Category: Golden State Warriors

Warriors commentary: With upcoming road trip Warriors can close out first half big before All-Star break

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by Daivd Zimor

OAKLAND–What we saw with the Warriors in their last game on the road against Utah is a team that was playing without David Lee. His presence on offense has been a really big boost for this Warriors team he’s one of the best inside scorers around basketball and one of the best in the NBA.

There was a reason why he was named to the Olympic roster just a couple of weeks ago and it was because of that ability, losing him definitely changes how the Warriors approach these games because they simply don’t have the same inside scoring presence without him. What happened in Utah was very interesting with the Warriors bench being thin with injuries to Jermaine O’Neal, Festus Ezeli and Lee.

Andrew Bogut has had a great week and a half as it is against Utah he was scoring points he was typical on his impact on defense but it was the offense that was really surprising. With Bogut everyone knew he had some kind of offensive skill but the Warriors haven’t called on him all that much. The Warriors do like to call on him as a passer but when we saw him in the last game he was somthing else he would hit a 19 footer with his foot on the three point line and it would have been a three.

Lee was running, he was cutting he was making moves around the basket, he was playing that brand of basketball that made him one of the top picks in the NBA way back when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks if the Warriors can get a little bit more of that kind of play out of Bogut they would be tough to stop.

Granted Utah is not a great test case because Utah is a lousy team but Bogut was showing some offensive skills that we really haven’t seen from him this season but we haven’t seen this all in one game. If the Warriors can coach that out of him every now then that would be a weapon other teams would have to worry about.

It’s worth noting that Bogut had that big game and Stephen Curry has the highest scoring night of the year with 44 points. In the last few games Bogut has really been the key for this Warriors, Curry is doing his typical Curry stuff and their starting to come around the defense is starting to come into play and we’ll see how they do in this final stretch towards the All-Star break they have a game against Charlotte, Miami, and Phoenix so they have some winnable games.

Miami is not a sure thing but if they beat Miami and they seemed to match up pretty well against them and whenever they play Miami they get up for it, it’s one of those things they rise to the occasion. Going into the All-Star break their 29-19. They have four games until the break they can win three out of those four and their capable of winning all four. This is an important stretch to put the Warriors in solid footing.

David Zizmor covers the NBA for Sportstalk Radio

Curry, Bogut steer Dubs past Jazz

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By Joe Hawkes

SALT LAKE CITY — So much for the Warriors inability to win back-to-games.

Stephen Curry scored a season-high and game-high 44 points, and Andrew Bogut scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, helping Golden State to a 95-90 victory over the Utah Jazz Friday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

Curry recorded his fifth 40-point game of his career, all on the road.

Golden State (29-19) picked up back-to-back wins for the first time since their recent 10-game winning streak in three weeks. Golden State took out the Los Angeles Clippers. 111-92, Thursday night at ORACLE Arena.

Curry was just deadly, shooting 14-of-26 from the field, including 8-of-13 from 3-point range.

Harrison Barnes, starting for the injured David Lee, scored eight points, but shot 2-for-10 from the field. Lee sat out tonight’s game with a left shoulder and hip injury. The Warriors are off until Tuesday when they host the Charlotte Bobcats (21-27), which will allow their power forward time to get healthy.

Klay Thompson had 11 points, but was a dreadful 3-of-20 from the floor, while Andre Iguodala finished 1-of-6 from the field with four points.

Golden State held the edge in points in the paint, outscoring Utah 36-28 down low.

Alec Burks led all scorers for Utah with 26 points off the bench, while Enes Kanter had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Jazz (16-30).

Diante Garrett chipped in 13 points off the bench.

Golden State swept the season series from Utah (3-0), and have won consecutive games in Salt Lake City for the first time since 1981.

“We knew we need to win this game to validate last night’s (against the Clippers) game,” said Curry after the game.

Warriors arena at piers 30-32: Polls show only 38% support new arena when luxury condo and hotel are thrown in

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by Ken Gimblin

SAN FRANCISCO–A San Francisco poll that was commissioned by the Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club that was done by J. Moore Methods of Sacramento found that of San Franciscans polled when asked if a new 12 story Warriors arena that included a 17 story luxury condo tower and a 10 story luxury hotel only 38 percent of those polled favored the project, 53 percent voted thumbs down.

When KPIX CBS 5 asked if a Warriors waterfront arena would be supported 60 percent polled in favor before the condo and hotel were tossed in the mix in the December poll. In another December poll only 36 percent were in favor of any new development idea at Piers 30-32 among 400 possible voters.

