Golden State: 114 Dallas: 104

Tonight wasn't about the mexican waves that circuled around the arena or making highlight reel plays (though there were several) it was about grinding out an important win. It was a game that had a playoff like atmosphere to it even without Dirk Nowitzki. For several Warriors highlights plays were made down the stretch inluding Azubuike and several jumpers to Monta's slice and dicing into the paint the Warriors stepped up to the occassion.

Boxscore

Two Premier PG's going at it

Never mind the upteenth poor start this seaosn which led to a 12-0 Dallas run the Warriors main glitch is in the 4th quarter where often memory lapses occur as to what exactly should we do?. The offense becomes stagnant and the NBA TV telecast cut frequently to a frantic Nellie waving his arms saying "Cut Cut" For some reason there's no assertivness something Azubuike has in buckets. With Jackson and Davis standing around Kelenna constantly made his move through the paint and people begin to rotate a bit, which ended up leading to an easy bucket. Shooting 3's will always be the makeup of the offense but unless there's no ball movement where will the easy buckets come from. Tonight was the complete opposite however when cuts by Biedrins or Harrington meant the ball rotated and defenses were cut off balance. Yet there were times when Nellieball was used to the extreme taking 3's and 2's with plenty of time left on the shot clock.There was several painful to watch Stephen Jackson-and-Baron Davis-drain-the-clock-through-excessive-dribbling- leading-to-turnovers. No team can play the perfect offense theoughout 48 minutes but it does become fustrating when it's mixed throoughout 48 minutes.



Monta He played big pouringin 30 points on 50% shooting. In the future I can honestly see valid comparassions with Allen Iverson but one thing in the offseason would be his crossovers. He's developed a nice lefthanded crossover but if he had it for both hands combined with his speed the comparassions would be endless. However it's a different story from the beginning of the season where he only knew to drive to the Basket in a straight line earning a ton of charge calls.

Azubuike: With the lack of depth being a problem all season when Azubuike gets 15 and 7 it's been a producitive night. Hitting a couple of big 4th quarter jumpers down the stretch the Warriors desperately need his help off the bench both in scoring and spelling the starters during this stretch run.

Biedrins: You could tell he's making a more conscintous effort to Rebound or perhaps Croshere may have given him some tips as how to leap properally. Beans got several offensive boards and was probably the only Warrior, at least in the second half, to attack to go to the basket after a missed shot. Even with three Mavs in sight he still rebounded. Yet he was dominated by Brandon Bass an average bench player at best earning 12 Free Throw opportunities and a career high of 21 points. There were times when Bass just took him off the dribble or kissing shots off the glass from 10 feet out. Beans looked like a poor one on one defender although I can put this down to lack of game practice.

This was a very decent win after the Denver win even without Dirk or Warrior killer Jerry Stackhouse. When the Warriors attack the Basket (36 Free Throw attempts) or take a low amount of 3's they put themselves in a better position to win.Lets hope the Warriors have been disciplined enough throughout the season to make smarter decisions on offense especially with two key back to back games against the Spurs and Dallas

Youtube Monday: Barons College days

With the Final 4 approaching and UCLA cementing their status as the College with the most final 4 appearances I thought it would be appropiate to look at one of their past alummi and how good he was at the Bruins. Before the injuries and the occassional off nights there was a time when Baron was unstoppable. I mean dunking over A.K 47 unstoppable. Despite the amazing athlete he is it could have been even better.



The second clip is one of his better moves the behind the back dribble in the open court back to the same hand. The thing is it's not just the move that is noticable it's the player thats guarding him and his reaction. Dude gets completely faked out. Just watch.



And last but not least one more mix to get you juiced. Some jaw dropping fun stuff.

Golden State V Dallas Preview

Versus

Warriors luck. Only in the western Conference would it be Golden State's luck that being 16 games over .500 might not be enough to qualify for the playoffs. I've already explained how dire the East is in comprassion. Tonight Nellie faces a huge game against his former team assistant coach Avery Johnson and bay area native Jason Kidd.As we all know in a NBA championship or nothing attempt Avery rolled the dice and got arguably the best pure Point Guard of the last decade. Perhaps Kidd and his experience in the NBA Finals, his defensive skills or even his veteran experience it's still uncleear why Dallas wanted him. Even though Baron Davis absolutely dominated Devin Harris in last years playoffs moving Diop to the Nets means the Warriors can navigate the paint that much easier. Having said that without Jason Richardson the Dubs just don't have that tremendous backcourt advantage in terms of size, athleticism, and speed.

The Mavs are filled with sharpshooters like Jerry Stackhouse,Josh Howard and Jason Terry plus with undersized 4's in the Brandon Bass mode the Warriors can have a lot of trouble. Bass was a big part of the reason the Mavs have beaten the Dubs twice.The Mavs have been free falling of sorts in the last few games, so hopefuly our Warriors can take them down now!

Perdictions:
Brandon Bass is the Warrior killer
Jackson has 30 points
Monta has 25
Warriors by 5

Denver: 119 Golden State:112

What kind of team are we, Where is the sense of urgency that led us to that 16-5 streak last season? and lastly why in the most testing of circumstances when we were underdogs (something the Warriors thrive on) did we back down so easily. With every game brings a new set of questions.

Boxscore

Every picture tells a story

If it's not obvious by now then the Denver game shows our Defense is at a crisis point . I lost count of how many times Camby or J.R Smith managed to get into the paint and throw it down with authority because we had no interior pressence. Even when the dunk wasn't available the amount of second chance boards and points were constantly gobbled up. Ignoring the defensive showing credit to the Nuggets roster for stepping up. It's natural when opponents focus on Iverson and Anthony but when players like K-Mart step up to account for Iversons 4-20 shooting then thats half the battle won. J.R Smith also had the hot hand including making a big 1st quarter buzzer beater shot, Carmelo looked like the Webber of past years and Iverson despite his horrendous shooting was still showing his quickness. Aside from the lackluster Defense which gave the Nuggets the lead most of the way it was a decent performance.

Jackson really bought his game tonight. he shot 4 for 7 from downtown and every time one dropped him it seemed to slow the momentum down on a Nuggets run. Despite the risky nature of his shot selection Baron still makes them with a 28 point game. After all these years thats what makes Baron Davis. Only Kobe can rival him as best bad shot maker in the League. Monta Ellis brought in 22 points, 7 boards and 6 assists while Biedrins had 17 points and a incredible 17 rebounds. These efforts combined actually regained the lead in the 3rd quarter but in the 4th Lead change after lead change, bucket after bucket and in the blink of an eye Denver's up by 12 with J.R smith and Najera hitting big shots.

Certified Warrior killer

Unfortunately there's no time to sit around and think about this loss throughly. Dallas sit around the corner. Only then do we know if we're true playoff contenders or not

Golden State V Denver Preview

Versus


Boy this is big. As we sit in 8th spot the team that are right on our heels will be our opponents tonight.We're half a game ahead the Nuggets and half a game behind the Mavs the same team we play tommorow. This game is big with a capital B.

To tell you the truth I was surprised the Warriors got that W in Denver with their swarming defense. This is a roster loaded with players who can beat you in so many ways. Though Iverson wasn't so hot the last time these two met he is virtually unguardable with his Footspeed. Carmelo Anthony is just too big, fast, and strong for the Warriors to defend, Marcus Camby is probably the best shotblocker in the League and virtually cleans the Boards at every opportunity while JR Smith, Eduardo Najera, and Lina Kleiza all have the potential to be serious Warrior Killers on any given night. The good thing is this season the Warriors have lost games to teams they were suppossed to beat and beat teams they were suppossed to loose to so you never know.

