Official Warriors Season Thread

[h1]Warriors' Stephen Jackson plays Santa for Oakland families[/h1]
John Koopman, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, December 25, 2007



In a small house in a modest area of East Oakland, two families have gathered to celebrate Christmas.

The families have fallen on hard times and Christmas looks a little grim this year. There's a Christmas tree in the living room,but no presents under it. The adults chat, and the kids run around and scream at each other.

They're all waiting. A big man is supposed to stop by and bring presents. A man in a costume leads the kids in song and cheeruntil sounds can be heard coming from the front porch. Then a loud, robust knock.

"He's here!" shouts one of the kids. The door opens. A tall man in a cream-colored track suit and very expensiveearrings walks through the door. It's Stephen Jackson, starting forward for the Golden State Warriors.

"Merry Christmas everybody," he says with a shy smile.

"He's real!" says 12-year-old Bryan Burton. "He's really real."

And so began the Christmas that will forever be remembered in the Draper and Reed households. Not only did they get piles ofpresents, food and other gifts, they got it all hand-delivered by one of the best players in the NBA.

"These kids will never forget this moment," said Frances Draper, a 64-year-old grandmother taking care of eight youngchildren. "Even when they're old, they're going to be telling this story to their family and friends."

The event was part of the Warriors' Season of Giving campaign. The team helps out about 5,000 people, and the players, coachesand staff get involved in disbursing presents and money to people in need.

Erika Smith, a spokeswoman for the team, said families ask for help and fill out a wish list of presents. The team buys the stuff andthe players, like Jackson, pay for it and deliver the goods.

Jackson arrived late in a gleaming black Bentley. Inside the house, the Warriors' mascot, Thunder, kept the families entertained.Members of the Warriors staff told the families that something was up, but didn't say who was coming or what they were getting.

It was a lot like waiting for Santa to show up in a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

Jackson pulled up to the curb outside the little house with none of the fanfare he usually gets when he's at the Oakland Arena.Only a couple of reporters were on hand to mark the occasion.

The Warriors had brought the Reeds - Lamont and Cheryl and their three children - to Frances Draper's house. On the front porch,they stacked the presents and all sorts of grocery items that needy families might want, such as paper towels, ramen noodles, pies, cakes andvegetables.

Jackson squeezed into the small living room, crammed elbow-to-elbow with kids, and made his way to a small sofa in the corner. There,sitting next to his mother, Judy Jackson, he spent the next half-hour passing out wrapped presents to the kids. The presents were to be unwrapped later, butclearly one or two were basketballs.

"Come on now, Layla, give me some sugar," Jackson said as he reached for the baby of the bunch. She reached for his neckand gave him a kiss.

After Jackson passed out the presents, he told Lamont Reed that his Pacific Gas and Electric bill, a whopping $1,700, had been paid.And he told Draper that a new TV was on its way to her house later in the week.

"I had no idea that any of this was going to happen," said Reed, who was recently laid off from his job. "When I sawhim coming through the door, I was like 'Whoa!' "

Jackson hung around for pictures with the parents and kids. After they started in on the pizzas he had brought, the tall man and hismother slipped out the front door.

"It always feels good to do stuff like this," Jackson said.

Jackson has an image on the basketball court for being a volatile and passionate player, but none of that was evident in the littlehouse in East Oakland.

"That's just the way I play basketball," he said. "I hate to lose. But off court, I'm a humble person. Godblessed me and gave me the ability to do something for other people, and that means a lot to me."

Draper was very emotional, too. She said taking care of eight kids has been hard. But with the help of her family, friends andchurch, the True Word Church of the Living God, she says, she gets by.

But there weren't going to be any Christmas presents this year.

"Everything was going toward expenses and utilities," she said. "And now, all this. I just can't believeit."
 
i hope you guys are having a great xmas. nothing brings a tear to my eye more than happy warriors fans.

on a sour note: i looked at the Blazers next 5 or so games and i don't think this win streak of their's is ending any time soon
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Originally Posted by Enlightened Thought

i hope you guys are having a great xmas. nothing brings a tear to my eye more than happy warriors fans.

on a sour note: i looked at the Blazers next 5 or so games and i don't think this win streak of their's is ending any time soon
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They have a REALLY easy schedule
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[h1]UK Basketball [/h1]
[h5]Posted on Wed, Dec. 26, 2007[/h5]

