Author Archive

0
22
Oct

Preseason Game 6: Lakers 120, Warriors 99

Let’s focus on the good news first: Biedrins! Puts up a solid 11 points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes, with a made free throw (!!!) and the best +/- of the starters at -4.

And: Lin! Sure, his +/- was pretty weak at -16, but he played 18 minutes, had 4 assists, and committed zero turnovers. Not exactly setting the world aflame, but a nice step forward and his best argument yet for getting real minutes in the early going.

And: Brandon Wright and Reggie Williams with production off the bench! Both dropped 14 points, though Wright’s rebounding totals were pretty weak with only two. Overall though, the Warriors outrebounded the Lakers 48-37, continuing one of the best trends of the preseason.

Now the bad news — Monta somehow managed a -29 in just 21 minutes of work, and had a largely invisible stat sheet. Curry went out with a sprained ankle that is apparently better than it looked at least. VladRad got the start (?) and was pretty woeful with 1-7 shooting — I assume that Smart was trying to send a message to Dorrell Wright as he ultimately ended up with the bulk of the minutes at the three, and had a decent line with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists (but a -18 +/-).

And the Lakers shot 56%. That’s gotta change.

Postscript: Jeff Adrien got only 4 minutes of playing time, but grabbed 4 rebounds and had the best +/- of the night at +5. Granted, they were probably garbage minutes, but the dude keeps putting up solid minutes whenever he gets on the court.

1 2 3 4 T
GS 25 27 24 23 99
LAL 30 25 31 34 120
Golden State Warriors (3-4)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
V. Radmanovic F 20:57 1-7 0-2 0-0 -6 1 2 3 2 1 3 0 0 3 2
D. Lee F-C 25:49 7-11 0-0 3-3 -16 2 4 6 0 2 1 3 0 2 17
A. Biedrins C 28:29 5-9 0-0 1-2 -4 5 8 13 3 3 1 1 0 0 11
M. Ellis G 21:43 1-7 0-1 2-2 -29 0 1 1 1 3 0 3 0 1 4
S. Curry G 29:44 8-19 0-5 3-4 -5 1 4 5 3 2 1 5 0 0 19
D. Wright 31:08 4-9 1-2 2-2 -18 3 3 6 6 1 1 4 1 2 11
R. Williams 27:22 6-10 0-4 2-2 -1 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 14
B. Wright 20:29 6-10 0-0 2-4 -10 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 0 2 14
D. Gadzuric 11:48 1-5 0-0 0-0 -5 2 2 4 1 4 0 0 1 1 2
J. Lin 18:16 1-4 0-0 1-1 -16 2 1 3 4 1 3 0 0 0 3
J. Adrien 04:15 1-3 0-0 0-0 +5 3 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
L. Amundson NWT – Fractured right index finger
C. Bell DNP – Coach’s Decision
R. Carney DNP – Coach’s Decision
E. Udoh NWT – Left wrist surgery
Total 240 41-94 1-14 16-20 21 27 48 22 20 12 19 2 11 99
43.6% 7.1% 80.0% team rebs: 8 total to: 19
Los Angeles Lakers (3-4)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
R. Artest F 25:32 3-10 2-4 2-4 +19 0 3 3 5 2 0 3 1 0 10
L. Odom F 24:26 5-16 1-3 5-6 +8 4 8 12 2 1 1 5 3 1 16
P. Gasol F-C 26:05 8-13 0-0 7-7 +14 2 5 7 0 2 0 0 2 0 23
S. Vujacic G 14:44 4-5 1-1 0-0 +9 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 9
D. Fisher G 22:26 3-4 2-2 0-0 +12 1 0 1 2 2 0 2 0 0 8
S. Brown 33:16 6-11 0-0 1-2 +12 2 1 3 5 0 3 1 2 1 13
M. Barnes 26:16 4-7 2-4 0-0 +17 1 2 3 4 4 2 2 0 0 10
L. Walton 11:13 2-3 1-1 0-0 -7 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 5
S. Blake 25:34 8-10 1-2 1-1 +9 0 0 0 7 1 0 2 0 0 18
T. Ratliff 21:55 0-0 0-0 0-2 +7 0 4 4 1 5 0 0 2 0 0
D. Ebanks 08:33 4-5 0-0 0-0 +5 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 8
K. Bryant DNP – Coaches decision
A. Bynum DND
D. Caracter DNP – Coach’s Decision
T. Johnson DNP – Coach’s Decision
D. Naymick DNP – Coach’s Decision
Total 240 47-84 10-17 16-22 10 27 37 30 17 8 16 11 2 120
56.0% 58.8% 72.7% team rebs: 7 total to: 16

