Golden State Warriors Blog – Page 49 – NBA Blog

Jermaine O`Neal sticks up for coach Mark Jackson

Here’s the San Jose Mercury News reporting on the Golden State Warriors:

Warriors veteran big man Jermaine O’Neal called any talk of firing coach Mark Jackson “ridiculous” and “unfair” before offering a vote of confidence unique to his own NBA career.

O’Neal is considering retirement, and if the 35-year-old were to decide to play next season, he said it would be because of Jackson and that the team he would choose would be the Warriors.

“It’s a couple reasons why I will come back,” O’Neal said Saturday. “This fan base, this organization is first class, and obviously my teammates are great, as well.

“But the No. 1 reason that I will come back and play another year is because of Coach Jackson. I’m absolutely, 100 percent positive about that. He makes it easy to come in this gym every day, and there’s not a lot of coaches that do that.”

Warriors coach Mark Jackson says he is not worried about extension

Here’s the Bay Area News Group reporting on the Golden State Warriors, whose head coach Mark Jackson recently demoted assistant coach Brian Scalabrine:

Warriors coach Mark Jackson said Thursday that not having a contract extension past next season does not bother him.

“There is not a piece of me that’s bothered that an extension has not been agreed upon or anything of that nature,” Jackson said on his weekly radio show on KNBR. “We move forward. I had the deal. They picked up my option for next year, and I think that obviously speaks volumes even though for some folks it doesn’t say anything.”

Jackson also said that he appreciated Stephen Curry’s vote of confidence in response to a Yahoo Sports report on the team’s “increasingly dysfunctional atmosphere” in the wake of assistant coach Brian Scalabrine’s reassignment earlier this week. Curry said he and the rest of the team supported Jackson 100 percent.

“Obviously he’s a guy that had an opportunity and a platform to show his loyalty, his support for me,” Jackson said of Curry. “I don’t take it for granted, and it’s not a surprise because he knows how I feel about him.”

Warriors demote assistant coach Brian Scalabrine

Here’s ESPN.com News Services reporting on the Golden State Warriors and Brian Scalabrine:

The Golden State Warriors have demoted assistant coach Brian Scalabrine to their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, Calif., with 11 games to play in the regular season for what coach Mark Jackson called a “difference in philosophies.”

Jackson’s Warriors sit in sixth place at 44-27, only 1½ games ahead of the eighth and last spot for the playoffs despite winning 15 of 23 games since the beginning of February.

He said Scalabrine’s reassignment to the Santa Cruz Warriors was his call.

“I made the decision,” Jackson said Tuesday after practice, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’m fortunate enough to have an ownership group and a management group that allows me to pick my staff. We’re just going in a different direction. That’s that.”

Video: Insane Stephen Curry circus shot vs Bucks

Watch this amazing circus shot from Warriors guard Stephen Curry against the Bucks Thursday:

Stephen Curry to play limited minutes, for now

Here’s the AP on ESPN.com on Warriors guard Stephen Curry tending to a minor health issue:

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry says he will play limited minutes for the foreseeable future because of a strained right quad.

Curry said before the Warriors hosted the Suns on Sunday night that an MRI on his quad revealed the strain. He said he injured his quad during Golden State’s win at Boston on Wednesday and began to feel pain again during Friday’s victory over Atlanta.

“It was getting kind of worse and worse, especially if I sat down for an extended period of time, it got a little stiff,” Curry said.

Stephen Curry gets triple-double in Warriors win vs Knicks

Stephen Curry’s last Madison Square Garden performance was breathtaking, the most dazzling display of outside shooting ever at the famed arena.

It resulted in a loss, so Curry tried a different tactic Friday night — and ended up making more MSG history.

Curry had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in three quarters, Klay Thompson added 25 points, and the Golden State Warriors sent the frustrated New York Knicks to a fifth straight loss with a 126-103 victory.

Returning to the site of his sensational shooting performance of a year ago, when he scored a career-high 54 points on 11-of-13 shooting from 3-point range, Curry showed off his entire skill set in this one.

— Associated Press

Warriors sign Hilton Armstrong to 10-day contract

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent center Hilton Armstrong to a 10-day contract as a Call-Up from the Warriors’ NBA Development League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced today.

