Don Nelson, Larry Riley and the Golden State Warriors have just pulled off a trade for an all-star power forward, a trade that will define the next era of Warriors’ basketball.  And in the fashion typical of our wonderful Bay Area media, it was greeted by yawns and derision.  Some of these esteemed commentators, and their bellowing herds of followers, even arrived at the conclusion that the Warriors LOST this trade.  In their minds, because it was executed by the “old regime,” without the approval of the new owners, then it can’t be good.  And because Anthony Randolph is merely 21, while David Lee is all of 27, then Randolph automatically has a bigger upside than the all-star Lee.

Absurd.  Ridiculous. I am frankly incredulous of these opinions.  Have any of these people actually watched David Lee play?  Can’t they see what is staring them in the face?  Here is what I see looking back at me:

6-9 250 lbs.: Lee has the size to go head-to-head against the biggest NBA power forwards in the game.  The days of watching the Warriors get steamrolled at the power forward position — of watching Harrington, Wright and Randolph getting scraped off the floor — are over.

Extraordinary Toughness and Durability: Three years ago, Lee played 81 games.  Two years ago, Lee played 81 games.  Last year, Lee played 81 games. While upping his minutes to 37 per game.  If you are a Warriors fan, this stat alone should have you on your knees and weeping.  David Lee is not a boy, but a man, who comes to play every night, without complaint, against the biggest baddest players in the NBA.  And delivers.

Defensive Rebounding: Lee grabs close to 12 rebounds a game, 9 of those at the defensive end.  His critics say this is largely a product of playing in D’Antoni’s system.  What do they say about the fact that he has been played out of position his entire career, against much larger centers?  Or about the fact that he’s never played with another frontcourt player who could box out? Not much.

Andris Biedrins and David Lee will make up one of the great rebounding tandems in the league.  With this trade, the Warriors have gone from one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, to one of the best.  Their problems on the boards are over.  You can make book on it.

Running Ability: He’s not Anthony Randolph in the speed department, but Lee has no trouble beating his man down court and finishing.  He ran the court relentlessly in D’Antoni’s system.  At 250 lbs., that’s special.

Extraordinary Pick and Roll Player: Those of you who remember the night Lee and Duhon tore apart an exhausted Warriors team at MSG have a glimmer of what I’m talking about.  A glimmer.  Because David Lee has never played with a p0int guard like Stephen Curry.  A player who I think has already demonstrated himself as one of the top four pick and roll point guards in basketball (after Nash, Paul and Williams).  Working with D-LEAGUERS.

What goes into being a great pick and roll big man?  A big body and a desire to set great picks.  Extraordinary intelligence: knowing the plays, establishing chemistry with the point guard, making the right reads, the right cuts, the right shots, the right passes.  Great hands.  Great finishing ability.  Great shooting ability. Great passing ability.

David Lee has all of these things, in spades.  Warriors fans are in for some of the most beautiful basketball they have ever seen.  Beautiful half-court basketball. Stephen Curry has his pick and roll partner, and the results are going to be spectacular.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Curry averaged 10 assists this season, in his second year.

Ambidextrous finishing ability: Lee can flush it effortlessly.  He can also lay it up off glass with his right hand as well as his left.  Can you name me another NBA big man other than Pau Gasol who has that talent?

Unselfish passing ability: Lee is a talented passer, who averaged 3.6 assists last year.  Do you remember watching in the playoffs the rare occasions that Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol ran pick and roll?  The play went like this:  Kobe to the rolling Gasol, to the cutting Bynum, SLAM!  The Lakers could have run that play as often as they liked, but didn’t, because it wasn’t the triangle, and Kobe had a different agenda.  The Warriors, under Don Nelson, won’t have that problem.

On the occasions that Lee finds himself double covered in the pick and roll, this is what you’re going to see:  Curry to the rolling Lee, to the cutting Biedrins, SLAM! Or to the cutting BWright, SLAM!  Or DWright, or Udoh, or Gadzuric, SLAM!  And you’re going to see it over and over and over again.

Because like Pau Gasol, David Lee can really, really pass the ball.  And Don Nelson, unlike Phil Jackson, can really, really coach.

Low post moves: Anyone who thinks Lee can’t play in the low post has simply not watched enough tape.  Which means a lot of Bay Area media pundits have not watched enough tape.  Lee has a deadly lefty jump hook, that he can hit straightaway or off the glass.  And he knows how to get it: he has the body to get his position, and the handle to improve his position.  He has the strength to finish his moves.  And he has the passing ability to pass out of the post when doubled.

Having said that, I think Nellie will use him most of the time in the high post.

Nice Jump Shot out to 15 feet: Remember all of those Turiaf elbow pick-and-pops you used to pray over?  Remember those Randolph and Wright baseline 15 footers you used to cringe over?  Well, forget about it.  David Lee will bury that shot.  He cannot be left unguarded, the way teams left Turiaf and Wright and Randolph unguarded.

Which is going to make driving lanes appear for Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry that will make them very, very happy. Perhaps not quite as happy as the Israelites watching the parting of the Red Sea. But close.

