- 1 day ago
Former Warrior and current NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Kelenna Azubuike joined Steiny & Guru live from Chase Center at the 95.7 The Game Knockout Challenge to discuss Steph Curry's return, Moses Moody, and the Warriors' playoff outlook.
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00:00Yeah. Hey, Kalen, how you doing, man? Good to see you, too. Let's welcome in Kalen Azebuki. I didn't win.
00:08Sponsored by the River Islands Guest Line is in a time you discovered the islands, River Islands and Lathrop. Kalen
00:15Azebuki, obviously NBC Sports Bay Area, works with Bob Fitzgerald as the Warriors analyst. Just describe the difference in this
00:22gym between last night and maybe the previous couple months now that Steph Curry's back.
00:28Bro, it was electric. I saw a picture. I was just telling James, I saw a picture of Coach Kerr,
00:34but then I was looking behind him and it was these seats with cup holders at him and the cup
00:40holders and the drinks were rattling.
00:42Look at that, man. The arena was just jumping and you're back in the fight now. You feel like you
00:48have a shot no matter who you're playing. At least you made the Rockets earn it, right?
00:53He just needed one stop there at the end. But Steph, you know, because he said it, like the first
00:58couple possessions were tough, his first little stint there.
01:02Then he kind of, it's not even really about rust. It's about the pace of the game and just embracing
01:08that and the physicality.
01:10And what a tough game for him to come back with.
01:12He was going against the men, Thompson, and he dealt with that fine and he got his step backs. He
01:18got into people's bodies.
01:19He was physical with people. They get separation even against bigger defenders. He was stepping back and knocking down shots.
01:26But so it was great to see. He said it's kind of the new normal. Wow.
01:30And he understands what he has to do now. But hopefully he can just last all the way through, however
01:36long this thing goes.
01:37But you're back in the fight. But good for Dub Nation. It was wonderful to see Chase Center like that.
01:43These fans deserve it. They've been through a lot this year. There's been a lot of adversity, right?
01:47Seeing basically your two best, or two of your key guys carried out in games and the injuries to others
01:55and guys in and out.
01:56It's been tough. But I feel like Steph, one of the reasons he wanted to come back, besides his competitive
02:03nature,
02:03besides just wanting to battle with his guys, is just to lift Dub Nation, right?
02:07Man, we needed it.
02:09Yeah, he understands that. So he's a showman. If he could come back and play, he was going to come
02:15back.
02:15So that was cool to see. Yeah. And, you know, I got to be honest here.
02:19I'm no doctor, but I kept telling Stani, like I had reached wits in watching this team play hard.
02:25Don't get me wrong. But I just kept, you know, banging the drum of we can't take Steph for granted.
02:30We can't take like I felt like I did with Kobe and LeBron and LeBron still with us.
02:35But for Steph to come back in the fashion that he did to bring the team back, I got to
02:39ask you,
02:39the only dumb question is the one you don't ask. I thought the shot was going in.
02:43And your thoughts when that ball was going through the air? Of course.
02:46I thought it was going in. Well, it's Stephen Curry shooting.
02:48So you just think it's going in. It was just I think it was just off to the left a
02:52little bit.
02:53But you knew he was going to be able to get a shot off. Right.
02:56His legs, they felt like it looked like they were kind of back under him.
03:00And he was trying to find some separation. They switched the screen or whatever.
03:04He was just going to try to quick shot him.
03:06And he got it up. And that's the thing with Steph.
03:08You have that confidence. The team confidence is back.
03:11You feel like you have a shot. They had a shot at that one.
03:14I was looking at the play before you were hoping they could get a stop.
03:18The man rotating over to Shangoon was smaller and he could just kind of bully his way in there
03:22and shoot over the top. Good on KD to pass that one up and not try to force a tough
03:26shot.
03:27It seems like the Rockets are kind of learning from from past mistakes with that one.
03:31But, yeah, that was that was for Steph. Any look is a good look.
03:36Yeah, you're just you're just kind of praying for the best and hoping he was able to drop down.
03:41But he wasn't. But I'll take my chances with Steph shooting that shot any night of the week.
03:45Kalen Azubuki joining us on 95.7 The Game.
03:48You can hear him on NBC Sports Bay Area with Bob Fitzgerald.
03:52He'll be on the call tomorrow.
03:54Let me ask you about I got to ask you about Moses Moody.
03:58It happened, you know, a few weeks back and you've had that injury.
04:03You knew it right away.
04:06First, like, did it bring back?
04:09You know, it's here's it.
04:11It's funny because I haven't gotten in touch with you the next day and said, you know,
04:14Kalen had the same injury.
