The AP reports: Chris Duhon had a franchise-record 22 assists, David Lee had career highs of 37 points and 21 rebounds, and New York rang up a record-setting 82 points in the first half in a 138-125 victory over Golden State on Saturday night… Duhon set Lee up for numerous dunks against the defenseless Warriors, who completed a winless five-game Eastern trip and looked as if they couldn’t wait to get home. One of the slams, with 3:11 remaining, allowed Duhon to break Richie Guerin’s franchise record of 21 assists set Dec. 12, 1958… Al Harrington, traded from the Warriors to the Knicks last week, added 36 points and 12 rebounds. Wilson Chandler scored 16 points for the banged-up Knicks, who used only seven players… Corey Maggette led the Warriors with 32 points and 12 boards. C.J. Watson scored 23 points.
Category: Golden State Warriors Blog
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Nov 28: Cavs 112, Warriors 97
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 23 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas added a season-high 21, and the Cavaliers matched their best home start in franchise history with a 112-97 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Cleveland (13-3) has won 12 of 13 and is a league-best 9-0 at home, equaling its top home start, first set in 1976-77 and repeated in 1991-92… He was 9-of-13 from the floor, had seven rebounds and eight assists… Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson each scored 16 points for Cleveland. C.J. Watson led Golden State with 17 points. Jamal Crawford added 15… Forwards Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak both had nine rebounds for Cleveland.
Anthony Morrow benched
Golden State Warriors guard Anthony Morrow came out of nowhere and put himself on the map with some big performances recently. Coach Don Nelson, who sometimes appear to flip a coin to decide if he likes a certain player or not anymore, praised him pretty loudly. So what’s up now? The San Francisco Examiner (Matt Steinmetz) reports:
I don’t want to start calling Nelson the “SI Jinx,” but he’s been all over the board with his player assessments during his second stint with the Warriors. And at the very least, words of praise from Nelson don’t seem to carry much weight. Or go very far. In the four games since his sparkling debut against the Clippers, a 15-for-20 shooting night, and impressive follow-up performance against Portland, Morrow has scored 20 total points on 6-for-22 shooting. Morrow’s playing time also has dwindled during that time, going from 34 minutes to 24 minutes to 15 minutes to a DNP-CD vs. the Celtics on Wednesday.
Will Morrow play 37 minutes next game? Or two? Even Don Nelson may not know.
An Andris Biedrins weakness
The Contra Costa Times reports: It has become apparent of late that Andris Biedrins has a weakness in his game other than free throws and post-ups. He struggles against athletic big men. When he is not longer, faster and playing with more energy, he is hardly as effective. It takes a lot of energy out of him to keep up with those types, and he isn’t the type of big man who goes down on the other end and make them pay on offense. Samuel Dalembert, JaVale McGee and Kevin Garnett exposed Biedrins. You don’t realize how much Biedrins got off people overlooking him and not paying attention to him. Wednesday, when a shot went up, Garnett went for Biedrins to block him out. Both Garnett and Dalembert defended Biedrins as if they’d studied his moves, even blocking his little flip shots.
Nov 25: Wizards 124, Warriors 100
The AP reports: The Wizards notched season highs in points, rebounds (54), matched their season high in assists (27), and forced a season-high 20 turnovers as Tapscott experimented with different lineup combinations and ran more isolation plays and less of Jordan’s Princeton-style attack. Butler scored a season-high 35 points, Jamison had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and rookie center JaVale McGee added a season-high 14 points as the Wizards improved to 2-10, avoiding the worst 12-game start in franchise history. The biggest surprise was Andray Blatche, Washington’s Mr. Inconsistency, who had season highs with 25 points and 11 rebounds and also matched career highs with five blocks and five steals… Corey Maggette scored 17 points to lead the Warriors, who have lost three straight.
