Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Boston: 119: Golden State: 111

It was close. For those who expected a blowout they were left dissapointed as the Warriors strategy that had worked for three successive quarters was abandonded in the 4th quarter with the game on the line. Don Nelson played his natural players that were capable of grabbing rebounds and defending the basket out on the floor. It worked like a charm to cure the easy baskets and second chance points that plagued the Warriors the night before. If anything the fact that Don Nelson was suckered into playing small ball by Doc Rivers was the cause for this loss which then let the chance of winning slip away. In honour of thanksgiivng here are some things I'm thankful for and not.

Boxscore

Rondo was tonights Warrior killer


Thankful

Biedrins Biedrins has been the most consistent Warriors threat on the offensive end for a long time. watch. He's learning something new every year and getting better on other aspects year to year. The free throws may never get to be good, but by the looks of it, he's going to challenge for an All-Star spot. Tonight wasn't a stellar night but over the course of this season, you know he's going to be good for a double double every night.

Jamal Crawford And so ends the days of CJ Watson and company. Yes he was carless with the ball with 4 turnovers and did shoot 5-17 but you can tell he's got the handles and passing skills to run the point on this Nelson team. He's going to be nice paired with Monta.

Stephen Jackson He's the streakiest player in the League but tonight when going against Ray Allen and Paul Pierce he provided little of the fear and fans love him for that. He does a ton of stupid things bad shots, even worse passes but he loves the game and fans even though I have a gut feeling he might implode soon He might have played his best game of the year tonight against the toughest opponent. 30 points on 11-18 shooting, 5 boards, 6 assists, and amazingly, just 2 turnovers.

Blocking It tells you about the state of shotblocker's on the Warriors when Adonal Foyle is your leading shotblocker. The addition of Ronny Turiaf has given the Warriors' interior a new presence. Combine him with Wright, Randolph, and Biedrins and any player coming into the lane has to be aware of where these guys are. It's fun to finally see shot blockers on the team.



Not Thankful

Effort: It's been a source of fustration watching the Warriors lose by 24 to the Wizards who were without Arenas and then lose to the best team in the East the Boston Celtics by 8. Yes this team is inexperienced asnd don't have any leader on the court but the wild swing of play is a source of fustration for fans.

Defense The Celtics needless to say are a terrific Defensive team to watch. From the 7:05 mark, the score was 102-100 Warriors. At the 2:23 mark, the Celtics were up 113-104. The held the Warriors to 2 free throws at such a critical juncture of the game. It's team defense that won the Celtics that championship, not the offense.

Salary cap space know that the Warriors aren't going to be in the running for any of the big names that become free agents in 2010 and not many of those guys are ever going to leave their own teams, but I'd rather have that cap space than wasting the money on players that aren't going to get us anywhere in the playoffs. At least give us fans some chance of getting a superstar even if it is a slim chance

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