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Get out your rosaries and rabbit's feet, compadres: it's that's time of year again. Needless to say, this year it's vertiginously high stakes — not just 'cos there's a unibrowed consensus stud waiting for the lucky SOB who plucks #1, but also because, as anyone who hasn't been living under a rock the past year knows, if the Ws end up with the #8 pick or worse, they have to cough it up to the Utah Jazz.

This year, instead of abstracting our chances to pie charts, I thought I'd try to lay out all 1,000 possible lottery outcomes, to give a more visceral sense of the kind of odds we're facing. As most of you probably know, the draft lottery does not involve ping pong balls with the various team logos on them; rather, four balls are drawn at random from a lot of fourteen balls numbered 1 to 14. This gives 1,001 combinations, one of which is thrown out (combo #11-12-13-14, for you draft lotto geeks), and the rest of which are assigned distinct draft scenarios. Where each of these scenarios leaves the Warriors — and/or the Jazz — is pictured in the chart above.

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Per the Warriors website.

Hmmmmmmm, what could it be, I wonder?

Warriors will allow 2,017 points in their first 15 games next season?

Warriors have secretly stuffed the draft lottery box with 2,017 combinations involving us getting Anthony Davis?

Warriors to buy out Andris Biedrins for $2,017?

Waitasec... is that the TransAmerica building in the background?

Early props I guess to Adam Lauridsen for first tweeting this.

I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can...

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Golden State Warriors (22-36) at Los Angeles Clippers (36-23)

Tip-off: 12:30 pm PST

TV: CSN Bay Area / Radio: KNBR 680 / Blog Buddy: Clips Nation

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For those of you who did something with your Friday night other than studiously follow the fate of five crappy NBA teams (none of whom even had the added benefit of being your favorite team), here's a quick status update:

9. GSW 22-36

8. DET 22-37

7. NJN 22-38

6. TOR 21-39

5. CLE 19-38

4. SAC 19-41

3. NOH 17-42

Make the jump for some babbling about last night's events, the state of the tank, and today's matinee matchup versus the Clippers.

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The plot thickened somewhat last night with the Pistons trouncing the hapless Bobcats and the Warriors eking out a hard-fought loss against the fatigued Mavericks. Tied for #8 still ain't great (unless you're a Jazz fan), but it's better than #9.

Tonight's games of interest:

• MIL @ DET 5:00 pm

• CLE @ IND 4:00 pm

• NJ @ PHI 4:00 pm

• BOS @ TOR 4:00 pm

• SAC @ OKC 5:00 pm

The Pistons look like the best shot for a W, but the Bucks, currently only two games out of the 8th playoff seed, have a lot to play for. And hey, even if they fall short of the playoffs, old friends Ekpe and Monta may derive some quiet satisfaction from delivering a direct hit to the Warriors' tank.

The other games look somewhere between bleak and hopeless for Warriors FanTankers. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if even one of our competitors pulls out a W -- doubly so if it’s Detroit or New Jersey, who at this point look like the Warriors' only realistic saviors.

Greetings friends, from Golden State of Mind. With the increasing likelihood that the Warriors are going to end up smack in the #8 or #9 spot where we didn't want to be (and smack where you wanted us!), Warriors Nation has taken to postulating how we can get you guys to be nice to us and let us keep our pick. To me it seems like a rather unrealistic request, but I take some solace in a recent comment by Warriors' owner Joe Lacob to the effect of "it's being discussed." There's also this recent diary, which posits a totally unsubstantiated rumor that the deal has been worked out, provided you guys miss out on the playoffs.

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Read it and weep. The Pistons still look like a solid candidate to pass us, but the tanks of the other four contenders are looking increasingly indestructible. I mean, if the Warriors can play out their remaining ten games like they played last night, their tank could make some headway, but in the context of their reasonably unterrible play the last couple of weeks, I really don't expect that to happen. Nor, I should add, would I really want it to happen. Last night's debacle didn't make me feel good at all. FanTanking is a delicate art which typically entails pulling for a margin of loss that is neither narrow enough to make you sweat too much (or worse, pull out a pointless win) nor wide enough to crush your soul. Here's hoping for ten such games to close the season. LGW: HFL!*

*Let's Go Warriors: Hard-Fought Losses!

