GSW·2012-13| WEEK 6: Dec 2- 8, 2012 + Player Profiles

Zach Randolf bullied Anthony Randolf in the paint most of the night

BOXSCORE

Randolph's Beastly Night Snaps Warriors' Streak

Nov 4, 2010 Oakland, CA -- The Warriors saw their 4-game win streak ended with a 105-93 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in front of disappointed fans at Oracle Arena. A Golden State victory would've tied the team's best regular season start since the 1994-95 season; however Zach Randolph and the Grizzlies' powerful frontcourt had other plans.

Pounding the paint, Randolph carried Memphis to an early 6-point 1st-quarter lead; a margin which ballooned to 16 by halftime as the heavy-legged Warriors, coming off yesterday's 19-point blowout win in Toronto, could do little to prevent.

"Guys were tired tonight, that much was obvious," said head coach Don Nelson.

A scary moment for Warriors' fans occurred partway into the 2nd period when forward Kelenna Azubuike clashed with Zach Randolph knee-to-knee in an attempt to pick up the charge. A limping Azubuike was escorted to the locker room by teammates and missed the remainder of the quarter but returned to play in the second half.



Azubuike actually led a mini Warriors' run after the halftime break, scoring the team's first 6 points and 11 in the quarter, to narrow the Grizzlies' lead to single-digits by the start of the final period.

But in the 4th Memphis would respond by relying heavily once again on big man Zach Randolph, who continually scored in the paint on route to a dominant 33 point, 10 rebound performance moving the Grizzlies to 3-1 on the season.

"I wasn't gonna be stopped by nobody tonight. Nobody, " said Randolph after the win.

Shooting guard Kevin Martin and center Andris Biedrins were bright spots in an otherwise forgettable offensive night for Golden State. Martin, who had been instrumental carrying a majority of the Warriors' scoring load during the 4-game win stretch, continued his blistering ways by torching the Grizzlies for 33 points of his own to match Randolph on 13-18 shooting.

Andris Biedrins also had a decent 13 point, 6 rebound and 4 block night going 6-7 from the field with zero turnovers; but the lanky Latvian was eclipsed by Grizzlies' center Marc Gasol who racked up an impressive 18 point, 12 rebound double-double.

"Except for a few guys, our energy wasn't there," added coach Nelson. "They killed us on the glass and shared the ball extremely well; our guys just couldn't keep up tonight. But we're still off to a great start this season and now we've got a couple nights to rest up, make some adjustments and hopefully we can come away with a win on Sunday."

Again against the Grizz? Hope you can bounce back man.

Marc Gasol had a nice double-double, but it looks like O.J. had an off night. Either way, the Grizzlies are a tough team to matchup against.

Man, I looked at the title and though the Meal Ticket had a big night, then remembered you hadn't lost yet this season.

Take them down in the re-match.

Shame about the loss, but at least you won't have to wait long to get revenge. Good luck!

XxHyperDunk24 - surprisingly tough! Gasol is a beast, much like many of their bigs;

Thierry, Andrew - the rematch was definitely interesting stay tuned;

Martti - yeah there are other Randolph's in the league (who btw, i will continue to misspell as "Randolf" subconsciously throughout his career at Golden State, and sometimes even in the same recap lol)

Tough Loss, Zach Randolph killed you on the inside Good Luck in the next game, revenge time

Classic nba live 06 ... the memory's !

Good read Clutch !

valor, mp3 - thx for the comments guys

~ Week 3 In Review ~

A Successful Rematch

BOXSCORE - Nov 7

After losing their first game of the season to the visiting the Grizzlies, Golden State had an immediate opportunity to avenge their loss only days later facing Memphis once again at Oracle Arena.

Despite a repeat monstrous performance by the Grizzlies' Zach Randolph who dominated to the tune of 36 points and 13 rebounds, the final outcome went in Golden State's favor as Steph Curry dismantled the defense and lead the Warriors to an eventual 18-point blowout. Curry finished with a team-high 24 points and 5 assists while Roger Mason and Anthony Morrow combined for 30 points to give the Warriors a huge boost off the bench, an equally deciding factor in the win.