What Baron and company must realise is Denver will bring tons of passion to the floor. They are fighting for the 8th seed for a long time now and any opportunity given to them will probably be taken. Will Baron lead the team?, Will Monta start hitting his midrange jumpers?, Will Jackson hit from long range? Who will step up in Pietrus absense?.

So many questions two answers 7th or 9th place.

Perdictions:
Melo has a big game but Iverson is limited to 16
Baron and Monta have big games
Jackson hits a couple from downtown
Warriors by 5

Golden State: 111 Portland:95

Can't say I was too impressed with allowing the Royless Blazers a 14 point lead in the 1st quarter but the main thing is the job was done and the Warriors recorded a needed easy victory before two huge games against Denver or Dallas. Once Nellie gave them a chewing the team came together and played 36 minutes of average ball allowing the bench to get some extended minutes and actually giving time to Marco Belinelli against Portlands scrubs. The strategy worked but here's hoping that this doesn't happen against Denver or dallas.

Boxscore

Hey Monta no one said it would be that easy!


Warrior Positives

Outscoring: Nellie once he took that timeout must have said lit some fire in the huddle because the Warriors proceeded to outscore the Blazers 69-42 in the second and third quarters once they fell behind by 8 at the end of the 1st.

Joey Przybilla The 7'1 Center gathered 6 boards in the first quarter but once coach Nate Millan ommitted him from the game that was it. As I said in the preview he was a major factor for Portland first two victories but once he was taken out a large part of the problem was solved.

Davis Because of the flu he only played 27 minutes. Large credit for bench players like Matt Barnes or Azubuike for making sure he didn't play big minutes and it ended up a close game.

Croshere's slam Anyone see it?. Mortell Webster's one on Wright (More of that later) was nothing compared to Croshere's. A baseline turnaround reverse slam.

Barnes Tonight Barnes looked like the player of March and April 2007. Never mind the three 3 pointers he hit there was a sign of energy that has been lacking in his game throughout the season and a relative lack of mistakes. On Defense he threw his body around, grabbed boards at both ends, and pushed the tempo. You could see his urge to try and make a spectacular play with an alley opp but he played it safe most of the time and no doubt earned Nelsons trust for future encounters.

Posterized!

Kelenna Azubuike: Right now in the space of a few games Kelenna is playing like the guard most fans hoped would be an adequate replacement to J-Rich. He was always a decent scoring option and could rebound but only now is he showing signs of his defensive game. His job on Kobe in the Laker back to back was excellent and tonight he seemd to know the Blazers offensive options very well . Above all, Azubuike doesn’t seem to be forcing anything and is taking care of the dirty work (defense, rebounding). If he can do both consistently expect to see extended minutes during this stretch.

Don Nelson We have our Hall of Fame coach to thank for this position. Nellie has weathered the storm of Monta's early struggles, the Stephen Jackson suspension, Baron Davis' offnights here and there, overall poor seasons from Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes, Andris Biedrins' appendectomy and poor recent play, Kelenna Azubuike's poor defense, lack of contribution from Marco Belinelli, Patrick O'Bryant, and Kosta Perovic, and the loss of Jason Richardson and at the same time earned a ton of critiscm for not playing Wright enough. Even though Nelson can get wildly uncharestic it's worth noting this isn't a Mike Montgomery version of the Warriors.



Negatives

Wright Face it I don't think Mullin, our scouts or any of the backroom staff when making the J-Rich trade anticpated Wright struggling in the minutes he received. Whether it was Webster dunking on him or Channing Frye stuffing him Wright looked lost. He can defintely help the Warriors in select situations but ther are times when I wonder when his skininess will hold him up. His wingspan is incredible and he will be a starting Forward with an incredible Shot blocking ability but considering we lost a SG who averages 25.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.9 steals, and 0.7 swats in the month of March and the thin depth we have this has the potential to become a Ritchmond for Billy owens move. Why didn't the Warriors acquire Ron Artest, Drew Gooden or Kurt Thomas at the trade deadline with their 10 million excpetion to provide a much needed big body. If the Warriors miss the playoffs the players don't need to issue a Richardson like apology. This time it's on Mullin and management.

Out of depth

Steve Blake Boy was he good. He averages only 8 PPG against any other game but last night with Monta Ellis playing Steve Nash like Defense he put up 22 points. For the season he put up 15.5 ppg against the Dubs

LaMarcus Aldridge Aldridge actually looked like he'd go off for 40 points looking like a giant when matching up against Biedrins or Wright using his his smooth short and mid range jumpers. Once Oden comes back I can't wait to see how these two play together. It's a gurantee the Blazers will be hot next year so the Warriors need a serious roster upgrade if they want to cement their postion as Western 8th seed contenders.

Even with all the positives and negatives notable after this game the Warriors now have two more big stakes games. If they win they pretty much control their own destiny playoff wise. If they lose they’ll have no one to blame for their slide from the playoffs but themselves (and Derek Fisher).

Golden State V Portland preview

Versus

At a time where the Western Conference playoff race is peaking this is a glimpse of just how three of the contenders are prepared down the stretch. On the first game of the TNT doubleheader it's Dallas and Denver. As much as it's fun to watch the Iverson and Anthony combo it's still upsetting to watch a Football town have 3 allstars and the biggest(underachieiving coach of all time). However when all's said and done Denver are immensealy entertaining led by the greatest Small Guard of all time Iverson, Anthony who is great and Camby who is underrated. On the other hand though Dallas haven't looked anywhere near like the 67 wins they gathered last season. With Kidd, Josh Howard, Dirk and Avery they still are a tough team but a large part of me is a big Iverson fan and I would hate to see a player of his stature miss on the playoffs.

Getting back on track to the Warriors game despite a medicore record on TNT and a heartbreaker loss to the Lakers they host Portland tonight. It won't be so easy getting back on track however. Aside from Brandon Roy who's out tonight and probably the rest of the season Joel Przybilla is another Trailblazer who thrives on playing the Warriors. His average of 4PPG and 8RPG jump up to 10 and 10. It's pretty much essential that Biedrins steps up because unlike Joel in the last two meetings he's averaged 4 ppg and 5 rpb with no blocks essentially being a non facotr. If he can win this matchup the Warriors should win this nationally televised game.

As an added TNT bonus Webber just one day after announcing his retirement will be on the TNT set tonight. One wonders how many times they'll show the 1994 dunk over Charles Barkley. My guess is 9. The SF Gate has some new Webber info.

They can do that til the cows go home. I don't get tried of seeing Barkley's face on that big body of his. They can play that forever. I remember growing up, Barkley was one of the handful of player I looked up to, and I just remember back then, being nervous, because it was here and my boys that were staying with me at the time, were saying that Barkley was going to kill me and dunk on me. So I remember dunking and looking up at them like, Now what? I'll never forget that."

Perdictions
Steve Blake is the warrior killer
Baron has his 20
TNT replay the highlights of Barkley getting 50 on the Warriors in the 1994 playoffs
Warriors by 8

Webber Press Conference

On Wednesday Chris webber formally announced his retirement after 14 seasons in the NBA. For those of you interested ESPN has a snipet of it up on their website.




