Less than a week ago, Anthony Tolliver was toiling in the D-League. Tonight, in his third NBA game, he’ll start for the Warriors at power forward. Corey Maggette is simply playing too well — and there are too few healthy smalls on the roster — for Don Nelson to move him out of the 3.

Also: Ronny Turiaf, wearing a metal-frame brace on his left knee, is expected to give it a go tonight, which means Nelson will have nine “healthy” players available after three straight games with the league-mandated minimum of eight on call.

By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Your daily guided tour through the national and local media coverage of the always-entertaining Golden State Warriors.

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San Francisco Chronicle (Rusty Simmons): Nobody does internally directed criticism like Don Nelson: “They posted when they wanted, they penetrated when they wanted, and they made us pay whatever price they wanted. We just didn’t compete.”

Also, Anthony Morrow and Chris Hunter will have the remainder of their contracts guaranteed this week, unless the team waives them. There’s no chance of that happening with Morrow, but there’s still a little bit of doubt on Hunter, although I’d hazard a guess that it’s a 90 to 95 percent “yes.” The team is expected to make its decision on Monday.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

With a 103-99 victory over Boston on Tuesday, the Warriors have themselves just their second winning streak of the season. The first one was pretty impressive, as you may recall; back in November, just after the Stephen Jackson saga resolved itself, Golden State beat Portland (before the Trail Blazers were wracked by injuries) at home, then spanked Dallas on the road.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Your daily guided tour through the national and local media coverage of the always-entertaining Golden State Warriors.

WEB MEDIA

CSNBayArea.com (Matt Steinmetz): Singing the praises of the Ronny Turiaf-Andris Biedrins tandem: “The Warriors forced Boston into 26 turnovers, which led to 31 points, many of which were committed on the perimeter with Watson and Ellis hounding the Celtics guards.

Both Watson and Ellis said afterward that the return of the Warriors centers has allowed them to be more aggressive and to gamble more on the perimeter.”

Also: The Warriors should use the next month to give themselves a thorough self assessment.

P.S. I disagree with Matt’s take in one major way: I think Kelenna Azubuike is a big loss — arguably, bigger than Biedrins and Turiaf have been. He’s a smallball 4 who can shoot the 3 (in the manner of Matt Barnes or Mickael Pietrus, something this roster sorely lacks, especially with Nelson at the helm) and an above-average defender (at least when compared to the rest of this roster).

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Your daily guided tour through the national and local media coverage of the always-entertaining Golden State Warriors.

PRINT MEDIA

Contra Costa Times (Marcus Thompson II): “(Don) Nelson said (Stephen) Curry is tougher on his post defense now, and he defends pick-and-rolls well. Perhaps his biggest asset is that he understands and executes the game plan, which sets him up to have the help he needs.”

I’ll admit, I’m not in the room for post-practice film sessions or present during the installation of game-by-game tweaks during morning shootarounds. And, indeed, much of playing perimeter defense in the NBA is simply a matter of guiding a player the direction you want him to go. Maybe Curry is grading out higher on these internal measuring sticks.

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