By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND – With Kelenna Azubuike, C.J. Watson and Anthony Morrow all playing critical roles to this point, the Golden State Warriors are one of only two teams in the NBA this season to have three former D-League or undrafted free agents among their top eight players (in terms of minutes played).

Even though 2008 second-round pick Richard Hendrix was cut loose months ago, Warriors coach Don Nelson doesn’t think that qualifies as a sign of bad scouting. Rather, it’s an indication of the specificity that teams can shop with when cruising the D-League aisles.

“I’ve felt for a long time that the D-League is better than most second-rounders that you get,” Nelson said. “You can get a guy in the D-League (who is) a specialist because you can zero in on positions there more than the draft. The draft, you’re taking chances on talent and what you’re gonna get, not what you get (immediately). In the D-League, you pretty well can tell what you have.”

“The first round has been diluted here the last 10 years, but still, if there’s some greatness there, that’s probably where you find it.”

The only other team that has three or more D-League/undrafted free agents among its top eight players this season is the Miami Heat. Rookie coach Erik Spoelstra has ridden the likes of Udonis Haslem, Daequan Cook, Joel Anthony and Chris Quinn to a 27-24 record that’s put the Heat in a tie for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. (That figure also ranks 10 games better than the Warriors’ current 18-35 mark, if you’re scoring at home.)

The difference, of course, is Dwyane Wade, a four-time All-Star (in only his sixth season) who’s light-years ahead of any Warrior in terms of individual ability.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND — In his pregame talk Monday before facing Miami, Warriors coach Don Nelson acknowledged the obvious: “Your small team has to be better than the other team’s small team. When it’s not, that’s not going to work that much.”

He forgot to mention: Your small team also has to be able to rebound. Or else that’s not going to work that much.

Yes, it’s time to dust off that old Warriors chestnut, the rebounding deficiency storyline. Because it cost Golden State a victory that the Heat snatched up in overtime, 130-129.

On this seven-game losing streak that shows no sign of ending soon, the Warriors have been outrebounded in every game but one (they managed to tie Chicago, 39-39). Golden State is dead last, and by a wide margin, in terms of defensive rebound rate.

Even so, Monday’s numbers were especially painful down the stretch, when Nelson finally gave in to the allure of small ball.

The Warriors led 94-93 when they went small for the first time all night at the 11:03 mark of the fourth quarter. Golden State had been alternating Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph at the power forward spot up until then, and the youngsters had given the Warriors this combined line: 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting (3-for-4 from the free-throw line), seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

But when Wright threw up an ill-advised runner with his off hand — a shot that crashed high off the glass and never had any chance of going in — Nelson immediately sent Corey Maggette into the game in Wright’s place. With the exception of a 91-second stint after Maggette sprained an ankle in overtime and some last-second offense-defense exchanges, the Warriors stayed small the rest of the way.

The move was somewhat defensible in context. Miami went small first, moving 6-7 Shawn Marion to the 4, which meant that Maggette was not being asked to guard a man with 2 or 3 inches and 20 or 30 pounds on him, as he had been doing in previous games.

Nevertheless, the Heat managed to pound Golden State on the glass when it counted. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Miami had 20 rebounds (eight offensive) to the Warriors’ 13 (10 defensive). The Heat also notched 11 second-chance points to the Warriors’ four.

Included in those 11 points was Miami’s game-tying bucket at the end of regulation, where Miami utilized not one, not two…