Anthony Randolph defending well
The San Francisco Chronicle (Janny Hu) reports: Rookie Anthony Randolph has all the tools to be an offensive star, but, for now, it’s his defense that’s leading the way. The lanky forward entered Sunday’s game averaging about one point and one rebound for every two minutes played – highlighted by his 10-point, nine-rebound and four-block gem in just 13 minutes against Chicago on Friday. He showed his rough edges against the Sixers with six points (on 3-for-10 shooting) and three turnovers to go with four rebounds and two blocks in 28 minutes.
Nov 23: Sixers 89, Warriors 81
The AP reports: Elton Brand had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Andre Iguodala added 15 points and the Philadelphia 76ers moved above .500 for the first time this season with an 89-81 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday… Thaddeus Young contributed 12 points and Samuel Dalembert had 16 rebounds for the Sixers, who improved to 7-6 and snapped a five-game losing streak to the Warriors… Kelenna Azubuike scored 16 while C.J. Watson and Stephen Jackson had 12 apiece for Golden State, which dropped its second in a row. Andris Biedrins and Brandan Wright had 10 apiece.
Knicks trade Jamal Crawford to Warriors for Al Harrington
The New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that forward Al Harrington has been acquired from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for guard Jamal Crawford.
“I drafted Al back in 1998 and I think his talents are a great fit for our style of play,” Walsh said. “This trade also gives us more long-term flexibility while enabling us to remain competitive this season. To acquire a player of Al’s caliber, we had to give up someone we all really liked in Jamal. We thank him for his contributions both on and off the court, and we wish him all the best in Golden State.”
Harrington, 6-9, 250-pounds, was selected by the Indiana Pacers with 25th overall selection in the 1998 NBA Draft out of St. Patrick’s High School in Elizabeth, NJ. The Orange, NJ-native has career averages of 13.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in 660 career games over 11 NBA seasons with Indiana, Atlanta and Golden State. Harrington averaged 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 81 games during the 2007-08 season with Golden State and is averaging 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in five games during 2008-09 campaign.
“Al is a true NBA veteran who possesses multi-positional skills,” Head Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He will fit perfectly into our system and will help us win some games immediately.”
Crawford, 28, has appeared in 11 games (all as a starter) with the Knicks this season, averaging 19.6 points and 4.4 assists in 35.6 minutes. He has scored 25-plus points in five of his 11 outings this season, highlighted by a season-high 32 vs. Utah on November 9. He currently ranks 25th in the NBA in scoring (19.6), first in three-point field goals made (35) and 18th in three-point field goal percentage (.455).
“We are elated to add a player of Jamal’s ability to our team,” said Warriors Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin. “We think he is an excellent fit for our style and the fact that he can play multiple positions as a combo guard is a big plus. Additionally, he is a player who can help us immediately due to some of our injuries and, looking down the road, would have the ability to play with any combination of players in the backcourt.”
Last season, the 6-5 guard averaged a career-high 20.6 points and a team-leading 5.0 assists per game in 80 games with New York (all starts). He ranked 23rd in the NBA in scoring and 24th in assists, making him one of only nine NBA players to rank among the top 25 in both categories, joining Chris Paul, Baron Davis, LeBron James, Allen Iverson, Andre Miller, Joe Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter.
“I am really excited and energized about this opportunity,” said Crawford. “The Warriors have been one of the most entertaining and fun teams in the league the last few years and I think my abilities are very conducive with their style and their needs. It will be a tremendous honor to play for one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game, Don Nelson, and to be a part of a young team with a lot of emerging talent.”
Currently in his ninth NBA season, Crawford was originally selected in the first round (8th overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was subsequently traded to the Chicago Bulls on draft night (June 28, 2000) in exchange for the draft rights to Chris Mihm. The University of Michigan product played four years in Chicago (2000-2001 through 2003-04) and the last four-plus seasons in New York. He scored a career-high 52 points for the Knicks against Miami on January 6, 2007 and has dished out a career-best 12 assists on three occasions. Additionally, he is one of only 11 active NBA players to tally 50-or-more points in multiple games (also scored 50 for Chicago at Toronto on April 11, 2004).
Overall, Crawford has appeared in 543 NBA games during his career, averaging 14.7 points and 4.1 assists.
