DeMarcus, Shav +

[ldavid1]

Hey, first time poster here. I've been visiting the site for several years and enjoying all the posts, but never jumped in. I'm sure everyone has been keeping up with the NBA preseason(not), but I have followed enough to see that Demarcus and Shav are doing pretty well..not to mention Duhon having a great night in with the Knicks over the weekend.
Will DeMarcus make the team? How about Shav?

[CameronBornAndBred]

Hey, first time poster here. I've been visiting the site for several years and enjoying all the posts, but never jumped in. I'm sure everyone has been keeping up with the NBA preseason(not), but I have followed enough to see that Demarcus and Shav are doing pretty well..not to mention Duhon having a great night in with the Knicks over the weekend.
Will DeMarcus make the team? How about Shav?

Both are doing what they need to do to impress their coaches, both have outstanding games. Both also have had so-so games, so we'll see where that leads. I think that given the minutes they have had, both have a good shot. I believe IF Nelson does not make the roster, he will be representing in the D-League, which no player wants but IMO is not bad. If that is his fate, I expect a call up within the season.

[Carlos]

It looks like Nelson has a pretty good chance right now. His coach seems very happy with his work and the team has some problems at the PG spot where Demarcus is slated to play. We all know Nelson's not a natural point guard but the Warriors have a number of strong 2G's who can initiate the offense which means that Nelson's weaknesses can be somewhat mitigated.

He's also fortunate in that the rest of the guys the Warriors are looking at for that spot aren't much on the defensive end. Marcus Williams' name is associated with steals, but only as it relates to laptops not basketballs. Dan Dickau's name is is never associated with defense of any type. All that, plus the uncertain status of Monta Ellis, works in Demarcus' favor.

As for Shav, he had a monster game the other night and he really needed it. The Blazers are loaded at the PF spot with guaranteed contracts out to LaMarcus Aldridge, Ike Diogu, and Channing Frye. They also have Travis Outlaw who also plays some PF. But at the C spot they only have Oden and Joel Przybilla as true post players under contract. Frye and Aldridge can both play the post but the Blazers front office needs to decide if they want to go that route and keep Shav or if they want to use that 15th spot on Steven Hill, a 7-0 rookie out of Arkansas. The mindset before Shav's big game the other night was that Hill would be the better choice because they could use him to bang on Oden and Przybilla in practice and not worry about wearing out their undersized guys who could possibly play the post.

[ldavid1]

thanks Carlos.......great update. I really hope Shav can make it. Despite all his critics, me being among them while he was at Duke, I really like the guy and want him to prove us all wrong. I know he can do it and seems to me that when he has confidence in himself he can be a contributor in the NBA.

[jlear]

Check this NBA.com article out, link (http://www.nba.com/2008/news/features/art_garcia/10/14/101408chinapreview/index.html).

"DeMarcus Nelson, once just a training-camp hopeful, looks to have the inside track at starting."

That made my day...and it has been a great day!

[devildeac]

Check this NBA.com article out, link (http://www.nba.com/2008/news/features/art_garcia/10/14/101408chinapreview/index.html).

"DeMarcus Nelson, once just a training-camp hopeful, looks to have the inside track at starting."

That made my day...and it has been a great day!

That's awesome, truly awesome. Hope he has a long, healthy career.

[2535Miles]

Check this NBA.com article out, link (http://www.nba.com/2008/news/features/art_garcia/10/14/101408chinapreview/index.html).

"DeMarcus Nelson, once just a training-camp hopeful, looks to have the inside track at starting."

That made my day...and it has been a great day!
Nice to see Nelson getting props from a teammate too. I don't think there's anything a rookie could ask for more than to have a veteran pay him a compliment. Great article. Thanks for the link.

[gep]

Nice to see Nelson getting props from a teammate too. I don't think there's anything a rookie could ask for more than to have a veteran pay him a compliment. Great article. Thanks for the link.

Sorry... that link didn't work for me. But, DeMarcus having "the inside track at starting"?!?!??! WOW... that's just AWESOME. I also agree that props from a veteran teammate is a "heavy" compliment. GO DN!! GO DUKE!!!

[2535Miles]

Sorry... that link didn't work for me. But, DeMarcus having "the inside track at starting"?!?!??! WOW... that's just AWESOME. I also agree that props from a veteran teammate is a "heavy" compliment. GO DN!! GO DUKE!!!
Bummer on the link. Here's the excerpt I was referencing:

"He would bring a very interesting dynamic to this team, something very different that we get from most point guards," Warriors forward Al Harrington said. "To me he plays like in his mind he is 7-feet tall, how aggressive he is and how he rebounds."

[CameronBornAndBred]

Great to see the games will be on TV. According the times, one is already started as of this post, the other will be 11:30 Friday night. I might watch a bit of it, got to get to bed early so I get up on time to get to Durham for BW game!

[budwom]

It just goes to show how important a propitious fit is with a particular team. Had anyone suggested a year ago that Demarcus would be a very strong candidate as a starting point guard for an NBA team, we'd have thought that person was absolutely nuts.

[dukebluelemur]

Early game today GS lost to Mil 94 to 98

Nelson got 26+ minutes with a line of 8 points (4-6, 0-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 TO, 2 PF.

Not spectacular, but didnt hurt his team by the looks of it, and he seems to have been on the floor at the end of a close game, which is encouraging.

[ldavid1]

Early game today GS lost to Mil 94 to 98

Nelson got 26+ minutes with a line of 8 points (4-6, 0-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 TO, 2 PF.

Not spectacular, but didnt hurt his team by the looks of it, and he seems to have been on the floor at the end of a close game, which is encouraging.
Looks like DeMarcus started the game so it is evident they are taking a close look at him. Keep up the good workd DeMarcus!

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'll never be too worried about low scoring totals from his stats as long as the others are productive, especially the assists. Duhon would often have real low scoring games, but he was kept on the court because he ran the offense well. It's nice to see his rebounding is strong.