As it turns out, Watson's season was not done but about to take off. He has become one of the Warriors' most consistent guards this season.

Over 15 games in November, Watson averaged 10.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 29.1 minutes. He hasn't been as productive in December, but he entered Monday's game against Orlando averaging 10.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 27 minutes.

Coach Don Nelson trusts Watson enough to have started him in 10 games, including Monday, and given him the green light to create offense.

"It's just me getting some minutes, coach having faith in me," said Watson, who will miss Wednesday's game at Indiana to attend his uncle's funeral. "I've been working on my game, after practice and in the summer time. Pretty much it's paying off. I'm getting more playing time, I'm taking shots I know I can make."

While Watson is playing the best ball of his NBA career now, his development figures to pay dividends down the line. When guard Monta Ellis returns, the Warriors might have a reliable reserve in Watson.

"He's playing really well," Nelson said. "He keeps getting better, a little bit better in every way. He's still got a ways to go. Ideally, he's a great backup."

The wrong stuff

Warriors forward Brandan Wright, who missed three games with the flu, said he's never missed so many consecutive games in his career. But he's never felt the way that he was feeling, either. "It was tough," Wright said. "I was tired for about four or five days in a row. Real tired. Barely could stand up. I had a headache for three days in a row." Wright was dressed for Monday's game. He said he didn't know how his legs would hold up since he hadn't done anything Basketball-related in almost a week.

Off glass

Some 900 tickets for the Dec. 26 game against Boston will go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. For more information, go to www.Warriors.com . ... Former Warriors swingman Mickael Pietrus crashed Nelson's pregame interview. He traded pleasantries and laughs with his ex-coach, even showed off the cast protecting the torn ligament in his right thumb. ... Post Ronny Turiaf returned to the lineup after missing two games with the flu. ... Swingman Stephen Jackson missed 10 of his first 11 shots Monday. So, for a stretch of two games and a half, Jackson was 4-for-38 from the field (10.5 percent). Jackson refuses to blame his shooting slump on his injured left hand, and Nelson said after Jackson's 1-for-13 outing at Denver on Saturday that as long as Jackson is on the court, he wants whatever offense he can get out of him.

Marcus Thompson II