Golden State Of Mind

RECAP: Warriors 117, Mavericks 127 – Positives

2010-02-09T07:58:00Z

Final Boxscore | Open Thread (850+ comments) | Mavs Moneyball

A loss is a loss, but at this point in the season I'll take any positives we can get. For nearly 42 minutes the Warriors led the game. They had the Mavs on the ropes facing consecutive losses to the Twolves and then the Warriors. But I think they just ran out of gas. Their top 3 scores, Monta, Curry, and Morrow each played at least 44 minutes and couldn't keep up the pace especially after Monta went down with a knee injury. Perhaps with a little more contribution from CJ, maybe those 3 get a breather and can finish the game strong. in the end, the Warriors dropped their 9th straight game. Unless they can beat the Clippers on Wednesday, they'll head into the All-Star break on an ugly losing streak.

Much credit to the Mavs. They kept the game close and took over in the 4th where they outscored the Warriors 37-19. Bucket after bucket and stop after stop, the Mavs didn't let up on the tired Warriors. They dominated the 4th, especially from the line. They finished the game with a 46 to 29 free throw advantage. As far as the individuals, it wasn't their superstar, Dirk, who beat the Warriors tonight, it was the supporting cast.

Jason Terry and Josh Howard were especially tough to handle. Terry was killing the Warriors everywhere. If he wasn't on the perimeter knocking down 3's (6 of them to be exact), he was being aggressive and getting to the line (12-13 free throws). In the end, he had 36 points, 6 boards, 3 steals, and 9 assists. Then there was Howard who made a living on the low block up against the smaller Warrior guards. He also got to the line a ton (10-12) and was able to shoot a high percentage from the field (7-12, 58%).

In addition to Terry and Howard was Drew Gooden. His 24 points scored on baby hook shots and jumpers were a bit too much for the Warriors. Inside and outside he scored while also grabbing 10 boards. He and Terry combined for 49 of the 54 off the Mavs bench.

But hey, enough about the Mavs right?

First off, Monta got hurt late in the 4th on a driving layup where he appeared to land on Biedrins' foot. It looked really, really bad as he lay on the ground writhing in pain and grabbing his left knee. After about 5 minutes of being on the ground, he got up and limped off the court and it didn't look as bad as I initially thought. Eventually he got checked out by Tommy Abdenour on the bench, then walked through the tunnel and was done for the night. There was no report about what happened but from the looks of it, I think he'll be allright.

Monta had a Monta-like game, but we also got treated to another solid game from Anthony Tolliver. I find that when he's shooting less from the perimeter, I like him more. When he's crashing the boards and hustling for loose balls, he positively impacts the team. The 14 points and 11 boards were a huge boost off the bench considering he was the only guy to score off the bench. Both Chris Hunter (1 minute) and CJ Watson (6 minutes) were held scoreless.

Speaking of CJ, he was quite disappointing tonight. He got some time in the first quarter but was quickly frustrated and taken out of the game. He had to guard Josh Howard and picked up a couple quick fouls. Nellie basically didn't trust him the rest of the game with Curry, Monta, and Morrow playing so well. The only reason he got back in the game was because of Monta's injury. I'm sure he'll bounce back the next game.

Stephen Curry, the January Rookie of the Month, again played well. He's really stepped up his game and looks like he's going to give Tyreke Evans a run for his money in the Rookie of the Year voting. His 25 points and 9 assists showed he could not only score, but also set others up. In fact, he seems to be working on that two man game with Biedrins where he's either setting Biedrins up for an easy layup or working off of a Biedrins screen for a jumper.

Lastly, I'd like to see more of the Biedrins-Turiaf frontcourt that started the game. As long as they can stay out of foul trouble, it's the best big man combo the Warriors have. I just wish that Turiaf would fall for every single pump fake. Maybe just stay on the ground once? My grandma could pump fake him.

Overall, this game was full of positives. The individuals played well, but they played great as a team tonight. Heck, they even outrebounded the Mavs. Every time I thought the Mavs would make a run or the Warriors would screw it up, the Warriors stepped up. It was just when they got tired and didn't get as much help from their bench that the lead slipped away. There's not a whole lot else I could have asked from this team tonight given the amount of injuries we've seen.

The Warriors played well and are one step closer to John Wall.

Maybe I'll leave the Photoshop work to Tony.psd

Anthony Morrow

Looks like he's warming up for the Rookie-Sophomore game. It was his best game in a long time, perhaps the best game of his career. He's scored more than the 33 points he had tonight, but his overall floor game was a huge improvement from previous games. He was fighting for rebounds, 11 total, and worked hard on defense. Perhaps he was also displaying his 3 point shooting prowess for being snubbed for the 3 point shooting contest. He was 5-9 from 3 and 12-20 overall. Even though the Warriors didn't win, it was great to see Morrow's game expand and develop.

Warriors Game Day Links: Golden State Warriors 117 vs Dallas Mavericks 127 - Even more injuries: Maggette DNP on finger, Monta sprains left knee

2010-02-09T07:57:04Z

More photos » Ben Margot - AP

Browse more photos »

Last update: Feb 9, 12:50am.

Box score | Gameflow

Warriors: Golden State of Mind
Recap: RECAP: Warriors 117, Mavericks 127 – Positives
Game thread: GAME THREAD #50: Mavericks vs Warriors – Can they make it 9 in a row?(880+ comments)

Mavericks: Mavs Moneyball
Recap: Game Recap: All Sunshine for Mavs in Golden State, 127-117
Game thread: Mavs at Warriors Open Thread

Other recaps

Associated Press recap: Terry leads the Mavericks past Warriors, 127-117
Sports Network recap: Mavs send Warriors to ninth straight loss; Ellis hurts knee
Rusty Simmons recap: Warriors lose game, and then possibly Ellis
Marcus Thompson II recap: Fourth-quarter blues for Warriors

Pregame News

- Corey Maggette will be out until after the all star break because of the dislocated finger.
Rusty Simmons: Maggette to miss two games with injured finger
Marcus Thompson II: Warriors notes: Corey Maggette sidelined with dislocated ring ringer

Pregame Videos

Don Nelson on the All Star break, the Mavs game, the injuries.

Monta Ellis on the snub.

Ronny Turiaf on the All Star break, Dirk.

Stephen Curry on the losing streak, the All Star break, Monta's snub.