04:15And I was like, I'm I bet he's not going to want to come on because it probably, you know,
04:21meant it probably didn't feel so good.
04:24But now that you've had some time, how do you process that?
04:28Have you talked to Moses?
04:29Absolutely.
04:30And where's he at and where do you think he's going?
04:33Yeah, it was a wild thing to watch.
04:34It was definitely flashbacks right away.
04:36Like you said, I knew right away just from the way he took off.
04:41You could I could kind of see the explosion happen.
04:45And his knee just gave out and it was pretty gruesome to see.
04:48You could see the pictures of it.
04:51But, yeah, I talked to him right afterwards and he was in good spirits.
04:55I was heartbroken for him because I know what it takes to come back from that because it's it's one
04:59of the rarest injuries in sports.
05:01And I just talked to him afterwards and gave him some things to think about.
05:05And, yeah, he was in good spirits.
05:08He said I won't tell you when he said he's coming back, but he was like, I'm coming back soon.
05:13I'm coming back soon.
05:13I was like, give it some time.
05:16But, yeah, it's such a complicated surgery.
05:19And one of the things I said the next game was, you got to remember, I did this.
05:23This happened to me almost 17 years ago.
05:26Right.
05:26So the best practices medically have gotten much better.
05:31Technology has gotten much better.
05:33And they figured out some more things there with the surgery.
05:37So I feel like I'm pretty knowledgeable on the subject just because it happened to me.
05:44And with that tendon, you just want to make sure you add something to it when it comes to surgery.
05:49So there's not tension on the tendon while it's healing because what happened to me is they just sewed it
05:55up and didn't add anything to strengthen it.
05:58And then the kneecap just extended back up to once when it first happened to me, my my patella, my
06:05kneecap was in my quad.
06:07Right.
06:07And so they had to pull that down and then they just sewed it up.
06:10And then you're expecting a weak tendon to hold down your kneecap.
06:14And that shouldn't be the case.
06:16So you need to add something to it.
06:17And so that's one of the things I told him along with other things.
06:20And, you know, I'm still in touch with him.
06:23I told him if he ever wants to talk about the rehab process as well.
06:26I'm here for him and he knows that.
06:28But I'm optimistic, again, because, like I said, it was a long time ago when I did it.
06:34And the surgeries and medical practices and technology has gotten much better there.
06:40So I think he's got a great chance to come back strong.
06:43I know Moses Moody is going to attack the rehab.
06:47And, yeah, we'll see what's what, you know, around this time next season.
06:52I feel like the recovery process can vary.
06:57Right.
06:57So it's hard to say, okay, he's definitely going to be coming back at this time or that time.
07:02But I am happy for him that he's got a great team around him.
07:06I heard the surgery went really well.
07:09And so I'll continue to make sure he knows that I'm here for him.
07:14And Dumb Nation, pray for him.
07:16I know they are, but that was really tough to see.
07:20I started thinking back to Milwaukee when it happened to me immediately.
07:24It was wild.
07:24Let me ask you, can you feel the injury right now?
07:28Oh, for sure.
07:31Like, what's it like now?
07:32I get reminded every day.
07:33I was talking to my mom yesterday, and I just got done doing the Peloton bike.
07:40And it started stinging, that same area, just because I did, like, a certain movement on the bike.
07:47So I get reminded of it.
07:50A lot of times in cold weather, the knee doesn't do very well either.
07:53But I've learned to manage it.
07:54I'm mostly low impact now.
07:56I'm not, you're not going to see me run around on a hard court or run around outside or anything
08:01like that.
08:01I usually do Peloton, or I'll bike maybe outside, or I'll do elliptical, maybe a Stairmaster.
08:09Five on five is over.
08:10Five on five is over.
08:11Yeah, I might be able to spot up for you.
08:13I got you.
08:14I got you.
08:14Probably much of what you did tonight.
08:16Three point line to three point line.
08:16Yeah.
08:17I got you the final 15.
08:18Okay, nice, nice.
08:20I had to throw that out there.
08:21There you go.
08:21But, yeah, that's the reality.
08:23But I'm thankful because I got to play in the NBA, and that's a lot more than a lot of
08:27people can say in this world.
08:29Yep.
08:29And so I'm super grateful.
08:31I'm definitely one of the lucky ones.
08:33And to be still around the game, being able to do what I do now with Bob Fitzgerald and this
08:39organization, I count my blessings, honestly.
08:43You do a great job, you guys.
08:44I appreciate you, man.
