dahntay Jones in the second quarter.

“Their length inside really allows them to help us out on the defensive end,” said Azubuike, who played the entire second half and finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists. “When we get beat, they are always there in the middle to block or change a shot.”

Combined with the Nuggets’ almost pathological desire to pass the ball out of bounds — I understand Denver was down to one true point guard (Anthony Carter) while awaiting the arrival of Chauncey Billups, but this was ridiculous — the Warriors showed signs of being a potentially dominant defensive team.

“They blocked 11 shots, with 20 turnovers that they created,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “That’s a lot of shots and possessions that they had control over.”

** While Wright was setting all kinds of personal bests, fellow 2007 first-round draftee Marco Belinelli and this year’s first-rounder, Anthony Randolph, were put on notice by Nelson that they won’t see significant playing time until their work improves in practice.

Watson, who set a career-high Wednesday with 14 points and tied another with four assists, rookie starter DeMarcus Nelson and even recently re-signed Rob…

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

So many jump shots, and only 48 minutes to hoist them.

After a win in New Jersey that seemed to offer a blueprint for how the Warriors could survive the loss of Monta Ellis without falling completely out of touch with the Western Conference playoff race, Golden State reverted to the stagnant offensive team it was before coach Don Nelson’s arrival in what became a 90-79 win for Memphis.

Corey Maggette (4-for-16), working on one leg in the second half, was ineffective at best. Stephen Jackson (6-for-21) was stymied at every turn. Al Harrington (3-for-15) was -19 on the +/- scale, something you’d ordinarily call astounding, except it was exactly the kind of number his performance deserved.

“This was a game we were supposed to win,” Maggette said. “Tonight was a night that we just didn’t play well. We didn’t shoot the ball well at all. We just got to get better, that’s it.”

But on nights when the Warriors don’t get any fast-break points to speak of and can’t generate any ball movement (15 assists versus 12 turnovers, with a 5-5 ratio for Jackson), they can’t claim that they should beat anybody.

Put it this way: This was one of those nights where the Washington Generals would have actually beaten the Globetrotters.

The Warriors’ 34.4 percent shooting was the franchise’s lowest total since Nov. 21, 2007, when they hit just 33.3 percent of their shots against the Celtics in Boston and lost by 23.

Here’s the play that encapsulated the night: Having just allowed two offensive rebounds that led to an O.J. Mayo layup over Andris Biedrins — giving Memphis an 83-75 lead — C.J. Watson came racing downcourt with no one but Kelenna Azubuike by his side against five Grizzlies.

Instead of pulling back and waiting to set up a play, Watson shoveled the ball off to Azubuike, who clanked an 18-footer short off the iron as part of his 4-for-12 night.

“It was one of those games that we were getting a lot of open shots,” DeMarcus Nelson said. “They are the same shots that we are going to get every game, but tonight we just didn’t complete a high percentage of them.”

** I don’t mean to sound like a pessimist, but Maggette missed time twice due to hamstring strains last season — four games at the beginning of the season, two more at the end. And Maggette had to miss second quarter of…

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

When Josh Boone broke up a pass from DeMarcus Nelson 105 seconds into the second half of Golden State’s game at New Jersey on Saturday, the Warriors and Nets were tied at 54.

By the time Golden State committed another turnover, with just 8:34 remaining, the Warriors were up by 15 points and on their way to a 105-97 victory.

The Warriors’ first win couldn’t be traced solely to their caring for the ball, but after two fail-from-ahead losses while using swingman Stephen Jackson as the primary ballhandler — including one in Toronto were 19 turnovers led to 26 points for the Raptors — Golden State coach Don Nelson used a traditional point guard for all 48 minutes Saturday.

DeMarcus Nelson and C.J. Watson helped the Warriors commit only five TOs in the second half and outscored the Nets 53-46 — a number that would have been significantly greater if not for 12 missed free throws in the second half. They even played together for two stints in the final five minutes of the game to help Golden State hold on after watching fourth-quarter leads vanish in each of two losses.

“When we got down I wanted to have an extra ball handler in there,” Don Nelson said. “I thought DeMarcus Nelson played a pretty good game for a rookie and C.J. Watson came in and did a really nice job for us.”

** Twenty-three points, 11 rebounds, two steals, two blocks, 8-for-11 FGs in 33 minutes: This is why the Warriors are building around Andris Biedrins. One thing, though — if Biedrins is going to dribble out with his own rebounds, he needs to get a better handle on gauging his lead passes. Corey Maggette is neither 8 feet tall nor capable of 4.25 speed in the 40-yard dash.

** Speaking of Biedrins, it’s hard to imagine Golden State missed 18 free throws even as the Latvian was sinking seven of eight.

** Don Nelson touched on the quality of competition in his postgame comments — “Tonight it looked like two young teams and neither team wanted it. . . . Thank goodness we were playing against another young team or it may not have turned out the way it did” — but that still doesn’t explain how, with Maggette nursing an injured finger under his own hoop, the Nets managed to leave Al Harrington wide open for a 3-pointer that he drained.

** Even…