80% Free Throws: In other words, a player who can and will get it done for you at crunch time.  A GO-TO GUY IN THE PAINT.  And the last time the Warriors had that was when? (Please don’t say Chris Webber.)

Defense: Since the trade I have read innumerable times that David Lee is a bad defender.  It always brings a smile to my face.  How do these genius pundits know that David Lee is a bad defender?  By his stats, his metrics?  By the stats and metrics of the New York Knicks?  Garbage.  Nonsense. I don’t comprehend how it’s possible to know anything about Lee’s abilities as a defender judging by his years on the Knicks.

David Lee played out of position for the Knicks, at center.  And he was left alone on an island in the middle.  His frontcourt partners were among the worst defensive players known to mankind.  Al Harrington?  Danilo Gallinari?  What sort of defense would you expect a frontline of this nature to play?

David Lee was never paired with a shot-blocker on the Knicks.  He had no place to route his opponents.  No traps to funnel them into.  No defensive scheme worthy of the name to execute.

That is NOT the situation in which Lee will find himself on Don Nelson’s Warriors.  For one, for much of the time he will not be played at center, but at power forward alongside Andris Biedrins.  But more to the point, on the Warriors Lee will be consistently paired with at least one terrific weak-side shot-blocker. Biedrins. Udoh. BWright. DWright. Even Gadzuric.

This will make Lee an incalculably better defender than he was on the Knicks.  A defender that the pundits have never seen before.  Lee’s job on defense for the Warriors will be to 1) play his man straight up; 2) Stand his man up, or in other words, refuse to cede him good position; 3) On catches, guide him into weak side help, ie. blocked shots; and 4) box him off the boards.  I believe Lee is more than capable of executing this job, and executing it well.  40 minutes a game, 81 games a year.

Which leads me to two final questions for the pundits:

1) Is defensive rebounding a part of defense?  Finishing a possession with a defensive rebound?  Because if so, then Lee is automatically a better defensive power forward than the Warriors have had in years.  The Warriors’ defensive rebounding is going to take a quantitative leap with Lee on the team.  Guaranteed. Which I think means their defensive metrics are also going to take a quantitative leap.  Which is to say nothing of their fast-break, and the most important stat of all, point-differential.

2) Did the pundits actually watch Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph play defense these last few years?  Did they watch them get steamrolled in the paint, get pushed around the court, get knocked to the floor?  Did they watch them get injured?

There is simply no comparison between David Lee and these matchstick men.  David Lee is not a 20 minute man, he is a 40 minute man.  David Lee is not a 40 game man, he is an 81 game man.  David Lee is not a fragile gazelle who shies from contact.  David Lee is a 250 lb. man who is big enough and strong enough and tough enough to play straight-up against the best big men in the league.  And dominate.

The idea that that will not improve the Warriors’ defense is laughable.

If you are of a bitter and depressive cast of mind, like our Bay Area media, then go ahead and mope and pine over the loss of Anthony Randolph’s promise. I think I know better. I think that if Andris Biedrins is finally healthy, and Don Nelson is retained to coach the extraordinary team that he has assembled, then a new golden era of Warriors basketball has dawned.

Beginning now.

Udoh has the beef, at a full 40 lbs. over what BWright and Randolph weighed coming into the league.  They were 200 dripping wet.  He’s 240.  Udoh plays above the rim.  He loves to defend and rebound and block shots.  He has a 7’5″ wingspan.

On offense, he has some low post moves (say what?!!).  He shoots the jumper out to at least the college three point line.  He handles well, and can face up and beat his man off the dribble.  He runs the court.

And he’s “an underrated passer.”  Baylor played him at point forward, for heaven’s sake:

Drew had used a three- or four-guard, dribble-drive attack the past few seasons but now often circulates the ball through Udoh in the post, where he has terrific awareness and passing skills. “Defenses have to be honest with Ekpe, which opens up driving lanes,” Morefield says. When Sam Houston State came out in a triangle-and-two to lock down the Bears’ backcourt of Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn, Udoh shifted to point forward and scored 20 points while handing out five assists and grabbing 13 rebounds.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1167638/index.htm

Did I mention that “he has an incredible basketball intelligence?”

I’ve never seen him play, but I have to say that Udoh sounds like a Don Nelson wet dream.

I have a funny feeling brewing.  A sneaking suspicion…

That The Nightmare has already beaten out Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph.

Sorry, fanboys.

Nellie brought Chris Hunter in to play against Darius Songaila, a matchup that he simply dominated.  Could he have dominated Okafor in the same fashion? No. Which is why Nellie, unlike 99% of other NBA coaches, found another direction.

Why did Omeka Okefor get only 18 minutes in this game?  Because Don Nelson rendered him useless and ran him off the court.

Anthony Tolliver: Earlier this season I posed the question: Is Anthony Tolliver a more NBA-ready power forward than Anthony Randolph?  This performance throws a few more coals on that fire.  What I love about Tolliver is his intelligence.  His basketball IQ appears off the charts, which is reflected in his assists and steals.  But also in the simple fact of the speed at which he has learned to play two different positions for Don Nelson.  Unfortunately, Tolliver seems light-years ahead of both Randolph and Wright in this regard.

