Game summaries

Finally back from longer then expected stint in Southern California. Despite the delays and unexpected storm Los Angeles is some place to visit even though it's Laker county. Anyway I'll rite up a quick summary for the ones I missed I'll link you to the boxscore as in most cases the numbers do the talking.

Game 1: Golden State: 112 Houston:95

Despite the refs and Nelsons ejection a nice road win was pulled out here. It seemed virtually the Rockets game at the start of the 4th but for once Team Defense ( Baron had a couple steals and blocks) Monta pulling a nice layup over Yao and finishing with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and shooting 8 for 11, Baron dominating Rafaer Alston and making the injury talk premature with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. His Defense was the key to pulling away and the 3 point shooting by Captain Jack, Al etc gave us a very nice new years eve party.



Game 2: Dallas 121 Golden State:99

What the heck happenned here. Ther Warriors consistently showed their pride to the Basketball world that they contained MVP Dirk Nowitzki to his worst playoff series in a long while. This was a game where not only did Dirk deleiver a big game the entire team of Dallas seemingly averaged 10 or more points in this game. Dampier, Stackhouse, Devin the Flopper Harris all of them delivered big performances. Baron had a lackluster performance but I'd rather this happenned rather then the injury part. At least Harrington delivered a big game but other then that this was a forget it move on game.



Golden State: 130 San Antonio: 121

Everyone traditionally knows just how much the Spurs own us. And yet despite a combination of factors such as a horrendous Shot Selection, the lack of rotation the Northern Californian storm and Tim Duncan going crazy 32 and 13 inside Golden State pulled this out in OT. As expected the usual suspects had the big game but to see Air France go 5-9 with all the trade talk surronding him is a big bonus. He crashed the boards getting 6 which doesn't sound like an awful lot but his hustle in fast breaks and in the lane is noticeable. The player who was least expected to make an impact is making one. The bench had a major contribution Kelenna going 7-7 and Biedrins whose game is quietly polishing holding his own against Timmy d. Lastly the clutchness of Jackson and Davis making big shots when they counted meant the San Antonio curse could be over.

Portland: 109 Golden State: 91

Garbage game garbage performance. Coming off the Spurs big game win you think the energy levels would be big but sadly they came out flat and the fans who bothered to travel were subjected to 23 minutes of Croshere displaying his awfulness. Once again it wasn't a case of Nelson being outcaoched but Portland displaying their strengths by half court sets using pick and rolls, post ups and three pointers. The scored on fast breaks and also used their size advantage with Aldridge and Przybilla to get easy buckets. No one put a body on Blake but Jackson really killed Golden State tonight with his 1-6 shooting and his lack of captaincy moaning to the refs rather then not getting back on D isn't going to help you. Maybe this accounted for the lack of Defense overall as a team 32 assists on 40 made field goals is a shocking stat. A few positives were C.J Watson (more later) make a nice contribution off the bench and Marco and B. Wright get some invaluable PT but other then that this loss was depressingly awful



And lastly it looks like the long wait for a backup PG is over. Mullin used his NBDL knowledge to find CJ Watson from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He's supossed to be on a 10 day contract but it might not be a bad idea to extend it further.

Air France to leave Oakland?

Once the clock reaches 2008 Pietrus could be gone. The longest serving Warrior could become tradeable according to Geoff Leper of the Contra Costa Times.

Could Pietrus be jetting off to Miami?

After signing Pietrus to a one-year qualifying offer worth $3.47 million, the Warriors have been prohibited from dealing him for three months -- a limitation that ends Tuesday.

While both sides said they're not actively seeking a divorce, there is no doubt that Pietrus would still like to wind up with a team where he'll get more consistent playing time. And it's equally clear that the Warriors are open to the idea of dealing their longest-tenured player.

"If a trade is offered, I'll go," said Pietrus, who has the right to veto any deal because he would have to relinquish his "Larry Bird rights," potentially costing himself money on the free agent market next summer. "I'll give up my 'Bird rights' for 35 minutes (per game)."

If Pietrus does actually want to be traded the question is where?. No team in their right mind would want to look at a guy who's numbers are way way down from last season. His PPG are down from 11. 1 to 6 and even his Rebounding is down. If GM's wanted to take him at his best value 2006 was the best option because even though he stepped out of bounds more then any normal player would. His request that he plays 35 minutes per game is extremely laughable. In all honesty if he went to Miami even in the struggling state the're in does he honestly think he'll play that much He's a nice 8th 9th option off the bench but thats it. His career has peaked but he is a solid backup who can knock the 3-ball from the corners, hustle for some boards. All in all if the rumours prove true Pietrus could become a member of the Miami Heat.

Links

Miami Herald Warriors and Heat talking about Smush

Contra Costa Pietrus becomes tradeable tommorow You have to register

Golden State of Mind Pietrus Wants to play in Miami

Chicago Tribune Miami are interested in Pietrus

Golden State V Houston preview

Versus

With this possibly being the last post before I head off on holidays I would like to wish everyone a happy new year. Hopefully 2008 will be as succesful as 2007 was for Warrior fans. Arguably this is one heck of a time to be a dubs fans a time where we can forget about Cohan screwing up the team for now and anticipate some good ball being played. The game against Houston shall provide an indicator of how well we're good on the road against mediocre teams. Yes the once playoff chokers Rockets are virtually the definition of medicore as they've started out 15-15 and one finds hard to believe that with a Yao-T-mac combo and a dangerous 3 point shooter in Shane Battier they've started this way. Funny thing is across the Internet there are kinds of reports suggesting T-Mac can't play because of a sore Left Knee. Even if he doesn't play there's still Luther Head and Bonzi Wells to worry about as well as Houston's 2-0 record without him. The problem with McGrady is he dominate his team's tempo too much which isn't a good thing for Houston

For golden State looking forward to seeing Al against Yao. Part of the reason Golden State won so easily last time they played was Harrington fronting Yao on every poccession and making it difficult for him to set his tempo leaving it up to MCgrady to do the rest. They also ran the Rockets out of the building. I don't think they can do the same tonight but either way happy new year to all the readers of this blog.

