SB Nation - Devean George

RECAP: Warriors 101, Sixers 117 -- The Answer

Feltbot — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:01:53 -0000

More photos » by Jesse D. Garrabrant - NBAE/Getty Images

(Is that Mikki Moore waiting under the basket? Tasty!)

Final Boxscore | Game Thread (820+ Comments) | Warriors Web Links

There was a little intrigue surrounding this battle of Eastern and Western Conference cellar dwellers. Would this be the game that the desperate Sixers broke their 12 game losing streak? Would the short-handed and undersized Warriors have anything left in the tank for the fifth game of a long East-coast road trip? And perhaps most intriguing, who would win the battle of lightning-bug scoring machines, the reigning title holder in that category, Allen Iverson, or the man many have called Iverson's successor, Monta Ellis?

Unfortunately, we got early and decisive answers to all of our questions, and they all came down in favor of The Answer, Allen Iverson, and his Philadelphia 76ers.

FINAL - 12.14.2009	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Golden State Warriors	24	33	11	33	101
Philadelphia 76ers	36	35	26	20	117

COMPLETE COVERAGE >

The Sixers deserve a lot of credit for this win. Their coach, Eddie Jordan, made a bold move by starting a quicker and smaller unit than usual. He took Elton Brand out of the starting lineup, and put Thaddeus Young, normally a small forward, at power forward. T-Young was the Warriors killer in this game. His quickness and athleticism ate up Vlad Rad, and made Mikki Moore look like the old man in the rec league. He finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds, most coming in the first half. Taking Brand's place in the starting lineup was rookie point guard and defensive specialist Jrue Holiday. Holiday did a nice job hawking Monta, and his length appeared to bother Monta's jumper. And yes, The Answer delivered: Iverson got an efficient 20 points on 10 shots. Have you ever seen Allen Iverson play within a team concept, and take only what the defense was giving him? It happened in this game, and may be the way of the future for the noticeably slower 34 year old legend.

But mostly, this game was about what the Warriors couldn't do. Perhaps exhausted in the last game of their long road trip, they simply didn't show up to compete. Monta Ellis couldn't get anything going, shooting 3-15 from the field, many of his misses coming on open layups. But even if Monta had played well, it wouldn't have mattered in a game in which the Warriors simply surrendered the paint to the Sixers.

Here's a couple of stats that tell the real story of this game: The Warriors total number of rebounds, 26, was only one more than the number of offensive rebounds they gave up, 25. If you had tried to count the number of Sixers layups and dunks that resulted, you would have run out of fingers and toes. Overall, the Sixers outrebounded the Warriors 59-26. Now that's a bloody massacre.

Obviously, this was a game in which the Warriors greatly missed their injured big men, Andris Biedrins and Rony Turiaf. But even more obviously, they missed the comfort of their beds at home. As Coach Keith Smart memorably put it in his post-game interview, the road-weary Warriors played "like a horse trying to get back to the barn."

Sticking with Smart's barnyard theme, I'm going to initiate a new feature, that hopefully doesn't get too much use going forward. This is where I try to find some nice things about the Warriors' performance in a blowout loss. I'm calling it:

Lipstick on a Pig

I liked the play of two Warriors in this game:

Anthony Randolph: The Warriors' version of Where's Waldo? showed up for this game, on a night when no one else did. Go figure. Here are the highlights:

Have you been looking for a clue as to why Randolph's playing time has been so sporadic in the last few games? You may need to look no further than this: Randolph virtually never took a jumpshot in this game. He took the lumbering Dalembert to the rack again and again, finishing beautifully, and drawing fouls. Randolph took 11 free throws in this game.
After a slow start in which he again got burned by leaving his feet for pump-fakes, Randolph settled down and gave a solid defensive effort. I think he got more than the 2 blocks he was credited in the box score.
He played under control at all times, even when leading the fast break. Only 1 turnover.
Keith Smart praised Randolph after the game, and at the same time dropped a few more tea leaves to read for puzzled Randolph watchers. Smart said that Randolph was "decisive," and "tried to compete at a high level." And "even with everything going on with him, he was ready to go." A reference to the family emergency that took Randolph away from the team a few games ago?

Devean George: When George came in for Monta Ellis at 5:25 in the third, we knew the plug had been pulled. But surprisingly, George looked pretty darn good in his first extended action this season. He drained three threes, and really competed on the defensive end, helping turn a sickening 30 point blowout into a "respectable" 16 point blowout. Keith Smart praised his professionalism after the game, and said he hoped it would serve as a lesson for his young players.

It will be interesting to see if the Warriors intend to give George real minutes on the front line going forward. From the looks of this road trip, they may need him.

This is a tough choice. This would be the first Warrior Wonder of Devean George's career! And will I ever get another chance to give it to him? I gotta go with the young fella though: Mr. Anthony Randolph. He needs our support.

RECAP: Warriors 95, Pistons 104 - Deja Vu

Fantasy Junkie — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:10:45 -0000

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - AP

6 days ago: Golden State Warriors assistant coach Keith Smart directs from the sidelines during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons in Auburn Hills, Mich., Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009. Warriors coach Don Nelson was home in California recovering from pneumonia. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Final Boxscore | Open Thread (1000+ Comments)

This game mirrored the loss to the Bulls.

The first half was all about quick, crisp passing, ball movement, and drives to the bucket. At one point they built a 13 point lead. Despite some bone headed plays which allowed the Pistons to go on a 10-2 run, the Warriors were able to hold onto a 6 point lead at the half. On the road you just want to be close at the end to give yourself a chance to win and the play in the first half looked like the Warriors would have a chance. It was looking good.

The second half became another struggle for the Warriors to score. The 3rd quarter was a disaster with the Warriors going 5-19 and scoring just 12 points to the Pistons 22. They fell into the same problem they had yesterday, jumper, jumper, jumper, jumper. Essentially, the Pistons got the Warriors to play at the Pistons tempo, slow and deliberate. Half court to half court. Not many fast breaks. Too many possessions with the shot clock winding under 10. Slow and deliberate. Even though the Warriors nearly made a comeback as they went back and forth in the 4th with the Pistons to cut the lead to 2, they just weren't able to fully recover from the disastrous 3rd.

What's With All the Second Half Meltdowns?
I begin to wonder how much of these second half meltdowns are due to fatigue. This was the back end of a back to back so I can understand being tired, but to me, it looked like they had enough energy to finish the game. That doesn't explain the collapses at home against the Rocketes and Magic, as well as the poor second halves against the Bulls and Pistons. Are they tired because they were playing with 7 man rotations for so long? Or are these second half failures due to just not being a very good team? Or both?

If it's the fatigue issue, that's on the management. When you consistently trade healthy players for injured players (Devean George, Speedy Claxton, Raja Bell), your roster is going to be depleted. If it's the just not being a very good team, again, that's on the management, the coaching, and well, the players.

I'm not saying I know what the issue with the meltdowns is, but why does it happen so often? I could look on the bright side and say "at least they were in the game", but the only thing that really matters are W's and L's.

Anthony + Anthony = 0
I have no idea what happened to these two tonight but they contributed just barely more than I did, and I contributed nothing. Their combined stats: 32 minutes, 0 points (0-4 FG's), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers. Ouch! I think A-Mo has an excuse, he might not be there mentally due to the death in the family. I'll give him a pass for the last few games. He just doesn't look the same.

But I don't know what happened to Anthony Randolph. I don't know where he is mentally because he made numerous boneheaded mistakes tonight:

He missed cutting down the lane to receive a pass from Curry who had drawn to defenders. Randolph would have had an easy dunk.
He's still taking bad shots. In fact, right now, anything outside of 5 feet should be considered a bad shot for him. That airball from 15 feet out on the baseline was hideous.
He's still leaving his feet on defense when he doesn't need to. I can remember two instances. The first had a guard driving the lane in what amounted to a 2 on 1. The guard jumps, Anthony jumps and leaves his feet, which allows the guard to just dump the ball to a big man for a dunk. Second time was when Stuckey grabbed an offensive rebound and Randolph was standing between him and the basket. Stuckey pump fakes, Randolph jumps, Stuckey draws the foul. Why does Randolph need to leave his feet every time a guard drives the lane? If he stays on his feet, keeps his hands up, he makes it extremely difficult to make the shot. And if the other guy leaves his feet, Randolph is quick enough to get up and block the shot.

