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Notebook: Hunter plays big in Warriors' win over Blazers
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Anthony Morrow played all 48 minutes and spent some of that time driving to the basket.
Not sure if it's funny or not, but it was amusing and a little refreshing to hear Warriors coach Don Nelson talk about Chris Hunter, who the Warriors signed from the D-League on Friday to give them eight healthy bodies.
I'm paraphrasing here, but basically Nelson said after Friday's 108-94 win that he had no idea who the guy was, had never seen him play, didn't know if he had ever played in an NBA game but decided to start him in the second half because he looked bigger and stronger than anyone else he had in uniform.
At 69 and closing in on the all-time wins record, I guess it's OK to be candid.
For the record -- and for Nelson, who now needs 20 wins to break Lenny Wilkens' record -- Hunter is a 6-11, 240-pound 25-year-old who played four years at Michigan before playing ball in Poland and Belgium. He signed with the Knicks for the last game of the 2008-09 season but didn't play in that game. He did appear in two preseason games this year for the Knicks.
Hunter was a D-League All-Star last year for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (great nickname), averaging 19.3 points and 9.4 rebounds. He is the first player to be called up from the D-League this year.
The Warriors got an exception from the league to add Hunter to their roster, giving them a total of 16 players -- one over the limit of 12 active and 3 non-active. The league granted the exception because with all the injuries, the Warriors were down to seven players -- one under the league-mandated eight.
After sitting the entire first half Friday, he started the second half to match up against Greg Oden, who had his way with Mikki Moore and Anthony Randolph before getting in foul trouble in the first half. In 14 minutes, Hunter went 2-for-2 for four points, grabbed three rebounds, had a steal and a block and posted a +/- number of plus 12.
"That guy belongs in the NBA," Nelson said. "Hopefully we can find a way to keep him. He's stronger than anybody I have at that position."
“Coach just said be ready, be ready for anything. He said be ready for two minutes or 22 minutes, so I was ready to go whatever he asked of me," Hunter said. "The team closed out the first half very well, and I was excited and ready to play so he said go out there and try to do a good job on (Greg) Oden and that’s what I tried to do.”
The Warriors were without centers Andris Biedrins (back/groin) and Ronny Turiaf (knee), who watched the game from the bench in suits, C.J. Watson (flu) and Raja Bell, who is in Charlotte preparing for wrist surgery. Golden State also lost Kelenna Azubuike (knee) and Brandan Wright (shoulder) to season-ending injuries. Devean George and Speedy Claxton have not played yet this season due to injuries.
Meanwhile:
-- Monta Ellis and Anthony Morrow played all 48 minutes and Stephen Curry would have had he not fouled out with 2 1/2 minutes left in the game. For a team that had five point guards when training camp started (Ellis, Curry, Watson, Acie Law, who was traded to Charlotte with Stephen Jackson, and Claxton) and a seemingly endless supply of players capable of playing the off-guard spot, it's odd to hear Nelson talk about not having any small players left.
-- Good news for the guards: the Warriors have three days off before playing again. Bad news for the Warriors: their next two games are at Dallas and San Antonio on back-to-back nights.
-- The backcourt combination of Ellis and Curry combined for 46 points, 16 assists, seven steals and three blocks. Curry had only one turnover.
-- If Curry would have made that high-arching tear-drop floater in the lane after two behind-the-back dribble moves with 6 1/2 minutes left in the game, the crowd would have erupted and literally may have blown the roof off the Oracle.
-- Morrow hit 8-of-13 shots and 4-of-6 3-pointers, including the one that put the Warriors ahead 51-50 in the second quarter. On that play, Curry brought the ball up on a semi-fastbreak, saw Morrow waving his hand for the ball, continued dribbling to keep the defense retreating and delivered the ball with perfect timing for Morrow to catch and shoot. It's a prime example of Curry and the Warriors figuring out the best time and situations to get Morrow the ball.
-- For one day at least, good offense beat good defense. The Warriors entered the game second in the league in scoring average while the Blazers were first in scoring defense. With 10:07 left in the game, the Warriors had 90 points, surpassing the Blazers' season average for points allowed. The Warriors were only the second team to score 100 or more against the players this year.
-- In a role reversal, the Blazers' 94 points were the fewest the Warriors allowed all season. This after giving up 37 in the first quarter, the most the Warriors allowed in the opening quarter all year. That means the Blazers scored just 57 points the last three quarters.
-- With the Warriors dribbling out the clock, Ellis turned to head toward the bench (he had earned the early rest) when Nelson met him at halfcourt to shake his hand. Here's hoping they can work things out and any problems they've had in the past can be put behind them. There's been nothing but positive words coming from the Warriors since Jackson left and maybe without his influence, team chemistry can be repaired.
-- Speaking of nice words, Blazers coach Nate McMillan on the Warriors: "The way they play, you can't continue to make ... turnovers. They do a lot of things that can get a team frustrated and I think we lost our composure." Nice to see it happen to someone else for a change.
-- Randolph had another nice game and is showing more often why Nelson pegged him as a starter coming into the season. He had 15 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 30 minutes. He also kept numerous rebounds alive with two, three or even four tips while battling the Blazers' big men. That's the type of effort the Warriors need -- and have gotten since the injuries depleted their front court -- in terms of rebounding. They're going to lose a lot of one-on-one rebound battles, but 1 through 5 they're quicker than most teams and can track down loose balls if someone would just give them a chance. They need to maintain that mindset even after Biedrins and Turiaf return.
-- On a down note, Randolph also had six turnovers and shot just 6-of-15. One of those six, however, was a huge dunk during the 17-2 second-quarter run that offset the Blazers' big first quarter. That's how Randolph needs to finish because he missed another couple short shots around the rim and too often can't get those little floaters to fall.
-- Last week may have been Friday the 13th, but consider these results from this Friday: the Clippers beat the Nuggets, the Grizzlies beat the 76ers, the Warriors beat the Blazers and the Kings almost beat the Mavericks. Did the "New Moon" have anything to do with it?
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