08:45Let me ask you this, you know, and I'm a part of this, and so much was made about Curry,
08:49and rightfully so, his return last night.
08:51But what advice would you give, and I could cast a net on, like, dispensers or even pods and Santos
08:58to a degree to where their role obviously, you know, picked up.
09:02Their responsibility picked up.
09:04Now the chef is back.
09:05How do you talk?
09:06Can you talk us?
09:07How do guys like that, the others, kind of adjust their game to the chef?
09:12Well, the thing about Steph being out is, like you said, more responsibility was put on them, and they were
09:22thrown in the fire, and they had to learn from their mistakes.
09:25And I believe, like, Guy Santos, Pajemski, I think they benefited from that time and having all that responsibility, and
09:35I feel like we've seen Pajemski grow before our eyes.
09:38I feel like we've seen Guy Santos definitely grow before our eyes, even though he's been kind of banged up
09:44in the last few games.
09:45He's still found a way to be super effective.
09:47The playmaking has been on display.
09:48His game has just blossomed.
09:50And now, but I don't feel like they've forgotten, especially like you talk about Guy Santos, I don't think he's
09:55forgotten what he did originally to get minutes, right, to get those bursts he was getting way back when.
10:03It seems like he's a long way away from that now, but just understand what you did before, and Steph
10:11is going to make the game easier for everybody, right, so everybody can play off of him.
10:14And it's not like Steph is one of those ball stoppers where he's just going to have the ball for
10:19a really long time, and everybody's just going to be standing around.
10:22No, the Warriors still love moving the ball.
10:24Those guys are still going to have their opportunities to make plays.
10:26You still have to be aggressive.
10:28Steph is going to get double-teamed, and you're going to have your chances.
10:31And I feel like Coach Kerr trusts those guys even more now.
10:36And you talk about a Guy Santos with everything he's been doing.
10:40He's still going to have his opportunities to sometimes go ISO.
10:43This is a team that understands, okay, we have to have a little bit of ying with the yang, right?
10:49You do have a Porzingis in there.
10:51You've got to throw him the ball inside when he gets a smaller guy switched on to him.
10:56The Warriors are okay with that.
10:57Steph is okay with that.
10:58At times, it's going to be Guy Santos still getting some ISOs, mid-posts, wherever he wants it.
11:04A lot of times, you're going to give it to Guy Santos on the perimeter, and he's going to attack,
11:08and you can go draw and kick.
11:10So there's still enough basketballs to go around.
11:12The Warriors are still going to move the ball, and you've just got to fit in where you fit in.
11:16And this is kind of the name of the game, right?
11:19Injuries happen.
11:20Your name is called upon more.
11:22You have to handle more responsibility.
11:24You handle that with grace.
11:26The superstar comes back.
11:28You figure out your role.
11:29You still handle it with grace, but you stay aggressive.
11:32You've earned a little more trust from your coaching staff and your teammates, by the way, and you just keep
11:37playing it that way.
11:38Yeah, I feel like there's two steps to it with, let's just say, Guy Santos and Pods.
11:44So Curry goes out.
11:46Butler's hurt.
11:47They're asked to do more.
11:48They try to do more.
11:51Their efficiency is going to be affected, no doubt about it, but they're trying to do the right thing.
11:55Now, when Curry comes back, you know, I'm just looking at Pods.
12:00He was 7 for 11 last night, kind of stayed within himself.
12:03Like, the next step is now getting your efficiency better and filling in around Steph.
12:09And, like, this is where we'll be able to tell, I feel like, if Pods and Santos have kind of
12:15taken the next step.
12:16I totally agree.
12:17And, Pods, you saw it last night.
12:18At times, he still was able to bring the ball up, and then he got rid of it, and now
12:22you just play kind of the same way.
12:24Play off the guys, run through some catches, the ball is swung your direction, drive and kick or drive in
12:30there and make a play.
12:32It's going to be basically the same way because Steph is still, right, he's still limited when it comes to
12:37the minutes.
12:38How long he's coming off the bench, we'll see about that.
12:41Maybe that goes on for a few games, but you still have to kind of, you still have to stay
12:47aggressive and stay in that mindset where you're going, okay, my guys need me, Steph needs me to stay aggressive.
12:52I still have to play my game.
12:54You're talking about the efficiency, Stani.
12:56I totally agree with that.
12:57You're looking to stay within yourself and take good shots, not get out of pocket, and understand, okay, we have
13:03reinforcements coming back.
13:04We do have weapons out there.
13:05We do have poor Zingas who we can play through.
13:09And if I'm taking a tough shot or a tough contested shot or two guys are on me, it's probably
13:15not the best option for us.