Happy new year everyone

Perdictions:
jackson does a good job of T-Mac if he plays
Al limits Yao to 15 points
Biedrins goes for 16 and 12
Davis falls 4 assists shy of a Triple double
Warriors by 6

Golden State: 105 Denver:95

Boxscore

Against a Nuggets team two important statements were made last night. Golden State can seriously play Defense when they want too and Nelson unlike previous times stuck to the bench something whih has been the main critiuque for Warriors fans. Not only did both come off pretty well they also won a statement game in Denver. Only 31 games in but already the Warriors are winning road games that would have been automatic losses last season and ended the 4 year year streak without a victory in Mile High City. Good times

Not only were the Warriors actually defensively content tonight they stuck to the game plan which was disrupt Iverson's flow as much as possible so he wouldn't get into the lane . It was in complete contrast to what happenned on Friday where Jackson struggled to stop his 39 points. Of course it helped A.I was a little tired from Fridays heroics but you can only beat whats in front of you. Don't let Anthony's 26 pointd fool you for long stretches the Warriors served up some defensive intensity missed from a lot of games this season. It was also nice to see the 4th struggles were gone.



I also liked to see how much of a positive slant Nelson had of our bench. Far too often this year he's ignored them even when a 25 point lead is achieved see the Cleveland game. He stuck with them tonight even when players like Kelenna or Pietrus didn't exactly justify his faith. Azbuike hasn't exactly set the world on fire his last few games and tonight was passive in taking a shot. Maybe the early J-Rich comparasions are getitng to him?. Barnes as well had a few turnovers but either way with a road game the next night in houston Nelson finally saw it the right way. You can't play your starters every night. The one person who fully justified maybe a cause for a little more PT is Harrington. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we traded him but if Al comes up with 18 points in 19 minutes every night and fully provides the offensive spark then the trade talk will minimize. Tonight when we guards Yao I fully expect it to stay the same.

Swarming Defense works every time

The roll honour of players that deserve credit for last nights W is big. Biedrins for starters becuase going up arguably the toughest Rebounder and shot blocker he had 14 rebounds in 24 minutes. This going up against Camby who cleans the glass at will most nights. He also played some great Defense stopping any scoring threat the Nuggets thought they had. Of course as always our main scoring threat Baron came through with 28 and once he realised he couldn't hit from beyond the arc 2-8 he started driving a lot more. The foul Calls were limited but having said that his drives caused offensive Rebounding by Andris or Harrington. That can only be a plus. Jackson was hot tonight as well thanks to the rest of the team following the main offensive mantra give it to the player who's hot. During the 3rd period when the offense becamse sloppy he still made his shots and even when the buckets started drying down he got the teamates involved. It's the most fun watching S-Jax when he's like that.


The players of course know Houston is around the corner which was a big reason why the bench got so much PT but two good performances against the Nuggets show a lot of the lackluster away performances have been forgotten about. Can they replicate it. The next few days will reveal

Golden State v Denver preview

Versus

What a 2007 it's been. Hard to believe in a year full of action so many amazing stuff went down the DunMuprhy trade, the Warriors ending the streak and causing the greatest playoff upset of all time and with all the TV coverage and merchandise sales received there is every indication this is some gold period for Warriors Basketball. Ok thi isn't tecnhically the last game of 2007 thats tommorow night in Houston but for all Warrior fans accross the world this has been a memorable year. They have much more athletic players now, have one of the best PG in the game in Baron Davis and for once have a coach who knows what he's doing aka Don Nelson. It is not an exaggeration to say 2007 will be remembered fondly.

No point discussing the Nuggets that much further as it was done in the previous game Preview but one thing the warriors haven't done often this season is lose twice on the road since 0-6. Are they capable of mantaining this, If they can find a way to stop A.I, somehow limit Camby to a low offensive Rebounding production and do the same to Melo then Golden State has a chance. Either way it's hard to see aW tonight.

Perdictions:
Kleize gets 15
The Warriors shoot 42% from downtown
Camby gets 18 and 14
Nuggets by 10

Troy Hudson's Career done

According to Inside Bay Area it looks like Troy Hudson's career is done. Geoff Lepper reports.

Warriors reserve point guard Troy Hudson told BANG-East Bay on Friday that his injured left hip requires arthroscopic surgery, a move that threatens to bring his first season with Golden State to a premature end.

Hudson said he will undergo surgery shortly after Jan.1 to repair a small tear in the labrum of his left hip. The exact date and choice of surgeon have yet to be finalized because some offices have been closed for the holiday season.

The typical recovery time for such a procedure is three to four months, Hudson said, which would put him on the shelf at least until the first week of April, when only two weeks remain in the NBA's regular season.

Troy beats the Lakers

My thoughts as follows

: What a wasted move. In all honesty even when we signed T-Hud and Croshere I didn't feel both could make any impact whatsoever and right now sadly I've been proven right. Hudson has never looked comfortable being backup at the point and held us back offensively. Still he gave it his best and effortwise you can't fault him he just never was meant to be a backup PG. Best of luck in the future.

: Since his NBA career is more then likely over will he concentrate on his Rap game and the awful 79 sales his album generated?. Perhaps becuause there's no doubt he has skill.

He's got skill

: Right now the next few weeks will test Mullin and Robert Powells skill in the Front Office. The Warriors are comfortably over 500 but they are still one game in front of their arch nemisis the Utah Jazz. This really is a issue that has to be solved whether it's a Luke Ridnour signing or a Ron Artest pickup Golden State don't have depth. If they don't make a move which I'm sure won't happen Golden State won't make the playoffs. Even Utah made a big move yesterday

Update: Has the search for a backup at the point finally come to and end. According to the Miami Herald the Warriors along with the Cavs, Celtics and Rockets would be interested in Smush. Scroll down to potential moves. All I can say is he wouldn't be any sort of upgrade over T-Hud and most Laker fans will tell you just how erratic and much of a woeful Shooter he was. I don't think this story is true one bit because while Mullin has a history of giving out bad contracts even he wouldn't reach the Smush Parker desperation point. Aside from one or two contempt games against the Suns in the Playoffs he's not the ball distributor we would need at backup. I'll pass

Denver: 124 Golden State:120

The battle of two of the best offenses in the League. The battle of two been there forever coaches accompanied by teams full of offensive talent. Sadly it was a battle where the Nuggets proved not only do they have the best two scoring combo in the League it also proved the Warriors have glaring holes should they wish to compete with the Western elite. Still there were slightly positive signs. They shot the ball extremely poorly yet relied on Baron's 4th quarter surge and a monster game from Jackson to make it arguably the game of the year.

Boxscore

Postives
:Davis pretty much shows why he's arguably the best PG playing right now. You wouldn't know he had played 39 minutes such was the 4th quarter surge where once again similar to the Lakers game he attempted a comeback by himself. With the Warriors down 2 20 seconds left his decision to pass on a shot was puzzling but at the same time you have to admire the unselfishness to create a shot for Kelenna who did the very same thing to Jackson who duly missed. Davis has the swagger to step it up in cruch time buu it's becoming clear the young players don't.