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Ouch: last night's "heroic" comeback from 20 points down did serious damage to the tank. We had a flat-footed tie with the Pistons and a win-column tie with the Raptors in the palm of our hands, and (with apologies to Bob Dylan) we must have been mad, we never knew what we had, we threw it all away...

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Between IQ of a Warrior's invaluable "game day links" threads, general post trade-deadline malaise, and the hectic schedules of the Golden State of Mind staff, the tradition of the GSoM Recap seems to have fallen somewhat by the wayside these days, but I thought I'd resurrect it here if only to update the Tank Chart from the game thread. It's looking prettier than ever! Jump for more.

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Golden State Warriors (20-30) at Los Angeles Lakers (32-20)

Tip-off: 6:30 pm PST

TV: CSN Bay Area | Radio: KNBR 680

Blog Buddy: Silver Screen and Roll

As some here may know, I'm a Celtics and Warriors fan (born into the green, switched trains to the Warriors in the late Run TMC era), so if any game should really test the mettle of my FanTanking, a showdown with the doubly-dreaded Lakers should be it. Meh, who am I kidding? It's no contest. Look at that chart above. In the wake of an inspiring clutch tank against the Nets on Friday, we're now tantalizingly close to the #4 seed. Go Lakers!!!

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Sacramento KIngs (17-30) at Golden State Warriors (19-26)

Tip-off: 7:30pm PST / TV: CSN Bay Area HD / Radio: KNBR 1050

Blog Buddy: Sactown Royalty

In keeping with IQ of a Warrior's latest tank-related game thread, I'm making a conscious effort to eschew the miltary tank imagery that has proliferated on this site in favor of the traditional tank meant to hold liquid (in this case, the sensory-deprivation tank William Hurt floated in in Ken Russell's 1980 freak-out flick Altered States). Etymologically speaking, this type of tank is somewhat more appropriate, since the contemporary sports usage of "tank" (i.e. to throw in a game) derives, via boxing, from the fact that in the 19th century swimming pools were called "tanks." To lose a boxing match intentionally, you had "to take a dive" — or by extension "tank." Apparently, military tanks were thus called because they resembled tanks meant to hold liquid, but other than this, there's no real linguistic connection between intentionally losing a sporting event and rolling through the desert in a tank.

Just sayin'. Make the jump for the latest tank standings and a prediction.

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Nooooooooooooooo!!! Or maybe yes? Meh?

You guys can continue to post in the previous threads while I gauge the pulse of Warriors Nation in this one.

Make the jump for a little video clip that may or may not cheer up the "noooooooooo" camp.

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Game page / TSN recap / TSN boxscore

Blog Buddy: Raptors HQ

Ugh. These are the games that try the souls of Warriors Nation (and make game recaps a total chore). I suspected in the game preview that the absence of Curry and the Raptors' improved D under Dwayne Casey could make this one "a slog." I didn't imagine that it would be quite this sloggy. For a time at least it looked like a sloggy but fairly straightforward win against a bottom-feeder opponent. Then, in the third quarter, with Curry-stand-ins Monta Ellis and Nate Robinson walking the ball upcourt every possession — slowly, slowly, slowly pounding the rock into the floor of the Air Canada Center — the offense went from stagnant to comatose. 11 points in the 3rd quarter + 17 points in the 4th = a boring, ugly, insipid loss against a bad team. Usually I'm fairly rapt during Ws games, particularly when I'm slated to write the recap, but here I found myself getting up to see if I had any more Raisinets in the freezer, playing Words With Friends, or wistfully recalling those whirlwind, carefree games of two seasons ago, when Coach Nellie handed Kid Curry the keys to the kingdom, and Steph and his band of merry men (Morrow, Tolly, Ronny, Mr. Potatohead et al.) would score 110, 120, 130 pts and run the opposition off the court.

