Warriors swingman Kelenna Azubuike suffered what the team called a “left patella tendon injury.”

Azubuike drove the lane with just over nine minutes left and wound up falling on his back hard. He tried to jump towards the basket but his knee gave out. He immediately reached for his knee and stared at it in shock. From the courtside media view, it looked like his knee cap was off to the side (which suggests a dislocated knee cap).

Azubuike had to be wheel-barreled off the court, his hand shielding his face. The somber of his teammates confirmed the severity of the injury. Azubuike did not go to the hospital. He had his knee imaged at the Bradley Center. It has not been determined how long how long he will be out.

Quick research online shows that a dislocated patella takes about 3 to 5 months to heal. If Azubuike ruptured his patellar tendon, which is the ligament that connects the quadriceps to the shin, he’ll need surgery to repair it. According to some related Web sites, his knee would be casted for six weeks followed by weeks of rehab.

If you’re Stephen Curry, and you’re sitting on the bench all game long, and you’re watching Chris Duhon struggle, and Nate Robinson all over the place, and Toney Douglas put his head down and look to score, would you be longing for New York.

Curry is beloved in New York, and he is needed, and judging by the way Chris Duhon is looking these days, he wouldn’t have to worry about being humiliated by a coach who blindsided him with a bench-warming session.

Everybody knows Curry really wanted to play in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd. Everybody knows he was looking forward to it. And if you didn’t know it, you could tell by the increasing frustration he tried to swallow with each passing minutes.

The hard part for Curry was that he had no idea. He was expecting to play, perhaps even to put up a big game. Next thing you know, his warm-up was still on and the first half was almost done.

I know rookies are just rookies, but it seems Nellie didn’t do team chemistry any favors by how he handled the situation. It would’ve almost been better to just not play him at all. But to reduce him to the scrub at the end of the bench who the crowd solicits in blowout games, that was kind of cold. I’ve been that guy before, so I know the feeling.

Curry hasn’t been playing well, to be sure. But he’s never been that guy. Ever. In the family section after the game, he walked up to some people he knew. And you could hear some sweet older woman say, “Well it’s okay. There’ll be other games for you to play.”

Ouch.

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So here is what went down.
Practice ended and players were winding down. Some were shooting. Some were talking. Ellis, Jackson and guard Acie Law were sitting on a bench taking off their hoop shoes, etc. Then Nelson, who had left practice and came back, casually walked by the bench. Monta had a question:

ELLIS: “Coach. Why do I get blamed for everything?”

NELSON: “What have I ever blamed you for?”

ELLIS: “For everything. For everything. For people not knowing the plays. I didn’t do this. I didn’t that.”

Nelson waved both hands at Ellis, as if to brush him off, and walked off shaking his head.

Ellis: “See. That’s why I won’t do it. I just won’t do it.”

Ellis declined to comment after practice, so I have no idea what he won’t do.

Warriors fell 52 points shy of their point total the previous game. That’s a pretty big drop off. Is Indiana at home that much tougher an opponent than the T’wolves at home? Certainly, the Warriors return to selfish ball had something to do with it.
Swingman Stephen Jackson came out gunning, taking five shots in five minutes, missing four. Monta was chucking, too. Azubuike, coming off a 31-point game, wasn’t moving the ball either. And you know Anthony Morrow, who started (more on that), was looking for his shot.

Jackson played 17:56 in the loss to Indiana, where he once played before putting them in the very same situation the Warriors are in now. Jax sat the entire second and fourth quarters. This is a weird situation all around. Here’s how it went down.

Nellie said before the game that Jackson’s hip was bothering him (he also said Corey Maggette’s hamstring was going to keep him out of the lineup. Maggette said after the game his hamstring almost did keep him out). So when Jackson plays just the first 5:56 of the game and sits the rest of the half, the reason was obvious. The hip.
So, I ran into Jackson in the tunnel during halftime.

You’re hip is bothering you?

JACKSON:
No? (confused look on his face) Why would you say my hip is bothering me?

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Sure, you have the added insight of the first six games. Still, let’s see who has real predictability chops.
Nellie is 22 wins shy of breaking Lenny Wilkens’ record for the most wins in NBA coaching history.
So, the challenge: pick the game Nelson will break the record.
I’m going with March 17 vs. New Orleans. The Warriors will be 24-43 after pulling off the upset, and Nellie will have the record.
That’s my date.
Which game do you think will be the record-breaking win? When he breaks the record, I will go back and see who the champion prognosticator is and shower him or her or them with relentless praise.

So, are you encouraged by the Warriors’ blowout victory?
Despite the fact the Warriors spanked the T’wolves by historic proportions, all the talk was about Jackson. And not just because he played well.

NELLIE: “I hope his lawyer says something negative about me tomorrow. Must’ve turned him on. I could take that if he plays like that. I thought he set the tone for the game. Moved the ball and everybody else did as well. It was good.”

Jackson laughed when told of Nelson’s response.