Monta's latest trick shot.

Postgame News

- No postgame news found.

Postgame Videos

Don Nelson at the podium.

CSN highlights and recap.

Highlights by orangino.

Postgame Quotes from warriors.com recap

Don Nelson
On tonight's game:
"I don’t know what to tell you with another injury that we didn’t need. We didn’t need any of them. I hope it’s not serious. We’ll see how it looks tomorrow. We played pretty well with a lot of energy. When you can’t afford a turnover we had a ton of them. Some of them I wouldn’t call forced. We tried to get it to the right spots but something always happened. I think fatigue was a factor and that must have caught up with some of them. I thought we played great but turned it over at the wrong time."

Anthony Morrow
On seeing Monta Ellis go down with injury:
"I was just praying that he was alright, me coming off that knee injury and him having a knee injury like that earlier in his career it was just tough seeing that, so I just wanted to run down there and make sure he was alright. I was glad he got up on his own, I just hope it’s not as bad as it seemed like it was."

On stepping up with Corey Maggette out:
"I just want to be more aggressive. It just felt good being back on the court, being back around my teammates and being part of the action."

On his performance:
"I’d rather us win the game then me score however many points. We got a lot of losses piling up but we are still positive and everybody is still upbeat, everybody is playing together and that’s all we can really ask for. We got such a young team, a lot of youth, people are coming to practice and going hard so just trying to fight through the injuries and keep playing together."

Ronny Turiaf
On seeing Monta Ellis go down with injury:
"If you watch the replay you should see that I pretty much ran as fast Usain Bolt to foul Jason Terry because I was worried about ‘my little general’ so I tried to karate chop Jason Terry so I could run over and check on him (Monta). It’s very unfortunate, and you hope that he’s going to be OK."

On the strategy vs. Dallas:
"We tried to attack them from the middle of the floor instead of going to the side where everyone could load and play really good help side defense. We did a great job just attacking from the middle and giving the ball to the big guy to finish down low and get the three ball from (Anthony) Morrow and he shared the ball to the ultimate tonight…even on the verge of doing it too much."

Twitter fun

- Here's a jinx just waiting to happen:

MSteinmetzCSN
Stephen Curry, iron man ... Only Warrior to play in every game this season.

gswscribe
Ellis on sprained lft knee: "It's not as bad as it looks or I made it seem. ... It was the knee I had surgery on, so it was a little scary."

In high school. Sr year, he has ACL. Largely why he dropped to 2nd round @nateoak5: @gswscribe When did he have knee surgery?

My Notebook

- Monta is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow on his knee.
- Warriors won't sign Coby Karl to a 2nd 10-day contract. Nellie does say "at this time" in the post game, and points out that he has another 10-day that the Warriors "could" re-sign him, so maybe the Warriors are waiting until after the All Star break to re-sign him. Karl's last day is tomorrow, Tues Feb 9th.

What's next?

- The final game before the All Star break is on Wednesday against the Clippers at 7:30pm. I'd think they'd pull Monta out of that game so he can rest his knee for at least a week.
- The MRI results from Monta's knee will be big news for Warriors fans tomorrow.
- Matt Steinmetz with another chat on Wed at noon (or 1pm, or whenever he gets to it) on his chat page.

Poll

Hope Monta's OK. That was a good enough game to give recognition to somebody:

GAME THREAD #50: Mavericks vs Warriors – Can they make it 9 in a row?

2010-02-08T21:29:55Z

Remember when playing the Mavs meant celebration?

Warriors: 49-0
Mavericks: 31-19
Tip-Off: 7:30pm
TV: CSN Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680
Blog Buddy: Mavs Moneyball

The Dallas Mavericks come into Oakland tonight after losing to Minnesota at home. They lost to one of the two teams that are actually worse than the Warriors. How does that happen? Well I have no idea, but I just know that the Mavs are not going to be very happy and might just take it out on our D-League squad.

The Warriors on the other hand are on an 8 game losing streak with no hope for anything other than more losing. With Minnesota winning (they've now won 4 in a row), the Warriors are now dangerously close to becoming the worst team in the Western Conference and the 2nd worst team in the NBA. Minnesota is 13-38 while the Warriors are 13-36. Waiving Speedy Claxton to keep Anthony Tolliver may be the key to the Warriors claiming last place in the Western Conference. They can't catch the Nets, but they can certainly catch the Twolves for overall suckage.

Tonight is not going to be pretty. The rest of the year is not going to be pretty. Anthony Tolliver is not going to be pretty, but he will be rich.

Just a few days ago, the Warriors faced these same Mavericks in Dallas and lost 110-101. The score ended up being much closer than the actual game. The only bright spot in that game was the 46 points scored by Monta. I have a feeling by the end of the year, he's going to score 50+. I also have a feeling that by the end of the year he'll have a game where he shoots more than 40 shots. Those two predictions might come on the same night. Anyways, perhaps tonight will be that night.

You know the Mavs, you unfortunately know the Warriors too well. Hopefully the Warriors surprise us with a win. Don't hold your breath though. On to the predictions...

Predictions

Mavericks win by 16
Monta scores 37
Morrow makes 4 three's
Drew Gooden comes home and dominates inside

Poll

Who do you want to win?

Wall should sit at head of lottery class [Y! Sports]

2010-02-08T16:31:57Z

Wall should sit at head of lottery class [Y! Sports]

The Warriors have a great shot at winning the John Wall lottery, but even if they don't they'll most likely wind up with a top 5 pick the way things are going right now. Here's some other names to track during March Madness.

Super Bowl Sunday XLIV- SB Nation Style

2010-02-07T17:10:03Z

It's time to move on from another thunderous Warriors disaster [Recap | Game Day Links].

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!

The hits:

Super Bowl XLIV Story Stream
Game Page
Stampede Blue: Indianapolis Colts blog
Canal Street Chronicles: New Orleans Saints blog

Something to remember after the jump!

Don't forget the guac! -- Want to Make Guacamole for the Super Bowl? Get Started. Now.

via www.laaloosh.com

Guacamole, without question, is the finest of foods. It should be eaten by everyone at all times; unfortunately, many people only indulge in it during Super Bowl parties.

Very unfortunate indeed.

Guac up to WHO DAT!?

Poll

Who's your pick to win Super Bowl XLIV?

