A 9 game winning streak helped by a Guard playing at an elite leve. Didn't matter. The warriors dismantling of the Hornets last night proved that for one night they can play up to a good teams standard and eventually play better. Chris Paul,David West and Tyson Chandler all had big games but down the stretch Golden State just made bigger plays no mean feat when two MVP Guards, two upcoming players Monta and West and two defensive minded Centers going at it.
There were times where I can see once again why I said the signing of Chris Webber makes sense. West despite the Warriors playing team oriented Defense still went off for 23 pts, 14 rbs, and 5 blocks. There were times when it looked too easy for him but I gurantee that a post knee surgery Webber would have defended West better then most of the Warriors tonight. Despite West having a near career night Tyson Chandler was contained in contrast to the last meeting in Oakland where him and Paul really streched our Defense throwing Alley opps galore. This time everytime Chandler went up for an offensive Rebound four Warriors converged and got the all important Board was grabbed.
Much more impressive though was Biedrins. He didn't play spectacular in Houston but his productivness tonight was scarry. Despite not playing frequently he more then played good Defense on Jannero Pargo and Chris Paul and made some big Defensive stops when required. The last few games Biedrins has looked much hungrier working harder for second chance opportunities on the offensive glass. Perhaps he feels the Webber signing could cut into his minutes.
Not just defensively but offensively did this team excel. No shots were forced, No players drove into the lane only to have their shot needlessy blocked which seemed to happen all too frequently in Houston. Baron ignored taking on Paul one by one realizing he's an excellent defender. More or less the offense was clam a rare sight when one winesses Nellieball. What the team did so well was look up the court for easy Baskets and finally, by consistently attacking the rim, the team spaced the court to find open, in-rhythm three pointers. What impressed me the most was seeing this team push the tempo increasingly with getting easy baskets thanks to Monta’s speed and the dead-eye passing of Davis, Barnes, and Jackson. Webber's addition will hopefully improve things even more.
Davis ignored the boobirds see the Hornets trade and put up a MVP performance hitting crucial 3's including one before halftime which streched the lead to four points, Monta dropped 16 point, 9 board, 7 assist performance and most people didn't know it he's playing that well, Barnes after his Houston disaster made a nice few easy baskets, Jackson and Harrington got out of their shooting slumps but rather then praise Captain Jacks 26 points his defense on Chandler and West were what all great Captains do.
Once again though despite this big win the Warriors have to build on it and what better way to do it then with a realtively soft February schedule. Next up is J-Rich's return. Suffice to say the only soft part of that night will be the emotions
And no it has nothing to do wih Baron. The rookie Sophmore rosters for the 2008 All Star Game were announced and unlike last year with Monta Ellis going it seems there has been injustice with kelenna Azbuike missing out.
Rookie Team roster
Player Team Position Mike Conley- Memphis G Kevin Durrant Seattle G Jeff green Seattle F Al Horford Atlanta F Jamario moon Toronto G-F Juan Carlos Navarro Memphis G Luis Scola Houston F-C Sean Williams New Jersey F-C Yi Jinlan Milwaukee F Head Coach TBD Assistant Coach: TBD
Sophomore Team roster
Player Team Position LaMarcus Aldridge Portland F-C Andrea Bargnani Torronto F Ronnie Brewer Utah G-F Jordan Farmar LA lakers G Rudy Gay Memphis G Daniel Gibson Cleveland G Paul Millsap Utah F Rajon Rondo Boston G Brandon Roy Portland G Head Coach: TBD Assistant Coach: TBD
Seeing Andrea Bargnani on the Sophmore roster ahead of Kelenna is a source of ammusment for me. Can't complain anyone else on the roster but needless to say the only thing Andre is half decent at is shooting 3's
The Warriors unfortunately found out tonight that one bad quarter against a solid playoff contending team such as the Rockets and you're pretty much in trouble. Because of this the Warriors 4 game winning streak against the Rockets was ended despite Houston being without T-Mac. Throw all in these combos and Yao dominating Al and it's a bad loss.
To be honest the Rockets dominated every facet of this game . The last two games the warriors successfully ran the Rockets out of the building at their pace not allowing the Rockets to dictate the game at their halfcourt tempo. The Rockets are the 10 worst scoring team in the League but you wouldn't know it tonight. Sometimes Harrington uses his quick hands to front Yao. Mostly Davis makes Alston and Luther Head look like they don't belong in this League, Mostly the Warriors blow the Rockets out of the gym by going small. Tonight wasn't a normal. The 1st quarter they dug themselves into a hole they never got out of by going down 33-18
Baron and Monta: Got outplayed by Alston and Luther Head. Davis wasn't even feeling well so he deserves a break. He had the flu and got I.V for the game. On the other hand Monta never asserted himself and Houston used Alston on him to good advantage.
Yao V Harrington Always the intriuging matchup whenever these two play. However despite the recent successes it was always inevitable Yao would have a big game. Not helped by Harringtons ice cold shooting Yao put up a workmanlike 36 points 19 Rebounds. On the other hand he had 7 turnovers but what was most notible in the change to his game from the previous two meetings ws he came out with more agression sick of Golden State abusing him. On the other hand I had to laugh at his pathetic attempt at a charge with Yao Ming towering at 7-6 and 310 pounds tried to draw a charge, which was thankfully whistled for a blocking call.
The Rest: Barnes was horrible probably the most ineefective performance I've seen from him this year, CJ watson needs to justify his recent contract extension because tonight after his recent contract extension they didn't get much return from their D-League investment, Kelenna didn't play much or well at all but it's obvious that CJ Watson has overlooked Azbuike in the rotation. As for the rookies and Sophomores like Patrick O'Bryant, Kosta Perovic, Brandan Wright, and Marco Belinelli once again they were non factors. Persumably they were horrible in practice to not justify playing and even not play in the 1st when the Warriors were well behind.
How horrifying that the Warriors now play the hottest team in the League the Hornets. I'll boldly perdict the dubs pull off a shocking win in New Orleans even though the Hornets are contenders at the moment winning 9 straight. Think it's time to wrap up
Finally after a longer then expected year the Warriors have announced the signing of Chris Webber. After 14 seasons him and Nellie reunited. Such a scenario was not expected by any fan.
I'm in the grouping of people who like this move. First off a general misconception along fans is the warriors run all the time and therefore Webber would not be suited for Nellieball coming off Knee Surgery and a long period without playing. However it could be said the only player that runs Nellieball to the fullest extent is Monta. Webber has been bought in to Rebound, Shoot the midrange Jumper (Which Al and biedrins don't have) and throw the outlet pass which he's successful as. When a team like the utah Jazz or the San Antonio Spurs slow down the tempo Webber provides a low post option to guard the Duncan's or the Boozer's that frankly Matt Barnes was incapable off.