13:16We could probably work it around and get a better shot unless it's a grenade I'm shooting, right?
13:20So I think he understands that.
13:23And he's, listen, he's still super young, right?
13:25And you love pods because he plays in every single game.
13:28He's going to be available.
13:30And, yeah, he's made mistakes.
13:32He's learned from them.
13:33I even loved when he said, hey, I said some things earlier in the season that I shouldn't have said,
13:38right?
13:38And just the awareness to understand.
13:41I loved him for that.
13:41Right, yeah.
13:42And then they boo him at the Giant game.
13:43What was that?
13:44That's just fans.
13:45That's just fans.
13:47I don't think he's worried about that.
13:49He's obviously not.
13:50Yeah, but you have to respect what this dude has done.
13:53And, again, he's done it with a pure heart.
13:56He's looking to get better.
13:57If he ever didn't pass it to someone when they were open, he didn't mean to do it.
14:02Right.
14:02You just get tunnel vision.
14:03Especially when you're having a game.
14:04Right.
14:04I got you, man.
14:06When you're feeling good about your shot, you know, sometimes you just get tunnel vision.
14:10New York.
14:11Remember on the road?
14:12He was balling.
14:12Yeah, yeah.
14:13I felt like that was your shot.
14:14Yeah, yeah.
14:15You know?
14:16I mean, when they were playing against Denver, you saw the clip where he drove inside.
14:21He probably should have hit Porzingis.
14:22Right, right.
14:23Porzingis had his arms, you know, up.
14:25Coach Kerr is like, pass the ball.
14:27But he's pure heart about it.
14:29He's like, man, I thought I could score.
14:30You know what I mean?
14:31Like, I've been a player before and having a game and maybe should have passed it to Baron Davis
14:35or should have passed it to Steven Jackson and, you know, thought I was, you know, I was the man
14:42for a quick minute, you know,
14:43or for a quick second and took an ill-advised shot I shouldn't have taken.
14:46It wasn't because I'm, like, inherently selfish or a bad guy.
14:49You just kind of get tunnel vision.
14:50So it happens, and he's going to get better and better at making the right play every single time.
14:56Every single situation, no matter what kind of game, he's going to get better and better at that.
15:01And as he goes on in his career, he's going to gain more experience.
15:04Maybe he ends up being one of those guys that the team has to rely on to take a tough
15:09shot here and there.
15:10Two guys are on you.
15:11Maybe you have to take it at some point.
15:12But right now I think he understands, and he's becoming more and more mature,
15:17and he's growing before our eyes when it comes to making the right play every single time.
15:20What would you say to me or anybody in Dubnation, because now he's making fun of me.
15:24He says, you worry too much, and I thought Curry wasn't coming back.
15:27I was watching him on my TV like, oh, he's moving ginger.
15:30He came back.
15:31Now I'm back to Horford because we need him.
15:34But at his age, it being a calf, I have no intel.
15:38But what are your thoughts, a former player, on just what he's dealing with, the time frame?
15:44Is it a nothing burger, and he'll be back when we take on Portland?
15:47Or what's your thoughts, Galena, on old Al?
15:49Oh, that's the thing.
15:50I'm no doctor either, but I hear calf, and there's always that concern there.
15:56You think back to KD in Toronto, right, and they're thinking, you know,
16:01you guys know the rest of that story.
16:02But I don't think it's that serious.
16:06I hope it's not that serious where it can leak into some other type of injury.
16:11I think, yeah, he knows his body better than else at this point.
16:15He's been in the league so long.
16:16He's done it for so long.
16:17He's got such high IQ when it comes to basketball and his body.
16:21So I feel like at some – I hope at some point he's able to come back.
16:26But I know with calf injuries, it's almost like hamstring injuries or any of those weird ones
16:32where if you come back too early, there's a risk there.
16:35So I think he understands it.
16:38And, again, Rick Celebrini, you've heard Porzingis talk about he's the GOAT.
16:44And the training staff, they're all awesome.
16:46And they do such a great job of working with the player, constant communication.
16:50They'll go back and forth.
16:52I'm pretty sure he's not going to come back until he's 110% when it comes to that injury.
16:59But in my mind, I kind of expect him to come back,
17:02and I don't have any confirmations from anybody about that.
17:06But I hear you.
17:06He's a huge part of this, too, because, man, what a great season he's had when he's been out there.
17:11He's been a part of some of the inspiring wins that no one expected the Warriors to get.
17:16Obviously, his pick-and-pop threat, but you get a small switch down to him.
17:20I was talking to him about that, too.
