Category: Golden State Warriors

Lakers and Warriors end early due to wet floor

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

SAN DIEGO — With the playing surface at the Valley View Casino Center filled with too many wet spots and players noticeably slipping, the game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers was called at the 2:16 mark in the third quarter with Los Angeles holding a 85-70 lead.

According to CSNBayArea.com’s Warriors’ Insider Monte Poole, “On no fewer than seven occasions, players were seen slipping and sliding on the floor. In one notable first-half instance, Warriors guard Steph Curry slipped and recovered to drain a 3-pointer over Jordan Clarkson.”

Curry finished with 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting (5-of-10 on 3s), leading all Warriors in scoring. Curry also added four assists and three rebounds. The reigning MVP scored 14 points in the first half and drained 4-of-8 3s.

Festus Ezeli, starting for injured center Andrew Bogut, scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Clarkson led all Lakers with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, while forward Julius Randle added14 points.

Lakers guard Nick Young, who scored 10 points, said after the game per ESPN, “It was just too dangerous to play on, people slipping left and right.” Young began the game hot, knocking down three straight 3s in under two minutes in the second quarter.

Los Angeles (2-4) shot a better percentage from the floor than Golden State (46% to 38%), and controlled the points in the paint outscoring the Warriors 34 to 22. Golden State turned the ball over 12 times, compared to just five by the Lakers.

Golden Staten continues their three-game SoCal road swing Tuesday against the Clippers on ESPN, before finishing up against the Lakers once more on Thursday on TNT.

Sharks Beat Devils 2-1, Start Season 4-0

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their fourth in a row to start the season. They needed overtime and a shootout to defeat the New Jersey Devils 2-1. Goaltender Martin Jones set a new shutout record for the franchise, spanning from the team’s first game of the season to the final minutes of the fourth game. Regulation goals were scored by Patrick Marleau for the Sharks and Adam Henrique for the Devils. The game was a far cry from the trouncing that they gave to the Washington Capitals, but in light of recent injuries, it was a good win.

Earlier Friday, the Sharks announced that they would be without the services of forwards Logan Couture and Joonas Donskoi. Head coach Peter DeBoer opted to make wholesale changes to his lines when he lost the top top six forwards. Bringing Ben Smith in as fourth line center, he moved Chris Tierney to the third line between Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto. Tomas Hertl moved to the second line between Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward. Nikolay Goldobin took Donskoi’s place next to Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski.

Near the end of the game, DeBoer moved the more experienced Barclay Goodrow to that top line. Patrick Marleau took on some additional penalty killing minutes in Couture’s absence, while Paul Martin took the point on power plays. The number of adjustments required spoke to the importance of Couture to the team.

The Sharks’ penalty kill streak ended at 15, and Martin Jones set a new shutout streak for the franchise. The game was not pretty but it did keep their winning streak alive.

Less than three minutes in, the new second line of Hertl, Joel Ward and Patrick Marleau scored. The goal featured a good board battle won by Hertl, followed by a smart pass from Ward to a well-positioned Marleau. All in all, that line looked good.

Martin Jones has not given up a goal since 1:49 into the Sharks’ first game of the season on October 7. Shutouts in game against the Ducks and the Capitals put Jones in a position to break Al Stalock’s shutout record of 178:55, 45 seconds into Friday’s game. He did that and set the new one at 234:33. A couple of pucks got by him during that time, only to have the goals waived off, but it is still a tremendous record.

Jordin Tootoo and Mike Brown took matching roughing penalties at 8:58 of the period but the four-on-four minutes did not change the score. The first period ended with the score still 1-0 Sharks, and the shot count 10-5 Sharks.

Early in the second period, Tomas Hertl had a scoring chance thwarted by a slash to the hands from Adam Larsson. No penalty was called but Hertl looked a little sore. That hand could bear watching. The first power play of the game went to the Devils at 14:01 of the second. Joe Pavelski was called for hooking. The Sharks killed it off, keeping their penalty kill record perfect at 12-0.

