Because of Houston's style of defense, I'm not entirely sure we'll have an easy time getting to the basket tonight without getting fouled or having our shots altered. Yao Ming is out obviously, Tracy McGrady as well, AND Houston is coming off a BACK TO BACK (they lost to Portland yesterday).

So we have a good chance to win... if we can get our Perimeter Offense going.

Ron Artest is gone, but they still have Shane Battier and Trevor Ariza to guard the wings. They're very good at doing that, so this game COULD be decided by the shooting touches of Morrow, Curry, Jax and Maggette than anything else. I expect a lot of double-teams on Ellis, forcing him to swing the ball out more.

And you can be sure I'll be shouting from my Section 208 Row DS tonight too. For games like this every season where its an offensive vs a defensive team, the crowd noise could be all the difference in the world.

I have my sources and won't name them obviously, but let's just say that the Warriors' circle of trust is widened already internally. I've heard a summing up of internal talk within the Warriors organization has been talking about this trade pointing to a bigger bottom-line for the Warriors.

Let me explain.

Andris Biedrins - a fantastic NBA rebounder who's still extremely young, yet still versatile.

Marco Belinelli - a NBA sharpshooter that has the ability to take over games with flash, but we've yet to see it on a consistent basis.

Brendan Wright - the "guy" we traded Richardson for due to a failed Wolves/Garnett trade.

The NBA all knows that we're dandling these guys. Talk has it that we're getting more trade offers than meets the eye. Just not any of em are getting close to reality, but players like Josh Smith, Carlos Boozer and Shawn Marion have all been discussed.

Why is this so important for the Warriors?

Teams now see who's on the Warriors trading block. And the sudden anxiousness of a team looking for the playoffs have gotten the Suns scared that they might not possess enough time to made an Amare deal (one that MUST be done due to obvious reasons) BEFORE the Warriors actually pull the trigger on something else.

It's evident why the media keeps talking about Steve Kerr denying certain claims of a trade at all. The Amare Stoudemire trade to the Suns was always on the table and neither team has yet to back out of the trade. This was recently revealed by Kerr on Tuesday morning on Arizona radio. 

Let's see how long the Warriors will be holding their cards, because the Suns' trade offer suddenly isn't the only trade they're working around the clock to get done.

My personal opinion? Two unproven stars and a young solid-center for a top-flight, all-star forward?

I want to win now. Get Amare LONG-TERM deal cheap, add a draft pick for next year and make the deal with Phoenix. Nelson could be the ultimate call. But we all know he's patient. Very patient.

It looks like the trade that most Warrior fans want to happen, involving the Suns' Amare Stoudemire, has hit a stumbling block.

CBS Sportsline's Ken Berger reports (paraphrased)

1.) Stephen Curry is NOT a part of the deal as the trade was being constructed Thursday night.

2.) One league executive with knowledge of the trade situation said that "LIKELY WON'T HAPPEN"

Of course, we have till July 1st that Biedrins/etc/etc could get traded because of Biedrins' base-year compensation status, but if the Warriors can't pull this off and the duo-guard tandem doesn't work for the Warriors in the long run. Then can we discuss the Warriors inept decision-making to bring big game-changers like Stoudemire and Garnett as being the biggest brick-walls towards getting to the next level... a championship?

Taking a cue from Larry the Cable guy... c'mon Warriors... GIT R Done!

Source: Ken Berger CBS Blog

It's official according to ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4285489

Shaq is going to CLEVELAND to partake in the craziness of Lebron/Shaq VS. Kobe/Gasol.

Did the dream FINALS matchup for next year get even MORE interesting? My thoughts on this are obvious since I'm such the Laker hater, but what do you all of you think about the prospect of Lebron James STAYING in Cleveland if this brings the Cavs a championship?

Don't want to go into too much detail, but he's some of the notes I took down right after the 1st ever Warriors Fan Forum from 1:30pm-2:30pm today (for Season Ticket Holders only):

- Riley: We want to 'keep our style of basketball' no matter what - regardless of what happens with Nelson in the future, coaches, or our players.

- Riley <on big man need>: "We certainly need one, but one with BEEF (Doesn't have to be 7 foot 2). Big man who can hold his ground down there."

- Rowell <on high-priced concessions>: "We're doing a lot. Food will be better this upcoming year, we're changing the menu a bit. But we cannot make changes, as these prices are paced on contracts and capital that are tied to Levy Restaurants (restuarant company). We gotta charge more to operate the workers, improve our roster, and overall keep all facilities in Oracle Arena high."

- Riley <on Stephen Jackson's extension>: "We always agreed that he should be part of the team. Players, coaches, everybody recognize what he did for us, the way he played, and what he did in the 2007 playoffs."

- Riley <on player to close games>: "We have two guys that we are focused on doing this next season: Monta Ellis and hopefully Anthony Randolph."

- Riley <on point guard situation>: "The right kind of point guard we need is someone who passes, someone who can move the ball. Tony Parker is better than Monta at the Pick and Roll, but we need to take advantage of player's strengths, and maybe with the 7th pick we address that."

