FanHouse Don Nelson

PHOENIX -- The Warriors played basketball like five individuals wearing the same uniform on Friday, instead of like an NBA team that was anywhere near capable of playing as a cohesive unit. As a result, they were run off the floor by a Suns team that shared the ball to get easy baskets, led by a 20-assist performance from Steve Nash.

Besides the fact that Nash had more assists than the entire Warriors team did, there was something else that was interesting about this one, and that was the way that Don Nelson chose to use - or not use -- one of his most athletic players in Anthony Randolph.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Stephen Jackson was at it again on Wednesday, speaking his mind and bringing down the verbal hammer.

This time the nails were Kobe Bryant and his teammates.

One day after he gave up his Warriors' captaincy and took shots at his coach and his organization's front office, Jackson went in another direction. Asked to elaborate on what happened Friday night against the Lakers and Kobe Bryant -- which led to his two-game suspension -- that's exactly what Jackson did.

"Basically, to beat a dead horse, (Bryant) was just playing dirty," Jackson said. "He was getting favoritism out there. I'm not saying the refs were cheating. I'm not saying that at all. I think he was getting away with stuff that I couldn't get away with. And I didn't think it was fair.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Stephen Jackson told Warriors general manager Larry Riley and coach Don Nelson in a private meeting on Tuesday that he didn't want to be a captain anymore. They said that was fine with them.

That's the first piece of fallout to come out of Jackson's two-game suspension for conduct detrimental. But judging by Jackson's tone during a 10-minute interview, it might not be the last.

Jackson once again made it clear he's not happy in Golden State, but continued to maintain he'll play hard as long as he's a Warrior. But it seems obvious that will be a significant challenge.

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- For the second straight year, the Phoenix Suns hosted an outdoor preseason game at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California. Only this time, the weather cooperated to make it a fantastic event in an atmosphere about as unique as they come by NBA standards.

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- About an hour before the Warriors were scheduled to tip-off their nationally televised, outdoor contest against the Phoenix Suns, the team released a statement saying that they have suspended Stephen Jackson for "conduct detrimental to the team," for an incident which took place during Friday night's game against the Lakers.

The suspension is for the next two games, beginning with tonight's against Phoenix. Head coach Don Nelson isn't commenting on the particulars, but he did say that it's the first time in his career that he's ever suspended a player.

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Point forward. The final frontier.

These are the voyages of the... okay, that joke ran out of gas before it even started (much like the Warriors' playoff hopes. Hey-O!). The point is, the point forward position, the true point forward position is essentially the Holy Grail. Long rumored, we have specific evidence to support its existence (Magic Johnson), and often imitated (LeBron James), but no one has seemed to find it in years.

Enter Anthony Randolph and the Temple of Nellie.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry weren't on the floor together at any point during the Warriors' 108-101 preseason opener against the L.A. Clippers on Sunday night.

That's going to change. Warriors' coach Don Nelson said so.

And you know what? Ellis, who at first wasn't crazy about the notion, seems to be coming around to the idea.

"You can't take anything away from him," Ellis said of Curry. "He can shoot, pass, defend, all of that. He's got the whole package. ... He's better than I thought he was."

The NBA career of forward Brandan Wright has not gone according to plan. The UNC product, acquired by Golden Sate as a lottery pick during the 2007 draft in exchange for Jason Richardson, has played rarely for the Warriors, stuck outside Don Nelson's infamous tunnel vision.

His 2009-10 season has another more immediate challenge now: Yahoo!'s Marc Spears reports that a shoulder injury suffered during Friday's practice could put Wright under the knife, and off the court for up to six months.

OK, so maybe Monta Ellis can play alongside Stephen Curry -- every once in a while, here and there a little bit, and maybe when the matchups dictate.

That seemed to be the consensus coming out of Warriors' training camp one day after Ellis said "you just can't" play he and Curry together because "you're not going to win that way."

Ellis certainly didn't backtrack from his comments from the previous day, but he did acknowledge that, yes, there might be times a smallish, quick-ish backcourt of Ellis-Curry could be used. But it's not like he was embracing the idea.

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Yes, it's a problem that Monta Ellis said on Monday he can't play alongside rookie Stephen Curry. But there's likely a bigger problem looming: coach Don Nelson might start to think Ellis is right.

Not only were Ellis' comments a shot at Curry, whom the Warriors selected with the No. 7 pick in the June draft, but he also seemed to be sending a clear message to Nelson. What Ellis essentially said was that the strategy Nelson was planning on employing this season was destined to fail.