The Golden State Warriors lose 29-year old starting power forward David Lee for the rest of the 2012-13 season due to a complete tear in his right hip flexor.  This is a huge loss for the Warriors.  Lee played 29 minutes in the series opening game last night against the Nuggets and he had 10 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Lee played in 79 games (all starts) during the regular season for the Warriors in 2012-13 and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 18.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.  29-year old Carl Landry will take over for Lee in the starting lineup at power forward.  Landry played in 24 minutes in last night’s game against the Nuggets and he had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Landry played in 81 games (2 starts) for the Warriors in 2012-13 and he averaged 23.2 minutes, 10.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  Landry is a solid player, so I expect that he will play well, but the Warriors are still going to miss Lee.

20-year old rookie small forward Harrison Barnes is starting to slow down a little bit in April.  He has played in 6 games (all starts) for the Warriors so far in April and he is averaging 23.9 minutes, 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Barnes is only shooting 39.1% so far this month for the Warriors and that won’t cut it when the playoffs start….so they need him to step up.  Barnes has now played in 79 games (all starts) for the Warriors so far this year and he is averaging 25.2 minutes, 9.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  Barnes has played pretty well overall as a rookie this year, but the Warriors are going to need him to step up a little bit in the playoffs.

27-year old center Andris Biedrins continues to stink it up for the Warriors.  He has played in 51 games (9 starts) for the Warriors so far this year and he is averaging 9.4 minutes, 0.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  He is shooting 47.6% from the floor but only 30.8% from the free throw line so far this year.  Biedrins has now played in 508 games (311 starts) in his first 9 years in the NBA and he is averaging 21.8 minutes, 6.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  In his last four years, Biedrins has only made 19 of 78 free throws (24.4%), as he has become really a pretty soft player.

The Warriors are taking things easy with 28-year old center Andrew Bogut as they want to keep him healthy for the playoffs.  He has played in 9 games (all starts) so far in March for the Warriors and he is averaging 27.9 minutes, 5.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.0 blocked shots per game.  Bogut has now played in 21 games (all starts) overall this year for the Warriors and he is averaging 24.8 minutes, 6.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game.  The Warriors need Bogut to stay in one piece for the rest of the 2012-13 season.

The Warriors should consider playing 32-year old small forward Richard Jefferson more in the near future.  He has only played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Warriors so far in February and he is averaging 9.7 minutes, 2.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  Jefferson has played in 36 games (1 start) for the Warriors overall so far this year and he is averaging 11.5 minutes, 3.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He is only shooting 42.6% from the floor and 28.9% from the three point line so far this year.  That being said, he is still a much better player right now than rookie Draymond Green.

26-year old center Andris Biedrins has hit rock bottom for the Warriors in 2012-13.  He has played in 41 games (3 starts) so far this year for the Warriors and he is averaging 9.1 minutes, 0.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  He has fallen completely out of the playing rotation as head coach Mark Jackson has an utter lack of faith in him as a player.  He has now played in 498 games (305 starts) in his first nine years with the Warriors and he is averaging 22.1 minutes, 6.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  Biedrins is currently #7 in offensive rebounds (1,182), #5 in defensive rebounds (2,400) and #5 in blocked shots (570) in Warriors’ history.

23-year old shooting guard Charles Jenkins has been the forgotten man of the Warriors so far in 2012-13. He has played in 30 games (0 starts) for the Warriors so far this year and he is averaging 6.5 minutes, 2.4 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Jenkins has now played in 81 games (28 starts) in his first two years with the Warriors and he is averaging 13.4 minutes, 4.6 points, 1.0 rebound and 2.3 assists per game. Unless Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson or Jarrett Jack get injured, I don’t see Jenkins’ minutes picking up.

24-year old Stephen Curry and 29-year old Jarrett Jack have been outstanding at the point for the Warriors so far this year. Curry has played in 27 games (all starts) for the Warriors so far this year and he is averaging 37.8 minutes, 20.2 points, 4.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He is shooting 42.8% from the floor, 44.2% from three point range and 90.1% from the free throw line so far this year as he has been shooting the lights out. Jarrett Jack is the Warriors’ top backup at both guard spots. He has played in 27 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Warriors and he is averaging 26.9 minutes, 11.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Jack is shooting 47.8% from the floor, 41.5% from three point range and 87% from the free throw line so far this year. Like Curry, Jack has been shooting the lights out so far in 2012-13.

28-year old center Andrew Bogut has left the team indefinitely while he tries to recover from his ankle injury. He has played in 4 games (all starts) for the Warriors so far this year and he is averaging 18.3 minutes, 6.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. The Warriors rushed Bogut back before he was ready and they are going to pay for that now. 23-year old rookie Festus Ezeli will be the starter at center until Bogut gets back. Ezeli has played in 14 games (10 starts) for the Warriors so far this year and he is averaging 16.6 minutes, 3.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. He is shooting 48.8% from the floor but only 37% from the free throw line so far this year. I also look for David Lee to move to center for a few minutes every night with Carl Landry replacing him at power forward.

32-year old small forward Richard Jefferson has been awful for the Warriors so far this year. Jefferson has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Warriors so far this year and he is averaging 15.2 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He is also only shooting 33.3% from the floor, which is putrid. The Warriors are lucky that Harrison Barnes appears ready for a big role right away on the team, as he was expected to share minutes pretty evenly with Jefferson. The Warriors need Jefferson to step up and give the offense a boost on the second team.