inactive

  • Warriors: –
  • Lakers: –

technical fouls

  • Warriors: –
  • Lakers: –

scoring

  • Lead Changes: 8
  • Times Tied: 10

arena stats

  • Arena: San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA
  • Officials: #57 Greg Willard, #47 Bennie Adams, #72 J.T. Orr
  • Attendance: 11150
  • Duration: 2:15
0
21
Oct

Preview: Warriors at Lakers

Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers (in San Diego) | 7:00 p.m. | KTCT 1050

The Warriors head down to SoCal tonight to play the Lakers in San Diego at the “Valley View Casino Center,” a 1960′s era venue that is probably pretty interesting inside. With the Giants on tonight, I’d have to imagine that this will be the lowest rated game in the Ticket’s history. What to watch for:

  • Identify the Identity. Matt Steinmetz made an interesting point in his chat yesterday that, so far, the Warriors haven’t developed any sort of offensive identity. I know they’re working on installing the new motion offense, but I’d love to see them work on the pick and roll and try to get some easy buckets for Lee to get him going. At the very least, it would be nice to see them get their shooting percentage up from the 33% they shot in the last game.
  • Can Lin back up the point? I think it’s a long shot — as Steinmetz also pointed out yesterday, he definitely has work to do. More likely, he’ll get some D-League seasoning and perhaps be ready to provide some quality backup minutes in the second half of the season. He has two more nights to show that he deserves some regular season minutes — let’s see if he takes advantage.
  • If not Lin, who? In the more likely case that Lin isn’t the answer, who can provide some backup minutes at the point?
3
20
Oct

No More Drama

Looks like Adrien has wrapped up the final roster spot, as the Warriors just announced that Aaron Miles has been waived. Seems like the smart move to me, especially with Amundson’s injury.

Still, where are those 10-15 backup minutes at the point going to come from?

0
20
Oct

Preseason Game 5: Suns 92, Warriors 87

Brutal shooting nights for both Lee and Monta. Ethan Sherwood Strauss is getting worried about Lee as he’ll be shooting a lot more mid-range jumpers this year since he’s no longer playing the 5, so it would be nice to see him settle that shot down a bit in the final two preseason games. Monta had a classic “old Monta” line with 29 points off 10-28 shooting in 44 (!) minutes.

On the bright side, Curry had only 1 turnover (but only 3 assists), and Brandon Wright had a solid game with 14 and 6 in 19 minutes (and, according to the AP writeup, was key to their late comeback attempt). The Warriors held the Suns to less than 38% shooting, but only shot 33% themselves. The Warriors won the rebounding battle as well, which is starting to become a nice trend.

In the final roster spot battle, Adrien got almost 20 minutes and pulled down 8 rebounds, while posting a +2. Miles played 11 minutes and only had one assist, but also pulled down five rebounds. Advantage: Adrien.

Two more preseason games left, both against the Lakers.

