While I was listening to the radio before going to sleep, the Ben Maller show on 1050  reported that Detroit has approached the warriors offering Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups for Baron Davis and Al Harrington. Other players will have to be added to make salaries match.

I have not really analyzed this trade but it seems like it could slow us down but improve our defense. Beans and Sheed may make a formidable frontcourt but who would the leader of the team be? Sheed? Chauncey?

Nope, still don't like it. Trade may be a stretch anyways.

This diary is being written at the beginning of the fourth quarter of the dallas game 040208. The W's are down by 22 after Kid had an easy layup to begin the fourth quarter.

I'm sick of no defense. It disgusts me. A modicum of D would be sufficient. But no D? Really!?

I think NELLY may have run his course. This is his M.O. He rebuilds teams but can't win the big ones. Nelly has one of the largest, if not the absolute largest, coaching trees in the NBA. But his apostles now preach the importance of D. And I see why. On TNT the other night, when C-WEBB was there, he said in his first game NELLY wrote 125 on the board saying, "If we score this many points we will win". Is that it!!!?

Small ball is becoming lame ball very quickly. Small ball works in certain game time situations but is not meant to be sustained for an entire game let alone an entire season.

How long can the underdog mentality last? Being an underdog sucks! It means your thought to lose. If you win enough games as an underdog you become a favorite. Favorites win most of the time. Underdogs lose most of the time. Underdogs are long run losers duh.

I understand that the season is by no means over and that I may be overreacting, but these last two servings got me all riled up.

So the question is ... Has NELLYBALL run it's course? and. Is it time for SMARTBALL?

Also, if the W's somehow win this game, then forget this as garbage because NELLY is obviously awesome.

I may just be venting, but sometimes Nellyball really frustrates me. It seems as if the Warriors have no direction on offense. What's with the play where Biedrins gets the ball at the top, holds it, then throws some lazy pass. One time I want Andris to just jack it up to see what would happen. Hey! Why not!? Everyone else is jackin em up! And how many times is Andris missed rolling to the basket, sometimes totally wide open, missed because the ball handler has his head down.

What, exactly, is Nellyball and what are it's principals? What are the pros and cons? Can this type of offense win a championship? Is the team even playing Nellyball, because many times it appears that the team wants to play Baronball, where Baron does all the work while the rest of the team chills at the three point line waiting to shoot.

10 + point deficit in the first half is starting to get extremely frustrating. And, it's not just on the road but also at home. The Don spoke, before the game, that the team was going to falter if they kept playing like this in the first half. And, of course, there is another nearly career game from somebody on the other team. The Warriors are supposed to be, not necessarily an elite team, but at least a good team (with two days road rest) against a leastern confrenece team with an under .500 record total and at under .500 record at home. Is the obligatory 10+ point deficit getting to you? How can it be fixed?

For selling tickets at the Arena. The lady won't make it tonight and I have an extra ticket. Do you have to be off the property? Can you only sell it for face value? Stuff like that.

Hope everyone is excited as I am for this season and the store better be filled with new items because is was empty for preseason.

I saw this Warriors video set to the 300 trailer. It got me all jazzed but seeing JRich fly all over place made me realize that nobody else on this team can fly. Sure dunks are only two points but I think they have a psychological impact on the game (probably because I cant dunk). We dont have anybody to just fly in there and score or rebound. AB, TMNT, JAX, BARON (anymore really), cant jump.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KfPhR0OPXaM

If this turns out to be a Jrich for Wright trade staight up, then Wright better come through and sitting out of summer league is just disappointing.

Is anybody else concerned that we don't have a flyer? Monta can sail and dunk by people but not really on anybody unless they are smaller.

After all the speculation of the trade what do we really have to show for it now?

Because I have such a thrilling and exciting life, I decided to peruse the On Demand section of Comcast Cable for a fun saturday evening in front of the television. If you go to the Top Picks section, there is another section in there titled NBA Draft. There looks to be like 20 or so guys and there is a five minute clip and analysis of their game.

I only watched the one for Yi so far. The analysts (I dont know their names but they are in the NBA channel studio) liked YI and his potential but were leary of him because he skipped the draft combine and he seems to not be aggresive compared to NBA standards.

Andris' minutes have gone down quite a bit lately. I'm happy that the Warriors are winning and at the same time wondering how this small ball lineup will influence Andris' development. Is he destined to be a bench player? Would he be traded? Has Nelly lost confidence in him after bringing him so far? Since the Warriors have gone on a tear without him in the starting lineup we forgot to ponder the future of Andris. What is it?

With Indiana losing nearly x of x games and falling from the playoffs, the genius of Larry Bird is beginning to materialize. He obviously found something that Murphleavy is good for...getting them in the lottery and a shot at ODEN/DURANT/Whoever.