All of those who were begging Tolliver to stop throwing up threes earlier in the season raise your hand.  Still feel the same way?  His ability to spread the floor is going to keep him in the league.

But how about those authoritative drives?  Now that teams are no longer daring him to shoot, this was a very effective addition to his arsenal.

His rebounding totals are a little low, but last night he played much of the game on an island at center.

Chris Hunter: He is big and strong in a way the Warriors have not had in a long time.  He also has an incredible jump shot and stellar free throw shooting.  And unlike 90% of NBA big men, he has a good left hand, as he demonstrated last night.  He has great hands, which enables Nellie to use him in the pick and roll.  I am scratching my head: what was it that kept Hunter out of the league?

He also has a pretty good basketball IQ.  Nellie set him the task of finishing better a couple of weeks ago, as we knew from a sly post-game dig.  What happened?  Three straight games of intense focus on finishing.  Using the pump fake.  Getting it done.

If only Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph responded so quickly to coaching.

Reggie Williams: He’s beaten Anthony Morrow out.  There it is, the cold hard truth.  How do the Warriors keep him?  Do they?

Its obvious that Nellie loves this kid, by the way he came up after the game to congratulate him, and praised him more effusively than Tolliver and Hunter in his post-game interview.  And it is obvious why.  Williams is a multi-faceted offensive player, who besides being an out-of-this-world scorer (you don’t lead the nation in scoring two straight years by accident), also has an ability to see the floor well and create for others.  Unlike Anthony Morrow, who turned the ball over twice trying to initiate offense (he was only credited with one), when Williams assumes the triple-threat position, the triple-threat is real.

In other words, Williams is the point-forward — or at least the third player who can take the point — that Nellie craves in his offense.

Is OJ Mayo a better player than Reggie Williams?

Monta Ellis: Is it fair to say that Monta Ellis dominated his matchup with Darren Collison?  I think it is.  8 TO’s to 3.  That’s the difference.  Ellis did a great job keeping Collison out of the lane, and limiting his damage.

Monta Ellis will never be a point guard?  The naysayers have to deal with performances like this one.  Monta seemed to know where all his shooters were in this game.  He even ran the pick and roll well.  Two straight double digit assist nights.  He is continuing to grow as a player under the tutelage of Don Nelson.

I would love to see Ellis and Curry play together with a dominant big man who demands attention inside.  With the Warriors three-point shooters posted outside, I think they would be absolute murder.  Murder.  This team is oh so close to being seriously nasty.  One piece.

Unfortunately, Scott Ostler’s new article throws some cold water on the idea that Monta is now willing to play with Curry.  Judge for yourselves.

Here’s a seriously subversive question:  Does Reggie Williams make Monta Ellis expendable?  What if Monta brought David Lee?

Devean George: Anyone still wish we had Marco Belinelli?

The core of this team, as currently contructed, is Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, Corey Maggette, Andris Biedrins, Rony Turiaf and Kelenna  Azubuike.  Is there a quitter in that bunch?  Anyone who dogs it?  It is not only the talent, but also the heart of this Warriors team that gives me hope for the future, and sustains me during this bleak period.  I continue to believe that if Cohan and Rowell give Nellie room to operate, and this team ever returns to full strength, winning is around the corner.

It begins, of course with Monta Ellis.

Monta Ellis: The superstar returned in the last two games.  And for all the current discouragement, a team that has a superstar is never very far from winning.  As this game showed.

The Mavericks are currently third in the Western Conference.  Simple question: What would the score of this game have been if the Warriors were playing with Anthony Randolph and Kelenna Azubuike, and Biedrins and Turiaf were healthy and playing like they did at the start of last year?

Whatever the poison-mongerers like Tim Kawakami and Adam Lauridsen keep writing, that’s how far the Warriors are from winning.  In Dallas, against the three seed in the West.  On a back-to-back.  With a dead rookie.

Something to keep in mind.

Stephen Curry: If you’ve ever wanted to see what the rookie wall looks like, you’re looking at it.  I’m guessing this was brought on by the spate of 48 minute complete games Curry played when Monta went out.  Curry simply can’t feel his legs right now.

Take another look at the end of the game last night.  Nellie brought Curry off the bench in the final seconds to practice getting a last second shot.  Curry drove the lane and picked up the foul.  But before he shot his free throws, he stood for a long time under the basket, bent over and grabbing his shorts. I was thinking, is he that tired after 3 seconds back on the court?  Then it hit me: he can’t feel his legs.  He’s looking at them like they’re impostors. Check it out.

Corey Maggette: Not one of Maggette’s best games, but what doesn’t show up in the boxscore is how hard he had to work for his shot.  The Warriors showed none of the ball-movement that has created wide-open looks and layups for Maggette in the past.  I thought that was the chief difference in Maggette’s game and Marion’s.  Kidd repeatedly found Marion under the basket for easy lay-ins.