The Warriors are determined to get the new arena done which has a target date of 2017 but the Warriors new arena may have to get a stamp of approval from such groups as the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, State Lands Commission and Army Corps of Engineers. There are many hoops for the Warriors to jump through before ground is broken.

One of the first is the environmental impact report, the report is essential in getting the building certified before construction, the evaluation of wild life and living animals land and in the bay have to be studied. So far the study has not even started and is reportedly behind schedule. Permits for construction can not be started without the environmental study. Once ground breaking starts the completion schedule calls for two years to finish the job.

The Warriors are looking at 2015 to get the project going and finished by 2017 the way things are going the schedule could be hung up by the environmental impact alone. According to Warriors owner Joe Lacob if the team has to wait another year for the project completion say 2018 then so be it, “It’s going to be a challenge, it’s about getting it right, if it takes a year longer, it takes a year longer.” said Lacob.

According to reports the Warriors will have to spend upwards to $180 million double the original figures to fix Piers 30-32, team officials insist that extra public monies will not go into the $1 billion arena. The following costs for the projects read like a laundry list of items that the Warriors must achieve while the clock to meet the 2017 deadline ticks, 2.3 acre property assessment at $30 million, rent credits for the property at $2 million per year or the Warriors can lump out at $30.4 million, and proceeds from bonds which is from property taxes priced at $50-60 million.

The heighth of the building is what got potential voters worried, the Warriors wanted a 12 story sized arena measuring in at 125 feet high on reconstructed piers, the Warriors are planning to recoup on their investment by building a 175 foot condominium and 105 foot hotel across the street from the arena when they can book rooms and sell condos. In November Propositions B and C which were called the 8 Washington condos were rejected rather handily by San Francisco voters.

The rejection of the building of a new condo tower and luxury hotel in props B and C is almost identical to what the Warriors would ask voters to vote on again after they turned down the B and C measures last year to build a new hotel. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee campaigned with two other former San Francisco Mayors Willie Brown and Gavin Newsom for the project with support from the business community and a large number of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the measure still lost.

Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos who is against the new arena at the waterfront said that the residents of the waterfront not only want to retain the beauty of the views of the Embarcadero but the project is a just for profit measure that won’t benefit local residents or the city. Agnos also said at the time that Warriors owners Lacob and Peter Gruber who do not live in the city only care about profit and not the benefit of the neighborhood. When propositions B and C lost in November no one from the Warriors would admit to Agnos’ “theory” that voters will look at the Warriors arena in the same way similar to props B and C, Warriors spokesman Nathan Ballard alluded that the propositions and what the Warriors want are two seperate ideas.

Ken Gimblin is covernig the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings arena developments for Sportstalk Radio

All-Star Snub Lee States Case As Warriors Dismantle Division-Leading Clippers

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By Matthew Harrington

Coach Mark Jackson accused his Golden State Warriors of playing down to their opponents amidst a stretch that has seen the Warriors drop six of their last nine, a cold streak that reached its lowest point with a Tuesday night 88-85 loss at home to the lowly Washington Wizards. His team played to the level of its opponent against Thursday night. Luckily for Jackson, the team on the opponents’ bench happened to be one of the best of the West. The Warriors (28-19) rebounded from Tuesday’s embarrassment in a big way, thumping the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Clippers 111-92 at Oracle Arena in a game where the outcome practically never came under doubt.

The Dubs big men manhandled their Southern California foes, with David Lee and Andrew Bogut combining for 36 points and 28 rebounds for their second-straight win over in-state rivals Los Angeles (33-16). The Warriors also downed the Clippers on Christmas day in a more physical 105-103 win and lead the season series 2-1.

Lee, making a statement after being overlooked for a reserve role on the Western Conference All-Star squad after spots were announced Thursday, tied Stephen Curry for a Warriors-best 22 points on the night and chipped in 11 boards for the double-double. Bogut connected on seven of eleven field goal attempts for 14 points, including a nifty desperation chuck with the shot clock expiring that drew a smile from the Aussie center, and pulled down 17 rebounds. His 17 boards were second only to Clippers center DeAndre Jordan who reeled 20 down off the rim. All-world talent Blake Griffin ended the contest with 27 points for Los Angeles to lead all scorers. Guard Darren Collison netted 22 starting in place of All-Star Chris Paul, out with a shoulder injury since January 3rd but expected to return as early as next week.

