Ole! Ole! Ole! San Jose!

1st time poster. Anyway....

Obviously Vancouver prefers to play at a very uptempo pace, and we shouldn't. Unfortunately, our Sharks seem to get caught up in the speed of the game. I give props to Jumbo. At one point during the 3rd he just skated around with the puck in the neutral zone attempting to refocus the group. It worked, briefly.

A close friend was telling me that he felt Vancouver didn't play like the better team until the penalties halfway through the third, which led to the tying and game winning goals.

I disagreed.

The first period was totally ours, until the last few minutes. We had parts of the second and third where we controlled the game. But I thought Vancouver looked like the better team overall. They were quicker to most of the loose pucks and they had the better sticks. Still we need to play in their zone, not in all 3 zones, on every shift.

This series is all about the pace. Whoever controls it wins. We don't have the legs or the apparent defensive schemes in place to hang with the 'nucknucks when they start flying up and down the ice. We need to get the advantage on the forecheck in the their zone and keep it there. We have the size and the strength, they play a speed/finesse game. We have to neutralize that with our strengths.

This is unfortunately a bad match up for us. So hopefully we can find a way to break them down and force them to play at our tempo. It starts with Clowe and Heatley making their physical presence felt. I think that would be easier if they weren't on the same line. That's why I propose switching Seto with Heater.

We know that the Jumbo/Heated/Patty line is boss. It worked for us last year and it worked for team Canada. Heatley really seems to pick up his play overall when he plays with those two. It also takes some pressure off of Patty to be so physical and allows him to focus on scoring. He scored in game 1, hopefully he's getting hot. Plus that line plays the slow, forechecking, puck posession hockey we need. Those guys love to play together, let them.

As for Seto he is playing the best hockey of his whole career. He's playing defense, he's passing, and he's hitting. So I think we can take the Jumbbo/Patty safety blanket off now. He seems to be buddies with Logan, they both have earned a chance to play together, plus he played with Clowe all last year. To me that line needs a sniper, give 'em Seto.

I think the absence of Heatley's body will force Clowey to be more of the physical playmaker that we saw from him last year and we NEED that. Even though Seto and Couture seem to like to play fast, I think Clowe getting his game back on track will cause them to put the pressure on with the forecheck and hold it in their zone.

I keep the 4th line from last game, they were awesome. Did everything possible to earn an A grade. They played the kind of hockey we need.

Which of course means the 3rd line stays the same. Which also means that they'll probably be most prone to pushing the pace of the game when they're on the ice. I don't mind 1 line doing that to mix up the game. Plus they are the best 3rd line in hockey. No need to change that.

So that's my assessment of how to correct what went wrong in game 1. Vancouver will score 3+ goals everytime if their allowed to impliment their pace and own the puck. Time to stop that.

Let's Go Shaaa-arrks!!!! We need game 2.

Also, where's the best bar to watch the game at in the South Bay? I'm taking my dad out for his b-day, thanks. SAN!!! JOSE!!!

I've come to the sad realization that we do not posses the talent to be a successful NBA team (I mean in terms of wins not dollars, Cohan!). Not just now, when everyone is injured, but even 100% healthy we'd only be able to manage to get swept in the first round by the Lakers. So this post is about a decision that our front office is in the process of making. Upgrade our talent or wait for ours to develop.

Looking ahead to next year, barring any trades or free agent aquisitions, our team is fairly solid. I'd say Andris, Buike, and Monta are the only players we have that would start on a top 10 NBA squad. That is a problem, a big problem. We do have an excellent 6th man in Maggette, Turiaf is also a great player to have coming off the bench, so are Randolph, Wright, Morrow, and Curry. The problem is that 2 of them have to start. I believe if Wright can stay healthy, he will be better than Randolph next year. He is in a better place mentally, and he also understands the limitations of his game better than AR. Brandan could be a wild card for us, he has an efficient offensive game, and he plays solid defense. Even assuming that Brandan lives up to these expectations, and no one misses significant time, we'd still only manage to get about 45 wins tops. That's probably an 8th seed, maybe the 7 spot. Which means we would be playing the Lakers, Nuggets, or Rockets with Yao, any of those teams would sweep us.

However, we do have a collection of really young players witha lot of potential. We can hold on to them and see what happens with that potential, or we can use that potential to try and aquire one big piece. Many trades have been suggested, Boozer, West, Bosh, and Amar'e have all been mentioned. Bosh is the only one of them I could see as a great fit for this team. There is also the free agent market next summer that has a lot of really good players available. The one player that would best help us, and that we also could realistically sign, is Joe Johnson.