His post passing as we all know with the Kings was terrific to watch. Him and Vlade Divac poccessed amazing ability to find the open man. With CWebb in, look for the big men to be throwing more top-of-the-key ally-oops, watch for the patented Chris Webber baseline behind-the-back pass, and realize that the Warriors now feature the best passing frontcourt in the entire league (Webber/Harrington/Jackson). Hell, combine that with Monta Ellis and Baron Davis, and you get the best passing STARTING 5 in the league. Chemistry will increase with Webber on the floor.
For all the grief he gets about his knee, CWebb showed (on the 76ers) that he's still perfectly capable of getting by his man. The Webber spin move (with the illegal hook) is still there. The midrange J is still solid. Webber gives us something Biedrins, O'Bryant, Crosshere, or (presently) Wright cannot give us: a consistent scoring threat on the block. Al and Chris should make this a damn entertaining rest of the year.
Webber at his finest against the Magic. Look out for a young Popovich taking over for Nellie
I also like this signing because even Biedrins has been mediocre of late despite the 26 rebounds.Austin has been a SOLID addition this year playing in the middle, but his vulnerability to "soreness" makes AB the lame horse that he isnt when he is struggling. Throwing CW in the mix will give AB some time to get back to being AB in time for the playoffs (crossing fingers).
Veteran - A few head fakes here, a pump fake there and CW can easily be a 10-16ppg/5apg stat. What CW lost in mobility can be made up by his court awareness and veteran moves and jukes.
Is it just me, or has AB been somewhat mediocre as of late? Austin has been a SOLID addition this year playing in the middle, but his vulnerability to "soreness" makes AB the lame horse that he isnt when he is struggling. Throwing CW in the mix will give AB some time to get back to being AB in time for the playoffs (crossing fingers).
A few head fakes here, a pump fake there and CW can easily be a 10-16ppg/5apg stat. What CW lost in mobility can be made up by his court awareness and veteran moves and jukes.
Chris Webber's unlikely but fast-moving return to the Golden State Warriors is on course to be completed by Tuesday, according to sources close to the negotiations.
Barring an unexpected change of heart, sources said, Webber will accept the invitation from former coach Don Nelson and former teammate Chris Mullin to come back to the team with whom he won NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1994, only for Webber to force a trade to Washington some six months later when his prickly relationship with Nelson collapsed.
I hope that it happens to be quite honest with you," Nelson said Sunday before the Warriors hosted the New York Knicks. "I think our team needs it."
In other words Nelson thinks the team needs Webber. To put this in perspective if you had tolkd me during the Mike Montgomery era that a few years later Monty would be fired, Nellie and Chris Webber would be reunited and Foyle, Dunleavy Murphy and Fisher would be gone I would have laughed but thats exaclty what happenned. It's still interesting to see Nellie thinks Webber would be an essential part of this team when he doesn't even give Brandon Wright some PT buts that another story.
Things don't come easy in Warrior land. The first 3 quarters were shambolic but like the Pacers game they put their acts together in the 4th and stole a win from the Knicks grasp. The Knicks lit up the Warriors for 36 minutes but Golden State lit it up in the 4th and finally got to .600.
Biedrins First of all Biedrins was electric tonight on the boards. He set the single game record this year for most Rebounds with an astounding 26. He constantly fought for Boards and outuhustled Lee and Curry. The Knicks would have won this easily had it not been for Biedrins help on the boards. He didn't get a blcoked shot but everytime Robinson or Crawford drove in the lane he converged on them quickly to force a miss. Ignore his 4 fouls in 41 minutes whats admirable is last year he would have fouled out such was the rate of fouls against him but this year he's calmed it down
Rebounding: I guess this is why we're getting Chris Webber for help in the paint. Because honestly it seemed no one else apart from Biedrin was rebounding or showing any interest in getting the boards. A second big man would really have helped our cause tonight becuase none of our Frontcourt could boxout, defend or were just outmuscled.
Jackson: He symbolises what this years Warrior team is about play bad for the first 3 come alive in the 4th. He shot 3-10 in the 1st, 5 turnovers and had his shot blocked 3 times. In the space of a couple of minutes he bought the Warriors from down by four points to up by three hitting 3's out of nowhere. Just a incredibly streaky shooter
Randolph and Curry They actually played pretty well tonight. When they were on the court the Knicks were leading the warriors by 12 points yet they suffered from the worst coach in the league Isiah Thomas. He played them for the first six minutes which backfired as the Warriors . Honestly I realised he was awful but to take both these two out at the same time was horrible. The Warriors outscore the Knicks by 9 points to take a 6 point lead. On the other hand David Lee was impressive to watch 13 boards in 3 minutes while Balkman was another star for the Knicks 2 steals, 3 blocks, and some excellent D on Baron. The Knicks future doesn't look all that bad with these two on the court. They deserve a little more playing time.
Drive The Dubs didn't drive enough so fustrating to watch especially when you go 3-22 from downtown in the first three quarters. What bugged me is new York is one of the worst defensive teams in the League. All they had to do was go up strong because Randolph only has 6 blocks the entire year. Too much 3's and no aggressivness tonight almost gave the Warriors a bad loss.
As of now Even with the Western Conference as tight as it is 27-18 is good enough for 7th place something which would have been much more last season. With a favourable February schedule hopefully the Warriors can mantain their good form but they'll have to win in Houston and New Orleans first to prove they can stay along the Western elite
Versus A trap game. Thats all there is to it. The Warriors have proved countless times this season they can play to their level of competition see the Timberwolves or Pacers part 2. Last time the Warriors faced the Knicks it was one of their easiest wins of the season and sparkled fire Isiah chants. Yes the Knicks have been underachieving big time but even without Starburry they won 5 out of 7 and beat the Pistons by 24. They also lost to Boston by 16 not the 45 points when they first played. Perhaps it's Nate Robinson coming back and taking over Starburry spot but overall there is plenty to suggest the Knicks will be tough tonight.
A few players to look out for would be Nate Robinbson. He's had a revival since the last game and is giving solid minutes off the bench. Also watch out for Jamal Crawford the prime reasons for New Yorks resurgence. Expect Baron or Jackson to cover him. In contrast you won't see a worse frontcourt this year then Randolph or Curry. Neither of them play Defense pretty well and although they can rebound the main reason for the easy win last time was the quickness and speed of Nellieball confused them. It was certainly fun to watch.
The Warriors even if they get into a halfcourt game with the Knicks probably won't. To put it bluntly the Knicks defense isn't good enough to stop Barons penetration or Monta on a fastbreak. Lee, Randolph and Curry will kill the Warriors on the boards but if they come out straight from the blocks I can't see them losing.