The Warriors raced out to an early 17-6 lead just under halfway through the first quarter then held the 11-point edge leading 32-21 to close the quarter. The home team continued to add to the lead in the second before the Clippers put together their best run off the night in the final five minutes of the half. Trailing Golden State 56-40, L.A. closed out the period outscoring the Warriors 16-8 to trail 64-56. The Clippers comeback ended prematurely with the Warriors smothering their visitors 26-11 then closed out the game despite being outscored 25-21 in the fourth quarter for the 111-92 final margin.

The win came at a desperate time for the Warriors, who were in danger of dropping back six games in the standings to the Clippers. The Dubs stand four games back in third place in the division after being leapfrogged by the red-hot Phoenix Suns, winners of four-straight and seven of their last ten. The Warriors have a prime opportunity to string together consecutive wins for the first time since their historic ten-game win-streak was snapped earlier in the month when they face the Utah Jazz, who boast the second-least wins in the Western Conference (16) Friday night in the second half of back-to-back games. For coach Jackson, the hope is that the Warriors can right a spin that has seen the Dubs go 4-6 over their last ten while playing above the level of their opponents, the Northeast Division’s last place Jazz.

Warriors offense falls flat, lose to Wizards 88-85

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By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (27-19) struggled for most of the game, losing to the Washington Wizards (22-22), 88-85, Tuesday night, at Oracle Arena. Neither squad looked particularly good, in a contest that quickly turned into an ugly offensive showing. Both sides failed to shoot above a 38% clip, and combined for 37 turnovers.

The contest remained close throughout in a very defense-oriented game, and ultimately came down to which side would make the least mistakes and hit the big shot when the opportunity presented itself.

For the Wizards it was their electric backcourt that saved the day, and nailed the last nail in the Warriors coffin. Washington held a slight one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Bradley Beal, who’s impact had been limited, came up big and sunk three straight from beyond the arc to open up a lead.

Golden State slowly scratched their way back. A tough David Lee lay-up in traffic tied the game up at 85-85 with 1:47 to play. Unfortunately, that would be the last points they could muster.

On the very next possession Beal finally missed a three-pointer, but an offensive rebound kept it alive for the Wizards. The pass quickly went to a wide-open John Wall, who nailed the trey. The basket would prove to be the game-winner. Stephen Curry had the final shot, but Trevor Ariza did an impressive job covering him, and all Curry could get off was an awkward heave that never had much of a chance.

For Golden State, Curry was their only consistent source of offense. Despite an off shooting night, he finished with a game-high 23 points, to go along with four assists and four steals. He was the only Warrior to reach double figures until Klay Thompson joined him in the fourth quarter. Thompson contributed 13, on 5-of-17 shooting.

Lee and Andre Iguodala both struggled. They combined to make just four-of-17 shots, for 16 points.

Golden State’s bench, which has struggled for much of the season, was the biggest bright spot. They combined to hit 11-of-20 shots, for 29 points. Jordan Crawford in particular played a big role in bringing the team back in the fourth quarter with several electric plays.

Beal led the way for Washington. He contributed a team-high 20 points, with seven rebounds and four assists. Wall came up big when he needed to, and had 15 points, eight boards, and five assists. Ariza and Marcin Gortat both finished with double-digit rebounds, with 11 and 12 respectively. As a team they out-rebounded the Dubs, 56-47.

It was a disappointing loss after such a strong win over the Portland Trail Blazers a couple of nights ago. They’ll look to rebound when the LA Clippers come to town, this Thursday.

Warriors snap home losing streak, smother Blazers 103-88

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By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (27-18) got back in the win column, easily beating the tough Portland Trail Blazers (33-12), 103-88, Sunday night, at Oracle Arena. They won this one thanks to strong team defense and the lethal Stephen Curry. The Trail Blazers came into the contest as the NBA’s top scoring offense, and the Warriors made them look helpless for several stretches. For Portland the 88 points are a season-low, to go with 33% shooting from the field, also a season-low.

With their poor play as of late, it was important for the dubs to come out of the gates strong, and they did just that. They established an early lead, and set the tone with smothering defensive play. The splash brothers started especially hot, combining to score 18 of the team’s first 20 points, on 3-3 from beyond the arc. Through 12 minutes of play they led 28-22.

In the second quarter, however, the Blazers swung the momentum back in their favor. They scratched their way back and eventually took back the lead, which they hadn’t owned since the opening moments of the game. They led by as many as seven, before the Warriors re-inserted most of their starters and made a strong late push before halftime. Heading into the locker room, Golden State trailed by one, 55-54. Thankfully, the second was basically the only blip on the radar.

