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.

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