Most people around this site and those in the know with the Warriors seem to think that our biggest upgrade needs to come in the frontcourt, I disagree. As established, Buike, Monta, and Andris are starters on a top level NBA team. Ronny and Corey are great 6th/7thmen on a top level team. So that leaves us next season with Curry, Morrow, AR, Vlad, and BWright. Out of those 5, BWright is the best at what he does, and he is our best low post scorer, which is something we need. Monta, Steph, Buike, A-Mo, and Corey are our only guards, and Nellie would never use Corey as anything but a forward. Our frontcourt has AB, BW, AR, Ronny, and Vlad, we could also easily retain Mikki. When you consider that Buike's contract is up after next season, and we need another all-star player who can take over a game to help Monta, Joe Johnson seems to bee the perfect fit. Nellie would continually start Monta, Joe, and Andris, our collection of other players would allow him to play mismatches as he sees fit. This also gives Morrow and Steph time to develop, since they don't seem capable everyday starters yet, and they're probably a year or 2 away as it stands now. Plus Johnson is a solid ball handler, he passes well, excells in the up tempo style, and he plays good defense.

So that's my solution, as painful as this year will be, that seems to be the most logical solution going forward. Just the same the ticket sales are down. Us fans are sick of losing, and we're only more likely to avoid the oracle as this gets worse. Plus there is a feeling that we're waisting Monta. The pressure is there this season for them to fill seats, but the injuries have also ruined this season. What would you do?

So we're about a quarter of the way through the season, our record is 6-14, and we just came off a very embarassing loss to OKC.  Monta is an all-star, and Morrow will be at all-star weekend to shoot 3's, other than these 2 facts, and a couple surprising victories, this season has been awful!

Luckily this mostly has to do with injuries and the amount of road games we've played. I expect Biedrins and Ronny to miss the rest of this roadtrip, I also expect us to go 1-3 for the rest of this roadtrip. We'll get a slight boost when Ronny and AB get back, but right now we have little to no production from our PF's. This is at least true on the road. Luckily the second half of the schedule is littered with home games. So, I expect us to turn it around a little bit and basically go .500 the second half of the season. This is assuming we don't make a trade, this is also assuming Biedrins and Turiaf make full recoveries relatively soon. If they don't and we have to keep running with Monta and the NBDL all-star's this could be a very long season...

Anyway, this post is here so people can estimate a win total for this team, and give some reasons in support of their opinion. I'll get it started. Assuming Ronny/AB come back soon/100%, and AR/Curry/Morrow improve, I'm estimating 33 wins for this team.

33's my number, what's yours?

Cap'n Jack wants out, so I thought of ways we could let him go while getting decent value back. Since he had some specific requests, I'll address those first, then move onto some other trades I find worthwhile. There are some trades that involve dumping Maggette as well. There are still a lot of trade restrictions that don't go away until Dec 15, so this is a post that assumes Jack will get traded before the season starts. All suggested trades are trade machine approved.

Continue reading this post »

Before the draft the word from the Warriors front office was that we had four players we were not willing to trade, they were labeled "untouchables". The foursome were Monta, Morrow, Randolph, and Biedrins. I agree that these four are "untouchable" and they are a great young core to build around. After listening to Larry Riley tell the media, on mutliple occasions, that we are looking to add a veteran player who can play the 3 or the 4, who can defend and rebound well, this trade came to mind.

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So the proposed trade for Amar'e would include Andris, Buike, BWright, and either Belli or Curry. Amar'e is an amazing NBA player, I'd love to see him on our team, more as a PF though. What were our issues as a team last year? Defense, Rebounding, and Health. Our lineup now looks like this

PG:Monta/Curry/Marco 

SG:Jack/Morrow/Marco

SF:Buike/Maggette

PF:AR/BW

C:AB/Ronny

as opposed to...

PG:Monta/Curry or Marco (one is gone)

SG:Jack/Morrow

SF:Maggette/Morrow/Jack

PF:AR/Kurz?Davidson?

C:Amar'e/Ronny

This trade makes us worse on defense, especially around the perimeter and worse at rebounding, mostly by the absense of Buike. Also because AB is a better defender and rebounder compared to Amar'e. It also takes away our depth. After last seasons experience, I don't see why Riley would want to dump our depth. Imagine if Amar'e goes out for a month or 2 with an injury. Ronny and AR, with Corey back to playing PF, that sounds awful.