With 2:06 left in the period, Goldobin drew a penalty against Jon Merrill. The ensuing power play highlighted how the Sharks were losing some momentum. They let Stephen Gionta escape the zone for a short-handed chance just over half way through the power play.

Gionta saw his rebound go to Josefson, who put it in the net, but the goal was waived off because Gionta made contact with Martin Jones before the shot went in. The contact was initiated while Gionta was still outside the crease, and ended with Gionta falling over Jones in the crease. The contact certainly slowed Jones down, but calls like that are going to make this season interesting. It was probably worth a coach’s challenge, but Devils head coach John Hynes did not make one.

At the end of the second period, shots were 23-17 Sharks, with the 1-0 score unchanged.

Less than two minutes into the third period, the Devils were back on the power play after Justin Braun was called for holding the stick. With 43 seconds left in the power play, Brenden Dillon shot the puck out of play in the defensive zone and gave the Devils a two man advantage. The Sharks survived the five-on-three and were about to kill the second penalty when Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot the puck out of play and joined Dillon in the box. The second two man advantage would only last 17 seconds. Chris Tierney managed to clear the puck out during the short five-on-three. Matt Nieto cleared it next, letting the team refresh their lines. The Sharks managed to steal the puck in the neutral zone shortly after that, getting a quick short-handed chance for Pavelksi. Several quick clears by the Sharks frustrated the rest of the Devils power play.

Jones made his 100th consecutive save once the teams were back at even strength.

Chris Tierney and Tommy Wingels had a good chance around the nine minute mark but Corey Schneider stopped it. Tierney had a very good game and proved that he is a great option for the Sharks in that third line center spot.

The Sharks penalties were not done, as they were called for too many men with under five minutes left in the third. The Martin Jones shutout streak ended with a power play goal from Adam Henrique. The score was still tied at the end of regulation.

The Sharks only had a 32-28 lead in shots as overtime started. Thornton, Pavelski and Burns started for the Sharks in three-on-three. Next came Marleau, Hertl and Vlasic. DeBoer put Tierney on the third unit with Wingels and Martin.

With 11.3 seconds left in overtime, Burns tripped Henrique and went to the box. The 4-on-3 power play looked good for New Jersey but they ran out of time.

The Devils shot first, starting with Adam Henrique (goal). Jacob Josefson shot second (save) and Mike Cammalleri went third (miss) .
The Sharks’ shooters were: Joe Pavelski (goal-smokin’ shot, top shelf), Brent Burns (goal-very slippery backhand). No third shooter was needed for San Jose.

The shot leaders for the Sharks were Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and Paul Martin with four apiece. Burns (30:38) and Martin (30:09) led the team in ice time by a sizeable margin.

The Sharks next play Saturday in Brooklyn against the New York Islanders. The game will start at 4:30 PT.

Warriors blow out Rockets in preseason action

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors routed a shorthanded Houston Rockets team 123-101 on Thursday night in preseason action.

Brandon Rush started in place of the injured Harrison Barnes and played 28 minutes, recording 12 points and knocking down two 3-pointers, a good sign for the forward who struggled mightily last season.

Playing a Rockets team without James Harden and Dwight Howard, the Warriors jumped on them early and often, scoring 83 points in the first half alone. Stephen Curry recorded 19 points in 17 minutes, shooting 6-of-7 from the field, leaving no doubt his preparedness for the regular season.

The second half was essentially an audition period for roster hopefuls and playing time for veterans such as Marreese Speights and Jason Thompson. Fetus Ezeli had a strong game with 11 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.

Ian Clark, Chris Babb, Juwan Staten and Jarrell Eddie saw some action, with Clark seemingly the favorite to earn the final roster spot.

Andrew Bogut sustained a broken nose in the second quarter and did not return to the game.

Warriors fall to Blazers in Preseason action

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

Stephen Curry looked in midseason form, but the Golden State Warriors fell to the Portland Trail Blazers 118-101 in the second preseason game on Thursday night.

