It's becoming clearer by the day that coach Don Nelson, with a two-year extension in hand, is taking a slow-growth approach to the rebuilding of the Baron Davis-less Warriors.
If that means falling deep into the lottery to get a high pick next June, so be it. Knowing full well his young team had to make the most of a relatively friendly early schedule in order to remain competitive in the rugged Western Conference playoff race, Nelson has eased up on the throttle.
There's nothing he can do about Monta Ellis' injured ankle, but the Warriors also have gone the last three games without Corey Maggette and the last two without Al Harrington even though both have relatively minor injuries.
For the record, Nelson says he fears Maggette's slightly strained hamstring could linger unless he gets it fully healed right now, and he recognizes Harrington, who claims to have a sore back, wants to be traded, so he wants to convince prospective buyers they wouldn't be getting damaged goods.
It sounds good, but it doesn't sound like Nelson. This is the same guy who burned his big guns to the limit last season in order to stay in the playoff race, getting 82 starts at almost 40 minutes a pop out of a guy (Davis) who routinely had begged out of games earlier in his career.
KINGS 115, WARRIORS 98: It's early, but the Warriors already have sunk to a rather dark depth: They aren't even the best team in Northern California. The Kings, who have been in decline as the Warriors were on the rise in recent years, sent an early message that 2008-09 might be a different story Sunday night with a thumping in the California capital. The Golden State highlight: Anthony Morrow's NBA debut off the bench. He hit four of his six shots, including a 3-pointer. His teammates combined to make only two other 3's while shooting 39.3 percent overall.
