The AP reports: Now that the runnin’ Phoenix Suns are making a playoff push, Shaq is wondering what took them so long. Jason Richardson scored 31 points against his former team, Shaquille O’Neal added 26, and the Suns rang up the highest point total in the NBA this season in a 154-130 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night… Matt Barnes, another former Warriors player, added 20 points and a career-high 11 assists as the Suns ended a five-game losing streak on the road and a four-game skid at Golden State. Leandro Barbosa added 21 points and Jared Dudley and Steve Nash each had 11… Monta Ellis scored 26 points and Corey Maggette added 21 for the Warriors, who had won their last two at home. Kelenna Azubuike scored 18 and Jamal Crawford had 17 as Golden State was officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Category: Golden State Warriors Blog
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Jackson, Ellis lead Warriors over Mavericks
The AP reports: Stephen Jackson scored 31 points, Monta Ellis had season highs of 29 points and 11 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors put a dent into Dallas’ playoff run, beating the Mavericks 119-110 Friday night… Jason Kidd recorded his second triple-double of the season with 21 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Kidd has 102 career triple-doubles, third on the list behind Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic Johnson (138). Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and Jason Terry added 20… The Warriors lost center Andris Biedrins to a sprained left ankle after eight minutes, but Ronny Turiaf had another big game in his place.
Stephen Jackson likes being bulked up
The San Francisco Chronicle (Janny Hu) reports on Stephen Jackson of the Golden State Warriors, who added 10 pounds of muscle and is 6’8″ and 235 pounds: Jackson says his new-and-improved physique is behind his sustained surge, and he’s giving credit to the Warriors’ strength and conditioning gurus Mark Grabow and John Murray. It was Murray who pointed out that Jackson’s lack of strength was causing him to get pushed around without getting his share of foul calls, so the nine-year veteran hit the weight room to bulk up. Jackson now lifts for 30 to 40 minutes after every Warriors shootaround to jump start his game-day routine. He’s also using meal-replacement shakes to boost nutrition. “This is the most I’ve lifted and the most I’ve been in the weight room my whole career, and it’s starting to pay off,” said Jackson, who usually plays at 222 or 223 pounds.
Jackson leads Warriors to 116-112 win over Nets
The AP reports: Monta Ellis returned to the lineup after missing seven games to attend to a family emergency. It was though he never left. “Monta is a great player and I am not surprised at anything,” Warriors forward Stephen Jackson said after scoring 29 points in Golden State’s 116-112 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday… Ellis and center Andris Biedrins bolstered the Warriors with their return to the lineup, and Jamal Crawford scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Warriors, who ended a three-game slide, delivered a blow to the Nets’ playoff chances. Biedrins, who missed the past five games, contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds. Corey Maggette added 18 points. Devin Harris had 31 points and 12 assists for the Nets, who have lost five of six on the road and missed a chance to move into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Al Harrington on MTV Cribs
New York Knicks forward Al Harrington and his house were recently featured on a new episode of MTV Cribs.
The 6,800 square foot house in Las Vegas, Nevada has five bedrooms and 6 bathrooms.
Harrington introduced himself at the door alongside his fiance, Michelle.
It was a true Cribs type of house: extremely large, insanely perfect, and absurdly beautiful, with perfect furnishing, an amazing pool, truly a dream home.
Harrington also introduced his personal chef, Jay Gross.
Al went out of his way to plug Protege basketball. He was wearing a Protege t-shirt. And when he opened his fridge to show what food and drinks were stored in there, his Protege basketball sneaker, the A3H, was sitting inside, in front of the food. Al, of course, kidded around, pretending to be surprised it was there, and then declared that “it’s so hot, I got to leave it in the Fridge.”
Elsewhere in the house, Harrington’s cousin, NBA player Dahntay Jones, was in a red-walled video game room.
The majority of the crib appears to have yellow, beige and off-white walls.
Amazing place. It looks exactly like a much smaller version of the InsideHoops.com guest house.