Corey + Monta
These two guys played well tonight. Even though Maggette is still shooting 3's early in the shot clock (bad shot) he looked much better tonight than last night. He got to the line 8 times (0 yesterday) and shot a nice 8-13 from the field. He was more aggressive in attacking the bucket which got him some easy buckets and free throws, his bread and butter. He only grabbed four boards tonight, but it felt like he was much more active in the paint trying to secure rebounds.

Monta was great tonight. He played all 48 minutes and was still working hard until the end. He had a nice shooting night, 29 points on 11-20 shooting. But he also chipped in with 7 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, with just 1 turnover. He was also very aggressive on defense going for steals and harassing the opposing guards. I've been impressed with the effort he's put forth on D this year. He says he's been doing it the entire time, but you, me, Monta, and the coaches know that he's stepped up his D in comparison to last season. And to be honest, it makes me smile. I appreciate effort, hustle, and desire on defense.

via cdn0.sbnation.com

Pistons

Rip Hamilton played in just his 2nd game of the season. His presence just might make the Pistons a better team. He didn't shoot exceptionally well, but he hit some key shots in the 4th.
But Rip wasn't the reason for the win, that honor belongs to Rodney Stuckey - 29 points (10-18 FG's, 9-10 FT's) to go with 7 assists. His 7 turnovers were a sore spot, but he came through in the 4th for them when the Warriors made a little run to cut the lead.
The other guy I was impressed with was Charlie Villanueva. His post moves looked smooth and refined. He had a hook shot from about 7 feet, he caught an alley oop when Vlad turned his head, and he did some nice work with jumpers.

via cdn0.sbnation.com

Some Thoughts on Kobe & Shaq

Josh Tucker — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:01:03 -0000

A few days ago, as you all remember quite well, Kobe Bryant hit this ridiculous game-winning bank shot over Dwyane Wade to beat Miami and keep the Lakers' winning streak (now at 9 games) alive. It was incredible, and yet, because it was Kobe, completely unsurprising. I was out of my mind, and yet, because it was Kobe, I should almost have expected it. It was an amazing shot, and yet, because it was Kobe, not a shocking one.

For me, as for many Lakers fans, the experience went beyond that single shot. In the day or so that followed, I found myself mentally reliving many of Kobe's previous buzzer beaters. Two of my favorites, of course, are the double-whammies versus Portland and Phoenix — in both of which, Kobe first ties the game at the buzzer to send it to overtime, and then, at the end of overtime, hits another shot at the buzzer to win it. (Side note: I wonder how many other players have hit two buzzer beaters in the same game, on more than one occasion? Anyone know?)

Suddenly, something occurred to me. My wife, who often watches Lakers games with me (lucky man that I am), had probably never seen either of those shots (or rather, pairs of shots). We got married in late 2006, and it was only after that that she started watching with me. So, of course, I called up YouTube and played them for her.

That's when I noticed something — something different about Shaq and Kobe...

Back in May of this almost-over calendar year, the NBA was busy applying fancy editing to some of the more dramatic moments in NBA playoff history, and the results were awesome. You had Dr. J's reverse layup, Larry Legend's inbounds steal, Magic Johnson's baby skyhook, and of course, Kobe's clutch alley-oop pass to Shaq.

When the Kobe-to-Shaq commercial ran, Jason Kottke noticed something about the play:

Bryant creates 95% of the offense here by crossing Pippen over and throwing a perfect lob to O'Neal. O'Neal throws it down and the camera follows him as he heads down the court yelling in celebration, totally blowing right past Kobe, who has his hand out to high-five Shaq. Kobe half-heartedly grabs at O'Neal's forearm as he passes; Shaq doesn't even notice.

Henry Abbott picked up on Jason's observation and ran it on TrueHoop, referring to it as "Where Amazingly Sad Happens."

Watch the video at the top of this post, and you'll see what they were referring to. Here's the unedited version, which further reinforces Kottke's point, making it even more clear that Kobe, not Shaq, is responsible for this play; Shaq was open for the lob because Kobe drew four defenders (Derek Fisher was keeping the fifth one honest).

Kobe created that play for Shaq. Kobe deserves most of the credit; all Shaq did was cash in on an incredible move and a gorgeous pass by Bryant. In fact, it's worth pointing out that in this situation, Kobe did what Magic didn't — pass the ball to his open big man. In light of Kobe's reputation as a supposed ball-hog (7 assists in the triangle offense, anyone?), even that is worth something — especially since Kobe had enough space to take the shot himself, and a free-throw jumper is almost automatic for him. But he made that pass, found his open big man, and created the biggest play of the game.

But what's Shaq's response, when the momentous play is completed? It's certainly not to show any appreciation to his very deserving teammate. Instead, he turns and points to the home crowd as he runs down the court.

It's as if to say, "I've done it! I've all but won us the game — give me the glory!" He's too busy exalting in his greatness and soaking in the adoration of the fans to even notice Kobe, let alone thank him. The star of the game, as Kottke also points out, was Kobe, who had 25 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 blocks in the amazing comeback, as compared to Shaq's 18/9/5/1. The credit for the pivotal play belonged to Kobe. But there's Shaq, taking all the credit.

Watch the unedited video again. As Kottke points out (the dude was full of insights), it shows Shaq finally finding Kobe for a high-five, long after the play is over and he's sought out and received his props from the fans and his teammates. Kottke points out that "it's a brief moment; they slap hands and go their separate ways, foreshadowing Shaq's departure four years later." To me, it looks like more of the same from Shaq — his body language says, "High five me for that awesome play I just made." (To his credit, Kobe does just that.) Not that there's anything wrong with that, when it's deserved; players do that all the time, when they've just done something awesome. It's just that, in this case, it should have been a high five, or even a hug, that said, "I'm high fiving you for that play you just made."

Kinda like this:

Having been blown away by Kobe's game-winner over Miami, and having gone back to relive this previous clutch Kobe moments with my wife, I noticed something that reminded me of Jason Kottke's and Henry Abbott's observations regarding the Kobe-Shaq alley-oop.

Kobe deserved more credit for his game-tying floater than Shaq did for his alley-oop dunk. Unlike Shaq, Kobe created his own shot, and it was much more difficult. The presence of mind to know how much time was on the clock, and to know what kind of shot he could get in that time, was incredible. That left fake before he goes to the right around Raja Bell is simply brilliant. The twisting floater over Diaw to avoid the block was as perfect as it gets, and a very tough shot found nothing but net. As one commentator puts it (sounds like Hubie Brown, maybe?), "This is a miraculous shot."

But incredible as that shot was, it never would have happened without Smush freaking Parker's (!!) strip and deflection. And Kobe knows it. From stripping the ball without fouling, to dancing along the sideline while chasing a loose ball, to the presence of mind required to calmly make the controlled tap to an already-breaking teammate (Devean George), Smush Parker was, quite simply, playing way over his head. It was a brilliant, savvy, smart play that set up Kobe's shot. Get this right, folks: Kobe may have tied the game, but it was Smush Parker who saved it.

And Kobe knows this. He's just sent the game to overtime, and the crowd is going nuts for him, and he could care less about any of that. Instead of celebrating his own incredible shot or soaking in the crowd's mind-numbing adoration, he makes a bee-line for Smush. There's no simple high five here, no quick butt-smack. He freaking smothers the kid, and doesn't let go of him until Smush knows that he was the man on that play. Even after his teammates catch up and mob Kobe for making the shot, he still doesn't let go of his boy.

