4/8 @ the O vs. the Nugget-killas

[Twinkie defense]

Hawes > POB

Pietrus was Lasme-like

edit: oh, and the mohawk is back - Warriors are in, Denver is done. BOOK IT!

[iowarrior]

Sleepy, on this Pietrus injury thing, if I understand correctly your opinion is that MP was dogging it in reaction to being benched by Nellie.

Until last night, MP's last game was on 3/21 against Houston. Tim Roye mentioned this last night and the website here verifies that this indeed was his last game.

He played over 36 minutes, scored 16 points and had 13 rebounds. I don't recall, but from his minutes played, I assume that he probably started that game too.

Did Nelson specifically bench MP late in that game after he had compiled those stats?

What is your memory of MP being benched as you are basing MP's actions on this event?

You are sure that MP was dogging it and his motivation for doing so. You could be right. And you have never claimed to have "inside sources" into Warriorland (thank God) and even if you did, pointing them out is not your style.

However, to truly know the extent of Pietrus's injury and his motivation of when to return, knowledge of what goes on in the Warrior training room and what goes on in MP's mind is required and I don't think that any of us really has that.

[Mylie10]

Last time i checked we were up 13 points when Branden Wright left the floor in the first half.

Croshere came in and the lead evaporated to 5, then he played well and we got it back to 13 at one point.

Peteleavy played well, but was not the sole reason for our victory.

Loved the energy, but he also had to collect one of his patented reach fouls in the lane. A half ass grab.

I'll take that energy any time though.

Nellie played more length throughout the game than normal and guess what? We killed them on the glass......Go figure!

[Sleepy51]

He wasn't "benched" he was just taken out of the starting lineup in another Nellie shuffle. I have zero doubt that if he had been left in the starting rotation, he would have taken the floor for those road trip games. If he got what he wanted, he would have found the stones to try to help the team.

Pete didn't show any particular gimpyness that game. In the first news article on the injury after Pete sat down, it was noted that he had been playing with the injury for several preceeding games. The article also stated specifically that Pete had an MRI after the he stopped dressing that showed no further damage from the "aggrivation" in the Houston game. The injury has been repeatedly described as a "strain" everyone has a different pain threashold, but a strain is not usually a debilitating injury, particularly in light of how Pete played immediately before and after his sit-out. You also look at the condition of the rest of the team at the time Pete sat out and it seems not only incongruous, but wholly inapropriate. (I'm not the only one who though this, Jack and Al said as much, but in the political way you have to when you share a locker room with the guilty party during a playoff chase.)

You add to this yesterday's blurb about Pete being added to the active roster without his awareness, but showing up in premeir athletic form and the situation smells more than a little funny.

I'm connecting dots and reading between lines here. I make no pretense of any concrete knowledge, I'm just trusting my gut and my experience. And to be perfectly honest, my impression of the situation is 100% colored by Pete's attitude and behavior throuhout the season. I have no confidence in his heart, agenda or committment to this team. Anything and everything he does at this point is tainted by what has gone on all season long.

I want Pete to play well. I want everyone on the roster to play well. Whatever can be done to help the team is what I care about. If Webber could take a cortizone shot and make a layup I'd want him suited up.

But in all honesty, I'm completely soured on Pete's character and mentality. He has shown me a ton of the signs I recognize from long coaching experience of a non-team player with a distracting and damaging self centered agenda that goes beyond the pale of typical athletic arrogance. He does it with a wink and a smile, but he's out for self. Yeah, it's his life, his body and his career, but while he's wearing blue and gold, it's on my dime. There's a ton of things I can forgive in players, but not being willing to "take on for the team" is a mortal sin in my world.

I want everything he's got the rest of the way, and then I never want to hear from him again. The bridge is burned.

[yehyeh82]

While your theories are well thought out and make sense, there is one thing that bugs me and seems to be the main point of the argument:

Pietrus started his last game before leaving with an injury.

If this is the case, then why would he not play because of being taken out of the starting lineup? Are you trying to say that he saw he wasn't going to start in the Laker game, so he overstated his injury and sat out the next nine games as payback to the Warriors and Mr. Nelson?

I just don't see that as plausible and just think that he is in fact a giant p:censored:. I don't think we need to go to far off into conspiracy theories on this one.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2008032109

[Sleepy]

Good win... I suppose. Didn't watch the game, yet.

One thing for sure, Nelly and the Ws are always good for a surprise. Looking at the score of 140-132, I expected Bellinelli with something like 20/5 in a blowout, but looks like he wasn't even there. Instead it's CJ with 20min and even POB sees the court...