1 2 3 4 T
GS 19 19 20 29 87
PHX 21 25 16 30 92
Golden State Warriors (3-3)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
D. Wright G-F 26:30 4-12 2-6 0-0 -3 1 3 4 2 1 1 5 1 0 10
D. Lee F-C 26:53 1-11 0-0 2-3 -11 3 6 9 1 2 1 2 0 2 4
A. Biedrins C 16:16 2-4 0-0 0-0 -2 5 4 9 0 3 1 1 0 1 4
M. Ellis G 43:39 10-28 1-6 8-9 +6 1 3 4 5 2 4 3 0 0 29
S. Curry G 23:57 5-13 1-6 1-1 -13 0 2 2 3 4 2 1 1 0 12
C. Bell 08:41 0-2 0-1 0-0 +3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
V. Radmanovic 27:14 1-5 1-5 0-0 +4 1 5 6 1 1 0 1 0 0 3
R. Carney 05:54 0-2 0-2 0-0 -7 0 3 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
B. Wright 18:57 5-6 0-0 4-6 +1 1 5 6 0 3 0 1 1 0 14
J. Adrien 19:36 3-7 0-0 0-2 +2 5 3 8 0 1 1 1 1 0 6
A. Miles 11:45 1-4 0-0 0-0 +1 2 3 5 1 0 1 1 0 1 2
D. Gadzuric 10:38 1-6 0-0 1-1 -6 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
L. Amundson NWT – Dislocated Right Index Finger
J. Lin DNP – Coach’s Decision
E. Udoh NWT – Left Wrist Surgery
R. Williams DND – Left Groin Soreness
Total 240 33-100 5-26 16-22 21 39 60 14 17 11 17 4 5 87
33.0% 19.2% 72.7% team rebs: 9 total to: 18
Phoenix Suns (2-5)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
G. Hill F 23:17 3-8 0-1 0-0 +14 1 6 7 3 1 0 1 1 1 6
H. Turkoglu F 29:10 2-9 1-3 0-0 +7 2 2 4 2 4 2 1 0 0 5
R. Lopez C 25:03 5-9 0-0 4-4 +12 5 5 10 0 3 0 0 0 0 14
J. Richardson G-F 28:05 4-13 1-5 2-2 +9 3 2 5 1 0 2 4 1 0 11
S. Nash G 33:43 8-15 0-2 2-2 +5 0 5 5 4 1 2 7 0 0 18
C. Frye 22:57 4-13 2-7 4-4 -7 1 6 7 1 4 0 2 3 0 14
H. Warrick 20:29 1-5 0-0 3-6 -5 0 5 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 5
J. Dudley 21:55 2-8 1-4 1-2 -5 2 2 4 1 3 0 0 0 2 6
J. Childress 21:04 0-3 0-0 3-4 -5 1 4 5 1 1 0 1 0 0 3
G. Dragic 14:17 5-7 0-2 0-0 0 0 4 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 10
E. Clark DNP – Coach’s Decision
Z. Dowdell DNP – Coach’s Decision
M. Janning DNP – Coach’s Decision
D. Jones DNP – Coach’s Decision
G. Lawal DNP – Coach’s Decision
G. Siler DNP – Coach’s Decision
Total 240 34-90 5-24 19-24 15 41 56 17 17 7 17 5 4 92
37.8% 20.8% 79.2% team rebs: 9 total to: 17

inactive

  • Warriors: –
  • Suns: –

technical fouls

  • Warriors: Smart
  • Suns: –

scoring

  • Lead Changes: 6
  • Times Tied: 7

arena stats

  • Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
  • Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #56 Mark Ayotte, #70 Brent Barnaky
  • Attendance: 14635
  • Duration: 2:24
0
19
Oct

Preview: Warriors at Suns

Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns | 7 p.m. | No TV/radio

The Warriors head down to Phoenix tonight for the second half of a back-to-back. What to watch for:

  • Bench production. After playing four of the starters more than 30 minutes last night (with 25 for Biedrins), you’d have to imagine that the bench will get a lot more time tonight on the back end of a back-to-back. Can Brandon Wright crack double digits in either scoring or rebounding? Can Rodney Carney continue to work himself into the offense? Can Charlie Bell show any sort of offensive game? And can Jeremy Lin build on a solid game last night?
  • The continuing saga of roster spot #15. Neither Miles nor Adrien got much playing time last night, though both had solid stats in the limited minutes they played. Assuming they get more time tonight, can either one make a statement? Right now, the external factors are pointing to Adrien (Amundson’s injury and Lin’s solid play last night), so Miles will have to start turning things on soon if he hopes to snag that final spot.
  • Curry’s TO’s. He had 8 turnovers on Saturday, and 6 last night — and the beat writers are starting to notice. Can he put a clean game together tonight?
0
18
Oct

