<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>(02-21) 13:31 PST Oakland - -- As the trade deadline passed at noon today, the biggest story for the Warriors wasn't that Mickael Pietrus was still at practice. It's that Andris Biedrins was not. The Warriors' starting center is out indefinitely with appendicitis that began flaring up last night. Biedrins' is scheduled to have his appendix removed today and will likely be out for at least at week. Suns forward Grant Hill missed 11 days after undergoing his own appendectomy on Jan. 10. Warriors coach Don Nelson said Biedrins wasn't feeling well during Wednesday's win over the Celtics, though Biedrins still toughed out one of his best games of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds. He got progressively worse overnight before the Warriors' sent him to the doctor Thursday morning. "We had so much flu going on that we didn't know it wasn't just the flu," Nelson said. "But as he got home, it looked more and more like it could be something serious." Biedrins' absence will mark the first time since Stephen Jackson's opening seven-game suspension that the Warriors will have to make do without a key player for an extended period. It also comes at the Warriors' thinnest position, with the 6-11 Latvian serving as the Warriors' only true center. Nelson said Chris Webber and Austin Croshere will play more minutes at the 5, while his younger players like Patrick O'Bryant and Brandan Wright could also see more time. "He had such a tremendous, game, you never expected it, but that's the type of guy he is," Baron Davis added. "You just wish him a speedy recovery.</div> Source: SFGate
Wow this sucks but it could wind up being a blessing in disguise. Our games over the next few weeks are vs Atl, vs Sea, vs Philly, vs Portland, @ Atl, @ Charlotte, @ Miami. Not having Biedrins will really hurt us but at lesat none of those teams are too big or have very good frontlines. Webber and Al have been playing better lately. Hopefully this will be Wright/POB's time to get some PT and if they play well, improve on the fly, they can really help the team down the stretch. That being said, Nellie is a stubborn SOB and I just pray that he doesn't only use Webber, Al, Barnes, Croshere, and Pietrus at 4/5.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Feb 21 2008, 08:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Wow this sucks but it could wind up being a blessing in disguise. Our games over the next few weeks are vs Atl, vs Sea, vs Philly, vs Portland, @ Atl, @ Charlotte, @ Miami. Not having Biedrins will really hurt us but at lesat none of those teams are too big or have very good frontlines. Webber and Al have been playing better lately. Hopefully this will be Wright/POB's time to get some PT and if they play well, improve on the fly, they can really help the team down the stretch. That being said, Nellie is a stubborn SOB and I just pray that he doesn't only use Webber, Al, Barnes, Croshere, and Pietrus at 4/5.</div> Ah it is so refreshing to finally read anti barnes posts. I started this bandwagon all season long last year and was relentless on it. I still believe he is the worst player on the team as soft as melted ice cream and a brick layer. Why a guy shooting sub 28% continues to spot up and throw up bricks is beyond me. Can't play a lick of defense and clearly was a matador in a previous life. Why is every shot he takes those stupid flip shots, why not go strong old man and take a foul.... If you look at his career it seems last season was a fluke and this season is the true barnes. Thankfully, he is gone after this season. Although i predict he gets no offers and resigns again for even less than he got this year. I can already feel the washout of the league coming. I had fun last night talking on realgm radio about the Warriors standing pat with jerome williams. His explanation was that Mullin got boxed out with all the phones ringing and just didnt jump fast enough and that there were no deals that were left that jumps the Warriors into the top 4. I told them i thought the ideal move would have been to wrangle Chris Wilcox out of Seattle with the exception or packing POB/Barnes and a pick or MP.... as he would be a nice fit and it was reported that was the asking price expiring contracts and picks. Also snuck in a few jabs at BArnes and his fears of contact. Avoids it like the plague that got them laughing.
Wow cool, boogielew, I'm dl-ing the radio broadcast right now at http://www.realgm.com/src_realgm_radio.php BTW dang this Biedrins thing is bad news for the Warriors. When a team has no double double big man that can play defense and score inside we're looking at a possible slide. The good news is maybe we'll be forced to see what Brandan Wright or POB can do. Everytime we play Webber we get destroyed inside a lot more. That's why I almost think playing him as a starter gets us in a big hole from the get go. The other thing is the Warriors just try to find too much outside scoring when the shotclock is still young. They gotta go inside if they're trying to go early offense, but instead they got guys like Ellis dribbling up the court and firing off a shot without anybody to rebound or to pass to. That's just not good basketball for nights where that shot is around 40% and the Warriors aren't playing the D to keep the scores close. The key is in the defense. A lot of people have complained about Barnes, maybe the Warriors should look into finding more pt from Azu and Belinelli. In addition start going to POB and Perovic a lot more. Nelson hates youth, but he's gotta do something to improve our play down low and put a shotlbocker at the rim.
