The Warriors chopped Richard Hendrix to make room for Monta Ellis. Good move? Bad move? Let me hear it

The Warriors have to trim their roster by tomorrow to make room for Monta Ellis, who is coming off the suspended list after tonight’s Pacers game. The Warriors’ brass are trying now to make a deal, but the clock is ticking. Chances are they may have to just cut someone.
So, here are the options:

PG Marcus Williams – I’ve been told by a source close to Williams that a buyout is “not going to happen.” So that means waiving him would require that the Warriors’ eat all of the $1.26 million he’s due. I seriously doubt that. Not to mention the conditional pick they gave up for him. He’ll be sticking around unless the Warriors lump him into a trade.

DeMarcus Nelson – Talk to him before the game. He seems to believe he’s sticking around. And not just on the roster, but with the team instead of going back to the Bakersfield Jam. Plus, dropping him would be a bad move, IMHO. They got a find in Nelson. He’s cheap. He can play. He brings something they don’t have (defense). He’s one of those guys who will make you regret dropping him.

Richard Hendrix – This is my choice. Not because he’s a bad guy or anything, but you have no use for him. He’s not that good right now, and there is no use waiting on him. The Warriors have their bruising big man for the bruisers of the world, Ronny Turiaf, and you see how much he plays. I know he’s a second-round pick, but those players are a dime a dozen. Plus, he’s on a non-guaranteed contract. So they can cut him and won’t even have to pay the full year’s salary, which was already the league minimum.

Anthony Morrow – He, too, is on a non-guaranteed minimum contract. Because of that, he makes the list. I say keep him for the same reasons they should keep DeMarcus.

Rob Kurz – Almost forgot about him (thanks, fellas). He’s not going anywhere. I know I’ve been critical of him, but I don’t think he should go anywhere. He’s a nice player with some potential. Most important, he has the most important supporter in the franchise: Don Nelson.

C.J. Watson – OK, obviously the list is done. He shouldn’t even be on it.

It would be nice if I could get pre-game info online before the game actually starts, right?

* So Marco Belinelli is the flavor of the week. He is starting in place of C.J. Watson, who is attending his uncle’s funeral. As a result, Jackson (or Azubuike, take your pick) was playing small forward. This ploy doesn’t hurt so much tonight because the Pacers were small. Troy Murphy wasn’t in the arena. They started with Danny Granger at small forward.

* Nellie’s first sub have was Ronny Turiaf. He came in for Andris. Nellie is addicted to small ball. So, when teams go with a big lineup, the Warriors counter with the small, make the big guys run. When opponents go small, the Warriors go … small? Seems like with Murphy out and Jeff Foster the only big, the Warriors should be playing Ronny and Biedrins together. Then, maybe, the Pacers wouldn’t have 5 offensive rebounds in the first seven minutes of the game.

* Jackson still gets boos in Indiana. They booed him when his name was introduceed, then when he scored.

*

Seriously, this is painful to watch. They can’t even stay in the game against good teams. A 12-point deficit is a moral victory. Denver was showing out Saturday. They knew they were going to school the Warriors. Remember Golden State was a team opponent’s feared last season? Well, the Warriors are already that team that opponents lick their chops for. Denver’s got a crazy six-game stretch coming up, and they viewed this game as the tune up.

* Finally, Jamal Crawford started playing. Though he had nine points in the first quarter, most of his damage came when the game was out of hand. Still, 25 points on 11 of 19 shooting might be what he needs to get into a rhythm. I don’t think the Warriors can afford to have him trying to fit in anymore. With Jax struggling to hit the side of a barn and Maggette out, the Warriors need offense more than a facilitator.

*Speaking of Jackson, he was awful tonight. He was 1-for-13 from the field, missing his first eight and last four. That makes him 10-for-50 from the field (20 percent) over the last three games.
He said it isn’t his hand bothering him.
“I don’t make excuses. I’m just missing shots. My hand ain’t got nothing to do with it. I’ve played hurt so much, I can’t blame it on my hand. I’ve got to get in the gym, put in some more work on my shot and knock them down.”
Crawford chimed in to disagree.
“His hand is bothering him, he just won’t say it. I see him every day.”
Even worse than Jax offense was his defense. The Warriors’ closest thing to a stopper didn’t try hard at all. Is he afraid to hurt his hand or has he gone into the tank, frustrated with all the losing?

