Golden State Warriors Blog – Page 33 – NBA Blog

Brook Lopez, Draymond Green named NBA Players of Week

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green were today named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 28 through Sunday, Jan. 3.

Lopez led the Nets to a 2-1 week behind averages of 26.7 points (second in the Eastern Conference), 13.3 rebounds (third in the conference) and 3.67 blocks (second in the conference). He made 60.9 percent of his field goals, sixth best in the East. Lopez recorded point-rebound double-doubles in all three contests, including his 30-point, 13-rebound effort in a 100-97 win over the Boston Celtics on Jan. 2.

Green helped the Warriors to a 3-1 week behind averages of 18.8 points, 11.3 rebounds (tied-fourth in the Western Conference) and 9.5 rebounds (fourth in the conference). Green recorded two triple-doubles, raising his league-leading total to six on the season. On Jan. 2, Green powered the Warriors with 29 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists in a 111-108 overtime win against the Denver Nuggets.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Cleveland’s LeBron James, the Los Angeles Clippers’ J.J. Redick, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, Portland’s CJ McCollum, San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan.

Stephen Curry gets MRI on lower leg

Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle reporting on Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, who is currently banged up and could use a break:

Stephen Curry skipped Wednesday morning’s shootaround to get an MRI on his injured left lower leg, and Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton said there’s a slim chance that the point guard will play Wednesday night against the Mavericks.

Already limping on a strained right calf, Curry injured his left lower leg in Monday’s victory over Sacramento. He could barely limp to his locker after the game, but he moved better from the bus to the team hotel in Dallas on Tuesday night.

Video: Stephen Curry drives past Derrick Favors

Look at what Stephen Curry did to Jazz forward Derrick Favors on this one-man fast break:

Elliot Williams is D-League Performer of Week

Santa Cruz Warriors guard Elliot Williams was today named NBA Development League Performer of the Week for games played Monday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Dec. 20. This is the first Performer of Week honor for Williams who was named Player of the Month for November.

Williams (6-5, 183, Memphis) led Santa Cruz to a 2-1 week, averaging 30.7 points on 83.0 percent shooting from the floor (44-for-53) to go with 5.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists. On Dec. 18, Williams recorded a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds in a 99-93 victory over the Bakersfield Jam. On the following night he recorded a season-high 40 points on 16-for-24 shooting in a 117-107 loss to the Idaho Stampede.

For the season, Williams is averaging a league-leading 29.6 points on 51.8 percent shooting to go along with 7.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals.

Williams earned two GATORADE call-ups last season with the Utah Jazz and the New Orleans Pelicans before returning to the Warriors, where he was named Finals MVP and helped Santa Cruz to their first NBA D-League Championship.

Other top performers considered include Austin’s Orlando Johnson, Bakersfield’s Xavier Munford, Idaho’s Tyus Jones, Iowa’s Andrew Harrison, Raptors’ Ronald Roberts Jr., Rio Grande Valley’s Jaron Johnson and Westchester’s Jordan Bachynski.

Warriors get chance for revenge against Bucks tonight

The Warriors (25-1) get a chance to smack around the Bucks (10-17) tonight, at Golden State. Will be fun to see what happens. Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting:

The Bucks dealt the Warriors their first loss of the 2014-15 regular season on Saturday in Milwaukee — Golden State’s final stop on a seven-game road trip.

Less than a week later, the Bucks will face a rested Warriors team at Oracle Arena. Warriors players, recalling a late-game dunk by Michael Carter-Williams and the subsequent celebration, are plenty motivated. And interim head coach Luke Walton is all for it.

“They had a little celebration. It is what it is. They won a regular season game. The 24-1 shirts in the NBA store and the streak-buster shirts, I’m not sure if … that’s what I want to promote for my team. But hey, to each his own. I don’t really get caught up in it.

“I think Michael Carter-Williams getting a dunk at the end of the game and looking at our bench like, ‘Dude, you lost your spot.’ It’s not quite common that you should be looking toward someone’s bench and yelling when you’ve got some ground to make up. But I love the intensity. It is what it is.

“And they’ve got to come in here on Friday night.”