Free Throws 78 percent from the line is something I'll take anyday especially with the early struggles. I'm a little bothered we missed 5 which is your ballgame but at the same time signing Moncrief to a 1 year deal has clearly worked.

Biedrins: He faced better against Camby then I expected. Putting up 14 and 12 there were times when he didn't look entirely out of depth. I've said it before but I don't expect Beans to join the Western Conference elite of big men ala Duncan and Boozer but considering the list of horrendous Centers the warriors have had before him Fuller, Dampier, Cliff Robinson, Dale Davis Biedrins it's a breath of fresh air. Yes Camby had his 15 and 16 game but at times Camby's agressivness combined with his defensive prowess is exactly why he's reigning Defensive player of the year.

Offensive Rebounding and Turnovers Getting 19 offensive rebounds kept us in the game. We may have lost the battle of the boards 53-41 but thats ok especially with brutes like Nene, Camby etc to take care of the boards. On a unrelated note nice to see the Turnover stat low as well the Warriors took good care of the Basketball no travelling, charges or passes out of bounds or even stepping out of bounds.

Jackson: He shot a horrendous 9-27 but at the same time had 32 points. Yes he had a stinker but I can forgive him because it's common nature for every player eventually to have a bad shooting night. His Defense on Melo was ok but then again the Nuggets have bad matchup problems in every position much like the Jazz.

A.I is clutch



Negatives
Taken Advantage When Melo earned his 5th foul I thought the Warriors would pound it inside and try to get him fouled out and more then likely win it in OT. No such luck even though Denver was in the bonus.

Shooting It was painful to watch. Don't let the 120 points fool you this was an embarassing shooting display. They shot better then the Nuggets from downtown 38.9% compared to 29.4%. A lot of the 3's were forced as well which in a close game like this better options are neccessary.

No Mbenga Even though he's incredibly limited in his offensive skills not seeing Mbenga was strange. He has the physical game to compete with Camby but sadly for this game he was left warming the bench.

Defense: Only a solid defensive team like the Spurs have the talent to take out Melo and Iverson. The Warriors to put it mildly don't. Assigning Davis and Jackson to guard Iverson and Anthony one and one was a cardinal sin because they'll blow by you every time unless you have a player named Bowen on your team. Surely Nelson could have installed double teams, trapping etc.

Nuggets themselvesSooner or later I have a feeling the Nuggets role players will blow up over the lack of support form Iverson. The simple matter is even though Denver is a joy to watch it can't be fun watching Iverson and Anthony score every night whilst you stand around and watch him do it. Every now and then Camby pops up and collects an offensive rebound but thats it. The superstar combo are excellent one and one players but that doesn't utlilize their talent one bit. It's easy to see why they've been the vicitim of countless 1st round playoff exits. Don't get me wrong the Nuggets are a fun team to watch but based on the selfish attitude of A.I and Melo they won't go far

Swarming Defense: Every time Monta, Baron or S-Jax drove in the lane the Nuggets had 3 extra players to deny anything like Melo, Camby, Nene, Kleize etc. Penetration was made difficult.

Monta and al Had an off night going 5-16 but seemd under pressure and no focus the entire game. Jackson seemed to believe the entire game that he must take a higher perentage of shots with Monta struggling. Al also struggled to provide any spark off the bench not knocking down much.



Tonight was a depressing back to reality check for the Warriors. All the areas that we knew they were deficent in minus the Rebounding were once again exposed. If Nelson doesn't make any changes before the Nuggets part 2 then not only won't it be a close game it will be a blowout

Golden State v Denver Nuggets preview

Versus



Tonight is a test. After almost blowing a 28 point against the worst team in the League what better way for the Warriors to relieve the memory and face one of the Western Conference elite in the Denver Nuggets. Over the next few days it's time to find out whether the Warriors stack up well with the Western elite and what better way to start then against the denver Nuggets. Right now when you think of the Nuggets you think of a lot of things. There's the superstar combo of Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, the intimidating shot blocking of Marcus Camby and the strategic coaching of George Karl a former Warriors coach. Everything points to a Nuggets W I'm afraid. Last season they took 3 out of 4 mainly because the Warriors still haven't figured out a way to box out Camby. When you think about it the Nuggets should be much better then their 17-11 record but for some reason haven't gelled yet. Here are the key matchups tonight.

Expect a busy night for the scorekeeper. Both two teams are the highest scoring in the League but really the only difference is the scoring is done in different ways. The Nuggets superstars both Carmelo Anthony(25.5 ppg) and Allen Iverson(26.3) combine for most of the teams points while in contrast the Warriors have a much more equal offense. Maybe this is the reason to my earlier question above. With the Nuggets twice, Houston (13-15), Dallas (19-11), New Orleans (18-10), San Antonio (20-7), and then Portland (16-12 4-3 would be nicely accepted.

The one thing I think the warriors have a slight advantge off is the 3 point shooting. The Nuggets don't have any right now JR Smith and Kleiza being their only. Yes the matchup problems are significant enough for Denver to prevail but if they miss their early shots who knows. Seeing Iverson on Davis will be a pain in the butt though because A.I is one of the quickest players in the League and Baron would get fatigued fighting through all those screens. Monta could try but it would be a tall task.

A coach's return to the bay area

Defensively I'm also interested to see what goes on. The Nuggets take more of a gamble on steals something they cn afford with Camby as Center. It's only a matter of time when Marcus gets named Defensive player of the year again because of his impressive .6 blocks per game and 14 boards. One wonders how Denver manage to give up 102.9PPG such is the brutalness of Camby inside. Should be a busy night for the scorekeeper.

Perdictions:
Camby has 20 boards
Both teams combine for 245 points
Davis has a monster game
Warriors by 4

Golden State:105 Minnesota:101

The NBA season is notorious for teams suffering up and downs. Tonights opponents have suffered more downs then ups but because after the Warriors obtained a 50-28 lead and their minds racing towards the next game against Houston Minnesota proved that even the worst team in the Leage can make a game out of it because of all the dribble penetration by the Warriors Guards. This game wasn't pretty and in terms of good wins it's pretty likely to be low down the list. With the next stretch coming up against playoff teams it'ts time to find out are the Warriors pretenders or contenders.

