In a crazy day of events, the main focus of the night was to play some basketball. And the remaining Warriors did just that. They did with something that their leading scorer could not do consistently night and night out: Defense. They won a commanding game 115-89 hours after surrendering Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.
Three Warriors scored 17 points a piece. Nate Robinson, who started in place of Ellis (or was for Stephen Curry who did not suit up?) had a great stat night (17 points, 2 boards, 2 steals, 3 assists and 0 turnovers) while David Lee continued his scoring (17 points, 8 boards and 4 assists). Off the bench, Brandon Rush had a “breakout” game. He also finished the night with 17 points and 8 boards.
Maybe because Ellis now officially gone and Curry is officially sitting out, Dorell Wright is seizing the opportunity to play up to his level. He had a productive night for the Warriors who now don’t know who to go to for scoring. He had 14 points and 10 boards. With all the happenings of the day, Klay Thompson slide into a starting role and finished the night with 14 points, 4 boards and 5 assists in by far his longest playing night at 43 minutes. He’s young, he should do it. Andris Beidrins, who has completely fell out of favor with Jackson, got his starting job back (only cause Ekpe and Kwame are gone, though Kwame isn’t ready for any action) and actually scored more than zero!
Off the bench, Rush and reserve Charles Jenkins picked up the slack, now that Robinson is in the starting line-up. Jenkins contributed with 15 points in just 19 minutes. Good production per minute.
It was no contest that night as the Warriors pulled away from the Kings early and often. By the time the third quarter ended, the Warriors had built up an 11 point lead and extended it to 21 by the mid fourth. The Warriors shot 50% from both the field and three point range. They also shot over 70% from the charity stripe . In almost every statistical category, the Warriors owned the kings. Chalk up another great night in the paint for them as they scored 50 in the paint compared to 38 for the Kings.
It was a good emotional win as the shock of the trade went down. Ellis, speaking to the media after learning his fate from the television, did not seem angry, shocked or upset.
“It’s not a bad thing, man,” Ellis said. “Not at all. We are going to another team to do the same thing we love to do. I’m riding back home with him (Udoh).”*
In all, it was more of the team that was in awe.
“I was stunned,” said Wright, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds. “I took it hard. It was three guys I was close to as friends. You hear rumors every year, but most of the time they aren’t true. I’ve never been a part of something like this happening right before a game.”*
I think Mark Jackson summed up the emotional part of the game.
“It was emotionally draining for us,” Jackson said. “These were three guys we were attached to. It’s a business and we talked about it. It’s hard to see guys in this business go other places. This hurts.”*
But the Warriors played like they were hurting. They came out flying, scoring and dominating. It was if the game itself was a great break of how at the end of the day, the NBA, the franchise is a business. And business is brutal. The Warriors found that out Tuesday night. While no one should ever feel as if their employer might fire them (in this case trade them) if they are valuable, the adage that the world still goes round without you is completely true. It might have rubbed in management’s face if the Warriors came out stumbling, struggling to score. But the Warriors did just the opposite and it only confirms that this team can without Ellis (or Curry for that matter.)
We’ll all see how the Warriors respond on a back to back night. Flying home hours later after Ekpe and Ellis went, they return to action at the Oracle to take on the suddenly streaking Boston Celtics. Without Ellis to be the go to scorer, is anyone on the team fast enough to stick with Rajon Rondo? Maybe Nate Robinson will have a good crack at it, since he was part of the team and probably practiced against Rondo. Don’t rule the Celtics out tonight. After an emotional win in LA, the old legs were able to get a day rest, while the Warriors are probably mentally tired at this point.
A win tonight would solidify the trade, even if it hurts the emotions of the team.
*Source: ESPN