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

[Clutch]

TEAM PREVIEW


Off-Season Moves


Current Record: 6-16

Breakdown
During the off-season the Pistons re-signed rising-star point guard Rodney Stuckey to a multi-year contract expecting veteran forward Tayshaun Prince would soon follow suit and forego free agency.

To their surprise and demise however, Prince, a savvy 9-year veteran wise to the shrewd and cutthroat business of the NBA, elected to take his defensive skills to the highest bidder, New Orleans, in order to cash in on a bigger paycheck and team up with arguably the league's premiere point guard in one Chris Paul.

Panicked with Prince's unexpected departure the Pistons overreacted by signing free agents Jonas Jerebko and DaJuan Summers, both 3rd-year small forwards, to exuberant multi-year contracts. And now, just over 20 games into the 2011-12 season, the Pistons have been plagued by an early rash of injuries to key starters, including Rodney Stuckey, and find themselves floundering 10 games below the .500 mark.

With Stuckey not estimated to return for at least a week, and Villanueva out for a minimum 2.5, Detroit will need to find some way to right the their sinking ship quickly or the Pistons may be in for a long, long season.

Injuries as of Dec 12, 2011 - GS @ DET

GOLDEN STATE - None
DETROIT


Starting Lineups


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Ax, "Yay?" easily pleased man lol... wouldn't count on it happening all the time though

[Wyze]

Looks like a tough season for Detroit, first losing Prince then (IMO) their two best players going down. Baring an absolute outbreak by Gordon, I'm saying you win this game by 20+.

[kibaxx7]

Yep, also betting on a double-digit win by the Warriors.

[Axel The Great]

Ax, "Yay?" easily pleased man lol... wouldn't count on it happening all the time though

Well the "Yay" wasn't in me being pleased, it was just in celebration of something that rarely happens.

Kwame Brown? 79 overall? Is he overrated or what? I think you'll be able to crush the Pistons, with Prince gone, and their best point guard.

[Andrew]

Certainly looks like you'll prevail in that one, nothing going the Pistons' way this season it would seem.

[cavs4872]

I'll be looking forward to the recap man, and am also expecting a win from you guys.

[Clutch]

thx for the comments guys; Pistons recap coming shortly

lol, just realized in the TEAM PREVIEW, i had posted the "Starting Lineups" twice... for both the lineup AND roster!

anyway, it's fixed now (and perhaps an addendum, "Don't post anything that's supposed to be significant to your dynasty if you're in a hurry and on your way out" should be made to the do's/don'ts of Dynasty making lol)

[Martti.]

What is with teams collecting only SG/SF's to heir bench? I guess Jarebko can play the 4, but that's it.

[Clutch]

Mowed Down In Motown

Dec 12, 2011 Detroit, MI (AP) - Stephen Curry continued to build on his reputation as one of the league's premiere point guards in a 122-117 Warriors road win over the Detroit Pistons.

Crippled by injuries to two key starters, the Pistons struggled to contain Curry who caught fire with 12 points in the opening quarter and refused to let up the entire game. After one, Golden State held a 6-point advantage.

Detroit's Will Bynum connected often with big man Kwame Brown as a counter during the 2nd and 3rd quarters and managed to trim Golden State's lead down to a surprising 2 points entering the 4th. The overachieving Brown would finish the evening with a team-high 24 points, 11 boards and 2 blocks while Bynum led all assists with 11 total.

But the Warriors backcourt combo of Curry and Carter once again took over in the 4th, just too much offense and defense for the Pistons to handle. Not only were they responsible for 65 points of the Warriors total scoring but like a pair of ball hawks, they snared a total of 9 steals combined.

"They were everywhere tonight; it really disrupted our offense," said 4-year pro Will Bynum who coughed up 5 turnovers under Curry's constant harassment; to be fair, Bynum's scrappy defense also forced Curry into 5 turnovers.

Normally a high-volume 3-pt shooting team, the Warriors were so confident in their defense they took only 6 shot attempts from downtown, relying mainly on their capable scorers inside and the ability to breakdown defenders off the dribble and get to the rim.

Detroit, however, was flustered by Golden State's swarming defense which notched 11 more steals against their inferior ball-handlers. Out of frustration, the Pistons fired away from the perimeter only connecting on 7 of 19 shot attempts from beyond the arc.

One down note for the Warriors occurred at the 9:24 mark of the 2nd-quarter when starting small forward, Kelenna Azubuike, appeared to have re-aggravated a recent leg injury which he had just been cleared from. Azubuike was escorted off the floor then headed for the locker room after playing only 11 minutes and did not return for the remainder of the match.

Next, Golden State has one night's practice to prepare for the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, the first opponent of a 4-game home stand.


Azubuke goes down with injury yet again... | Curry dropped 8 dimes on the night in one of his best games of the season

Uncontested, the Golden Child explodes to the rim on a rare slam | Noah delivers the payload... along with a kick to the nutsack for Gordon


_____

Martti, *shoulder shrug*

[Kenny]

Kwame 24-11... True NBA Live stats there

Nice win; Steph Curry is a beast and it's nice to see Vince still putting up nice numbers.

[Bucket]

Kwame 24-11... Only in videogames. Good win and duo Curry and Carter combined 65 points.

[Martti.]

Damn, I forgot they have Kwame Brown. He's like Dwight in Live 06.

Odd to see Steph dunking ant not bombing a single three..