Devean George: His defense on Dirk Nowitzki was pretty impressive last night, and easily as important as Monta’s scoring in allowing the Warriors to creep back into this game.  He held Nowitzki to two free throws in the third quarter.  Nowitzki did come back to score 9 in crunch time, but George made him work for those shots, and also turned him over twice.

George has now shut out Carmelo Anthony in a fourth quarter in Denver, and Dirk Nowitzki in a third quarter in Dallas. On one leg. He is something on one leg that Marco Belinelli is not on two: a bonafide NBA player.

The Centers: It may be wishful thinking, but I think Biedrins is starting to look a little more like himself.  It helped, of course, that the Mavericks played small ball all night, with Dampier out.

One unspoken casualty of his free-throw shooting has been the high pick and roll.  The Warriors almost never run it, which I can only attribute to Biedrins’ fear of going to the line.  That might also be the reason he always rolls the wrong way.  This play should be a staple of the Warriors’ offense.  I’ve been very disappointed to see it missing in action.

The Warriors started the game with a big line-up of Biedrins and Turiaf.  The line-up worked about as well as could be expected, which is not at all.  The Warriors out-rebounded the Mavs, but couldn’t put the ball in the hole.  They wound up with 21 points for the quarter.  I’m guessing that by using this line-up in the first quarter, Nellie was buying time for Devean George in the second half. He knew he couldn’t use Anthony Tolliver.

CJ Watson:  With Curry missing in action, Nellie went to Watson down the stretch. It wasn’t one of his better games. He looked unsure down the stretch, failing to create open shots, and committing a couple of turnovers.  The one big shot he should have taken, a momentarily open three with 1:54 left, he passed up, resulting in a Warriors’ loss of possession.

The D-League All-Stars: As Nellie would put it, they looked like D-Leaguers. There was no one on this Mavs team that Tolliver could guard.  He works against the big dudes, not so much against the athletes.  Nellie played him only in the second quarter. Coby Karl needs to hit threes to be effective.  His drives remind me of Belinelli’s.

And that was before I got to watch Devean George at center.

Barely two weeks after they finally got their big men back in some semblance of action, the Warriors have been hit with a new wave of injuries.  Randolph out, probably for the season.  Turiaf, never completely right this season, now too banged up to play. Vlad Rad, who has been struggling with an Achilles tendon problem, unable to answer the bell in the second half.  And then CJ Watson, 5 stitches to his shooting hand when Dwyane Wade spiked the ball off him? Ridiculous.

Fully healthy, I think the Warriors are better than this Heat team.  Last night’s skeleton squad was stripped of rebounders, and thus unable to execute their game plan, which is to get out on the break.  Most of the game was played at the Heat’s excruciatingly slow tempo. Which is why Jermaine O’Neal had so much left in the tank in the fourth quarter.  Watching him prance and smirk and give the “Shhh” to the Oracle crowd made me ill.  I’d like to see the kind of fourth quarter he’d have after 20 minutes against Turiaf, and with Randolph igniting the fast break against the soft Michael Beasley.

Alas, watching the full Warriors roster play is something for fantasy only.

Monta Ellis: Nate Thurmond said after the Cavs game that Lebron James made Corey Maggette look “like a junior.” That thought returned to me when I watched Dwyane Wade matched up against Monta Ellis. Monta is a very similar player to Wade, but so much smaller and less powerful.  He’s Dwyane Wade lite.

This comparison of course isn’t completely fair to Monta.  Monta had no defensive frontline behind him in this game. That made it easy for Wade to dominate in the paint. Monta, on the other hand, couldn’t get to the rim against the Heat’s triple-teaming. Also, with the Heat dominating on the boards, Wade was able to get out on the break far more than Monta.

But Dwyane Wade is an amazing player.  Did you see the play in the fourth quarter where Wade ran down Monta on the fast break to steal the ball from him?  Wade is Monta Ellis quick in a 220 lb. body.

His struggles against Wade notwithstanding, I saw a lot that I liked about Monta’s performance. One game after a complete mental meltdown against the Cavs, Monta was determined to take only what the defense gave him against the Heat.  Since the Heat were determined to keep him from driving (did he make even one layup in this game?), Monta was a frequent and willing passer.

Rewind and take a peek with me at three plays that Monta made in the fourth. The first was a pick and roll with Biedrins at the 5:00 minute mark.  Perfect bounce pass, convincing slam. This is the play that I have been predicting since pre-season would be a staple for the Warriors. To say that its been a long time coming would be an understatement.

At 4:10, Monta ran pick and roll with Hunter.  This time he rose up for the shot, but fired the pass to Hunter over the top of the double-team. Hunter made a nice catch and finish while getting fouled.

Then at 3:45, Monta made a beautiful spinning drive and dish to Hunter.

This is how Monta played most of the game.  A nice step forward in his evolution as a player.

Corey Maggette: 25 points on 11 shots. Ho hum. Standard. He also did a remarkable job distributing, even off penetration. One drive and dish to Biedrins stands out in my memory. 4 assists.

Maggette is now shooting 60% over something like his last 17 games. At what point does his season start to get some national recognition?

Don’t hold your breath. He’s still getting booed by idiots on his home floor, not to mention ripped by bloggers like Adam Lauridsen.