Nellie congratulates Mason and Morrow for their strong contributions.



Training & Player Dev

Warriors' assistant coach Leif Gillis, who joined Golden State last season and is arguably the league's premiere Defense specialist, kept all training focused on the rehab of forward Kelenna Azubuike who suffered a knee-on-knee collision with Zach Randolph in the previous Warriors loss.



Though Azubuike's rehab received the most attention, Gillis also took time to commend backup center DeAndre Jordan on his steady improvements in the areas of ball handling, defensive awareness and strength.



Hawks Fly Away With One

BOXSCORE - Nov 11

The 5-1 start was one of the best the Warriors had had in several seasons and both the team and fans were riding a natural high; however back-to-back losses towards the end of Week 3 came as a dose of reality to remind the team of the difficult road ahead.

First came a loss to the Atlanta Hawks in a strange game where the Warriors actually dominated defensively with 12 steals, 11 blocks to Atlanta's 2 steals and 3 blocks; further still the Warriors had 6 less turnovers than the Hawks and would appear to have the edge… at least on paper.

However, Atlanta's terrific zone defense kept Golden State's offense firing shot attempts mainly from the perimeter where they went a dismal 3-12 from beyond the arc, and too often in desperation with very little time on the shot clock. Meanwhile, Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby's slow and steady production would dominate the Warriors' backcourt and combine for 50 of the Hawk's 108 total output in the 11-point Hawks win.


Josh Smith was a menace at both ends of the court for Kelenna Azubuike.



AI Unanswered

BOXSCORE - Nov 12

The following night Stephen Curry would have his worst game of the season to date in a 103-88 home defeat to the legend Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. While Elton Brand controlled the interior and ended with 22 points, 11 boards, 3 assists to capture the Little Ceasars Player of the Game honors, Iverson went to work on Curry.

The Answer torched his young Warriors' counterpart finishing the night with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists while holding Curry to just 8 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists. Iverson seemed determined to show he still has what it takes to be an impact player and proved so this night by limiting Curry to just 3-14 shooting, 0-6 from three-point range and forcing 7 turnovers.

"These young hot-shot guards nowadays come in and think they own the league," said Iverson following the game. "but experience counts for a lot too… and I've got a lot of experience under my belt."


Coach Nelson could barely watch as the 76ers abused young Steph Curry throughout the night.



The Warriors will look for their own answers at home in Oracle Arena against the visiting Miami Heat and try to nip their current 2-game slide before embarking on a tough 5-game road trip.





Power forward Anthony Randolph shot .68% averaging a double-double
11.3 points, 10.3 rebounds per game over the three-game stretch.

Liking the layout But! Not liking the real life pic of Randolph. An in-game pic of him would have been the icing on the cake.

Tough couple of losses there, but nice work as always with the presentation and layout.

AI 18 points in 18 min Although he'll probably be pissed at the lack of minutes despite being a starter

On the other hand, seems like you're getting killed on the boards! Biedrins and Randolph needs to toughen up down low

thx for the comments guys; Valor - AI got himself in foul trouble early on (fortunately); would've hated to see what his final line would've looked like otherwise ; not sure what to do about board control... Beans & Meal Ticket are 'okay' and i would hate to trade either of them (since i like them as players); hopefully they step up

~ Weeks 4 & 5 In Review ~ (Part I)

The Golden State Warriors are finishing the tail-end of a 5-game road stretch during Weeks 4 & 5. Here's Part One of how things went down...

Continuing Slide

BOXSCORE - Nov 14 - MIA @ GS

After losing to the Hawks and 76ers in consecutive nights, the Warriors looked to turn things around against the Heat but only stumbled in the wrong direction.

Golden State figured to have an easy time playing at home against a visiting Miami Heat team which lost All-Star guard Dwyane Wade to the Oklahoma City Thunder during the off-season. However, the veteran leadership of Jermaine O'Neal anchored the team's confidence while Daequan Cook embraced his new starting role.


A tough (not to mention embarrassing) night for Beans.