RECAP: Thunder 104 Warriors 95 -- Stormy Weather

2010-02-07T09:23:13Z

I'll take a plate of Monta Ellis, with fava beans and a fine Chianti.

Final Boxscore | Game Thread (540+ comments) | Warriors Game Day Links

Blog Buddy: Welcome to Loud City

OK, I'll admit it, I underestimated the Thunder. They are pretty darn good, and not just because of Kevin Durant, who is all-world. The reason they are pretty darn good is their defense, which is spectacular. It is led by Russell Westbrook, who picked up 8 steals en route to a near quadruple double in this game. 21 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 steals. Tasty. Westbrook is taking on the look of a bigger, stronger Rajon Rondo. Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden are also terrific on-the-ball defenders. The Thunder backcourt, aided by the terrific length and quickness of Durant and Jeff Green in the paint, hounded Monta Ellis into one of his worst games of the season. Monta shot a miserable 6-22 for 15 points and turned the ball over 7 times.

Jump for more misery!

The rest of the Warriors, who rely heavily on Monta to initiate their offense, weren't much better. In all, the Warriors turned the ball over 22 times in this game, leading to an enormous deficit in fast break points.

A lot of the credit for the Thunder's play goes to their coach, Scott Brooks. Brooks had a great defensive game plan for the Warriors, using the extraordinary defensive ability of his backcourt to trap the Warriors' ballhandlers at the top of the key, and deny the Warriors' entry passes with overplays. And in general this season, Brooks has the Thunder playing at a really high level on defense. They are allowing 7.3 fewer points a game this year, while increasing their scoring by 1.6 points a game. And the Thunder have the fifth best road-record in the league. A heck of a coaching job, of a team that is rapidly headed for greatness.

It's safe to say they're a little better than the Warriors at the moment.

Monta Ellis: When listing the reasons the Warriors lost this game, you have to begin and end with Monta Ellis. As currently constructed, the Warriors cannot win unless he is the star of the game. Monta had a miserable night: Game Over.

.3 seconds from making Feltbot pass out.

Corey Maggette: There is an element of grossness to watching a Corey Maggette season. It's like watching a Rocky fight going into the late rounds. There is blood, there is swelling, there is feverish work by the corner man. Tonight we were treated to the lovely sight of Maggette's left hand ring finger getting ripped out of its socket. At the time of the injury, in the first quarter, the Warriors seemed to be really playing well, and I think the air went out of them a little when he went to the bench. Which is not to say the injury caused this loss. This Thunder team is really good, and the Warriors are not.

But major props to Maggette for slapping a little tape on and playing through excruciating pain. I couldn't sit up in b ed after an injury like that, but Maggette put up a line of 24 and 6 on 50% shooting. And he took the challenge of guarding Jeff Green. Like Rocky, Maggette answers the bell.

The Centers: Well at least I got one prediction right: Biedrins had his best game of the season, with 18 rebounds and 3 swats. But offensively, he really stunk. He has yet to develop a chemistry with his point guards, which led to several turnovers. And he inexplicably went to his right hand for airballed jump hooks rather than drive to the basket. Jim Barnett had an explanation for that: "He doesn't want to go the free throw line."

On one memorable play at 7:25 of the third quarter, Biedrins caught the ball in the low post, used his off hand to hitch up his pants while the defense got set, then threw the ball out of the double-team straight to Russell Westbrook for a fastbreak slam. Check it out. I'm not sure I've ever seen that move from a post player before.

Turiaf had a decent game. I saw him finish one pick and roll in style with a slam, but lose the ball on another. The Warriors really need to get better at this play.

The Thunder allow a wide-open shot.

Stephen Curry: A nice bounce-back game from Curry, picking up 23 points on 9-15 shooting. He has one of the quickest releases in the league, and needed it to get his shot off against the Thunder. Unfortunately his time on the court was limited by foul trouble trying to stay in front of the super-quick and physical Westbrook.

Anthony Morrow: Looked pretty good in his first game back. It was nice to see him bury his first two shots. Unfortunately, there is not one single player on the Thunder whom he can guard.

Sayonara, Boise.

The D-League All-Stars: The piano is no longer on Anthony Tolliver's back, as the Warriors just signed him for the rest of the year. And boy did he respond with a great game. 11 points on 5-10 and 11 boards. These are the things I saw Tolliver do in this game: Move his feet and guard Jeff Green. And then move his feet and guard Kevin Durant (Wha?). Hit his jumpers, including a three. Make a pump-fake, drive the lane and nail a teardrop (Wha?). Box out and rebound in traffic. Steal the ball from Russell Westbrook.

Welcome to the NBA, Anthony Tolliver.

Assume rebounding position.

The Coby Karl report is not so good. He did a nice job on Kevin Durant in the first half, working Nellie's game plan to perfection by getting in his shirt and pushing him right, funneling him into traps. Durant was held to 3-11 in the first half, en route to a sub par 7-21 shooting performance.

But on the offensive side of the ball, Karl's play was disastrous. Nellie used him a lot at the point-forward, presumably to avoid the ball-hawking of Westbrook and Sefolosha. It didn't work. Karl looked flustered all night, turning the ball over 3 times against only 1 assist. I lost count of the airballs he shot en route to a 4-12 performance.

And his drives. To describe them as wild would be an understatement. To my eye, Coby Karl driving the lane looks like The Bug in Men in Black, in his Vincent D'Onofrio suit, chasing the cat with the galaxy on its neck. I wonder, does he do a jack-knife when throwing his gum away?

At the end of the game, the crowd was giving him the Mike Dunleavey treatment, booing his every touch. If he doesn't settle down rapidly, this could get ugly.

I could give it to Anthony Tolliver, for a truly NBA-worthy performance. But this one goes to Corey Maggette.

For guts.

Poll

The most pressing question at this point of the Warriors season: Who is your pick in the Super Bowl?

Warriors Game Day Links: Golden State Warriors 95 vs Oklahoma City Thunder 104 - 3rd qtr collapse. Lather, rinse, repeat.

