When the Warriors are at full strength, it's unlikely rookie Anthony Randolph will get any meaningful playing time. On a club that often goes without a true power forward, he's the team's third-best behind Ronny Turiaf and Brandan Wright.
But the Warriors are far from at full strength right now, so the door has swung open for the LSU product to strut his stuff. He probably has three games to do so. Randolph got 12 minutes of action in Sunday's 116-96 win over Utah. He was equally good (five rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot) and bad (2-for-6 shooting, including an air-ball, and three fouls).
Warriors coach Don Nelson has seen that kind of inconsistency so often in practice that he has relegated Randolph to full-time bench duty more often than not this season. In fact, at one point Nelson basically washed his hands of the slender 6-foot-10 left-hander, insisting his assistant coaches would tell him when Randolph was ready to be a productive player.
That attitude frustrated the rookie to the point where he fired his agent, B.J. Armstrong, in large part because the ex-Warrior continually instructed his client to be patient rather than -- as Randolph wanted -- make some demands of Nelson.
The veteran coach had little choice but to use the No. 14 pick in the 2008 draft Sunday night. Andris Biedrins' sprained ankle pressed Turiaf into center duties, and Wright remains out while recuperating from a separated shoulder.
Even Nelson, who clearly doesn't think much of the power forward position, has to play one from time to time. Against the Jazz, that was Randolph.
The same will be true Tuesday against the Knicks and Thursday against the Trail Blazers as both Biedrins and Wright already have been ruled out. Randoph will get two more chances to be a prime-time player, after which Nelson will have the All-Star break to assess his performance.
Suffice it to say, he's going to be buried pretty deep on the bench come Feb. 18 if he doesn't respond better than Sunday.
WARRIORS 116, JAZZ 96: One of the few positives of having had so many injuries this season is it's helped the Warriors become a deeper team. The Jazz, currently without Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko, are still searching for a similar supporting cast. That difference was clear Sunday as the Warriors got double-figure scoring from seven players, including a backup pressed into starting duties, en route to one of their easiest -- and most surprising -- victories of the season. Ronny Turiaf scored 13 points in place of injured Andris Biedrins and the Warriors' bench, led once again by Corey Maggette, outscored its Jazz counterparts 44-20, keying a victory over a club that has enjoyed far more than its fair share of success against Golden State over the years.