Smush Parker didn't put up 25/11/7/5 on the game. In fact, he was pretty bad on the night, going 2-12 for 5 points, with 3 rebounds, only 1 assist, and 5 fouls (and no free throws of his own). As hindsight has made so very clear, it had to be frustrating for Kobe to be playing the mighty Suns alongside a player of Smush's caliber (not to mention Devean George/Brian Cook and Kwame Brown, who, together with Smush, composed 3/5 of the Lakers starting unit). But in this moment, none of that matters, because as far as Kobe is concerned, Smush is the hero of the moment, and he makes sure his point guard gets every ounce of the appreciation he deserves.

Now, don't take this as being some sort of end-all point to completely settle the argument — but doesn't it seem a bit off to you, in watching these two plays, that Kobe had the reputation of being such a bad teammate, and Shaq, such a great one? Certainly, Kobe has had his flaws. But, as this video session suggests, perhaps it's not nearly so cut and dry — perhaps Kobe was never as bad as he was made out to be, and perhaps Shaq was never as good.

Just some food for thought, for the next time the Shaq-Kobe "relationship" comes up.

Game 20 Recap: Oklahoma City 104, Golden State 88

Zorgon — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:59:09 -0000

More photos » by ALONZO ADAMS - AP

You couldn't have asked for a better battle of the rookies tonight.

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Yahoo! Sports Box Score:

Golden State of Mind Recap:

Well, that game went pretty much as I expected it to, yet at the same time, it held a lot of surprises.

Lets start out with the expected. The Warriors started off this game with the lead, slowly rising to a margin of 21-15. Then, the Thunder came back to within 1 point by the end of the quarter, and took a short lead at the beginning of the 2nd. Then, the Warriors went on another run, making it 35-27. Then, the Thunder climbed right back with a run of their own, and it was pretty much even by the time the 2nd quarter was over. This concept of runs and draughts is frequent in Warrior games. By the time the 3rd rolled around, the Thunder came out rolling, taking a 62 to 54 lead. The Warriors pounded their way back to tie it at 62, and then....Corey Maggette lost his cool. I couldn't see what was going on from where I sat, but apparently he was badmouthing somebody, causing him to commit a double technical foul, along with his normal foul. He was escorted out of the arena, giving the Thunder 3 free points and leaving the Warriors bench with 2 guys and an emergency backup in Devean George. At this point, the entire team collapsed. If you were a Warriors fan, you've seen this happen before (most notably during the Steven Jackson and Baron Davis era), and you knew the game was over. Monta Ellis got called for a technical later on, but that's pretty excusable, considering he was the only one scoring for the team.

Now, let's move to the unexpected. This could hardly be considered a fast break game at all, not very typical of the Warriors. It was a game of possessions, with teams actually running offensive sets, and the Warriors not being silly enough to fire it up within the first 7 seconds. In fact, I hardly remember any Warriors fast breaks at all. Most of the fast breaks were made by the Thunder, after the Warriors made a huge defensive error. Whenever the Warriors stole the ball in the back court, the Thunder defense would get back down the floor before the Warriors could do anything.

Another surprising statistic is the fact that Monta Ellis wasn't only able to guard and complete with Kevin Durant, he was able to guard him well. Now, I know, Kevin Durant did have 28 Points, 9 Rebounds, 4 Assists, and 3 Steals. But he also had a whopping 6 turnovers, a poor 9-24 shooting, and 18 of his points came after Corey Maggette's foul. I know that some of those 18 were legit, but Monta Ellis essentially held the Thunder's best scorer to 10 Points though the first 2 and a half quarters, in which he scored less than Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green. If the game had been competitive the whole time, who knows? Monta Ellis might have held him to 16, and people would be saying a whole lot of "wows" right now. Obviously, for his defensive prowess, Monta Ellis gets the Thunder Plunderer award. I know, he had 9 turnovers....but I don't want to award it to Stephen Curry, as explained later.

KD: I'm sorry, my fine sir, but could I perchance acquire that basketball from you? Curry: I do apologize my good man, but I have already thrown it to one of the gentlemen on my basketball team. KD: Ah, well, alright then. Cheery-O! Curry: Cheery-O!

But, admittedly, the Thunder also did an excellent job on defense against the Warriors guards. As a team, the Warriors had a whopping 20 turnovers to 12 assists, with Monta having 9 turnovers and Stephen Curry having 5. It was clear that while both could move the ball well, neither was functioning as a true point guard, and that hurt the Warriors. C.J. Watson, who was in for the entire game, was completely shut down on the offensive end of the floor. 10 Points? That's like scoring once every 10 minutes. Sheesh.

Regardless, back to the Thunder. This is a Thunder blog, isn't it? James Harden had another excellent game tonight, pulling in 26 Points, 9 Rebounds, and 5 Assists. He stepped up the scoring when Kevin Durant couldn't, keeping the Thunder in contention. Sure, 8 of those points came in garbage time in the 4th, but it's undeniable the help he gave tonight, and it's undeniable how much he would help the Warrior's scoring situation right now if he was on their team. He even outscored, outrebounded, and outassisted Curry in 7 less minutes. If I were a Thunder fan (which I supposedly am), I wouldn't regret taking Harden at 3 at this point. He may have to provide scoring on the bench, but he has a long career ahead of him. Oh, and need I say, "Thunder Wonder"?

Jeff Green also pitched in, adding 21 Points, 13 Rebounds, and 3 Assists, earning him the Thunder Down Under award. He also added to the scoring while Durant was out of commission. The Thunder Blunder, without question, is Russell Westbrook. I know, he had decent numbers considering he was up against a team full of players who do the exact same thing he does offensively, except better in every way. But 4-17? Sheesh.

Me, shortly after being stringed.

Just adding to the bizarro night in which the Warriors played half-court ball and Monta Ellis defended well was the vendetta Rumble took against me. I've cheered for the Warriors twice before when the Thunder were in the Ford Center, but it was before I was well known as a fan, and before rumble ever existed. It all started with Rumble getting people excited in the section, and other fans encouraging him to jeer me. Then, his cold, angry eyes met mine, and he clearly disapproved of what I did. Eventually, he left. But, just before the 4th quarter started and the game looked out of reach, Rumble popped out of nowhere and emptied about 5 cans of silly string on to me. I tried to think of something clever to do, but I just sat there, in extreme shock and awe. He left as soon as he'd come, and I now have a ball of goo sitting in my car as a result of the incident. As the game ended in a Thunder victory, Rumble stopped on his victory segway to stare at me again. He pointed to me, and cut his throat as an indication of what he wanted to do to me. It was all very shocking, very entertaining, and very flattering. How many people can say they've drawn the ire of the mascot so much as to have him break out in a vendetta against them? I guess I'm one of the lucky few, heh! In any case, I'll get him back one day....and it will be in the name of Thunder, the old Warriors mascot! I'll get you, Rumble!

Next Game: At the Grizzlies, Friday, December 12th, 7 PM Central Standard Time

RECAP: Warriors 88, Thunder 104 - More of the Same.

Hash — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:10:14 -0000

What a depressing display. This Warriors team is getting tougher and tougher to watch. Every time they show us a glimmer of hope in one form or another, they offset it by 2 debilitating actions. There is no two ways about it; we are moving backwards. Our players can't stay healthy, what's left of them can't string plays together; we are giving ourselves no chance to form any sort of team cohesiveness.

With the way the Thunder played tonight, they shouldn't have beaten us. They came out with a pretty poor game by most standards, yet they beat us by 16 points? Things are upside down in the world of the Warriors. Up. Side. Down.

Warriors vs Thunder boxscore

Open Thread (1300+ posts)

Warriors Web: Collapsed after Maggette's ejection

Polling GSoM: Will the Golden State Warriors lead the league in turnovers this season?

Freakin' wingspan of a pterodactyl on this guy...

Let's make this short and sweet. Hit the jump and let's take a look at some of the factors that led to another disappointing loss.

I have to say, the first half of this game really wasn't that bad. Granted, I might be jaded because the stink of the second half is still in my notsrils, but in the beginning the Warriors did a pretty solid job on the defensive end. This is something we simply don't see from this team, so it was refreshing to see our boys in the paint, knocking the ball lose and actually guarding jumpers. In the first quarter alone, the Warriors forced 9 turnovers and, despite a bucketful of turnovers ourselves, managed to close out the quarter up one point.

