Warriors Show Their Holes, But Find A Way To Win Ugly Against the Nets

Source: ESPN

The Golden State Warriors were able to snap their three-game losing streak Wednesday night against the New Jersey Nets at home. Stephen Jackson scored 29 points. The return of Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins to the starting lineup added an obvious boost. Ellis added 19 points and Biedrins contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds. At times beautiful slash-and-dish plays and other quick passing combination seemed to hint at the potential good times to come. It is just a matter of when.

Ironically, the Warriors would not have been able to hold onto this game if it weren't for the stellar plays made by Jamal Crawford, who scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, including six free throws in the final 24 seconds. He finished with team high 29 points in 46 minutes, the most of any Warrior. Coach Don Nelson had recently voiced his displeasure for keeping the former New York Knicks point guard in terms of how he fits in the Warriors long-term plans and insisted that Crawford should opt out of his contract or the team will be forced to trade him.

Ronny Turiaf also had a nice game, with a number of key blocks and hustle plays (as usual) throughout the game. His role on this team looks so much better when he doesn't have to star and be a significant scoring option. His 15 points on Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks is something that Turiaf has the ability to do on any given night, I would just prefer that the majority of point scored by the Warriors come from somebody else on the team. But then again a team can always use that extra, unexpected scoring from a role player like Turiaf, Azubuike, Bellineli(in street clothes tonight), Morrow, or Watson.

With 5 players in double figures (four of them starters), this balanced scoring attack that is still lacking some pieces (Brandon Wright, Marco Bellineli, or a true Point Guard)

Maybe it's Don Nelson's Ellis-Jackson-Azubuike-Randolph-Biedrins idea that was unveiled Wednesday against New Jersey that should be credited with the win tonight. There hasn't been a single game this year that this combination has been used for the starting five, and so far so good.

Even though it still has all the typical Nelsonian advantages of minimal defense and rebounding, the scoring potential combined with balance and depth seem to give the Warriors enough firepower to compete with any team on any given night. As long as one of their bread and butter aspects of the game (three-point shooting, net points off turnovers, fast break points, scoring 140-or-so points) show up in the stat sheet, the Warriors will continue to be a fun team to watch.

Source: ESPN

Note: Corey Maggette has been flourishing lately off the bench, and he continued that tonight in his usual fashion, but with an unusual twist: essentially nonexistent shooting from the field (1 for 4), but he got to the foul line TWENTY TIMES and cashed in on SIXTEEN of them from the charity stripe. Although at times the pace of the game was slowed by constant whistles (which obviously doesn't favor the Nelsonian Style), the Warriors were able to heat up at just the right time in the fourth quarter, and then hold on late for the win.

As for the Nets, Devin Harris torched the Dubs with 31 points and 12 assists for the New Jersey, who have lost five of six on the road and missed a chance to move into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

NEXT GAME

Opponent - Dallas Mavericks
When - Friday March 13, 2009 @ 7:30 p.m.
Where - Oracle Arena

Nelson Offers Details Of Lineup Changes

Janny Hu, San Francisco Chronicle

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

A day after saying that the Warriors "obviously" were going to make changes this summer to avoid having a second straight bad season, coach Don Nelson offered more details Tuesday of his planned makeover.

Among the possibilities:

Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson starting in the backcourt, Jamal Crawford coming off the bench, Corey Maggette and Kelenna Azubuike returning to their natural small-forward positions, and Anthony Randolph and Brandan Wright splitting time at power forward.

It might not happen all at once, or begin tonight against the Nets, but Nelson reiterated that he'll use these last 19 games to look at some experimental - and even traditional - lineups.

"We've got our center position pretty well taken care of," Nelson said. "We've got a great sixth man (Maggette). The people that we've invested our money in ... (Ellis) hasn't been able to play all year," Nelson said. "We've got a lot of talent at the other positions that's either going to help us acquire somebody who's a good fit, or going to be able to rise up and be part of what we're doing."

A high draft pick notwithstanding, the centerpiece of Nelson's long-term plan appears to be a backcourt of Ellis and Jackson, both of whom are under contract for at least another four seasons - assuming Ellis' deal is not voided by the Warriors over his moped accident. The pairing would help solve some of the Warriors' size and rebounding issues and allow Jackson to return to his natural shooting-guard spot.

It also would squeeze Crawford out of the starting lineup, assuming he does not opt out of the final two years of his contract or is not traded. Crawford, who has started all 45 games he's played for the Warriors, hasn't come off the bench since he played behind Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis with the Knicks at the start of the 2006-07 season. Now, the Warriors' guard may be asked to join Maggette as a highly paid reserve. "You have to ask coach that, but I think I can play wherever. You have to be able to do more than one thing," Crawford said. "I just have to go out there and play when my number's called." Jackson said he preferred to start alongside Crawford and Ellis, but would do whatever Nelson asked, joking that given his coach's ever-changing lineups and free-flowing system, "I'll end up playing '2,' '3,' '4' again."

As for the frontcourt, Nelson says he is happy with his center combination of starter Andris Biedrins and backup Ronny Turiaf. The question mark, as it has been for the last decade, remains at power forward, where the Warriors have two potential impact players in Wright and Randolph, whom Nelson projects to be a small forward. Nelson has spent most of the season playing the undersized Maggette and Azubuike at the '4' because of his preference for small-ball and a combination of injuries and inexperience, but said that could change as he gets his full roster back. Wright practiced for the first time since dislocating his left shoulder two months ago, and Nelson said the second-year forward looked better than expected after his long layoff. Would Nelson be fine with giving up his trademark mismatches for a more traditional lineup? "The bigger you are, the less you do those kinds of things and the more you rely on your positions to hold your own," Nelson said. "It's not that I want to do those things. I do it to stay competitive and give our team a chance to win."

BRIEFLY: Ellis has been cleared to play after a checkup with Dr. John Belzer after Monday's practice. ... Turiaf was held out of most drills Tuesday with soreness in his left knee, but is expected to be available tonight. ... Guard Marco Belinelli (sprained right big toe) is doubtful.

NEXT GAME
Who: Nets (28-35) vs. Warriors (21-42)
Where: Oracle Arena When: 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: CSNBA/680

Nets update: New Jersey is coming off a 106-101 home win over the Knicks on Sunday. ... Point guard Devin Harris leads the Nets with 22.5 points and 6.9 assists per game and recently was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. ... Former Stanford big man Brook Lopez has started 56 games and is sixth in the NBA in total blocks. ... Ex-Warrior Eduardo Najera is done for the season after having surgery for a right abdominal strain this week. Forward Bobby Simmons (strained left shoulder) is questionable.