Warriors.com has the full interview up on it's site

Webber didn't say too much revealing about what he plans to do next. Even though yesterday I wrote about his possibiliies of becoming an NBA Head or assistant coach the position of GM wouldn't be far off. He would defintely be better then the following Kevin McHale, Isiah Thomas, Billy King, Danny Ainge, John Paxon, Danny Ferry, and Chris Mullin.In 3-5 years when Webber's ready there is no doubt I would significantly take my chance rather then the above people listed.

Having said all that Webber looks set to follow the Chucksters shoes and become a TV pundit with TNT starting today. The irony of it all is the Warriors face the Blazers tonight on TNT so Webber gets some early practice. He may be subbing in for Kenny Smith but chances are should he get a TV job I could see him providing a ton of inside info since his career has been loaded with experiences.

The Fab 5


1993 NBA Draft


Rookie Season


Washington Bullets


Sacramento Kings


Philadelphia 76ers


Detroit Pistons


Welcome back


The Webber Linksphere
: Chris Webber announces retirement from NBA [Warriors.com]
:Webbers' career full of promise and pain[ESPN.com]
:Webber battling Knee Problems calls it a career[ESPN.com]
:C-Webb calls it quits[The Court Reporters-NBA.com]
:Webber's legacy is a sad one[Fox Sports]
:So long C-Webb[Sactown Royalty]
:My Childhood ends today[Simon on Sports]
:A career that was above average[The play in California]
:Webber's career ends like Penny's[In Historic]
:Sad day in Hoops C-Webb retires[The Big Lead]
:Chris Webber a promise unkept[Stet Sports Blog]
:Internet is alive reaction to Webber's retirement[Ball Don't Lie- Yahoo! Sports]
:Webber takes a pernament timeout[Intentional foul.com]
:Memories of Webber[Slam]
:Chris Webber[Bullets forever]

Irish Warriors archive
: Chris Webber reunited with Nellie
Webber will likely become a Warrior tommorow
Webber signs with Warriors
Webber retires

After 14 seasons in the NBA whatever career path he takes where it is TV work or Coaching I wish Webber the best of luck in his future endeavours.

Webber retires

The Webber experiment was an unfortunate failure. I think it's obvious to say that with conviction. However unlike the Mbenga signing Mullin and Don Nelson honestly believed Webber had the skills to finally give the Warriors an legitmate big man. Unfortunately although things didn't work out Webber deserves a thanks for his efforts to help out.



Yes the Chris Webber experiment is over-SF Gate

I honeslty much like Mullin thought Webber would help this team. And there were glimpses where he did show us what he was capable off his passing was still solid, could set screens for teammates,nice rebounding, crafty defense on Kevin Garnett, some picks and swats but in the end it was all a tease. All the problems that he have such as a low hoops IQ,complete lack of interior passing, a player who looks to pass before shoot and the long awaited big body in the paint. However Nelson deserves credit for at least. They needed and still need a big man in every possible way and webber becuase of his salary and experience was the atttractive option.

Historically I hope people rememeber him for a variable career. His run with the Michigan 5 and the infamous timeout, him and Sprewell hoping to become the next big Golden State duel but it ended with a dispute with Nellie, His time with the Bullets and Juwan Howard was both a mixture of triumph and tragedies. Whe he went to the Kings not only were they soon on the Basketball map him and Divac were the best big man passing combo of all time and that Knee Injury he suffered in the 2003 Conference Finals was unfortunate. The Kings traded him to the 76ers a senseless move where he still averaged 20 PPG but for some reason he went to the Pistons where his career almost fizzled out were it not for the Golden State move.

Is Webber a hall of famer. It's close. If Sacramento had beaten the Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference finals it would have been a definite resounding yes. Whilst the lasting memory much like a Malone or Barkely. However the one huge game he did appear in you can't honestly say he dissapeared in . There was no doubt though that with the level of experience and high hoops IQ that Webber has every bit the potential to become a future NBA assistant or even Head Coach.

Even though he ended up as a Warrior I still feel slightly cheated. Why didn't Nellie in all his expereince as a coach back then figure out a way to let webber develop more in his rookie year, Why did Chris Cohan avoid paying him Why weren't knee injuries and dodgy officating in the Laker series saved by the Hoops gods. Why did his career end like this.

He ended up a Warrior but it should have ended up much better.

:Webber reunited with Nellie?
:Webber will likely become a Warrior tommorow
:Webber signs with Warriors

LA Lakers: 123 Golden State: 119

This was undeniably the greatest and most exciting game of the year to watch. Unfortunately even though I try and stay away from blaming the Refs as much as possible tonights game just showed how dire the state of officiating is right now in the NBA. Having said that there was no virtual gurantee with 4 seconds left that anyone would have tossed in a game tying 3 but it's still one of those losses thats hard to accept

Boxscore

You decide

No doubt Fisher is a decent guy off the court. But on the court for some reason whether he's hitting clutch jumpers for the Jazz as he did against us in the playoffs last year or tonights flop he seems to be another Warrior killer without displaying the same clutch skills when he was with Golden State just a couple of years ago. Tonight he showed no ability to stop Monta and was faced guarding him on a inbound with the game on the line. So he did what not even a Ginbobill or Scola would do and thats drag down Monta forcing the refs to make the call. Fisher's clever deceiftulness made the refs sucked into making a decision hence the ball game. The guy can clearly shoot in crunch time but when he makes the decision to cheat get away with it and be rewarded with a victory then thats where it's hard to accept the way this game ended.

Having said that I would consider the Warriors lucky to be in the position they were in. The 1st quarter was sluggish as bad passes and missed layups foruntately didn't set any trend as Monta's drive to the hoops set a 28-20 1st quarter lead. However Kobe was waiting to pounce and Odom seemingly gobbled up every Rebound in existence. The 2nd quarter was more of the same as sloppy was the name of the game. Kobe was waiting to go off as he gave the ball off countless times to his teammates without scoring much. With 1 minute left in the half however Baron and Monta combined for 6 points. Baron somehow drove through the Lakers with an aerobatic layup and Monta made a 3 point buzzer beater. Dubs up by 11

11 for 30 Not MVP numbers

The 3rd quarter has been the albatross this season for the Warriors as they picked off where they were in LA. Ill advised Jump shots, non existent defense and jacking up of 3's greatly dimiished the lead. Odom started grabbing every defensive rebound and soon put Biedrins into foul trouble. However Jacksons and Kelenna's defense on kobe controlling him from scoring and Keleena with big steals and great positioning on the offense meant the Dubs were only down by one come the end of the 3rd . He grabbed 7 rebounds and made the open shots. Without Kelenna Kobe goes off.

During the crunchtime quarter Kobe was unstoppable Fade away 3’s with a hand in his face, turnaround jumpers, and crazy layups through traffic gave the Fakers an 8 point lead with 5 minutes remaining. Fortunately Captain Jack put a hand in his face and with 2 minutes remaining an heroic comeback was made. Baron at the free Throw line with 3 seconds left. Ties them both. Fisher gets free for the win but no Utah heroics here. We got to Overtime. Kelenna was absolutely huge here.Coming up with a big and 1 play, Monta nailing an open shot and coming up with a steal. Fisher hits a dagger 3. Up to this point this game had lived and exceeded any epectations people had of it's entertainment value a feat considering yesterdays game. the final minute

0.58 Warriors by one but chucker Vujacic nails another dagger 3

0.30 Monta drives for the upteenth time ball rims out but Keleena follows through. Of all the games he's played this season this was the most active on both sides off the floor I've seen him. His putback ties the game.