* Kelenna Azubuike had 4 assists, tying his season high. That’s eight in two games. Looks like the ball movement emphasis is hitting home.

Get a load of these starters:

WARRIORS (Denver)
F KURZ!!! (Carmelo Anthony)
F JACKSON (Kenyon Martin)
C BIEDRINS (Nene)
G CRAWFORD (Dahntay Jones)
G WATSON (Billups)

*Can somebody please explain why Rob Kurz over Randolph?

* The Warriors have just 10 players in uniform. Corey Maggette (hamstring), Ronny Turiaf (flu) and Brandan Wright (flu) did not make the trip to Denver. That means they have no choice but to play small ball for much of this game. They are certainly going to need a lot of offense to have a chance against these Nuggets.

* What’s up with Crawford? I asked him about it his scoring struggles the last two – 8 points on 3-for-14 shooting over the last two games – and he said he has been so focused on the ball movement desires of the coaching staff that he has been extra focusing on sharing the ball and setting the tone. He said he would be more aggressive tonight. He had better if the Warriors have a chance.

* Officially, meaning the Warriors put out a release, Maggette was “diagnosed with a strained right hamstring which includes a microtear of his muscle. A strength test did indicate a mild weakness in the muscle. Corey will continue his strength and fitness work as needed and his return to play will be dictated by his improvement.” In other words, he’s out and they aren’t saying when he’ll be back.

* Think the Warriors have had a tough schedule? The current stretch to close ’08 is nothing to sneeze at (games paired together denotes back-to-back):

at Houston
at Denver

vs. Orlando
at Indiana

at Atlanta
at Charlotte

at Orlando
at Miami

vs. Boston

at Los Angeles Lakers
vs. Toronto

at OKC

How many wins do you see in that stretch?

Get Marcus Thompson II’s in-game updates and analysis from tonight’s Warriors vs. Rockets game right here, beginning at 7:15 p.m. (Marcus wanted to get started a little early!)

To steal a line from Bill O’Reilly’s infamous inside edition clip, “We’ll do it live!” tonight at the Warriors game against Houston. I’ll be on to chat with during the game.
So when you lose it after a blown defensive assignment, or you wonder why isn’t Brandan Wright in the game, or you start feeling all warm inside once Jackson caps a run with one of his pull-up 3-pointers in transition, you can tell me about it!
I’ll be answering questions, giving updates, etc.

Ya boy was at practice on Thursday. And, guess what? After chatting with Jamal Crawford, Keith Smart and Kelenna Azubuike, he stopped and talked to us. Here you go (warning: it’s long).

How does it feel to be back?

Great, man, you know what I mean? Being around my teammates, start back doing what I love doing — that’s playing basketball.

Can you dunk right now?

No.

What can you do?

Not too much, just a little jog, a little shooting. I’m just doing my rehab to get my ankle stronger. Just, really just balance work. That’s all.

What was that like, watching that nine-game losing streak? Did you follow it closely?

Uhhh, it was pretty ugly at first, but we’re on a two-game winning streak, so put that nine on behind us and move forward now.

Has this been the most agonizing part of your basketball life?

Yeah. That’s with anybody. You just sit out and just watch, watch something you love doing, it’s really hard. But, my fans, my teammates, the organization, everybody’s been supportive. My family. And, you know, I’m just trying to do everything I can to get back on the court, you know, to help my team win. That’s it.

What did you think about (Jamal) Crawford coming here?

I think he’s a great fit. With our style of play and his ability to score and pass the ball. And not only that, he can get after it on defense. I see that he’s tried to put people in good positions to make basketball plays and make our team better. So I think it’s a great fit for us.

Will it help you, that you won’t have to carry the point guard load by yourself?

In Don Nelson’s system, we really don’t have a point guard. It’s just get the ball and everybody run it up the court. So, um, it’s going to be pretty much like it was me and Baron (Davis) last year. I bring the ball up, he brings the ball up, and we just work off each other.

Are you ahead of where you want to be right now?

Slightly. I feel great. No pain nowhere. Just trying to get stronger. That’s it.

Are you any less worried now than after the injury that you’ll be able to come back 100 percent?

I was never worried.

You were never worried?

Never worried. At all.

So no doubt about it?

Nah.

One of the things Don Nelson has said is that he’s not sure what kind of player you’ll be when you come back…

The same player I left. The same player I was before I left, or even stronger. No doubts about that.

In your mind, what is the timetable?