2010-02-07T07:57:00Z

More photos » Ben Margot - AP

Browse more photos »

Last update: Feb 8, 1:00am

Box score | Gameflow

Warriors: Golden State of Mind
Recap: RECAP: Thunder 104 Warriors 95 -- Stormy Weather
Game thread: Game Thread #49: Thunder @ Warriors -- Durantula Returns (530+ comments)

Thunder: Welcome to Loud City
Recap: Title to be added
Game thread: Game 49 Preview Quickie: Oklahoma City at Golden State

Other recaps

Associated Press recap: Durant helps Thunder beat the Warriors, 104-95
Sports Network recap: Westbrook's all-around effort carries Thunder over Warriors
Rusty Simmons recap: Warriors lose season-high 8th straight
Marcus Thompson II recap: Warriors are Thunder-struck

Pregame News

- MT2 sat down with Larry Riley about waiving Speedy Claxton and other trade talk. This is not the same as the CSN video of Larry Riley.
Marcus Thompson II: Larry Riley Explains/Defends His Decision

Pregame Videos

Larry Riley on waiving Speedy, trade talks, injury update.

Don Nelson on Tolliver's contract, Thunder players.

Anthony Morrow on his return, playing the Thunder, understanding how Tolliver feels.

Anthony Tolliver on getting his contract, on stopping Durant.

Postgame News

- No post game news found.

Postgame Videos

Nellie at the podium.

Monta in the locker room.

Curry in the locker room.

CSN highlights, recap.

Highlights by orangino.

Postgame Quotes from warriors.com recap

Don Nelson
On tonight's game:
Not a good performance by us today, we just didn’t look like a team tonight. I had a lot of guys that didn’t play well and all at the same time. When you turn the ball over 23 times in this league it makes it pretty hard to stay competitive. There will be nights like this but we will lick our wounds tomorrow and get ready to play."

On Russell Westbrook:
"He plays very well every night. He had eight steals and is a very fine defender. He is still learning the point guard position but he is still a dominant player."

Stephen Curry
On tonight's game:
"All and all we didn’t really play that bad, it was just that third quarter we let them get a double-digit lead."

On What The Team Needs:
"I think we need a win or two at home in the next couple of games before the All-Star break. It’s going to be a big game on Monday against Dallas and we will try and come back and try and get a win. We’ve played them recently, so we know what it’s going to take to beat them. We have to come out and do it, so we can feel good about ourselves and get something we need. You can talk about it all you want too, but you have to go out and produce and get a win, "

Monta Ellis
On Tonight's Game:
"It’s disappointing to play like that period, not just at home. Tough for us the last few games, tonight it really got away from our character. We didn’t take care of the ball very well, that really starts with me, I take full blame for everything. I’ve got to find a way to get us going at a time like that, and I didn’t do it. It was a bad game, but we’ve got one Monday…go to practice get better and move on."

Anthony Tolliver
On Getting Signed for the Rest of the Year :
"I was finally able to relax a little bit, and just play basketball. Hopefully now I can just do that and not have to worry about getting another 10-day contract. For me to get signed for the rest of the year…when I got the phone call it was like a piano being taking off my back, a lot of weight, a lot of pressure…that I was putting on myself really, but now that’s gone and I can just play basketball."

My Notebook

- No interesting notes to add tonight.

What's next?

- Super bowl Sunday tomorrow. Warriors host the Mavericks on Monday at 7:30pm.

Poll

Anything you liked about the game?

Stephen Curry stat line

76 votes

Corey Maggette stat line

2 votes

Andris Biedrins inhaling rebounds

48 votes

Anthony Tolliver double double

14 votes

Anthony Morrow back on the floor

52 votes

That we got more ping pong balls

29 votes

That I wasn't anywhere near the game

19 votes

What game? I'm preparing for the Super Bowl!

17 votes

A big fat NOPE.

34 votes

291 votes | Poll has closed

The "GSoM" Staff Part 1! (left to right) Hash, Fantasy Junkie and Atma Brother 1!

2010-02-07T06:12:41Z

The "GSoM" Staff Part 1! (left to right) Hash, Fantasy Junkie and Atma Brother 1!

The Golden State Warriors need a team mascot. Here's my proposed idea- I'll be happy to...

2010-02-07T05:59:23Z

The Golden State Warriors need a team mascot. Here's my proposed idea- I'll be happy to rock it!

Game Thread #49: Thunder @ Warriors -- Durantula Returns

2010-02-06T20:28:18Z

Originally posted 12:28 PM PST

Ain't no Durantulas in the D-league.

Warriors (W-L): 13-35

Thunder (W-L): 28-21

Tip Off: 7:30 Pacific Time

TV: CSN, CSNHD

Radio: KNBR

Blog Buddy: Welcome to Loud City

Two games after beating the Warriors 112-104 at their place, the Thunder invade Oracle for a rematch, as -4 favorites. The Thunder are on a roll, winners of four straight, with three quality teams -- Denver, Atlanta, and New Orleans -- joining the Warriors as their victims. Kevin Durant is playing out of his mind, averaging 32.5 a game over his last 23 games to challenge Carmelo Anthony for the scoring title.

The Warriors are on a bit of a roll themselves. In the opposite direction. The Warriors have lost seven straight, and are only 1 game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the title of second-worst team in the league. The Timberwolves. O the ignominy! So why do I like the Warriors chances in this game? My sixth-sense tells me that Don Nelson has a little change-up cooking, and the Warriors are going to bring the heat.

Jump for matchup madness!

At 6-11', with guard-like skills, Durantula is one of the most unguardable players in the league. But the Warriors have an unguardable player as well, the player Corey Maggette calls Mr. Incredible, Monta Ellis. Three games ago against the Thunder, Monta was still rusty in his return from injury. He no longer looked rusty putting up 46 against the Mavericks in the last game. I expect Monta to bring it in this game, on both ends of the court. Nellie uses him to guard Durant, and this is a good choice. The best way to slow Durant down is to disrupt his dribble and deny him penetration, which is something Monta excels at. If Durant starts missing from outside, the Warriors are in business.

Jeff Green hurt the Warriors badly in the last game. Anthony Tolliver couldn't stay in front of him, which pulled Biedrins and Curry off their own men to give help. I expect Nellie to change something up here. Tolliver's minutes have diminished in the last two game, also against athletic fours (Landry and Nowitzki). Nellie might start Turiaf at the four, as he did against Dallas. But at some point I expect him to go to Devean George. George played great defense against Nowitzki in the last game, and also shut down Carmelo Anthony in the fourth quarter of a previous game this year. I think Nellie calls for the Deveanator on Green.