[Andrew]

Nice game by your backcourt, the game was a little closer than I would've expected. Still, a win's a win. When I first saw the headline it suggested that you'd lost though, but that could be just me.

[Murat]

Carter+Curry+Noah duo... I love this game!

[Axel The Great]

You were destined for this win. Kwame Brown had a monster game, and only has those in videogames. Good to see Steph and VC scoring 30+ points.

[Lamrock]

Nice job overcoming Kwame's career night for the win.

[kibaxx7]

Another injury for Kelenna. But great win, a little more contested than I thought.

[Andrew]

I overlooked that injury report. That's a shame, particularly if you are still looking to shop him.

[Wyze]

Carter+Curry+Noah duo... I love this game!

*Trio

Too close for comfort, but atleast you got the W.

Kwame went off lol

[Clutch]

KWAMERA ATTACKS! lol

thx for the comments guys... yeah, he's definitely Dwight-Lite in Live 06; all the yelling Jordan did at him in his early years made him a real MAN

I was definitely pleased with Carter/Curry, but the Azubuike injury? well, let's just say it may have set irreversible consequences in motion

[Clutch]

Trouble By The Bay

"Chris you're being completely unreasonable here," said GM Larry Riley to Warriors owner, Chris Cohan as the two sat in a semi-private booth of the Pyramid Brewery just off Gilman in Berkeley.

A young man with a beaming grin came up and asked, "Gentlemen, what can I get you?"

"What would you recommend?" said Riley in reply, and immediately their host broke into a two minute monologue of not only what was on tap, but proceeded to explain in great detail the various ingredients and process taken to create each individual ale, till finally Riley interrupted.

"Listen..." he said leaning forward to read the server's nametag, "Albano? We'll just have two pints of IPA, thanks."

"Ah, my favorite! Coming right up," their host said as he left for the bar to place the order.

"Kid's thorough, I'll give him that," Cohan said shaking his head.

"As I was saying… " Riley continued, "We just extended Azubuike to a max contract last season. Now I know he's been a little banged up lately, but we need to give him chance."

"We don't need to do anything!" Cohan fired back. "I've given him ample time and so far he's not delivered. He's brittle and injury-prone; that makes him a liability. I'm not interested in a young Grant Hill leeching off my payroll while wasting away on the bench. I want him moved immediately."

"Immediately? But, it's almost Christmas… " said Riley.

"Exactly. I want this done, before the new year in fact. Now, I've been golfing with Dan Gilbert of the Cleveland Cavalier's recently; he tells me they've been searching a while now for a swingman capable of playing off guard as well as backing up King James at forward when needed; they've had their eyes on Azubuike for some time now. I want to move him before he gets banged up something serious."

"Hmmm… and what are they offering in return?" Riley inquired.

"One Mr. David Lee."

"David Lee? That's actually pretty terrific! We can shift Carter permanently to small forward, having Lee and Randolph shoulder the power forward role while we mov…"

"Oh, that's the other thing - they want Randolph included," Cohan said nonchalantly while looking around impatiently for their long-absent server.

"WHAT!? HE'S OUR MEAL TICKET!!!" Riley exclaimed drawing the attention of a few nearby heads that looked up momentarily before returning to their dining and conversations.

"Calm down Riles… you never know who might be listening."

"With all due respect Chris, but… have you lost your freakin' marbles!?" said Riley with a look of disbelief. "Anthony Randolph's the future of this league, an All-Star budding before our eyes… and you're ready to be rid of him just like that?"

"Look, Randolph's served his purpose as far as I'm concerned. He drew in fans, he sold tickets, he earned many team owner's attention; but the bottom line is his contract expires at the end of the season and I want him moved now while his stock is high and owners want him. I won't risk him having some major injury and I absolutely refuse to be cornered into some bidding war provoked by one of my employees who decides he wants to test free agency come next season."

"Chris it won't be like that with Randolph, I promise. Please, please reconsider. This is absolutely a terrible move that will not sit well with bay area fans who love the Meal Ticket. Think about your reputation as an owner," Riley pled in vain.

"Bah! You think I care about the fans or what they think of me?" A few more heads glanced their way and now some whispers were being spoken through the corners of mouths.

"Your pleas fall on deaf ears Riley; I've made up my mind. I'll leave you to contact the Cavs front office and work out the details. I don't care what you do, or how you do it; just make it happen. Hate to be an ass but, your job depends on it."

Just then two pints of IPA were carefully placed before them without a spilt drop. "So… what'll you gentlemen be eating tonight?" said the waiter with the wide smile.

"What do you recommen…" started Cohan, who then reconsidered his question then said, "On second thought, we'll both have the fish n' chips… and for starters, an order of fried calamari; sound good Riles?"

With a pale look of dejection on his face Riley slowly nodded then added, "Sounds fine. I'll take another pint of IPA as well… actually, just bring a pitcher."

"Excellent choice! My favorite in fact," said the server and with that he sped off.

[Andrew]

The plot thickens...

[Martti.]

Damn, Thierry is in every story nowadays.

So I'm guessing you're trying to make the deal they made in real life for Lee, but that was stupid. Don't do that. Plus, you acquired Carter so you could have cap space to re-sign Randolph if I recall.

[Andrew]

Having picked up Boozer and Korver in my Dynasty I'd have to say it adds to the atmosphere a bit when you do add that touch of reality, but at the same time no one should feel obligated to do so.

[Lamrock]

I actually like the Lee trade the more I think about it, just not in the context of this dynasty. Having said that, I doubt he does it.