How, two years later -- two coaches, new ownership, and a slew of personnel moves later -- did we find ourselves in this sorry state? I mean, yeah, it's one game, and we were without the straw that stirs the drink on offense. Still, if at the end of Curry's rookie season one could have looked forward in time and seen what those runnin' gunnin' West Coast Warriors have morphed into, well, one would have been pretty bummed. GSoM's resident optimist J-RIDAH probably best expressed my feelings in the game thread: "blow it up." If J-RIDAH is ready to break out the TNT, you know we've got problems. March 15th trade deadline coming up: tick, tick, tick.

Make the jump for a couple of quickie player call-outs before we head to the Nation's capital to face another bottom feeder well-matched opponent.

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Fear the Bridge. Kind of.

Golden State Warriors (14-19) at Toronto Raptors (11-25)

Tip-off 3 pm PST

TV: CSN Bay Area / Radio: KNBR 1050 / Blog Buddy: Raptors HQ

Who needs Celtics/Knicks or Lakers/Heat when you have Warriors/Raptors? The Warriors' continued quest to bequeath the Utah Jazz the highest draft pick possible moves to Canada this afternoon. Recently the Raptors have been one of the few NBA teams against whom the Warriors have been able to count on a win — their five-game winning streak v. them is the longest v. any opponent. But the likely absence of Stephen Curry (currently sporting a gaudy career scoring average v. TOR of 30.3 ppg) makes even a lowly opponent like the Raptors somewhat daunting. The combo of the Warriors' moribund offense sans Steph and the Raptors' improved D under Dwayne Casey could make this one a slog. Make the jump for some perdickshuns.

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Double Nightmares, anyone?

OK, let's give this a whirl. As Evanz rightly pointed out yesterday, the FanShots section should really be devoted to newsy items (links, video clips, legit rumors, etc.) rather than random trade ideas. At the same time, we often point out to our contributors that FanPosts are "intended to be substantive and well-researched." So where does this leave the forlorn GSoMer itching to post a random trade idea? Well, if it's a reasonably plausible idea and you argue it clearly and throroughly (i.e. rationalize it from the perspective of all the parties involved, in decent English prose) it can be a FanPost. If not: well, post it either as a comment in an existing semi-related thread, or in this thread. I can't get into the code of this site to make a separate trade ideas section (as a couple of readers have suggested) but if more than three of you rec this, it will effectively be stickied under recommended FanPosts for a couple of weeks or so. That'll take us right up to the March trade deadline.

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Game Page / TSN recap / TSN boxscore

Blog Buddy: the Dream Shake

Glass half full: the Warriors are an OT loss v. the KIngs and a squeaker v. the Thunder away from being a .500 team (12-12) in the midst of a six-game winning streak. Half empty: it's only a two-game streak (if you can call two games a streak), and it's taken some unsustainably good three-point shooting to pull it off (> 50% both games). Plus, for all the positive signs, the Warriors are still currently the 13th seed in the Western Conference, ahead of only the Kings and the Hornets. Did I mention that the Warriors let Jeremy Lin walk for nothing so they could save a few bucks in the vain hope of signing DeAndre Jordan? [Slaps self]. OK, enough of that. After a solid win against a decent team, all is right with the world. Make the jump for some quick and cheerful observations.

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Houston Rockets (16-11) at Golden State Warriors (9-14)

TV: CSN Bay Area / Radio: KNBR 680

Blog Buddy: The Dream Shake

In the ninth day following the birth of Linsanity (2/4/2012, for you numerologists), Jeremy Lin Former Team #2 faced off against Jeremy Lin Former Team #3. I'm defining JLFT #1 as the Mavericks, who let him walk despite his promising showing in the 2010 Las Vegas Summer League, including what seemed then to be a fluky outplaying of highly-hyped rookie John Wall. Misery loves company, so I take some small solace in the fact that Dallas and Houston are our partners in regret. Of course the Mavs have the saving grace of being, you know, NBA Champions; and the Rockets, being the Rockets, have somehow managed to parlay the solid play of Kyle Lowry (perhaps the most underrated PG in the league) and a motley assortment of role players to a 16-11 record. Meanwhile, in Warriorland, long-suffering fans get to watch their local hero shine from 3,000 miles away; the front office keeps trying like the dickens to make a consequential move; and the slightly sub-mediocre collection of players keeps plugging away gamely, making a seeming bee line to a #8-12 draft pick that the team will promptly have to convey to the Utah Jazz.