As we made our way into the second; that's when things really started to turn ugly. Amazingly enough, the strong D still maintained, but our offense melted away into the all too familiar one on one stop and pop shots. With our lethargic offense taking center stage, the Thunder tore off on a 14-0 run.

Our improved defense was the classic example of the Warriors putting something good on the table in exchange for 10 things bad. Today, where our defensive cylinders were firing, the Warriors gave up a ridiculous amount of points off of turnovers and allowing the Thunder to grab offensive boards. It was only by the good graces of their poor shooting that we ended the half down by only 1.

The third and fourth quarters? Man, I don't even want to talk about them. That might have been the Warriors at their worst (offensively speaking at least). It literally got to the point where Monta and, to a lesser degree Curry were the only two who could seem to score buckets. There were enough bricks from the Warriors in these two quarters to build a 3 story house. Add to that equation Maggs getting himself ejected for no reason and we ended up in the worst possible position in this game.

You think I'm talking about losing by 16, don't you? No. I'm talking about putting in Devean George. If that's not a white flag, I don't know what is...

If not Ellis, then who? While his game wasn't it's finest, there's no denying that Ellis was the only one who got things moving on an offensive side. And trust me, I do have conflicts about doling out the WW to someone who got 9 turnovers. So I'll at least tip my hat to Curry for dropping in a solid 22.

Game 20 Preview: Oklahoma City vs. Golden State

Zorgon — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:34:20 -0000

More photos » by Don Smith - NBAE/Getty Images

Last time we met, the Thunder won on a last second buzzer-beater by Jeff Green. It was also one of Desmond Mason's final games playing for the Thunder, before he busted his knee for the year.

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This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 7:00 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Comcast Sports Net Bay Area

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Golden State of Mind

Backstory: Ah, the time has arrived.

It's my favourite time of year. The time of year where I get to cheer on my favourite team in the NBA against a crowd of enraged fans as they lose miserably against my other favourite team. I make a lot of enemies in the process, but a Thunder-Warriors game, for me, is truly a great spectacle to behold. No matter what, I win, and I always have a lot of fun. And, I know there are those of you who think I'm a traitor for cheering against the Thunder, but I don't care. I've been a Warriors fan ever since I was a young one, and they will remain my favourite team through thick and thin. I love the Thunder almost equally as much, but they'll just never take the place of the Warriors in my heart. You could lecture me all day about how they've been the worst team in the NBA over the past 15 years (correct), how the organization stinks (correct), how the players are punks (wrong), how Oakland is trashy (wrong), and how much better the Thunder are. But the fact remains that they're the team I was raised on, the team that has captured my love, and the team that I'll watch until I die.

And before I go on to the actual preview, I'd also like to give a big shout out to Golden State of Mind. I've been a loyal member of their community since they first moved to SB Nation and Mike Dunleavy and Derek Fisher were bricking treys on a regular basis. It's a huge honor to be on the same network as them, and a dream I've always had.

But, enough personal asides. Let us get to the analysis.

Who are the Warriors? Well, they're a very two-faced team. When they play well, they're a team with excellent ball movement that can drive the ball into the post when there are no open shots, and a team that can also run down the floor, and knock down the first open shot they get. When they play badly, oh man, do they play badly. It usually consists of a complete lack of scoring combined with them shooting bad, completely guarded jumpers within the first few seconds of the shot clock, leading to large deficits. It's usually a result of exhaustion and a lack of big men. You might think that the bad Warriors show up more often than not, and they do, but it's not because of a lack of talent. This team has seen more injuries than the Mexican Army as they tried to take the Alamo. 3 of their big men, Biedrins, Turiaf, and Wright are all out with injuries. Both of their off-season acquisitions, Devean George and Speedy Claxton, are out as well. Heck, even Raja Bell, who came in a trade, has needed hand surgery, and to make it all complete, Kelenna Azubuike was out with surgery, and Anthony Morrow was recently out to attend a funeral. This left the team with 8 active players (including Forward Chris Hunter, who was called up from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants out of desperation). This is nothing new for the Warriors, as Azubuike himself was a D-League find in a similar time of trouble. Rather, it is just another chapter in the book of a team of injuries, bad draft picks, bad management, bad coaching, and just overall futility. Anthony Morrow will be back for tonight's game at the Ford Center, but Don Nelson won't make the trip. Can a team of 9 guys and an assistant coach overcome the hungry Thunder?

Well, anything is possible. The Thunder are coming off of a bad loss against the Celtics, but that's the exception rather than the rule. They've been known to put the lower-echelon teams when they've needed to, but they've also been known to play them tight into the second half. When you've facing the Warriors, who are capable of going on huge runs all at once, it's a dangerous thing to do.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Nick Collison vs. Mikki Moore (Possibly Anthony Randolph)

Mikki Moore did well in garbage time against the Thunder last year when he played for Boston, but I wouldn't expect a repeat performance tonight. He's been useless in every sense of the word when he's played for the Warriors, missing open layups, fouling far too often, and not rebounding as much as they'd like him to. There are very few matchups where Nick Collison can legitimately eat someone alive, but this is one of them. Expect at least a double double.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Vladamir Radmanovic (Possibly Anthony Randolph)

Again, this matchup provides a huge advantage for the Thunder. Jeff Green always beats power forwards that are smaller than him, and then though "the rad man" is 6'10", he's a defensive and offensive post softie. He'll hit a few threes and grab a couple of rebounds just because of he sheer amounts of shots being taken, but don't expect him to put up nearly as good of numbers as Green will.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Monta Ellis

Well, this is a matchup I never thought I'd see in my day. Kevin Durant against Monta Ellis? It will never sound right in my head, but apparently, it's about to happen. As they're both mains scorers for their respective teams, and seeing as how neither have excellent defense, expect a huge scorefest tonight from both players, with Durant racking up more rebounds and blocks and Ellis racking up more assists and steals. Sounds kind of obvious, but what else am I supposed to say?

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Anthony Morrow

Anthony Morrow can score from all over the floor, but he's mainly a shooter. That being said, he'll probably perform a little below par if he has to play against Sefolosha, since Sefolosha closes out on shooters pretty well. He won't be shut out though, because he'll probably be on the floor for some of the time Sefolosha will be on the bench, and it's hard keeping such an elite scorer down.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry has been one of the leagues best Rookies this year. Widely considered to be the Warriors future Point Guard, he can score from anywhere on the floor and pass it smoothly to the right guy with the style and grace of a veteran. Russell Westbrook can do that too, but without the great shooting.

Battle of the Benches:

The Warrior's bench, while depleted, is better than you think. Hunter is pretty useless, but Maggette is great at getting to the line when he wants to, and C.J. Watson scores well in spurts. Most importantly, Anthony Randolph, coming off of a 28 Points, 13 Rebound, and 5 Assist performance against Orlando, looks poised for greatness. He's the Warriors best kept secret, and easily owns anybody we have on our bench, including Ibaka, Wilks, and Harden.

Coaching and Intangibles:

The Warriors don't have Don Nelson, who has known to be a bit silly with his player management, but they will get tired. Not because they've had 5 games in their last 9 days, but simply because they play such a tiring game and only have 9 guys to play it. It can be evidenced by the Magic suddenly and dramatically going on a 15-0 run at the end of the last game while the Warriors were firing up well-guarded duds. On top of that, they have a horrible record, and they're playing in the Ford Center. Most everything is on the Thunder's side.

Bottom Line:

I would shout with joy if the Warriors won this game, but it's just not going to happen. They've made big runs against every team under the sun, but shown a huge inability to close those same games. Also, most of the teams they've been able to compete with have consisted largely of outside shooters, while the Thunder are mainly a inside scoring team. All in all, it will be close for a while, but the game will end quietly, with most of the fans filing out with 3 minutes to go and the Thunder having won by 10.