Perdictions: Baron gets 25 and 10 Randolph and Curry outrebound the Warriors singlehandedly Biedrins posts up 12 and 8 Warriors by 10 Warriors win by 9
This would be big. Forget Jordans comeback or Shaq and kobe highfiving when they first faced each other but a small section of the Basketball world would be stunned if Nelson and webber reunited as the Sac Bee reported. It went on to point out that Nelson and webber were seen eating at his restaurant in Sacramento a few days back which didn't seem like news at all. Diplomacy from Nelson perhaps but then this story took a even big fruther twist when the contra Costa times reported the Dubs are seriously considering a return of Webber to Golden State
The Warriors are "seriously interested" in free-agent big man Chris Webber, a team source confirmed Friday night. Two team officials confirmed that the Warriors are in discussions with Webber, who played his rookie season with the Warriors in 1993-94. There is some belief the two parties are close to an agreement.
A different source confirmed that Webber and Warriors coach Don Nelson, who separated on bad terms in 1994, have talked in an attempt to put the past behind them.
Warriors executive vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin has said a big man is on his wish list
A few points
: I think the first view people take of this is this could get ugly fast. Back when Webber was a rookie in 1994 him and Nelson constantly clashed at practice every day. Nelson even made fun of the way he ran obviously harsh when Webber busted his rear end off for Nellie yet didn't get enough credit that Nash, Nowtizki, Baron, Jackson and Hardaway all Nellie coached players got. Nelson has admitted he was harder then he should have been on Webber.
:The tempo that Webber would like obviously isn't here but on the other hand the asset he has is a great passing game something Biedrins or Mbenga didn't or don't have. Eventually in this gut wrenching too close to call Western Conference playoff race teams will find out they can stop Golden State down the stretch of a big game. Webber opens big chunks of the halfcourt game and has a nice looking J. As the 76ers will tell you he can still bring a few 20 and 10 efforts each night.
: When Webber was a King him and Divac were arguably two of the best low post passers you will see in a while. Had it not been for this or thatthe Kings could have been looking at possibe NBA finals appearances. That Kings team could never win in pressure situations though.
: Webber to the Bullets for Tom Gugliotta and three 1st round picks (to make up for the ones they moved to the Magic along with Penny Hardaway was a horrible trade which started the futlity we took a while to recover from.
:This possibly if the move does happen could be his last season as a NBA player. This is more then likely Nelsons last season as a Coach. So seeing these two to make up for the falling out would be fun.
Phew we survived. Baron had a astounding triple double, Monta posted up up a career high of 39 points, Harrington hit some big 3's and Jackson even manged to avoid shooting entire bricks. Yet despite these rare achievements the Warriors only won by 2. As Warrior fans I'm covinced even with a few blowouts to speak off that no game will come easy that even with a team thats as underacheiving as the Nets it won't be decided until the Nets. The Nets based on tonight are much more talented then 18-24.
Put it simply TNT know drama. The schedule makers for the League must have great foresight because put it simply this was fun to watch for a neutral. Of course had Kidd and co put this out I wouldn't be typing that. The 1st quarter unlike many this season the Warriors came out with energy. Monta was in superb form with 12 points on 6 for 9 shooting, Boom was already stepping into his triple double with 3 boards, 4 dimes, and 7 points, Jax had 5 and Barnsie had 6. And we saw that it was good. The 2nd quarter saw Vinsanity out there. You wouldn't know Carter was at a decline in stats across the board such was his monstar performance. His 29 point effort reminded yours truly of his Raptor days where since he moved to the Nets whether it's to do with coaching etc he has yet to replicate those performances.
In the 3rd Nelson made a rare coaching mistake by deciding to employ the very strategy he invented Hack a Shaq except this time hack a Boone was the call. Boone is a 30% career Freee throw Shooter but at the same time it pointed out how much trouble the Warriors were having stopping anyone. Boone made most of his Free Throws but there was the funny sight of seeing him airballing a Free Throw a la Ben Wallace. Even so Carter and Jefferson started to get going and the Nets led by 8. Far too familar feeling particulary seeing basic Defensive principles ignored like getting back in transition.
But the 4th quarter... the 4th was the quarter of heroes. With brick after brick and turnovers at key times, the Warriors went on an amazing 22 - 0 run and in doing so, brought out their most potent weapon yet. The crowd. Yet as the game came to an end we did see a bit of sloppy Basketball The drives stopped, the threes became more hurried, and the lead shrank. The Ws righted the ship soon-after, thanks to nice driving and passing by Davis and Ellis but they can't hold on to any 10 point there givien Milwaukee the exception.
Hard to believe but the season has at it's midpoint for the 2007-2008 golden State Warriors. Whilst there's been a lot of most recent dissapointments we still stand ata more then expected position of 25-18 despite being 0.5 games ahead of Utah. Without further adoo this blog has now taken the historic step of compiling a list of the mid term reports.
Kelenna Azubuike: C Hard to believe but once at the start of the season Kelenna looked like he'd become more then a adequate replacement for J-Rich finally convincing the anti Richardson trade camp that we had the scorer to post up the stats. Unforutnately a few months on and even though his PPG average has gone down from 13 to 7 but one thing i can say is he rebounds better and is a solid outside shooter. His defense needs plenty of work but the real question is for many fans will he be a solid 16-20 PPG scorer or will he turn out to be little more then a bench player.
Matt Barnes C- I'm in two minds of whether we should keep Barnes. His play hasn't been to the standard it was of the famous stretch last season but on the other hand he's had a family loss and I expect the second half to work out much better. He's our force on the boards after all.
Marco Belinelli D+ Marco Who?. In all honesty I can't believe he was a 1st round pick and the theroy tht most warrior fans have of the only reason he was selected was his name rhymes with Nellie looks correct. Even from all the hype of all the Youtube mixes where fans were subjected to highlights of him knocking down 25 Footers against admittely against mediocre oppossition the sad fact is Marco hasn't translated this to the NBA level. Although he does escape from an F primlarily because he hasn't got a whole lot of PT his rebounding and passing needs to improve heaps otherwhise he's a D Leaguer.
Andris Biedrins B+ Biedrins is still a few steps away from being along the elite and unfortunateky he hasn't warranted yet the contract extension his agent craved. I think more or less his Defense has regressed his shotblocking skills for example should be a lot more then 1.2 PPG. Most teams excel at using him into a Screen, lay-ins, dunks etc. On the other hand hes's the best finisher near the rim in the League and his long arms can be sometimes an inconvience for Big Centers Despite Warrior forwards, centers, and even Nellie's decision making reluctant to help Biedrins he does need to step up his game if the Dubs want to repeat their postseason successes of last year
Austin Croshere B Croshere reminds me of what I am like in my current basketball days. A scrappy bench player who has two functions Rebound and play sold Defense. That was probably the main reason why he was picked up in the offseason and I can see why. He won't win fans over with a ugly looking offensive game and average defense but the reason for his grade is he does it well.