Boxscore

The fears after tonight were legit. Once again Nelson displayed utter contempt for his bench giving the starters major minutes feeling that the bench would lose a 20 point lead against the worst in the League with a tough stretch coming up. It's not as stable or as satisfactorily as one could wish for and it remains to be seen whether this can be replicated over the 53 remaining games. Moments of clutch plays in the 4th are often tough to repeat but against teams such as San Antonio,Denver, Houston, Dallas, New Orleans and Portland half of them shoe ins to make the playoffs the Warriors game is on a test right now.


Monta: The narrowness of the score didn't do justice to how Monta played. An interesting stat actually by the SF gate showed that in every game Monta played well last season and averaged 25 points or more in a game his team were 1-6. This year when he gets 30 or more the Warriors are 3-0. Maybe a slight concidence but on the other hand Monta proved he's the go to guy when things aren't going so well. He set a career high but more then that every time he hoisted up from 16 feet, you already knew the ball was going in. Why Davis and Jackson ignored him in the 4th when the game was close was puzzling and it didn't help that once Harrington and Azbuike came off the bench they followed Jacksons lead. Only when Monta was given the chance did he step it up. He's not the most vocal player on the team so it's up to Davis and Jackson to realise when to step aside.

Jefferson In the 1st half Jwfferson could be forgiven for thinking that people like Biedrins and Mbenga were creating a lot of mismatches. On a night where he really was Minnesota's consistent scoring threat the 1st half was a positive sign of how to stop one of the boraderline All Stars. However oce Nelson expressed his desire for more scoring Jefferson becamse unstoppaable and Minnesota cut it to 2 with a minute left before Monta was clutch. Jefferson had 19 rebounds and had craig Smith done a little better then 8 points and Antoine walker had not shot 3-13 who knows how this game would have gone. The inability of the big men like Jackson or Kelenna to go to the Basket when a rebound counted the most was the scariest part.

DNP: It really does merit it's own point Patrick O'Bryant, Brandan Wright, Marco Belinelli, Austin Croshere (injured), Troy Hudson (injured), Kosta Perovic (DLeague). The offseason it's sad to say was a major waste of time. I would be in favour of making a move for Ron Artest becuase of the toughness and hard nosed Offensive game he brings to the frontcourt. Earl Boykins despite his size and awful D would be nice to see because of the quickness but right now it's up to Mullin and Powell to look at themselves and question whether Golden State want to be along the Western Conference elite.

Standings: Stepping away from the negatives for a minute if the playoffs started tommorow the Warriors would be 7th and every Basketball fan would have the Suns-Warriors series to look forward too. After an 0-6 start what more can you ask for?




Minnesota Their future doesn't look so bleak especially when they seemingly have players off the bench who average 15 points Miko Jaric, Rashad McCants, etc. The main problem they suffer from is they don't have a go to guy in the final minutes obvious by the 100-96 deficit when they committed a shot clock violation. You can tell this is a young team and if McHale makes a few trades not in Bostons favour who knows. Minnesota's bench had 43 points while in contrast maybe one of the reasons B-Diddy and Jackson got so much PT was off the bench Barnes, Kelenna and Pietrus combined for only 7 points. The slow tempo caused by the T-Wolves and the lack of adjustment also was a worry.

Shooting and wrap up: A lot of 3's were missed tonight as expected 8-31 is slightly embarrassing however you disguise it. Granted it was obvious the starters got distracted but had it not been for the 80% Free throws this would be embarassing. They were outrebounded which is to be expected. On the other Defensively the number of swats Baron Davis (3), Monta Ellis (1), Al Harrington (1), Andris Biedrins (3), Kelenna Azubuike (1), and DJ Mbenga (1) and Steals Davis (2), Ellis (2), Harrington (2), Stephen Jackson (2), Matt Barnes (2), and Azubuike (1) were a major plus point


Felt the same way

Overall tonight was a night where there wasn't much to get excited about. The Warriors played sloppy, were unable to adjust to the slow tempo Minnesota created and missed a ton of shots. Perhaps it's the sense of expectation that during the drought the Warriors couldn't beat these teams yet during Nelsons coaching regime they should beat them comfortably. The level of expectation has gone up significantly since May and the Playoffs and seeing these type of performances don't help. Should the Warriors win 4 of the next 7 they are in the playoffs but 3 of the next 7 would go down very well. Either way this will provide a good test as to whether Golden State is a playoff caliber team or not and can they adjust unlike last night to the slow tempo that San Antonio and Houston favour

Golden State V Minnesota Preview

Versus



So this is how the T-wolves look without KG. It's pretty scary but as I'll say it again it stuns me the NBA Commish didn't persue an investigation into the dealings of Garnett to Boston. As we all know and even the most diehard Celtics fan would admit Kevin Mchale's roots with the Celtics led him to give away his prized Superstar. Boston are 22-3 the T-Wolves are 4- 22 almost a role reversal. Minnesota aren't that of a team most of their games haven't been decided until the final minutes and gave the Warriors an actual scare leading by 8 at the half before losing 111-98. As their young roster shows the main problem is they don't have a go to guy in the final minutes to decide the game. As long as there bad however the Warriors have one less team to worry about in this ultra competive conference. Here's a look at their young roster.

White people can't jump nor dance




Al Jefferson: He was one of the very few bright spots of the K.G trade but I can't wait to see how he plays tonight. Averaging 20 PPG he has the chance to become involved deeply in All Star Weekend at this rate. His 5 years $55 million contract would put most teams off in a heartbeat but unlike most players he justifies the price talk.

Craig Smith: A high energy hustle guy who lives off ardenaline if the T-Wolves are to actually put up an unlikely W he's the threat.

Corey Brewer Has the potential to become the new Teyshaun Prince but like Prince in his rookie years his game is still raw. A wait and see here.

Antoine Walker His constant throwing up of 3's is one of the reasons why the T-Wolves are 4-22. Seriously I always knew his offensive limitations had a big gap but why the T-Wolves are giving him any PT with the youngsters they have on the team is just a strange coaching decision by Randy Wittman

Sebastian Telfair He's producing unlike his spells in Portland or Boston. Much like his cousing after he was traded to New York from Phoenix the Garnett trade has revived Terlfairs game. A family thing?