Prediction: Oklahoma City 122, Golden State 112

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I'll be in the Ford Center cheering the team Warriors on, but I'll be back to write a recap later tonight. Go Thunder WARRIORS!

Poll

Who's going to win tonight?

RECAP: Warriors 118 Magic 126 - So much for my early XMas Present

R Dizzle — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:04:09 -0000

Where you at Ronny? We got a dance off coming after this game!

Final Boxscore | Warriors Web Links | Open Thread (1100+ comments)

Final - 12.5.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Orlando Magic	42	30	25	29	126
Golden State Warriors	33	31	36	18	118

Complete Coverage >

Oh Warriors, how you break my heart. I gotta be honest - I wasn't even going to watch the game. I was just going to watch the replay today (Sunday) on League Pass, fast forward through the Magic dominating us and then come up with some kinda recap.

You can't blame me for that. Let me go back and take a quote from my preview.

5. The Warriors are missing these players - Brandan Wright, Kelenna Azubuike, Raja Bell, Anthony Morrow, Ronny Turiaf, Andris Biedrins, Anthony Randolph, Speedy Claxton, Devean George.

6. The Warriors will play these players tonight - Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, Corey Maggette, Chris Hunter, Mikki Moore, C.J. Watson, and Vladimir Radmonovich.

How in the world were we supposed to win with that? In fact, how were we supposed to be even close?

So I went on with my night...did what I had to do. Like an idiot, I decided to briefly check the score during the 2nd quarter.

I check the score, and what do I see? Warriors are down by 15. (I got rhymes son!)

Surprise surprise R Dizzle. Box Score at that point? Nothing out of the ordinary. Monta with the most points, AR just got in and did a few things, Vlad Rad looking half decent.

But there was an interesting number. Dwight Howard like 3 fouls already. Weird. Maybe we were doing something right? Getting him into foul trouble early? Gortat too?

Naw naw, we still had no chance. Vinsanity was playing out of his mind. Get it? Visnanity? Playing out of his mind? I'm so creative.

The Magic kept scoring more 3's at a rate faster than I was eating Xmas Cookies. We had no chance. None at all.

So I said "whateves." Got back to the task at hand. Decorating my Xmas tree. It was dope. I had warm hot chocolate (what else would it be? cold hot chocolate?), the N Sync Christmas Album playing in the background, cool ornaments and I was hanging with a lil special someone.

You gotta love the holidays! Fun filled times. I mean jeez, look at my tree! (I got rhymes son!)

But something was missing. The night wasn't right. I had to be honest with myself. I can't just "not watch" the Warriors because they're guaranteed a loss. No, I must enjoy the bad times, I must find some pleasure in it all.

So I turned it back on at the beginning of the 2nd half. Something was different this time around.

Sure Monta was doing his thing - playing at an All Star level. Vlad Rad was doing his thing. Curry was getting his Butter on (Butter Chicken anyone?) and handling the ball silky smooth. But there 2 things that stuck out to me at that point.

1. Dwight and Marcin were in foul trouble.

Very key. Without their two big men, they were forced to play Brandon Bass at center. We didn't really have one at the time (don't try to tell me that Mikki Moore or Chris Hunter are great substitutes) so we could play small ball.

Yes, classic Nellie ball. Put a 4 at the 5 position (Vlad Rad) a 3 at the 4 (Corey Maggette), put in guys that "have the ability" to score (Monta, Randolph, and Curry) and run run run run run.

2. Anthony Randolph was "different."

Define different you say? Can't put my finger on it. Something was just..."different." Sure I can throw out numbers but really, what difference does THAT make? It can't really describe what was becoming of Mr. AR. It was just "different."

Maybe finally living up to his "potential?" Not being "out of control?" "No one on the corner had swagga like him?"

Who knows - but at least he wasn't being his usual "Tigger self."

I had to watch the game. I just had to. I had a feeling, or was it more than a feeling, that I had a chance to see something special. Let me quickly summarize what I said in the next 15 minutes of my life.

"We have no chance."

"Wow that was pretty."

"Wait, how did he..."

"We're closing the lead."

"Ooooooo"

"Aaaahhhh"

"NO way is this happening."

"No, really, NO WAY IS THIS HAPPENING."

"That Monta - he's so acrobatic."

"Wait, what's with Anthony Randolph?"

"How is playing like that?"

"Where has been all season?"

"No really...what's going on."

"It's the end of the 3rd and we're up by 5."

"WTF MAN?!?!!??!"

This is why he's hot. This is why he's hot. This is why, this is why, this is why he's hot.

"WTF MAN?!?!?!" - indeed. The "impossible" was happening right in front of our eyes. We had a team with 8 guys. We were playing the Magic. Yes, the Magic. The same Magic that were the Eastern Conference Champions. The same Magic that manged to get BETTER over the off season.

It was happening. Monta Ellis was playing at an All Star level. He was leading the team. Curry was getting his PG on and handling the ball well. Corey Maggette was slashing in the line, playing strong. But most of all - Anthony Randolph was becoming something special right in front of our eyes.

I was going to be able to put my first present under my new Christmas tree. I was going to see the Warriors do the impossible again. I was back to believing.

IT WAS GOING TO BE AN EARLY CHRISTMAS.

But no, I was wrong. Not too get too depressing but essentially things didnt' come together. Call it being a young team. Call it being inexperienced. Call it playing against a better team.

Whatever you want to do - truth of the matter is we got destroyed in the last 5 minutes. The Magic made it one "Magical" night.

Hey, but like always - let's refer to the one thing I had right in my preview.

FICTION

1. The Warriors will win tonight. (That is all...)

Hooray...

Thanks for NOT giving me an early XMas present guys...

But hey, one question. How in the world did Matt Barnes for from this

To this

Who else? Anthony Randolph. 10-23 shooting, 28 points, 13 boards, and 5 assists.

Two things popped out to me from AR in this game.

1. He still can't crack a smile.

Seriously, when is this kid going to be happy? He was scoring left and right, making crazy passes (that dish to Monta was nuts) and he still looked like he was about to cry.

The only time I saw him smile was after he fouled Matt Barnes in an attempted block.

...what's up with that?

1. He's living up to his "potential."

Yeah great stuff. We all know where the hype is and what it's about. But please just do me one favor. For my Christmas gift, just please make sure that

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YOU DO THIS AGAIN!!!!

Oh ya, one more thing....

IT'S ALMOST TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!! YAY!!

All about Holiday Cupcakes!

Poll

Which was a tougher loss this week?

GAME THREAD #19 - Warriors vs. Magic - Superman that..

R Dizzle — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:36:43 -0000

My arms are this big - I swear.

Warriors: 6-12

Magic: 15-4

Tip-Off: 7:30pm

TV: CSN Bay Area

Radio: KNBR 680

Blog Buddy: Third Quarter Collapse

Alright so things aren't going so well. We lost the last game to the Rockets by a stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid (I think you get the picture) play and it was heart breaking. Monta's been scoring out of his mind but also giving up turnovers at a rate that is out of his mind. Yay.

But hey, at least we get to see another great Warriors game tonight. We're going to finally have a full roster...right?

Right?

What's this? IQofaWarrior says...a big fat N-O.

Sigh...

FACTS

1. The Magic are tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

2. The Magic will set a new team record with 7 consecutive road wins,

3. Don Nelson will miss the next 5 road games.

4. Anthony Morrow will miss tonight's game.

5. The Warriors are missing these players - Brandan Wright, Kelenna Azubuike, Raja Bell, Anthony Morrow, Ronny Turiaf, Andris Biedrins, Anthony Randolph, Speedy Claxton, Devean George.

6. The Warriors will play these players tonight - Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, Corey Maggette, Chris Hunter, Mikki Moore, C.J. Watson, and Vladimir Radmonovich.

7. Mickael Pietrus was one of the most fun Warriors players. (See Below)

8. The Warriors are in desperate need of some magic "health" potions.

9. Mickael Pietrus, Matt Barnes, and Adonal Foyle will all get standing ovations when they step on the court (if they do).