Curry finished with 30 points and knocked down six-of-11 three-pointers, hitting jumpers from all angles. He played 26 minutes, departing the game late in the third quarter. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson both had 14 points, with Green also in midseason form as he picked up a technical foul less than two minutes into the game arguing a non-foul call.

For the Blazers, Allen Crabbe recorded a team-high 25 points off the bench. The Cal product was 9-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point attempts.

The Warriors trailed by double-digits for much of the game, and were down 77-62 at halftime. A brief spurt by the starters in the third cut the lead down to four at 81-77, but they gave way to the reserves for the rest of the game.

Ian Clark had the best showing out of all the training camp invitees, scoring six points in 10 minutes. Ben Gordon recorded a field goal in 10 minutes. Leandro Barbosa, who still looks fresh, has been the Warriors’ best reserve through two games, putting up eight points.

Up next the Warriors take on the Nuggets at Oracle Arena as the preseason continues.

The Golden State Warriors open the pre-season with a win

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors played the first game of the pre-season Monday night at the SAP Center in San Jose against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.  The Dubs beat the Raptors 95-87 as they played their usual uptempo style.The Splash Brothers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, each had fourteen points in twenty minutes of play. Leandro Barbosa led the team in scoring with fifteen.

The Dubs led 22-21 after the first period and led 53-46 at the half. They had a 6-0 run to start the third period, but Toronto had a 15-7 surge that narrowed the gap, but Barbosa had two key buckets late in the third period to put Golden State in the lead 7-61 after three periods of play.

In the fourth quarter, James Michael McAdoo and Festus Ezeli took over as they scored fourteen of the next sixteen points to put the game out of reach. Dubs win 95-87.

Notes- Mo Speights scored 12 points, and McAdoo added ten. The Warriors shot 50% from the floor and were 41.2% from three-point range. Leading scorers for Toronto were Guards DeMarre Carroll with fifteen and DeMar Rozan with twelve. Forward Norman Powell added thirteen in a losing cause.

The Warriors travel to Portland to face the Trail Blazers Thursday night.

18,223 people filled the SAP Center to see the NBA Champions get ready to defend their crown. The season starts for real October 27th.

The Warriors open training camp

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

It was Media Day Monday afternoon at the Warriors practice facility in downtown Oakland. There were about 100 journalists in attendance as the Dubs pre-season opens Tuesday.The World Champions had a short off-season, but many of the players had busy summers. Steph Curry became a father for the second time as he and his wife welcomed a new baby girl to the family. Steph traveled to China and was surprised by the knowledge of the Chinese people regarding basketball in general and the NBA in particular. The Media asked Steph if he was changed by all the adulation that has come his way, and his response was.” I’m still the same old me.”

Andre Iguodala was next on the podium. Andre was all smiles. He was the MVP in the NBA finals and mentioned that he was ready for the season. He said that he had played basketball all his life and is looking for the new season. He said that the training routine is still the “same ole, same ole.” He thought the Klay Thompson wore down late in the season, but Klay said that did not happen. Klay felt great all year. Klay was very proud to visit the Bahamas and spend time with his relatives. Klay’s father was born in the Bahamas.
Draymond Green was up next. Draymon signed a big contract with the Warriors after the Finals. Green made a large donation to his school, Michigan State. He said that the University had a huge influence on his life and wanted to give back to the place that helped him become a man.

Mo Speights spoke briefly, and Australian Andrew Bogut told the media that he doesn’t care if the Dubs play “small ball” or “tall ball.” He knows that the Warriors have different situations, and it doesn’t matter to him if he doesn’t get a lot of minutes. He understands what coach Steve Kerr is doing and will do whatever the team needs. Other speakers were Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, Jason Thompson and Shaun Livington.
Barnes answered questions regarding his contract negotiations. Barnes felt that they would be done before the season started but didn’t wants to get into specifics. Ezeli talked about coming to the United States from Nigeria. He also spoke about going to college at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennesse and his time spent with former NBA star, also from Nigeria, Hakeem Olajuwon. Jason Thompson, all six feet eleven of him, was quite effusive about the trade that brought him to the Warriors. Thompson played with the Sacramento Kings for seven years and never made the playoff. Jason was traded to his hometown Philadelphia 76ers, but the Sixers made the trade that brought him here.