Baron Davis A+ The only A in this Post and sometimes I struggle to believe that Mullie got rid of Dale Davis for this guy. It's one of his more underated moves but I have a feeling he'll eventually get his props.
Baron has been asked a heck of a lot. Be the main scoring threat and run their offense. Not only has he done this successfully the Defense that wasn't there during the 0-6 statrt has really picked up averaging 2 steals a game. Making these requirements without Richardson was a stern test for Boom Dizzle but most notably he's stepped up. He has also developed a clutch shot just ask the Lakers. Despite the praise offnights like here, here, here or here. However despite these Baron has evaluated his game considerably. No games missed so far is invaluable considering without him the Warriors go from playoff contenders to pretenders immediately
Monta Ellis B- When Monta struggled at the start of the season it looked like his playoff disasters were following him everywhere. However it's January his game has picked up and he finally looks like being a solid 2 Guard to Baron. He has alos started to Rebound as the Bulls (7), Pacers (8), Spurs (9), Magic (12), and Rockets (9 stats show. Yet despite these minor improvements his numbers from last season haven't gone up by much and his defense is particulary mediocre. Often when a quick Guard like Iverson, Chris Paul or Deron williams is assigned to Baron probably because he doesn't pressurise the Guard as much as I'd like. As well as that to get the contract extension questions such as will his offensive and defensive game develop further, will his assists go up. Intersting to see the 2nd half.
Al Harrington C- Dissapointing. His stats are all down from last season but he does a good job on Yao as a positive he's a solid outside shooter and he has a decent demanour about him. Of all the players I've listed his game is the one that has regressed the most from last season.
Troy Hudson F: Would have given the man an incomplete but in the time I've seen him come off the bench he's never looked capable of giving substantial minutes in Davis absence. On the other hand he was injured and why this team hasn't released him since he's of no value is beyond me.
Stephen Jackson B- Critisce his January bricks all you want but 1-6 without him speaks for itself. Asking a Defensive minded player to put up 20 points oer night and guard someone like Kobe, T-Mac or the teams best offensive star to help steam the Defensive flow is impossible. There are very few players in the League that could do what Jacksons doing and unless the Warriors make it easy for him expext more tough going for Captain Jack.
Stephene Lasme NG: No Grade simply because he was cut so Mbenga could come in. Neither made a difference
Patrick O Bryant D+ Decent effort compared to last season where even the D-League didn't improve his game. Even though his 3rd year option wasn't picked up and the fouling still remains a ptoblem at least he has shown glimpses of offensive potential. With Mbenga gone he needs to step uo at a backup Center so can he do it?.
Kosta Perovic E Right when the Warriors need help at Center he's playing in the D- League. Makes no sense
Mikael Pietrus D- A former lottery pick in his 5th season. Ouch but it's a sad fact of life that even after a season where he posted up his highest averages this year it's been more of the same stepping out of bounds etc. His contract runs out this offseason so it should be the case these are the final days of Air France but his character and goofiness has endured him to a small section.
CJ Watson B- Wish he was the pass first this offense needs and defensively he has obvious holes but is worth keeping until the end of the season. With a name like CJ the nicknames would be prosperous everywhere.
Brandon Wright D+ This is depressing although to be fair he's suffered Nelsons well known dislike of rookies. He has the physicality to compete but there is every sign this could be another Joe Smith mistake but on the other hand Nellie would just play him 10 minutes a game -- which, given recent results, he easily can -- I think we'd all see immense growth within a month.
Don Nelson A-I thought last season was an amazing coaching job but thi year the Warriors are 7 games over 500 and talking about the playoffs. Coming from the PJ Carelesimo, Brian Winters and Mime Montgomery era three of the worst coaches ever in the NBA Nelson is like a beer, a cool refreshment.. Having said he definitely has to find a way to use his bench more or force Mullin's hand into getting him some players he feels comfortable playing.
Take the Indiana debacle, the Nets game or even the Cleveland game. Now combine them into an entire 48 minutes and what do you have. The worst loss experienced by the 2007-2008 Warriors. It was just that bad. I can understand Jefferson getting some big buckets or Sebastian Telfair making some nice crossovers but I can't understand Davis, Jackson and Harrington being largely ineffective or the horrible FT shooting which handed Minnesota a big road win.
The frst quarter like many quarters was filled with horrible Defense and giving the Timberwolves so many open shots. Despite ending in a 10 poit deficit the Warriors made their way back to lead by 3 at the half. Hopefully this would spark some sort of resurgence right. Nah the 3rd was a another case of the T-Wolves leading by 8 and gaining the confidence to stay in the game, Eventally it was turned into just their second road win of the season, Nelso leeds to turn on some sort of desperation mentality because honestly how often will you get these sort of opportunites to beat bad teams. On the other hand maybe tonights loss is a wakeup call into the obvious problems that exist. Wins disguise them
Considering we want Baron as a consideration for All Star Weekend yet tonight wasn't the best showing from him maybe becuase of the Sundance film Festival, Him and Jackson shot 10-27 combined and 7-14 from the FT line. We lost by one so do the math. The defense at times was also sonfusing. Nelson making the smart idea to assign a double team to Jefferson. Unfortunately Gomes had so much open looks this was a big reason for his careeer high 35 points - 11-15 from the field (2-2 on 3's), 11-12 from the line and 11 rebounds in just over 32 minutes. Eventually the Shooters were more tightly covered meaning Jefferson was open freely against Harrington and worked his stuff. In other worse our Defense didn't have a clue who to guard.
Despite other factors like Jaric nearly dropping a triple double or the starters playing hard despite the record Monta was his usual greatness . He dropped his 28 and more importantly, hit his free throws (10-11) but hopefully we see more consistency from him as the next game against the Nets he could go for 12. Rebounds and assists two more things I would like to see his game develop in even more. Other then that he's clearly progressed from last year.