I couldn’t tell you that, uh, right now. I’m just going to take it day by day, um, rehab by rehab, and we’ll see how it goes.

Is it tough for you not to come back too fast?

It’s not tough because if you try to come back too fast, then you end up getting hurt again, and then you’ve got to sit out again. So it’s just, it’s a timetable, and we’ve all just got to get on the same page and hopefully get back to where we’re trying to get.

I know you have to go through the process, but do you have a date in your own mind that you’d like to be back?

No. Like I said, I’m not focusing on trying to rush back, I’m focusing on trying to get stronger, and get healthy to come back to do what I was doing before I got hurt.

You and Jeff Fried didn’t agree with the decision the team made. How tough is it going to be to put that all behind you?

I’ve been put that behind me, once it was over with. You know what I mean. It’s nothing. It’s just like a father and son disagreement, and they put it behind each other and come back together.

Are you excited to come back and play for this team?

Very excited. I’ve got great teammates, great coaches, great style of play and it’s just exciting to watch.

Looking at this team as opposed to last year’s, what do you see yourself bringing to this team?

Um, this year, I think I’m going to have to be more of a leader, trying to guide the young guys, because I see a lot of them going through the things that I was going through my rookie and second year, and try to bring them along, try to show them the process. (It’s) not Nellie just trying to get after them. It’s just he sees something in them, and he’s just trying to bring it out. That’s all.

Would you say your relationship with the organization is stronger now, after all of this?

Yeah, we’re good. I don’t have no problem with them. They gave me my contract. Why should I have a problem with them?

Are you concerned at all about the fact they say they still have …

I’m not concerned about nothing. I’m just trying to get back on the court and help my team win. That’s it. All the other stuff is behind me. I’m just focusing on basketball now.

So there’s no reason to think you wouldn’t be playing for this team again?

Oh, no. Oh, no. I’ll be here.

What areas of your game do you think will be stronger because of this time off?

Every part. Everything. Whatever everything is to you, that’s everything.

Can you compare this injury to the one you had in high school?

Nah. No way.

You mean this is much worse, or you just can’t compare?

You can’t compare. In high school, I was only out for two weeks when I had my injury.

I thought you had surgery?

Yeah, and I was only out for two weeks, and that was it. This is three, four months, so there’s no comparison. But I will recover 100 percent and be the same player I was before I left, or even stronger.

That injury dampened some of your numbers at the combine, right? Did you come back to early from that injury in high school?

Yes, because I was going through the draft at the time, and I had to come back.

And didn’t that kind of knock down some of your numbers in terms of the physical skills tests?

That’s what they say. I don’t know. I never tried to find out. I got drafted by Golden State and I put all that behind me.

What have this last six months been like, this roller-coaster — the contract, the accident, the rehab. What’s it been like for you?

Got the contract: lovely. Injury: setback. Now, everything’s peaches and cream. You know, I’m walking again, back around my teammates, shooting, about to get back to doing what I love doing.

Are you worried at all? This team’s 7-15. Are you worried they’re going to be too far behind, in terms of the playoff race, by the time you come back?

Nah. Ain’t nobody really doing nothing in the West but the Lakers. You look at everybody else, we’re not too far behind them. So, you can’t worry about that. It’s just whenever I come back, whatever the record is, we’ll just move on from there. You can’t predict, if I come back, we’ll go 10-0 or 20-0. We can’t predict that. Just got to come back, I’ll fit back in with the team, we’ll put it all together and see what we can do with it.

Is part of your confidence that you’ll overcome this that you’ve overcome this is because you’ve overcome so much before?

I’ve been in a lot of situations, and I’ve been through a lot. It was just how I was brought up. I’m just a tough person. I stay positive, never down myself, never try to down anything around me. I just stay happy, keep my family close, and my teammates, and just live life. That’s it.

Looking forward to being around the team and traveling?

Yeah, all that.

What’s going to be your role on that end? You haven’t been a cheerleader in your career yet.

I’ve been a cheerleader for three months now. (Laughs.) So it ain’t nothing new.

Many guys who have sat out say watching the game from the bench gives them a whole different perspective?

It does. You can see the good things and bad things, the things you need to work on, the things you’re strong at. It just really helps me as a player to help us as a team, to come back and give the input of what I’ve seen when I was on the sideline and put it together when I come back. Or before.

Where do you think you will help this team the most?

What do you mean?