The players all said that were excited to be defending their championship. They know that all the teams in the NBA will be gunning for them. They also said that this will be year two of coach Kerr’s system and that they should be better. There is no question that the Warrior fans were treated to an exciting season. The Dubs won 67 games and the playoffs in Steve Kerr’s first year as head coach. The Dubs pointed out that many of the players are young and hope to play together and getter better this year and for several years beyond. The season starts Tuesday, October 27th at the Oracle Arena against the New Orleans Pelicans.

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: Even with UCSF on board traffic questions still rise on Warriors arena; A’s in for a long second half

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–UCSF Hospital at Mission Bay is on board with the new Warriors arena to the relief of the world championship team. UCSF and it’s medical staff were opposed to the new arena because of traffic issues during event nights and the question on how emergency vehicles and patients would be able to access the hospital. UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood said that the hospital was satisfied with the City’s presentation of how traffic lanes would be separated for Warriors and UCSF traffic on game nights involving separate traffic lanes. The W’s really need to put all their ducks in a row to get this going.

Although the latest poll of San Francisco voters show that they favor a new arena at Mission Bay there is still opposition to the new arena and the lead on that comes from Mission Bay Alliance that says despite what the city is proposing on the drawing board to get traffic divided and organized that there will be traffic snarls on game, event nights, and Giants game nights and there will be no way to get away from that.

San Francisco is probably one of the toughest cities in the country to build anything of substance including a multi purpose sports arena very close to the waterfront neighborhood located at Mission Bay. This process to get the arena through is a day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year project. Now you take a town like downtown Denver, there is basically no traffic, there is very little congestion to get to the either Sports Authority, Coors, or the Pepsi Center.

For the City it’s going to eventually be a congested situation with two major league events going at the same time in the critical months of April, May, and June when the Warriors and Giants are overlapping. This will be close to Market Street and the traffic over there will be horrendous and there will be bicycles and you got everything going over there. You got public transit and a lot of cars and if the Warriors move to the City it’s going to be so bad for the traffic.

San Francisco is on it’s way to becoming one of those towns where half of the town is closed to traffic and in this case the South of Market. The voters always look at the taxes and how much more their going to pay, not to mention rent and mortgage in the city is through the roof now. Building an arena right now looks like it’s on track for Golden State but that could all change when the Mission Bay Alliance starts showing how traffic will look like and the proposed tearing down of highway 280 going to the Embarcadero and what that is going to look like.

The Giants were able to pull off their stadium back in 2000 because most of the money to build was from private funds, the Warriors new arena will be done with private funds too, but the traffic hang up is something the Alliance is pushing with City voters. When you build an arena in a metropolitan area and it’s not a social event, there’s tax increases and people don’t like to pay more taxes and in California we have enough taxes.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the A’s, the Spanish TV voice for the Angels, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors officially ship David Lee to Celtics

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics made the David Lee trade official on Monday, announcing the deal this morning.

Lee will be sent to the Celtics in exchange for Gerald Wallace and Chris Babb, both of whom the Warriors will likely waive.

Celtics’ President of Operations Danny Ainge said in a press release: “We are excited to welcome David as a member of the Celtics family. His proven skill set and experience on a championship team will add valuable depth to our frontcourt and a veteran presence to our locker room.”

Lee, 32, spent five seasons with the Warriors, four of which he was a consistent starter and key contributor. But his production fell off the table last season when injuries set him back to start the year, allowing Draymond Green to take his place and thrive.

Lee came off the bench instead, averaging 7.9 points and 5.2 rebounds a game in limited minutes.