We saw a lot of POB tonight but no Kosta. When the game wasn't pressure packed whats the harm in putting them in.Give the young guys a shot while the opponents are easier and the games not pressure packed, We might just need them later in the year. I've said this countless times but as I expected the coaching staff is reluctant to change anything. Of course as expected the shot selction was extremely poor thre Guards content to take what Minnesota offered and wow 32 pointers taken against a lame team is ard to digest. Davis, Azbuike and Ellis can drive to the basket when they want. as a result of the 3 pointers teams like the Pacers or the Tiberwolves can make a game out of it. Most of the time a win is pulled out yet though tonight the combination of tired legs and finishing up on a long road trip 4 games in 5 nights meant eventually the win here was a step too far. Despite being 7 games over .500 the Dubs reamin only half a game in front of Portland. Whether or not they can sustain a 16-5 run like they did at the conclusion of the 2006-2007 season is uncertain but they need to otherwhise it could be 82 and done
Versus Well we're playing the T-wolves for the 500th time tonight (actually the 4th). Coming off a 3-1 road trip still puts at 8th in the West barely ahead of the surging Trailblazers. Even though yet again we face the worst team in the League tonight although it should be a W it's guranteed not to be easy. The December 26th game ended up in just a four point Golden State victory whilst the next month the T-Wolves gave the Warriors a game and lost by 7 . Hopefully with the next game not being until Thursday Baron and Jackson get significant rest because after the bench stepping it up against the Bucks especially Kosta you can't ask for much more. Sprinkle it around though because seeing Baron and Kosta or Wright and Jackson helps increase the youngsters exposure to what Basketball is all about.
Perdictions Walker has 2 3's Jefferson has a Monstar double double Kosta plays 10 minutes Warriors by 15 and complete the sweep
Coming off a national TV comeback against the Bulls to a anticipated victory over the Bucks the one draw back fans had about the trip to Brewtown was the starters played way too many minutes and fresh legs would be hard to come by. Not to worry as the combination of the Bucks awfulness and a strong performance made this a rare easy night. While it's a nice victory it came against a team that by the looks of it are guranteed to have a 10 year playoff drought such are the horrendous contracts e.g Bobby simmons and Michael Redd. It's hard to see this team making the playoffs any soon.
The 2nd Half was a no contest event especially when Golden State outscored the Bucks 41-22 but their was a bit of spica added to this game when Keith Smart was adjudged to have been watching the Adult channel therefore explaining his move to make Pietrus active and then inactive putting Barnes out of the equation. Nelson covered up the embarrasisng error by quoting
Actually, Keith Smart left him off because he was watching the adult movie channel when he should have been concentrating on drawing up the roster. So we're going to take that privilege away from him for the rest of the year -- no more adult movies for Keith Smart.
The bench because of the starters minutes last minute got significant time from Kosta Perovic and POB both who weren't expected to make any sort of imapct this season. However POB displayed the raw potential most fans know Biedrins is capable off but doesn't show it. He has much more athletiscm and talent then Biedrins but crucially he doesn't have the hungerto develop his game even further. That Sky hook he hit over Bogut plus the fact bogut had three turnvovers means he has the game to compete.
Kosta Perovic also came back from the D-League and muck like POB fans were left wondering where did this guy come from. One of the problems with Nelsons coaching history is he's never developed a true big man but right now he's got two. The swat on Bogut meant he was never intimdated and he provided four points and six boards. Once Marco and B-wright entered the game neither lived up to the billing Kosta and POB left as a legacy. Marco hasn't provided any spark and should be in the D-League had it not been his refusal but Brandon wright is dissapointing not just because we gave up a franchise hero for him but because he's fallen below Kosta and POB in the depth chart. Anyone even anticipate that.?
Jackson even though his shooting stats have gone aol he concentrated more on getting his teamamtes involved something you like to see from your Captain. Indeed the 3rd quarter was a rare thing of beauty much like the Chicago game the offense played flawlessy esepcially Harrington coming back from the Bulls struggles on national TV to post up stats like hitting 50% of his 3's and going 10-17 overall with 27 points. Whats all this trade talk about?
Baron was simply Baron and one of those rare nights he could take it down a notch. Still 19 points hit 5 of his free throws, and dished out 8 assists proved even Baron at his half best is still a beast.
Why are the Bucks in this situation.?. Part of the problem is a blind faith in Andrew Bogut first pick of the 2005 draft in hoping he would be their next Big Center. He did put up a nice double double statline of 21 and 10 but a lot of his shots were forced. Yi looks the same although he only took 7 shots. I can't also believe that Michael Redd a guy who plays great against international competition with the Dream Team disappeared in the 2nd Half looking out of shape. This is a team that at the moment is going nowhere. Nice win for Golden State though
Versus The Road trip against teams below 500 continue into Brew town tonight when Golden State face the Bucks. It's funny to see the direction of both these teams since they last met when Golden State blew them out of the building in a 120-90 victory. Since them Milwaukee has struggled badly to 16-23 and subjected to Bobby Simmons, Dan Gadzuric, and the rest of the Bucks' terrible contracts. Golden State as we all know are heading in the oppossite direction flirting with .600. Milwaukee is a terrible team but the Leastern Conference is so bad they have 16 wins piled up aready. I have no doubt if their geographical location was in the West they would have the same total number of wins as the T-Wolves. The only concern I have about Golden State is the fatigue issue. Nelson really must have wanted his 1,265th win as coach because of the minutes he gave. Monta, Baron and Jackson all had 44 minutes each while Hrrington and Barnes all played 32 minutes each. Plenty of tired legs out there.
Yi, Bogut and Redd all have the potential to live up to Warrior killer material but I'll make a bold perdiction and say Bogut has the best shot. Believe it or not but in the 2005 draft Scouts actually thought his passing was better then guards such as Chris Paul or Deron Williams. On the other hand he has no footspeed and if the Warriors play antoher high speed game he won't be a factor. if the Bucks play a half court game watch out.
Perdictions: Yi gets a double double Monta puts up 20 Redd has a bad shooting night Al puts up a double double Warriors by 6
The Warriors continued their tendancy to bounce back back from a ugly loss to a nice W ending their 6 game losing streak in Chicago as a result. There were times when the 1st half was butt ugly to watch but because of Baron tying his career high of 40 points. I've posted before about how Baron not making the All Star game wouldn't be the worst thing in the world but stepping away from that forget getting rid of DunMuprhy getting rid of speedy and Dale Davis was the best move Mullin has ever made. It would have been easy to have seen the extinct playoff drought going on if Speedy was running the point.
The first half was a painful experience with the Bulls despite their doccumented struggles on Offense hitting everything. I often couldn't believe the same Joe Smith who has a place in the long list of Warrior draft day busts managed to hit most of his shots and our defense was non existant as well as 14 straight missed Field Goals. The Warriors went down at the half by 8 very lucky when you consider the above facotrs. Coming off the unspeakable loss in Indy Nelson must have give them an Any Given Sunday speech becuase the second half we saw the old Warriors that haven't been seen in days. The Baron and Monta combination plus Captain Jacks 24 was too lethal for the Bulls as the Warriors outscored the Bulls by 16 points. Credit to Barnes for his 11 rebounds something which the fan watching accross the country wouldn't have noticed.