Keeping Buike allows us to play Corey off the bench. (6th man of the year!). His absense also makes us very thin at the SF position. This trade is asking for too much.

If the trade was AB and Corey (to make the contracts work) plus Curry or Belli, then I would really be wrestling with this one. But the trade that is actually being proposed is too much. Especially when thinking about DEFENSE, REBOUNDING, and DEPTH. That's just me. What do you think?

UPDATE: According to Marcus Thompson, if they wait until after July 1st, they could do the trade without Buike, which is better, but I don't think Phoenix would do it without him...

Many of us perceive the PG position as our biggest problem. Nellie has been saying for the last 2+ seasons that Monta needs to be a PG in this league in order to be successful, I agree. He is too small to be a great 2 guard. Many of us feel that Monta should be traded because he doesn't fit well in our backcourt. Others suggest trading back for BD, while others see no problem with Monta being our PG. Here's what I think.

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Not really, but don't worry because it doesn't matter. Everyone seems to be stressing about the upcoming draft. I don't know why. No rookie, none, will play a significant role for us next year. Unless of course everyone is injured like last season, but then it won't matter becasue we would just be heading back to the lottery. The truth is, in case you forgot, Nellie doesn't play rookies, unless he absolutely has to. I know pretty much everyone is praying for a PG. There have been some pretty lively debates thanks to Brandon Jennings and Jrue Holliday. But it doesn't matter.

We'll most likely be starting Jack and Monta with Jamal, Marco, A-Mo, and possibly CJ backing them up. Keeping in mind that Nellie doesn't play rookies , there is no PG, with the possible exception of Rubio, that would even play (unless we're in garbage time). Our backcourt is set next year, unless we don't resign CJ, than we need a 3rd string PG, I guess there's where a rookie comes in.

Monta/Jamal/CJ? or Marco

Jack/Marco/Morrow

Buike/Maggs/AR or Jack or Morrow

AR or BWright/ the other half of the twin towers/Maggs/Buike/Jack

Biedrins/Turiaf

Being that Nellie will only play 10 or 11 guys at most, I just listed all 11 (excluding CJ). Looking at that lineup actually makes me feel that we need another SF/PF. Someone had mentioned Portland trading up to get Curry. If we could get Outlaw and their 24, that to me is the best scenario. Outlaw off the bench is perfect for us. Plus we would get a quality NBA player guaranteed, none of these rookies is a guarantee. Being that this trade won't happen either, our 7 pick doesn't matter. Nellie probably likes this lineup anyway because the mass amount of SG/SF we have will allow him to play Maggs, Jack, and Buike some at the 4, which Nellie loves.

So while it is fun to imagine us getting a ROY or even a solid rookie who will be significant, the fact of the matter is that it's not going to happen. But hey, the season is over, we're almost 5 months away from the next one, at least this gives us an excuse to get together and talk about our Warriors.

Plus we were injured last year, there is reason to 'Believe' in next season.

I strongly believe in the talent on our current team. I feel that we have the right players playing the right roles. The only area I where there 's some trouble is the backcourt. I have a feeling that the starting lineup for the majority of the year will consist of Monta, Jack, Buike, Randolph/Wright, and Biedrins. However this team is injury prone, people on our bench will see a lot playing time. So Maggette, Turiaf, other half of Randolph/Wright, Morrow, Marco, CJ and Jamal will get a lot of PT. I feel that Jamal, CJ or Marco will be more of a general backup guard playing either the 1 or the 2. Teams generally have at most 4 players who play in the backcourt in most games. We will need to get rid of some of ours.

But keeping 2 out of Marco, CJ, and Jamal increases our depth. This task will be easily accomplished because Jamal can opt out, and if he doesn't, he has an expiring contract either after this year or the next. CJ is also a free agent. Marco could be traded. I just can't decide who should stay.

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If any of you have read my responses to other posts from tonight, you know where I'm heading with this. Without actually knowing what sort of weight the opinions of GSoM have on the actual franchise, I'm going to assume the best/worst and pretend that Mullin, Rowell, Nellie, the Players and even Cohan read this blog as religiously as I do. With that notion inserted into my own head, I feel it urgent and necessary to express this growing feeling of uneasiness, and also why it has arisen within me,  

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When we go to games we need to start chants, we cheer and the only chant we say is the same old lets go warriors. I know we can be a loud crowd, but I saw FCBarcelona play their opening match of the season last year. If they can get 95,000 people chanting 5 different chants and singing a song together, can't we do better?