0.09 Lakers run some clock and Odom somehow gets in unchecked for an easy lineup. A crucial missed defensive assingment somehwere but then again duing the chaos it's understandable

0.04 So 4 seconds left. Nellie calls time. After captain jacks heroics on Sunday night he is doubled meaning Monta or Baron are the go to guys. Fisher falls to the ground taking Monta with him referee Delaney calls an offensive foul and much like the Wizards game last season the Warriors feel cheated.

Stuck in LA traffic!

Ultimately though it was inevitable the Warriors would spilt the series they just did it in a different way. Not a big cause of celebration but no complaints. Denvers close but then again so are Dallas. The only attribute the Warriors can take from this game is they must put away good teams when they get the chance. By switiching it to a halfcourt game they risk getting slaughtered by a team more then used to playing that style. Davis, Ellis, and Jackson are not halfcourt players but more so the game was a lesson if you mess around too much a shooter like derek Fisher will finish you off

Golden State V LA Lakers Preview

Versus




The revenge game. After sprinting to a 26 point lead in the first half, the Warriors blew it all away and almost lost it in the end so it's a gurantee tonight will be tougher. Thanks to a heroic Stephen Jackson the Warriors came away with the all important W but it didn't stop the Lakers getting the all important confidence factor for tonight. The Oracle crowd can be noisy all it wants but after the 3rd quarter disaster one hopes the Dubs are better prepared for any Laker onlsaught.

One thing I am worried about is the coaching factor. Phil Jackson always has Nellie's number and last night even though he has taken obvious flak for not taking a team and turning it around there was no doubt that last night was coaching. He doesn't create matchups but had to start Ronny Turiafand only used three bench players, none of them ‘bigs’–Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. Yet the Lakers contested every rebound and Odom finished with a career high in Rebounds. If he weas more interested in scoring in the post then they wouldn't miss Gasol so much. In contrast Nellie's style of coaching just don't have an answer for when teams like the Spurs figure out the gameplan. He hasn't developed Wright, POB has been a bust and the bad news is once Gasol comes back should these two meet it will be a sweep.

Aplogies for the mini tangent but should the Lakers win tonight Phil Jacksons coaching, Kobe Bryants shooting and rebounding will be a major factor if Golden State want to defeat the Lakers in a season series.

Perdictions:
Odom and Turiaf resume destroying the Warriors on the Boards.
Monta finishes with 34
Kobe has another big shooting day
Warriors by 4

Youtube Monday: LA Game

The Laker Game

Why? well because last night showed the advantages and disadvantages of how Nellie ball functions. There were so many factors that could have gone wrong whether it was Baron stupidly slowing down the game to a halfcourt battle where the Lakers beat us every time or Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf controlling the Boards these factors and others seemed as if the Lakers would make a devestating comeback.

Then the Warriors went to work. Stung by a streak that lasted five years they overcome a small deficit and Captain Jacks clutch shooting to win a big one in the Staples.I can't even count how many times in the past we've complained about not being a "fourth quarter team". Clearly not the case here.

Last win against the Lakers in LA before now

Golden State:115 LA Lakers: 111

Never mind the 26 point lead almost blown or the fact the Lakers were without two of their best post players this win is up there with the satisfaction of the Dallas series and the game in Portland that paved the way for a playoff appearance. Never mind the loss to Houston tonight the Warriors came into the staples Center intent on making a statement. Only when the Lakers try to even the score tonight will they be riding high

Boxscore



Defintion of clutch

1st quarter The Warriors came out strong and pushed the tempo surprising the Lakers in the proccess. Fortunately the undeniable MVP Kobe Bryant was nowhere to be found as Monta Ellis hit aome off balance jumpers and impressive degree of difficulty layups. Golden State knew where they had to be on offense and it worked. With excellent defense by Jackson on Kobe, their role players tried to impersonate Kobe and it worked as Fisher reminded fans of his Warriors days chucking up shot after shot which backfired. Golden State led 31-30 at the end of the quarter.

Second quarter I would make an arguement this was the Warriors quarter of the season. They scored 38 points because the Lakers tried to match the tempo and they can't since they are a halfcourt team therfore ignoring the Triangle Offense which led to missed assignments or the Turnovers meant the Warriors could score at a faster pace meaning our shooters thrived. The Lakers missed 3 shots in a row and went into the Locker room with a demoralizing 72-49 deficit

Third Quarter As soon as the lakers reimbursed from the locker room they were a different team. Kobe and Monta exchanged points but the rest of the Warriors fell asleep and the Lakers came charging back because Phil Jackson slowed down forcing the Warriors to do so. Fisher had some heroic shots (the most fustrating bit was he didn't do anything like that for us)and the Warriors were content to settle and decide it in the 4th. Yet with this team you take the good with the bad which for diehard fans can take years of your life!.

4th Quarter: Nellie bought in Wright to start the 4th but apart from a gorgeous block on Kobe with Baron still struggling and Jackson not hitting a shot in the second half the Fakers tied the game with 5 minutes remaining and took the lead a minute later. What started as a beautiful beginning hearing the loud boos of the Staples Center evaporated. Nellie took a timeout and suddenly what he said to them in the huddle bought them back to life. Davis hit a layup over Farmer to tie the game. Then with 38 seconds left and the Warriors up by 1 Jackson hit an ice cold shot to give them a 4 point lead. Kobe comes right back and with 20 seconds left drains an impossible 3 to cut the lead to 1. Now worries Jackson takes the longest 3 of his life and HITS THE 3! Waaaaaay downtown. The Lakers are finished with Kobe rimming out a 3. The curse was broken!



Toughness Credit to Harrington and Biedrins for fighint hard down low going for loose balls and generally making life difficult for Turiaf and Odom. With Bynum in there that doesn't do much good but tonight that hustle barely squeaked us by. Wright also made a impact off the bench with his hustle, defense work on the glass, and shot-blocking making an impact. If we are lucky enough to make the playoffs any minute he gives shows he's solid enough to make a contribution


Azubuike He may not earn the headlines but his job on kobe was better then the suppossed Kobe stopper. Always staying in front of him he also did the little things such as crashing the boards, going to the rim on offense, and generally did everything you could have asked of him. It is becoming clear that to beat teams such as the Fakers you need a contribution from the bench whether it is Kelenna, Wright, Croshere, or Barnes. Fortunately Azubuike delivered.

Like all Hollywood movies there's a sequel in the making. Tonight at the Roaracle when these two meet up again this will be the most anticipated game of the season bar the Jazz opener. No point explaning how significant this game is espcially with the West open. Just ask Captain Jack

Golden State V LA Lakers Preview

Versus


The battle of California. With the Nuggets just beating Toronto and Nowitzki potentially out for two weeks this is good and bad news on the Warrior playoff landscape. Even though tonight isn't the best night to visit an arena where they have trouble beating the Lakers since January 2003 a streak of five years.The next two days are crucial for the Warriors season. Our loss to the Rockets still put us half a game ahead of Denver and now just a half a game behind Dallas. Every game counts and if the playoffs started tommorow this would be the Warriors matchup. Not fair as they say but without Bynum and Gasol the Warriors need and have to take advantage with teams creaping up on them fast. Either way should be a good one,

Predictions:


Warriors win by 7
Pietrus scores 15 .
Odom grabs 12 boards
Kobe scores 35

Houston:109 Golden State:106

Oh man what a tough loss.

