<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span class="georgia md" id="bodytext"> If Marco Belinelli's preseason debut goes anything like his summer-league unveiling, then the Warriors' search for a starting shooting guard might not last very long.</p> It's just that knocking down those off-balances three-pointers against Kobe Bryant figures to be tad harder than firing in shots over Marcus Vinicius.</p> "Everything's different," Belinelli said, "but it's my dream to play in the NBA."</p> Belinelli, who dropped 37 points against the Hornets' summer squad in Las Vegas, gets his first chance to go against an actual NBA team tonight as the Warriors open their exhibition schedule against the Lakers in Honolulu.</p> Coach Don Nelson plans to start Kelenna Azubuike at shooting guard, but says Belinelli will receive plenty of minutes in reserve.</p> After all, the 6-foot-5 rookie figures to carry the heaviest load among all newcomers this season with the Warriors needing a permanent replacement for Jason Richardson and a temporary plug for Stephen Jackson.</p> "People think he's just a shooter, but he's a playmaker," Baron Davis said. "We're going to depend on him a lot early."</p> The last time Belinelli went against the NBA's elite, he scored 25 points to help Italy nearly upset Team USA during the preliminary rounds of the 2006 World Championships.</p> Nelson is counting on Belinelli's international experience to kick-start his NBA career, but the learning curve hasn't been wrinkle-free.</p> The coach began camp by lumping in Belinelli with the rest of Warriors' struggling rookies. Two days later, Nelson insisted Belinelli was coming along just fine and should be considered a rookie in name only.</p> And Monday, with Belinelli spending most of practice running with the first team, Nelson both praised the guard's decision-making and lit into him for being lackadaisical on defense.</p> Belinelli isn't expecting his transition to be easy. He is only the second Italian in the NBA - Toronto forward Andrea Bargnani was last year's No. 1 pick - but his deep range and quirky shot have been on display for the last five years in Bologna.</p> Belinelli, whom the Warriors drafted with the 18th pick in the first round, says he's been shooting with a scissor-kick motion since he can remember. A youth coach once tried to change his shot once, but he obviously didn't succeed.</div></p> Source: SFGate</p> </span></p>
Can't wait to see him play. Sounds like he's got nice court vision also. Another great Nelson pick.</p>
Belinelli looked okay, but it was Azu who had the whole package on the first preseason game. Rebounding, inside finishing, 3 point shooting, and he just muscled his way to the hoop. He also showed that he had a good handle on the ball. Plus, for most of the game he had no turnovers. Great decision-making, but I wish he had hit more of his foul shots because he's supposed to be good at those. Oh well, can't be perfect. Bellinelli is pretty quick though. It could be pretty cool to see both him and Azu on the floor at SG and SF.</p>
