Author: bentleonard18

Ben Leonard is the head writer and Director of Business Development for Bay Area Sports Talk Association. He is also an author for Rule of Tree (SBNation), Sports Radio Service and OutsidePitchMLB, an official affiliate of the MLB. He has a passion for baseball and college football.

“Nicer” Barry Bonds Returns to San Francisco Committed to Coaching

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By Ben Leonard

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AP photo: Miami Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds signs for the fans before the Marlins and San Francisco Giants game at AT&T Park on Friday night

SAN FRANCISCO — When you think of Barry Bonds’ tenure in San Francisco, “nice” is usually the last thing that comes to mind, just after weak and pleasant. Baseball’s all-time home run king returned to San Francisco for the first time in the dugout after 14 seasons with the Giants as the Marlins’ hitting coach and was all smiles in his press scrum.

Visibily slimmer in his new uniform, basking more good press than he had gotten in his entire life, Bonds said he wished he had been like this “a long time ago.” Speaking for the pack, one reporter quipped, “Done what, be nice?”

Bonds certainly appreciated how much nicer the press was, up until then, and arrived to the ballpark on his Uber ride a somewhat changed man. Sure, nothing will scrub BALCO, the perjury trial, and the ever-looming Hall of Fame debate from his record, but a beaming Bonds enjoyed his time back at 24 Willie Mays Plaza.

The most difficult part for Bonds was adjusting to the visitors’ clubhouse — Bonds had only been in twice, once to see former Giant Matt Williams and once to see Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland — so he was “kind of lost” in the locker room. But weird wasn’t a word Bonds would use to describe his return to The City by the Bay:

“I feel grateful here,” Bonds said. “This is the place where I started my whole entire life. My Little League, this whole town – I don’t really feel weird. I take my job serious and I’m very serious about being a good hitting coach over here for the Miami Marlins.”

Coming back to San Francisco certainly holds some personal significance for Bonds, however. Initially, playing in San Francisco was a “childhood dream” for Bonds: I wanted to be with Willie mays and my dad (Bobby Bonds) in the outfield,” Bonds said. “I had the opportunity and I got to play left field, so I got to play against the ghosts of my idols for my entire life. There’s no better story for me right now here in San Francisco. I don’t really have fans in san francisco — this is my family. This is where I was raised, where I grew up. These are the people that stood behind me through thick and thin, and I will always appreciate that and have my love for San Francisco.”

Bonds has taken over the reigns of a very young but talented Miami lineup, one that features one of the game’s most fearsome sluggers, outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. So far, the results haven’t quite come — Miami is just 22nd in runs scored — but Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly has been impressed by his new hitting coach.

“I thought he did a really good job in spring training of not being overbearing, allowing guys to work, and building relationships before coming in here and telling guys what they’re doing,” Mattingly said. “It’s probably an adjustment for Barry — guys can’t do what he can do — you got to take their swing and work it in, and i think he’s done a nice job of that.”

Bonds is optimistic that his offense can turn it around. “They’re young,” Bonds said. “You’re talking 22, 25, 24. I was at that age. I know how difficult it is. I know how you’re searching to find your way and they’re going through that now. But they do have a good offensive team, and if they stay together, I think they have a promising team.”

Earlier in the spring, there were reports that Bonds had won a home run derby of sorts with Stanton and outfielder Christian Yelich, but those were shot down. It was just a 3 x 3 hitting drill, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported. Still, after playing for 22 seasons in the big leagues, the hardest thing at first for Bonds, arguably the greatest hitter of all time, was to sit back and just be a coach.

“It first, in Spring Training, it was the emotions,” Bonds said. “I’m used to being on the field, and being in the dugout biting my lip and was saying, ‘ugh I wish I could do that.’ Then you have to take a step back and realize that your job is different now — you’re not a player and you have to be a coach.”

Another tough adjustment for Bonds was waking up so early to watch hitters’ film — in Spring Training, he had to get up as early as six o’clock in the morning to get to work. Now, when it’s “not as intense as Spring Training,” Bonds feels “good.”