Close and fast-paced through the opening quarter, the Heat pulled away on a 14-0 run sparked by O'Neal in the 2nd-quarter, a lead that the Warriors would inevitably succumb to despite a noble comeback attempt in the third when they outscored Miami 25-19.

Cook torched Golden State for 20 points shooting 8-11 from the field; meanwhile O'Neal erupted on 15-26 shooting for a total of 35 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks to capture Player of the Game honors and held Warriors' center Andris Biedrins to just 3-11 from the field.



Pounding The Paint

BOXSCORE - Nov 17 - GS @ CHI

Already off on the wrong foot, the Warriors began their 5-game road-trip in the windy city of Chicago against the Bulls.

Chicago had made some aggressive signings during the off-season acquiring veteran center Zudrunas Illgauskas on July 28th and two days later, versatile swingman Mike Miller. So, even with budding bigman Joakim Noah out with a broken wrist, the Bulls had more than enough post presence and used it to their advantage.



The Bulls Outside-In attack spread the Warriors' defense with a barrage of perimeter shots and when double-teamed, Chicago quickly fired the rock inside to Illguaskas who, like Miami's Jermaine O'Neal, pummeled Biedrins in the paint. It was a game plan of attrition that worked to perfection. Illguaskas finished the night with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks while Martin led the Warriors with 27 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.



By the end of the night, the Bulls' balanced attack saw five players score in double-digits as they methodically dismantled the Warriors who never lead the entire game.

"We didn't play bad... they just played better," commented Nellie after the Warriors' fourth loss in-a-row.

K-Mart Special

BOXSCORE - Nov 19 - GS @ POR

After opening the season 5-1, the Warriors were in the midst of a 4-game slide and needed someone to stop the bleeding and help turn things around; Kevin Martin was that someone against Brandon Roy and the Portland Trailblazers.


Roy crushes home 2 of his 16 points.

It was a tight game throughout but Martin finished strong for Golden State connecting on 6-7 in the final period and nailing a dagger mid-ranged jumper that put Golden State up 105-100 with 29.6 seconds remaining.


Martin had ice-water in his veins in the fourth quarter.



The Blazers would convert on their following possession but clutch free-throws by Martin, Steph Curry and big man DeAndre Jordan down the stretch sealed the victory. Martin finished with 22 points, 2 steals; Curry with 24 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals; and Jordan with a solid 7 point, 8 rebound, 1 block night in 13-minutes off the bench.


Jordan impressive off the bench | Webster finished two shy of his jersey number with a team-high 21 points.

Martell Webster led the Blazer offense with 21 points while Brandon Roy, hampered by foul trouble, still managed 16 points, 6 assists and 3 steals.

Looking good man. Great games by Martin

Man, you get killed by old big men. Big Z and JO are of course monsters in the game. (Like James White and Kwame Brown.)

At least you got one win.

Rough stretch there but it didn't end too badly with that win over the Blazers. Jermaine O'Neal certainly turned back the clock.

Thierry - K-Mart's been stepping up offensively lately most definitely... not much defensively though;

Martti - Beans can get blindside blocks (in fact leading the league in BPG i think) but is too weak man-to-man; would like not to ship him or Randolph out but their lack of strength/toughness is killing me ... will give more Zone defense looks to see if it helps;

Andrew - Blazers are struggling for some reason; they should be dominating but sim-wise they're near the bottom of the barrel - primacy ratings?

Anyway, Part II coming up...

~ Weeks 4 & 5 In Review ~ (Part II)

Curry Stuns The Garden

BOXSCORE - Nov 22 - GS @ NY

The win in Portland seemed to lift the team's spirits as Golden State took their game into New York City's Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks featuring newly re-signed Stephon Marbury and Tracy McGrady plus a first look at the 2010 1st-overall draft pick, forward Brandon Baylor.

The Warriors erupted from the opening tip and quickly had New York trailing by as many as 17 points in the opening quarter, only relinquishing 2 points in the 2nd-quarter to carry a 13-point lead into the mid-game break. Meanwhile the Knicks sputtered as Marbury tried in vain to match against Curry's superior speed and athleticism in what looked to be an easy blowout victory in the make for Golden State.

