Vladimir Radmanovic Nets New Season High Of Fifteen Points

Golden State of Mind post-game linkage gives you all you need to know about the game from beginning to end. And today's thrilling victory jumpstarted by the unlikeliest of heroes, Vladimir Radmanovic, makes the win that much more bizarre. Scoring 13 of his 15 points in the 4th quarter, Radmanovic killed his previous season high by a whole 6 points!  Listen to hear what Radmanovic had to say about it:

As difficult as it is to listen to Vladimir Radmanovic, the man who once lied to his team about an injury he sustained snowboarding, there's some truth to what the man's been saying. When he addressed his team's play by talking about the leaders of the team's apathy towards practice, which Monta Ellis is quoted as brushing off by saying "forget it," I was on the Radmanovic train for a minute.  Of course, when Radmanovic has his mental errors that are always fodder for the boo-birds, myself included, it feels like the pot calling the kettle black. But when Radmanovic says that they need to always play like "they're down 20", if that's what it really takes for this team to play to their potential, I say do it! And I'm sure Radmanovic knows that that goes for him, too. 

Vladimir Radmanovic Buzzer Beater Three Caps Off Huge Fourth Quarter Comeback By Warriors To Beat Kings

It's very difficult to explain the series of events that led to the Golden State Warriors coming back from a double-digit deficit late in the 4th quarter to tie the Sacramento Kings to send it into overtime for the eventual victory. The Kings were up 94-78 with around 9:19 left before the Warriors came roaring back on an 18-4 run to cut the lead to two with 15 seconds left, which included Sacramento fouling a three point shooter TWICE on consecutive possessions.

With the Kings up 102-98 with eight seconds after Beno Udrih made some huge free throws, Reggie Williams made the foul shot, missed the second...and the ball bounced off Demarcus Cousins's hands and out of bounds. Warriors ball. With two seconds left, Sacramento unbelievably stacked the paint (Up three. UP THREE!) Vladimir Radmanovic was left WIDE OPEN on the perimeter, and stroked the three to send it to overtime. The Kings were pretty much the walking dead after that, losing 117-109.

I say roaring back, although it's hard to say Golden State really was doing that much to take it. Golden State made only four of eight free throws in the final minute (although one of them was an intentional miss). Sacramento was that bad.  Francisco Garcia took a long contested three pointer with 25 seconds left...with twelve to thirteen seconds left on the shot-clock. Cousins took some of the ugliest shots imaginable in one-on-one isolation situations, going zero for four down the stretch and turning over the ball twice. The Kings managed the incredible stat of eleven turnovers to one assist in the fourth quarter and overtime, with Tyreke Evans (four turnovers) and Beno Udrih (three turnovers) leading the way.

Still, there were some moments by the Warriors. Radmanovic had that three. Monta Ellis capped it off with an incredible drive, over-his-head layup in overtime to finish off the misery of the Kings. But it was pretty much Sacramento that did themselves in tonight. If it wasn't for the Miracle in the Meadowlands Part II, this would be the worst chokejob of the week.

For more coverage on the Kings, head on over to Sactown Royalty; for more on the Warriors, check out Golden State of Mind!

(via outsidethenba)

Ekpe Udoh Isn't Superman, But That's OK

“The biggest thing with Ekpe is that he hasn’t played games,” coach Keith Smart said. "I’m not expecting anything super. Anything he does is a plus as he tries to develop his identity as a basketball player in the NBA.

“He might turn out to be Superman, but that doesn’t happen that often.”

Rusty Simmons of SF Chronicle reports on how Coach Keith Smart and current GM Larry Riley are feeling after yesterday’s surprise play by Ekpe Udoh. It’s probably in fan and the Warriors best interest to not over-hype the young kid like they’ve done in the past anointing every new Warrior as ‘the future’ — setting up ridiculous expectations that players can’t meet and merely irking fans more than anything, duped into believing we had the missing piece in “x” player. Simmons seemed to think the same:

The Warriors realize they did Udoh a little disservice amid losing 12 of 13 games, consistently trumpeting “wait until we get healthy.” Some fans bought in, so naturally they want to see the “rescuer.”

Udoh doesn’t need to be Superman, per se. But the Warriors clearly need a hero to step up given how inconsistent everyone has been playing. Winning clearly takes a team effort. And Udoh has been out for quite a bit, so granted he’ll need time to get into game shape. But asking Udoh, a relatively high lottery pick, to be productive — maybe not Superman but something pretty great — shouldn’t be out of our realm of imagination.

I’m in agreement that rushing Udoh isn’t a good idea (like rushing Jeremy Lin). But as a lottery pick, there should be some expectations set. 20-10 seems like too much to ask, but with the veterans like Vladimir Radmanovic and Dorell Wright committing some of the most insane turnovers and mental mistakes, what difference is it if it’s Ekpe Udoh?

Golden State Warriors @ Sacramento Kings - Ekpe Udoh Versus DeMarcus Cousins, Who Will Foul Less Tonight?

The Warriors lost another last second nail biter, which nowadays feels like a "win" when blowouts had become a regular thing. The Warriors rookies provided some feeling of relief in what looked to be a blowout in the making as Ekpe Udoh and Jeremy Lin, checking in with the Warriors down 7, jump started a run that even had the Warriors up by 4 at one point. Udoh, although accumulating 4 fouls in 25 minutes of action, looked to be a solid defender who seems to know his assignments and fared well against savvy big men in Luis Scola and Brad Miller.

Udoh and the Warriors face off against their northern California rivals in the Sacramento Kings in what should be called the "Lottery Bowl" where losing might be the more prized goal even at this stage of the season. The Kings, sitting at 5-20, have completely underwhelmed and the duo of Tyreke Evans and Demarcus Cousins, right now, is looking about as exciting as the proposed Larry Hughes and Antawn Jamison duo of the Warriors lightening bolt era. Both Evans and Cousins have been heavily cited by media as having on-and-off-court troubles, which oddly make the Warriors own sophomore-rookie injury combo in Stephen Curry and Udoh much more manageable.

With that said, the battle between rookies and sophomores will probably have to wait as CSN Bay Area's Jaymee Sires reports that Curry says he's most likely out until Christmas. I'm thinking Curry is doing this purposely to be a "present" for the fans that day. But my assumption is Keith Smart will limit Udoh's minutes and like any young rookie big man, will probably be fouling as rapidly as DeMarcus Cousins, who currently leads the league in fouls per game and possibly per minute. Perhaps more important of a battle is which rookie can stay on the court more?

Here's what CSN Bay Area Matt Steinmetz had to say about the two rookies:

--DeMarcus Cousins: This guy is one-man dramatic theater, what with the facial expressions, body contortions and overall immaturity. At the same time, Cousins is immensely talented, which will make him a handful for the Warriors.

--Ekpe Udoh: Udoh finally got some playing time on Monday night against the Rockets and, not coincidentally, he gave the Warriors something. It sure looks like Udoh will be able to rebound, and his effort on defense is quite noticeable.

Which one looks better to you?Apparently fans over at Golden State of Mind know what they wanted.