Bonds respects one man who has been on the grind as a major league coach far longer than him — Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy. Bonds only played for Bochy for one season, his last in San Francisco, leaving Bonds wishing that was more.

“I wish I got to play with him a little longer, but I knew him as a manger of other teams,” Bonds said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how good of manager you have when you watch him, how he prepares his guys and what he does, and with situations that come up and how he manages them. We knew when I was in San Francisco that we had a good manager.”

Bonds is expecting a good reception from Giants’ fans in his return to AT&T Park — they mostly backed him throughout the drawn-out chase to pass Hank Aaron on the all-time home run list, and he expects them to continue to do so. “I’m expecting a good reception because this is where I played,” Bonds said. “This is my home. I would hope this city would have great memories.”

 

 

The newly courteous Bonds also wanted to show some courtesy to his new employers, and after a discussion with Giants’ brass, including Larry Baer, opted not to hold a ceremony to induct him to the Giants’ Wall of Fame before Friday’s game.

“He wanted to do something when I came back and we sat down and talked about it and I felt that it wasn’t really the right time,” Bonds said. “It’d be kind of weird. My boss is Jeffrey (Loria) now. I want to respect him, I want to respect the Marlins, and we’re here to play the Giants and put on a good performance… I think it’s just more respectful to the Miami fans and Miami people. If the Giants want to do something with me at a later date and in the right uniform, I think that’s more appropriate.”

 

 

 

Giants’ Bats Cold Again As Bumgarner Falls In Pitchers’ Duel Giants lose 2-1

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By Ben Leonard

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AP photo: San Francisco Giant pitcher Madison Bumgarner pitches to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning on Wednesday night at AT&T Park

SAN FRANCISCO — Madison Bumgarner isn’t usually one to celebrate. The tall, broad-shouldered North Carolinian plays baseball the way Goose Gossage would like it — calm, quiet, and without flair, save for a snot rocket or twenty.

So when the good ‘ole Southern southpaw strutted off the mound after pumping his fist to raucous applause, you know it was something worth celebrating. In a wild west gun show, he had matched D’Backs’ ace Zack Greinke through six, and struck out one of the game’s most fearsome sluggers, Paul Goldschmidt, on a flaring fastball with runners on the corners to end the sixth keep the game scoreless.

The crowd was just waiting to erupt — they hadn’t had reason to all night long. The Giants had put runners in scoring position in three of the first five innings, but went 0 for 7 in those opportunities, not surprising from an ice-cold offense. In spite of that dry spell, it seemed like the Giants were destined to win — they just had to with Bumgarner on the hill, their stopper, who had retired the first eleven hitters he faced and was cruising.

But just after Bumgarner got the crowd going in the sixth, that feeling of destiny faded — he found himself shaking his head just a few batters later. One high fastball on the outer half, a pitch that had worked for him all night long, spelled doom for the Giants, when light-hitting catcher Wellington Castillo launched it into the bleachers to give the Diamondbacks a 2-0 lead, and eventually the 2-1 win, dealing the Giants their seventh loss in eight games. It sucked the life out of AT&T Park, and even surprised Bumgarner, who had been blowing by hitters with his high fastball all game long.

“Yeah, [it surprised me] a little bit,” Bumgarner said. “”I felt pretty good about the pitch I made to Castillo, even though it could have been a little higher….We had been going there for most of the night, and it was working good for us….Maybe it wasn’t just quite high enough. Maybe he made an adjustment, I don’t know. That’s the way the game is — a game of adjustments — and they got me.”

Other than that one pitch, Bumgarner didn’t need to make that many adjustments, yielding just five hits in seven innings, striking out eight.

The same cannot be said for the Giants’ offense, which scuffled once again in high leverage situations, finishing 1 for 11 with RISP, putting them at 3 for their last 30 in those situations. The one hit with ducks on the pond, an Angel Pagan single in the seventh, gave the Giants their first run in nineteen innings.