If we are serious about firing Nellie and booting Rowell and Cohan, say so. We don't have a front office with a winning mentality, they run our dubs like a damn business. I'm not naive, I know sports are a business, but we're the damn consumer, so we need to do 1of 2 things. We can either stop buying tix and going to games, or we can go there and drown out the losses with a resounding "Fire Rowell, Kill Cohan" or a "Fire Nellie" or even "No more small ball" we need to get creative here. If we really care, let them know. "Fire Isaiah" worked. It made sport center.

It really is sad how many of us think that our front office is trying to build a winner. Where have you been the last 2 decades? I already wrote one post on this issue so I'm not gonna go off now, but isn't obvious that our ownership wants us to continue shelling out money for mediocrety?

Look at the Sharks. Doug Wilson is the opposite of anyone in the Dubz front office, except Mully, and look where he's going. Honestly, if next year the Sharks were playing for the 8th seed, there wouldn't be any sell outs. Sharks fans expect more, Warriors fans hope for more. W's fans sell out all season for a team that doesn't make the playoffs. Never would happen in San Jo. Doug Wilson is building a winner, he doesn't care that its hard work to build a constant contender, he doesn't care that if he fails to do so ticket sales will drop, he just wants to put the best team out there that have the best chance at taking the cup. Cohan and Rowell want to have us throw all our money away at mediocrety, and we do, they have got us used to it. They don't want to take the time effort and money to build a winner. They don't want a fall out, they don't want a Sharks scenario where vying for the 6th seed doesn't sell out. They want us hoping we will have a winner, never expecting one.

What they don't realize is that we will always show up to dubz games. So if you're sick of this BS like me, say something get some chants going, let everyone at the game know whats up. Miami is tonight if any of you are going start some shit!

GO WARRIORS! Just leave Nellie, Rowell, and Cohan behind. I want to hear "We love Mully" tonight!

Well since we are all fans I guess we should worry. Cohan and Rowell got what they wanted. A team to make them money, just a team that will be exciting to watch but will never win it all. Why would they want that? If us Warrior fans get used to being a top 5 team in the west consistantly or even get the taste of the championship, we won't be selling out the Roaracle for a team that may make the 8th spot. If they keep us in limbo where we just pray to make the playoffs, they win, because if we make the lottery we can hope for the 8th spot next year, but if we are the 4 seed, next year we would want the 2 seed. Look at Laker fans, they cry and leave early if they are losing, and they don't show up if they're not 1-3 in the West. Cohan and Rowell don't want to have to worry about building a contender. If they can get us used to paying hella skrilla for mediocrety(which they have) why would they want us to get used to a winner.  It's simple, they've kept us hoping for the 8th spot for 13 years, and we got it once, then we just barely missed the 8th seed, and now we are praying for it again. And if you think I'm bitter about it and am just making BS accusations and I have no proof, let's look what are front office has been up to.

First off, I'm not sure letting Baron go was a good idea, I thought Corey would make up for it, but I'm not sure. We still could've got Ronny for Pietrus' and Barnes' money. Our Lineup would've been Boom, Monta, Jack, BWright and Biedrins for the next 3 years. Al would NOT have been traded for Jamal. Instead for the next 3 years we have a starting lineup that has Monta, Jamal, Jack, Corey, and Biedrins.

That is an exciting lineup, but that is not going to win anything. Now if we were playing Dallas as the 1 seed from 2 years ago, we would kill them, but unfortunately the elite teams in the west are teams like LAL, Utah, and Houston. We are not going to play good defense or rebound against those teams. Also, why would we extend Nellie? Because Nellie knows how to put a high powered offensive lienup on the court but he won't have them playing D or reboudning. When Monta Ellis is the third best rebounder in your starting 5, you're in trouble. We have commited Corey Maggette to be our pf for 3 more years, CRAP!! He can play well there once in awhile, but he can't go there everygame for the majority of the time. Nellie is killing BWright's game. The kid could be a legit PF in this league by next year. Nellie is the coach you get to fill seats, he's the second winningest coach of all time, but he's not in the hall of fame because he has never even made it to the finals.