Stephen Curry: Curry had a disastrous first half, in which he turned the ball over several times, and couldn’t hit a shot. He rebounded nicely in the second half, picking up some nice assists and burying three threes.  I like the resiliency.

Cartier Martin: Martin reminds me a lot of a player named Adrian Griffin that Nellie had in Dallas. A terrific, smart defender. You may have been surprised to see him so aggressive on the offensive end.  That’s Don Nelson at work.  Nellie’s philosophy is to attack the other team’s worst defender. On the Heat, that’s Michael Beasley.

Even before Vlad Rad went down, Martin filled a huge hole for the Warriors. Now he’ll probably wind up guarding power forwards. I expect him to continue to get 30 minutes a game, to get a second 10 day contract, and then signed for the rest of the season.

The Centers: Good to see Biedrins work for 32 minutes.  Good to see him complete a couple of pick and rolls.  That’s progress.  Unfortunately, we saw little of his old dominance on defense and the boards.  Jermaine O’Neal owned him.

Hunter gave some nice minutes at the end of the game. He’s a smart player, has picked up the plays and the rotations quickly.  He’s got good hands, and a good shot. I could easily see Nellie keeping him next year.

Devean George. Need I say more? I wouldn’t mind seeing a healthy George play some power forward.  But watching a semi-healthy George forced to play center makes me cry in my Lagavulin.

The Little Three: Chocolate Rain made a long overdue appearance in this game. One game after the arrival of Cartier Martin threatened to slash his playing time, Morrow got it right back due to the injuries to Vlad Rad and Watson. Morrow was extremely aggressive and hitting his shots. Can he sustain this performance?

Vlad Rad’s sore Achilles got the better of him in this game. The Warriors last chance of competing effectively limped off the court with him. It’s a good thing I knew about his injury. Because if I had watched him short arm all those finger rolls that he should have dunked without knowing, I would have smashed my flat-screen.

How bad are things going for CJ Watson? I wouldn’t quite say Tiger Woods bad.  Maybe Brittany Spears bad.

Or Golden State Warriors bad.

23rd pick Omri Casspi has also been a huge surprise, and is making a big impact at small forward.  He’s shooting 47% from three.  As a rookie.  Holy Cow.

And Jason Thompson, selected one spot ahead of Anthony Randolph, already appears to be one of the best young power forwards in the game.  He’s averaging 15 and 9 this year.

The Sacramento Kings are no longer pushovers. They and the Memphis Grizzlies are this season’s OKC Thunder.  Memo to the league: Watch Out!

(But please don’t send that memo to the bookies.)

Matchup Madness:   I was about to write that Anthony Randolph on Jason Thompson was the key matchup of this game.  After all, Randolph has looked more like bowling pin than bowling ball in his recent matchups with Kenyon Martin and Kevin Love.  And Jason Thompson has had his way with him so far in their young careers, laying 20 rebounds on his head in pre-season.

But then it hit me:  Could Nellie switch Biedrins and Turiaf to Thompson, and put Randolph on the much less dangerous Spencer Hawes in the middle? Hmmm.  It’s so nice to have chess pieces.  Whichever way it comes down, the Warriors need their big men, and especially Randolph, to come up big on the boards.  Like Portland, the Kings have a huge size advantage at the wings over the Warriors.

I was about to write that Monta Ellis against Tyreke Evans would be other key matchup of this game.  Ellis is the Warriors stopper, who always takes on the other team’s best player.  Right?

But then it hit me:  Could Nellie switch Maggette to Evans, and Monta Ellis to Omri Casspi?  Sounds crazy, but just might work.  Maggette has the strength to keep Evans from posting up, and Casspi might be uncomfortable attacking the much quicker Ellis.  Nellie was quoted as saying that the next time he plays Portland, he would like to put Maggette on Andre Miller, to keep him out of the lane.  This looks like an even more urgent case for Maggette to me.

The Warriors are a somewhat surprising -3.5 home favorites in this game. True, the Kings have lost four straight. But that was largely due to losing Evans to an ankle sprain, and a brutal stretch in the schedule. You can bet they’ve circled this game, and will be bringing the heat. And Evans is back. He put up a frightening 27, 11 and 7 in his last game against Phoenix. Oscar, is that you?

The Warriors, on the other hand, are coming off two road “wins,” and playing some pretty decent ball. Curry looks like he’s ready to become the Third Musketeer of the Big Three.  And Biedrins almost looked like Biedrins in the last game. Almost. Hmmm. If my teeth would stop chattering, I would take….

Brother, I have no idea.

I’ll be at this game with my pals Ben and Theresa, and the whole GSoM crew. It’s GSoM night!  Woohoo!

Monta Ellis: Monta was clearly exhausted in this game, which may be one of the reasons he did such a great job running the team.  Monta ran the Warriors plays to perfection, had great court vision, and nailed every pass. He would have gotten more than 6 assists if his teammates had the legs to finish their open shots.  This is one of the best games I have seen from Monta as a point guard.