“We’re in a tough rut, but you’re going to go through this, no matter who you are, you go through them,” Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy said. “We had a great pitching effort today, but we were just missing timely hits…We had a couple chances early and we couldn’t get a hit. These things, they go in streaks…It’s a tough part of the game, but we’ve got a tough squad and a bunch of tough guys in there — they’ll bounce back. ”

One of those tough guys, Matt Duffy, had a bounce back day at the plate for the second day in a row after scuffling for most of the season. Duffy had been hitting just .196 coming into Wednesday, but was the lone bright spot in the Giants’ lineup, going 2 for 4 with a booming double to the wall and a slick diving catch to rob Chris Owings of a hit.

Other than that, it was tough going for the Giants against Greinke, who help up his end of the pitchers’ duel, going 6.2 strong innings while giving up just one run and striking out seven, frustrating a deep, potent lineup. Despite their struggles, ever-optimistic Giants’ shortstop Brandon Crawford felt that the team has the guys to break out of this slump:

“Everyone’s just kind of slumping at the same time right now,” Crawford said. “With this good of a lineup, you don’t typically see that. It’s something that we’ve dealt with before and I’m sure we’ll get out of it.”

That thought might be enough to get Bumgarner fist pumping once again. Just maybe.

Warriors Tie Bulls’ Record On Historic Night In San Antonio

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By Ben Leonard

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AP photo: Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry applauds as the Warriors tie the all time winning record of the Chicago Bulls on Sunday in San Antonio

Just when you want to stop believing in the Warriors, they jump right back up off the mat. After a shaky stretch in which it seemed hopes of breaking the ’95-’96 Bulls record were all but lost, the Warriors brought themselves right back up to championship form, doing something they hadn’t done since 1997, beat the Spurs in San Antonio.

With a commanding 92-86 win, Stephen Curry and the Warriors (72-9) tied the NBA record for wins in a single season. Now, all that remains in the Warriors’ way to breaking the record is a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

They seem ready to do it — with the record in sight, nothing seems like an obstacle for the Warriors. San Antonio hadn’t lost at home in 48 games, but that didn’t phase the Warriors.

They had perhaps their best defensive first half of the season against one of the league’s best offenses, holding San Antonio to just 35 points on a measly 29 percent shooting from the field. Sure, Tim Duncan was out for rest, but the Warriors still had to grapple with Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 20 and 24 points, respectively.

It wasn’t all fun and games in the beginning for Golden State, which struggled on offense in the early going, scoring just 14 points in the first quarter. But once Curry turned it on, it was in the books. In just 35 minutes, he scored 37 points, 26 of which came in the second half. The bench did well to keep Golden State in the lead while Curry rested for the first seven minutes of the fourth, and then Curry provided the separation.

The mantra used to be not to bet against the Spurs, but the Warriors have flipped that script. Bet against Golden State at your own risk.

Quarterback Competition Tightens at Stanford’s Spring Game

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By Ben Leonard

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photo credit Stanford Athletics Dept: Stanford Cardinal preparing to face White shirts on Saturday afternoon at Stanford Stadium

STANFORD, Calif. –Historically, Stanford’s spring game has been dominated by defense. The coaching staff is generally unwilling to flash out their entire playbook, so a vanilla offense usually gets trampled by a party in the backfield.

Saturday, that script was flipped by two quarterbacks, who led the offense (Cardinal) to a 42-31 win over the defense (White). The program’s winningest quarterback, Kevin Hogan, graduated and headed to the NFL Draft, leaving a void at the position. Enter Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns, two strong-armed, physical quarterbacks, vying for the job.

Heading into Saturday’s Spring Game, the word around the program was that Chryst was the internal favorite to win the job, despite head coach David Shaw’s maintaining that the two are neck-and-neck. A Palo Alto High School grad, Chryst had been touted as the next Andrew Luck before he had even stepped on campus, but that notion might have changed a little bit after Saturday.

Shaw seemed pretty accurate in that assertion, as both struggled early but played similarly well. Chryst got the bulk of the reps with the first team, if you want to read into that, but their stat lines were comparable. Burns was slightly more efficient and certainly gained momentum in the race, completing 17 of 23 attempts for 153 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while Chryst completed 16 of 25 for 156 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Overall, Shaw was happy with his quarterbacks’ performances, but declined to comment on who was leading the pack.