Luke Walton sees some positives to end of winning streak

Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting on the 24-1 Golden State Warriors, who after winning 24 games in a row this season finally took a loss:

No team ever wants to lose a game, but the Warriors grudgingly admitted Monday, after two days of reflection, that the first blemish on their previously perfect record brings a measure of relief.

It took coach Luke Walton, who initially said no part of him welcomed the end of their win streaks – 24 in a row this season, 28 overall – a while to realize this can be a positive.

“I think with the streak being over,” he told CSNBayArea.com after a long pause, “we can get back to focusing on some smaller, more important, detail things. Obviously, you don’t want the streak to be over because of how much fun it is.

“But, I guess, to answer your question, there’s a little part of me that knows we’re going to get some better work in, now that the streak is over.”

Warriors 24-game winning streak ends with loss to Bucks

The streak is over for the Golden State Warriors.

Their NBA-record start ended after 24 wins when the Milwaukee Bucks beat them 108-95 on Saturday night.

Golden State fell to 24-1. Its 28-game winning streak, counting the final four games of last season, came to a halt. The NBA’s longest winning streak was 33 by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72 — and it was also snapped by Milwaukee.

Greg Monroe scored 28 points for the Bucks, who got the all-around effort needed to beat the defending NBA champions.

It also helped that the Warriors, perhaps fighting fatigue after needing two overtimes to win at Boston on Friday, were cold from 3-point range. They usually make 13 a night, but were just 6 of 26 from behind the arc playing on the final game of a seven-game road trip.

Stephen Curry had 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field, including 2 of 8 from 3-point territory.

— Associated Press

Reggie Jackson, Stephen Curry named NBA Players of Week through Dec. 6, 2015

Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson and the Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry were today named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 30 through Sunday, Dec. 6.

Jackson led the Pistons to a 4-0 week behind averages of 27.0 points (fourth in the conference), 8.8 assists (second in the conference), 3.0 rebounds and 1.75 steals. Jackson shot 56.9 percent from the field, 52.9 percent from three-point range and 89.3 percent from the foul line. He scored 20 or more points in each contest, and eclipsed the 30-point plateau twice. During a 127-122 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 2, Jackson scored 34 points and dished out a season-high 16 assists.

Curry led the Warriors to a 4-0 week, with all wins coming on the road, behind a league-best 34.5 points. Curry, who also averaged 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds, scored 25 or more points in each contest, and twice reached the 40-point plateau. On Dec. 5, Curry connected on 9-of-15 three-point field goals en route to a game-high 44 points as the Warriors topped the Toronto Raptors 112-109.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Al Horford, Houston’s James Harden, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Orlando’s Victor Oladipo.

David Blatt and Luke Walton named NBA Coaches of Month

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ David Blatt and the Golden State Warriors’ Luke Walton today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in October and November.

Blatt guided the Cavaliers to an Eastern Conference-best 13-4 (.765) record for games played in October and November. After dropping their season opener to the Chicago Bulls, the Cavaliers reeled off eight consecutive victories from Oct. 28 – Nov. 13. The defending conference champion Cavaliers own a 9-0 record at Quicken Loans Arena, and rank sixth in the NBA in both scoring (103.1 points) and team defense, limiting opponents to 96.5 points.

While filling in for head coach Steve Kerr (back surgery), Walton has led the defending champion Warriors to the best start in NBA history at 19-0. The Warriors lead the NBA in scoring at 115.3 points, and enjoy the largest point differential in the league at 15.4 points. Walton is in his second season on the Warriors’ staff, and previously served as a player development coach with the NBA D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders during the 2013-14 season.

Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Charlotte’s Steve Clifford, Indiana’s Frank Vogel, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Oklahoma City’s Billy Donovan, Orlando’s Scott Skiles, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Toronto’s Dwane Casey.

NBA clarifies rules regarding coaching records

The NBA clarified today the league’s rules regarding coaching records: the head coach of record is credited with team wins and losses. Steve Kerr remains the head coach of record for the Golden State Warriors and is credited with those results.

Additionally, any team head coach, interim head coach or acting head coach is eligible to be recognized with league coaching awards. Therefore, Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton is eligible for NBA Coach of the Month.

The winners for the season’s first month were announced after this clarification, and Walton did in fact win Coach of the Month for the Western conference, while Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt received the honor in the East.