If this is the case, then Bird got exactly what he wanted and totally ripped us off.

Hey Mullin wipe that egg of your face! HAHA

These last two games have been quite depressing and I'm not sure we're going to make it down the stretch. This team needs a serious attitude adjustment. Maybe the fans booing the Warriors off the court will wake them up and have them realize that their loyal fan base does not take kindly to watching Tony Parker kick our butts. Wasn't Tony Parker the guy who edged out Baron for the All Star game...looks like that guy deserved it.

Baron - at least showed some passion and once again his team let him down.

JR - wow...that was bad. With that effort its hard to tell if he wants to stay a warrior by makeing himself undesireable to Chicago or Detroit; or if he wants to leave so badly to make GS get rid of him for nothing. (really...I think he wants to stay but that was a bad game when we needed a good one.)

Jax - isnt going to get calls by barking at the refs on every drive. He's emotional, and thats great, but I feel like he loses focus frequently.

BiedrinsOrBust - Has made big strides this season but needs some serious offensive and defensive polishing. Duncan exposed him for what he is...still a young player. Some of those push shot are really ugly, almost as ugly as that hitch in his free throw motion. Biedrins really needs to learn to shoot so he can spread the floor, he doesn't need three point range but ten foot range would be nice.

What the hell was Nelly thinking by playing Barnes at center!!!???

This game was so bad Foyle and Jassy played.

Our finishing schedule is absolutely daunting. I think I heard Jim and Bob say it was the toughest closing schedule in the league.

I am really disappointed, not because the team lost, but because they didnt show up. Losses at L.A. and Utah are tough but at least they fought for them. I just hope the team does not give up and make a sucker out of me for putting down the deposit.

The Warriors versus Dallas game led of Sportcenter tonight, and it should have. This is an uplifting win and shows exactly what Baron Davis' presence does for this team and how much the team needs him. HE CAN'T SIT ANY GAMES!

During the recap on Sportscenter the guy pronounced the Bay Area Fench Sexy's name as "Michael" and called Andris some form "Beeotchrins"

Just goes to show that nobody in the mainstream media has been paying attention to the Warriors...But now they have to because the team is making so much noise that they cannot be ignored anymore.

Wish I got that playoff push pack.

I was at the game tonight versus the Lakers and am completely disgusted by the number of people sporting Lakers gear at Oracle arena.

I had the privelage to sit next to a Faker for two and a half hours. He told me that he had also bought the Laker Weekend Miniplan. I listened to him cheer for Kobe and every other Laker each time they scored, and they scored a lot.Oh, he wasnt the only one either. The entire arena was cheering for them. It was louder for Lakers cheers than Warriors cheers. We tried to fight back and cheer louder, but our team let us down. Then came the MVP chant. No, it wasnt for Baron Davis, or even Monta Ellis, it was for Kobe...at Oracle Arena.

I am truly disappointed that Warriors fans did not pick up these tickets before Lakers fans. I can only wonder if BD would have put up with chants of MVP for Kobe on his Warriors home court.

Also disappointing, is the Warriors effort tonight. They seemed completely lax and tired from the tail end of their back to back. DO THEY WANT TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS OR NOT!!!??? It sure didn't seem like it tonight.

Oh and when I was leaving, the Faker fan told me that he looked forward to seeing me at the next game...and smiled as he assured me he would be cheering for the Warriors...WHAT A FAKER!!!!!!

Has anybody heard when he might return? I'm anxious to see what this team has when everyone is healthy.

We waited months for JR to come back only to have Baron get injured. At least we only have to wait weeks for Baron and one of those weeks was during the break.

Also, we should be aiming higher than the 8th spot. With LA on a losing streak and Denver not gelling well, we can play for as high as the sixth spot.

I nearly flipped my lid when I saw that Foyle was starting. It turned out to be a good strategy, and way to go Foyle, he had a good outing.

Monta - another great game and I look forward to the froshsoph game for him. He nearly cracked his head on the rim a couple of time and he punked the seasoned vet, Marbury, multiple times.

Kel- Havn't talked much about him much and neither has the national media...thats a good thing. Kel is turning out to be legit. Another awesome block tonight he doesnt give anything away. We should look to keep him.

Jax - On fire and absolutely sick. His best play was the oop to Monta toward the end of the game. Jax had a chance to score his Warriors high but stepped aside to let us watch the Monta show.

Harrington - Seemed kinda quiet this game but another productive outing. He played good d against James and Isiah had to ditch his big lineup.

Foyle - I was glad to see Foyle get some productive min. I'm sure hes felt down on himself but the team was there for him. Plays were run for him. He didnt capitalize too much but the team stuck with him.