JACKSON: “That was all on my agent. I can’t take any blame for that. He was upset with some things and he spoke his mind. We work good together because we both speak our minds. But I would never bash coach in the paper like that. I never have. I’ve got a lot of respect for coach.”

I know the popular thing is to want Jax out as fast as possible, and for good reason. But the reality is, when he’s gone, whose going to be able to facilitate the offense? He hogs the ball. He slows the offense. He takes bad shots. But when he’s at his best, he’s a playmaker who can help you by spotting up, but taking advantage of a mismatch or by simply setting other guys up.
Who will fill that role when he’s gone?
The only other guy who can pass well is Curry, and he’s not enough of a threat on offense yet to be able to adjust his game based on the weakness of the defense.
If you take Jax out of the lineup, who do you put in that makes this thing work like it once did?

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On top of the fact that the Warriors are getting ran outta the gym, it looks like center Andris Biedrins’ back injury is more serious than he thought. Him playing on Sunday might have even made it worse.

NELLIE: “He’s not doing very well. I probably shouldn’t have even played him, but we wanted to have another big guy if we possibly could. He couldn’t do very much when he was out there and he has re-injured himself. So that was a bad decision on my part.”

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UPDATE: I’m hearing too that Charlotte has shown interest in trading for Jackson, but there is nothing serious, not yet anyway. The Bobcats haven’t presented an offer that the Warriors really like. The Bobcats have not offered Boris Diaw, which is probably the player the Warriors would be most interested in. I know from Jackson’s camp that Charlotte is not a place Jackson wants to go. If those talks persist, don’t be surprised if Jackson tries to scare the Bobcats away from a deal before they sign on for a trade.

Monta Ellis — hunched over in his seat, trying to contain his frustration — summed up Friday night’s game in a way that gives this debacle complete justice.

ELLIS: “We all should be embarrassed. This is a terrible game, terrible performance. We looked like we didn’t know what we were doing out there. We looked like a high school team. We didn’t do anything. … I couldn’t tell you what it was. I just know that’s not how I want to play basketball.”

It was so bad, Ellis called it the worst game he’s played in during his four-plus seasons as with the Warriors. It was so bad, Nellie admitted he was embarrassed after the game. It was so bad, guard C.J. Watson questioned the direction of his life.

quietstorm_32: “Just realized my life has taken a 360 spiral downward. LOL. Don’t know what I did but, man, not looking so good. LOL. Back to the drawing board.”

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The Warriors are going with the youth movement, remember? They are focusing on their young, building for the future, right?
It seems Twitterer @Apollo1Man got that impression, too. His recent Tweet: “Can I ask Warriors 4 money back 4 false advertising. Kept telling me to come see AR.”
But somehow, Anthony Randolph played 7 minutes last night. One of the cornerstone pieces is now a bit player who can only play under certain circumstances – against back-up centers. Randolph went from rising rookie to starting power forward to getting Rob Kurz minutes.
Some will say that is a negative way of looking at it. Some will say its early and there is plenty time for Randolph to reclaim his importance. But I can’t help but think it’s a big issue that Randolph is currently 10th on the team in minutes per game.

RANDOLPH: “It’s kind of like déjà vu. But it’s different from last year because people know what I can do. I’ve just got to keep my head up. It’s a long season. I’ve got a long career ahead of me. These are the type of experiences that will make me a better player and person.”

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So the Warriors are back to the small lineup on Wednesday to start, and there are mismatches all over the court.
Stephen Jackson will start tonight’s game guarding Zach Randolph, a point-hungry, 6-foot-9, 260-pound PF. Monta Ellis is guarding O.J. Mayo, who has at least an inch and some 30 pounds on Ellis. Andris Biedrins will match-up with Marc Gasol, who at 7-1, 265, gives the Warriors fits because of his size. What’s more, Biedrins has been in foul trouble the first couple of games. If he gets in early foul trouble Wednesday, guess who’s coming in off the bench? Anthony Randolph? (Nelson said he would be the back-up center, but he didn’t want to play him against the starting center)
Is Randolph playing so bad that Nellie would rather create defensive mismatches than start a guy who has a fighting chance to defend the PF spot? It seems the lineups are much more even if Nelson starts Randolph at PF, especially considering the Warriors offense is not that good right now. TK has a pretty solid theory about why Randolph isn’t playing, which Nelson all but said himself.

NELLIE: “We just need either an extender or a guy that can pass. So with Buike in the lineup, that extends the defense even more. I think there’ll be more openings offensively. I thought that was important for us.”

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Stephen jackson has two new tattoos on his neck. Two Chinese characters right in the front. What do they mean?
Jax: “Honor and loyalty. Two things I’m big (on).”

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SF Chronicle’s Bruce Jenkins brought up an interest point that I hadn’t thought about. Why don’t the Warriors retire anyone’s jersey? The last one was Rick Barry, so perhaps their standard for retiring jerseys is winning a championship. That would be gangsta if that is the reason.
They can’t start now, though. The obvious jersey to be retired is No. 17. That won’t be happening until a new owner comes town. Even if they offered, I’m not sure Mullin would show up.