Jan. 24, 2010
WARRIORS PAGE
First things first,a few days ago, Warriors coach Don Nelson sat down in front of a fewreporters and admitted hed made a mistake. No, it had nothing to dowith coaching.
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Before his admission, Nelson had been talking about Andris Biedrinsfoul shooting and had said that Biedrins rejected help from Rick Barry,one of the greatest free throw shooters of all time.
In case you havent been following, Biedrins is having a devil of atime at the line this year. Hes 2-for-18 from the line, whichtranslates into 11 percent. Anyway, after Biedrins 1-for-7 performanceagainst Chicago, Nelson lamented postgame about his centers lack ofproficiency at the line.
Nelson also had said Biedrins eschewed Barrys help. But the next day,Nelson came in and said that it wasnt Barry who had come in to try tohelp Biedrins. It was George Johnson. In other words, Barrys nevergotten a crack at Biedrins.
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News
The Warriors are set to take another look at Monta Ellis sprainedright ankle today, but every indication is that the injury is notserious.
Ellis apparently hurt the ankle during the first half of Fridays gameagainst the New Jersey Nets, then tried to give it a go during thesecond half. But less than two minutes into the third quarter, Ellisshut it down and headed into the locker room.
During a season the Warriors have been hit hard by injuries, theyreexpecting good news on Ellis. The expectation is hell likely play onTuesday when the Warriors play the Kings in Sacramento.
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Dont look now but the Warriors are right on the Kings heels in thestandings. And these are the same Kings that were the talk of theleague only five or six weeks ago.
The Kings have lost seven in a row and 12 of their past 13. Further,the return of Kevin Martin hasnt seemed to helpeven a littleandin fact there are concerns that there may be issues about Martin androokie Tyreke Evans playing together.
Thats why youre hearing Sacramento trade rumors, like the latest involving Martin and Dallas forward Josh Howard.
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There is no doubt D-League call-up Anthony Tolliver has played well forthe Warriors and will likely get another 10-day contract on Wednesdaywhen the first one expires.
At the same time, the scouting report on him might not exactly havebeen right on the money. Before Tolliver played a game for theWarriors, he was described as a power forward who could stretch thefloor with his 3-point shooting but whose rebounding wasnt a strength.
But through four games with the Warriors, Tolliver is just 2-for-17from 3-point range (11.8 percent). On the other hand, hes averaging avery respectable eight rebounds per game, despite playing just a shadeunder 30 minutes per game.
--Matt Steinmetz
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