TJ Ford or Stephen Curry...or both

If you haven't heard, T.J. ford and Jarrett Jack got into a bit of a scuffle during a timeout in the 3rd quarter of an Indiana Pacers game a couple days ago. Sources say the tension between the two had been increasing for a while, and the end result was a little bit of yelling and shoving during a game. Jack's response was much better than Ford's, who are both point guards. Jack filled up the stat sheet in the next Pacers game after receiving the starting nod from the coach over T.J. He scored 31 points on 13-of-14 shooting, had 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, a block, and lead the Indiana Pacers to a dominating 108-83 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats to snap a five-game losing streak. Looks like the Pacers have their starting rotation set. Small note: T.J. Ford had 9 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal in only 21 minutes that game.

For now the second season in a row, and on a different team, T.J. Ford has lost his grip on the job of starting point guard. Ford was replaced by Jose Calderon in Toronto last season, and Jarrett Jack started at the point for Indiana on Saturday night. "I know how to handle this situation better than I did in the past," said Ford. "It's not a big issue to me. Just do what you're supposed to do, whether they put you in the game or not. It's your job to be ready and be prepared for whatever happens. "I'm not a person that asks questions or reasons why certain things happen. He's the coach and he has the right to make whatever adjustments he wants."

I have always been a fan of T.J. Ford's game, ever since he was playing at Texas. His nasty fall on a hard foul during a layup attempt definitely (see blow) had an impact on him losing the starting PG position over Calderon. While he says that he is O.K. with the benching, this kid could be starting for a number of teams in the league, including the Golden States Warriors. It doesn't make any sense for the Indiana Pacers to have two starting-quality point guards on their team, especially when it comes time to pay them both starting point guard money.

The Warriors have a gaping hole at point guard, with a solid backup in C.J. Watson. This move could also allow them to move Monta Ellis over to his natural 2-guard position and would limit the number of times Stephen Jackson or Marco Belinelli are forced to distribute the ball and lead the offense. They are both better shooters anyways. The loss of Baron Davis is not that big of a deal considering what Davis was asking for and what the Warriors were willing to pay. He is certainly not the same Baron as the Warriors knew now that he is on the Los Angeles Clippers, but then again how can one be motivated on that team where the GM and coach are the same person.

The other option the Warriors could take would be to draft Stephen Curry from Davidson, barring that he is still available when Golden State's draft pick comes up or is Curry makes the unlikely decision to come back for his Senior season and try to take Davidson back to the NCAA tournament for some prime time basketball. The latter scenario could also help his draft stock, especially since there is no way he is going number one overall with Blake Griffin in them mix.


Most of the chatter surrounding the Warriors future revolves around the Don Nelson, Chris Mullin, and upper management issues and how to deal with Monta Ellis' 66 million dollar extension, not so much their bright future. Some argue that the warriors need a scoring power forward, but that could be provided by Anthony Randolph (rookie, only 19 years old), Brandon Wright (who still hasn't played a full season), or a combination of both. While Randolph and Wright are skinny as sticks, an off season of weight conditioning could help and they would both not necessarily be asked to guard the opposing center; that would be up to Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf as backup. The 3-guard is filled by Stephen Jackson, Marco Belinelli, Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Morrow, or Corey Magette (though I would rather see him come off the bench even though he is making way too much money).

The roster is deep, the future is bright, the first round draft pick is high. Just a resolution of the Ellis situation as well as the management quarrels and we got a good squad for 2009-2010.