Warriors' Amundson healthy, ready to help

Share

Lou Amundson was never expected to be a difference-maker when the Warriors signed him as a free agent last offseason. But certainly most thought he would be able to chip in some, and give the Warriors some help in an area of need: the frontcourt.He's a relatively big body on a notoriously small team, and his best skills are rebounding and defense. Sounds like the perfect situation for a high-energy, role-playing guy like Amundson. But Amundson never really did a whole lot last season for the Warriors, not that all of it was his fault.

Amundson missed the first five weeks because of a finger injury, then missed another three weeks in February with back spasms. When he was healthy -- or relatively healthy -- it wasn't like former Warriors coach Keith Smart went out of his way to use Amundson consistently. He had seven DNP-CD's.In the 46 games Amundson did play, he actually averaged about the same 15 minutes of playing time per game he did the previous season in Phoenix -- when he played 79 games and obviously was good enough for the Warriors to go after him. And yet Amundson's numbers were down across the board, in everything from scoring, rebounding, blocks and assists to field goal and free throw percentage."In retrospect, how I feel now with how I felt then. I wanted to feel like I was a 100 percent but knowing how I feel, I definitely wasn't," Amundson said after a workout with teammates. "That's difficult when you want to play and play at a hight level and your body just won't let you. With the finger and the back, it was a tough season. Obviously I want to stay healthy this year."He looked good in some of the Warriors pick-up games over the weekend. Twice rookie guard Charles Jenkins took the ball to the rim and looked to have an angle to score on a drive. But both times Amundson helped and blocked Jenkins' shot.Said Jenkins: "As you could see, I went to the basket a couple of times against one of my teammates and it didn't end the way I'd like it to."Last year didn't go the way Amundson would have liked, either. And the lockout delaying things isn't doing him any favors, either."It's unfortunate, everybody wants to play," Amundson said. "In my case, coming off a year I didn't perform like I wanted, and I was injured a lot of the season, I really feel like I have unfinished business." I want to get out there and show everybody up there in the Bay what I can do. I'm excited to start playing, whenever that may be."

Contact Us