Preseason Game 5: Warriors

Nice looking win with the starters picking up most of the positive side of the +/-, along with Jeremy Lin who was a +13 in only 12 minutes (still a chance to be the backup PG solution?). Curry turnovers are still running a little hot with 6 (versus 6 assists), and he paired that with an off shooting night. On the bright side, Monta was back to 50% with a 9-18.

Biedrins finally came alive with a solid 8 points and 11 rebounds, and Lee had an all star line with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Wright was fairly quiet with 7 and 5 in 18 minutes, but that’s not too shabby averaged out for a full game. Adrien had a good looking 6 and 5 in only 8 minutes (and a +6), while Miles had 3 assists in 9 minutes (with a +8).

Won the rebounding battle, which could be to the Warriors as turnovers are to the 49ers…

1 2 3 4 T
POR 20 23 16 19 78
GS 18 24 31 27 100
Portland Trail Blazers (2-4)
field goals rebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
N. Batum F 16:50 2-4 0-1 0-1 -5 0 2 2 1 2 1 4 0 0 4
L. Aldridge F 24:00 4-8 0-0 3-4 -13 2 3 5 0 5 1 1 0 1 11
D. Cunningham F 25:46 4-7 0-0 0-0 -8 1 3 4 1 5 2 1 1 0 8
B. Roy G 24:00 2-8 0-0 1-2 -13 1 2 3 1 1 0 2 0 0 5
A. Miller G 21:46 0-3 0-0 10-10 -10 1 4 5 4 1 1 3 0 0 10
J. Bayless 17:51 1-5 0-3 6-6 -7 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 0 0 8
L. Babbitt 29:58 3-10 0-3 0-1 -11 2 7 9 5 4 0 5 0 0 6
R. Fernandez 12:16 3-6 2-4 0-0 -3 1 1 2 2 1 0 2 0 0 8
A. Johnson 25:58 4-7 0-1 1-2 -10 0 4 4 2 3 1 3 0 0 9
R. Sykes 15:14 1-3 0-0 2-4 -9 0 1 1 1 3 1 1 0 0 4
E. Williams 18:15 1-6 0-1 0-0 -15 1 1 2 1 2 2 0 0 4 2
P. Mills 08:06 1-2 1-1 0-0 -6 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 3
M. Camby DND- Right Hip
S. Hill DNP – Coach’s Decision
W. Matthews DND- Right Achilles
G. Oden DND- Left Knee
J. Pendergraph DND- Right Knee
J. Przybilla DND- Right Knee
Total 240 26-69 3-14 23-30 10 31 41 19 30 11 25 1 5 78
37.7% 21.4% 76.7% team rebs: 6 total to: 25
Golden State Warriors (3-2)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
D. Wright G-F 36:04 2-11 1-5 2-2 +15 1 4 5 3 1 1 0 1 0 7
D. Lee F-C 32:43 7-13 0-0 7-8 +21 5 7 12 1 2 2 1 0 1 21
A. Biedrins C 24:33 4-7 0-0 0-0 +22 4 7 11 3 3 1 1 2 0 8
M. Ellis G 35:39 9-18 1-4 3-7 +11 1 3 4 2 2 1 4 0 0 22
S. Curry G 32:55 4-12 1-4 2-4 +16 1 1 2 6 2 4 6 0 0 11
V. Radmanovic 05:50 0-1 0-1 0-0 -1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
C. Bell 06:01 0-2 0-2 0-0 -4 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0
B. Wright 18:37 2-6 0-0 3-4 +1 1 4 5 0 1 1 2 2 0 7
D. Gadzuric 06:05 1-1 0-0 0-0 -3 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 2
R. Carney 12:02 4-6 1-3 0-1 +5 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 9
J. Lin 11:41 0-0 0-0 5-6 +13 0 2 2 2 0 1 2 0 0 5
A. Miles 09:44 0-1 0-0 2-2 +8 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 2
J. Adrien 08:06 3-3 0-0 0-0 +6 3 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 6
L. Amundson NWT – Dislocated Right Index Finger
E. Udoh DND- Left Wrist Surgery
R. Williams DND- Sore Left Groin
Total 240 36-81 4-19 24-34 16 32 48 22 18 14 18 5 1 100
44.4% 21.1% 70.6% team rebs: 10 total to: 19