“It’s hard to say who had the upper hand because we had to see what the decision making looked like, but I was exctied to see both guys come back and make some big throws,” Shaw said. “We’ve got two big quarterbacks with strong arms that are athletic, and they made some big plays downfield and some accurate throws down the middle to Dalton Schultz and the tight ends and checking the ball down. There were a lot of positives for both guys.”

The well-built, 6’5″, 235 pound Chryst started out with the game with two drives, and struggled to find a rhythm. His timing was off, throwing too late, and paid the price, fluttering a deep ball that was picked off by Noor Davis. Chryst had a window to hit Michael Rector for an open touchdown, but underthrew it.

“I saw him, and there was lane behind him, and I should have hit it,” Chryst said. “Six inches more and it would have been a touchdown to Michael Rector, but I mean it’s in the past, and I’m looking forward.”

After that, Chryst “found a rhythym,” and the offense started to roll along with him. He connected with tight end Greg Taboada for a score, hitting a tight window in double coverage for a long touchdown pass. Overall, after that rough stretch, Chryst felt pretty good about his performance:

“I did pretty well, but I have a lot of things to work on,” Chryst said. ” I missed some check downs and missed some little things, but overall, I think it was a pretty good day for myself and as an offense.”

On the other hand, Burns hadn’t looked quite as confident heading into this spring, but he seemed to turn a corner on Saturday, aside from the one interception. The 6’5″, 233 pound senior from Leesburg, Virginia looked much better under pressure than he had previously, an encouraging sign. He pushed Chryst, if not outperformed him on Saturday, making this quarterback race very tight.

Burns felt that with Hogan gone, he could finally step up and be “the man” for the Cardinal. “Being under him (Hogan), it was hard to take control of the offense,” Burns said. “When you’re getting reps, you’re the number two or number three guy, so you can’t get those guys behind you 100 percent. Now, with him gone, I felt like there was a void to fill, and I’m trying to fill it.”

Now, he feels much more assertive in a leadership role, and encouraged by his performance: “Ever since spring started, things have just started clicking a little more,” Burns said. “The guys have gotten behind me a little bit, and that helps with your confidence and your overall play tremendously. That’s the biggest thing for now, as well as to keep progressing…I started out kind of slow, but the middle was pretty good.”

The duo of quarterbacks was faced with a unique challenged on Saturday — playing without Heisman runner up Christian McCaffrey. The dynamic playmaker only fielded punt returns, which were no contact plays, because Shaw wanted to rest his workhorse for the long season ahead.

Shaw took the media through his thought process on Saturday: “I’ve been around putting a lot of carries on a lot of running backs,” Shaw said. I’m convinced that we start spring so early now, there’s no way that he’s physically ready for what we do in practice. There’s no way with 400+ touches and with how physically he runs, there’s no way he’s ready. We took care of Toby Gerhart in the spring, we took care of Stepfan Taylor in the spring, but we didn’t have to with Gaffney because he always played baseball in the spring. I kept looking at how many times he touched the ball and how physical he was, and he got through all the practices and did really well in the practice, but we’ll get him back to some tackle stuff in training camp. For me, it was just a mileage thing, to get him completely recuperated before we start beating him up again.”

Even with McCaffrey out, the pair still had a great set of playmakers to work with. Shaw expressed confidence in a multitude of offensive weapons after the game:

“I’m excited about Francis Owusu, coming off an outstanding last week of practice, and capped it off with a great day today. Michael Rector has had a really good spring. Trent Irwin has been making some plays. Dalton Schultz is now the go-to guy at tight end, and you have three receivers with some experience. We have explosive running backs coming out of the backfield, and quarterbacks now that can get them the ball. It’s exciting, but we have a lot of work to do and a lot of things to shore up, but it was a good start for this team.”

