http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.php?content=video&url=http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbac om/tnt/timeout/nba_timeout_042307.asx

There's some retro footage from the Run TMC days plus Nellie talking about random stuff like:
-coming back from 9 games under .500 to make the playoffs
-his dog Lucky
-getting married on the floor of the arena

The piece isn't real deep, but it's nice to see TNT giving Nellie some love.

Is it Wednesday yet?!?!  

Apparently Barnes told his teammates back in February that if they made they playoffs he'd get a mohawk!

Here's Barnes explaining what happened to reporters at practice today:

What do you guys think of his new haircut?  Fill out the survey and leave your comments.  Maybe some other Warriors will come out on Sunday with new haircuts as well?  There was a rumor that Baron was going to shave his Teddy Pendergrass beard off...

Poll

Will Barnes' new Mowawk cause him to hit more 3's?

13%

Just when you thought Barnes' haircut couldn't get any worse, it did!

22 votes

86%

That Mohawk is UNSTOPPABLE BABY!

143 votes

165 votes | Poll has closed

Not sure if anyone caught this song on the Murph & Mac show this morning.  It's pretty funny.

Playoffs, playoffs, whoa, whoa, Warriors gotta go.
Playoffs, playoffs, whoa, whoa, Warriors gotta go.

I love the Baron with that healthy knee, and
I love that JRich when he shoot the three.
I love the trade for Stephen and Al, you know
I love coach Nellie, he seems like my pal.

Playoffs, playoffs, whoa, whoa, Warriors gotta go.
Playoffs, playoffs, whoa, whoa, Warriors gotta go.

I know, I know, no one wants to see yet another, "here's what has to happen" diary.  So I won't post one.  But everyone should check out this awesome site: www.playoffstatus.com.  Maybe other people have seen it and I'm just the last one to find out about it...

They break down the playoff picture by remaining games and strength of schedule.  I don't think they even account for home/away.  Still, this info + Sleepy's diary on the possible playoff permutations gives you a good idea of what's going on.  Before the Hornet's win tonight, this site gave the Warriors a 57% chance of getting the 8th spot and the clippers a 39% chance of getting it:

They have other cool features too, like Warrior's Most Important Games.

(1) 6'9"+ young power forward
(1) reliable, veteran power forward or center
(1) young backup point guard
(2) Cups of 3PT shooting self-restraint
Lots of D-E-F-E-N-S-E

Sauté entire team in healthy dose of TANK SAUCE before every game.  

Start all healthy, young, bench players for the remaining 23 games.  If necessary, find more young players at your local D-League market.  Observe a controlled slide to bottom of the western conference, as well as a nice burn-in of POB, Powell, and Kelenna.

Be careful to strain and remove any Pietrus chunks you find in the sauce (especially when he makes plays that cause Jim Barnett to say, "you just don't do that").  Trade Pietrus chunks for any veteran 4/5 with a reasonable contract.

Place all injuries in a separate pan and set aside to rest for at least a month.  Do not add to the mix until the season has just finished marinating, to infuse some flavor and excitement for next year.

Now collect your draft picks.  There should be at least one in the top 10, if the TANK SAUCE was applied correctly in the first step.  Use to acquire a young power forward that can rebound and be productive immediately (such as Brandan Wright, Al Horford, Joakim Noah, or Yi Jianlian).

Use remaining pick to draft a point guard to be groomed as backup (Crittenton, if he comes out, Aaron Brooks, or maybe Shakur).  If no good point guards are available, draft the best available player and trade for the point guard you want.  Immediately throw away Jasikevicius.

When you remove from the oven next year, observe plenty of depth at the 1 and 4.  If all of the depth is at the 2/3, you've done something terribly wrong.  As you prepare to serve, continuing adding DEFENSIVE ACCOUNTABILITY and 3PT SHOOTING RESTRAINT every game, or the whole recipe may spoil.

Makes [up for] 13 [missed] servings of playoff goodness.

Poll

Is it time to hit the TANK SAUCE?

80%

Yes, go for the lottery!

17 votes

19%

No way, we're still in this!

4 votes

21 votes | Poll has closed

NBA.com just announced the All-Star team

Starters:

"Leastern" Conference   
F - LeBron James, Cleveland   
F - Chris Bosh, Toronto   
C - Shaquille O'Neal, Miami
G - Dwyane Wade, Miami   
G - Gilbert Arenas, Washington
Head coach: TBD   

Western Conference
F - Kevin Garnett, Minnesota
F - Tim Duncan, San Antonio
C - Yao Ming, Houston
G - Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers
G - Tracy McGrady, Houston
Head coach: Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix

The only one of these I really have a problem with is Shaq.  Seriously, he hasn't done anything this year and he shouldn't be on the All-Star team.  Whatever though, it just gives the West and advantage.

I think Baron should definitely be named a reserve.  Looking at the balloting, it's clear that the majority of basketball fans don't think so.  Now either these people are just dumb or there's ballot-stuffing happening in certain states (Texas, Florida, ahem, ahem) or both.  Check out the difference between the votes and performance of Western Conference guards:

Player              Team       Votes          FSPI*
Kobe Bryant     Lakers     2,138,777   5.56
Tracy McGrady Rockets    1,942,796   4.38
Allen Iverson   Nuggets   1,813,638   4.97
Steve Nash      Suns        1,504,826   5.70
Manu Ginobili   Spurs          541,341   4.75
Tony Parker     Spurs          501,429   4.18
Chris Paul        Hornets      462,206   4.12
Ray Allen         Sonics         444,443   5.17
Jason Terry     Mavs           421,924   4.42
Baron Davis     Dubs           354,412   5.02

Baron has the 4th highest FSPI!!! (Monta, by the way, is 17th in FSPI among Western Confernce guards, with a score of 3.93)

*FSPI is fantasy player rating system explained here.  As other people on this site have said, it's a great way to evaluate and compare different players' overall game.

So all I'm saying is that if they went strictly by a player's performance, Baron would be an All-Star.

OaktownFunk already has an awesome diary with the stats from Project O'Bryant's first couple NBDL games.  I just wanted to highlight his underwhelming performance today in the NBDL showcase:

MIN: 17:19
FGM-A: 0-3    
3GM-A: 0-0    
FTM-A: 4-4    
OFF REB: 3      
DEF REB: 3      
TOT REB: 6
AST: 1
PF: 6
ST: 0     
TO: 2     
BS: 2     
PTS: 4

He fouled out in 17:19 while going 0-3 from the floor!  Ouch.  Maybe Mullin can find a way to package him into one of the possible trades everyone has been talking about...

Poll

Will O'Bryant ever make it back to the NBA?

50%

No[torious POB] just doesn't have the skillz... Trade him!

12 votes

50%

Yes, POB has potential, we just have to be patient

12 votes

24 votes | Poll has closed