What's the matter, kid... tired?

Curry appears to have hit the rookie wall hard, starting with the game in Oklahoma City, in which he went 4-10 with 5 turnovers and was pulled down the stretch. Curry will have his hands full trying to keep Russell Westbrook out of the lane. Westbrook shot 17 free throws in that last game. With two days rest, I think Curry will do better in this game, and the Warriors as a team will do a much better job staying in front of their men.

Predictions:

Mr. Incredible vanquishes Durantula.
Biedrins completes the opening pick and roll, on the way to his best game of the season. 12 boards, 3 swats, 2 made FTs.
Mini-Malone feasts on the Thunder's soft chewy interior.
Curry comes off the respirator.
The Deveanator shuts down Green in the second half.
Coby Karl gets more minutes than Anthony Morrow.
CJ Watson gets a layup blocked.
Vlad Rad rocks the sidelines in a hideous T-shirt and jacket combo.
Take the points, the Warriors win.

Poll

Who scores the most points in this game?

Warriors Cut Speedy Claxton and Lose $5.2 Million Trade Chip 12 Days Before Deadline

2010-02-06T23:47:20Z

Update (2/7/10 8:48am): Make sure to check out Larry Riley Explains/Defends His Decision [Inside the Warriors] as well as Riley's video interview on CSN Bay Area in the Warriors Game Day Links.

====================

What Chris Cohan is doing.

via cache.boston.com

Jump for the 411.

GSoM friend Marcus Thompson has the details over at Inside the Warriors in Warriors Inexplicably Give Up $5.2M Expiring Contract:

The Warriors made room for forward Anthony Tolliver on the roster by waiving point guard Speedy Claxton, who is injured and hasn't played all season. Yes, they did. Giving up Claxton's $5.2 million expiring contract, a valuable bartering tool, 12 days before the trade deadline for an NBA Development League call-up is just bad.

Bad.

Bad.

I don't get the logic behind it. The contracts of Claxton and Raja Bell ($5.25) gave the Warriors $10 million worth of expiring contracts to use on the trade market. Throw in Devean George ($1.6), and the Warriors had $12 million to trade with.

You know I thought the moniker "Golden State D-Leaguers" was a joke, but I guess not:

The Warriors have now given up $6.5 million in expiring contracts to keep NBA Development League call-ups. Don't forget, they gave up Mikki Moore's $1.3 million expiring contact to keep Hunter.

I'm sorry, but this franchise is just hopeless. This move reeks of the worst owner in all of sports Chris Cohan's continued incompetence. Given Larry Riley's past eloquence and reasonable logic, I have a hard time believing this was his move. Again this just wreaks of Cohan. It's a pure financial, cost-cutting move. It has nothing to do with basketball. It's cheap and...

Dumb.

and...

DUMB.

Who seriously cuts a potentially valuable $5.2 million dollar expiring contract 12 days before the annual NBA Trading Deadline?

Chris Cohan's Warriors.

That's who.

Also see Tim Kawakami's take Warriors throw away Claxton's $5.2M expiring contract

Poll

How would you describe this move by Cohan's Warriors?

Warriors Practice Day Links: Don Nelson, Andris Biedrins, Stephen Curry, Anthony Morrow interviews

2010-02-06T04:50:06Z

Last update: 10:25pm

The Warriors are back home for a practice, and they finally had enough healthy guys to run a 5 on 5 practice. Lots of videos inside, including an Anthony Randolph sighting. Warriors Weekly Radio Show also included.

Practice videos

Anthony Randolph footage, wearing his boot.

Don Nelson on the mic.

Andris Biedrins on the mic.

Stephen Curry on the mic.

Anthony Morrow on the mic.

Matt Steinmetz

- Matt goes for another round with the mailbag.
Steinmetz: NBA Mailbag

- Most of this article is based on the interviews above. One tidbit to read is what Riley is trying to do about Tolliver.
Warriors' Morrow Primed For a Saturday Return

Rusty Simmons

- Article includes quotes from Larry Riley about fielding trade phone calls and on Tolliver.
Randolph likely out for season with bad ankle

Warriors Weekly Radio mp3s, Thurs Feb 4th

- Stephen Curry on Monday after receiving Rookie of the Month. Also, an untrimmed version of Fitz interviewing Curry on the golf oourse.
15:08 min: Warriors Guard Stephen Curry

- Tim Roye talking to Anthony Morrow on making the Rookie Sophomore game, being more of a complete player, pregame routine, various other stuff.
6:00 min: Warriors Guard Anthony Morrow

- Tim Roye answers an email question. Al Attles with some Rick Barry stories.
4:39 min: Tim Roye's Journal

- Chris Ballard on his book "The Art of a Beautiful Game".
9:57 min: Sports Illustrated's Chris Ballard

My Notebook

- Biedrins had played for his national team for 3 straight summers.
- Nellie expects Morrow to play tomorrow.
- Riley is trying to ask the league for an exception that let's the Warriors keep Tolliver and not waive anyone.
- In the 2nd half of the seaason, Curry wants to improve at being the "manager" of the game, helping to make end of game decisions.

Anyone out there with some Golden State of Cinema skills up for putting together a "GSoM is...

2010-02-06T03:41:39Z

Anyone out there with some Golden State of Cinema skills up for putting together a "GSoM is Unstoppable Baby!" version of this on YouTube? That would be incredibly hilarious.

30 More Days in Boot for Warriors' Randolph

2010-02-06T01:06:28Z

30 More Days in Boot for Warriors' Randolph

Warriors Media Services - We know Anthony Morrow is on his way back, possibly tomorrow. But where's Anthony Randolph? In a boot for another 30 days. That puts his next re-evaulation in early March.

Warriors Day Off Links: Don Nelson Show, Anthony Morrow injury update

2010-02-05T09:28:59Z

It's a quiet off day in Warrior Land. Hop on in for the Don Nelson show, an Anthony Morrow injury update, and Matt Steinmetz's analysis of Stephen Curry in the 3 point shooting contest.

KNBR mp3s

- Don Nelson on garbage time subbing, keeping guys motivated, assessing an injured team, being a GM and a coach, Coby Karl's defining skill.
18:52: Don Nelson with Ralph and Tom

- Warriors Weekly Radio mp3s aren't up yet. When they're up, I'll include them in the next links post.