10. This guy (pictured below) will Superman the Warriors.

FICTION

1. The Warriors will win tonight. (That is all...)

Poll

Who is your favorite ex-Warrior on the Magic?

RUMOR: Charlotte Bobcats (+ Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets) Interested in Stephen Jackson- Boris Diaw anyone?

Atma Brother ONE — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:48:18 -0000

I thought R Dizzle's joke and entire recap from earlier today was pretty hilarious, so let me hit the rewind button for this Stephen Jackson tidbit:

YESSSSSSS - no one likes me.

Say YESSSSSSS to trade rumors and make the jump!

Marc Stein writes on ESPN True Hoop Don't forget Bobcats in Stephen Jackson sweepstakes (read that again- "Stephen Jackson sweepstakes"... hilarious):

It's been about a week since we had any certifiable chatter to pass along on the Stephen Jackson trade front. That's not because the Warriors have slowed the search for trade partners -- to the contrary -- but because the most interested parties (Cleveland and Denver) are generally high-payroll teams that can't easily absorb Jackson's long-term contract. The Cavs and the Nuggets, furthermore, just aren't teeming with tradeable (and available) assets to hook Golden State.

What we can confirm, though, is that Charlotte has to be mentioned more prominently on the list of interested suitors. We've briefly noted the Bobcats' interest in a couple of previous entries, but further checking reveals that the Bobs have seriously explored the prospect of trading for Jackson, apparently undaunted by the fact that they weren't mentioned when Jackson announced late in the summer that he wanted to be dealt to Cleveland, New York or one of the three Texas teams.

...

Charlotte's first choice -- in any deal -- remains moving Nazr Mohammed first, Vladimir Radmanovic second and packaging them together if possible. The Bobcats have been trying to move Mohammed for months and could make a deal with Golden State work cap-wise by combining Mohammed and Radmanovic -- both of whom are earning $6.5 million this season and $6.9 million next season -- for Jackson and the smaller expiring contracts of Acie Law and Devean George.

Yet you shouldn't expect Golden State to settle for anything less than Diaw, whose abilities as a point forward would undoubtedly appeal to Don Nelson. The Warriors continue to transmit the message that they won't rush the process just for the sake of parting with Jackson, preferring to wait until Dec. 15 or maybe even the trade deadline in February in hopes of getting back something of value for a player who, in their view, has been far more productive than problematic when you look at his whole Warriors career.

Shipping "Captain" Jack to the hoops boonies for Boris Diaw aka Miss Gossip's main crush?

Where do I sign up?

Stephen Jackson said he wanted to play for a contender.

How about a contender for John Wall?

via dunkside.com

Diaw broke out back in 2005-2006 with the original 7 Seconds or Less minus Amare Stoudemire Phoenix Suns where he shockingly put up 13.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, and 6.2 apg with a swat mixed in for good effect. After that he never quite matched those averages with the Suns and was shipped out to Charlotte for Jason Richardson. Diaw did have a nice resurgence last year dropping nearly 15-6-5 under the always fidgety Larry Brown. At age 27 Diaw is right at his NBA prime, so it's probably not the last time we'll see this type of production from the French forward. And who knows? If Diaw managed to kick that croissant habit maybe he'll even better those numbers in the coming years.

In Nellieball my crystal ball sees Boris Diaw as Billy Owens Part II and for the cost of a "Captain" that's quite the bargain.

Billy Owens drawing his usual quadruple team.

Also see: Polling GSoM: Was Billy Owens a "monumental NBA bust"?

Boris Diaw

#32 / Forward / Charlotte Bobcats

Height: 6-8

Weight: 235

Born: Apr 16, 1982

College: None

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2009 - Boris Diaw	4	36.0	3.5	8.5	41.2	0.5	2.0	25.0	3.5	3.5	100.0	2.3	2.8	5.0	5.0	2.3	1.3	0.8	2.0	11.0

I must say though props to Larry Riley and Don Nelson. They're playing this exactly right. Riley is showing patience in this undesirable situation and an unwillingness to sell low on Jackson just for the sake of getting rid of the team's former "Captain". Nellie is saying all the right things to the media as well- hyping up Jackson and not publicly criticizing him when he deserves it for his "leadership" and on-court play. He's even going so far to say he hopes Jack doesn't get traded. Crafty Nellie is doing his best used car salesman impression. Hornets fans aren't buying it, but maybe some unsuspecting GM in the association can be duped.

More from True Hoop about kicking the "Captain" off the Warriors ship

From the GSoM Vault:

99.9% of rumors never happen, but 99.9% of them are fun to talk about!

Poll

Who would you rather have on the Warriors right now?

Stephen "Captain" Jackson

153 votes

Boris Diaw

703 votes

Captain Jack Sparrow

424 votes

1280 votes | Poll has closed

Macro-Warriornomics - WE BELIEVE WE SUCK :: GSoM's 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview (Part 2 of 2)

Atma Brother ONE — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:09:45 -0000

Don't forget to check out Part I of our 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview super blowout special- Micro-Warriornomics

Macro-Warriornomics class is now in session...

-----------------------

QUESTION:

How does a team go from this:

to this:

in less than a 2 years?

ANSWER: Four words- Chris. Cohan. Robert. Rowell.

Sure the WE SUCK movement is back in full effect for Cohan's Warriors, but that doesn't mean we're not looking forward to the start of the 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors campaign here in Dubs Land.

Jump to find out why WE SUCK is still going to be exciting!

2k8-2k9 Golden State Warriors Rewind

Last Year's Record: 29-53

After the wildly entertaining ups and downs and highs and ultimate highs of the 2006-2007 season and the mediocre, but entertaining non-playoff 2007-2008 season, the Warriors 2008-2009 season was a complete disaster. Pre-WE BELIEVE the Warriors were mockingly "Unstoppable Baby!". During the short lived but thrilling WE BELIEVE era they were a SHOCK THE WORLD variant of "Unstoppable Baby!". However last season they were mostly "Unwatchable Baby."

From silly turnovers, to numerous mental lapses, to dumbfoundedly saddling a legendary coach in his twilight on the sidelines with a young and raw team with questionable mythical upside, to Moped Gate, to ZERO defense, to an absurd amount of media hysteria for mostly the wrong reasons-- Cohan and Rowell's product last season was not worth the price of admission, which was incredulously a sizable increase over the previous season. (Apologies for the run-on, but to be honest all of last year was on one big run-on for this franchise.) There were so many times last season when we couldn't even GIVE away our lowerbowl seats to Warriors games for FREE. (I wasn't joking about the "Unwatchable Baby.")

Thankfully we get to move on.

The Warriors need some serious "Computer Assistance" in real life.

[NBA 2K10 Golden State Warriors Style]

2k9 Golden State Warriors Offseason Rewind

Key Losses

The Chris Mullin Publicity Stunt

Back in 2004 when Warriors owner Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell promoted Gary St. Jean "protege" Chris Mullin to VP/ GM it was nothing more than a silly little publicity stunt. Over the course of his 4 years at the Warriors helm his best move was getting saved by his former mentor Don Nelson. Despite what the media would like you to believe partly because of their bizarre vendetta against Nellie, Mullin was 1) not improving as a GM and 2) is a major reason for the Warriors current disarray with his silly trades (giving the New Jersey Nets a 1st round pick for a fringe NBA player in Marcus Williams) and odd obsession with constantly getting younger and rawer with a lot of b-rate talents, but never building a team to win in the present.

Don't get me wrong. It's hard not to root for Mullie. He's a nice guy and wanted to create an atmosphere that players (regardless of how overpaid or untalented) would want to be a part of. Those are both commendable qualities.

But the media at large and the average Warriors or NBA fan blew Mullie's dismal way out of proportion. He should've never been hired. He deserved to be fired. The problem is that the two guys who fired him (Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell) also deserved to be fired.

Also see: The Mullin Myths: Chris Mullin made the Warriors a franchise players wanted to join

The Marco Belinelli Hype Machine

The Marco Belinelli Hype Machine has thankfully left the building. I still contend that the Toronto Raptors just traded for Jiri Welsch 2.0 and Belinelli probably won't even be in the league in 2-3 seasons.

