Warriors’ Marreese Speights puts shots in air, charge in team
Warriors’ Marreese Speights puts shots in air, charge in team
“There is a little whisper, then people start putting things down so that they can stand up,” Regina Glenn-Speights said.
There are a lot of key components to the best regular-season team in NBA history, and reserve Warriors big man Marreese “Mo’ Buckets” Speights also happens to be one of the home fans’ favorite parts.
[...] there definitely is some pressure to make it.
“I know if I hit that first shot, there is going to be a buzz in the arena all night,” Speights said.
The 6-foot-10 forward/center is averaging 8.3 points per game in the past 38 games, shooting 47 percent after an early-season slump in which he shot 37 percent.
“He opens up games for us,” guard Stephen Curry said.
Add the big, infectious smile and it’s no wonder he is a fan favorite, on a team of fan favorites.
[...] that name didn’t stick when guard Brandon Rush was trying to come up with a nickname two years ago for the bench scorer.
Rush probably deserves a cut of all the proceeds going around with the proliferation of Mo’ Buckets T-shirts and caps around Oracle Arena and the Bay Area.
“B-Rush started saying it and I liked it,” said Speights, who was known in college at Florida as “Instant O” Mo’.
Everybody started saying it and it became the real deal.
[...] fans are wearing my hat.
Fans will come up to him on the street and ask for a picture or autograph now.
The fans are our 11th man and to have an impact, that they enjoy, is a wonderful feeling.
If I’m not having a great day, they put a smile on my face as soon I as step on the court.
Speights doesn’t take his job as energizer and fan favorite lightly.
Every time Curry gets ready to launch a long-distance shot at the buzzer at the end of a quarter, Speights is sprinting from his seat on the bench toward the halfcourt line.
“Steph can hit a shot from anywhere on the court, so you gotta always be ready,” he said.
Speights’ mom said she used to call her son, “Cheerleader,” growing up in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“Even in Little League, he was always trying to get everybody hyped up,” Glenn-Speights said.
Speights’ first love, as one can tell from his full-court passes, was baseball, “even though we kept telling him he was going to be the world’s biggest pitcher,” Glenn-Speights said.
Curry gets a kick out of Speights’ antics.
“He obviously plays to the crowd and loves the energy,” Curry said.
Mo’ Buckets is playing defense now?
“I was talking to him about him playing defense now,” backup center Festus Ezeli said.
‘What’s going on?’ I’m glad Mo is getting his swag back a little bit.
“People on that Florida team had to sacrifice the whole year,” Speights said.
Anybody can go on a bad team and play a lot; but can you do what it takes to be part of a champion?
Some players around the league just want to get money; here’s about getting two or three rings.
Speights is a free agent next season, and Warriors general manager Bob Myers thinks there is a chance he could be a late-blooming elite player.
Mo comes in and knocks down shots for us and provides the scoring threat off the bench.
[...] we need that scoring threat when Steph and Klay (Thompson) sit down.
“He embodies what we do on our team as far as having fun and bringing that passion and energy,” Livingston said.
Vic Tafur is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
Marreese Speights has more three-pointers this season than in his seven previous seasons combined: