San Antonio: 123 Golden State; 88

Q. What's the difference between the Golden State Warriors and a dollar bill?

A. You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.

Q. What do the Golden State Warriors and a possums have in common?

A. Both play dead at home and get killed on the road

Boxscore

Well that was embarassing. Watching the team give up 120 points to the Spurs, 9 straight losses and a miserable 5-15 record means only one thing. Singletary for Head Coach!

Jokes aside Spurs deserve a bit of credit. They are a fundamental Basketball team with an Offense that creates smart Ball movement, unselfish player and open shots. The Warriors at the moment have none of those and the gulf was evident tonight. The Spurs have always been near the top at the West because of Great coaching. Excellent defense. Teamwork. Discipline. Nelson has failed to take any of these on board this year. In other words really with the Spurs and Warriors play it's always a mismatch.

Jackson did't play at all during the second half but then again when he is still doing the same thing over and over. I don't like the fact that he is still our number one offensive option even though Maggette and Crawford weren't exactly lightning it up either. He might be a good 3rd or 4th but not first.

Sticking with Maggette and Crawford neither bought anything to the table. Neither shot well from the floor, both were good at the Free throw line and neither knew how to pass the ball. Maggette went 1-10 from the field and 0 assists while Crawford went 2-5 with only 3 assists. I knew Maggette had a tendency to ignore his teammates but if you watch him play it's astounding.





I still don't get why fans have to tolerate the horrible sight of Maggette jacking up a horrible shot when Wright with his great inside moves, a monster dunk, and hustling hard on defense is easier on the eye. This year is all about the youngsters so it's peculiar seeing not getting the PT he is but then I lost trust in Nelson a while back.

In contrast Marco looks worthless. The hopt shot shooter out of the draft was 1-6 with 2 points and 1 assist and did little else on Defense. Last season I called on him a lot to get more playing time but Nelson saw something he didn't like and it looks as if he's correct.

So err I don't really have anything to describe from the debacle The only thing good about last night game's was that it wasn't like Monday's game against the Heat something which no fan wants to sit through again. The Spurs are a better team and thats fine. However against the Thunder a one win team a lot more could be on the line. If the Warriors find a way to lose well stay tuned for some possible drastic changes

Golden State V Oklahoma Preview

Theere really isn't much point in writing a detailed preview of a NBA game that reminds me of a Dertoit Lions versus Cincinatti Bengals contest. I'll let you figure out which NFL team is who. Then again the Warriors could suffer tonight in the absence of the following players

Although, Crawford is probable.To make matters worse for Golden State, coach Don Nelson is dealing with a slew of injuries. Crawford is probable tonight with a sprained left ankle but forwards Stephen Jackson (swollen left hand), Corey Maggette (sore hamstrings) and Anthony Randolph (sprained left hand) will all be game time decisions

From GSOM

If the Warriors need any motivation (I have a hunch they do), they need to treat this games as personal. The Thunder stole our mascot's name and now we have no mascot. There's nobody to walk on their hands the full length of the court during timeouts. Nobody to breakdance with kids during breaks. No superhero to run in a circle carrying a sign to pump up the crowd. Nobody to do funny things with Franco Finn during the promos. And worst of all no inflatable Thunder. It's personal. Time to win.

As Al Davis once said "Just win baby"

Perdictions

Biedrins with a double double
Randolph gets taken out
Durrant is the Warriors killer
Warriors by 4

San Antonio V Golden State

VS



Golden State: 5-14
San Antonio: 10-8


Unforunately a trip to San Antonio is hardly the best remedy for the Warriors to try and wipe away their woes. However the facts are starting to leap out like a sore thumb. We've given up 130 points in at least 3 games and are the worst Defensive team in the league giving up 114.3 on average. I'd imply that Avery Johnson would be an ideal hire for this team but I'm saving that for a rainy day.

After their ejections last night maybe Nellie and Jackson can take out the fustrations on the Spurs and turn this into a possibly intriuging contest but I doubt it. The Spurs have most of their big guns back and a rout is looking very likely.

Perdictions
Duncan is the Warriors killer
Maggette shoots the lights out
Randolph barely plays
Spurs by a lot

Houston: 131 Golden State: 112 Positive Defeat

is a defeat that screams as a positive. The other 7 losses were mixed with what if's and being outplayed consistently. Yet last night the Houston loss was a positive. In a season in which all Playoff hope has now dwindled it may seem rather sad that I have to look towards a loss to find positives but what the heck.Once Nelson was ejected and Keith Smart took control of the sideline it's tempting to say the Warriors were better in the second half. But thats not the truth. Nellie starting Turiaf and Biedrins against Houston's bulky Frontcourt made the game close then it should have been but the Centers racked up 12 fouls in 54 minutes which was the deciding factor

Boxscore

Jim Barnett"The game was closer than what the score shows"

Randolph Randolph's brillaint and eccentric dunk on Yao was the main storyline of the game. On a team in which it's two maain socring threats Jackson and Maggette both look completely disinterested Randolph is playing with the aggressive energy that could endure him to fans. Watching him throw his body around and play aggressive Defense on Yao was exactly what the Warrior fans needed to see. Not everyone has given up on this season. He only played 26 minutes but rest assured he was everywhere. Anytime the Rockets sprinted down the court there was Randolph to help out Defensively and run a fast break himself. He may be a rookie, but he already looks like a man on the court.

Turiaf Turiaf didn't benefit by the amount of questionable calls that he recevied when playing against Yao but thats nothing new. His low post Defense in the first half was perfect. He had a rough start to the season but now is settling in as seen with that mid range jump shot even making some nice moves to the basket. If he hadn't fouled out so early such was the collective help Defense on Yao causing him to fumble and clogging their Offense to a halt this game would have been much different.

Maggette More then usual he stopped taking the three pointer and got to the line when the Dubs were on a transition break. half. Without hesitation he would put his head down and drive to the basket knowing the Rockets were slow to get back. He had a solid 23 and 10 performance but wasn't a factor after the 3rd quarter. To be fair he did act descively and avoided taking ridiculous shots but he was still a black hole

Jackson Rather then chuck it up Jackson was a passing man breaking down the Rockets defense and pass it to the opn man which led to more assists then usual. He had a huge first half with 18 points out of his 26. In the second half he showed us why he'll never be the main scoring threat for most teams. Plenty of bad shots, a lot of turnovers and terrible Defense meant his game crossed from overconfidence to recklessness. . Randolph needs to explain to him maybe how one should contain the confidence and just play within yourself.




At the end of the day the Warriors showed heart. This goes down as another loss but at least it shows a healthy future is lined up should Nelson wish to use it, players playing within their limits bar Jackson and Randolph showing aggressivness that no Warriors rookie had done so in a long time. It's still a loss but I would rather lose this way then watching Small Ball blow a 4 point lead with 18 seconds left

Houston V Golden State

Versus


Warriors: 5-13
Rockets: 12-7

Imagine what if the Warriors had drafted Yao Ming instead of Mike Dunleavy J.R. We'd have obviously been more succesful with a lot more Playoff appearances, Baron Davis and Jason Richardson would still be here and really you wouldn't have to worry about the losing bit. Unforuntaely instead we drafted Mike Dunleavy drafted horrible players and gave them horrible contracts and we're still in the losing bracket. Ah well

Just imagine



Getting away from the what if's the Warriors take on the Rockets a team that dealt with small ball last year beating the Warriors twice. Even though T-Mac is out it's going to be tough to rely on Crawford and Morrow to win which means everyone has to contribute. At the moment we're stuck in a 7 game losing streak. Maybe then there is a small chance we can pull it together and win just one more game before Christmas.