Jackson was just Captain Jack. His clankers throughout January have been painful but at the same time tonights effort may give him a confidence booster. Couldn't buy a basket in the first half and his Defense on Deng was laughably non existant but thankfully once he made a Layup the game came to him with some clutch outside ahooting and nice drives. His 9-9 from the FT line was the most impressive.
The bench hardly played typical from Nelsons coaching rules of when the going gets tough never go with reenforcements. He said something a few weeks ago about B-Wright playing a little more but thats never happenned. In fact Baron played 45 minutes, Monta played 44 minutes, Jackson played 44 minutes, Harrington played 32 minutes, and Biedrins 27. I assume the shootarounds been cancelled because these are going to be one tired group of players tonight against Milwaukee.
Monta gave away a lot of pounds to Deng or Nocioni but you wouldn't know that with the fearless drives to the Basket. He has a endless amount of energy grabbing 7 Rebounds and creating unheard of moves in mid air that made Chicago look defensively challenged. Everytime I see him play I can't help but feel from a playing perspective J-Rich is not missed. His 23 points and 5 assists helped swing the game in Golden States favour.
any sense of gravity?
Baron ironically said he felt like Michael jordan out there and even though he won't reach the same stature tonight felt Jordan esque. He was the best PG to watch in last years playoffs and it's a shame people in Houston feel obliged to click T-Mac's name a few thousand times a day on the All Star ballot such is the injustice of his ranking above Boom dizzle. But back to the game He shot over 50% in field goals, 6 for 8 on three pointers, 8 for 8 from the line, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
Hard to believe but even in the Leastern Conference there are teams that have underachieved horribly when at the start of the season they were perdicted to be contenders. The miami Heat and tonights opponents the Chicago Bulls are two of the easiest examples to list. Playoff contenders now looking at a possible loterry pick. And people say this League lacks suspense!.
Even with the Bulls miserable record a few factors worry me tonight. Indiana was suppossed to be a straightforward W yet like the Weather outside it was an ice cold 4th quarter which led to the collapse. Don Nelson in his long career has probably played and sat through a lot of bad losses but it's debatable to say was any as bad as that. Another problem is the last time the Warriors put up the W in Chicago was 2001 in a 84-78 victory. It tells a lot about the 2001 Bulls that Vonteggo Cummings almost had double figures in scoring but thats for another day!
The Bulls have the potential tonight to light it up with Ben Gordon, Nocioni and Deng always having big games against the Dubs. Joe Smith a former Warrior 1st pick bust could also be included as his midrange game is a problem but I'm more concerned about Deng. Coming off a ugly loss in Indiana there is no better way then coming back and putting up the W on ESPN. Tradionally after losing horribly the Warriors have a habit of coming back strongly in the next game. Hopefully that can continue tonight otherwhise the Jazz will accept the gift.
Perdictions Wallace gets a career high of 6 Davis posts up 12 dimes Barnes steps up in Jacksons probable absence Warriors by 10
With the last few hours remaining here before the Trade exception we got for Diogu is dead. Here's a little more on how it worked.
The $2.1 million trade exception the Warriors got in exchange for forward Ike Diogu expires Thursday.
Diogu was part of that eight-played trade with Indiana on Jan. 17, 2007, which landed the Warriors forwards Jackson and Al Harrington . But Diogu's part of the trade was officially a separate transaction, allowing the Warriors to get the exception.
$2. 1 million is awfully small but the consensus if in the unlikely event the Warriors decide to use it Leon Powe would be a solid choice. With the Celtic's success he hasn't had any opportunity to get any PT over there. He may be a bad shooter and his turnover ratio hurts the eyes but his two big strengths are our two weaknesses Rebounding and Free Throws although the latter has improved considerably. He may have been injury prone coming out of college but if he isn't getting any minutes in Beantown with that star studded lineup just what use is he to them. In the 11 hours the warriors have they should make a attempto to at least get East bay product Leon Powe.
Eventually it had to happen. Fortunately until last night Golden State never threw any type of game although against games such as the T-Wolves or the Cavalliers they almost did. tonight was the case where after a a delighful opening 3 quarters despite the Pacers striding to try and close the game the 4th was a horrorshow. Eventually with major contributions from Kareem rush, mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy this will go down as one of the horrible losses of the season.
By the end of one of or best opening quarters of the season despite the notable loud clanks the warriors were playing Defense at a rate nobody had ever seen them play. Matt Barnes had 6 steals Baron had 8 with 6 assists and Golden State finally had their name in the record books along with the greatest playoff upset in NBA History. Nothing went wrong althogh jitters started to arise when the Pacers cut the deficict to 4 at the half. Still nothing to fear right?. Whilst it's most definite that you completely come back against the 2008 Golden State warriors few have managed it. The third quarter was antohger sign of beauty. Harrington started hitting as did Monta and I like most fans looked forward in anticipation of beating last years record on the road.
Then th 4th happenned and lets not go there. Barnes while having a decent game had a stupid flagrant on Dunleavy maybe changing the direction of the game. The Free Throws were also a slight improvement over Sundays game even though some were missed at crucial times. On the other hand the amount of 3's taken when there was a safe lead was taggering. It just opened up the game more for the Pacers. Add to the rebounding totals, Pietrus stepping out of bounds more then once and lastly being outscored 24-6 in the final quarter and the Indy collapse was complete.
Or maybe it was down to Jim O Brien. I'm surprised when all those experts describe the current top cvoaches he's not metioned more. He took the celtics to the Eastern Conference finals in 2002 with Antonine walker and took an overrated Sixers team to the playoffs no mean feat when Iverson and chris Webber aren't exactly thrilled. the fact that he has the Pacers still in contention for a playoff spot and obviously has dramtically provided a significant upgrade to Dunleavy's game means big props. either way O Brien or not this was a horrible loss. The real test is to try and regroup against the Bulls on national TV. Only then will we know what the character of this Warriors team is like
Versus Tommorow marks the anniversary of the trade. It really has been a year. How ironic that the Pacers face us but the boot is on the other side as Jackson and Harrington should expect plenty of booes from a set of fans unwilling to accept they lost out in the deal. Then again after the heavy booing Dunleavy and to a lesser extent Troy Murphy were subjected to on Sunday it's only fair. After sundays game a little worrying could creep in. The Warriors had one of the worst shooting performances in the Oracle including an unusually bad one at the Charity Stripe and common sense says the Pacers won't let them get away with what happenned on Sunday night. An improvement in both would lead to a significant sense of relief that Sunday was a fluke. One would be fine however. One thing that is prevalent to this game is O Neal. Should he have a repeat of the dominance that he displayed on Sunday it will be another close game. Of all the Indiana Pacers players he scares me the most. Dunleavy doesn't sacre as much because history shows when everyone expects Dunleavy to show up after a big game he doesn't. In just over 1 hr and 7 minutes we shall see
Perdictions: Jackson gets booed heavily Davis drops 12 dimes Monta gets a cheap foul from Tinsley (whoops) Warriors by 4
First time since the Chris Webber years 1993-1994 for those of you who don't know that Golden State lie 7 games above .500. Time to excited about a consecutive playoff appearance. Not yet but last nights victory proved that for the time banana skins are being readily taken care off unlike last year where the away record was dismal.
