On Wednesday night, paired up against perhaps the NBA’s best defensive center in Roy Hibbert, Marreese Speights tossed out a marvelous game. The Golden State big man managed 18 on 12 shots in only 26 minutes of play as the rampaging Warriors won by a 117-102 score over Indiana, moving their record to a league-best 28-5.
It was an impressive performance for Speights, who could have felt a bit uneasy about the return of eventual starting center Andrew Bogut, who played his first game in nearly a month after easing his knee woes.
It turns out that the inevitability of Speights losing his starting job was probably way, way down the list of his personal concerns as he suited up on Wednesday. From KTVU:
Center Marreese Speights was at the Cellar Night Club on Sutter Street downtown early Monday morning.
KTVU's law enforcement sources say a convicted felon pulled a gun on him in a small parking lot across the street.
Sources say a group of gang members tried to rob him of his gold chains. Speights ran from the group.
He was not injured and played the next night.
Officers arrested the alleged gunman and identified him as 28-year-old Michael Lamont Jackson of San Francisco.
Yikes. So, this would probably explain Speights’ 1-8 shooting in a Golden State blowout win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night. The man apparently had a gun pulled on him a few hours earlier.
Marreese Speights has earned a night out, or two, and not your derision for going out past midnight into the wee hours on Monday, when a game is going to be played on Monday night. Nor has he earned your derision just because some crusted punk was awaiting him in the parking lot outside. Several times, over a decade ago, I used to watch a certain Chicago Cub reliever barely keep his eyelids open at one Chicago bar as the clock neared last call, only to see the same Cub reliever perform expertly in his one inning of work in an afternoon game 12 hours later. Also, my friends and I were not exactly good company to keep back then, it should be noted. Players do this.
Speights has put together an absolutely fantastic year thus far, tossing in 25 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks for every 36 minutes he plays. He’s in terrific shape, and though his per game totals of 12.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in only 18.1 minutes a contest don’t seem All-Star worthy, he’s been absolutely integral to the NBA’s best team.
We’re just happy he’s safe.
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