Boxscore



Rockets Small Ball Just a fustrating game. Usually when you play small against teams like the Rockets as the Warriors did in the first two meetings you expect to win easy. Yet for some reason this was a complete opposite with Houston abandoning Mutombo starting at Center and putitng a body on Davis and Ellis. Generally the refs because of the physical nature called a few ones but Davis for whatever reason didn't post up Alston, Head or Jackson as much as he should have. Even though Monta had nice looking stats the ability of Head or Alston to stay in front of him was the difference maker. If Monta doesn't get it going then it spreads around like the plague

Rebounds The Warriors actually won the battle of the boards 48-41 and both Jackson and Harrington did a good job on Scola and Battier. Unfortuntately once Houston dictated the tempo Warriors never found their offensive rthym.

Tempo This was a game of runs. Towards the end of the 4th the Rockets went on a 8-0 run to go up 95-87 but then the warriors went on a 10-2 run with Davis tying the game with a 3 pointer over Shane Battier. However unlike previous Golden State games it just didn't feel right. Once Bobby Jackson hit that ridiclous double pump fake 3 pointer to put Houston ahead for good the dissapointment grew. Needless to say the Rockets are an excellently coached team who unlike certain other teams don't fold under pressure but you have to still add this game to the should have won list.

Pietrus: He's back. I honestly didn't think he could contribute as consistently right now after his 1st half performances. He had rebounds and actualy played smart Basketball with his hustling, rebounding and defense.

Al Harrington His shot wasn't going down he was 6-18 but he was active with 14 boards and kept attemtping to get hustle points in the paint since his shot wasn't going down. I liked the hustle but he's gotta fix that shot. He's valuable on the team if he can stretch the D with his 3 because it opens up the paint for the guards.



Baron Monta and Jackson This wasn't their most efficent game for some time because they didn't have a lot of assists as they should have. There was no off the ball movement with a bit too much one on one play involved. Out of all of them I think Monta had the better game having a spectcacular shooting night wasily getting to the Basket when possible and making a lot of impossible shots. His defense still isn't there. And Jackson was ice cold missing his clutch 3's. This trio was solid but against teams like the Rockets you need more out of them if you want a W.

Tracy McGrady Just ingnore the 11-23 shooting it was his lightout clutch play in the 3rd and 4th where he didn't miss a shot. He hit jumper over jumper against Jackson and Pietrus and played big keeping the Rockets lead and stopping the Warriors from making any run.

Carl Landry He's always looked good in his scouting reports and last night was no exception. In just 18 minutes of play he had 17 points (6-9 shooting), 8 boards, and a steal and caused matchup problems frequently. It was impressive to watch.



Officiating I didn't understand this. They can let a lot of physical play go under the basket probably contributing to that playoff atmosphere but then they call tacky fouls on drives to the Basket with barely any contact. It got confusing at times. Don't get me wrong no team received a better amount of calls but the amount of Tacky fouls called was remminscement of the way the refs treated D-Wade in the 06 finals

How the Warriors respond to this will decide their playoff destiny. With a doubleheader against the Lakers a team that plays the Warriors almost as good as the Jazz there is the possibility the Warriors could find themselves out of the playoff bubble. However this Golden State team thrives on these situations.Credit to the Rockets They play tough, tough D. They seem to challenge every shot, are physical inside, and nobody outhustles them. Their offense is disciplined and after wacthing their 22 game winning streak was no joke. On the other hand it was worrying seeing the signs free throws, ball-handling errors, missed lay-ups. This team is very resillent so come Tuesday morning it will be interesting to see just how

Golden State V Houston preview

Versus


And so we are. The benginning of the tough stretch. More or less the first one against a Rockets team that has lost two straight after winning an incredible 22 in a row. In fact 6 teams have less then 22 losses so thats even more impressive. I was hoping the Warriors could have ended it tonight but alas the Celtics and their Texas sweep means they had other ideas. Even though Houstons now on a 2 game losing streak you can' discount the scale of their achievement and the good young core that they have. Rafer Alston,Luis Scola, Shane Battier, Carl Landry, Dikembe Mutombo all make up a decent supporting cast for Tracy McGrady. Yes they've come down to earth but as far as the Western Conference goes they have the depth to surprise a few people.

As far as the Warriors are concerned they are now 2.5 games up on Denver which at this stage of the season is big. Fortunately Denver which are horrible on the road play at New Jersey so there is every chance the Warriors could tie Dallas for 7th who are just 1 game in front. No doubt though tonight is big. The Rockets are a defensive minded team so buckets won't come as easy as they did in LA but having said that Baron only playing 27 minutes can only help for tonight and for the back to back against the Lakers.Everyone has to bring it.

Perdictions
Rafaer Alston is the Warrior killer
Boom Dizzle is one assist shy of a triple double
Monta shoots 65%
Warriors by 6

Golden State: 116 LA Clippers:100

After being drubbed by the Kings by the Sacramento Queens one could imagine Nellie using a few extra motivational film sessions replaying just how these type of defeats couldn't happen again. Even though Golden State lies in 8th spot 2.5 games ahead of Denver who were heckled by Philly on the Answer's return nothing is by all means done yet. These are the type of games the Warriors have to win and with 3 or 4 of the remaining `15 against teams under .500 they just have to be won.

Boxscore

This was our first win in the city of Angels for a while and boy did it feel good. Even though the clippers were injury ridden and missing Kaman who has caused problems for Biedrins in the past the Warriors came out firing especially Jackson. Making up for his 3-15 shooting in Sacramento he had 18+ points in the first quarter alone anc ouldn't miss. The Warriors built a 37-26 sizeable advantage and from then on they coasted

Monta to the rim

Monta He was his usual self tonight exposing any poor Defender who dared to guard him. Mike Tirico compared him to Leandro Barbosa a very similar type of player indeed but a spot up shooter like Rip Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons might be more accurate. Hamilton isn't spectacular at driving to the basket so he relies on his outside shot which gets the job done. Monta is horrible at outside shooting so he does the same move when driving to the basket. The really question is regardless of Smush Parker and his low Basketball IQ why didn't someone figure he was using the same go to move the main reason why he was 13-18 from the field. Is Parker or Dickau really that stupid?. Having said that he got his swagger back in the 4th with 5 made shots in the 4th and finishing with some classic drives to the hoop and a jumper or two.

Baron and the Starters The clippers and their squad provided a nice break for Baron as he only played 27 minutes providing more of a micorscope on players like Harrington or Azubuike. Even though they can't finish near the rim (Harrington more so) it was refreshing during a TV timeout to see Captain Jack yelling because Aubuike was out of position on defense. In the 4th quarter after meeting a Clipper driver at the rim to challenge a dunk Jackson gave him a chest bump. The reassuring bit is Kelenna's shooting is good enough to draw defenders away from Davis or Jackson. Last night it was never more evident.

How to play Swarming Defense

Pietrus So far this is like a Basketball version of Dr Jekyll and Hyde. First half of the season he is still the stepping out of bounds, horrible Basketball IQ and can't make a shot for his life Jeykyll. Now he's magically transformed into Hyde and can't complain. He likes to attack the Basket a lot more then other Warrior players and we're seeing a much better outside shot. Hopefully Nelson uses his ability to drive to the Basket as an advantage. But who would have thought after the Trade deadline Pieetrus would bounce back Defensively and offensively like this.