Against the worst team in the League most of the starters can be forgivven for taking a night off. In this case the bench carried the team even though Don nelson felt the need to continue the latter stages with an established lineup. I've already rambled on on how this makes the game much more heart wrenching then it should be but he sstuck with Jackson even after a shooting slump in the final minutes which was rewarded gratefully. Captain Jack hit a few shots and played big Defense in the final minutes with the Warriors now one game closer to sweeping Minnesota for the season. Horray!!
To an extent though last night Minnesota cut it down to 6 and most fans were worried a repeat of the 20 minute comeback would be achieved. This is aother worrisome tendency apart from the horrible starts in most game. Rarely this season have the Dubs ever upped their performances to a level they achieved in March April where with the toughest remaining schedule they had to fight tooth and nail to make the postseason. This year no game has been equated to what they did during the 16-5 run but at this stage of the season even though all games count this team has the maturing confidence to know they don't have to reach the same playing level.
Austin Croshere for me took away all the doubts about my skeptic nature over the signing. With last nights performance he took away all the doubts I had over his role. Whhat he does provide is being a loose ball hustler, Rebounder, decent outside shooter etc. He has pretty much fitted nicely into all these description. Because of Biedrins back the reason for his horrible statline Croshere displayed a nice all round game hitting a open shot, threw down an open dunk and his Alley opp to Davis even made the locals applaud. Props go to Matt Barnes as well who might have won over a small section of fans even with his as late uninspiring performances. Unlike what most players would do in this League and try to work their way out of a long range shooting slump he drove to the basket and got his points from there. Davis also had 5 steals along with the usual 20 points but tonight as pointed above was all about the bench.
Most of the starters did contribute. Baron I pointed out above but Harrington did a good job defensively on Jefferson while Monta played up to his own usual speed. Even though the Warriors almost repeated what they achieved on the 26th December they still put up the W. With 4 games in 5 nights on the road you can't ask for much more. Wins are being delivered at a frequent rate
Versus Not one of those games that immediately leaps out at you but the most important stat that leaps out tonight is not whether Monta will mantain his recently terrific perofrmances (History shows he does well against the T-Wolves) or can Jefferson and Mc cants have another big day but if Golden State can do something they have been unable to do all season long and post up a winning streak longer then two games. In sevaral examples like at the start of the year the Warriors came off a nice victory in Houston but were blown out in Dallas or against the Spurs. Against Minny hopefully the streak will end but you just never know...
Despite Monta averaging 29 points between these two so far as usual whenever these two meet up Al Jefferson and Mc Cants are always in line to have big games as they did in the previous two meetings. Hopefully Croshere with his big brutal body can withstand Jeffersons talented low post game. He may miss more Layups then the avergae fan but he does make his 3's and with Biedrins injured he does provide the only hope to contain the muscular big man. After the j-Rich trade the trade exemption hasn't been used so hopefully between noq and the deadline Mullin will use all of his wit to get a big man such as Kurt thomas who would give us much more freeing space to compete wth the Carlos Boozer's of the West. Until then?
To start this post off I must admit I'm a avid Sports Book collector and have read most of the good time NBA and NFL books out there so it makes sense to do a post out featuring reviews of the better Basketball books out there and a rating out of 10. So here we go
Last Season- A team in search of it's soul by Phil Jackson
From the very beginning of the book to the end where a season ends in heartbreak Jackson describes a season through his very own coaching eyes. What sets it apart is the dramatic tales from inside the Lockeroom and shows the egos four future Hall Of Famers poccess. From the buzzer beater in Portland to win the Pacific Division to .4 in San Antonio to a near sweep by the Pistons in the 04 Finals Phil Jackson expertly shows the reader what its like to coach in a tough environment and deal with the Kobe-Shaq feud and the rape scandal by Kobe.
What really sets this book apart is the inside info Jackson manges to potray about the Lakers and how the relationships with all the Hall of Famers ticker. He shows that even with Payton's success he never managed to fit into the Triangle Offense. Then Karl Malone goes down with a Knee injury meaning his productivity is limited.He also describes how Shaq despite being thin skinned and extremely ill prepared for late afternoon games has the closest affinity. Needless to say the last future Hall Of Famer Kobe's relationship gre so bad with Phil Jackson that Jackson describes his attempts to speak to a Physciatrist such was the difference. Much of the book is spent describing his relationship with the players much the basis for creating a winning team
For anybody interested in how a Coach manages to keep a disfunctional team together this is the perfect book. To illustrate just how different Jackson finds it from the Bulls setup in one scene when Dr. Buss (talking about Kobe's character) asks Phil "Aren't all superstars like that?" and Phil says "No, not all of them.
Most High School teams fly under the radar here and in the US simply because it doesn't yet have the coverage that College Hoops gets. Yet in this book Wojnarowski tells the story of an amazing high school insitution one that struggles facility wise and yet delivers in the high school polls every year. The 2003-2004 season in which Adrian chronicles however is considered the most socially underachieving economically deprived bunch of kids St Anthony's has ever had. Yet Coach Bob Hurley's disciplinarian attitude rubs off in a tough area of New Jersey as his team went undefeated, winning the NJ State Championship and was named by USA Today as the top high school team of the year
Adrian does a good job of chroniciling such a tough situation in an inner city fuelled with Drugs and poverty in most parts. Hurley's Woodenesque approach fundamentals, well-conditioned, team play, and defense makes the team unstoppable at times and the author even makes an arguement Hurley is getting snubbed from the Basketball Hall Of Fame. Wojnarowski does such a good job providing the injuries, players leaving the team, tough wins, and all the key relationships that makes St. Anthony's the special place it is that it leaves the reader wanting more
Irish Warriors Rating 9/10
When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan's Last Comeback by Michael Leahy
Essentially Michael Leahy's aim is to take account of Michael Jordans infamous return to the Washington Wizards both as an executive and player. I does manage to contain decent info particulary during the NBA Draft of 2001 when Jordan refused to listen to the scouts about Gasol's worth and drafted Kwame Brown instead who is known to this day of being a bust. Leahy captures Jordans first season as a Wizard and his attempts to steer the then mediocre Washington Wizards team in a playoff direction. Unfortunately for any 39 year old athlete they don't have the legs at 25. Unfortunetly one of the major flaws of the book is the bias Leahy shows in potraying Jordan in a negative light. It shows Jordans big inability to translate the extreme competivness he displayed as a player to the Front Office because of a bullying attitude and a lack of caring towards the background staff. This is the major letdown in the book.