And, he was clutch in the fourth quarter.  Hit a key turnaround J, had a beautiful soaring putback of a choked Morrow open three in the last minute to ice the game.  Never forced anything, ran the plays down the stretch.  Has Monta made a mental leap?  Here for your pondering is one of his post-game comments:

“That’s what we’ve been lacking this season, the fourth quarter, closing games. We’ve got to continue to run our plays….”

Stephen Curry: Curry looked like an accomplished veteran next to Jonny Flynn last night.  Here’s how Jim Barnett put it during the game:

“Jonny Flynn is a different type of point guard than Stephen Curry.  He just doesn’t have the skills, or the basketball knowledge that Curry has.”

Here’s how Corey Maggette put it after the game:

“Curry is going to be a wonderful, wonderful player in this league.”

I continue to pinch myself that we have this player on our team.  A player that simply radiates basketball intelligence.  Always moving to the perfect spot, always seeing the open man, always one step ahead.  As a rookie.

And those skills.  The incredible ambidextrous handle. The crossover. The reversal of direction with the live dribble.  The money J.

Has this kid studied tape of Steve Nash?  I would bet my bottom dollar that he has, even before Nellie gave him his library.  Because he looks more and more like Nash with every passing day.

Don Nelson stole the draft.

Corey Maggette: A gutsy 28, 9 and 4 performance from Maggette, on a night in which his legs deserted him.  Like Monta, he was unable to hit his outside shot, and even had trouble finishing his layups. But he got himself to the line 14 times. And he unflinchingly took up the challenge of guarding the much bigger Kevin Love in the fourth quarter, and once again led the Warriors in rebounds. Maggette has simply put the Warriors on his back.

Feel like booing?

Anthony Randolph: Randolph got absolutely eaten alive by Kevin Love last night.  Randolph got 5 rebounds, Love got 16.  Randolph got 3 defensive rebounds, Love got 7 offensive rebounds.

Why is Anthony Randolph in the game?  You know the answer.  Don Nelson has said it to the press, with regard to both Randolph and Brandan Wright, over and over and over again.  Rebounding.  They are in the game to rebound, and if they refuse to rebound, Nellie might as well play a player with more offense.

The Warriors were outrebounded in this game by 9.  Anthony Randolph was outrebounded by Kevin Love by 11.

The Play That Got Him Yanked: Tonight’s play occurred in the fourth quarter.  Nelson, no doubt to the shock of many, was attempting to play a big lineup of Turiaf, Randolph and Maggette.  And Randolph had just finished making a beautiful soaring putback slam at the offensive end.  Do you know what play I’m referring to, home-gamers?  Did you watch the ensuing play on the defensive end?  If not, cue it back up at 3:15 of the fourth quarter, and follow along with feltbot:

The Warriors, for once, played 20 seconds of great defense on Al Jefferson. And Jefferson, for once, missed his shot.  But there was Kevin Love, slipping inside Randolph, for another offensive rebound and easy tip in.  The ever-eloquent and understated Jim Barnett:

“Randolph had no other job on that play but to block Love off.”

Anthony Randolph has been the biggest disappointment of the season for me so far. Last year it looked to me like he had a ferocious heart to compete at the defensive end, and rebound.  This year, he is repeatedly getting run over. He has looked, dare I say it…?

Like a ragdoll.

Beans and Turiaf: Beans took a big step forward in this game, with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 BS.  Great to see.  Turiaf didn’t do much statistically, but he was the only man standing between Jefferson getting 50, and Love 40. I pray to Buddha daily for his knee.

The Little Three: Who?

Paging CJ Watson.  Your jumper is needed on aisle 3.

Vlad Rad: What’s the next level of invisibility after invisible?  Is it possible to be enigmatic when you’re invisible?  Vlad Rad is inspiring me to new levels of metaphysical inquiry.

Anthony Morrow: Made a few shots.  But once again choked the one that counted, the wide open corner three with 1 minute left that would have iced the game.  Fortunately, Monta’s putback covered up for him. This late game choking has become a theme for Morrow this season.

In the pre-season, Morrow challenged Reggie Miller to a shooting contest in a post-game interview. Miller responded: “I’ll be your huckleberry.”

Who would you like to have your money on when the chips are down?

Not so fast.  There is something very difficult about playing in Minnesota in mid-December. Particularly on a back to back.

And the Wolves are now back to full strength, with the return of Kevin Love. Love has been absolutely beasting on the boards this season, to the tune of 12.3 a game, in only 32 minutes.  Anthony Randolph, on the other hand, has been mysteriously absent from the boards since his return to his “natural” position. Even the diminutive Kenyon Martin chewed him up and spit him out last night.

Focus on Randolph v. Love.  I hate to say a particular matchup might determine the game, but if Randolph can’t control his man the Warriors will be in an uphill struggle in this game.  The league has seen a blueprint for how to beat the Warriors in the last two games: Storm the offensive boards, and get to the free throw line by taking the Warriors small guards to the rack.

The Warriors big men, led by the completely healthy Randolph, have failed to step up to defeat this blueprint. Either with their rebounding or their shot-blocking.  Is this the night they turn it around?  On a road back-to-back in the icy North?  I have my doubts.

