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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, October 29, 2009

NBA: Stephen Curry in favor, Jackson isn’t; so what’s new with the Warriors?


By Tim Kawakami
San Jose Mercury News

Stephen Curry is the fun, fragile future of the Golden State Warriors, and Stephen Jackson already looks as if he’s part of the past.

Funny how that works: Curry gets highlighted precisely at the same time Jackson gets booed.
That is your recent Warriors history/revolving door in a nutshell, right there on strange opening night in a 108-107 loss to the not-good Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena.
So the Warriors aren’t very good. OK, we sort of knew that.
But if there was anything else worth concluding from Wednesday’s game, it was that Curry is a full and indoctrinated Warrior, in every positive and negative way.
And Jackson is unquestionably on his way out, consistently booed and heckled along the way.
Not that Curry was perfect in his NBA debut. Not close, just like that knuckler he threw up from 16 feet in the second quarter that missed the rim by miles.
But Curry looked poised and snapped sharp passes all over the court, picking up four assists in the Warriors’ first nine baskets.
And to the heart of it, all of Curry’s major flaws just happen to mirror the Warriors’ flaws, too.
He’s a bit too small. He got yanked by Don Nelson early in the third after missing five of his first six shots and struggling on defense.
He’ll be better in a couple of years. He needs a lot of help guarding anybody good.
More than anything, he makes the fans go ga-ga, though it’s unclear if he makes the Warriors significantly better right now.
No wonder Nelson loves Curry so much. He’s the crown jewel of the Warriors’ Hope Diamonds — Curry, Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow.
While Jackson — who does things like play defense and also complain loudly and fire up too many shots — is an awkward inconvenience at this point.
He just doesn’t fit the Warriors’ picture any more.
Earlier in the day, ESPN.com reported increased buzz about a potential Jackson deal, but Nelson said he didn’t imagine that a deal was imminent.
“This is the first I’ve heard about it, so it would surprise me if that’s true,” Nelson said before the game.
All this happened while Nelson made sure to knock Anthony Randolph temporarily to third-string.
I emphasize “temporarily” — Randolph didn’t check into the game until 3:08 was left in the first half, but he started the second half over Andris Biedrins.
Catch all that? Lots of hurly-burly right away for the Warriors, and there are still trade rumors to consider and controversies coming that we cannot yet imagine.
So, yes, the first game of this season wasn’t much different from the first game of the last season or, really, a whole bunch of games in a whole bunch of seasons.
The home crowd roared, as the Warriors and Rockets ran up and down the floor.
Jackson elicited loud and mixed reactions, with the boos clearly predominating in his first appearance since his public trade demand.
Monta Ellis burst to the hoop, scored a lot, made errors and generally kept things exciting.
The Warriors played Corey Maggette at power forward for long stretches, didn’t play great defense and, of course, did some nice things on offense.
Interesting, because before the game, the Warriors’ coaching staff posted a large sign listing “Defensive Game Goals.”
They included: Hold Houston to 97 points and 43-percent field-goal shooting or less.
I’ve never seen such a sign, or such an emphasis, on a Nelson-coached team, so good for them for at least making an effort.
Didn’t have much effect on the goings-on Wednesday. The Warriors were their same old ragamuffin team, changing on the fly and ending up in mediocrity.
“Things won’t always be the way they are tonight,” Nelson said before the game. “There’ll be changes.”
Lots of changes. Curry as the new face, switching in for Jackson. Pretty much the same kind of team, however.