Kelenna Azubuike has jumped into the starting lineup with the Golden State Warriors to the point now that coach Don Nelson is worried about over-extending the former Cat.
Janny Hu of the San Francisco Chroncile writes on Azubuike’s playing time: “Azubuike entered Tuesday’s game having logged nearly 44 minutes over his past three outings. He is averaging 15.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in 35.9 minutes this season – second only to Stephen Jackson’s league-leading 43.4 mpg.”
- Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News writes about how Brandon Wright has been caught in a squeeze since the insertion of Azubuike into the starting lineup: “The minutes he once owned have been hijacked by swingman Corey Maggette, who was forced out of his small forward position by fellow swingman Kelenna Azubuike, who had to move over to make room for shooting guard Anthony Morrow.”
- Jon Saraceno of USA Today writes about the gems unearthed by Warriors’ GM Chris Mullin: “Three other undrafted Warriors — second-year guard C.J. Watson, rookie guard DeMarcusNelson and rookie swingman Kelenna Azubuike— have all started, although not in unison. Nelson has since been sent to the D-League. A fifth non-draftee, first-year forward Rob Kurz, also has played.”
And here’s a recent video feature on Kelenna from Warriors Weekly:
The lightbulb went off in Kelenna’s head a year or two too late to help the Cats. He marked his time in Lexington as a big bear with claws, fangs and big teeth who didn’t know how to kill the bunny.
I’m glad he is doing well but there is a banner with his name on it that isn’t hanging in Rupp right now. That hurts.