As is a Cribs tradition, Harrington also showed his cars: His everyday car, a white 2008 S5-50 Mercedes with tinted windows. And a blue 2009 Rolls Royce that he just got last week.
Rough life, but someone has to live it.
Warriors waive Marcus Williams
The Golden State Warriors have waived guard Marcus Williams, the team announced Tuesday (March 10).
Williams appeared in nine games this season, averaging 1.3 points and 1.4 assists in 6.0 minutes per game. Despite being healthy, he hasn’t played since January 25, when he received four minutes. The previous game he received one minute.
The Warriors roster now stands at 14 players.
I think Williams can find another NBA job as a backup point guard. But he also could be in danger of falling out of the league in the next season or two (or even now) if he and the next team or two he’s with don’t turn out to be a good fit.
This season was a wasted one for Williams. The Warriors barely used him.
Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum thread.
–Jeff
Golden State Warriors PR staff, Monta Ellis disagree
The Golden State Warriors are an interesting basketball organization. On the positive side, the team is extremely fun to watch. Their fans are amazing. And the San Francisco Bay Area is beautiful. But on the negative side, the team loses constantly. Key front office members reportedly don’t see eye-to-eye. Chris Mullin is the team’s general manager yet multiple media outlets have said no one actually listens to him and he’s been pushed aside in negotiations. Coach Don Nelson likes to use players out of position, unleash wacky rotations, and he recently decided it would be fun to sit key guys out of entire games for no reason at all. And the Golden Warriors PR staff recently released a statement about star guard Monta Ellis that Ellis himself now says is totally false.
Comcast SportsNet (Matt Steinmetz) reports:
Monta Ellis hasn’t played since scoring 14 points in a 133-120 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 21. After that game, the Warriors announced that Ellis would be shut down for one to two weeks because of lingering stiffness in his left ankle. Turns out, that might not have been the case. On Monday, Ellis said the ankle is fine and that it always has been fine. “There’s nothing wrong with my ankle,” Ellis said. “I went to see my mom. … It had nothing to do with that. I went home to see my mom. My mom was sick. I went to see her. That’s why I took the time off. It had nothing to do with my ankle.”
The Warriors PR staff aren’t usually off like this.
Ellis and the Warriors need to hug it out this summer and start fresh in 2009-10.
Balanced Pistons beat Warriors for fourth straight
The AP reports: With an important game in the playoff race looming, the Detroit Pistons took care of business quickly Friday night. Richard Hamilton scored 22 points and Detroit beat the short-handed Golden State Warriors 108-91 for its fourth straight victory. Jason Maxiell had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Tayshaun Prince also scored 16 for Detroit, which got points from all 12 players. Rodney Stuckey had 14 points and eight assists… Jamal Crawford scored 25 points for Golden State, which lost for the fifth time in six games. Anthony Randolph added 17 in a career-high 47 minutes. His previous high was 28 minutes.
Salmons leads Bulls in 110-88 win over Warriors
The AP reports: John Salmons had 23 points and seven rebounds, Joakim Noah added 14 points and 17 rebounds and the Bulls beat the Golden State Warriors 110-88 Wednesday night. Brad Miller finished with 19 points and six rebounds, Derrick Rose finished with 14 points and six assists, and the Bulls pulled into a tie with Milwaukee for eighth place in the Eastern Conference… Stephen Jackson led the Warriors with 19 points and six assists. Jamal Crawford scored 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting and Corey Maggette finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for Golden State, who led by 13 points in the first quarter.
Big Jackson game, Warriors beat Wolves 118-94
The AP reports: Stephen Jackson had 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Golden State led by 31 points in the first half of a 118-94 victory over the Timberwolves. Kevin Love had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost for the seventh time in a row and 15th time in their last 17 games… Corey Maggette added 16 points and Andris Biedrins had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Warriors, who snapped a three-game losing streak… The Timberwolves dropped to 1-9 without star center Al Jefferson, who is out for the season with a torn ACL.