Baron And then there was the sight of Baron. Because of the low minutes he didn't need to play the role of Hollywood hero but there was a stretch in the 3rd where his importance to the team cannot be denied. With the Warriors lead dwindling because of a 10-0 Clippers run Davis came in hit 3 jump shots in a row and bang the Warriors were up by 17. Game over and as Rick James says Cold blooded

Wright V Thronton It was a tough game for wright tonight matching up against Al Thronton wo used his superior body strentgh to push him out of the way. The 3rd and 4th quarters were indicative of how much more ready Thornton is then Wright. Even though he has a reputation as a ballhog Thronton attacked Wright, over powered him and outmuscled . However the more Wright is exposed to that the more of a better chance he can stop it against the likes of Utah or San Antonio.

Kosta and Marco The two never played players actually got some burn and didn't dissapoint. Marco looked comfortable rotating and looking for the open man as much as possible. His jump shot was nice as well. As for Kosta rather then a POB sighting in meaningless minutes Kosta did all that was asked. He boxed out, displayed a nice post move and ran the court surprisngly well for a 7 footer. Summer League 08 here he comes.

Soon to be Warrior Killer

Fortunately after Tuesdays mishap Golden State took advantage last night. With losses by Denver and Houston, the Warriors move further from the lottery and closer to the top of the heap. Going by the fact the Nuggets are a horrible road team and their next 3 games are roadies that is huge

Golden State V LA Clippers preview

We share one thing in common both our owners suck

I wonder when ESPN picked all the games they wished to cover did they think or expect the matchup to be remminsicment of last season. Back then the Warriors on the last day of the season beat out a Clippers squad who had a healthy Brand to 8th spot. This season they have met twice

Nov 2L 120-114 Collapse

Nov 16 W 122-105 Clutchness

It's been a while 4 years to be exact since the Warriors won in the City of Angels.With Chris kaman, Al Thornton and Elton Brand still out the Clippers offensive hopes lie in Corey Magguete who can attack the Basket and put the ball on the floor while averaging 10 Free Throw attempts a game. With Dan Dickau, Smush Parker, and Brevin Knight managing the point it's becoming clearer that maybe the Clips are trying to get a decent lottery position.

As for the Warriors the Kings loss was tough. For once there was no BD 4th quarter heroics, Monta and Pietrus was human, the Kings Defense was physical and Jackson was in foul trouble. A nice bounceback game against LA should erase this memory for a few

Sacramento:122 Golden State:105

The Kings have an decent home record and a great nucleus of young players see Kevin Martin. But no exucuses can match the pathetic performance tonight where missed Free Throws, horrible defense and bricked 3's resulted in a Arco blowout. The importance of this game with Denvers loss clearly didn't come through to the team and all the Golden State fans who made the journey to show all those Cow Bandwagon fans how it's done were left dissapointed. The way in which they lost was quite noticable.

Boxscore



1st Quarter The 1st quarter was indicative of what the Warriors do right all season long. Despite the obvious Defensive shortcomings the offensive explosivness makes up for it. The Dubs shot 60% with Baron going for 12 and 4 assists and Biedrins and Harrington going for 6 each. The thing was Sactown looked every bit as good. Kevin Martin had 10 points, Ron 7 and Niki Moore who had the game of his life with 6. They were only down 2 having shot an all impressive 52%. The key to the Warriors fading away slowly was Jackson. Picking up his 3rd foul for some reason Golden State loses all it's energy and becomes a different team on the court. Not an excuse for the loss by any means but still definitely the key to when the Kings started pulling away.

2nd Quarter This was one for the offensive lovers out there. Even though the shooting percentage went down to 49% the scoring was non stop with 21 lead changes the biggest lead was 4 to Sacramento with a minute left. Even though both teams were medicore at the Free Throw line the Kings just seemed to want it more as the Warriors unravelled



3rd and final Quarter Once the 3rd came around this becamse fugly. Often the Warriors have close wins against opponents they have no business beating. Tonight all the factors that have allowerd us to have countless close games against poor teamsd came back to haunt us as Sactown came out firing. They had a 23 point lead at one point and a 40 point 3rd quarter the Warriors defense as existant as a dodo sighting. Even though they cut the lead down to 6 at one point Niki Moore's dunk put the exclamation point on the game and the Kings ran away to take the game by 17.

Ellis I have to give props to the Kings on this one because it's clear they didn't do their homework. Monta's scary family situation(Our Prayers are with him) probably didn't help but Reggie Theus and his coaching staff knew once you get physical with Monta early as possible his game loses a small bit of it's edge. Once someone like Artest bumps him while going up for a Layup then expect a small dropoff in scoring. Over the next few weeks the Warriors will become ever more reliable on his scoring so without his production they sputter.

Passiveness This is where the game was lost. One of Nelsons famous traits is he pulls a player just for not taking a shot rather then the ones that they do. Tonight he couldn't do that even though Baron was trying to get everyone involved no one was up to the task. Andris was quiet his Free Throw shooting taking him off the court, Ellis did nothing,Jackson shot terribly and Harrington should have been benched much earlier. Though Davis had a unmemorable final few minutes he was the only one who was in tune. For the first time all season a healthy Croshere or Webber would have been welcomed because it needed a Halfcourt game to improvise.



Bright Spots Can't deny the small bright spots Azbuike came off the bench and produced, CJ Watson looked good running the backup Point and we had a Brandon Wright sighting his put backs, free throw shooting, and defense just proved he needs more playing time. However the missed Free Throws, Pietrus turning in a bad performance (first time in a while though) was a game I do not wish to remember any time soon. Baron's look said it all but the minutes clocked up was another source of dissapointment. Boom Dizzle had 39 minutes Monta got 28 and Jackson 31. The negatives overwhelmed the possitives.

Fortunately tonight in LA the Warriors have a chance to redeem themsleves against the Clippers. Even though the Dubs traditionally struggle in the Staples Center tonight offers little excuse the Clippers aren't as good as the Kings so hopefully nows the time to end a streak without starting a losing one. Given the Nuggets proximity to us now would be the awful time to start a losing streak

Youtube Monday: The Dunk

It has been called one of the best plays in recent Bay Area Sports history and perhaps one of the better Dunks in Playoff history. To be honest it is just one of those plays that gets you amped every time you watch it. Although the Jazz eventually wore us out with their physical style and slightly better coaching this one play symbolises how memorable the months of April and May were for Golden State fans across the world. It's beautiful.



The scary thing about this dunk is AK47 had blocking Warriors players left right and centre in games 1 and 2 so Baron went toe to toe with him. The Jazz may have won the battle but the Warriors had their moments

Golden State: 110 Memphis: 107

Closer then a 100M race was tonights game. Irrespective of whether how unconvicing the win was or how worrisome was the fact we still play down to teams levels but the precious W was still put up. On the other hand losses like the Minnesota game earlier this year speel doomsday so wins like tonight no matter how ugly are still welcomed.

Boxscore

We almost had Gay Almost!

Player Positives

:Monta Ellis is shooting lowly 22.5% on 3's this season, just couldn't miss from outside tonight even though it was one shot.

