“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” — Macbeth I,i.
Bill Spooner, Jason Phillips and Mark Ayotte are the three refs that cheated the Warriors out of this win tonight. If they are going to take it on their shoulders to change the outcome of an NBA game in the final seconds, then I think it’s only right that they get full credit. Continue reading
As the only team to take the court with actual centers, the Warriors figured to have the size advantage in this game. But that’s not the way it worked out. There is more than one way to have a size advantage in basketball. You can have it the traditional way, on the front line. But you can also have it the way the Portland Trailblazers had it in this game, at the wings. Portland used the size of its wing players, Brandon Roy at 6-7 and Martell Webster at 6-7 to dominate their far smaller Warriors counterparts. The Warriors wing defenders, Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry and CJ Watson, who all go 6-3 in their dress shoes, were completely helpless against Roy and Webster. Roy avenged his terrible performance in Oakland with a brutally efficient 37 points on 12-16. Webster went for 21 and 11. And with the help of these players and Dante Cunningham off the bench, the Blazers outrebounded the Warriors 43-36.
Back to back games with a real NBA center available. Back to back games in which the Warriors looked like a real team. Back to back great wins against two of the best teams in the league.
Coincidence? Virtually every Bay Area sportswriter and blogger, not to mention every NBA writer on the planet, has been telling you that the Warriors are a mess, and that the problem lies with Don Nelson. He’s washed up, he can’t communicate with today’s player, the league has caught up with him, he’s destroying this franchise.
The Warriors are +5.5 home dogs to the Celtics tonight, in the return of Andris Biedrins to the Warriors lineup (it’s really happening, right?). This line seems curious to me. The Celtics are one of the best road teams in the NBA, it is true. They had won 9 road games in a row, and 13 of 14, until they lost last night to the Clippers (on a BDiddy last-second dagger. Oh, the memories…!). On the other hand, consider this: The Celtics are without Paul Pierce. They are an old team, and they are playing a back-to-back on the road. It is the third game of their road trip. Their starters played heavy minutes last night in a close game.
This much was made clear by this game: The Golden State Warriors have passed by the New Orleans Hornets in talent. They are the better team. All that is needed now is for the Warriors to get their team back.
In this game, the short-handed Warriors were playing on the road on a back-to-back. They played a 7 man rotation, while the Hornets got contributions from 11 players. They played their power forward at center, their small forward at power forward, and a back-up point guard at small forward. And they gave the Hornets everything they could handle. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that the depleted and undersized Warriors couldn’t keep the Hornets off the boards, they may well have won this game going away.
The Warriors are +10 road dogs against the New Orleans Hornets tonight. Hmm. I know the Warriors are short-handed, recognize that they’re on a road back-to-back, but that strikes me as a lot of points. I like them against this spread, on this day. Continue reading
Posted in Pre-Game Jitters, Previews
Tagged anthony randolph, corey maggette, Golden State Warriors, Monta Ellis
Let’s just call this one B minus two. B as in Beans. The Warriors are counting down the games until their starting center returns to action, and they never missed him more than they did on this night. Because with Biedrins in the middle for this game, the Warriors might very well have come away with the win. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph steamrolled the Warriors front line for a combined 55 points and 27 rebounds, and came within one of fouling out both of the Warriors “centers,” Chris Hunter and Anthony Randolph.
The Warriors are +7.5 road dogs to the Memphis Grizzlies? Wow, when is the last time you saw a Warriors/Grizzlies line like that? Unfortunately, I can’t find much fault with it. This ain’t your grandpappy’s Grizzlies. This team has a loaded starting lineup, and they are really starting to play. In the last three weeks, they’ve beaten the Mavs, the Cavs, and the Nuggets at home. Impressive.
The Thaiblonde and I rocked the GSoM holiday party at the Oracle last night. It was great to meet up with the whole crew of GSoM for the first time. Great group of guys, great Warriors fans, great writers. And I also met Dan Turman of Fear the Beard fame. So cool. Awesome time. Thanks, GSoM!
Watching the Warriors play was only the second most fun thing I did at the game, so I’m not going to drop a recap. I did notice a couple of things out of the corner of my eye, though:
Hey, the Warriors are a 3 point favorite tonight! Say what? Well, the Warriors are facing the Washington Wizards, a team ridden with dissension, beset by trade rumors, and the proud owners of a nearly identical record to the Warriors. And they’re on a 6-game losing streak.