However, after halftime Marbury wisely fell back on his savvy and experience to befuddle the Warriors' defense. His quick 7 points and 5 assists in the third quarter helped New York seize momentum and shaved the Warriors' lead to single digits.

Their once comfortable lead having all but vanished, Golden Stated found themselves in a 104-104 tie with possession, 24.9 remaining in regulation and the Knicks threatening to push the game into overtime.


A decent 13 pt, 4 reb, 2 ast & 1 blk night for the #1 overall pick, Brandon Baylor | Nellie calling the shots under pressure

Stephen Curry controlled the ball in the closing moments under heavy pressure from Marbury. As the clock wound down to mere seconds, Curry faked a drive then stepped back and pulled up to let fly a game-winning trey as the shot-clock expired.



Curry hits the dramatic game-winner from beyond the arc

After a quick timeout, Marbury would have 2.1 seconds to attempt his own desperation three to try and force overtime, but the shot drifted left and clanked hard off the rim.

"Kid is special," Marbury said after the match referring to Curry's late game heroics. "Won't be the last you'll see him make like that... count on it."

Marbury finished with 15 points, 9 assists to Curry's team-leading 29 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. Al Harrington also played tremendously for New York and took the Warriors' Anthony Randolph completely out of his game. Harrington would tally a team-high 20 points, 11 rebounds while Randolph only contributed 2 points off free-throws, 5 boards and 2 blocks.



Prep For Turbulence

BOXSCORE - Nov 23 - GS @ DEN

Unfortunately, the Warriors celebration was cut short the following night in Denver as Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith exacted vengeance for the Nuggets previous loss at Oracle Arena.


Biedrins swats the Birdman for 1 of his 6 blocks on the night | Martin ripped away a game-high 15 rebounds for Denver

Anthony and Smith combined for 49 points on route to a 98-88 home victory, a defeat made all the more bitter in the fact that starting point guard Chauncey Billups sat smirking in a suit on the sidelines, out with a sprained elbow.



The Warriors will finish out their road trip in Houston, Texas on Sunday facing former teammate Monta Ellis, a healthy and hungry Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets.

Lol Marbury is back but he can't stop Curry

Will you also recap against the Hornets? it would be a nice match up

Marbury back on the Knicks...somehow, I don't see that ever happening in real life.

Andrew - Blazers are struggling for some reason; they should be dominating but sim-wise they're near the bottom of the barrel - primacy ratings?

Possibly, you might want to try running the Primacy Fix if you haven't already. Apart from that, sometimes the sim engine produces weird results while other times it simply simulates a slow start for some teams.

dare - "Starbury" is too old to stop Curry now will definitely include news on the Hornets game (I'm curious how Curry will do against CP3 too) in the next weekly recap;

Andrew - i had to backtrack a page to look something up:

8/13/10
Knicks sign S. Marbury for 28.22M for 3 yrs

7/12/10
Warriors sign K. Azubuike for 47.75M for 6 yrs
Knicks sign E. Curry for 81.92M for 6 yrs
Knicks sign T. McGrady for 79.74M for 3 yrs
Knicks sign C. Duhon for 47.23M for 6 yrs

not only did NY embrace TMAC and Starbury's return, they did so for 3 years!

i'm a little cautious to mess with Primacy stuff on my existing dynasty for fear of Thierryitis (j/k Thierry ); but maybe i'll test the primacy fix after making multi backups

i'm a little cautious to mess with Primacy stuff on my existing dynasty for fear of Thierryitis (j/k Thierry )

Lol, I tell you, it's definitely a disease what's happening with my stories.

i'm a little cautious to mess with Primacy stuff on my existing dynasty for fear of Thierryitis (j/k Thierry ); but maybe i'll test the primacy fix after making multi backups

It shouldn't cause any problems but if you're concerned, make a backup, run the fix and then just try the usual: entering a game, simulating through to the end of the season and into next year, etc. If all goes well - as it should - you're good to go.