All Athletes have flawas but Leahy's spin into making a athlete's reality to fit their own preconcieved notions of what the outcome of their story will be is no surprise. The book is also too long and cluttered to properly enjoy.
Irish Warriors Rating: 6/10
Who's better who's best at Basketball by Eliott Kalb
Eliott sets out to find the 100 greatest NBA players in this day and age using his unique blend of stats to sort out his goal. He uses MVPs, Championships, All-Star appearances, first and second-team All-NBA honors, outside opinions, and to break ties, he takes big over small, new over old, and winners over losers. Unfortunately it's marred by an awful choice of no 1. Impressively however despite the poor choice and arguements Klab successfully gives older players their due such as Dolph Schayes,Bob Pettit, and Bob Cousy. He evne manages to rate Bob Pettit pretty high on the list impressive when you consider many of todays younger generation wouldn't even know who he is. When ranking players such as Karl Malone he lists his big game chokes one by one, for other like Dennis Rodman's contribution to the 1996-98 Chicago Bulls; Michael Jordan's 3 consecutive losing seasons and his 1-9 playoff record before Scottie Pippen, and how Scottie Pippen put up his finest seasons in Jordan's absence.
While his research is extensive stats don't tell the whole story and without trying to sund like a homer seeing people like Reggie Miller on the list but no Nate Thurmond was hard to see. Kalbs reasoning of Thurmond never being 1st or 2nd All NBA team is correct Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem both have said Thurmond was the toughest Center they have ever played against enough reasoning for him to be included. Seeing Wes Unsweld off the list was hard to understand as well.
Overall Who's better who's best is a decent book that generates debate and gives the reader enough interest to come up with his/her rankings.
Scary Game. The Warriors were down by 17 at some stage. Surprisngly Dunleavy was playing much better partly in fact because of the presence of Jermaine o Neal. Combined with a ice cold shooting precentage and O Neal blocking shot after shot and Golden State looked down and out as they trailed to an embarassing 1st quarter deficit of 34-19.
I'll get to the positives in a moment but tonight even against a team 5 games under500 it was an extremely slow start by the Warriors. Maybe it was the sooner start of 6.00 that made them so rusty but it was discouraging to see how a comfortable lead against Memphis was quickly forgotten when Indiana shot the lights out in the 1st quarter. Biedrins went down hard by the looks of it and couldn't make his normal impact but Croshere put some solid minutes. Jermaine showed the fans that when Austin was a Pacer he must have been used to have been scored on such was the regularity Jermaine achieved. I always thought playing against your former team could be akward and while Dunleavy did his best to dispell the motion Jackson was horrible. His 42 minutes even with the flu bug made the games this close. Harrington like Jackson was a non factor having every shot stuffed by O neal. Did Jermaine do this regulary against these guys in practice.? Did I miss something thats right the shooting 8-33 from downtown(24.2%) 16-28(57.1%) from the Charity Stripe. Enough said.
Highlights of the W
Now the postives. Boy were they numerous. To stsart off with Monta even though he was playing well a cheap shot elbow from Tisley could have changed everything. Monta got more fired up and displayed some of the passion missing in the 1st quarter. His dunk on Dunleavy also put the game down as a major turning point because the crowd started getting louder mostly reserving the noise for the booes of Dunleavy. Jackson had to say this.
Last year, a lot of times, Monta kept his head down after something like that," said Jackson, who had just nine points on 4-of-15 shooting while battling a flu bug. "If you knocked him down, he wouldn't always get up as fast. Now, you can't keep him down."
But enough of the Warriors chat. Dunleavy over the last few years is the most despised Warrior possibly ever. Unlike the NBA player mantra of working hard in the offseason Dunleavy never worked to become a better shooter then 26% , never became a better Rebounder and let his game go to waste. I've always liked Troy Murphy more if only because at least he hustled and became a solid nothing special big man. The last two seasons he's been firmly stuck on the bench even though he's a better Rebounder and scorer then Dunleavy. Him and O Neal would make an interesting partnership becuase Murphy wouldn't be exposed as much on Defense as Dunleavy was.
So far Golden State have win two winnable games. With the Hornets and Lakers refusing to lose every single win counts which is why the road trip coming up is one of the most important of the season
December Mon 01 vs Miami L 130-129 OT Fri 05 @ Houston L 131-112 Sat 06 @ San Antonio L 123-88 Mon 08 @ Oklahoma Wed 10 vs Milwaukee Fri 12 vs Houston Sat 13 @ Denver Mon 15 vs Orlando Wed 17 @ Indiana Fri 19 @ Atlanta Sat 20 @ Charlotte Mon 22 @ Orlando Tue 23 @ Miami Fri 26 vs Boston Sun 28 @ LA Lakers Mon 29 vs Toronto Wed 31 @ Oklahoma
January Fri 02 @ Minnesota Mon 05 @ Utah Wed 07 vs LA Lakers Sat 10 @ Portland Sun 11 vs Indiana Wed 14 vs Sacramento Fri 16 vs Atlanta Mon 19 vs Washington Wed 21 vs Oklahoma City Fri 23 vs Cleveland Sun 25 vs LA Clippers Wed 28 @ Dallas Fri 30 @ New Orleans Sat 31 @ Houston
February Mon 02 vs San Antonio Wed 04 vs Phoenix Fri 06 @ Phoenix Sun 08 vs Utah Tue 10 vs New York Thu 12 vs Portland Wed 18 vs LA Lakers Sat 21 vs Oklahoma City Mon 23 @ LA Clippers Fri 27 vs Charlotte
March Sun 01 vs Utah Tue 03 @ Minnesota Wed 04 @ Chicago Fri 06 @ Detroit Sat 07 @ Milwaukee Wed 11 vs New Jersey Fri 13 vs Dallas Sun 15 vs Phoenix Tue 17 vs LA Clippers Thu 19 @ LA Lakers Fri 20 vs Philadelphia Sun 22 @ New Orleans Tue 24 @ San Antonio Wed 25 @ Dallas Sat 28 @ Denver Mon 30 vs Memphis
April Wed 01 vs Sacramento Fri 03 vs New Orleans Sun 05 @ Sacramento Wed 08 vs Minnesota Fri 10 vs Houston Sat 11 @ Utah Mon 13 vs San Antonio Wed 15 @ Phoenix
Irish Warriors info
Irish Warriors is a blog mainly home to Golden State warriors Basketball but contains NBA News as well see the newsreel. If you have any questions or links you wish to leave please email at irishwarriors at GMail.com.