[h1]Azubuike emerges as late-game Warrior[/h1] [h2]EX-CAT HAS MADE BIG SHOTS IN CLUTCH FOR GOLDEN STATE[/h2] [h4]By Geoff Lepper[/h4] [h5]CONTRA COSTA TIMES[/h5]


Kelenna Azubuike
[h3]NEW YORK --[/h3]According to Golden State Warriors forward Mickael Pietrus, all you need to know about a player's ability to knock down a game-winning shot can be found in his eyes: "When you look in Kobe's eyes, you see he's going to beat you," Pietrus said. "When you look in Buke's eyes, all you see is Buke."
Pietrus was kidding teammate Kelenna Azubuike with the comparison to Lakers star Kobe Bryant for the benefit of media on hand at a Warriors' practice last week. But if opponents look closely at Azubuike these days, they're likely to see a coldblooded shooter who just launched a three-pointer to clinch another Warriors victory.

In his past 13 games, Azubuike is shooting 52 percent from the floor, 44 percent on three-pointers, and he's begun making a habit of nailing shut the coffin lid on the opposition's hopes for victory.

The former Kentucky player drained his first NBA game-winner on Nov. 24, knocking down a three-pointer with 6.8 seconds remaining to put the Warriors up for good in a 100-98 overtime victory at Philadelphia. Since then, he hasn't needed to come up with a similar piece of last-minute magic, but Azubuike has nevertheless remained clutch in the final period.

His three-pointer against Memphis on Dec. 17 with 2:09 left put Golden State ahead by nine points and iced an eventual 125-117 victory. Two days later in Minnesota, Azubuike delivered a near-carbon copy, nailing a trey at the 2:47 mark to help stamp out a Timberwolves rally that had trimmed a 14-point lead to eight.

"I'm not surprised because he's in a spot-up situation, and if a guy comes off (to double-team another Warrior), that's what he's supposed to do," Warriors Coach Don Nelson said. "He's a confident guy when he gets his shot, and we encourage him to take it."

To Azubuike's way of thinking, his success is an outgrowth of the Warriors' willingness to share the ball and the shots. Every locker room in the NBA is filled with guys who'll tell you that they have confidence in their teammates with the game on the line, but Azubuike's success makes it clear that the Warriors are living by that credo, not just talking it up.

"A lot of times, the only guys who can take shots in those situations are your All-Stars and all that," Azubuike said. "If you're going to take those shots, you've got to make sure it's a good shot; otherwise, you're not going to hear the end of it. If it's a good shot, then everybody's comfortable with everybody taking those shots."

When Azubuike started the Warriors' first seven games in place of suspended Stephen Jackson, he was getting to the line more often, creating his own offense off the dribble as Golden State tried to get on track. Now that Jackson is back, the Warriors' passing has improved. Azubuike is settling into the role of a three-point sniper, trolling the wings to give Jackson and Baron Davis an outlet to make opponents pay for committing too early to double-teams.

"We definitely, of course, look for Baron and Jack in those situations, and they kind of make the plays," Azubuike said. "If I hit those shots, I got it from those guys, when they were double-teamed. So it's basically them making the right plays. Hopefully, whoever they pass it to, it's a good shot, and they knock the shot down."

Kelenna Azubuike's season statistics:

G GS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A REB AST STL MPG Pts.

28 25 125-274 33-84 45-63 131 41 15 27.9 11.7
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Is today's game going to be on FOX Sports Bay Area? Its not showing up on my TV guide. It say the Sharks is on and the W's game is supposed to be onNBATV but weak Comcast doesn't have it. Hopefully the game will be shown on Bay Area Plus. Does anybody know what's up with the game on Comcast?
 
i think it's on FSN plus or something not sure. as well as nbatv of course

i'll be at the game today and on friday as well, hoping for 2 W's.
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Wait, so what's the difference of being on NBA TV as opposed to not being on NBA TV? Don't all of them go on NBA TV if you have a subscription toLeague Pass?
 
^nbatv is a separate station. they show highlights and fantasy stuff. it's the nba's official channel.

league pass gives you nbatv along with other channels that are showing the televised games.
 
Anyone got a link to the game tonight? Im visiting my parents in Arizona and dont get the channel. Thanks in advance.
 
Good 1st quarter by the Warriors. We need to keep pushing and put this team away early just like we did with Cleveland.
 
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