Apart from all the young talent Antoine Walker the exception the Warriors should win tonight. Yes there could be little traps such as Minny coming off a 131-119 win over Dunmuprhy's pacers and having that extra little confidence but the Warriors came off a nice victory in Cleveland so that cancels out. This is probably my 5th time saying it but hopefully after the ridiculous PT Davis and Jackson got in Cleveland it's rookie time for Marco and Brandon Wright tonight. I mena the only way Minny can put up the W tonight is like the New Jersey game Warriors come out flat and overconfident and miss a lot of shots or Al Jefferson goes 20-20. If the Warriors can stop Jefferson and Smith from putting up big games the W is there. Note the if but I can't see them losing theis game Other then that in my new state of overconfidence the Warriors to put up the W esential when you have the Nuggets back to back, Houston and Dallas all coming up. ~One last thing if the Warriors win do we have to listen to former Stanford alum Mark Madsen and his victory speech. because thats the only more painful expereince after possibly putting up an L



Perdictions:
Marco gets 6 points
Baron plays 30 minutes
Warriors knock down 7 3's
B-Wright and POB get 15 minutes of PT
Warriors by 20

Merry Christmas from Irish Warriors

Merry Christmas to all the loyal readers and people who have left comments on this blog. For an early present to those on the west Coast seasons greetings from FSN Bay Area.



I remember the excitement of having to rush down the stairs and opening up what would be a Jason Richardson jersey or NBA Live 2004 (it was worth getting back then) but now my Christmas present will be a trip to LA where at least the Weather will be a lot warmer then here. This blog will be on standby for a few days so my aplogies. Sadly Ireland hasn't got what Bing cosby wanted instead it's raining but you get the drift. The all time best Christmas day song.

Scott Skiles Fired as Bulls coach

This is a piece of unrelated Warriors news but Scott skiles the Bulls coach was fired today afer the Bulls dissapointing start of 9-16. To be honest even with a list of underachieving teams such as the Rockets or Jazz the Bulls always struck me as being the biggest underachievers this year. With a roster containing the likes of Luol Deng, Ben Gordn, Kirk Heinrich and Ben Wallace the Bulls should be at least better thein their record suggests. However it stinks off a stone cold move especially considering the day it was made. Yes Skiles lost the team towards the end of his coaching regime and earned a lot of crtisicm for his millitant style but on the other hand john Paxson deserves the blame here too. Last Summer he was unable to attract many of the stars to Chicago kobe Bryant, Garnett, Jermaine O Neal, Gasol but didn't persue it hard enough. The Ben Wallace deal and giving away Tyson Chandler has backfired massively because most Detroit fans will tell you two years ago in the ECF he was the most offensively limited player in the League. . His trade of Lemarcus Aldridge to the Blazers for Tryus Thomas even makes the selection of POB look good!.


But most of it was Skikes fault. He installed a hardworking style in the Windy city but he never turned the Bulls from good to great that most knew they were capable off. It's all very good sweaping the Miami Heat in 4 but against the Pistons the weaknesses were laid out for all to see despite a spirited fightback.Poor defense, lackluster offense, lack of desire, and Skiles rotations were horrible. Another case in point was a game in New Jersey last year where the Bulls could have locked up the no 2 seed he played a six man rotation the entire second half. When the Bulls started 2-8 it became clear that the 3 hour practices Skiles ran after a loss were taking it's toll. For Bulls fans the next few months will feel like those sluggish practices

Golden State:105 Cleveland:96 Nice early Gift

Wins don't often come as pleasing as this but after the early christmas gift in New Jersey it could easily be treated as a sign that the team would drop heads and probably get blown out in their next road game. This would frequently happen during the Brian Winters, Dave Cowens era. However this team is of an entirely different porportion and last night proved just how stellar some victories need to be. The first quarter was some beauty to watch

Boxscore

Shooting The FSN Ohio feed I received was adamant enough to keep saying we live or die by the 3's and tonight was more proof. Except not only did the Warriors make their shots 13 from 17 and 5 3 pointers in the 1st quarter but it consistently happenned throughout the game. Jackson coming off a bad shooting effort in New Jersey to put it frankly was hot. Even after the supossed hyperextended knee he had an extremely hot touch and rather then just shooting the ball he also obviously has attempted to introduce a drive to the basket move. Unlike the Cavs the offense tonight wasn't as one dimensional the Warriors tried to improvise and have an inside game which worked at times.

Coaching Once again this never flat out ceases to amaze me. With a 28 point lead at one stage this surely would have been a more sensible time to introduce the likes of Brandon Wright, Marco etc. Yet once again even with a lead this safe he displayed his contempt for rookies. It makes you wonder just at what stage are these players going to develop their game and eventually will they provide any use to their team?, My guess for the latter is no but it's getting to the stage where eventually no matter how much sugarcoating you can try Davis and Jackson will get burned out.

Last nights win felt as good as having one of these

Al Harrington It's a sign of a good solid role player that after being dominated by Josh Boone they bounce back with hustle and determination. On a night when Jackson concentrated on the offensive end Harrington constantly fought for loose balls and Clevelands frontcourt looked confused as to how do they deal with this. Unlike the limitations on offense so evident in the garbage capital of America Harrington switched his game and proved a havoc for Varrejao or Gooden. His 16 points were inavaluable.

Hughes and the Cavs Unlike Jeff Garcia in a Niners victory I could easily see why so many Cleveland fans prefer Boobie. Hughes was booed throughout the game for his poor shooting 1-8. Then again it wasn't just Hughes who was the problem the Defensive intensity Cleveland poccesses wasn't evident tonight. Also amusing to see the fans booing yes 12-16 is bad but the reality is you won't have many nights where your opponent shoots like that. I still think towards the end more isolation plays should have been called for Lebron because with his size and speed it creates havoc for whoever can guard him.



After a satisfactorily road trip the sechedule doesn't get any easily for the Warriors. Minnesota should be an automatic W baring the tiredness factor from Jackson and Davis. Hopefully a split against the Nuggets would be welcome even though Camby could give them nightmares on the boards. Dallas and Hoston are next up where I can see us losing both even though the Rockets are underachieving dramatically. Then they come on the Oracle and the Hornets and Spurs await where a split would be acceptable before taking on the red hot Portland Traiblazers. Based on a guess I'd say 4-4 would be respectable but they have to take each opponent seriously otherwhise it could be the Nets all over again. Now that I've gone off a mini tangent highlights from last night

Golden State V Cleveland Cavaliers preview

Versus

Just two days before Christmas will the Warriors hand Cleveland an early gift tonight much like what they did in New Jersey. Or much like is a useful trait bounce back and surpise us all. Cleveland have so far reminded me of the Miami Heat of 2007 so caught up in the success and aura of winning an NBA title that medicocity awaited them the next year as their 12-15 record shows. Needless to say however they do contain an NBA Superstar and going by whats happening today former Bay area athletes have a tendency to own their team see Jeff Garcia and his 12-20, 196 yards 1TD performance against the Niners. This means that Larry Hughes could just as easily get out of his shooting performance right now 10.1 PPG and a horrendous 35% from the Field isn't cutting it.