The officiating got pretty bad but this team played at a level where officiating doesnt matter. They never got down on themselves and continued to fight. Biedrins got some pretty bad calls but he wasnt alone. Nelly let the refs know whats up. Theres still time and I think Warriors minus Baron will be better than Warriors minus JRich especially with Monta playing well.

Why Foyle never plays. Midway through the second I was begging for Foyle. Just put him in to foul Nene and Melo I though. Nelly stayed small. Then I saw Foyle stand up. Ok cool two bigs to match theirs, Foyle and Powell. But Powell came out and boy did Foyle stink. Absolutely horrific. Missed rebounds, missed wide open slam, lame fouls, I couldnt take it anymore.

The whole game stunk. Carmelo is sick! Hands down. He made everything when there was still a game.

Monta - solid game, some dumb dumb turnovers but overall decent for him.

Sars - a couple of decent assists, yippee.

Booky - played a great game a solid start. Fantastic dunk block, shot well, hustled, nuthin really bad here and he gaurded melo a lot. Bookys defense isnt what got melo all those points, melo just made shots...a lot of shots.

Barnes - Played a good game but what happened to his three shot. Wasnt he like leading the league of something.

Biedrins - QUIT FOULING DAMMIT! But some of the calls on him were pretty bad. The anouncers said that AB leads the league in fouls. Tonight he showed that he can dribble post. I would like to see more of it too.

Harrington - opens with a three, three games in a row. Started on fire. He made a layup drive that was refreshing. Not a particularly good night.

Powell - great game for him. 5-6, 2-2 ft I'm not much for stats but is he the only guy in this team that can dunk ON somebody.

Foyle - Played some minutes and saw what he had to offer, not much.

This was a big game. We could have been .5 out. Instead we are 2.5 out and NOK leaped us.

about the warriors and exactly how serious they are about making the playoffs. The Nuggets are one of the serious teams playing for the playoffs because they think they can win the championship. Do we? They will hold absolutely nothing back to stomp us. Will the Warriors answer the call? Can they? I think they can but am not sure if they will.

Whats up with Baron? He played a lot of games, got little help, no rest, but was there for the team no matter what. Now, he has some help, some rest, and is out-wtf. I just hope he is not doing a "Paul Peirce". I would quit on the warriors if that were the case, and I die hard.

Tail end of btb on road. We will see if they really want it.

This should be a huge game to Nellie. He has been around long enough to know whats at stake.

It looked bleak for awile but they pulled it off with a total team effort. This is the kind of ball the Warriors need to play every night. Every player on the team scored tonight...even Foyle. And I got to give it Adonal, he played some good minutes. Stephen Jackson is absolutely sick! Harrington started off on fire, cooled off, and still played solid. He needs to do some layup drills though. I like Powell more and more every time he plays. He really gets in there and fights for the ball. How about that dunk to eh. Havnt seen anything like that since JRich. I want to go through all the players but one really stands out in this game...SARS. He needed this game probably more than anyone on the team. He directed down the stretch and loss with Sars at the helm would have killed him. This should really help his rythm and flow.

There are winnable games ahead of us going into the break and this will be a totally different team after getting JR and BD back.

Also, I noticed, while prorfreading this diary, that the players I noted had big impacts on this game were all the guys we took/stole from Indiana.

Congrats on the citizenship, I know that is important to him. But I have a question for everyone one of us Warriors fans.

What makes Adonal a fan favorite?

I have been to a couple of games and been there when the crowd chants...Foyle, Foyle, Foyle. But the games I went to were Boston, Philly, and Charlotte. Blowouts in our favor. I dont hear chants for Foyle when there is 2 min left and we are down by 1. Is this fan favorite business for Foyle a huge sarcastic joke?

The idea of a player like Foyle creates a huge quagmire for me. He's cheered for his nice personality, his charity work, and anything else he does...OFF THE COURT. On the court, he's nearly a non issue.

Cheering when Foyle scores is like cheering for that autistic kid who made all those threes. Its a nice, warm, and fuzzy story (I got goose bumps and all the stuff when I saw it) but do you put the kid in when your losing?

I like Foyles personality, he seems like a nice guy. But I think he is hurting the Warriors way more than helping. His salary takes up somewhere around the area of 14% of salary cap space and he definitely does not produce 14% of the teams effort. I remember someone mentioning that he rejected a buyout. That money is better spent on Monta, Barnes, even Pietrus at least plays. I'm not sure if that stuff about the buyout is confirmed but if it were...How is Adonal a fan favorite?

Is it because he been there longest? Because he hustles hard (effort minus atheletic ability is still hustle right)? Because of whatever...its definitely not because he wins. He represents the x amount of years of suffering for Warriors fans. Adonal is the only constant.

I'm not an Adonal hater, I like the effort he gives, but he takes more than that effort is worth. So is the fan favorite idea for Foyle a joke?

