Professional Basketball – Page 2 – Sports Radio Service

AP Photo/Brandon Dill

by Jerry Feitelberg

All good things must come to an end and that is what happened Tuesday night in Memphis as the Golden State Warriors lost for the first time since November 11th and their franchise record sixteen game winning streak ended as they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 105-98.

The Warriors were without their two big men, Andrew Bogut and David Lee. Bogut missed his fourth game in a row due to a knee problem and Lee has missed over twenty games as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Their absence was huge as the two big men for Memphis, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, could not be contained by the smaller Warrior team. Gasol led the Grizzlies in the first half

with fourteen points and finished the game with twenty-four. Zach Randolph had seventeen points and ten rebounds and was a force underneath the basket all night.

The game started well for the Dubs. The Warriors had the lead after the first period 28-24. Harrison Barnes had nine points to put Golden State ahead. Things changed in the second period as the Warriors missed the first eleven shots while Memphis went on a 20-0 run to give them 44-30 lead with 7:12 left in the first half. From that point on till the end of the game the Warriors

could not catch up. They trailed 57-49 at the end of the half and it was more of the same in the third period and they trailed by eleven at the end of three. The Warriors went to a small lineup in the fourth period and they closed the gap twice to two points but the bigger Grizzlies kept the pressure on and

went on a 7-0 run late in the game and they beat the Dubs by a final score of 105-98.

The Warriors were led by Steph Curry who had nineteen points, seven rebounds and six assists. However, Steph had a tough night and made just one three-point shot all night. Draymond Green had just four points and he did not make a three point shot. Klay Thompson had twenty-two points and Marreese Speights contributed eighteen with eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

The Grizzlies were led by Marc Gasol who had twenty-four points and Zach Randolph’s seventeen points and ten rebounds. For Randolph, it was his fifteenth double-double of the year. Point guard Michael Conley scored seventeen and Vince Carter, coming off the bench had sixteen.

The Warriors are now 21-3 for the season while Memphis improved to 20-4 and are 12-1 at home.

After the game, Michael Conley said ” With Bogut and Lee out, we had the advantage down low.”

Warriors coach Steve Kerr commented”I thought we were going to win but there was too much to overcome.” We “fought really hard. We got close but couldn’t get over the hump.”

The Warriors return home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night at the Oracle Arena.

by Jerry Feitelberg]

The Golden State Warriors held their annual Media Day Monday at their headquarters in downtown Oakland. They currently have eighteen players on their roster and will have to make some cuts to get to the roster limit. Players cut may go to the “D” (Developmental League) or be picked up by another team.

The Warriors made most of their players available for interview and I was able to talk to Draymond Green who has improved each season he has been with the Dubs and is looking forward to his third year in the league. Green played especially well in last year’s playoff and is looking forward to the new season and working with the new coach. He said the “Coach Kerr is about building relationships” and that he was “getting to know him” and that he is a “great guy.”

Green spoke about working hard over the summer to improve his shooting. He also said that the addition of Shaun Livingstone and Leandro Barbosa in the backcourt will really help the team. He said each player has a totally different game but they are overall good basketball players and that they are going to help the backcourt a lot.”

Third year forward Harrison Barnes was at the next table. Barnes said that”last year was a difficult year” for him but he is optimistic his game will improve this year. He talked about Coach Kerr and felt that since “Kerr played in this league” that he(Barnes) was getting a “feel for his system.” Then he said that the team “will be playing at a fast pace.”

Was able to meet with Marreese Speights who is in his second year with the Warriors and seventh in the league. Speights is a role player off the bench and made significant contributions to the team during the regular season and the playoffs. Speights was hoping to play 17 to 20 minutes a game this year.

As the crowd thinned out, I was able to get a picture of several of the players and at 2 pm the gym was cleared as the players went off to practice.

Was able to say hello to David Lee, Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala and got pictures of those players. Got a picture of Klay Thompson but didn’t get a chance to say hello.

The players are excited about the upcoming season and are really ready to go now but they still have to learn Steve Kerr’s system. Kerr played for Lute Olsen in college and won five championships with coaches Greg Popovic and Phil Jackson. Let’s hope that Kerr can bring his knowledge of basketball and winning to the Warriors. The Warriors have made the playoffs the last two seasons and there is no reason not to believe that they can’t win an NBA championship.

This could be their year.