:Mike Miller the Warrior killer only had 19 points and 13 boards. He also had 6 assists but at least he didn't have a Gasol like 40. By our defensive standards you could call that a shutdown

: This season Barnes is a miserable 29.6% down from 3 pointers from last seasons 36.6%. Tonight he was extremely efficent hitting all 3 from downtown. If he can continue a Pietrus like revival then we have just a little more depth.

: Speaking off Pietrus where was this version of Air France earlier?. It seems since the trade deadline his game has showed flashes of driving, dunking and hard nosed D something that wasn't there beforehand. Keeps playing like this and it's more then likely the Warriors will retain his services come offseason.

Better hustle as well

Second Half Now this is the ugly part. With the Dubs up by 15 no one in the crowd or watching on TV would realise that the Grizzlies a team heading for the lottery and split whether to tank or play hard would score 41. Dfensive futility was just half of it. The turnovers were the casualty where 20 turnovers and getting picked 15 times and swatted 4. Memphis even had more steals.Now back to the defense. Honestly where is it. The exterior and interior defense is nowhere something Mullin needs to answer for just why in his 4 years as a GM has he never got a Big man or decent one. As much as I like Biedrins Warrick caused nightmares for him tonight scoring in the low post. He could have easily had 35 but he missed a ton of open looks. Biedrins has 1.2 BPG meaning no ones intimitidated. He may not be much of a help but having Webber back in might solve this.Either way if the Warriors make it back to the dance any team can exploit this hole and then the seasons over.

Getting away from the negativity quick shoutout to Mr Custodian Brian Cardinal. Dropped 8 points on us last night but did give us a solid year

Solid D on KG

Flushing it down

Here's what Nellie had to say about the game AP

"

We were very vulnerable, but we came away with a win and that's the main thing," coach Don Nelson said. "There are no bad teams in the NBA. There isn't anybody we can't beat and there isn't anybody that can't beat us on any given night. We didn't look much like an eighth-place team tonight, but we remain there. We're going to have to play a lot better than we played tonight and I know we will

Golden State V Memphis Preview

Versus

Really there isn't much to talk about tonight so I thought I'd ht you up with a couple of links from the Memphis Blogosphere.

3 Shades of Blue
Grizz seek talent like Ellis Won't happen
Monta will he leave Barons shadow

If the Warriors don't win by at least 15-20 tonight I will be dissapointed. There's always Warrior killer Mike Miller to watch out for and Rudy Gay is a handful but either way there stuck with the two of the biggest draft busts Kwame Brown and Darko Milicic so it evens itself out. Either way regardless of the level of talent we must win this gam. No excuses.

Perdictions
Hakimm Warrick throws down a nasty one
Monta puts up 30
Rudy Gay puts up 25
Warriors by 14
Darko in reponse to the Bust chants points to his ring
There's a Marco sighting except it's used to play Hack a Hackim

Phoenix: 123 Golden State:115

An entertaining game with a playoff atmosphere just didn't swing the Warriors way. As previously thought this was suppossed to be a look at the new Suns against a team that plays Smallball more so then they do. However Shaq was in foul trouble most of the night totaling just 14 minutes through 3 quarters and sitting the entire 4th but wihout the diesel Phoenix responded better and just walked away with a W.

Boxscore

Bummer

Shaq Simply put because of the Warriors quickness he was run off the floor and went into early foul trouble. Because of this Phoenix adjusted their game they way they were used to playing. They threw outlets up the floor for easy buckets, launched from 3 with no conscience, and let Steve Nash operate in the lane with nobody clogging it up. Although I remain to be convinced this trade has worked out they certainly appear to play much better against good competition then previously and handle halfcourt and uptempo teams better.

Baron Baron always brings his A+ game to National TV and tonight was no exception. His 38 points a hot 15-30 and 6-11 from long distance kept the Warriors in the game. He added 9 boards and 8 assists along with 3 steals as well. Basically without Baron this game is a blowout. His defense was lazy as usual but he played his butt off tonight.

Help Monta had the worst 23 point/8 reb/4assist/2 steal game I've ever seen he just disappeared in the 2nd half. I hate typing this because he has been playing amazing lately but he had trouble hitting his mid-range jumper tonight perhaps struggling to shoot over the longer arms of the Suns. He'll bounce back but if Monta doesn't score then chances are rest of the team won't pick up the slack. Thats what happenned tonight. See Stephen Jackson and his 4-13 shooting. At least it was good to see Azubuike and Pietrus pick up the slack. Pietrus had 16 points 8 rebounds. His Defense has picked up noticably but thats all I'm writing for fear of jinxing. Azubuike was the only decent bench player 10 points, 7 boards is solid play in just 20 minutes.



Amare Time I had an inkling Stoudemire would kill us inside tonight but I didn't know how aggressive his inside game. Half his Baskets were dunks which explains the 62% he shot from the field but his 36 points offset Baron's scoring. Despite his 11 rebounds or 4 assists the stat I was impressed with were his four blocks. Those blocks saved Warrior buckets. His Defense was very good something which usually doesn't happen it was almost like he was super motivated.

Quick summary and a look ahead to future The Suns were up by a few points in the 3rd quarter and the game seemed to be going back and forth. Then the 10-0 run happenned by Phoenix to go up by 14 and meant the Warriors just had to claw their way back into the game. To their credit at times in the 4th they hung with Phoenix for a little while but the Suns made too many shots. No point blaming this on a back to back the lack of help along the roster to make up for Baron's 38 was the dissapointing factor Pietrus and Kelenna the exceptions. Had the Dubs won this they would have been 0.5 games behind Phoenix and 3 in front of Denver. With 3 games against Subpar teams (Memphis, Sacramento Kings and the LA Clippers) then the schedule gets rough Houston, Lakers, Lakers, Portland, Denver, Dallas, San Antonio, and then Dallas No room for error but at least we're done with Utah.

Defense: The Suns shot 50% from the field and 12-24 (50%) from 3 meaning their was no closing out on the shooters yet the game was still close. Golden State led for part of the 3rd quarter but the Suns onslaught just got to them. We all know they can score but trading Baskets in the 4th just isn't getting it done. They didn't bring it on the Defensive end tonight hence one of the reasons for the loss. It's lucky that with their 3 games coming up against teams well under .500 we should see an imprvement on Defense then. Hopefully

Golden State V Phoenix Preview

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A Solid win against the Bosh-less Raptors hitting their 40th win of the season but now it's time to move on. Tonight on a TNT doubleheader the Warriors hit Phoenix. The playoff race increasingly gets tighter and if we do a quick match caculation the dubs would need to 10-9 the rest of the way to get to 50 wins which should be an automatic lock. The Denver Nuggets are 38-26 played 64 games and need to go 12-6 to hit 50. The way I see it 50 wins should be an automatic lock. Despite the increasing everday tension it is slightly more relaxing then last year where the Clippers controlled the 8th spot and fans were left rooting hard for their opponent. Now back to tonight.

The Suns are now only 1.5 games in front of the Warriors since the Shaq Shaun Marrion trade. Despite the trade not immediately working the Suns have recently beat Memphis and San Antonio b ut their defense still looks as bad as ever. One of the things GM Steve kerr promised of the list of how this trade would help was when it came to the playoffs against the Duncans, Boozers of the West having Shaq defending these calliber post players and allowing Amare to roam around would make the Suns finally adjust to the halfcourt game. Replacing their best interior Defender with an aging Center is recipe for disaster. With Marrion the 120-118 thrillers that were common now more then likely will be gone but how the heck do the Warriors play this team without the Matrix.