The best thing we can hope for is that Monta is only healthy enough to be our 6th man. Although Nellie will force him to start even at 80%. BWright will get to develop this year as the starting PF most nights. At the end of the year, Crawford decides to opt out, he has the option. Nellie realizes that Brandon needs to start and play more.  We could also work on a trade to get rid of Jack, Maggs, or Jamal. But in all honesty, we should keep everyone and just hope Jamal opts out, because having him and Monta is redundant, especially when Maggs has to be a pf, plus we would have him and Adonal's salaries off the books after this year. Lastly, Nellie steps down and Jim Barnett decides to coach. He has been watching these kids play for a few years, he knows what kind of ball they're designed for, and he isn't going to small us out of games. He knows the game better than the back of his hand. Also someone would need to assassinate Cohan and Rowell, takers? How much would a hit cost? If we all decided to not throw a GSoM night for awhile it may be worth it to spend our money elsewhere.

Go SHARKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Myk

It's apparent Al is not going to play for us anymore, whether he is traded or not. To be honest, we have played are best basketball of the season without him. We whooped the Clips, edged out the Blazers(I love puns), and almost beat the Pistons. Those have been 3 of the more impressive games this season. Al's absence has allowed Corey to be a stellar PF, even going up against Camby, Aldridge, and Rasheed. So where does Al fit in?

Nowhere, which is perfect. Many of you want to trade Al for an impact big man or point guard. CJ has been playing phenominal, and missing Al has lead to the growth of BWright and Morrow, also the above mentioned emergece of Corey as Don Nelson's favorite PF ont the team. If I'm the Warriors front office, I'm either looking to trade Al for a veteran off the bench who can occassionally start down low, or a bunch of scrap we can let go, send to the d league, or have ride the pine. (1 year contracts only!)

As of now, nothings needs to be done and nothing can be done. The 3 games I mentioned were the best games becasue it showed the team is actually becoming a cohesive unit that is learning not only to play welll together, but also play well under Nellie ball. Bringing in someone could screw everything up, especially if we get a big named vet who Nellie will inevitably force into the lineup screwing up the chemistry.

We should tell Al that we're not doing anything until Monta comes back so we can see how the team looks, and if we need something, we'll trade you, otherwise you have the option to leave after this year, and you can do so. Until then you can sit out with a sore back, or try to help your teammates that you like so much make the playoffs.

UPDATE: We get Crawford from the Knicks. Kinda wish we would've waited. There have been some disappointing starts to the season, we could've got something else for him.

I went to opening night. No play for BWright. The Warriors lost a close game. Nellie relied on his vets and it cost us down the stretch. Monday Al, Maggette, and Jack were shooting horribly, Nellie wouldn't take them out. Tonight Iavarone tried to sucker punch Nellie by making him play small, after Randolph and Wright were playing well. Nelli was suckered into it, thus resulting in Memphis coming back, and Iavarone was successful in killing AR and Wright's momentum. Seriously, Watson, Nelson, Bellinell, Jackson, and Turiaf. Was he trying to lose?

In all seriousness, I feel that some questionable coaching has resulted in 4 losses, 3 of which should've been won.

Good games from Wright, Randolph, and Williams.

I know, we didn't have Al or Corey, but we should have won, and I can't help but feel if Wright and Randolph would've played more, that would've happened. You just don't go THAT small when you don't have a combination of Monta, Corey, or Jack on the floor. This game should've been ours!

Thoughts?

Opening night is our time to shine. Our time to let the players, the coaches, the league, and most of all the organization know who we support. Whose campaign do we work for?  

It's apparent that there is a battle in Oakland. Rowell vs. Mullin!!!!

Right now Rowell is winning. The owner is on his side, the organization appears to be on his side, we even have people signing Rowell contracts (Nellie, soon to be Jack). Now we all know Nellie loves Mully, and I'm hoping Jack feels the same. But there is an apparent rift and there is some serious pull RR's way. He controlled the botched Davis deal, and is bitter about not getting credit for the Indy trade and all the success that followed. If you want to read all the ends and outs and politics of it all here is Kawakami's great blog on it. There is also a pro RR article attached

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2008/10/24/warriors-drama-rama-no-surprise-im-not-joining-the-rowell-campaign/

There is a great part where T.K. talks about how all great NBA franchises are run by basketball guys not money guys. He uses LAL new and old, BOS new and old, and SA with Popovich to make his point. He even leaves out Det under Dumars. But he nails it! All great teams are run by B-Ball guys.

It's pretty obvious who I am in favor of. So let's hear you guys throw in your 2 cents. Who do like? I'm guessing everyone wants to see Mully return but you never know. 

We should use opening night as a forum to let our voices be heard. Bring banners and voices. Mully 2008-09 and Beyond!!!!

Warriors, the Bay, and GSOM until I die!!!!!