WARRIORS PRACTICE FACILITY, OAKLAND, CA — Reporters were informed that the post-morning shootaround would occur at 10:45AM today, but did not enter the gym until 11:30AM. For the sound of balls bouncing, sneakers squeaking, and players yelling, it sounded more like a regular practice than the typical shootaround, as the Golden State Warriors face their bitter rivals the Los Angeles Clippers tonight , the first of two games the close out the preseason before the NBA regular season kicks off on October 29, 2014.
Brandon Rush wasn’t in sight, out with back spasms per the same report, but the rest of the Warriors were all shooting around, including Andrew Bogut, albeit with his right hand, not the left as we’ve seen more exclusively after recent practices.
Head coach Steve Kerr wasn’t aware that he could skip the media session this morning after shootaround because he’s obliged by NBA rules to provide a pregame press conference before each game, but the nice guy that he is, took a seat on the interviewee’s chair and fielded questions from Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area, and Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
“Probable means he’s going to play. Probable means definite,” Kerr said. “He’s going to get a few minutes, just to start to get some timing and experience. He’s feeling pretty good.”
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Kerr said Ezeli has no discomfort in his leg and has been moving well in practice. He’s yet to participate in a full-contact, five-on-five scrimmage, so that’s how the Warriors will treat the game against the Clippers.
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“It’ll be great. Festus is a big part of what we’re doing going forward,” Kerr said. “I like to stay big as much as possible. (Ognjen) Kuz(mic) has really come along, and Festus gives us a third rim-protector. Ideally, we’ve got plenty of depth at that spot when everybody’s healthy, and we can maintain our rim protection.”
An appearance by Ezeli on his 25th birthday would mark his first competitive game in 17 months after he missed all of last season recovering from knee surgery and was sidelined because of shin inflammation since the summer.
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Kerr said Ezeli is feeling no discomfort and that the game represents “the next step” in his recovery, as it will be treated as a 5-on-5 full contract scrimmaging that he had been unable to do during training camp.
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“He’s going to just get a few minutes just to start to get some timing and experience,” Kerr said. “He’s feeling pretty good.
For now, they’ll gladly reacquaint themselves with Ezeli – on his 25th birthday.
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“I’m happy for him,” starting center Andrew Bogut said. “It’s been a really tough 16-18 months, for him to come back now and be out on the floor, put everything behind him, it’s good.”
The other major topic was the ongoing Andre Iguodala/Harrison Barnes starting small forward “saga”.
Simmons:
Swingman Andre Iguodala will once again be serving the role as the team’s sixth man. “I want to see Andre off the bench again. I may play Andre with a couple of different people than he did last time. I’ve got a couple of different combinations that I want to see with Andre handling the ball and making decisions.
Poole:
“I may play Andre with a couple different people than he played with last time,” Kerr said. “I’ve got a couple things in mind, rotations that I want to look at with Andre as sort handling the ball and making decisions.”
Finally, Kerr talked about the Warriors trying to be a force on their home floor, especially after last year’s disappointments and the expected tight race for the playoffs in the Western Conference, a conference that Bogut described as “11 or 12 teams deep”.
Simmons:
The Warriors went 27-14 at home last season, just three games better than their road record. There were a handful of games that they lost to inferior teams at Oracle Arena, and Kerr says that has to change.
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“I talked to the guys before shootaround about dominating our home floor,” he said. “There’s no excuse for us not to do that. We’ve got a lot of talent, we’ve got the best crowd in the league, it’s electric in there, so we should be able to feed off the energy of the fans and our own play…”
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Center Andrew Bogut said: “I think it’s obvious that last season there were five or six games where we just absolutely laid an egg … at home. For whatever excuses there may be, it’s something that we need to do better.
Poole:
The Warriors have gone 4-2 in their first six preseason games, all away from the Bay Area. After returning early Monday morning – and knowing they won’t leave the Bay Area until the season opener Oct. 29 at Sacramento – they embrace the return to Oracle.
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“It’ll be fun. I’ve always loved coming to Oracle as an opponent and as a broadcaster,” Kerr said. “It’s such a great atmosphere; it’s electric in there. I think all the guys are looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd again.”
In other news, Bogut was clearly very happy to confirm that he had bought a house in the Bay Area recently.
Stephen Curry was supposed to have been available to reporters, but was in the middle of an interview with TNT, which will broadcast the game nationally tonight.
We also caught Kerr shooting free throws, which was apparently part of an ongoing contest with Curry. According to Leung, Curry won another round:
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