The Warriors thoroughly dominated the third quarter, and early portion of the fourth. At one point, during a 16 minute span, they outscored the Trailblazers 35-10, eventually building a 21-point advantage.  Portland had one last gasp in them. They went on a 16-3 run late in the fourth, momentarily making Golden State sweat a little. The Warriors weren’t going to let this one slip away, however, and closed it out strong.

Curry finished with a game-high 38 points, to go along with eight assists and seven rebounds. David Lee had a prototypical David Lee game, posting 17 points and 12 boards. Andre Iguodala notched his second double-double of the season, with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Klay Thompson had an off shooting night, hitting just 6-of-21 shots, but still contributed 17 points and fantastic defense.

The theme of the night, however, was of course their superb defense. LeMarcus Aldridge lit up the Warriors in their last meeting, and tonight they held him to just 2-of-14 from the field. He still managed to finish with a double-double, but ultimately didn’t have much of an impact on the contest. They also held star point guard Damian Lillard at bay. He finished with 16 points, 5-of-16 from the field, and five assists.

Tonight was a textbook look into how the Warriors need to play to compete with the league’s best. Hopefully they can springboard off of this win and continue this kind of play.

Golden State’s home stand continues this Tuesday, when they will be taking on the Washington Wizards. The game begins at 7:30 pm.

Warriors commentary: Defense lacking in the Warriors last four loses

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by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–If the Golden State Warriors want to be playoff bound they have to step up their game, they’ve lost three in a row at home the latest is a one point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves by one on Friday night at the O.Com and the Warriors have been struggling a little bit losing four of their last six games.

Mostly on the defensive end, their scoring plenty that hasn’t been much of an issue and everybody knows this is a team with a very strong starting line up. Four of the Warriors just got selected to be part of the Olympic preparation team for 2016. Steph Curry, Clay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and David Lee, and Andrew Bogut all named for the team earlier this week. Bogut is not American so he can’t be named to the American team but he has been on the Australian team before and he would have a chance to be named again.

This would put the Warriors with potentially five members that are potential Olympic starters or Olympic players, the Warriors have been great on offense even that one point loss the other night they scored 120 losing by one. The problem has been on the defensive end ever since that ten game winning streak they had a couple of weeks go by where they kind of lost their defensive prowess.

Their playing really good defense up until that point then they lost a couple of games for whatever reason their defensive mindset has been lazy they just haven’t been playing hard on defense and they’ve been giving up a ton of ponts and frankly if you watched their game it’s not that their giving up a lot of points the opposition is scoring every single time their not just able to miss.

This is because the Warriors aren’t getting up in their faces and Bogut is playing pretty good defense in the middle around the perimiter their giving up too much space I don’t know why all of a sudden the Warriors are laxed on defense but it’s just whats been happening. Until the Warriors correct it their going to have trouble winning these games.

If they can score with anybody and against some of the lesser teams they would probably be able to outscore them because even bad defensive teams their the lousy teams who won’t be able to score enough to keep up with Golden State. Against the decent teams their going to lose and right now the Warriors are treading water. They could come back and their a good enough team.

The Warriors are having trouble right now, part of the problem might be their just a little worn out, one of the problems they’ve had injuries on the bench with their starting five. Iguodala missed a month’s worth of games and that didn’t help. Their starting five is healthy and their playing great when their in. The problem is they don’t have a deep bench because of all the injuries and that’s really hurt them.

The Warriors gear up for Portland on Sunday and Washington on Tuesday

David Zizmor does commentary on the NBA for Sportstalk Radio

Last second shot downs Warriors, lose 121-120 to Wolves

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By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (26-18) lost a hectic back-and-forth contest to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 121-120, Friday night, at Oracle Arena. The game featured a ton of offense, and seemed to come down to which side would blink first. The Warriors grabbed a late lead, before a Kevin Martin 20-foot jumper with eight seconds left ultimately put the Timberwolves ahead for good. Three Minnesota players finished with 20+ points in the win.

The fast pace was set early on, as both squads combined for 72 points in the first quarter alone, deadlocked at a 36-36 tie. The foes continued to go blow-for-blow, with neither establishing a significant lead. The Timberwolves opened up the game with a 6-0 run, but that would be the biggest advantage either would enjoy until the third quarter.

Heading into the locker rooms at half time, they remained tied, 63 all.

Late in the third quarter, Golden State finally made a bit of a run. Minnesota failed to score for the final 2:53, sending the Warriors on a 10-0 tear, and a seven-point lead, heading into the fourth. It appeared as though the dubs could fight them off, but the rollercoaster ride wasn’t over.