Videos

- It's good to see Anthony Morrow doing warm up exercises before the Mavericks game.

Anthony Morrow injury update.

- First it was supposed to be Thursday. Now it's going to be Friday when the 3 pt contest shooters are announced. How will Stephen Curry do in the contest?

Matt Steinmetz on Stephen Curry in the 3 pt contest.

My Notebook

- Anthony Tolliver was signed to his second 10-day contract on Jan 27. By my calculations, Friday Feb 5th is his 10th and final day, so we'll find out tomorrow if he's going back to the D League or if someone else is going to get waived.

Poll

Thunder - Mavericks - Clippers. We have 3 home games left heading into the All Star break. What's your call?

W-W-W

109 votes

W-W-L

14 votes

W-L-W

55 votes

W-L-L

14 votes

L-W-W

86 votes

L-W-L

33 votes

L-L-W

267 votes

L-L-L

344 votes

I suck at predictions

58 votes

980 votes | Poll has closed

Mike Dunleavy Out As Coach - I Did Not See That Coming [Clips Nation]

2010-02-05T02:09:47Z

Mike Dunleavy Out As Coach - I Did Not See That Coming [Clips Nation]

I can't say I saw this one coming either. It's probably a year too late though.

Actually think back to WE BELIEVE 2007. From the Dubs' perspective it was simply magical, but it all wouldn't have been possible if the Clippers didn't choke down the stretch. There really wasn't any excuse for that. You could argue that this was a few years too late.

RECAP: Warriors 101, Mavericks 110 - Game 48 also known as the D-League showcase

2010-02-04T19:20:52Z

(Fully aware of Dirk Nowitzki's pending free agency status, Nellie tries to sweet talk him into becoming a Warrior)

In the 20+ years I've been a Warriors fan, I've learned the hard way to temper my expectations. Rather than huffing and puffing over poor passing, mental lapses like stepping or dribbling out of bounds, and missing wide open layups, I've come to appreciate the minor things (mini-comebacks) as opposed to the finer things (actual wins). In fact, I will go so far as to call this Warriors loss a "win" (by some Warrior fans' standards) by how valiantly they came back to the close the 3^rd quarter on a 16-6 run. From being down 18 to 6, I consider this a relatively "tremendous" effort by a team that vaguely looks like the Warriors only by uniform homogeneity. This counts as another moral victory. With enough of these under our belt already, the Warriors are destined for the loser's playoffs: NBA DRAFT!

Onlxn's comment in his fan post "A Big Man That Could Help Us," perfectly sums up, in my opinion, last night's Warriors Woes (as opposed to Warrior Wonders):

More to the point, we suck. And do you know the main three reasons we suck? 1) We're the worst-rebounding team in basketball, 2) we give up the second-most points in the paint of any team in basketball, and 3) we let our opponents shoot better from the field than any team except for the Nets.

Okay, now that we've confronted the Warriors woes head on, let's look at this game (and possibly the rest of the season) as an extended "pre-season" in preparation for next season. As mentioned earlier, being a Warriors fan's involves some strategies for survival. So as opposed to considering this a loss, this game, in some ways, seemed more like tryouts for next seasons' Warriors squad with all the d-league "talent" running around. So let's evaluate this d-league talent versus a decent team in the NBA!

The knock on most d-leaguers (or players from other countries) is that they lack experience playing against the elite. Well, the Warriors bench is filled with NBA hopefuls (Coby Karl) and wannabes (Chris Hunter) and tonight they played against the elites of the NBA: formerly elite player Jason Kidd, currently elite Dirk Nowitski, supposed-to-be-elite Drew Gooden, and purportedly future-elite Rodrigue Beaubois. Our Warriors did not fair that well.

Coby Karl: I had dubbed him the Warriors fans' latest man-crush or "flavor of the month," but I think I spoke to soon. After a statistically impressive (yet meaningless) game against the Rockets, Karl responded with a pretty typical stat-line expected of a 10 contract player. The one thing I like about Karl is that even when he's doing ordinary things or nothing, he does them super hard. When he goes up for rebounds - several times with no one around him - he goes up with HARD, securing the ball with two hands and elbows stretched out to ensure no defenders come by to pop it out. When he leads the break and just makes a simple dump pass to a wing player at the top of the key, it's the tenacity by which he brings the ball up the court that seems to impressive me. He makes me think he's going to do something awesome, when in actually he doesn't. Even when he's just running around "getting open" when it's clear that no one will pass him the ball, Karl looks like he's trying or at least trying to be a diversion in a pretty predictable offensive scheme. Regardless of whether he has skills, Karl makes the ordinary things look exciting even if his results (play-making skills) are next to nil. His chances of sticking with the Warriors? I'll quote Jay-Z: "on to the next.. on-on to the next one." Oh yea, Karl did grab 6 boards in 15 mins. That's effective!

Chris Hunter: Chris Hunter has some flaws, like any player. Benefits? He's got a big body. Problems? He seems pretty lost most of the time. Hunter played a minute in last night's game and really doesn't get much of a chance at all now that Biedrins and Turiaf are back...not that he had much of a chance to before they returned. You could say Hunter was relatively effective in his one minute, having a rebound and put-back dunk in his first play of the game. But most of the time, Hunter can't seem to put it together. Usually, he misses wide open jump shots from the wing. Or worse yet, he can't finish in traffic, often times missing point blank 1 to 2 footers. His future? Back in the d-league ... or a lucrative contract in China.

(Eduardo Najera, the Monta-stopper, if there was one)

Anthony Tolliver: We talked about this at-length already, but this guy needs to stop shooting. Either that or he needs to start taking higher percentage shots. Anthony Tolliver is quite an enigma to me. He seems to have all the ability - decent handle for a big man and some quickness. But he seems to play like he's playing a d-league game, which means he shoots with wreckless abandon. He already takes more than a third of his shots from beyond the arc shooting a scintillating 14%. In only 10 minutes of action last night, Tolliver seemed rather ineffective. Tolliver has shown that he won't challenge anyone on the Warriors squad for minutes. While he looks much more NBA ready fundamentally at first glance than say Anthony Randolph or Brandan Wright at this moment, Tolliver seems relatively useless on both ends of the floor with a rebounding rate that is pretty disappointing for a guy his height and size.

