A season is comprised of numerous hurdles a team must overcome. Those seasons within a season that, when you add them up, make the difference between success and failure. Golden State got over one of those with Thursday’s 106-105 win over Denver.

It wasn’t just any old victory. It was a win over a team that had broken their spirit twice already. It was a win over a team many consider a lock to make the playoffs. The Nuggets, in many ways, are a barometer of where the Warriors stack up. And after Thursday, they can say they’re right there.

STEPHEN CURRY: “This is a team that’s had our number the last two games. They’re a playoff team and we have to beat those teams that have been there before. They have experience and talent and besides the last 15 minutes of the game in Denver, we’ve been pretty neck-and-neck.”

The Warriors and Denver likely won’t be a playoff match-up, unless one of these teams becomes a top four seed. But they’ve engaged in a playoff-caliber series. The Nuggets challenge the Warriors in a unique way. Denver is everything Golden State is not — long, athletic, explosive. They challenge the Warriors to be more physical, to play at a higher tempo, to overcome their weaknesses.

Kenneth Faried challenges David Lee. Stephen Curry has to bring it against Ty Lawson. Klay Thompson is the underdog against Andre Iguodala. Carl Landry is undersized against their two centers, Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee. The Nuggets’ bench — Andre Miller, McGee, Corey Brewer, Jordan Hamilton, is good enough to challenge the Warriors’ claim of being deep.

The Nuggets are a tough match-up for Golden State.

JARRETT JACK: “It seems as if we’re developing a little bit of a rivalry with them. Two out of the three games have kind of been a dog fight game and battling tooth and nail. Even at their place, even though they kind of ran away with that at the end. But prior to that, it was a rough and tough game. Almost like an East Coast basketball game, guys throwing punch after punch after punch and luckily we were able to have the last one tonight.”

More on Thursday’s victory …

Read the rest of this entry »

The Warriors announced on Friday that rookie guard Kent Bazemore has been sent to the NBA Development League.

Bazemore, who has appeared in only six games and totaled 10 minutes thus far, will be in the lineup for the Santa Cruz Warriors’ season opener at Reno tonight. It is uncertain yet how long Bazemore will be with the D-League squad (it is fairly certain Jeremy Tyler will join him at some point). Santa Cruz starts its season with seven straight on the road, the first two being in Reno.

For the immediate future, it seems Golden State is hanging on to their summer league find. According to a team source, the team is likely not going after former Warriors swingman Dominic McGuire, who became a fan favorite last season with his defensive style of play.

Read the rest of this entry »

Warriors general manager Bob Myers, in the wake of the controversy surrounding Andrew Bogut’s left ankle surgery, fell on the sword Thursday.

In about as close you’ll come to a confession, Myers apologized for how the Warriors handled the situation. In an interview on Chronicle Live, Myers said the Warriors never intended to deceive the fans and took blame for how it all went down.

Was it genuine, or another PR stunt? You be the judge.

Read the rest of this entry »

As it turns out, Warriors center Andrew Bogut did have microfracture surgery on his left ankle in April. But, according to team sources, it’s not the same as the alarming procedure we learned about through the likes of Penny Hardaway, Chris Webber and Greg Oden.

Well, it’s the same surgery. Just not the same situation.

“Some people go in for microfracture surgery. This wasn’t that,” one source said pointing out that players who are experiencing chronic and degenerative problems turn to microfracture surgery.

Bogut, on the other hand,  went in to get his left ankle cleaned out of scar tissue and bone fragments. When Dr. Richard Ferkel was inside, he noticed a “minor” cartilage issue and he addressed it with a form of microfracture surgery. The major part of the surgery, the source said, was cleaning out the debris.

Read the rest of this entry »

Carl Steward here, filling in for Marcus Thompson today …

Admit it, Warriors fan, you’re starting to get impatient and maybe a little steamed about this Andrew Bogut situation. Did the Warriors get a lemon for Monta Ellis, one they’ll never see squeezed of its once-formidable talent on the court? Bogut played in four of the first games this season after spending the past five months since the Warriors acquired him rehabbing his surgically reconstructed left ankle. Things looked promising. But now he’s missed nine straight games, is assured of missing the next two, and could miss at least a few more after that.

“It’s still sore and it’s just not right yet,” Bogut said Tuesday. “When I try to train for extended periods, it just doesn’t respond well. Until I can get through a week’s worth of full practices, I’m back to where I am now.”