Stephen Curry had a breakout game last night.  Can he sustain it?  With the little three lost in space, it is imperative that Curry remain aggressive, and cement his place in The Big Three.

Curry will going up against another rookie point guard tonight, Jonnie Flynn. Flynn was taken one pick ahead of Curry in the draft.  If nothing else is on the line in this battle of cellar dwellars, you can bet that Curry and Flynn will put it on the line, for pride.

The Wolves are -2.5 home favorites in this game.  A slap in the face to Warriors pride.  I am turning my cheek.  Pick your poison.

Bill Spooner, Jason Phillips  and Mark Ayotte are the three refs that cheated the Warriors out of this win tonight.  If they are going to take it on their shoulders to change the outcome of an NBA game in the final seconds, then I think it’s only right that they get full credit.    

What happened at the end of this game was obvious to all that watched: With three seconds left, and the Warriors up 1, Corey Maggete fell to the floor to secure the game-sealing defensive rebound, and called timeout. The refs turned a blind eye to Maggette’s timeout call,  and a blind ear to the Warriors’ bench, who were also calling for it. On the ensuing jump ball, they gave George Karl an instantaneous timeout as soon as J.R. Smith touched the ball. And then, on a J.R. Smith desperation heave from 40 feet, Bill Spooner, Jason Phillips  and Mark Ayotte decided to call a phantom foul on Monta Ellis and award this game to the Denver Nuggets.

An abomination.  Unfortunately, a fact of life in the NBA.  What can you do? Nothing but make a record.

Before the repugnant ending, this was a pretty good basketball game. The Warriors overcame a lot of adversity to get in position for this win. Once again, they got next to nothing from their big men.  Biedrins and Turiaf got a combined 6 points and 7 rebounds.  Anthony Randolph was putrid on offense, and completely invisible on defense. The Warriors got outrebounded by 12, while giving up a ridiculous 19 offensive rebounds.

Once again the Warriors got next to nothing from their little three, Morrow, Watson and Vlad Rad. They got a combined 14 points on 6-16.

But the Warriors’ big three were magnificent.  Particularly Corey Maggette, who scored 38 points on 12-16, with 7 rebounds.  And Stephen Curry, who had the game of his young career: 26 points on 10-13, including an incredible 6-6 from three, and 6 assists against 2 turnovers.  Along with Monta Ellis, who contributed 32 and 6, the big three were responsible for close to 3/4 of the Warriors’ points.  They put the Warriors on their shoulders, and it looked like they were on the verge of putting this game away, until Bill Spooner, Jason Phillips and Mark Ayotte decided otherwise.

Monta Ellis: Monta is as good an athlete as exists in the world today.  He knew he could get to J.R. Smith’s shot, and he knew he had the body control to avoid fouling. That was the problem. Monta’s self-confidence gave a bad ref the opportunity to steal the game.

There is little question that Monta would have been better served by backing off.  There is no reason to challenge that closely a running 3 point shot 40 feet from the basket with no time left.  But I don’t feel it is completely fair to blame Monta for this play. Because he made the play.

Which is not to say I don’t find fault with Monta in this game.  I do. With less than a minute left, and the Warriors up 1 with possession, Don Nelson put the ball in Monta’s hands, and asked him to make a play. And once again, as has unfortunately been the case all season long in crunch-time, Monta came up short. He tried to split a double team, and lost the ball. Turiaf, who got his hands on the ball for a moment, was credited with the turnover, but it was Monta’s.

For me, this turnover spoiled what was otherwise a splendid performance. It was, I believe, Monta’s second of the fourth quarter, and another of the many crunch-time failures that he has suffered so far this season. At least at this stage of his development, Monta has not displayed the decision-making ability, nor the handle, that you would want from a crunch-time playmaker. Is he the player that the Warriors want to initiate their offense at the end of the game?  Don Nelson made a very interesting choice at the end of this game, that put that in question.

Stephen Curry: So many things were impressive about Curry’s performance in this game. The incredible shooting.  The beautiful cross-over to escape a double team, drive and left-handed behind-the-back dish to Maggette.  The great look up court to find Morrow cutting to the basket. The perfect lock and lob to Monta Ellis.  The great control with which he played, on both ends of the court. Only 3 fouls this game.

But nothing was as impressive as how Curry ran the Warriors’ team in crunch time.  After scoring 20 in the first half, Curry took all of 2 shots in the second half.  Both in crunch time.  Both exactly when the Warriors needed them.  And both 3 pointers. And he buried both of them. He also came up with a huge steal, and blocked a Joey Graham shot, for which he wasn’t credited.

And all of this came before he made the play of the game.

With 24 seconds left, after having seen Monta fail one too many times, Don Nelson decided to put the ball in his rookie’s hands.  For the first time this season, Stephen Curry had the responsibility for getting the Warriors a last shot. Curry caught the ball at the top of the key, and then drove right.  When he drew two defenders, he reversed direction with a live dribble, and looked for the open man.  It was Monta Ellis, on a dive cut.  Monta converted, and the Warriors took a 1 point lead with :15 seconds left.  It would have, and should have, been the game winner.