This is all to say that the d-leaguers made me miss Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Randolph, and even Brandan Wright. Joni Mitchell was right, "You don't know what you got til it's gone."

Monta Ellis. This is a no brainer. It was just one of those nights where Ellis couldn't miss even if he wanted to. His 3-point shooting has impressively improved over the course of the season and it's testament of his hard work on both ends of the floor. Ellis' 4 assists hardly describe his attempts at getting his teammates involved as Warrior bigs dropped a few pretty passes in the paint early on. His ability to score with a variety of jumpers, floaters, and drives over extremely athletic and towering-in-height wings two-nights in a row (Trevor Ariza and Shawn Marion) strongly suggests that Ellis is one of the elite scorers in this league. A superstar? Not quite.

But, I wonder about Ellis and Stephen Curry's ability to play together. After earning rookie of the month honors, Curry has seemed to regress a bit with Ellis' return from his ankle injury, taking a back seat and regressing to a more passive role. More specifically, he's not attacking the hoop necessarily and he's turning the ball over like it was November all-over-again. I would argue against the belief that Ellis is a player that needs to dominate the ball to be effective or is unwilling to share. Rather this leads me to wonder if Curry is THE player that needs to have the ball in his hands in order to participate. Curry's statistically amazing January came when Monta was out, allowing him not only to score prolifically like at Davidson with dribble drives and 3 points shots, but also distribute in ways that Warrior haven't seen since Baron Davis. But when he's not handling the ball so much, like last night, Curry just seemed to transform from a chariot into a pumpkin QUICK. In what ways can Curry get more involved without forcing the issue? There were a few times where Curry put up shots - going coast to coast and hurrying up a jumper from 20 feet with 20 seconds left on the shot clock - that looked more like "I haven't shot in a while" shots or "I need to get mine" shots, if you know what I mean.

Warriors Game Day Links: Golden State Warriors 101 @ Dallas Mavericks 110 - Monta, the one man show

2010-02-04T06:23:03Z

More photos » Tony Gutierrez - AP

Browse more photos »

Box score | Gameflow

Warriors: Golden State of Mind
Recap: RECAP: Warriors 101, Mavericks 110 - Game 48 also known as the D-League showcase
Game thread: Gamethread #48: Warriors @ Dallas Mavericks - Can we beat them with only 5 guys? (960+ comments)

Mavericks: Mavs Moneyball
Recap: Game Recap: Mavs Ride to Victory Against Warriors, 110-101
Game thread: Warriors at Mavs Open Thread

Other recaps

Associated Press recap: Mavericks turn away Warriors 110-101
Sports Network recap: Mavs overcome big game from Ellis, down Warriors
Rusty Simmons recap: Ellis' career best not enough
Marcus Thompson II recap: Monta Ellis goes for career-high 46 points, but Golden State Warriors lose again, this time to Dallas Mavericks

Live Blogging Links

Geoff Lepper: Game 48, Live: Warriors (13-34) at Mavericks (30-18)

Pregame News

- Matt Steinmetz held his chat earlier today.
Matt Steinmetz: Matt Steinmetz Feb. 3 Chat Transcript

- Raja Bell is expected to return to the team, and possibly even play some time later this season.
Matt Steinmetz: Steinmetz: Franchise-Savior?

- It was announced today that Chauncey Billups will take Chris Paul's spot, not Monta.
Rusty Simmons: Ellis not seeing stars
Marcus Thompson II: Chauncey Billups Gets the Nod over Monta Ellis

Pregame Videos

- No pregame videos found.

Postgame News

- Tidbits: Morrow still waiting for the 3 point shooting invite, George defending Dirk.
Marcus Thompson II: Warriors notebook: Monta Ellis doesn't have to change plans for All-Star break

Postgame Videos

Don Nelson in the hallway.

Highlights by orangino.

Postgame Quotes from warriors.com recap

Don Nelson
On tonight's game:
"That was a remarkable performance by Monta. He didn’t have a great supporting cast, but he fought and kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win. I think everybody picked it up. We got a little smell that maybe there was a win there and he really played well. I thought (Devean) George did a real nice job defensively. We gave up a couple of baskets at the end that Dirk made, but I thought they were tough shots and you know, we got back in the game. So, we had a chance, so I thought the guys did pretty well."

On defending Dirk late:
"Well I thought George had a chance to play him. He’s played him in practice you know, for a long time and you need to make it as tough as you can on the guy. The guy is a great, great player. We gave support and we double teamed him occasionally in certain areas of the floor. We did a good job in support and you know, he was very willing to move the ball to get it out of double teams. For the most part, I think we played a good solid second half, not necessarily the first half."

Monta Ellis
On tonight's game:
"It doesn't matter what I did individually. We lost. That's what matters to me. The only thing I'm thinking about is trying to find a way that we can get this monkey off our back."

Twitter fun

- I'm taking Cartier Martin twitter page off my bookmarks, so this will be the last tweet I post from him. Good luck, Cartier.

CartierMartin
@BigMay42 what's up big homie...I'm back in the D League for now. I'll be back soon...just gotta put some more of this work in.

StephenCurry30
Well...another tough loss for the Dubs. Can't wait to get back to Oracle and grab a win at home. We need one soooo bad right now!

quietstorm_32
@hankjr10 appreciate that fam got to get a win tho this losing aint the business

Warriors Weekly Videos

Bob Fitzgerald interviews Stephen Curry.

Malou Nubla and CJ Watson on Mohawk Night.

Jim Barnett,Rico Hines, Stephen Curry on ball handling drills.

Warrior Girl Kimberly.

Ultimate highlights video.

My Notebook

- No interesting notes to add tonight.

What's next?

- The Warriors will not leave California for the rest of February. 9 of the next 10 games at home, and the road game is @Lakers.
- Next game, Saturday vs Thunder at 7:30pm.
- On KNBR, Thursday will bring the Don Nelson show with Ralph and Tom. Also Warriors Weekly Radio in the evening.

Poll

This sums up your thoughts on the game:

That was Montazing!

91 votes

Monta from... behind the BACKBOARD?!?!? Plus the foul!

137 votes

Keep feeding Monta!

9 votes

There's Monta, and then there's everyone else.

68 votes

I am a witness to Monta's career high in pts.

7 votes

What moped accident?

30 votes

How's this for an All Star snub?