Armstrong, 29, has appeared in 23 games (all starts) with the Santa Cruz Warriors this season, averaging 12.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.83 blocks (seventh-best in the D-League) in 28.6 minutes while hitting 55.6 percent from the field (ninth). Earlier this season, the 6-11 center received a Call-Up to the Warriors and appeared in seven games between December 11 – December 29, averaging 0.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 4.0 minutes per contest.

Originally selected by the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets with the 12th overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft, Armstrong has played in six NBA seasons with the Hornets (2006-09), Sacramento Kings (2010), Houston Rockets (2010), Washington Wizards (2010-11), Atlanta Hawks (2011) and Warriors, owning career averages of 3.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.7 minutes over 284 games (39 starts). He has also played professionally with ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne in France, Panathinaikos in Greece and Changsha Bank Guangdong in China.

A product of the University of Connecticut, Armstrong helped the Huskies win the NCAA Championship as a sophomore in 2004.

He will wear uniform #57.

Warriors assign Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks to D-League

The Golden State Warriors have assigned guards Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced today. Both players will make their D-League season debuts tonight when Santa Cruz hosts the Bakersfield Jam.

Bazemore, who appeared in five games with Santa Cruz last season, has posted averages of 2.3 points and 1.0 rebound in 40 games with Golden State this season. Brooks, acquired via trade from Boston on January 15, has scored six points in four games with the Warriors.

Warriors assign Ognjen Kuzmic to D-League

The Golden State Warriors have assigned center Ognjen Kuzmic to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced today. Santa Cruz plays the Idaho Stampede in Boise tomorrow night.

Kuzmic made his D-League debut on December 28 against the Bakersfield Jam, registering two points, nine rebounds and one block in 16 minutes.

For the Warriors this season Kuzmic has played just 3.9 minutes per game, in a total of 13 games. Golden State is 25-15 so far this season.

Celtics, Warriors, Heat trade Joel Anthony, Jordan Crawford, Toney Douglas, MarShon Brooks

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have completed a three-team deal with Golden State and Miami. The Celtics have acquired center Joel Anthony, a conditional future Philadelphia first round draft pick, Miami’s 2016 second round draft pick and cash considerations; Miami acquires guard Toney Douglas and Golden State acquires guard Jordan Crawford and guard/forward MarShon Brooks.

“It’s always difficult trading a player like Joel who was a big part of the past two championship teams and will always be a part of the Miami HEAT family,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “This trade gives us great flexibility moving forward in our journey to win an NBA Championship. Joel was a true professional who worked hard every day and we wish him the best in the future.”

Anthony, a 6’9” center, has appeared in 12 games for the Heat this season and has recorded six points, seven rebounds and four blocks in 37 minutes of action. He has posted career averages of 2.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 16.5 minutes per game. A member of Miami’s two past NBA Championship teams; he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Heat on July 3, 2007 after playing two seasons collegiately at UNLV and a season at Pensacola Junior College in Florida.

Crawford, 25, appeared in 39 games with Boston this season (35 starts), averaging 13.7 points, a career-high 5.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest, leading the Celtics in assists. He was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week ending December 8, averaging 23.3 points on 61.0 percent shooting to go along with 6.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds over three games, including a 23-point effort against the New York Knicks on December 8 in which he connected on a career-high six three pointers. On November 29 versus Cleveland, the 6’4” guard posted his third career triple-double, registering 11 points, a career-high-tying 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He has scored 20-or-more points eight times this season, including a season-high 25-point effort on December 3 versus Milwaukee.

Originally selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 27th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Crawford owns career NBA averages of 12.9 points, 3.5 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 26.4 minutes over 215 games (99 starts) in four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics. He had his finest NBA season to date in 2011-12 with Washington, averaging a career-high 14.7 points, 3.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 64 games, including 16.4 points per contest in 32 starting assignments.

Brooks, a 6’5” guard/forward, has appeared in 10 games for the Celtics this season and has posted averages of 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 7.3 minutes per game. He was originally drafted by the Celtics with the 25th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and was traded on draft night. He was reacquired by the Celtics in a trade with Brooklyn on July 12, 2013.