Seriously, can somebody enlighten me? Is Nelly really trying to figure a playoff rotation out, 5 games before the season ends and we when we need every single win? I understand that he has to look for some help in strange places when Jack doesn't give us anything... but why CJ and POB and not 30mins for Azu and 15mins for Matt&Marco? I really don't get it.
Well, we should see the potential Playoff rotation tomorrow, so however makes it to the court against Denver is a keeper, yeah?

Nelly will probably start POB and reveal a Webber comeback at halftime, just to toy with our minds...

[turk3d]

I'll tell you I'm sick of the CJ experiment. He didn't do as bad as he has in some games, but why did he play practically the whole 4th quarter and was Monta kept out? I wish he'd try that with Baron (take him out for an entire 4th quarter and play CJ instead). That's the ultimate disrespect to Monta who's practically carried this squad the entire second half. He shot only 50% this game, I guess that's pretty bad for him (if only Baron and Jack could shot 50% on a regular basis). Just when I think it can't get any worse, he pulls a stunt like this. Don't tell me that it was because of CJ that we won, and had Monta played most of the 4th quarter minutes it would have cost us the game. lol.

[ajbry]

Unfortunately, come playoff time it'll be the same old 6.5 man rotation (with MP and Buke getting the only bench minutes based solely on fatigue not on strategy or anything logical). So although seeing Cro and C.J. continually get playing time is annoying, it's a moot point.

The most irritating part of C.J.'s minutes is just the fact that he never actually does anything. There are so many better options. Dude ain't a terrible player, but I'd rather see some bench-laden lineups like Cro, Wright, Jack, Buke, Baron. When Monta comes back in the game, sub him in for Cro. Turns into a small but scrappy lineup, for example.

[KR4]

Thank god Kevin Martin Disappeared in the 2nd half, could have been bad

[MightyReds2020]

-= original quote snipped =-



But Pietrus thinks he is a star... he believes he's a starter in the NBA. So he's always going to try and be flashy, and try to be emphatic, because nothing else he's going to do is impressive or effective.

Two monster blocks that, one for sure could have just been tapped away, the other... ehhh. He was getting scored on... I still don't like him getting more than 10 minutes and a ticket out of town.

That's exactly my thought when he swatted that ball away. Heck he could even try and grab the ball with both hands. I wonder why Barnett didn't mention it - he was always harping on players swapping the ball to 2nd-row when they could have just tap it and kept the ball in possession.

All flash, little substance. He has to go.

[FNQ]

Thank god Kevin Martin Disappeared in the 2nd half, could have been bad

In the 4th there was no disapperance... it was GT for the Kings and Garcia had earned the most touches. What team trying to win gives Shelden Williams 24 minutes and 9 shots in the post?

[Chris Porter's Hair]

Pietrus cracked me up last night. He'd do not much of anything for minutes at a time, just running from corner to corner. Then he'd do something absolutely spectacular about every 4 or 5 minutes heh Which was pretty much fine, and valuable energy off the bench. I'm long past expecting him to give us 20 minutes of flawless ball.

I normally don't agree with the hate for Watson around here. I think he's an adequate, safe, minimum salary backup PG. Nothing more, nothing less. Last night he pissed me off. Last night we had guys on a roll, and Watson was taking the type of shots that make me say, "If you are gonna take that, you damned well better make it." And he didn't.

Biedrins is seriously going to work lately.

[nismolos]

-= original quote snipped =-



That's exactly my thought when he swatted that ball away. Heck he could even try and grab the ball with both hands. I wonder why Barnett didn't mention it - he was always harping on players swapping the ball to 2nd-row when they could have just tap it and kept the ball in possession.

All flash, little substance. He has to go.

Although this is true, I am not totally against "flash". Being flashy may cost some mistakes at times (in this case a foul or missing the ball completely) but looking at the upside of "flash" it is a mental advantage that you develop. In this case, Pietrus made Martin his biatch and demoralized him...and its especially effective against young players like Martin. I'll admit there has been times where i've lost my confidence for getting punked like that on a blocked shot. It made me think twice about putting up another layup against that person. "Flash" can get a team going, give it momentum. It can get the crowd into it (as evidenced). Lastly, it makes the game fun and is one of the reasons I love this team. We are a flashy,small, gimmicky team that can win 50 games this year. I'd say thats a nice step-stone for the post-nellie era coach which can substitute a little bit of flash for some fundamentals. But right now with Nellie, lets face it; we need the flash.

Did any of that make sense?