With the way things looked on Saturday, it’s going to be a very tough decision for David Shaw to make, one he won’t decide on until roughly a week before the season opener September 3rd against Kansas State. Either way Shaw chooses, Stanford will have itself an at least competent, if not great quarterback of the future — and the present.

 

 

 

Golden State Warriors Thursday game wrap: Reaction From Steve Kerr — Warriors Clinch West, But Will They Rest Players?

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By Ben Leonard

AP photo: The Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry goes for a lay up on the San Antonio Spurs Manu Ginobili (20) at Oracle Arena Thursday night

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Warriors (70-9) found a way to grit through early struggles to topple the San Antonio Spurs (65-13) and claim the Western Conference title with a 112-101 victory. In the process, they became only the second team in NBA history to reach the 70-win plateau.

In the early going, it didn’t seem too promising — Draymond Green got into foul trouble and the Warriors’ offense stalled, scoring just six points in the first six minutes. After a crushing loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, Golden State’s prospects of setting the all-time NBA wins record seemed grim.

But as they usually do, the Warriors found a way to kick it into another gear. Stephen Curry led the way for Golden State with 27 points, Harrison Barnes continued his offensive resurgence with 21 points, and Green dropped 18 to help the Warriors’ offense come back to life.

Now, with three games remaining and the West in the Warriors’ hands, the question becomes whether or not to sit the Warriors’ regulars to rest them for the playoffs. Resting them would also imply a wish to prevent a potentially catastrophic injury to one of the Warriors’ key players, but Warriors’ head coach refutes that notion: “It’s not that I’m worried about injury,” Kerr said in his press conference streamed on KNBR. “You can get injured in practice. It’s not so much that I want to get guys to avoid an injury, but that we have a back-to-back and three games in four nights [to close the season].”

Kerr has largely left the decision up to the players, who will convene tomorrow with the coaching staff to discuss the issue. He hasn’t decided yet, but given his players’ health and ability to recover, he seems to be leaning toward gunning for the record:

“The good news for us is that the guys that need rest have gotten rest — [Andrew] Bogut, Andre [Igoudala], Shaun Livingston — and the rest of our core recovers pretty quickly,” Kerr said. “I’m not sure that they actually need a rest physically, but maybe a break mentally would do them some good. I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be in this position next year — you can’t keep winning at this level. It’s a unique situation to be in this position, and most of our guys really want to do this.”

If they want to break the ’95-’96 Bulls’ high water mark of 72 wins, they have to win all of their remaining three games: Saturday in Memphis, Sunday in San Antonio, and the season finale at home against Memphis. Golden State has won its meetings with Memphis by an average of 33 points this season, while they dropped their only game in San Antonio this season, a city in which they haven’t won since 1997. In short, the Warriors will have to overcome history if they want to make history. But as we’ve seen all season long, they’ve got it in them.

 

Warriors Upset By Timberwolves — Record In Jeopardy

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By Ben Leonard

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photo credit San Francisco Chronicle: Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson knows it’s foregone conclusion in the closing seconds of Golden State’s ninth loss

The Warriors’ quest for the NBA all-time wins record just took a major blow. Just when you’d have thought the Warriors (69-9) would have stood up strong, they fell flat on their faces in a crushing 124-117 loss to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves (26-52).

Coming into Tuesday, Golden State had to win just four out of its five remaining games to break the ’95-’96 Bulls’ record of 72 wins, but after the loss are faced with the task of winning out to shatter the mark. Phenom Andrew Wiggins lead the way for Minnesota, scoring 32 points on 11 of 19 shooting and forcing 6 steals.

It most disheartening thing for Golden State was that it seemed like the Warriors were going to roll over the Timberwolves and coast to a relatively easy win. They had an nine point lead heading into the second half, a position in which they’ve thrived.

Stephen Curry was facilitating the offense, scoring just two points in the first but dishing out 10 assists, many of them to Harrison Barnes, who had 18 points in the first. They reversed roles in the second half, as Curry finished with 21 and Barnes with 20, but it wasn’t enough in the end.