In the fourth the momentum slowly swayed back in the Wolves favor. With 5:54 remaining in the contest, a Martin three-pointer had erased Golden State’s lead, and had taken back a one-point lead of their own. They continued to trade punches down the stretch. With 27 seconds left a pair of Andre Iguodala free-throws gave the Warriors their last lead of the game, 120-119. With eight ticks left, Martin played the game-changer again, sinking a jumper. Harrison Barnes had one last shot at the buzzer, after a double-teamed Stephen Curry passed the rock his way, but his attempt clanged off the rim.

In all five Warriors finished in double figures. Curry led all scorers with 33 points, including six three-pointers, to go along with 15 assists. David Lee pitched in 23 points and seven rebounds. Andrew Bogut set a Warriors season-high with seven blocked shots, to highlight his line of eight points and 11 boards. Klay Thompson had 18, Iguodala finished with 16.

Kevin Love led the way for Minnesota, filling up the stat sheet with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. Martin did plenty of damage as well, chipping in another 26 points. Center Nikola Pekovic scored 22, and hauled in 14 rebounds. Ricky Rubio led the team with 12 assists.

Golden State will look to get back to their winning ways this Sunday, when they take on the tough Portland Trailblazers, back at Oracle. The game begins at 6:00pm.

Warriors comeback bid is too little too late, fall to Pacers 102-94

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By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (26-17) couldn’t overcome a big early deficit, losing to the Indiana Pacers (33-7), 102-94, Monday night, at Oracle Arena. Falling behind quickly against the league’s best team is rarely going to be a recipe for success. The Warriors have made a habit out of big comebacks at home, but there would be no thrilling storybook ending on this night.

Both squads came out of the gates on fire, combining to make the games first nine shots. From there, however, the Pacers started to pull away. Golden State trailed by 14 after the first quarter, and would eventually trail by as many as 20. Indiana holds the league best record, and at times it certainly looked like the Warriors were overwhelmed going up against it.

In the second half, it initially looked like more of the same. The Pacers opened up the third with a 7-0 run. As we’ve seen them do countless times this season, Golden State refused to go down quietly. They finally appeared to wake up, and mounted a run of their own. They kept on slowly chipping away at the lead. Flash-forward to two minutes into the fourth quarter, and a Harrison Barnes three-pointer brought the dubs to within two. However, that would be as close as they would get to a lead.

The Warriors kept themselves within striking distance until the final seconds, but the mountain proved to be too high to climb. They misfired on a couple of key possessions, and Indiana put the game away with some late free throws.

Stephen Curry wasn’t at his best, but still scored a game-high 24 points. He finished one assist shy of completing the double-double. He was nine-of-20 from the field, and just three-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Mr.double-double himself, David Lee, notched another one. He finished with 20 points and 12 boards.

Andrew Bogut missed a couple of crucial minutes late in the game after he appeared to tweak something, but was re-inserted into the game. He contributed 10 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks.

For the Pacers, Paul George led the way with 23 points. Roy Hibbert was his usual force in the paint, adding 14 points, 14 boards, and two blocked shots. All five Indiana starters finished in double figures, the first time an opponent has accomplished that feat against Golden State this season.

Curry, Lee carry Warriors past Pelicans

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By Joe Hawkes

NEW ORLEANS — Stephen Curry had 28 points and eight assists, while David Lee added 22 points and eight rebounds helping the Golden State Warriors rebound from their loss in Oklahoma City Friday night, with a 97-87 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday night at New Orleans Arena.

Curry shot 10-for-22 from the field, but 2-for-9 from 3-point range. Andrew Bogut scored 10 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in 34 minutes, and Jordan Crawford added 10 points off the bench for Golden State (26-16), who picked up their seventh straight victory over New Orleans.

Klay Thompson had a tough night from the field, scoring eight points on 3-for-14 shooting, 2-for-7 shooting from 3-point range.

Anthony Davis led all scorers with 31 points and pulled down 17 rebounds, his seventh straight game with at least 20-plus points.

Tyreke Evans finished with 14 points, after missing the previous three games with a left ankle sprain for the Pelicans (15-24), who have lost seven straight games. Al-Farouq Aminu scored 12 points, but New Orleans finished shooting 38.6 percent (32 of 83), including 2-for-11 from 3-point range. The Warriors shot 44 percent (37 of 84), hitting 6 of 22 from deep.

Golden State needed this victory in the worse way, as they host the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers Monday at Oracle Arena and didn’t want to face a tough Pacers team on a three-game losing streak.