Monta and Baron should exploit the backcourt easily enough obviously Gibson and Pavlovic aren't to the same quality as Kidd as Carter so they should have their share of points. I'm also looking forward to the Eastern European matchup of Beans and Illgauskas even though he gives up 3 inches of height I wouldn't be surprised to see us run more. The 7th and 8th quarters of a back to back are often the most exhausting so for us to stand any chance we whave to get up big when it counts.

This Blog wishes all the loyal readers a happy Christmas and a merry New year.






Hopefully all these Christmas clips will keep you entertained in the time u to the game. Go Warriors Be sure to check out the excellent Fire Mike Brown blog
and how he believes Andre Miller could solve some of the problems Clevelands facing

Perdictions

Gibson hits 6 3's
LeBron falls one assist shy of a triple double
Davis gets 25 and 10
Warriors by 3

Golden State: 95 New Jersey: 100

Josh Boone: A Center that Rebounds and Defends he will present problems but to the same magnitude offensively as Jefferson. Will expect Beans to dominate him

Oh dear how wrong I was the ususal trends of Warrior Killer came along tonight and because of that and various other reasons the Warriors dropped fustratingly winnable game to end a silly streak that no other coach has looked like solving. This loss to the Nets was presented on a plate yet New Jersey got the W because of some great play by kidd and Jefferson. At times I found it hard to believe that this is one of the lowest scoring teams in the league such is the offensive skills they poccess.

Boxscore

Tonight many combinations denied the Warriors their first victory since Rick Adelman the stern Houston coach was in charge. The quietest Arena in the League didn't help and there were times when it became embarrassingly obvious that the Brookyln move has to happen. Here are the game notes.

Jackson Jackson has always had a questionable Basketball IQ but tonight fans got to see how bad it was. Pulling up for a 4 with minutes left showed Warriors fans the hero role could not be part of his culture. He couldn't hit a shot as 5-18 will show and tonight was a case of the more vulnerbale side to his game. I've always championed Jacksons game so I won't prove too hard but tonight showed his limitations despite 21 points.

Boone Boone has some talent but I'll never understand why Harrington matches up so well against Yao yet dissapears against Centers of this calliber. Even so Boone has an intense low post game and he dominated Harrington with 19 points and 8 crucial second half boards. Harrington's refusal to box out combined with 0-6 from the arc were a huge factor. My problem with Harrington right now is his Stupid fouls in this game he actually comitted two within seconds of each other. He's also never been a 4th quarter play much like Pippen Fustration arises.

Depth We have the lowest Depth in the League apart from the Clippers. An injury to Davis (god forbid) or Jackson(ditto) means we're effectively done for the year. The summer signings of hudson and Croshere perfectly illustrate this point. Hudson is done and Croshere has been ineffective so far so it remains to be seen just what magic Mullin or Nelson can conjure up. The Center position is the sore point. Kosta is in the D-League, POB is in the doghouse and Mbenga has shown little potential same with Pietrus so if we really are a playoff contender a dramatic roster upgrade is neccessary. Last year it was the injuries that almost continued the drought this year it's the depth painfully exposed last night







Bench This was a sore point. Much like seeing Air France and his usual worthless contribution over 4 minutes. Barnes and Azbuike never showed any scoring threat hard to accept when Davis goes 6-19 and on a night where most of your starting lineup didn't shoot the ball particulary well. For long stretches when the Nets at one stage were up by 15 none of the bench were a scoring threat not acceptable and a problem. Barnes mishandled the ball in crucnh time but he entered the game at not 100% so he deserves a pass. Kelenna on the other hand always provides the scoring threat off the bench so I was puzzled to see his 7 points. Davis attpempted the same 4th quarter heroics like he did succesfully against the Lakers but that won't hapen every night and tonight Kelenna didn't provide the help sgainst a very beatable team. I also wished I could have seen Mbenga more becuase of they physicality of Jefferson this would have been interesting

There isn't much you can say about a loss. Put it down as one of the road games we should have won but didn't have the contributions to. Yes it's been a hard December schedule and in some ways unfair but tonight Goldden State increasingly showed the vulnerabilities to it's game such as poor shot selction. npn existant Defense against no All Star and a strugle to mantain the fundamentals that every good B-Ball player has in their game. Last night really reenforced the evidence that if the Warriors actually want to be taken seriously by the Western elite this was the type of game that had to be won. To make a Christmas anaolgy it's the equivalent of seeing a shiny new Mercedes in your backyard but then finding a Lump of coal in your Stocking.

Golden State Warriors V New Jersey preview

Versus


If there's a time to break a streak then this really is the best time to end it. Since Feb 28 1997 dating back to the Sprewell, Mullin and Joe Smith days the Warriors have not won a game in New Jersey. In fact before Monta's buzzerbeater it's a gurantee they would have lost 9 straight to the Nets. Tonight they have their best opportunity against a ailing Nets team who are at best underachieving massivly with a record of 11-15 . Losing twice in one week against the Knicks was inexcusable but whats really damaging them is the lack of heart shown by Carter. Here's a Guard who has the chance to revive the once nasty looking combo of Carter and Kidd but right now he appears uninterested. Kidd is still a top 5 PG but just not in the top 3 anymore.

The Nets have a young roster Kidd the exception and even with their dissapointing start still have potential to do well in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Here's rundown.
:Kidd Easily in the top 5 point guards his play has been slightly dimished by the rumours over the Lakers trade but it will be fasinating to see how he'll get on against Boom Dizzle tonight. On the other hand his age and bad back are clearly slowing him down.

:Vince Carter I could easily repeat his lack of passion but it already is becoming clear this isn't the same Carter many fans saw in his Raptor days. Despite the problems Vinsanity has the height advantage over Monta means he could cause more then enough problems tonight.

Richard Jefferson: Is an All Star to put it frankly. Putting up unbelievabkle numbers he's killing the myth that the Nets frontcourt is weak. He's 3rd in the NBA scoring wise and gets to the three throw line a lot. I bet Kelenna, Jackson or whoever will take him can't wait.

Sean Williams: Very surprised teams passed on Sean williams in the draft a few years ago. This year he's proven to be a good Shot blocker and is a more athletic, taller Kenyon Martin. Had a 11 boards, 8 blocks game the other night and is proving to be a steal.