The Warriors contract dumping of Belinelli is further evidence of Nellie and GM Larry Riley's confidence in Anthony Morrow. It's also an indicator that they both know the definition of "meritocracy" unlike a lot of Warriors fans and local/ national media who inanely hyped this guy up to no end and made almost as many excuses for him as the "golden age" of Mullin's blind affection for Mike Dunleavy.

Not just Warriors and NBA any more...

GSoM now has you covered for all your furniture needs!

Key Additions

Umm let me put this succintly as I can... N/A.

The key word there is "Key". The Warriors did nothing "Key" this past offseason other than potentially making a nice selection at the #7 slot with Stephen Curry aka Masala aka Kid Curry.

After a disastrous 2k8-2k9 season that couldn't end fast enough, it was abundantly clear that this roster was in dire need of change. The Warriors pretty much promised a major shakeup, but alas these were nothing but delusions of grandeur. The Warriors had an absolutely meaningless offseason in terms of roster moves.

Additions

(Now that we got rid of the word "Key" we can get down to business.)

Miikki Moore

I'm just happy he's on the home squad and not on the visiting team.

As Yay Area fav E-40 would say:

SHAKE DEM DREADS!

Expiring Contracts

Why did the Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol to the La Lakers for basically nothing? Why did the Timberwolves trade Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics? (hint: it wasn't Al Jefferson)

Take at look at these contracts that come off the books after this season (via HoopsHype):

Speedy Claxton- $5.2 million
Acie Law- $2.9 million (team option for 2010-2011)
Devean George- $1.6 million
Mikki Moore- $1.3 million
C.J. Watson- $1.0 million

That's potentially upwards of $12,000,000 in fun money. Some possibilities.

2k9-2k10 Golden State Warriors Projections

Biggest Strengths

Roaracle Faithful

There's two constants for the Golden State Warriors:

THE SUCK
The best fans in the entire association

We could go on and on about #1, but let's take a second and appreciate #2.

<long second>

Especially before WE BELIEVE the Golden State Warriors have always had some of the smartest and savvy-est fans in the league. Loyalty would be an understatement.

Golden faces.

1 Dub. 1 Luv. is more like it.

Likable Young Players

There's plenty of reasons not to warm up to vets like Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis.

But Stephen Curry, Anthony Morrow, and Anthony Randolph? That's a whole different animal. It's hard not to root for these guys.

The Anthony's plus a little masala is a-OK with me.

They're young, they're exciting, and the expectations might be a tad bit too high for them. But they'll be fun to watch and root for.

Expiring Contracts

I can't stress this one enough. If the Warriors actually use these chips intelligently they've got a shot at something nice, real nice.

The 2nd (soon to be 1st) Most Winningnest Coach in NBA History

More often than not the Warriors will have the coaching advantage on the sidelines. There is no other coach in the league that can do more with less- which is especially relevant here since the Warriors will have less more often than not this season. For all the drama that he brings for a variety of reasons (not all his fault), Nellie is a master hoops tactician and that can't be denied.

By the way if you're reading a Warriors preview or article on a national mainstream outlet and they routinely refer to CWebb-Nellie parallels, it's a BIG clue that they haven't done their homework and unfortunately know that sensationalism = more web clicks.

By the way if you see baseless and inane "FIRE NELLIE!" rants from a Warriors fan every time something goes wrong, it's a BIG clue that they didn't live through The Dirty Dozen: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 either because they're too young or they didn't realize there was a basketball team in California other than the LA Lakers till the 2007 NBA Playoffs.

Nellie and Riley as the Shot Callers

When the Warriors unceremoniously dumped Chris Mullin to much (mostly unfounded) fan and media backlash, they promoted Nellie's buddy Larry Riley to the GM spot. Riley doesn't have the most distinguished resume based on his numerous NBA stops, but unlike the Warriors previous hire he actually has credentials and experience at all levels- coaching, scouting, and management. Unlike the Warriors previous hire, he actually sounds prepared at interviews and seems to have a vision.

It will be great to have a head coach and GM that are finally on the same page. You could tell Nellie wasn't exactly enamored with Mullin's player pickups and rightfully so (the Adonal Foyle- Troy Murphy- Mike Dunleavy front court?, Kosta Perovic? Marcus WIlliams?).

There's a great piece over at SFGate about new Warriors GM Larry Riley that's definitely worth the cost of a click.

Jim Barnett, Tim Roye, and The Razor and Mr. T

I wanted to take a quick second to highlight some folks who don't get much national media attention though they're quite golden. There's a lot of clowns working under Cohan's regime and in the local Bay Area media who we'll leave unnamed, but these guys are more than legit.

Jim Barnett of Barnett's Law Fame. Barnett is the Warriors color TV commentator and is old school smooth in every way imaginable.

Tim Roye of Elevation Sensation fame. Roye is the Warriors radio announcer and does an absolutely superb job despite having announced so much suck for well over a decade.

Ralph Barbieri of Amici's fame and Tom Tolbert of Run TMC fame. The Razor and Mr. T host the weekly Don Nelson Show on KNBR here in the Bay Area. If you've never heard Nellie's show with Ralph and Tom you're missing out.

Biggest Weaknesses

The Human Powered Turnover Machine

Barring no injuries and if Monta Ellis can make through the season without hopping on a "low-speed moped", it's a pretty safe bet that the Warriors will lead the league in turnovers. Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Anthony Randolph will be the main culprits. Rookie Stephen Curry will probably add to the turnover totals considerably, but we will excuse the rookie.

We'll be using this picture quite a bit in our recaps this season.

Low Hoops IQ

Top to bottom this is one of the dumbest rosters in the league. It can be painful watching them struggle to throw the simplest inbounds pass. Part of that is being young, but most of that can be attributed to players who simply aren't that sharp on the court and off the court. We'll just leave it at that. We're not in the business of hurting the trade value of players on the home team- well at least today.

Immaturity

Media Day 2009 typifies the "Captain" Moped silliness. I'll pass the mic to my man DT from the mighty Fear the Beard: Hater Tuesday: Warriors media day special edition:

What the hell kind of team can't even get media day right? Show up, look happy to be a well-compensated professional, say some nice things to move some tickets, and go home. But no. Not our Dubs. They've got to make this into a public spectacle of dysfunction. And at the center of the storm? The team's two best players. First, you've got Captain Grinch telling us that, yes, he still wants out. Then you've got Monta telling us that, no, he doesn't think Nellie's backcourt plan will work. Great. Where do I sign up to give Chris Cohan that disproportionate share of my disposable income for my delusional "great time out?"

Don't you hate it when your "Captain" is running away from the mess he helped create?

It's very difficult rooting for these guys.

Goals

Playoffs?! PLAYOFFS?! You wanna talk about playoffs?

Actually it's really quite simple. There's really only 2 goals. It takes 2.

1. Fire Rowell

Simply put, Robert Rowell's ascension and solidification as a front office executive on a half billion dollar corporation defies reason. Our recent Q&A with San Jose Mercury columnist Tim Kawakami reaffirmed what we've know for years around these parts: No other NBA team would be dumb enough to have him as an executive:

But there is no support for him as a franchise-runner and everybody knows he's not good at handling people, despite the handful of loyalists who remain in the Warriors employ, There's definitely zero respect for the public front-office chicanery/zaniness of the last year or so.

In fact, I got calls from NBA execs wondering what Rowell was doing when he signed Jackson to the three-year extension, and got calls from the same guys laughing their butts off when Jackson made his public trade request. His dance with Nelson, also, is amusing to NBA folks who know Nelson well.

So no, I don't think Rowell would get a job in any high position in the NBA if Cohan would grant him free agency. Maybe he could be a marketing guy for a D-League team?

Marketing guy for a D-League team. No disrespect to the fine folks at Ridiculous Upside (where you can always find out who will be the next Warrior), but that's pretty hilarious.

Seriously can we get Thunder back already?

