Gamon.org

* Bringing Baron back is one of those things that is simultaneously a) obviously good for both sides, and b) impossible. Sigh.

* Ronny Turiaf reminds me of Adonal Foyle, in that he is short for a center, and doesn't have great hops, but he blocks a lot of shots. I think those guys have a great sense of timing, coupled with the fact that most players don't respect them because their athletic shortcomings are obvious. Ronny also has long arms, which surprises some guys.

* Was I way-off on Bellinelli? I'm not ready to concede that yet. I still don't think he can defend, at all. He is a pest, which is good, and Nellie protects him with lots of zone, which is smart. What has surprised me is his offense. It's like he flipped a switch and turned it on after Morrow threatened to eat his minutes. Lots of guys think they can earn minutes with their offense, but Marco is a guy that really can.

* The current Warriors are interesting. They have a puncher's chance of knocking out anyone, because they are going to launch a lot of jumpers. When they are falling, as they did recently at home against the Celtics and Raptors, the Warriors bring a ton of energy and chaos to the defensive end. But when the shots don't fall, as they did not in LA the other night, the energy drains from them, and the defense becomes incredibly soft.

* Cory Maggette: there has been a lot of hating on this guy, but I think the problem is the way that Nelson uses him. He is not a starter. He is not a jump-shooter. Nellie needs to bring him off the bench to provide reliable offense when the shots stop falling. Cory changes the tempo, makes it slower, racks up fouls, gets easy points, keeps you in contact. The Warriors have infamous cold stretches when they just plain give away games. Using Maggette as a heater can get us a few more wins each year. Nellie and the fans just have to look past that gaudy salary.

Computer problems have kept me away. Here are some catch-up thoughts:

* Jax's extension is genius, not madness. The guy is scoring over 20 per game, and he is the team's best defender. 20 point scorers have an open-market rate of $10 million per year (established by Corey Maggette last summer). Jax deal never reaches $10 million, even in the far-off final season. This deal is going to look really good in a couple more years.

* Andris is not, as Tim Kawakami puts it, as good as the tv announcers say he is. Specifically, he is a lefty who cannot finish with his right. He has one good post move, a spin over his right shoulder to finish with his left. After a good string of games to open the season, the other teams are wise to him. They scouted his moves, and they shut him down. The faster he gets back to garbage duty, the better.

* Bellinelli is done. I can't believe they picked up his option. I watched him fail to defend anyone in summer league, and I knew it was over. What does Nellie see here? He is, as Phil Jackson might say, an 11am shooter. I cringe when he subs in.

* Notwithstanding recent games, I am super happy about the Harrington for Crawford trade. Al will heat up now and then, as he did against the Warriors last night. But in typical games, you can expect him to shoot around 30%, with high volume and low rebounds. Crawford will be fine after he settles in here.

* One thing puzzles me about the trade: Donnie Walsh supposedly wants to clear cap room for 7/1/2010. I understand that. But Crawford has an ETO this summer! Everything I read says he will opt-in, and play out his contract. But I don't understand why? Consider:

1) in two more years he will be on the wrong side of thirty
2) he is scoring 20 per game this year (or was, with the Knicks). Refer to my earlier position on 20 point scorers.

Conclusion: he will opt out.

* I would dearly love to see Nellie go with a tall-ball lineup. He could put these guys on the floor together:

5) Biedrins
4) Wright
3) Randolph
2) Jackson
1) Crawford

That is a darn big group. Tall-ball has worked really well in the times Nellie has tried it. I don't understand why he avoids it so.