Josh Boone A Center that Rebounds and Defends he will present problems but to the same magnitude offensively as Jefferson. Will expect Beans to dominate him.

Don't complain you were the last coach to lead us to victory here

So why do the Warriors struggle in a city famous for the Sopranno's. I don't know but tonight is a must win because facing Lebron on a back to back would be hard enough. Set the twmpo early, clean the glass as they should and hopefully Harringotn outplays Jefferson and the Warriors will have a more then repectable record on this road trip.

These pillars put you off for good.

Perdictions
Monta drops 20
Kidd has 14 dimes
Jackson gets 30
Beans gets a doube doulbe
Warriors by 9

Who should be the next backup PG?

Well with Troy hudson finished the position most fans know we're vulnerable at still needs to be solved. There is a whole list of Point Guards out there that can give serivicable time when Baron Davis is out. My list is as follows.

Gary Payton


The only reason I can see him coming to Oakland is he's from there but either way this would be a disasterous singing. I can't imagine a 39 year old trying to play at Nelsons high pace day in day out. Yes his nickname the Glove often fitted him perfectly with his tight Defense and constant trash talk but his performances over the last few years have declined steadily and right now I can't imagine him being a effective upgrade over Hudson. To use an anology it would be the equivalent of picking up Magic old and out of shape. GP now that he's got his ring just retire gracefully.


Earl Boykins


Yes the picture don't lie Boykins was a former Warrior playing in the Musselman era but the money he wants is nothing near to what the Warriors should be paying him $4 million. Because of his limited height he can't play Defense to save his life and he really is the worlds smallest SG one of the reasons he's bounced around from the Nuggets to the Bucks. His tendency to shoot a lot fits perfectly on the Warriors and he is a good shooter but the Salary and the Lack of D is a no.

Jay Williams


This really would be a gamble. After the infamous motorcycle accident Williams hasn't played in the League and I cnan't see Mullin even pursuing this kid. He might have been a solid player before the incident but if he was worthy of the spot surely teams would be taking a closer look. He seems to suffer from the Duke curse of players not doing well in the NBA see Bobby Hurley,Christian Laettner, Trajan Langdon or Danny Ferry. A no here as well


John Lucas


Of all the moves on the list this would be the more likely. He can't shoot the ball as well as Boykins but he fits the role perfectly because he's more of a distributor something which this role requires. He's quick, gets to the Basket easily and basically has all the offensive attributes for Nellieball. However like the PG's I listed he dissapears for long stretches and like Boykins although not to the same extent is undersized which is a problem when facing the top tier of PG's in the West.

There's not really anyone on the Free agency list that sticks out. Should the Warriors decide to trade here are 3 options I think would make the most sense.

Steve Blake



It's unlikely the Jailblazers would want to give anything up especially now that they've won 10 straight but Blake is the consumate pro, has the experience and fits perfectly into the sysstem. He can shoot and is a leader. However would Portland give him up. Pretty unlikely.


Carlos Arroyo


Just look at the Magic's Guard and it's obvious they don't need him. Much like Blake he fits the role in that even with a 4 million contract unlike Boykins he's worth it. He's a great passer and basically of all the trades made this is the one maybe the Warriors should look at.


Jannero Pargo



You know you've earned even the slighest bit of recognition in this League when Phil Jackson in his excellent book The last season a team in search of it's soul claimed it was a mistake putting Pargo on wavers because he had the footspeed unlike Payton to contain Parker in the 0.4 series. Pargo even with the Hornets pursuing a playoff spot is someone I like. His footspead, Cheap Contract 2 million with a players option 2M next season and clutuch outside shooting are good intangibles in a Guard. This would be the trade I'd like.

Now that I've gone through the Free agents and trades that make sense why not try the Guards that don't. There are at least one I can think off.

Smush Parker


Avoid like the plague. He has the most questionable attitude out of all the Guards I listed see the Miami car valet incident or on the Lakers bench last season where in a game against Seattle he had a outburst with Phil Jackson over his limited PT even though surely his bad shooting, inconsitency, bad Free Throw Shooting and an ego the size of a whale it might be best to ignore.

Of all the options I think Mullin will wait and see. He has a tendency to do the unexpected and do what no one else would have thought see the Richardson trade or the DunMuprhy ones or even hire Don Nelson. The most likely scenario is when it's decided the likely Guard will come from out of the blue

Golden State: 111 Minnesota:98

It wasn't pretty. Down 14 to the worst team in the League at one stage and down 8 at the half it's an extremely good thing the Warriors turned on their A game to avoid an embarrassing defeat. The tean never pannicked in the second half and used all of Nelsons coaching skill to gain a big win

Boxscore

To use a Soccer anology it was a tale of two halves. The Warriors were listless and inefficent in the 1st half before in the 2nd half they focussed more on Defense as the 37-17 advantage will tell you. Seriously the inability to stay man to man was a major worry and even when they went to a 2-3 zone Minnesota were still making their shots. Gerald Green has star potential written on him but even I didn't expect him to constantly knock down jumpers. Just to show how steady their offense was functioning they only had two turnovers. Telfair and Mccants really took care of the rock plus craig Smith and Al Jefferson were really doing their thing in the post.

Then in the 3rd quarter things changed. Not only did the Warriors tally up 37 points but their Defense won them the game. I thought Monta did a super job on Telfair fronting him on every poccession and taking two charges. He also made most of his shots with his vertical leap high enough that the Defender can't do much about it. Against a opponenet as quick as Telfair there was the concern he's struggle but Monta's concentration on D is better. His elbow from Jefferson was a sacry moment but at that point his scoring proved to even the sceptical that he's ready to join the next T-Mac's or Kobe's.

Biedrins: Yeah 8 points and 15 boards are pretty impressive considering they were up against Jefferson and Smith. He's becoming a valuable decoy of this team. Think about it in the last game against Memphis which have far lighter post players he was given minimal minutes but last night against Jefferson. Al wasn't dhut down 24 and 14 is all star calliber and he is strong and leusive all the goof qualities of a Forward. However Craig Smith who I anticpated having a big game finished with 8. Smith was the bruiser beans had to watch out for but tonight he underachieved so that threat was gone.