The Timberwolves proceeded to take over in the fourth quarter, making the Warriors fold in a close game, not something that they’ve often done. Heading into Saturday, they had won 12 of 14 games decided by 5 points or less — now it’s 12 of 15. Minnesota dominated overtime and the fourth, outscoring Golden State by a combined fifteen points.

Now the Warriors are faced with the tall task of beating the Spurs — and the Grizzlies — twice if they want to officially become the best team in NBA history. Yes, it was a classic trap game, with San Antonio next on the slate, but they’re going to have to take it up a notch. Or three.

Warriors Blaze Past Portland — But Will Golden State Break Record?

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By Ben Leonard

Great basketball teams know how to rebound — from a tough loss and on the glass alike. Although its hard to revolutionize the former, the Warriors have revolutionized the latter, winning with a small lineup game in and game out. After a sound 136–111 win over the Portland Trailblazers to rebound from their first home loss of the season, can the revolutionary Warriors make basketball history and break the ’95-’96 Chicago Bulls vaunted record?

They certainly looked the part on Sunday, showing resiliency after that heartbreaking loss to Boston on Friday. One potential record lost — a perfect home slate, never before accomplished — didn’t discourage Golden State, but rather served to motivate them after a shaky first quarter. Portland got off to a quick start, dropping 37 points in the first, but Golden State seemed to keep its larger goal in mind, and took it into second gear. The energy picked up and the defense tightened up, allowing just 19 points in the second quarter to give Golden State a 63-56 halftime lead.

The offense looked like that of a team on a mission, with three players scoring above 20 points. Joining the usual suspects, the Splash Brothers (60 points), in that company was Draymond Green, scoring 22 points. Stephen Curry had 39, which seems routine nowadays.It was a well-rounded offensive performance (56.8 FG%, 60.0 3-PT FG%) —  what we’ve come to expect from these Warriors. If they keeping playing like this, watch out, record books. You’re in for a change.

However resilient and dominant they were, common sense says that who you’re playing matters just as much as how you’re playing when predicting future performance. Sure, the Warriors only need to win four out of five games to break the record, but it makes things a little more problematic when you take into account that they’re playing the Spurs twice, once on the road.

According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Warriors have over a 78% chance of beating all three of their remaining opponents not from San Antonio. They start with a home game against Minnesota, which should be chalked up as a win (94% chance of win per BPI), barring apocalyptic catastrophe. Then they take on San Antonio at Oracle Arena, a venue where Golden State routed the Spurs earlier this season, giving them a 59% chance of winning. Next, a road-home with Memphis (78% and 91%, resptively) that sandwiches the next meeting with the Spurs on the road should both go down as wins. Essentially, unless the Warriors let their guard down, they need to take only one of two from San Antonio.

The Warriors have a unique way of willing themselves to win, a heart and chemistry unmatched in today’s NBA of super teams and super egos. It’s hard to see a team of this caliber and this makeup dropping both games to San Antonio, or one and a massive upset in one of the other three games. This record means too much to this team for them to let it slip away. As we saw tonight, when the Warriors want to take it into a second gear, they do. Nothing can stop them. Like it or not, losing twice in five games just won’t happen to these Warriors.

 

 

Golden State Warriors Wednesday game wrap: Warriors Cut Down Clippers

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By Ben Leonard

Photo credit: Noah Graham NBAE–Golden State’s Stephen Curry goes up against the LA Clippers on Wednesday night

Over the years, the newly-formed Warriors-Clippers rivalry has been extremely intense. Tempers have flared, barbs have been exchanged, and tension has risen.

But Wednesday, even though that traditional hype was strangely missing, the Warriors still found motivation to win on Wednesday, cutting down Los Angeles 114-98 at Oracle Arena. Stephen Curry had 33 points, Klay Thompson had 32, and Draymond Green tallied yet another double-double in the victory.

“It was kind of a dead atmosphere in there and it didn’t seem to have the same energy of the rivalry,” Warriors head coach Kerr said. “For whatever reason tonight didn’t have the same juice.”