Miami: 130 Golden State: 129 OT

It's offical. The 2008-2009 Golden State Warriors keep finding new ways to lose. Blwoing a 4 point lead with 18 seconds left isn't half of it. We saw the same things that had plagued the East Coast road trip such as rebounding, no Defense and ability to make no name players look good but this time the Warriors looked as if they had overcome all of these measures and won the game. Alas it wasn't to be

Boxscore

Maggette I can see to this day why Maggette isn't a winner. There were times during last night where the self importance of a poccession never reached his mind. For example rather then drive at Wade and earn some much needed Free Throws to stop the Miami onslaught he throws a Half hearted jumper. The mistake followed his earlier decision to try to take a charge from Dwayne Wade on a play where a two point bucket would mean absolutely nothing. In other words Maggette's failure not to be aware of the imprtance of each poccession or moment is exactly why he's not a winner.

Wade I'm willing to bet that rather then watch the Warriors the majority of the Oracle Crowd paid to watch Wade. He was indeed nasty with 37 points, 13 dimes and some sick dunks. He also contributed to the Rebounding stat. The fact remains that the Heat got way too many 2nd and 3rd chances. All said and done, the Heat had 21 offensive boards to our 11, with 13 of them coming from Udonis and Marion. All of the Heat bigs poured in 21 points as well.



but despite the horrible ending to the 4th quarter and OT there were a few positives. Crawford was immense. I'm not sold on him at PG and I doubt his contract will ever win me over but he did come up with huge baskets. was one of the few reasons that we were able to keep our minor lead throughout the better part of the game. Every time the Heat seemed to get close or tie it up, there was Jamal with a ridiculous drive or a deep three. 40 points and 7 dimes later it wasn't quite enough, but it's tough to rest the blame on the guy that had the buckets when we needed them.

In fact, it's really tough to rest the blame on any of the Warriors out on the floor tonight. They're failure came more as a team than as individuals. When I look at all 8 Warriors who stepped on the court tonight, I can think of a positive notes on how they all played tonight.

CJ was all over the floor in the 4th gaining us possesions. Beans brought the double double train back to the station with a smooth 7-10 shooting. Crawford and Maggette ran offensive clinics tonight. Randolph looked like he belonged on that floor with three boards and 6 points in only 7 minutes. Jack has some dishes Wright had some excellent takes with 15 points on 7-13 shooting. Turiaf was a force in the paint with 5 swats including that monster one that almost landed in the Front Row Seats but alas it landed to Marion who won the game.

We should have won this game. In more ways than one. Yes, we are going to give away games in the course of the season; every team does. But tonight's game, a game that could have ended this losing streak, was not the time to blow it.

It seems like we are seeing more and more games where we are but one small aspect away from getting ourselves the win. Today our failures truly caught up with us in the end. Our lack of boarding throughout the game culminated with the layup that took us to overtime. Our irresponsibility with the ball culminated with the turnover that gave the Heat the ball back with 9 seconds left, followed by the inbound pass that allowed them to get the final lead.

I hope we figure something out because this hurt

Golden State V Miami Preview

The pnly time the Warriors were truly unstoppable

Unstoppable and the Warriors usually don't go together. However when the famous video game NBA Jam was released I think there was unaminous agreement that the Warriors Run TMC team was unstoppable. In contrast NBA 2K9 and the PS3 version has made the Dubs terrible. So in other words even the video gaming world is scarily accurate.

Today the Warriors face the Heat in a possible good old fashioned showdown. The Warriors are 5-12 and face a team that literally consists of Wade, Beasley, The Matrix, and Udonis. Soooo that's a couple of fast dudes with skill and a couple of inside bangers with skill. Not good for a mteam on a losing streak

Wade has been remarkable this year avergaing 28 points and 7 assists a game. Which means when he's not scoring, he's making it happen for someone else. Cooling him off is going to key to staying in this game. Of course, that is going to take some incredible defense; something we really haven't seen from the Dubs in, oh, I'd say about 6 games. (Pattern anyone?)

Don't be fooled by Marion's stat line this season. Just because he's been off to a quieter start this year doesn't mean he isn't fully capable of ripping us a new one in the post. Our big guys are going to need to have an answer for him. We've seen the D from Beans and Turiaf happen before; we need to see it happen again.

Perdictions
Wade finishes with 25
Beans returns to form with a double double
Morrow has a big game
Warriors by 5