inactive

  • Trail Blazers: –
  • Warriors: –

technical fouls

  • Trail Blazers: –
  • Warriors: Smart

scoring

  • Lead Changes: 5
  • Times Tied: 5

arena stats

  • Arena: ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA
  • Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #75 Eric Dalen, #50 Olandis Poole
  • Attendance: 11246
  • Duration: 2:21
0
18
Oct

Sale almost approved

Matt Steinmetz is reporting that the sale is almost official. And it’s pretty good PR as well — buried in the article is the fact that they won’t hold the vote this week at the owner’s meetings as originally hoped, but that’s overshadowed by the news that everyone agrees that it’s just a matter of time before things become official. It’s a 14-week process turning into a 16-week one, so might as well get ahead of the bad news and smartly emphasize that you have the facts on your side.

Can’t wait to have Lacob finally talk on the record now that the “I don’t own the team yet” excuse is unavailable.

0
18
Oct

Preview: Trail Blazers vs. Warriors

Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors | 7 p.m. | No TV/radio

The Warriors and Blazers get set to do it all over again two nights after meeting in the Rose Garden. What to watch for:

  • Replacing Amundson. With Amundson out for 1-4 months, can anyone step up and show that they can handle backup minutes at the 5? Gadzuric and Adrien are the only real options (outside of playing Lee there out of position), so let’s hope that one of them can give some quality minutes tonight.
  • Curry’s handles. He had 8 turnovers last game — let’s see if he can at least get things down to a 2:1 assist to turnover ration, and preferably 3:1.
  • The “New” Monta. After a couple of efficient games, Monta threw up a 5-16 last game, with four missed threes. Can he once again give us hope that he’s rediscovering his 2007-08 form when he shot over 50% from the field?
  • Bench scoring. Can someone — anyone — score some points off the bench? Williams and Wright, I’m looking at you (since I have little to no hope for anyone else who’s healthy)
3
16
Oct

Preseason Game 4: Trail Blazers 118, Warriors 115

A big welcome to Lou Amundson, who managed a -19 in only 9 minutes of work. Looks like Ellis and Biedrins joined him for most of the the weakest play of the night at -13 and -14 respectively (Monte also had an “old monta” line of 5-16). Curry was only 3 rebounds shy of a triple double, but also just 2 turnovers away as well.

On the bright side, finally a solid night for Brandon Wright who managed a +3 with 11 points and 6 rebounds in 19 minutes. Lee also was a +3 and had 17 points with 11 rebounds, though he shot an inefficient 7-16 from the field.

In the Miles vs. Adrien sweepstakes, both were scoreless in only 5 minutes each (what’s the point of preseason again?). But Adrien’s team-high +7 vs. Miles -8 certainly speaks volumes.