Set high screens When he was a Laker Shaq couldn't guard anyone outside the post so try and make Beans do this by setting high Screens Either Baron/Monta/Jax gets a wide open jumper or Beans is using his quickness in the paint to get off an easy shot

Will Suns will try and dominate inside with their Shaq-Amare tandem being quite imposing. Can the Warriors grab a rebound. Will Nellie impose Hack a Shaq just in case?. We simply don't have the inside play to contend with this pair. But thats ok. In Nellie's case it's run, run run.

Perdictions:
Al Harrington gets 25
Shaq plays 16 minutes
Amare puts up 35-15
Warriors by 6

Golden State: 117 Toronto: 106

A 20 point lead slmost blown, horrible shot selction which allowed the Raptors to take a brief lead in the 4th quarter giving Warrior nation a heart attack. Fortunately they pulled through denying all fears of a loss to a Bosh-less Raptors which would have been bad. Our 40th win of the season was slightly more tense then needed to be.

Boxscore






1st quarter. This was the positive point to take from tonight. Pietrus dunk as you can see above plus Barons swat on Nesterovic bought out the collective Wow's along the crowd. The Warriors had 33 in the bag to the Raptors' 17 Pietrus keeping up his unreal form with 8 points and displaying agressivness that was missing for a long time. Monta was also on his way to another dominant night with 11 points.

Tempo Unforunately Golden State hasn't figured out how to control the tempo throughout the game. After a better then expected opening the 3 pointers and bad shots started increasing. Seven from downtown were taken none were made. Clearly the option of driving to the Basket were ignored all of the 2nd quarter three point attempts were taken when we had a comfortable lead. It became clear the Warriors wished to try and built a 30 point lead to rest their starters for the Suns game tonight but unfortunately because of the Bricks this strategy backfired allowing the Raptors to roar back into the game. You can't ignore Monta's 33 points or Baron's 15 assists for swinging it back in Golden States favour.

Pietrus might not be a failure at PF any longer if he continues like this. On any given night for a player who had followen out of favour with the fans scoring 14 and 8 simply means this is the Pietrus that everyone wanted to see. Pietrus scored most of his points from the outside and spent quality time guarding Toronto’s point guard (often leaving Baron with the power forward). The Bench was never used to good effect though but Azubuike and Watson did little to improve the pro bench camp. There was no Croshere or Wright surprising because they have been the most stable. Their absence was confusing although Nellie wanted Smallball it seemed

Warrior Killers No Kapono but plenty of Parker, Humphries and TJ Ford. Parker finished up at 22 points and 9 boards, Humphries nailed all 10 of his points in the 2nd quarter on 5 of 7 shooting with a butter close range jumper asnd least but not least TJ Ford who had 13 points in the 4th quarter. Fortunately Barons 10 points and 6 dimes and knife in the back 3's reminded us of how clutch he could be and eased Toronto's pressure a little.

40 Wins two less then last year. We can only take one game at a time however and thats why tonight against the Suns the failure to give the starters a clear rest because of the bricks could be costly

Golden State V Toronto Preview

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Wow what a nice road Trip by the Warriors. Had it not been for fan favourite J-Rich having an eventual and expected dominating game against us then the trip would have been a huge success but 3-1 on the road and winning 6 from the last 7 is still something to be proud off. With the last 20 regular season games in sight we're still in 8th and only 5 games behind the 1st place Lakers. With the Dubs exercising Nellie's contract even the management is on the ball (sorry for the awful pun). Without Chris Bosh who's expected to miss the Raptors West coast swing Toronto might not be as scary as thought but during the last meeting when the game tipped off at the earlier then normal time of 10.30 AM Pacific time there were two things that struck me.

:The Raptors shot 2-20 in the 4th quarter. I doubt with sharpshooters like Barganani, Kapono or Anthony Parker that will continue

: TJ Ford was dominate litting us up for 29 points, 9 dimes, 6 boards and 2 steals. Other then Kapono might be the player that could cause the most damage.

Golden State not only need this and every win so hopefully the same agression that was on the Road trip will be on force tonight.

Perdictions
Pietrus has a monster game 10 points 12 rebounds
Ellis goes for 24 points
Kapono is the Warrior killer
Warriors by 8

Youtube Monday: Foyle's misfortune

The longest tenure serving Warrior until last year Foyle may not have been a memorable Basketbll player but his democracy matter slogans made up for the ridiclous money forked out by Chris Mullin. As the clips coming up will show you there was a delighted sense of jubuilation when Golden State bought out his contract. If only he worked harder on his game then he did for Politics well then

Golden State: 104 Orlando: 95

A 3-1 road trip, The first time there was a sweep of Florida since the 1989-1990 season and Nuggets losing to the Jazz by 27. All in a good nights work. What Orlando failed to realise if there's one team in the League that can come back from 8 down at the half it's the Warriors.

Boxscore



Winning 3 out of 4 on this East Coast road swing now means the Warriors are within half a game of Dallas in 7th with Dallas and one game behind the Suns in 6th. More importantly with Denvers loss there is better seperation between us. Tonight no matter how good a coach Stan Van Gundy is his limitations in finding any other offensive gameplan were exposed. From then on the Magic crumbled. Here's how.

Howard Although Howard is beast of the East tonight Biedrins did a fantastic job on him. Never letting Dwight find ground and using his speed to attempt fronting him meaning Howard lost focus at a crucial time often receiving the ball at the 3 point line where he can't do much.

Shooters Lewis, Jameer Nelson, Hedo or Keith Brogans all made big shots in Oakland becuase the amount of times Jackson, Ellis or Baron failed to close them down gave the Warriors a heartbreaking loss. This time to their credit they learned from their mistakes and rarely gave them an open look despite the Magic going 10-21 from three point range some late misses gave the game away.

Rebounds The Magic only had 4 offensive rebounds alarming when you have the NBA's best rebounder. Pietrus with 11, Jackson and Davis with 9 and Harrington and Azubuike with 4 and 2. This is the area where the game was won the second chance opportunties never came for Orlando becuase of the boxing out.

And now back to the game. The 1st half was dismal there wasn't any communication and the shooting was horrendous at 33%. Monta at the time was hot yet for much of the half he was never the focal point. He had 12 in the 1st quarter yet shot the ball not that much in the 2nd. Despite the problems we were only down by 8 at the half. Nellie would use his wealth of experience to get a fiery halftime talk going and thats exactly what happenned.

Nowhere to go

The 2nd half was all Baron. Putting up 33 points 9 rebounds he dominated Jameer Nelson and drove to the basket a lot more then I've seen him. Jackson was another key contributor although the 1st half was best forgotten about.His key defensive stops on the Magic, Rebounding and being there on the fast break helped spur the win. Pietrus had another solid game grbbing 11 rebounds to make up for bad shooting and doing a decent job on defense 3 steals. However defensively this was the best I've seen the Warriors all year 14 steals in the game versus 3 from the Magic and just 9 turnovers compared to Orlando's 20. Forcing teams to make mistakes is the key to mkaing the playoffs and even try and get a better seeding.

The question remains can Golden State keep up this good form. With the loss in Charlotte it looked like Nelson circled this game on his calender as a motivation technique. Rather then take early shots with 20 seconds left on the shot clock they were much more patient driving to the hoop taking high percentage shots. Winning these games is a sign of how much better Nelson has made us. The question is in the next two months will it be good enough?