Which is rehabbing on the treadmill and exercise bike, doing some very light running and some touch shooting. None of the aggressive stuff he is known for. He can’t practice yet, let alone play, and if this sounds like a novel going bad, you can’t be blamed for your pessimism.

Bogut says he’ll be out there when it’s right, and the Warriors aren’t pressuring him. But it’s reasonable to wonder: After what the club went through with Stephen Curry last season, will it ever be right enough this year for Bogut to make a significant impact?

Read the rest of this entry »

With the Warriors’ 96-85 win over Minnesota Timberwolves, they improved to 8-6 for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

Two games over .500 isn’t usually cause for celebration. But the Warriors have played their first eight games on the road, have gone mostly without Andrew Bogut, and lost their Sixth Man to injury. So, 8-6, they’ll take it.

MARK JACKSON: “I’m very pleased. There are going to be tough nights for us. I don’t have to be a prophet to tell you that. But this team has something about it that refuses to let go of the rope. They compete, they get after each other, they hold each other accountable, and it’s fun to coach.”

More on Saturday’s victory …

Read the rest of this entry »

The Warriors certainly weren’t the gritty, hang-in-there, never give-up type road team they’d show for most of the year. They’ve often praised themselves for staying close instead of caving like the Warriors of the past.

But Friday, they caved.  The new Warriors looked like the Warriors of old, losing 102-91 at Denver. It wasn’t as close as the score suggested. It seems like Denveris just a bad match-up.

“Needless to say, especially after our last game against them, they’re not our favorite team,” forward David Lee said of the Nuggets after he finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

More on Friday’s defeat…

Read the rest of this entry »

Warriors coach Mark Jackson keeps saying he wasn’t worried about the shooting of guard Klay Thompson. His patience was rewarded Wednesday. He scored 23 points on 10 of 19 shooting to break out of his slump and lift the Warriors to a 102-93 win over the visiting Brooklyn Nets.

JACKSON: “I’ve said all along, I’m not concerned about Klay shooting. That’s like being concerned about Albert Pujols not hitting: it’s going to turn. He works too hard. It’s a gift. You don’t lose a gift. I’m glad that he shot with confidence. It’s so easy to overlook, but this guys has been defending. Steph wasn’t at 100 percent so I put Klay on Deron Williams, who is arguably the best in the business at his position. Klay did a very good job. You weren’t going to stop him, but he made him work. That shot (of Thompson’s) is a thing of beauty and its great to see him knock it down.”

(SIDENOTE: Somebody should tell Jackson that Pujols finished 40 points below his career average and with the lowest homerun total of his career. And his team did NOT make the playoffs.)

The Warriors outrebounded the Nets 43-35 to improve to 7-0 when outrebounding their opponents. Golden State’s defense held the Nets to 37.5 percent shooting after the first quarter, outscoring Brooklyn 56-36 over the second and third quarters.

Of course, the Nets were on the end of a back-to-back, having played at the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. And Brooklyn sat down small forward Gerald Wallace (rest). So the Warriors didn’t beat the best of the Nets. But they did do what they needed to do — get the victory.

A large part of that was the breakout game by Thompson.

THOMPSON: “I felt like I got my game back. It felt great. I get to build on it Friday and keep this win steak going. We’ve got to stay tough.”

The question now is did Thompson just get hot one game or is he over his shooting woes?

More on Wednesday’s victory …

Read the rest of this entry »

Warriors swingman Brandon Rush returned to Oracle Arena for the first time since suffering a season-ending knee injury. In the Nov. 2 home loss to Memphis, Rush tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee. He landed awkwardly after trying to dunk over Grizzlies PF Zach Randolph.

Rush, who tore his right ACL while in college at Kansas, talks for the first time publicly.

How are your emotions coming back here?

“Pretty high right now. I haven’t been able to watch any live basketball since the injury. But I feel pretty good about coming back here, seeing the fans and hopefully getting the win while I’m here.”

How have you gotten through it so far?

“Just going day by day, thinking everything will be ok. I’ve got everybody hitting me up every day, so that’s a good feeling. I just go day by day, take it one day at a time.”

What did it mean for the team to come visit you?

“It meant a lot to see a team come to your house, check on you, spend time with you after a big injury like that. Definitely a good feeling. I thank coach for that, too. He’s the one who set it up.”

Read the rest of this entry »