1 2 3 4 T
GS 29 26 32 18 105
POR 34 37 23 24 118
Golden State Warriors (2-2)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
D. Wright G-F 27:43 3-6 1-2 2-2 0 0 2 2 4 3 1 3 1 0 9
D. Lee F-C 27:57 7-16 0-0 3-4 +3 3 8 11 5 3 2 0 0 0 17
A. Biedrins C 18:16 3-4 0-0 0-0 -14 1 3 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 6
M. Ellis G 33:05 5-16 0-4 5-6 -13 1 1 2 2 3 2 1 0 1 15
S. Curry G 36:16 6-12 2-3 3-3 -7 1 6 7 11 2 1 8 0 1 17
B. Wright 19:01 5-6 0-0 1-2 +3 2 4 6 1 1 0 1 1 0 11
R. Carney 21:42 3-5 1-2 2-2 -6 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 9
C. Bell 14:32 3-5 1-3 0-0 -9 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 7
A. Miles 04:48 0-0 0-0 0-0 -8 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0
L. Amundson 08:50 1-2 0-0 1-2 -18 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 3
V. Radmanovic 22:48 3-5 2-4 3-4 -3 0 2 2 1 2 0 2 1 0 11
J. Adrien 05:02 0-1 0-0 0-0 +7 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D. Gadzuric DNP – Coach’s Decision
J. Lin DNP – Coach’s Decision
Total 240 39-78 7-18 20-25 10 28 38 27 19 7 19 3 3 105
50.0% 38.9% 80.0% team rebs: 6 total to: 19
Portland Trail Blazers (2-3)
field goalsrebounds
pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
N. Batum F 34:49 8-14 3-7 0-0 +26 2 7 9 4 2 3 2 1 0 19
L. Aldridge F 28:00 10-14 0-0 5-6 +5 3 4 7 1 3 1 0 2 0 25
D. Cunningham F 38:49 4-9 0-0 2-2 +21 2 6 8 2 4 1 3 0 0 10
B. Roy G 26:21 2-4 0-0 2-4 +4 1 1 2 5 4 1 2 0 0 6
A. Miller G 24:34 4-7 0-0 7-8 +9 0 0 0 3 1 1 3 0 0 15
L. Babbitt 12:34 2-5 1-1 0-0 -11 2 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 5
W. Matthews 04:21 1-2 0-0 0-0 -3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 2
R. Fernandez 28:29 4-10 4-8 2-2 -1 0 3 3 5 2 2 1 0 0 14
J. Bayless 23:26 3-7 0-0 2-3 +4 0 2 2 4 3 1 1 0 0 8
R. Sykes 01:19 0-0 0-0 0-0 -1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
A. Johnson 17:18 5-8 1-1 3-4 +12 1 4 5 2 1 0 0 0 1 14
M. Camby DNP – Coach’s Decision
S. Hill DNP – Coach’s Decision
P. Mills DNP – Coach’s Decision
E. Williams DNP – Coach’s Decision
Total 240 43-80 9-17 23-29 11 28 39 26 23 10 14 3 3 118
53.8% 52.9% 79.3% team rebs: 4 total to: 16

inactive

  • Warriors: Udoh, Williams
  • Trail Blazers: Oden, Pendergraph, Przybilla

technical fouls

  • Warriors: Amundson, Biedrins
  • Trail Blazers: Cunningham

scoring

  • Lead Changes: 2
  • Times Tied: 1

arena stats

  • Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
  • Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #42 Eric Lewis, #53 Mark Lindsay
  • Attendance: 19727
  • Duration: 2:16
0
16
Oct

Preview: Warriors at Trail Blazers

Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers | 7 p.m. | No TV/radio

With Amundson and Carney finally ready for action, this game is all about figuring out our bench. What to watch for:

  • Where’s the beef. Is Amundson the “beef” we need to spell Biedrins at the 5 and provide tough D on the opponent’s center? If he’s truly healthy, I hope we’ll see him getting at least a few minutes defending Oden.
  • Who’s Rodney Carney? I admit to knowing next to nothing about this guy. According to Wages of Wins, he’s become a more efficient player over the years and the best place for him to make his mark is clearly defense. But if he starts shooting a ton of threes, then we may have a problem.
  • Wither Wright? The reports are that Brandon Wright’s DNP-CD in the last game was for not showing up in practice. Let’s hope he’s made some strides in the days following, as he’s going to run out of opportunities to show what he can do if he can’t even earn himself some preseason playing time.
  • The continuing battle for #15. Tonight will give us another data point in the Jeff Adrien vs. Aaron Miles battle for the final roster spot. Amundson’s return will likely have an impact on how necessary Adrien is, so if Miles can show he can actually dish the ball he could make some major strides tonight.