Let me start out by saying I am really liking how Marcus Thompson and the Contra Costa Times have had good articles posted online all week; while the Mercury has the same article from like Monday or Tuesday. Weak! There is a funny story at the bottom about people getting dunked on... Posted on Sat, Oct. 08, 2005 Cheaney willing to teach, challenge ? The vet has no qualms about being a mentor to the younger players LAIE, Hawaii -- There has been talk about the Warriors going out to get veteran help off the bench. Swingman Calbert Cheaney, entering his 13th season, exercised his $1.76 million option to stay with the Warriors. He knows his minutes will be limited because of the Warriors' wealth of talent and youth at his positions. But he plans to contribute anyway. "Whether I play a little or a lot, it doesn't bother me," Cheaney said. "I'm going to do what I can to help this team. If that's working with our young players, if that's coming in and playing defense, being a spark off the bench, whatever." Such an attitude is refreshing to Warriors coach Mike Montgomery, who drew the ire of some players with his inconsistent rotation last season. Ideally, Montgomery wants his regular rotation eight or nine players deep. The remaining players would be used in spots, maybe to exploit a matchup or to light a fire under the regulars. Several players were unhappy with their minutes and the uncertainty of when their minutes would come, especially early in the year. Swingman Mickael Pietrus already has expressed displeasure with the amount of crunch time minutes he logged last year. Having someone as accommodating as Cheaney goes a long way toward making Montgomery's job easier. "Knowing Calbert like I do, I would expect that from him because he's really a pro," Montgomery said. "He takes care of his business. He goes about it in a very dignified manner. He's respectful of people but commands respect. Young guys in this league can learn a lot from Calbert. "I really do appreciate that approach and I believe that he will be ready. I have confidence in Calbert that when he's called on he'll go in and do his job. Now I'm not going to expect him to get 30 (points), but I know he'll defend, I know he'll play hard, I know he'll be smart. I know he'll fit in whatever spot he's asked to fill. Guys like that are very valuable." Cheaney already has begun helping rookie point guard Monta Ellis, as he did with Pietrus. Ellis said Cheaney has been there to point him in the right direction and pat him on the back. But Cheaney is not resigned to being an assistant coach. He's going to fight for his share of minutes. "Oh, I'm going to push them," Cheaney said, "If they're not getting it done, I'll step in." Sights & sounds Pietrus served up a facial to center Mamadou N'diaye on Thursday. He took a pass from Derek Fisher on the right wing and rose up, slamming down a one-hand tomahawk past N'diaye's block attempt. ... Guard Baron Davis, frustrated by an easy basket scored against his team in Thursday's scrimmage, told forward Zarko Cabarkapa to "run like you do on offense." ... Pietrus leaked out for a breakaway dunk Friday, and it looked as if rookie Ike Diogu was going to try to make a stop. But guard Jason Richardson warned Diogu, "Don't jump! Don't jump! You don't want to make it twice in one day." Richardson was referring to his baseline dunk over Diogu earlier in practice, Richardson's payback for a Diogu block during a pick-up game this summer. "J-Rich got me," Diogu admitted. Tip-ins Forward Troy Murphy missed his second consecutive practice with a sprained right ankle. ... Chris Taft missed his third consecutive practice with a strained right groin. -- Marcus Thompson II http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctime...rs/12851965.htm
That's definitely what I like about Calbert Cheaney. He's a good motivator and will probably be a good person for some organization to hire as one of the staff. However, when gets on that court I cringe when he tries to create offense or pass the ball or play defense. He just does a lot of things that come at a bad time. What I did like was when he played at starting shooting guard, he put up points and played tirelessly through almost all 48 minutes of a game. Pretty darn good stamina for an old guy. He's like Cliff Robinson in a way. He can just keep on going and play a lot of minutes. Also, the part about Pietrus was awesome. This is why we need Pietrus. It's like having another mini-Jrich running around on the floor, only better defender against real 2 guards. I like Diogu's effort, but man he's got to avoid getting posterized.