The writing was on the wall as to Lee’s uncertain future of the team, and trading him seems to be in the best interests of the Warriors – who have little use for Lee – and Lee, who is looking for more playing time

He will receive that in Boston as a veteran who can guide the young Celtics team.

Lee, a free agent after next season, is due $15.5 million in 2015-2016.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: New Warriors arena needs an Act of Congress

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Anybody that has lived in the Bay Area for a long time, realizes that to build anything in San Francisco its always an adventure. Mr Joe Lacob and Mr Peter Gruber owners of the Golden State Warriors want to move the Golden State Warriors to San Francisco, from the Oracle Arena in Oakland.

I believe in free enterprise 100X100, If I didn’t I would be happy to go back to Cuba, where my family’s business they built from a whole life of hard work, was taken away by a despost communist government. So I can appreciate the Warriors owners plan to move to a thriving city, where everything is happening now days.

The City of San Francisco has a height limit of 84 feet on all bayfront construction. Basically nothing higher than a bus bench can be built here. maybe a lemonade stand. Today UCSF Nurses and the California Nursing Association voiced their opposition, to the Warriors Arena in San Francisco, they have other concerns, and there will be meetings and meetings, and townhalls and all of that in the future. Other groups in San Francisco are not as happy to have a new building in the bayfront area of the city. Giants fans remember(the ones that used to go to Candlestick Park and weather July nights games with 40 mile per hour winds and 50 degree temperatures, (not the ones going today to “the party” dude at the AT&T game tonight)on the trials and tribulations of getting a sports venue built in the city by the Golden Gate.

We all witnessed the civic pride that Oakland experienced during the recent Warriors Victory Parade, Champions of the National Basketball Association.

God knows that Oakland needs these type of positive gatherings where thousands of people gathered to celebrate in a positive fashion and not to destroy businesses windows, or to occupy parks for extended periods of time.

Oakland was once called “City of Champions” During the 1970’s and 1980’s Champion Warriors, Athletics, Raiders, Oakland was the hub for sports in the Bay Area, But (like we all know)things change.

Silicon Valley is now moving north to San Francisco, people pay $4500 a month for a one bedroom studio in the city. Like the “old timers”during the gold rush would say “there is money in them hills!!!”.

So, of course there makes perfect sense for the Golden State Warriors to move to San Francisco and become the San Francisco Warriors; after all that was their name when they first moved from Philadelphia in the early 1960’s.

Will it happen? Will the Warriors move to San Francisco? First Oakland A’s owner Charlie O Finley used to say “money talks and BS walks”. Ay Caramba… Oi vey, said one of my good friends!

Well, there is a lot of money involved here and also a lot of BS.

I think money will eventually win at the end. You can bet on it.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV voice for the Angels and the Spanish radio voice for the A’s and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors Take UCLA’s Kevon Looney with 30th Pick in the NBA Draft

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

With the 30th and final pick of the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft last night, the Golden State Warriors selected UCLA forward Kevon Looney. The 19-year-old freshman fell into the Warriors lap after being projected as a lottery pick mid-season. A balky hip that won’t affect his ability to be ready for the start of the season helped Looney’s draft slide.

Looney produced one of the best freshman campaigns a storied program like UCLA has ever seen. The Milwaukee, WI native became a nightly threat for a double-double, average 11 points and 9 rebounds per game. His ability to get to the rim put Looney 2nd in the Pac-12 in rebounds. He led the conference with 122 offensive rebounds. He led all freshmen nationally with 15 double-doubles and was second in total rebounds with

The 6-foot-9, 220 pound power forward still has some developing to do before his body and his game are NBA-worthy, but that shouldn’t be a concern for the World Champions. The Warriors return most of the deep core that led them to the Larry O’Brien Trophy, which means playing time with the big club will be limited. This gives Looney a chance to hone his skills in the D-League with the Santa Cruz Warriors for a season or two until he’s ready to play a physical role against NBA caliber players. At the 30th pick, he represents a low risk-high reward profile for a team with no real weaknesses at the moment.