But that didn’t stop the Warriors from taking care of business behind the Splash Brothers. Motivation seemed to stem from staying alive in the race to beat the Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 wins. With just eleven games remaining, all Golden State has to do is go 9-2 to beat Jordan’s record. They won’t back down and rest players — they’re going to gun for it.

Green exemplified this effort on Wednesday, dropping twelve points while pulling down twelve boards, hustling on the boards and playing hard defense to keep the Warriors ahead. More classic Warriors basketball: the Splash Brothers combined to shoot 11 of 20 from beyond the arc, and 24 of 44 from the field.

All in all, it was enough to give the Warriors their 33rd win at home this season — no team has ever finished a home slate with a perfect record. But if anyone is up to the task, it’s the Warriors.

 

Splash Brothers Lead Warriors to Win Over Dallas

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By Ben Leonard

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With a huge matchup against the San Antonio Spurs looming on Saturday, the Warriors (62-6) could have easily looked past the Mavericks. But that would have been all too easy for the Warriors — with revenge against the Mavericks (34-35), who beat them on January 27th, on the line, there was no way they’d let up. The Splash Brothers put on a show in Dallas Friday night, combining for 70 points in a hard-fought 130-112 Golden State victory.

The Splash Brothers put on a show in Dallas Friday night, combining for 70 points in a hard-fought 130-112 Golden State victory. On a historic night, Harrison Barnes re-emerged offensively for the Warriors, who have likely set a record for most records set in one season.

Klay Thompson had 39 points on 10 of 15 shooting from behind the arc, while becoming the second-fastest player (372 games) to reach 1,000 career three-pointers, behind only his teammate Stephen Curry, who accomplished the feat in just 369. Curry had 31 points of his own while making 6 of 12 attempts to support Thompson, who was quick to credit Curry for his success. “[Having Curry] makes my life so much easier, as well as for everyone else on the roster,” Thompson said in an interview on CSN Bay Area. “He’s one of the best players in the world, if not the best.”

Behind the dynamic duo, the rest of the team also held its own, making 50.5% from the field and nearly 58% from beyond the arc. They also tied an NBA record for the most three-pointers in one half, dropping fifteen in the first. After averaging just eight points per game in March, Barnes tacked on 20 points for Golden State, a welcome improvement for head coach Steve Kerr.

But it wasn’t all offense for Golden State — they gave up just one field goal in the final 7:43 of the third quarter, helping them take a 94-85 lead heading into the fourth quarter of a tight game. They also tightened up defensively in the fourth, going on a 17-4 run to end the game after being up just five with three minutes left to go.

 

Dawkins out as Head Coach at Stanford

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By Ben Leonard

AP photo–Former Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins
STANFORD–After another disappointing season for the Stanford Cardinal, the athletic department has announced that eight-year veteran head coach Johnny Dawkins will not return next season. The news came just a day after the team was not given the chance to defend its NIT title and decided not to accept a bid to one of the three lower-tier postseason tournaments.

There had been rumblings from the Stanford fanbase with attendance dropping precipitously and the team’s performance lagging. Dawkins made the NCAA tournament just once in his eight years with the program, but won two NIT championships in his time on The Farm.

Dawkins will certainly be missed on The Farm — he was a class act and a standup man, but the results just couldn’t materialize for the former Duke star. Despite high-level recruiting, Dawkins finished his Stanford career with a 156-115 record, and never finished above fifth in the Pac-12/10 in his tenure.

“This decision was not easy and it was a very difficult discussion for both Johnny and me, but like everything else during his tenure at Stanford, he handled it with class, respect and the utmost concern for his student-athletes,” Stanford AD Bernard Muir stated in a press release. “There are so many great things that Johnny was able to accomplish on The Farm, including improving the graduation rate, achieving an Academic Progress Rate of 1000, an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance and two NIT championships. The student-athletes Johnny coached during his tenure at Stanford represented the University with class and humility.”

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News has reported that the school “is expected to pursue” Golden State Warriors’ assistant and former Stanford standout Jarron Collins to replace Dawkins. Other candidates are expected to include UC Irvine head coach Russell Turner and Los Angeles Lakers assistant Mark Madsen, among others.