200 votes

Other (specify in comments)

21 votes

563 votes | Poll has closed

Gamethread #48: Warriors @ Dallas Mavericks - Can we beat them with only 5 guys?

2010-02-03T21:06:05Z

(Kobe teaches Coby a few veterans moves, like the high-five)

Warriors (W-L): 13-33

Mavericks (W-L): 30-18

Tip Off: 5:30 Pacific Time

TV: CSN, CSNHD

Radio: KNBR

Blog Buddy: Mavs Moneyball

The Warriors learned quickly last night than everything is bigger in Texas as Houston's moderately meaty front-line destroyed them. It looked like David and Goliath. Or rather, the game looked like a varsity team playing against a freshmen team to stick with basketball themes, since well, this is a basketball site.

BUT, the Warriors take on the Dallas Mavericks, who like our dubs, are slumping like lounge chair. We all remember how the Warriors made history beating the Mavs with only 6 players on November 24, 2009. Dallas has always been a great pick-me-up for the Warriors and can we expect the new look d-league Warriors to have the same chance as they did last November? Will the Warriors possibly make history by sporting the first an all d-league and/or undrafted lineup with CJ Watson, Coby Karl, Anthony Morrow, Anthony Tolliver, and Chris Hunter? What are folks thoughts about Coby Karl's "Lebron-lite" stats (as Atma Brother #1 described it) from yesterday's game? Will he put similar numbers versus the defensively challenged Mavs? Will Coby Karl be GSoM's new man-crush for the next 9 days? All signs say yes.

The Mavs are currently on a 3-game slide and have been a relatively dismal (but phenomenal by Warriors standards) 2010, having lost as many games as they've lost.

Part of this could be attributed to the injuries that their bigs have sustained, though they continue to play through injuries. Lucky for us, Tim Thomas isn't playing tonight; he fits the Warrior Killer profile to the T: a one-dimensional player not traditionally known for scoring exploding for-one-night-only.

But with or without the bigs, the Warriors are a complete unrecognizable hodge-podge...chop-suey is you will. Unfortunately, the Warriors are not nearly as appetizing as chop-suey. The issues of chemistry, which Corey Maggette had highlighted a few days ago with players coming in and out of lineups, is apparent as passed balls have been seen sailing out of bounds. Players with no practice time, Cartier Martin and Coby Karl, are getting 20-30 minutes a game, which is unheard of on any other team in the NBA. It's a little surprising to see d-leaguers get as many minutes as our starters, but it's probably more out of necessity than anything at all. Though, I have to say I like Coby Karl's instincts and his ability to make plays for others ala Stephen Curry. Remember, this guy used to play with the other Coby, or rather Kobe, so you know he's trained with the best. Remember when we said that about Jason Caffey because he played with Michael Jordan for a few seasons...where is Jason Caffey now...hmm..

This is all to say, that tonight's game may be pretty awful. But, why interpret this game as a waste? On the bright side, you could say we're getting a glimpse of some of the greatest d-league talent broadcast on television. This "treat" is pretty rare on most occasions given how little publicity the d-league tends to get in American discourses of professional basketball.

So anyway, which d-leaguer on the Warriors are you most looking forward to watching tonight?

Predictions:

Warriors lose by 11
Coby Karl becomes Lebron and has 20-10-10
Turnovers!

What are your predictions for today's game?

RECAP: Warriors 97, Rockets 119 - I Missed LOST For This?

2010-02-03T19:24:43Z

Well okay, I suppose missing LOST could have been avoided. But since I was getting out of work late yesterday, I had to drop a record on the game. And since I started watching the game much later than the actual tip-off time, this crapfest which I now have to write about overlapped with the start of LOST. Granted, I also popped a record on LOST, but I just wasn't up to starting it in the post-game state of depression I was in, so I'm saving it for tonight.

Who has two thumbs and is excited?!

This guy.

Warriors vs Rockets boxscore | Open Thread (900+ Comments)

At this point, you must be wondering why I'm continuing to talk about the thrilling final season of LOST rather than touching on points of the Warriors game. If this is the case, I can only assume you didn't watch the game. You lucky duck...

JUMP!

Honestly, the first quarter of this game really made the rest painful to watch. In true Warriors fashion, they dig themselves out of their gigantic hole to make it a game, and then went on to show us an instant replay of their first quarter collapse. In the end, it was Beatdown USA. Population: Us.

At the risk of beating the same dead horse that has been mollywhopped for the previous 5 games (and entire season for that matter), I'm just going to throw out a few bulletpoints. Some will be highlights, others will be lowlights, and other will be just plain random. Feel free to guess which is which!

Giving up 39 points in the first quarter is just plain shameful. In case you were wondering, that was Houston's record this year for most points in a quarter. Could be worse I guess. We could be the Nets.

Hello Monta! Talk about trying to carry a team on your shoulders. 34 points, 27 of them coming in the first half... that's an impressive showing. Would have been nice for him to have received some help from his supporting cast.

Coby Karl - Our latest call-up had some moments. With 7 boards, 7 dimes, and 12 points, he definitely plugged a few of the hundreds of holes in our leaking boat. Not the most attractive guy in the world though...

Did you know that Coby Karl was born in Montana and went to school in Boise? I mean, you wouldn't even be able to tell it by looking at him! (Just in case sarcasm doesn't translate over well in recaps, you should know that was about as sarcastic as it gets.)

I know the Biedrins is still on the mend, but he's really having trouble getting things done in the paint since his injury. This could be part of the reason that Nellie has kept his minutes so low, even though it's been a month since his return. Certainly Turiaf is a contributing factor as well, but I'm really starting to miss my double double friend and the performances he was doling out on the regular at the end of 2008.

Devean George's eyebrows bug me.

Actually, all of Devean George bugs me.

Houston absolutely destroyed us on the glass. Throw that on top of our poor defense and we should be proud we didn't lose by 40. High five? High five.

Overall, it's just more of the same. I'll save the front office the suspense right now; there is no D-League miracle that is going to come and save this team. Most of our core is riding pine with serious injuries and we're really going to have to accept the fact that we may go through the entire developmental league via 10 day contracts until we can get some of our guys healthy again.

It's going to be a looooooooooooong rest of the season.

How could it be anyone but Monta? Definitely a shining star of the evening among a dark sea of subpar play.