17:21He doesn't forget about his postgame.
17:22He understands when he needs to put someone in the basket.
17:25He understands that assignment.
17:27So he's one of those guys.
17:28And then defensively, you love him, especially if you pair him up with a Draymond Green.
17:33Draymond can kind of roam around and sometimes guard guys on the perimeter and have him behind you.
17:39You pair him up with poor Zane.
17:40He can play with anybody.
17:41So you need him in there, and with him in there and trying to just get as healthy as the
17:47Warriors can possibly get right now,
17:50you definitely feel like you have a shot.
17:51So, Kalen Azebuki joining us on 95.7 The Game.
17:55You can hear him on NBC Sports Bay Area doing Warriors games with Bob Fitzgerald.
18:00What did I want to ask you about?
18:02Poor Zingas.
18:03I love when guys get traded to the Warriors because then instead of watching them six times a year,
18:08you watch them every game, and you can get a much, much better feel.
18:13What did you think of him?
18:15What have you thought of him?
18:17He's an interesting player.
18:19There's no doubt about it.
18:20He is.
18:20He feels like he creates an advantage when he's on the floor, especially you give him the ball pretty much
18:26wherever.
18:26I've been impressed with his ISO ability, his one-on-one game, his game from around that free throw line,
18:36especially against smaller guys.
18:38He gets his shot off so easily, and that's not an easy spot to regulate from because you've got defenders
18:45on both sides.
18:46Yeah, we saw it last night.
18:47He's down that one play a little bit.
18:49Yeah, yeah, and so you kind of have to be precise and be compact with your game and not mess
18:56around with it too much,
18:57especially against a small.
18:58You don't want to try to dribble too much and mess around with it.
19:01Then you give the small a chance.
19:03But he does such a great job of getting his shot off defensively.
19:07He's been really solid as well, and he's just been kind of coming along.
19:10He's getting his rhythm back.
19:11He heard him early on saying, I still feel heavy.
19:13My shot doesn't feel as good.
19:16And now you can kind of see him coming on strong.
19:19He didn't have his best game last night, but you see what he's capable of.
19:22You see how talented he is.
19:24You see how easy the game seems for him when he is rolling.
19:28And he's been great.
19:29He's been great.
19:29And you want him to just stay healthy the whole way through, and he's going to continue to play.
19:34He's going to be back out there tomorrow against Sacramento.
19:37And, again, against Smalls, you give him the ball.
19:40Against bigs, anybody, really, because he's usually quicker than most bigs.
19:45And you can see that too.
19:46He runs like a gazelle.
19:47That three ball, you expect him to kind of get that going at some point
19:52and be a little more consistent there.
19:53Sometimes he shoots it from so deep.
19:56Man, step range.
19:59I'm like, take a step in a little bit.
20:01But he's got so much pride in that jumper.
20:04A couple games ago, he missed him.
20:06He kind of got a little stubborn with it.
20:09And you want him to kind of just show and go at times.
20:13Especially when you miss.
20:14It's like, oh.
20:15Exactly.
20:16Exactly.
20:16He took some of those.
20:17But, hey, listen, you want him to let it fly.
20:20You want him to be aggressive.
20:21You want him to be comfortable.
20:23And I think his teammates have really encouraged him to shoot pretty much any shot he wants.
20:29You think about that Denver game.
20:31The first play of the game, it was a Draymond handoff.
20:33So he could get a three off.
20:36And they run that play for him where it's Pajemski on the far corner.
20:42And it looks like he's about to set a wide pin down.
20:44Pajemski circles around him.
20:45And he can pop back for a three.
20:46Or he can curl in there like he did last night and dunk it on Katie.
20:50And the great thing about that play is, like, even against KD, but any big, it's a tough guard, right?
20:57You don't expect.
20:58Anytime a big is getting a three or getting a screen around the perimeter, it's tough for a big.
21:04It's still startling.
21:05Even though the game has evolved, positionless basketball, whatever you want to say,
21:08it's still hard for a big to navigate their way around that type of screen,
21:13especially that creative where you think he's setting a screen for a guy.
21:17And then the guy he's setting a screen for you think is circling around him and setting a screen for
21:22him.
21:22And then he's coming off and just making the read, right?
21:25So for any big, it's tough.
21:26So he's a match-up nightmare.
21:28And the Warriors are doing a great job of getting more and more creative with it now so he can
21:32have some success.
21:34All right.
21:34Hey, Kalena, thank you so much for joining us.
21:38Thanks for making our listeners feel at home here at Chase Center.
21:42We are live today at Chase Center.
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