- Note: One guy was hung up on after he said "Don Nelson ruined our team, and he's back to ruin it again. He's lost as many games as he's won, and has never really won anything before."

- Riley <on Don Nelson>: "We like him because he's quirky, unconventional - he's hard ot manage - but he wants to win and that's what I like about him."

- Riley <on direction of team>: "We need to develop our young player. We only need ONE more player or so to get back to that playoff caliber level. Whether it comes via trade or free agency we'll see. But we want to keep our players for 3-4 years, watch them mature. We like what we have."

- Riley <on Morrow and Randolph>: "We plan to keep them. They played 1000 minutes total each last season as rookies and it's good to know that they already have their feet wet."

- Riley <on Monta Ellis>: "I talked with Monta yesterday and one thing I wanted to discuss with him was his current state. Not physically but mentally. We want to make sure that he's ready for the next season and he's committed towards remaining focused."

- Riley <on Anthony Randolph>: "I think Anthony could be pick #1 or pick #2 in this year's draft quite honestly, if he came out this year."

- Rowell <on finishing the season>: "10-12 as a 2nd half record is not acceptable. We need to make sure that we're locked-in to win basketball games next year, and get to about .500 with road games to stay in contention."

- Note: About 1000 people on call (according to moderator Bob Fitzgerald. There was also a poll at the end (needing pressing of phone pressing) to vote whether the call helped the caller decide upon season tickets (Yes, No, Maybe, Already Renewed).

For more on this (more detailed)... check GSoM's official report:

http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2009/5/21/882722/warriors-conference-call-with

 missed it by two minutes. :-)

Tonight marks the end of yet another disappointing season. Maybe not as disappointing as last year's since we were essentially a 50-win team not making the playoffs, but disappointing to the fact that we never got the fair chance to see how good we could be with this roster. With Monta injured, B. Wright, Jackson in spurts, Crawford being shown the door too many times, seeing Al Harrington succeed in a non-Warriors jersey, Baron shaky as they come, rumors of trades etc... this season has definitely been a roller-coaster ride for all of us. Just the fact that we're still so loyal and constantly following a 30-win team should be mind-boggling for any other NBA-team fan.

We're still hungry for the playoffs, the winning attitude and stopping another unfortunate playoff streak from racking up again.

So who's coming to the game Vs. the Spurs tonight? Should be a crazy one to go to (considering the traffic and parking situtation especially with the A's game going on at the same time), but it should be nice to see all of our bench players really PLAY for their ROSTER SPOT... NEXT SEASON.

Predictions? I see Morrow, CJ and Randolph all having great games, with Turiaf putting in a solid one. Who knows - we might even see an unexpected appearance from B-Dub or Marco tonight (Or :gulp: JD). Fact of the matter is, tonight will truly be Fan Appreciation Night. An ending in Oracle Arena for this season and a salute to those who still root hard for a team that could be labeled as the best "bad" team in the NBA. I think in the dictionary, that defines us as mediocre.

Regardless (and oddly enough), I'd like to say THANK YOU to all of the GSoM bloggers, loyalists and readers that have come to stop by my seats in support of other GSoM community members during the season. From the "Ref U Suck" and "Rocky" chants originating from my section, I will be raising a cup of beer for all of you tonight as well. This has certainly been a tough season (Sorry TJ, I took you to the Thunder AND Cavs buzzer beater games back to back), but there were some great high moments (BritGSW, don't forget about our Kings-fan COUNTER that one night).

For those going to the game, please stop by Section 208, Row DS Seats 15-16 to hang around (Look for the ALMEDA jersey). If there's seats around me as well, you should be able to sit down with us in the area. I technically own that area. :-)

I hope to see everyone tonight and next season... both with endings that will please Warrior fans and inspire other ones that deserves to be on this hypothetical train of promising basketball potential.

For those who don't know, the Warriors are holding an exclusive season-ticket holder BBQ before the game against the New Orleans Hornets. It will be 4-7pm in the Oracle Arena "D" parking lot. Of course, admittance REQUIRES a RSVP (one entry per individual season ticket).

I'll surely be there (look for the white ALMEDA jersey), and it'd be nice to have a nice GSoM "council" meet-up during the event.

I know that a lot of the GSoM readership don't have Season Tickets, but we need to get our voice heard more often at these NBA games. Refs are just not cutting us any slack.We just be louder, so maybe we can get a group together and see just what happens these last few games.

Quite frankly, I don't mind yelling REF U SUCK till the end of the season, regardless of the ref, so the NBA takes some kind of notice. It's an important time of year too, as our players are NOW considering whether sticking with the Warriors is really the way to go. Since we're essentially the REASON these players love playing at Oracle, the type of energy we gave the Warriors during the Kings game gave them JUST enough push to win it. (sans Jackson, Biedrins, injured Maggette, Wright, etc.).

It's Fan Appreciation Month, but really it's Player Appreciation Month for our ol' boys being patient enough through a controversially difficult and emotionally taxing season.

LET'S GO DUBS. See everyone at the BBQ.