Kelenna: Never mind his boxscore stats often the mistake made by people who didn't see the game is to analyse his contribution is to just do that look at the boxscore. Tonight he had 7 points but his instant role in providing scoring off the bench is one of the many crucial roles we lacked in last seasons Western Conferennce semi Finals. His ability to hit the clutch shot is understated by many teams. Minnesota tried to make a game of it in the 4th but Kelenna provided the clutchness to ensure a 2-1 road trip so far. He's now 7th in the depth chart




Baron: He played 42 minutes too long and eventually it;s starting to show how tired he's becoming. He finished up with a tidy 18 points but as the coaches will point out it was neccessary for him to play so long in order to win the game. There's gonna be a lot of pressure from Mullin to find a backup PG over the next few days becuase Davis won't practice before the Nets game. Because at the moment with Hudson out Marco certainly didn't have any production in him so with no Guards running the point Mullin better hurry to find a backup one.

Al Harrington: Have to give him most of the credit. He did most of the scoring in the 3rd and it's safe to say carried the team offensively. He had 14 points in the 3rd looking every inch the low post threat Warrior fans desired of him.knocked down a couple three's, took the ball to the hole, and got his post up game on. Without him I very much doubt this game would have been won

The last point I want to make is the one problem with the 2007-2008 Golden State Warriors is their inability to close out games perfectly. The 4th quarter after the stunning 3rd was bad to watch because like the Grizzlies game Minnesota were let back in it difference being Memphis knocked down more then half the shots that the Timberwolves had. Unlike San Antonio or Boston (both lost last night) their ability to have a good quarter followed by bad is unnacceptable. It's hapenning too often so hopefully the heart and energy which led us back from a 0-6 start will solve this

Golden State V Minnesota preview

Versus



Tonight the warriors face off against the worst team in the League the Minnesota Timberwolves colder then the weather itself. It's hard to believe that Minnesota are 3 years removed from a Western Conference Finals appearance to now being in the doldrums at the bottom of the League thanks to the genorosity of Kevin Mchale and the Garnett trade. It's obvious just how much of a turnning point that was in Minnesota's decline a former teamamte helping the rise of the Boston Celtic's. Unsurprisingly the records are comppletely different Boston lies on top of the Eastern conference 20-2 whilst Minnesota lies bottom of the West at 3-20. With the young talent they acquired in the trade however there's more then enough reason to actually believe Minnesota starts winning. Al Jefferson is a borderline all star, Sebastian Telfair unlike his Portland and Boston days is actually producing, Corey Brewer who ha picked up the pace etc. If it wasn't for Kevin Mchale an his fellow alleagiance to the Bosotn Celtics there is every chance the Twolves could have stolen the limelight away from the Minnesota Vikings. As it is we'll never know.

Could the 06 team beat this years Minny team though?



The one to watch out for tonight is Craig Smith. Even with a young lineup he's stepped into Garnetts shoes perfectly and posted up two 30 point games in the month of December alone. Yes you read that correctly. He reminds me of a Mike Miller, Jason Maxwell or Paul Millsap all who have the potential to easily destroy our Frontcourt. Having said that I'll give the team props because in a recent article it showed our team Reebounding has collectively picked up so credit to whatever Keith Smart or indeed Nelson is teaching them

Not a whole lot I can really say about tonight apart from it would be stupid if Golden State didn't come out of the twin cities with a 2-1 road trip record. Unlike some games last season the one postive note is that Golden State are beating mediocre teams unlike last season. It's not often when I feel overconfident before a game but in this case I do.

Just to add to my positive post it;s been announced that our backup PG Troy Hudson could possibly be needing a replacment Hip effectively ending his career. Troy has been so ineffective in most games for the warriors that most fans will be glad to see his back. With a free agency pool of Earl Boykins, Gary Payton, Keyon Dooling & Chris Duhon over the next few weeks the Warriors really need to make a move otherwhise it could spell doomsday for Baron.

Perdictions:
Craig Smith to have 20 and 10
POB plays just 5 minutes
Baron lands just short of a triple double
We shoot 57% from downtown
Warriors by 9

All Star Game Voting

For those of you who are remotely interested in how the All Star voting itself is going here is the latest. From a Warrior point of view it couldn't be more laughable but really the sad measure is by letting the fans vote the NBA has created a ludricous situation of allowing an awful Center and a average SG make it on the ballot ahead of better players. Hopefully the NBA can learn from this because the NFL has made the exact same mistake.

Forwards Carmelo Anthony (Den) 482,127; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 443,117; Tim Duncan (SA) 423,608; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 175,248; Shawn Marion (Pho) 154,641; Josh Howard (Dal) 146,909; Kevin Durant (Sea) 113,314; Luis Scola (Hou) 101,981; Shane Battier (Hou) 95,757; Grant Hill (Pho) 83,544.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 569,302; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 388,959; Steve Nash (Pho) 317,091; Allen Iverson (Den) 292,565; Manu Ginobili (SA) 141,891; Jason Terry (Dal) 121,397; Tony Parker (SA) 117,881; Chris Paul (NO) 110,688; Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 103,307; Baron Davis (GS) 100,422.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 439,125; Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 286,401; Erick Dampier (Dal) 101,878; Marcus Camby (Den) 94,473; Pau Gasol (Mem) 73,461; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 51,017; Chris Kaman (LAC) 40,256; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 35,601; Tyson Chandler (NO) 32,595; Andris Biedrins (GS) 29,026.

The Golden State Warriors invariably didn't fare so well which is puzzling. The most exciting team in the League a team that is trying at heart to reshape the image of boring defensive Basketball has fared dead last in both the guards and Center category.And yet I couldn't care less. Even with the exciting hang tight Basketball that Nelson brings having a Warrior at the All Star Game means just the inevitable hype that surronds the event. After this exhibition game Golden State faces Utah. I know rather then play in a silly event I would rather have Baron Davis study film on what exactly are Deron Williams best moves or Biedrins and how to defend Boozer. Clearly people in Dallas don't agree as the voting for Erick Dampier or jerry Stackhouse indicates. Clearly the competive nature in Dallas is different to the Bay Area but I know for sure most Warrior fans would preserve the memories of game 6 against Dallas and Jackson hitting from everywhere rather then seeing our first All Star Game representative since Latwrell Sprewell. It's just the different nature of the bay area and it's something I've come to respect.

I mean lets get something straight. The All Star Game itself is manufactured hype where fans just come for the 360 Dunks and Kobe's of the world. It's an event that is a 153-113 game a scorefest not that I'm complaining being a Golden State fan you get used to these. It's also a game that when you think about it has generated very little excitment the 1992 All Star game the exception. These reasons combined with the meaningless events that perclude the event before hand the slam dunk contest 3 point shooting etc make me glad the rest of America and overseas viewers do not see the beauty of the Golden State Warriors