What specific areas …

You know I do everything. That’s offense, defense, hustle, whatever. I do it all.

But you’ve been watching this team and know where the weaknesses are. So I guess I wonder which of those you think you’ll be able to address.

Right now, it’s leadership. Bring everybody together, put everybody on the same page, let everybody know what their role is and what we expect from them as a player on this team.

Is that going to be your challenge since you’re only in your fourth year, still a young guy? Is that going to be your challenge, being a leader?

Not at all.

Is that quality something that you really decided you want to bring since seeing this team play this year, or is it something you’ve been thinking about for a while?

It’s just we’ve got to bring Warriors basketball back — that’s running. That’s what I bring to the table, and that’s what I’m trying to bring back. The leadership, I always had that. Last year, I had put my input in and guys responded to it. Baron did what he did, and we all responded to it. But it’s just me more being, instead of 50 percent, it’s like pretty much 100 percent right now of being a leader. And I really don’t have to take the 100 percent because we’ve got Crawford now and we’ve got Stephen Jackson.

You and Baron were always an exciting backcourt. Can you and Jamal be similarly exciting?

Yeah, something like that.

Why? What is it about you guys’ games?

To be honest, I think we’ll be more exciting because both of us can run. Not taking nothing from Baron, you know what I mean, but both of us like to get up and run up and down the court, get fast break points. And so, like I said, when I get back it’ll be exciting to see us two.

Following up on one thing, you talked about leadership. A lot of people see this as Stephen Jackson’s team. Do you see this as your team?

No. This is the Golden State Warriors team. I’m just a player that puts in input. That’s it. We’re not trying to get into a debate about whose team this is. It’s all our team. All of us have got to put situations and a lot on our back to carry this team to get it back to what we do. That’s being exciting and running and hopefully getting back to the playoffs.

Can you say what happened in the accident?

Nah.

As if being in OKC isn’t sleep-inducing enough, it is super windy and starting to rain! Anyway …

* Wow. Stephen Jackson is not happy about the MRI results, which confirmed he had a sprain. He feels like something is wrong with his left hand more than a sprain. He is out for tonight, and for who knows how long. Check out this exchange. Is he throwing head athletic trainer Tom Abdenour under the bus. (It should be noted that Jackson referred to his injured toe on Saturday as broken, but the Warriors’ staff has said it’s not broken, but he has turf toe):

Have they pinned down what’s wrong?

“I’m just here. I don’t know. Ask Tom.”

So it’s still considered just a sprain?

That’s what they say.

Do you believe it?

“Ask Tom. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m not the doctor.”

They tell you what you need to do?

I don’t think he knows either. I’m on my own. I’m just on my own.

You going to sit out for a while?

“I don’t know?”

Are you going to seek another opinion?
“Maybe. It’s always an option to go get other opinions. I don’t know who to believe. I think Imma have to find out from myself.”

* By the way, Maggette is out and rookie forward Anthony Randolph is out. So guess who’s back in the starting lineup? Brandan Wright and Anthony Morrow

You know how hard it was not to yawn while sitting courtside at that debacle?

* I found out more about Jamal Crawford’s reaction to quick-draw Corey. When Maggette missed those consecutive shots in a span of a humming bird’s flap, Crawford looked at the bench and said “Are you serious?”

* The only other thing worthy of mentioning was that Jackson is seriously concerned about his left hand. It was hit again and it hurt like crazy, he said. So much he couldn’t continue. He said he thinks something is wrong and he’s going to get it checked out again. Here is what he said about it after the game:

“I think this is the worst one because it’s dealing with my hands. Any time I get hit on it, I get affected by it the rest of the game.”

“Not good at all. Not good at all.”

“Couple fingers and knuckles. It’s affecting my ball-handling and it’s a different type of pain. It’s not a jammed-finger kind of pain.”

“Been about a week and half two weeks. It’s not getting any better.”

“I’ve played with a lot of injuries. ”

“I think it’s more than just a jam, there’s something that’s really wrong so if it comes down to (sitting out) I don’t want to hurt my team or hurting myself. Like I said I want to figure if there’s something wrong because I definitely think so.”

“I’m having an MRI tomorrow morning. Knuckle between my two fingers. (If it gets hit), it’s a wrap. The pain doesn’t stop. Luckily I went through the whole Houston game without getting hit.”

“I’m already playing with one broken bone in my foot, I don’t think I can deal with two.”