POSTGAME: BLAZERS - PRESEASON - 10/08/08

Warriors stop Trail Blazers
Blazers' flaws are evident in lopsided loss to Warriors
Blazers vs Warriors - Hot Live Blog Action
Box Score

MVW : Kelenna Azubuike

The Good
K. Azubuike: 24 min, 7-10 fg, 18 pts, 3 ast
B. Wright: 22 min, 6-10 fg, 4-5 ft, 5 reb, 16 pts, 1 blk
C. Maggette: 20 min, 4-8 fg, 7-8 ft, 15 pts
A. Biedrins: 18 min, 5-6 fg, 5 reb, 13 pts
M. Belinelli: 14 min, 4 reb, 4 stl, 9 pts
D. Dickau: 21 min, 5 reb, 4 stl
A. Harrington: 16 min, 4-8 fg, 1-1 3pt, 4 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk, 9 pts
D. Dowell: 11 min, 3 blk

The Bad
S. Jackson: 12 min, 1-3 fg, 3 to, 5 pts
R. Turiaf: 18 min, 2-6 fg, 2-6 ft, 6 pts

The Ugly
M. Williams: 16 min, 1-5 fg, 2 ast, 2 to, 3 pts

Best and Worst +/-
K. Azubuike: +19
R. Kurz: +16 (good argument against this stat's relevance as performance indicator)
B. Wright: +11
R. Turiaf: -3

Team Stats
Warriors : Blazers
pts - 103 : 106
fg - 39-81 (.481) : 31-84 (.369)
ft - 28-40 (.700) : 27-34 (.794)
3p - 4-15 (.267) : 6-17 (.353)
reb - 40 : 50
oreb - 12 : 20
ast - 20 : 22
to - 15 : 26
stl - 17 : 10
bs - 8 : 9


Notes

1. Every starter can bring the ball up - even Biedrins. Even Wright brought it up once or twice.
2. Oden is a load. He'll be as dominant as early Shaq in a short time. Man-child that demands a double team, but can still power his way through it.
3. Jackson needs to play well if he wants a substantial extension. So far, he has not impressed in two games.
   
4. I love Turiaf's game. A little bit of skill and a whole lot of hustle. Hit a 17 ft jumper. Played with lots of energy but results were mixed.
   
5. Corey was in attack mode for a while, but could have gotten to the line far more than he had tonight. 7-8 free throws, challenged the young Blazers whenever possible.
   
6. If we sign Dickau, that means the Warriors are in very bad shape - desperate at PG, lose depth at PF/C, overall talent level is not good. Dickau takes good care of the ball and makes some good passes and decisions, but his offense is lacking and his defense is atroscious.
   
7. Biedrins is going to have a great year scoring wise. They were making more of an effort to go to him early and it paid dividends, even with Oden in the game.
   
8. Rudy Fernandez is special - could end up being a more athletic Ginobili with better passing.
9. Belinelli had one nice drive and finish, but had a poor shooting night overall.
   
10. Nelson played well in his 12 min. of play. Nice finishes. Pushes up the ball. Defends. But ulitimately, not enough offense to justify a roster spot.
    
11. Wright looks like he's a little bigger up top. Aggressive at times. Needs to cut out the 6 foot jump hook and just take it strong to the rim and draw contact if possible. Made 4-5 free throws and was active on the glass.
    
12. Blazer announcers sure make a lot of excuses for their team.
13. Azubuike had an efficient game. Very Maggette-like. Took over the game late and the Warriors never looked back. Great drives to the hoop, showed off his athleticism on defense and offense. Warriors need a good year from Azubuike if they hope to hang around in the playoff race.
14. Great win, thanks to timely defensive stops, active hands to cause deflections and force turnovers.
15. Two are said to be gone by Friday: my guesses are Rob Kurtz and Dion Dowell.

Next Game
Sat. Oct. 11 @ Oklahoma city, 7:30 PM