Sigh. On the bright side, there's a Warriors game tonight! Make the jump for some predictions about the game and a couple more Lin-ecdotes.

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OK, let's get this in the numerical form. With the snap of the fingers, you can have any ex-Warrior you want back on the team, right now, on a bargain-basement contract (let's say 3/$9M). Who are you taking?

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As a Boston kid living in NYC, I probably care more about this game than most here, but given that it's all of your solemn duties as Americans to watch, I thought I should probably throw up a diary on the subject. Plus, open threads are always fun. Feel free to toss out predictions, talk trash, and vent on anything football-related (or not). I'll have to check with the higher-ups, but we might even be able to throw some free gear the way of the poster with the closest guesstimate of the final score.

By way of a Warriors tie-in, check out NateRob's hilarious interview on the subject if you haven't (thank to disguy for the original fanpost).

Final Warriors tally: NY Giants 3 (Jenkins, Curry, Tyler), Tom Brady 2 (Dorell, Udoh), Dallas Cowboys 1 (Dorell).

Personally ... I'm worried about the Giants' pass rush, Cruz/Nicks/Manningham running roughshod, and Rob Gronkowski's ankle. If I had to bet my own money, I'd probably go with the Giants in a close one -- let's say 34-31. Here's hoping pretty fervently that I'm wrong.

Final Box Score

Game Page

TSN Recap

Blog Buddy: Fear the Sword

Uh oh ... is it time to turn the tank around? Last night, for the second game in a row, the Warriors showed the toughness, resilience, and defensive intensity needed to pull out a road victory. And for second game in a row, David Lee looked like the best player on the floor. 29 points -- 13 in the final eight minutes -- 13-20 fg, 9 boards, 3 assists. Down the stretch, with the game in the balance (87-87 with 8:00 to go), the Cavaliers simply had no answers for Lee in the post. The complete Lee arsenal was on display: slick lefty finish, slick righty finish, sweet pick and pop from 10-12 feet, sweet pick and pop from 15-18. Basically, from the Cavs' perspective, pick your poison. In retrospect, more aggressive double teaming might have helped their cause, but with Lee's crafty passing skills and court vision, that might well have ended just as poorly for them. Sometimes you just gotta tip your hat to a good player playing at the top of his game.

Of course, as with any solid win, were positive contributions from some of the other guys, too. Make the jump for some thoughts on those and other miscellaneous rambling.

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Golden State Warriors (4-8, 1-4 road) at Cleveland Cavaliers (6-6, 2-1 home)

TV: CSN Bay Area / Radio: KTCT 1050

Tip-Off: 4 pm PST

Blog Buddy: Fear the Sword

As the pic on the left suggests, I had a whole different angle planned for tonight's Game Preview. I should have known not to count my delicious Golden Curry cubes before they were hatched. Stupid freaking ankle! Just to be clear: Stephen Curry is not playing tonight. Sad face with tear :,-(

I also had a few thoughts about promising young studs Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, and the moderately resurgent Cavaliers. 6-6 through 12 games, with nine of those on the road, is really not half bad for team ostensibly right at the beginning of a total rebuild. (Insert angry Warrior fan "blow it up!!!" comment here). Alas, I somehow convinced myself that this game was at 7 pm PST, and now I'm stuck at work, on deadline, and running short of time. Probably best to get this up now and let you guys share some thoughts on the Cavs whilst admiring my Photoshop handiwork. (OK, it's not the Dunleavy Wheaties box, but I did my best...) More to come.

While Warriors Nation anxiously waits for Chandler Paul Hayes Nene Jordan Godot, I thought I'd throw up a couple more of the new logo concepts the GSoM crew has been discussing. Jump!

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