Warriors rookie Anthony Randolph: "They're helping me more"

January 20, 5:20 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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Anthony Randolph: Little by little 

Warriors coach Don Nelson is still pretty hard on rookie Anthony Randolph. In other words, that part hasn't changed.

But what has seemed to change for Randolph is his routine and the support he's getting.

Assistant coaches Keith Smart and Rico Hines and director of athletic development Mark Grabow meet Randolph before every practice and put the first-year player through his own, personalized individual workout.

"I come in every morning and they're helping me more," Randolph said after Tuesday's practice. "They're helping me by telling me what they want me to do, actually showing me early in the morning before practice what I need to do. That helps a lot _ just having them show you."

(LINK TO A COUPLE OF PRACTICE VIDEOS BELOW)

Randolph is not only getting basketball instruction, he's also getting a lot of encouragement from the trio. According to Smart, Randolph has responded much better to the pre-practice kind of teaching than the kind done at a full practice.

There are two assumptions Randolph, however, doesn't want you to draw:

First, that Nelson is being any less hard on him; and, second, that Randolph can't take the heat that the coach is doling out.

I asked Randolph if it was true that he's very sensitive and doesn't like to be criticized in front of his teammates.

"No, not at all (that that's true)," Randolph said. "If coach calls you out in front of the team, it just means he's telling you to do better and he's trying to put it on you. So you've got to go out there and do it. He called me out the second half of the last game (vs. Washington) in front of the team. ... It's still the same."

What has changed is Randolph's role. He's started four of the past five games, and Nelson seems to be committed to giving him at least some playing time at the beginning of each half.

So, does that work for Randolph?

"It doesn't work for me because I'm not content with starting and playing five or seven minutes for the first and third quarter," Randolph said. "I want to be the guy that's in the game at the end, when it matters. So, I've just got to take it and build on it."

Asked if he would at least acknowledge it was an improvement, Randolph finally cracked a little bit of a smile and said: "Yeah, it's a lot better improvement than sitting on the  bench every game."

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