Did you see the Atlanta game CR2? Brutal loss but Wright was fantastic. Webber was also very good, wish Nellie would have played him next to Wright in the second half. The only time we ever made any runs in that game was when Wright was playing. Hes our only big who has the size/length/athleticism to match up with all those freaks on Atlanta. He was rebounding, changing shots, tapping out rebounds, creating havoc, making himself a presence. He had a sick dunk on Josh Smith and a nice FT line jumper. Also showed off great handles taking it up court a few times and putting the moves on some guy at half court one time. This may be the only pus to Biedrins being out for a couple weeks. Wright gets a chance to play and work himself into the rotation. I think if he plays well consistently in the next several games without Biedrins he can replace Barnes or Pietrus in the rotation. If he proves to be a good energy player/shotblocker/rebounder it could be great for us down the stretch. Webber looked good last night too. Its a layup line when you play him in there with Al/Barnes/Pietrus, I'd like to see him with Wright. That way you have the energy, hustle, length, athleticism, and rim protection from Wright who can still run the break but you also have the passing, outside shooting, veteran savvy, and bulk of Webber. Playing Webber with Al/Barnes/Pietrus makes the team too slow, too unathletic, too small, too weak inside, and far, far too dumb. Webber has been very nice on the glass the last few games too. Hes starting to really improve and become a positive player for this team. Wright's dunk: <div><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m_GgbB7LKdw&"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m_GgbB7LKdw&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /></embed></object></div> When was the last time we had a PF who had the athletic gifts to do that? I love what hes been showing the last few times hes gotten playing time.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Feb 23 2008, 01:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Did you see the Atlanta game CR2? Brutal loss but Wright was fantastic. Webber was also very good, wish Nellie would have played him next to Wright in the second half. The only time we ever made any runs in that game was when Wright was playing. Hes our only big who has the size/length/athleticism to match up with all those freaks on Atlanta. He was rebounding, changing shots, tapping out rebounds, creating havoc, making himself a presence. He had a sick dunk on Josh Smith and a nice FT line jumper. Also showed off great handles taking it up court a few times and putting the moves on some guy at half court one time. This may be the only pus to Biedrins being out for a couple weeks. Wright gets a chance to play and work himself into the rotation. I think if he plays well consistently in the next several games without Biedrins he can replace Barnes or Pietrus in the rotation. If he proves to be a good energy player/shotblocker/rebounder it could be great for us down the stretch. Webber looked good last night too. Its a layup line when you play him in there with Al/Barnes/Pietrus, I'd like to see him with Wright. That way you have the energy, hustle, length, athleticism, and rim protection from Wright who can still run the break but you also have the passing, outside shooting, veteran savvy, and bulk of Webber. Playing Webber with Al/Barnes/Pietrus makes the team too slow, too unathletic, too small, too weak inside, and far, far too dumb. Webber has been very nice on the glass the last few games too. Hes starting to really improve and become a positive player for this team. Wright's dunk: <div><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m_GgbB7LKdw&"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m_GgbB7LKdw&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /></embed></object></div> When was the last time we had a PF who had the athletic gifts to do that? I love what hes been showing the last few times hes gotten playing time.</div> I saw the game and Wright got me excited enough to pick him up as a Biedrins-like producer in fantasy ball (high % scoring, double digit rebound potential, a steal, and a blocked shot. The increased playing time happened to Biedrins and Ellis when they were able to fill in for injured or missing players. I think Wright could be a good candidate as long as he keeps playing well enough to earn the coach's trust. I think he can produce because he's got an upside like Ellis (natural understanding of the game, a soft touch from inside, a very good physical skills for a lightweight lineup). The only downside is experience, bad free throw shooting, and he's not going to defend the post well against a bigger player (sort of like how Biedrins struggles strength-wise). But that may not be a problem considering Nelson's lineups. If Wright can play a big role with how we choose shot selection and provide the defense and rebounding we need, I'd say sit Webber's ass down and start Wright and Biedrins together. I'm sure Wright must have worked on a good 18 foot shot and plus he's got good passing potential. Let the guy play more! On the Hawks loss: The Warriors really needed SJax against a forward heavy lineup. Barnes, Pietrus, Harrington can be absolute scrubs in their off-games. Plus, Azu ain't going to do crap against 6'9 230 pounders. I doubt Azu is even 6'5". The teams we seem to lose against have very tough forwards or centers in their lineups. Having Joe Johnson and Childress take over at point seemed to be effective in exploiting other players in the warriors lineup. That's what's great about having dudes over 6'6" handle the ball and pass. It's too bad Sjax is the only guy that can do that for this lineup and be able to shoot. Barnes just can't shoot and his shot selection and overall decision-making has been very questionable as of late. BTW that dunk got me excited. Talk about throwing a shot blocker's timing off. When you can leave your feet that quickly and get up real high and have that extra arm length... Wow... Very hard to contest unless you make adjustments. Great pass by Ellis. I always love the point guards that can pass inside rather than just kickout.
here's my side of the story. i was looking for a replacement for ab in fantasy league and was considering brandan wright because of reading nellie's comment about having to play someone else and nellie points downcourt to two players practicing -- bwright and pob. i didn't think it was pob. next thing you know bwright is gone from waivers .
