Nellie: Anthony Randolph in for "long year," compares him to Brandan Wright as rookie

October 27, 3:07 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Golden State Warriors Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Anthony Randolph: What if he hardly plays? 

In recent days, Warriors coach Don Nelson has been talking more and more about his "green and growing" team.

The implication is that Golden State might be in for a rough one, in part because of the team's inexpierience.

Fair enough.

But at least it will be interesting watching the young guys, right?

Particularly Anthony Randolph.

 Let's face it, you have to go back to Chris Webber's rookie year to find a first-year Warriors player with the kind of upside Randolph has.

But there might be a problem.

 I asked Nelson after practice on Monday if he could give me a couple of things that Randolph does well on the court.

Said Nelson: "He doesn't do much of anything very well. It's really not what you're getting with him, it's what you're going to get. He's got a tough year ahead of him."

Then Nelson went on to compare Randolph's situation this year to Brandan Wright's situation last year.

The quick recap is that Wright was a rookie last season, and he didn't play hardly at all ... pardon my English.

Wright's lack of playing time became more of an issue as the season went along, especially because the Warriors were wearing down in the months of March and April.

Last year, however, the playoffs were at stake, so you could at least understand Nelson's reluctance to go with Wright.

Nevertheless ... how disappointing would it be if Randolph played roughly the same amount of minutes this year as Wright played last year?

Answer: Unbelievably disappointing. Unless there's a 50-win season I don't see coming.

Marcus Williams: Barely on periphery 

♦ ♦

Nelson said he'll likely change his starting point guard from game to game depending on the team and matchup.

DeMarcus Nelson will start on Wednesday in the opener against New Orleans, but beyond that that starter will be determined by feel. Nelson's feel.

It's very possible C.J. Watson, who is banged-up right now, could start some games at one, also Stephen Jackson.

"If we have a good matchup there, we'll change that spot," Nelson said.

Until further notice, of course, there is no such thing as a "good matchup" with Marcus Williams at the point. 

Stephen Jackson ahead of Williams at one 

♦ ♦ ♦

Nelson, on whether the team had an offensive pecking order in late-game situations:

 "We don't. So we have to figure that out as we go. I have an idea of who we'll go to first, but we don't have one guy."

Jackson isn't all that into the idea of playing a lot of point guard.

When he was asked how much point guard he wanted to play, Jackson said:

"Hopefully not that much. It's not my position. But if that's what the coaches want me to do, I'll do it.

"Put it this way: I'd rather not, but I don't mind."