2. Chris Cohan Sells the Warriors

From the Archives:

SPECIAL REPORT: The man who owns the Warriors. Cohan's rocky reign. An era marked by lost games, lost fans and endless litigation [SFGate]
RUMOR: Warriors owner Chris Cohan "highly likely" to sell
Polling GSoM: Are you really that surprised that PR director Raymond Ridder and the Golden State Warriors got caught "astroturfing"? (5/23/09)
At the Press Conference: Write "Sell the Warriors" (8/29/06)
Missing Signatures (4/19/06)
Rise to the Occasion (3/17/06)
2005-2006 REPORT CARD: Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell (8/23/09)
BREAKING NEWS: Ice Cube Purchases the Warriors (4/1/06)
We Want Larry! (7/25/09)
San Jose SuperSonics in 2k8 (7/18/06)
NBA Draft 2006: Chris Cohan is happy the draft isn't in the Bay (6/28/07)
The Dirty Dozen - Part 1 of 3 (9/11/06)
IRS Stressing Warrior Owner Chris Cohan (5/19/09)
NBA Payroll Playpen and Cohanomics (11/30/07)
WARRIORSist (6/6/06)
RUMOR: Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell said no to Kevin Garnett because of additional salary and the luxury tax (5/16/09)
RUMOR: Chris Cohan IS INDEED interested in selling Warriors and was in negotiations with Larry Ellison

There really isn't much more to say that we haven't said already, but I will say this. Warriors fans Nirvana isn't winning a championship. It's living to see Cohan sell this team and ending his failed attempt to kill all interest in pro hoops in the Bay Area.

Maybe "Weekend at Cohan's" is better than 16 Years with Cohan?

We'll happily take a championship though.

Projected Finish- "Let's Get IF-y!"

Let's take it back to Computer Science 101 for all our many Silicon Valley readers out there and utilize the ominpotent If statement.

If the Warriors don't make any moves and stay healthy, they're headed for 34 wins and the 10th spot in the West.

If the Warriors continue their injury prone ways (which has a high likelihood with players like Corey Maggette), they're headed for 29 wins (again) and the 12th spot in the West.

If the Warriors cash in all their trade chips and bring in an All-Star caliber big man a la Amare Stoudemire before the season is lost, they're headed for 48 wins and a low playoff seed with a bright and exciting future ahead.

Don't Forget Who We Are

A lot of folks might not have had the "privilege" of following this team and fanbase before the mainstream sports media and even many local media outlets here in the Bay Area cared to pay attention. When it comes to suck, the Warriors having been doing it for years:

Ain't nothing new here!

We're used to it.

Is there another region of hoops junkies who rally around something like this?

"UNSTOPPABLE BABY!"

Golden State Warriors rookie Marc Jackson to the Mavericks' bench, after hitting a lay-up during a 29-point loss (2000)

This is who we are.

I remember 3 years ago (pre-WE BELIEVE, pre-bandwagoners, pre-most regular national and local media coverage of the Warriors, pre-everyone and their mamma starting a Warriors blog because they can type even though they're borderline illiterate) when we launched The W Column for FSN Bay Area (now Comcast Sports Net Bay Area). Each of the GSoM writers answered the essay question we posed for our contest America's Next Warriors fan: Why I love the Warriors even though they've missed the playoffs for 12 straight seasons. Here's what I wrote:

I'm a Golden State Warriors fan because I'm in a golden state of mind.

The Bay Area sports soul is fragmented in professional football (49ers and Raiders) and baseball (A's and Giants) as well as college athletics (Cal, Stanford, San Jose State, and Santa Clara University), but not in pro hoops. The Warriors are a unifying force in Bay Area sports. They represent the Bay and are a rallying point for all of us. Every time the Warriors win it's like throwing up a big W for the entire Bay. That's golden.

Almost every night out at the Arena and on the road the Warriors aren't supposed to win. It's that "shock the world" mentality that breathes life into Warriors Nation. That mentality ignites our interests even when the Warriors aren't within sniffing distance of the playoffs. It fuels our Bay Area hoops soul. That's golden.

It might sound silly that the Warriors officially play for "Golden State", but there's nothing silly about being in a golden state of mind. That my friends is truly golden.

(Make sure to read the rest of that piece for some more golden words from DJ Fuzzy Logic, Fantasy Junkie, YaoButtaMing, and Hash.)

Despite the constant dysfunction junction off 880 on Hegenberger Ave., for me persoally nothing has changed.

We might be waiting awhile here in the Bay Area, but we WILL shock the world again like we did back in the spring of 2007 with WE BELIEVE. Oh it might take another 12 year playoff drought. Oh it might take Nellie coming back a third time to coach the Warriors in 2020 in his 90's. Oh it might take another wacky and improbable run with the Warriors qualifying for the playoffs on the last day of the season. But it will happen. We WILL SHOCK THE WORLD AGAIN.

This is who we are.

**********

Other fine Warriors previews from our folks:

BDL's 2009-10 NBA Preview: Golden State Warriors [Ball Don't Lie]
Warriors could open 7-1, and I'm still predicting 34 wins: Month-by-month breakdown [Talking Points - San Jose Mercury]
FanHouse Preview: Warriors

**********

2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview

Anthony Morrow: Ammo + Chocolate Rain
Stephen Jackson: O Captain, My Captain
Speedy Claxton/ Devean George, Acie Law: Wouldn't Count on It
Brandan Wright: Injury Prone
Stephen Curry: Let There Be Hope
Monta Ellis: Back in the Saddle
Corey Maggette: The 6th Wonder of the Oracle
Anthony Randolph: Hope Beyond the Hype
C.J. Watson: Storm-a-brewin'?
Mikki Moore: Ronny Turiaf Sr.
Ronny Turiaf: Still Gettin' Hyphy
Andris Biedrins: The Forgotten Warrior
Kelenna Azubuike: The Price is Right

Golden State Warriors 2k9-2k10 Super Preview Blowout Special!

2009-2010 Around the Association

Introduction
Atlanta Hawks: Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. The Hawks are for real.
Boston Celtics: Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Charlotte Bobcats: They Do Exist
Chicago Bulls: Ring Around the Rose-y
Cleveland Cavaliers: Now or Never
Dallas Mavericks: The Curse of the Dampier
Denver Nuggets: If it ain't broke...
Detroit Pistons: The Return of the Bay Boys
Houston Rockets: Yao-ch!, that's gotta hurt
Indiana Pacers: A One Man Show
Los Angeles Clippers: Warriors South No More
Los Angeles Lakers: Big Brother, Little Brother
Memphis Grizzlies: Going Back to Vancouver
Miami Heat: Need to get the point
Milwaukee Bucks: Saving a few buck$
Minnesota Timberwolves: Donde esta Senor Rubio?
New Jersey Nets: The Year of the Yi
New Orleans Hornets: Two first names, one great point guard
New York Knicks: Is it summatime yet?
Oklahoma City Thunder: The X Factors
Orlando Magic: Are they Vinsane? You be the judge
Philadelphia 76ers: Are they (Elton) Brand New?
Phoenix Suns: Who knows?
Portland TrailBlazers: The Fire Keeps Burning
Sacramento Kings: It's all up from here
San Antonio Spurs: An Apple a Day...
Toronto Raptors: So International
Utah Jazz: Reset Button
Washington Wizards: Guess Who's Bizzack?
Rewind: We Got Art

Poll

How many games will the 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors win?

0-9 wins :: WE SERIOUSLY SUCK

25 votes

10-19 wins :: WE REALLY SUCK

24 votes

20-29 wins :: WE DEFINITELY SUCK

192 votes

30-39 wins :: WE SUCK

476 votes

40-49 wins :: PLAYOFFS?! WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS!

370 votes

50-59 wins :: SHOCK THE WORLD

66 votes

60-69 wins :: LEBRON JAMES IS COMING, RIGHT?

7 votes

70-81 wins :: MICHAEL JORDAN IS COMING, RIGHT?

7 votes

82 wins :: "UNSTOPPABLE BABY!"

133 votes

1300 votes | Poll has closed