Stephen Curry demonstrated the kind of player he is in this game.  I have been making the argument all year long that he is as close to a reincarnation of Steve Nash as you could ever hope to see.  He is, in fact, right now, far far ahead of where Steve Nash was in his third NBA season. This kid is going to be one of the best point guards in the game.

And he just might be the player who should have the ball in his hands at the end of the game for the Warriors. Right now. As a rookie.

Corey Maggette: I’ve run out of superlatives in describing Maggette’s play as of late.  Let me just add this: in addition to carrying a huge scoring load, Maggette has been the Warriors best defensive big man this season.  He was the only Warriors player who was successful at keeping Kenyon Martin off the offensive boards.  And his huge defensive rebound with 3 seconds left secured the Warriors’ victory.  Isn’t that right, Bill Spooner?

Beans and Turiaf: They are just not there yet.  They are useful for keeping big men from dunking in the paint, but very little more. Nellie has voiced impatience with Biedrins’ play. I’m adding my voice.  The Warriors are desperate for him to show up.

Turiaf played the fourth quarter of this game, after suffering an ankle sprain. His heart is huge, but like Biedrins is merely a shadow of himself.  And now I fear he’ll once again be casting that shadow from the bench, at least for tomorrow’s game.

Anthony Randolph: Randolph has yet to show up in any of his starts at power forward.  He was miserable, once again, in this game.  Kenyon Martin ate him alive, both offensively, and on the offensive glass.  In his opening 8 minute stint, Randolph contributed 0 points, 2 TO’s, and only 1 defensive rebound. He managed a couple of rebounds against the Nuggets’ second unit in the second quarter, but only got one rebound in the second half. 5 total. That is just not getting it done, especially against an undersized Nuggets’ team.

Randolph was also very lazy with the ball, committing 5 TO’s.  After one particularly ugly turnover, Barnett commented that it looked like Randolph hadn’t completely woken up from his pre-game nap.

The bottom line: -6.

I’m going to start a new Anthony Randolph feature, for the edification of all of those in the media, and at home, that have been howling for Nellie to give Randolph more minutes.  I’m calling it:

The Play That Got Him Yanked.

Tonight’s play occurred near the end of the second half, and it immediately got Randolph yanked.  Do you remember what it was, home-gamers?

At 2:20 of the second quarter, Kenyon Martin was thrown an entry pass at the free throw line. Instead of playing good position defense, Randolph lunged for the steal.  He missed, and Martin ended up with an easy drive, drawing the fourth foul on Chris Hunter.  Nellie immediately replaced Randolph with Devean George.

Do you think this play, or any play of this sort, will ever get reported by the mainstream media? You can bet your bottom dollar that it won’t. Not ever. Doesn’t sell newspapers.

It will be reported here.

The Little Three: Once again, a major letdown.  And yet, the Warriors almost survived it.

Not sure why Vlad Rad got so little time in this game.  If I had to guess it would be this:  Denver Nuggets, 19 offensive rebounds.

CJ Watson has completely lost confidence in his shot.  Is it contagious?

Anthony Morrow is such a hopelessly poor defender that he has lost his job to a CJ Watson that can’t hit a shot.  That is the bottom line.  In the pre-season, I wrote that I didn’t believe that Anthony Morrow could ever be an NBA starter, due to his defensive deficiencies. Now, after the trades of Stephen Jackson and Marco Belinelli, the loss to injury of Kelenna Azubuike, and the desperation shift to power forward of Corey Maggette, Anthony Morrow has still failed to make himself the Warriors small forward. He is getting doused with kerosene and lit on fire every single game, in every conceivable matchup.

Will his offensive contributions ever be worth that?

As for the Warriors, in their last game against the Nuggets they were not only without Biedrins and Turiaf, but also without Anthony Randolph.  The presence of all three in the Warriors lineup should help this game be a lot more competitive.  Should.  In the Portland game, Biedrins and Turiaf did not look like they had a lot to give.  Hopefully, a good stiff practice and a Nellie reaming have them in better shape to attack this game.

Look for the Warriors to run a lot of pick and roll. Nene and the diminutive Ty Lawson are perfect targets for this play.  Will Biedrins actually take the ball to the hole instead of floundering around and dishing it off?

With Billups out and Anthony out or diminished, the Nuggets attack will likely center around Ty Lawson.  Lawson struggled initially in the starting role, but has looked better the last two games, getting 23 and 9 in both games.  Nellie had his point guards sag off Nash and Rondo in the Suns and Celtics games, and force them to become scorers.  Both point guards had big nights, but their teams lost.  Look for the same strategy tonight.

I will be watching Stephen Curry.  He has struggled badly with foul trouble and silly turnovers in the last few games.  In practice two days ago, Nellie went so far as to call him “soft.”  Will he rise to the occasion when matched against another heralded rookie point guard?  I think he will.  Lawson will likely outperform him statistically, because he will have the ball in his hands all game, and Nellie will dare him to have  a big game.  But I think Curry will show up to play.

The Nuggets are +7.5 home favorites.  Warriors.