Friday, May 13 (1:03 p.m.)
2010-11 Recap - David Lee
During the 2010-11 season, David Lee gave the Warriors something the team hadn’t had in quite some time – consistent production out of the power forward position. After joining the team in July of 2010 in a sign-and-trade deal with the New York Knicks, Lee immediately took on a leadership role with his new team and wound up averaging 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in his first season by the bay. Watch some of Lee’s highlights and hear from the Warriors forward in the video below:
Coming off of an All-Star season with the Knicks, Lee opened his Warriors career in impressive fashion. The Warriors won six of their first eight games, and Lee had double-doubles in all of those victories. That sixth win, however, came at a price, as Lee suffered a deep laceration to his left elbow when an opponent’s tooth pierced through his skin during the team’s November 10 game in New York. Lee, who had 28 points and 10 rebounds in his first NBA game in Madison Square Garden as a visitor, finished the game but the wound on his elbow became infected and would require a pair of surgical procedures. Lee sat out eight games with the injury, and the team struggled in his absence.
Much has been made of the Warriors being a close-knit group during the 2010-11 season, and the addition of Lee had a lot to do with that. He mentored Ekpe Udoh and was perhaps the team’s biggest cheerleader when he was on the bench. Lee proved to be a tremendous teammate throughout the season, and no game better reflects his quality of character than November 27 in Minnesota. The team had lost five-straight games and he was nowhere near 100 percent healthy, but Lee returned from his elbow injury and grinded out 43 minutes in a 104-94 road win over the Timberwolves.
More and more throughout the season, that toughness became part of Lee’s game. His physical brand of defense limited Dwight Howard to 13 points in Golden State’s victory over Orlando on March 11, and he led the way in halting Kevin Love’s NBA-record double-double streak at 53-straight games in another victory over Minnesota on March 13. Lee’s tenacity allowed him to rank seventh in the NBA in both rebounding (9.8 rpg) and double-doubles (37). For more facts and figures on his 2010-11 campaign, check out the table below:
NOTES & NUMBERS |
Appeared in 73 games (all starts), averaging 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds,
3.2 assists and 1.01 steals in 36.1 minutes per contest
Among NBA leaders, ranked 7th in rebounds, 7th in double-doubles (37), 24th in field goal
percentage (.507), 25th in minutes and 37th in scoring
Was one of seven players in the NBA to average at least 16.0 points
and 9.0 rebounds, joining Kevin Love, Dwight Howard, Zach Randolph,
Blake Griffin, Pau Gasol and Al Jefferson
Shot over 50% from the field for the sixth consecutive season
Posted three-straight games with at least 20 points and 14 rebounds from 4/5 - 4/10, becoming first
Warriors player to do so in three-straight games since Nate Thurmond turned the trick from 2/17 –
2/23 during the 1972-73 season
15 games of at least 20 points & 10 rebounds with two 30/10 games and one 20/20 effort
Season-high 33 points and 12 rebounds vs. Washington (3/27)
31 points and 12 rebounds vs. San Antonio (1/22)
29 points and season-high 20 rebounds at Portland (4/5)
20-or-more points 21 times, including two 30-plus performances
Averaged 18.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest over the final 15 games of the season
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Access more season recaps of individual players in the blog archive on the right (scroll toward the top), and for the complete story of the 2010-11 Warriors, read the Season In Review.
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