Crawford will wear uniform #11 for the Warriors.
Nov 18: Warriors 111, Blazers 106
The AP reports: Greg Oden and Anthony Morrow have almost nothing in common, yet Portland’s earthshaking center and Golden State’s smooth shooting guard both took graceful steps forward in their young careers during the same ragtag game. Stephen Jackson scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and the Warriors overcame Oden’s 22 points and 10 rebounds in a 111-106 victory over the Trail Blazers on Tuesday night… Morrow followed up his 37-point performance three days earlier with 25 points for Golden State, including three free throws with 5.6 seconds to play, after sitting out most of the final seven minutes… Oden went 8-for-12 and played 30 minutes through foul trouble. Brandon Roy had 22 points and nine assists, and Rudy Fernandez added 13 points and seven rebounds before committing a personal foul and a technical foul leading to Morrow’s clinching free throws.
Warriors sign Stephen Jackson to contract extension
The Golden State Warriors have signed guard/forward Stephen Jackson to a contract extension, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced. InsideHoops.com will post contract details in the next few hours, so reload this page later today.
“We’re excited to have Stephen under contract for the next several years,” said Warriors President Robert Rowell. “He has been nothing short of terrific – both on the floor and in the community – since we acquired him almost two years ago. He has embraced this opportunity with the Warriors and has become a leader of a very young basketball team. Furthermore, he expressed a desire to be here long-term and we wanted him to be a part of our team as we move forward. We view this as a win-win for everyone.”
Jackson, 30, is averaging 22.1 points (12th in NBA), 6.4 assists (11th in NBA), 3.9 rebounds and 43.4 minutes (1st in NBA) per contest in 10 games thus far this season. His performance this season is building upon his finest NBA campaign in 2007-08, in which he appeared in 73 games and established new career-highs in points (20.1 ppg), assists (4.1 apg), three-point field goals (182), three-point percentage (.363), free throw percentage (.832) and minutes per game (39.1 mpg) to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 1.26 steals per contest. He scored 20-or-more points 42 times and helped lead the Warriors to a 46-27 (.630) record in the 73 games in which he appeared.
“I’m extremely happy,” said Jackson. “The Bay Area has become my second home since I arrived here in 2007 and I can’t accurately describe how good it feels to be wanted and appreciated by an organization. The Warriors – from Chris Cohan, Robert Rowell, Chris Mullin and Coach Nelson to the last person working in the front office – have embraced me since Day One. This organization has put me in a position to succeed and, for that, I will be forever grateful. I am really looking forward to the next several years, helping this young team win and providing my veteran leadership.”
Since being acquired by Golden State from Indiana on January, 17, 2007, Jackson has appeared in 121 regular-season games with the Warriors, averaging 19.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.29 steals in 37.9 minutes per game. Over that stretch, the Warriors have posted a 73-48 (.603) record in the 121 games in which he has appeared. Immediately following Jackson’s arrival in 2006-07, the Warriors posted a 23-15 (.604) record in the 38 games in which he played that season, including a 16-5 mark over the final 21 games of the season — which matched the best 21-game finish to a season in NBA history by a team that eventually ended up as the #8 playoff seed.
Currently in his ninth NBA season, Jackson owns career averages of 15.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.32 steals and 31.9 minutes in 550 regular-season games over eight seasons with New Jersey, San Antonio, Atlanta, Indiana and Golden State.
A native of Port Arthur, Texas, Jackson was named the 2007-08 recipient of the Angela & Christopher Cohan Community Service Award, given annually to the Warriors player who best exemplifies the spirit of community service through their outstanding commitment of time, service and financial support to the children and families of the Bay Area. Additionally, he received the NBA Community Assist Award for the month of March, 2008. This past summer, Jackson launched the “Jack 1 Foundation,” a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide community initiatives focusing on youth development and empowerment regardless of economic status. As part of the foundation launch this past summer, he held a grand re-opening ceremony of the Stephen Jackson Academy of Art, Science and Technology in Port Arthur.