I think the entire crowd is sarcastically mocking Adoanl when they chant for him. Isn't he embarrased? Why does he still want to be here?

This was a statement game and boy did we make a statement.

Starting off:

Can we please open the game with a play for an easy bucket or open look. The Warriors frequently make their first shot a three and yippee if it goes in but if it doesnt oh no.

MP - I hear a lot about his low b ball iq and it cetainly showed tonight.

Harrington bone - We were in the bonus in the second quarter and Al insisted on dribbling around KG and taking a smooth fade away...that missed. Why not take it at KG and try to get him in foul trouble. Other teams do that to Biedrins and dont you get nervous watching guys fly at Biedrins? Lets share that feeling with other teams.

Monta - I take back what I said about him not getting back up but he scared me. Hes either super tough or he wasnt injured that badly.

Jax - I like Jax, he hustled tonight but was definitely off.

Sars - Got to play tonight, got some points, and a loss. In his interview, before the game, he seemed a little down on his time and role, hopefully, since he got some shots and minutes he can get in a grove off the bench.

Biedrins - 5 rebounds pshh.

There isnt a superstar on this team. Even BD has a ways to go to get to that point. But this is a good team. They just need to play tighter together and pass the ball some more. So many times they came down court...made one pass... and took a 20 footer. Minnesota did the same thing but made theirs.

I still have faith. Hopefully JR can give this team a spark but remember its going to take him a couple of games to feel the team out and get his rythm going again.

Monta got banged up again. The x ray was negative and the MRI is today. We'll see how bad it is and how long he will be out. But...

Is he our pg of the future. Right now we have Baron and Monta is probably quicker but he is definitely...NOT AS TOUGH.

Baron had a rep for milking injuries but not as a warrior at least not when he has a coach and team he believes in.

Monta doesnt have a rep yet but I think he's building one as a player who get knocked down and doesn't get back up.

I like his role better as backing up BD and JR and until JR gets back I wonder if Nelly will do Powell at 4 and mover AL to 3 and Jax to 2 and whoever isnt injured at point. That would make us big. I think Nelly doesnt do that because there would be no big subs and he doesnt have confidence in Foyle.

I'm sure that everyone else here had the game marked on their calenders like I did. On this blog we all wrote about how this trade helped us now and in the future, but many big media "experts" even Sir Gnarls Barkley said Indiana got a steal...psych! Yes, it's only one game but whoa Jaxie.

The new Warriors oustcored the old Warriors 52-18 but when did Dunleavy learn that you're allowed to catch the ball after missed shots? He outrebounded Jermaine and also hit some threes to get them within...20...big buckets.

But every time the Pacers charged, Jax came along and shot em up (haha).

I hope Monta is ok cuz if him and Baron are out on Wednesday against Minnesota then we're in trouble.

KG v Biedrins then...should give us a better indication of Biedrins development and show us the difference of pure athleticism versus hustle.

Hey why not put in Powell and move everyone down a spot. Powell is big and can mix it up inside. I'm not sold on his 15 footers yet but he gets in there.

I have NBA League Pass and was able to watch the game tonight. For those of you who didnt see the game, consider youselves lucky. Don't get me wrong it was a great game...for Hawks fans.

Before I left work I checked the internet and whew, one point game at the end of one. Since my car radio was recently stolen I drove in silence until I got home. I put on my Baron Davis jersey ,turned on the TV, and BAM! 20 point deficit! The Hawks put up a 40 spot in the second. GD it here we go again.

During the second half it seemed like every warrior shot was in and out and that thumping sound at the rim was getting to be pretty annoying. And the threes...oh dont get me started. With this zone teams are getting massive threes. I watch and am like...that can't go in...SWISH. Ours, of course...thump.

Overall it was hard to watch. I want my 3 hours back.

Unless JR comes back and has some sort of Kobe renaissance thing goin on then it going to be a rough stretch.

Also, Pietrus and Milicic played tonight so that should put an end to those trade rumors. If something were seriously in the works then these guys would have sat.

I'm still hopeful but we need help.

I watch all the warrior games and have been to a couple at the Oracle (we're 3-0 in attendence) but tonight I have to work late. I knew I would be working late so I have been recording the game. The game started at 1600 hours. I lasted until 1630 before I had to look online to see the score. I was only going to look once. Ok, whew...first quarter, the score is tied...no more looking until we go home and watch. Well I lasted about another hour and I had to look. OMG 20 point deficit. Now  that I see we're behind I stare at my webpage until it refreshes over and over again. Well I know what the score is and im still going to watch my recording to see how the game was played.

The Warriors are giving up some serious points (memphis 140 whatever) and it seems like every night an opposing team member is having some sort of career night. Why are we giving up so many points and can we stop it with this roster? Nellie
has gotten us more scoring but what can he do for the defense?