Mickael Pietrus got ball(s)!

Messages: 854 · Golden Lyricist Inscrit le: 15 Nov 2001 Messages: 854 Localisation: An laboula!

By Janny Hu for the San Francisco Chronicle:

"On the day Baron Davis arrived in Oakland six months ago, Mickael Pietrus broke through a crush of reporters to serve his new point guard a cold bottle of Gatorade.

The crowd was back in full force Monday for the Warriors' annual Media Day, only this time, Pietrus served up a chilling dose of reality.

The Warriors' swingman says he is no longer content to sit back and wait for the team that drafted him in 2003 to nurse him along. He wants to play now, and play consistently. And not just any minutes.

"I've been here for now three years and it's time to see the real MP," Pietrus said. "I don't need to start, I need to finish the game. People watch on TV the games, they don't watch the first quarter, they watch the fourth quarter. And when the game is tied and you make (the) big shot?

"Now you'll see who's the real player."

If the words seem alarming, remember that Pietrus has a history of making grandiose statements. Last March, he told a French newspaper that he wanted out of Golden State and characterized his teammates as selfish.

Pietrus later apologized for those comments, but his remarks Monday could still represent the first hint of controversy for the Warriors on the eve of the training camp.

Pietrus is feeling the afterglow of France's performance at the European Championships in Serbia-Montenegro last month, when he helped lead the team to it's first medal since 1959, and wants to continue building his confidence.

Though the French team blew a late lead against eventual champion Greece in the semifinals, they responded by toppling Spain in the third-place game for a bronze medal. Pietrus scored 23 points in 21 minutes against Spain, boosting his tournament averages to 11.5 points and four rebounds per game.

He was thrilled with the showing and enjoyed playing alongside the Spurs' Tony Parker and Pietrus' brother, Florent. But perhaps the biggest rush was being on a team that needed him.

"If we won the bronze medal, it was part of my job," Pietrus said. "I don't feel like that here, trust me."

Pietrus did not return to the Bay Area until Sunday afternoon, when teammate Zarko Cabarkapa picked him up from the airport. With construction clogging up traffic on the Bay Bridge, it took more than two hours to get home.

He will face similar roadblocks in his quest for fourth-quarter glory. Pietrus has yet to earn the full trust of coach Mike Montgomery, and Davis and Jason Richardson are late-game locks. Derek Fisher has built a career off clutch shooting, while Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy are also proven 3-point shooters.

Richardson said Monday it was natural for a young player like Pietrus to want important minutes. He welcomed the challenge and believes this will be the most competitive training camp since he arrived four years ago. But he also warned that players are not about to step aside for Pietrus.

"I'm not going to let anybody come and take my spot," Richardson said. "He's going to come in and challenge me? Yeah, you challenge. But nobody's going to take my spot."

And so, Pietrus is an interesting -- even vulnerable -- position heading into training camp. The Warriors have already committed to Richardson at shooting guard and are negotiating a contract extension for Dunleavy. There is no definitive answer on where Pietrus fits in long-term, but if there any doubt about his own ambitions, Pietrus squashed them with a visual aide Monday.

He marked three imaginary spots on the white tablecloth in front of him, representing the recently completed European Championships, the upcoming Warriors' season and next summer's World Championships in Japan.

"I want to enjoy, enjoy and enjoy," he said, circling each spot as he spoke. "This is going to take more experience to here, this will take more experience to here. That's what I'm looking for this year.

"One, two, three."

Messages: 457 · Moderator Inscrit le: 16 Nov 2001 Messages: 457 Localisation: Planet Earth

Interesting...well our Gwadayouth's gonna have to ball up to his words!
I haven't followed his debut in the NBA really...but publicity is always good.
Big up my youth, and fight for your spot!

Messages: 299

That right, if you shoot , shoot to kill tansyon aw!

kuz dem got no respect for us.

Messages: 457 · Moderator Inscrit le: 16 Nov 2001 Messages: 457 Localisation: Planet Earth

Hey,
Our boy M.P.'s atheltics are being compared to M.J.s'!!
I heard is about to get sponsored by Jordan himself! Kisa?

So big up to our Gwadayouth(reppin Peau-Ortez Négatif!

) and hopefully he will be able to manage the NBA tricks and mentality strenghs required.
I know you can...Do what you wanna do...